New Books, Two Magic Words & More

A box of books landed on my deck last week. My story, A Chance for Kallie Mae, arrived all dressed up in a beautiful book cover with all my words printed inside. So many words. But it’s my hope that they are the right words that will pull readers into the story and make them cheer on Kallie Mae as she has some second chances for the yearnings of her heart to come to be.

Reviews are already showing up even though the official release date is May 19th, twelve days from now. That’s exciting.

At the same time, it’s a little scary because the deadline for me to have what I hope will be my next published book (in 2027) is May 18th. I love having deadlines. But I don’t love it when a story drags its feet in my imagination and I don’t get those words out of my head as quickly as I should. Then it can be panic time.

The good news is that I typed those magic words, the end, late last night. Now I need to got back over it to try to clean it up before I send it off to my editor to see what she thinks. And to find a way to get rid of about 15,000 words. Sigh. I always write too many words. My story was supposed to be between 90,000 to 100,000 and I wrote more. It’s not always good to be so wordy. Sigh again.

But finding words that can be cut generally makes a story better. And I’ll have a couple more times to edit and make it better.  Finding the end is the first step to making a story better. Until I’ve written it, I can’t improve it.

But back to Kallie Mae and those reviews showing up on BookBub and Goodreads. Here are bits of a couple of them.

For me, this book was like coming home. I’m a Kentuckian myself and even attended Morehead State University, that began as Morehead Normal School. But, the “home feeling” I’m referring to is more than a location, it’s carried within me. Ann Gabhart perfected the mountain talk throughout the story and created characters I would love to bring home with me, and some I would love to give a piece of my mind. This book is rich in tradition (some good, some bad), friendship, and love. (Mandy)

I love my Kentucky readers. Thank you, Mandy. Have any of the rest of you ever wished you could take a character home with you and/or give them a piece of your mind?

It didn’t take much for me to fall in love with the characters, laugh and cry with them, and dream dreams with Kallie Mae as she reconnects with a good friend from before who also lost his chance to go to school. A feud between the two families makes everything more complicated. (jnelson)

It’s wonderful for an author to know a reader loves her characters. Have you ever laughed and cried with a book character and hoped their dreams can come true? After all, don’t we all hold our breath when Cinderella finally gets to try on that glass slipper? And yes, jnelson, sometimes things get complicated, but if it was all easy, the reading wouldn’t be as much fun.

This wonderful book is about an Appalachian community in the mountains that experienced the blessing of learning when the Moonlight School came to them. The author did a wonderful job capturing the heart of the mountain people, and the desire of many of them to learn to read and write. (bcrug)

I love when a reader thinks I’ve captured my mountain characters in the right way. Thanks, bcrug.

You have a few more days to get the special preorder deal at Baker Book House.

Also, if you live in my area of Kentucky, you can come get a book at The Kentucky Bookstore right here on Main Street in my hometown of Lawrenceburg, KY. It’s a store that is fun from the front part that’s called Tastefully Delicious with food and gift items that will make you smile to the gem of a bookstore in the back room where all the books are either written by Kentuckians or with Kentucky settings or history. Plus, they have nonfiction Kentucky books too.

I’ll be there doing a signing from 10 a.m. t0 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16th. I’d love to meet you.

Do you write reviews for books you read?