My Third Baby is Due in September

Okay, it’s not a real baby. That would require a miracle… in my case, more than one miracle. But I can’t help comparing the launch of a new novel to the birth of a baby.

Crafting a book requires approximately the same gestation period as growing a fetus, often longer. During this period, an author conceives an idea and begins the exciting process of developing its plot, scenes, and characters. She gives it a working title, names its characters, shapes their personalities, and chooses carefully just the right words and phrases to paint a mental picture for the reader.

She carries her “baby” close to her heart, day after day, nurturing it with research, consultation, and advice. She pictures it in her mind, walks with it, sleeps with it, talks to it, analyzes it, brings it to a satisfying conclusion, then rests for a while. There is still much to do to prepare for the birth.

As the due date draws near, the author reads, edits, re-reads and re-edits. Now the real work begins. That’s why it’s called labor. The pains start when the author must write a synopsis and a query letter to submit to an agent or publisher. She risks rejection but pushes through the pain, sometimes again and again.

Enough of the birth analogy. Writing a novel is satisfying. Publishing a novel is risky. Marketing a novel is plain hard work. It starts with the launch. I have written and submitted my third novel to High Tide Publications. I Want to Go Home will be in print and ready to launch next month. As soon as I get a publication date from High Tide, I’ll set a launch date and location. I hope you can come. If not, please order I Want to Go Home from Amazon.com or hightidepublications.com. I think you’ll enjoy reading it.

Here’s an advance review by Sharon Dorsey, Author of Daughter of the Mountains, Tapestry, and two children’s books, Herman the Hermit Crab and Revolt of the Teacups: 

“I WANT TO GO HOME is an inspiring story for and about the times in which we live. It chronicles the struggles of an ordinary family that goes from middle class to homeless due to a chain of events that could affect any one of us. It illustrates the strong bonds between siblings and the part that faith can play in overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles. The characters are so well-drawn, they come alive on the pages. We ache with them in their low moments and cheer them on as they battle the situations in which they find themselves. Throughout, I found myself asking the question – could I have walked in their shoes and successfully emerged on the other side of the problems, defiant in my self-worth and stronger in my faith? This is a must-read you won’t be able to put down until the triumphant, heart-warming conclusion.”

Cindy L. Freeman is the author of two award-winning short stories, a novella, Diary in the Attic, and three published novels: Unrevealed, The Dark Room, and I Want to Go Home. Website: www.cindylfreeman.com; Facebook page: Cindy Loomis Freeman. Her books are available through amazon.com or hightidepublications.com