Category: Publishing

Journey Updates

I have a number of things to tell you. First, I know you have questions about my nephew. He continues to be blessed by miracles born of the constant stream of prayers flowing heavenward on his behalf. He is out of the ICU and in intermediate care. Still lots going on with wounds healing, dialysis, therapy, and feeding tube. He has a long way to go and we don’t know yet where his journey’s end will be. Thank you for your love and prayers. They mean the world to me and my family.

In February I attended the Southern Christian Writer’s Conference Notable Books annual awards. I was one of three finalists in traditionally published fiction for Landing on Her Feet. I remain a finalist but so appreciated the nomination.

I have the publication date for Those Ties That Bind. Drum roll please….July 31st. It will be here before we know it. It will be available for pre-ordering probably in late May. I’ll let you know. For those of you in the Tuscaloosa area I plan to have a book signing again at our local Barnes and Noble probably in early August. It will be available at the usual online outlets both in paperback and e-book formats. Here’s the back cover blurb:

Why are teenage mothers dying in the Garland Regional E.R. instead of delivering healthy babies for adoption at The Obstetrical Center? Something is seriously wrong. On her physician’s advice, Garland’s CEO Evelyn Langford reluctantly takes a long scheduled vacation for her fiftieth birthday leaving her team to conduct an investigation into Obstetrical Center. 

Evelyn’s efforts to investigate the problem are hampered by her complicated relationships with her secretive brother, Frank, her subordinates, and, surprisingly, FBI Special Agent Rance Thompson, a new acquaintance, who comes to the small town to investigate possible links between the childbirth deaths and a string of teenage girl disappearances.

Will Frank’s increasingly erratic behavior and the growing attraction between Evelyn and the younger agent further complicate discovering the truth about the dying girls?

The other author journey excitement is I’ve signed a fourth contract with the fabulous Wild Rose Press and I’m working again with my wonderful editor, Dianne Rich. This is something completely different. It is a mostly Romance story set in 1860 in a castle in England near the Scottish border at Christmas time. It is part of the Christmas in the Castle series. It is called Matchmaking, Mistletoe, and A Moat. I am currently working on my first round of edits and hope to have it out this Christmas season.

And in between everything, I’ve been creating new buildings and putting the finishing touches on interiors and signage on existing buildings for my husband’s HO model railroad. It’s been wonderful fun to get back to it again. I need to do it while I still have steady enough hands and decent eyesight! I’ll send pictures in a future post.

Earlier this month we moved our plants out of their winter home in the kitchen and onto the screened in deck. They look quite happy there.

Wishing you very smooth journeys where you can enjoy the passing scenery and the ride!

A Wonderful Week

This summer is starting off at rocket speed. This week has been jam packed with wonderful things. We made a beach trip to celebrate another wedding anniversary. Back home had a dinner with friends filled with great food and lively conversations. And…drum roll please…I received my author copy of Polly’s List! I actually have a copy of the book right beside me on the kitchen table…and I still can hardly believe it’s going to be published.

Here it is! As you see, the Basset has a large role in the story.

CJ Reynolds couldn’t wait to escape his hometown. He’s loving his bachelor life as a software developer in California. So much so that he hasn’t been back in years to see the grandmother who raised him.

Mikal Benson believes her small town is perfect for raising her son, Will, alone. When Mikal finds her neighbor, Polly Rogers, sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood, barely clinging to life, she calls Polly’s grandson — CJ Reynolds–and insists he must come home. Now!

From her coma, Polly whispers three words that change everything. Did she fall or was she pushed? CJ, Mikal, and Will form an unlikely team coming together to discover the truth as danger engulfs them and love transforms them into a family.

And my book is available for paperback, Kindle, and Nook pre-order NOW at your favorite online book seller. You’ll have to wait until August 17th to get it but you can order now. If you happen to be in Australia you can even get 34 Qantas points for ordering from their book distributor. I have to admit that it’s quite a rush to see my author info and book on different websites.

If you are a member of Goodreads or BookBub, you can go online and add Polly’s List to your want to read or wish list. If you’re not a member it’s free and you can follow these links to check it out:

Https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61135497-polly-s-list

https://www.bookbub.com/books/polly-s-list-by-kim-janine-ligon

I am doing some redesign on my site. Over the next several weeks, I’ll add a My Books section, a My Reviews section where I show you other books I’m reviewing for fellow Roses in the Wild Rose Press Garden, and My Guest appearances on other authors’ blogs. Hope you’ll check in periodically.

Thanks again for making this journey with me. I think the best is yet to come. Enjoy!

The Wild Ride

The ride I’ve been on the last six weeks or so has provided its share of ups and downs. Some of the dips and rises have been minor and others beyond huge. Everything from a seasonal return of McRibs to our pizza place of twenty years losing their lease at the end of the year. From celebrating another year on this planet to concern about dear friends struggling with vaccine mandate and work/life balance choices and others with personal and family health issues. Even the weather was undecided from gorgeous blue sky fall days when long sleeves felt good even basking in the sun to dreary, damp, I can’t get warm, where is the sunshine days.

In the midst of it all – I lost a friend who also was the mother of a dear friend. She’d had a ride of ninety-five years, but that didn’t make the loss any easier to take. She was a very talented and prolific artist. I was fortunate that over the years she gifted me some of the beautiful paintings she had created. I can sit back and look around the room I write, spin, and weave in and see reminders of her on the walls and tucked away on the shelves of the bookcases. I’m thankful she shared a small part of her life with me. I hope her family’s pain (and my own) at losing her is soon replaced with the joy of remembering her.  

And after that sad free fall down – the ride rocketed up just as precipitously. As most of you know, I’ve been writing and putting my manuscripts out there for the past – almost – six years. I’ve gotten rejection letters, no responses, aborted contract negotiations, thanks but no thanks, and other negative answers to my publishing queries.

 Until now.

I have a signed contract with a traditional independent publisher. I have an incredible editor. I’m writing back cover book blurbs, tag lines and my bio. With my sweet husband, we designed our vision of the “ideal” book cover. There are dedications and acknowledgements drafted. All this while my editor is working with me busily editing my first novel for another review.

To say that I am excited would be a gross understatement. But I am also humbled and filled with gratitude to get to this place – to have this bittersweet turn of events transforming my dream into tangible reality. I’m not sure it will completely sink in until I can hold “Polly’s List” by Kim Janine Ligon in my hands.

Thank you for following my adventure. For all the encouraging words when I most needed to hear them. You have no idea how important they were in making me persist. And persistence is needed to get published. I so appreciate your support and your frequent gentle queries about how my journey to your bookshelf is going.

Please check out The Wild Rose Press – my publisher. I don’t have a publication date yet, but it’s early in the process. You know, I’ll tell you as soon as I know. “Polly’s List” is in the suspenseful, rated-G romance category or as my husband said “A good mystery spoiled by romance.”

I’m sure this wild ride will continue to have ups and downs – but as the plaque Angela gave me on my retirement says : The Joy of the Journey is in the Ride. To which I can only say AMEN!