Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Announcement!

By request from many of my readers, I will be reissuing my first three novels that have been out of print for seven years. 

The Rebel's Pledge, a 17th century romance, is almost through the editing phase and we should have it on Kindle sometime in July. Thorns In Eden and The Everlasting Mountains (Revolutionary War companion novels set during the Indian Wars) will follow as a 2 in 1 novel. 

The Rebel's Pledge 
He was a rebel to King James, hunted down, captured, and enslaved in Colonial Maryland. Haunted by war and wrestling with a troubled past, Matthew Hale pledges to protect the daughter of his former owner and bring her from England to her father’s plantation along the Chesapeake, an undertaking that challenges the depth of his courage, and the strength of his faith.

Lara Carey will only wed for love, having kept the story of her parents’ unwavering devotion for each other in her heart. When she learns her guardian has promised her in marriage to a rich English lord in order to save the ancestral home, her hopes unravel, until she meets the heroic stranger that rescued her from the hands of a highwayman.

(The cover is not finalized. My son Paul is designing it. The banner with the title will change in color and font. But we are making headway. For anyone going with Kindle, they do have templates, but having your own design sets your book apart from the many that have used the same design.)

Thorns In Eden

Left orphaned is Rebecah, a young woman who has known little more than the solitude of an isolated manor. Longing for independence, Rebecah’s dreams of happiness seem unattainable, until the day she meets the courageous patriot and they fall in love. Soon she becomes trapped in the schemes of her uncle to slander her beloved John Nash when he is accused of causing her father’s death. Rebecah sacrifices all that she has to follow him from England to a wilderness that will put her faith to the test, amid one of the most infamous Indian wars in Colonial history.

The Everlasting Mountains
 
In the spring of 1775, Rebecah, her servant Maddie, and friend Theresa Boyd, are forced to journey to Shawnee County along the Youghiogheny River. Together with the women, she escapes and begins the long trek home, through an unknown and hostile wilderness. In those harrowing days she faces the elements, starvation, wild animals, the birth of her daughter, and unpredictable nature. The agony of the journey forces Rebecah to go the final miles pursued by her capture.

 ******

Theresa Blake a master seamstress and dress designer in England has graciously given me the go ahead to use her Charles II gown for The Rebel's Pledge book cover. It is this beautiful orange gown I have posted. Theresa tells says in natural light the gown has a pink hue, in indoor light orange. Please visit her website. She has designed some of the most unique and beautiful bridle gowns I've ever seen.

Embarking on my own with these books is a little scary. I'm not technical. But my husband and son are better at it and will be helping with the upload. A lot of authors I know are doing the same ---- reissuing their backlists. If you have considered it for yourself, go to Amazon's CreateSpace page and read about it. The royalties are amazing. You just have to learn all you can about marketing.

Meanwhile, the Daughters of the Potomac Series published by Abingdon Press will be available to readers on their respective release dates in ebook and paperback. 
Book 1, Before the Scarlet Dawn was released in February.
Book 2, Beside Two Rivers will be released October 1.
Book 3, Beyond the Valley will be released in February 2013.


Thanks to all my readers who have kept me pressing on.



9 comments:

Lynn Squire said...

Rita, I can hardly wait to get it! So excited for you.

Susan Craft said...

Rita, your books sound like just the type of books I enjoy. You must be excited about getting them on Kindle. I used to say that I didn't think I would like Kindle, but my husband purchased a Kindle Fire for me, and I'm being swayed. I've thought about putting my first novel, A Perfect Tempest, on Kindle. I've been gathering information about how to do that. Anyway, best wishes.

Rita Gerlach said...

Thanks, Lynn!
You've been a big help to me.

Janet Grunst said...

Congratulations, Rita. It gives the phrase "gone, but not forgotten" a whole new life.

Laura Frantz said...

Rita, I've not seen these before and they look wonderful! And I now have a Kindle:) The cover you posted is just stunning! Thanks so much for sharing the good news about your first books. I'll pass this on!

Rita Gerlach said...

Thank you, Susan. So many authors are doing this with their backlists. It's nice to get 70% royalties.

Janet, that is so true. These books are dear to me, and I'm excited about reissuing them. Now, if I can just understand the whole process I'll be fine. Hubby seems to think it is very easy. Kindle has a video showing how to do it. I'm stuck on the Word doc. formatting.

Hi, Laura. Thanks so much. Your comment means a lot to me. My son Paul is building the cover. He's very talented. He has some tweaking to do as far as the font for the title.

Elaine Marie Cooper said...

Rita, I am SO excited for you and look forward to these re-releases! Congrats for going another route to resurrect your intriguing historicals! Blessings and much success.

Rita Gerlach said...

Elaine, what a sweetheart you are. Thank you for the kind words.

MJ @ Creative Madness Mama said...

I'm SOOOOO excited about your re releases!