Compelled

And so, after much thought and hard work on my book, I’ve finally come to a decision…the first and second books belong together, and so, part one The Tug and part two The Thrust will be under one cover.

Yep, I posted the message above on Facebook Saturday, June 16, 2012. It’s possibly the craziest decision I’ve ever made. But fact is as the author of the two titles I couldn’t see them as separate books. The second continued from the first and though I was told, “If people like the first one they’ll buy the second, you’ll sell two instead of one.” The better advice was that I, the author, am the one who knows best. And my gut tells me to do the crazy, to take a chance, and give my passion, my story under one cover. Well actually sell it under one cover.

Maybe it’s the first time published author thing. You know where the rush to get the first part The Tug out to readers was so exciting and, forgive me; irresistible, it had blinded me to the full potential of Compelled. And so, after much thought The Tug and The Thrust will be part one and two in my soon to be released new and not so new novel. The story, you may ask, is love at its strongest triumph, the will to stand against all obstacles, and in Macon’s case, criminals, to save his sweet Anna. A story of a good boy gone bad ass, forced, err, compelled to become whatever he had to, to assure his freedom and he won’t leave without Anna.

The cover is completed! I am happy to give great credit to my new book cover artist Donna Casey. Take a look at her portfolio at http://www.digitaldonna.com. If you’re in the market for a cover I recommend Donna!  I’m crazy about the new cover. It will soon be seen at Amazon, CreateSpace, and Smashwords. The editing process is complete with special thanks to Diane Reynolds my editor. All that’s left to do is join the two parts, and yikes, format, and send them on their way to readers. It feels like sending my baby off to, yep, jail!

Interested? Maybe crazy sparks a little curiosity?  I am an indie author! My taking a chance shouldn’t surprise anyone, right, you got me on that one. I don’t know whether my book will be a success, but I hope, pray, wish, want people to read and enjoy my work. So what’s this turmoil of mine all about? It’s about losing one’s self in fiction, mad writing and living, yes breathing each word to create an escape for readers. But not an escape from feeling the emotions because:

Macon will do anything for her. Anna soon finds out how far he will go. They are joined by love and separated by housing units. Set up by cunning criminals and forced to do the unthinkable. Macon finds the strength to free himself but Anna is left behind. He is driven by his love for her and revenge for those who did this to them. His predicament is worse than torture, but he’s relentless and dangerous. They pulled him into their world and now he must push his way back out. He’s not leaving without Anna.

Deadline Forward

Delayed and hindered is how I felt, however I’ve worked my way through illness, lots of family activities, work and chores, you know the drill, and have just sent chapters 6 – 13 of The Thrust to my editor Diane Reynolds. I’m now realizing my April 1 deadline to have it published will be more like May 1, if I work passionately. But I am excited.

In The Tug a youth gets caught up in some trouble with the law and is sent to jail. An unbelievable thing happens when he is backed into a corner by a group of ruthless predators. To survive he must learn the ends and outs of this deadly subculture. He survives but Anna his girlfriend doesn’t. Macon the MC does the unthinkable to save her.

The setting is in current times, in an updated jail with doors instead of bars and dayrooms for inmates to interact. Anyone who’s ever been in jail or have heard the rumors about jail will connect to the story. It is truly another world once one is behind those cinder block walls. My targeted readers are everyone of course but people who work in jails and prisons, or use to, police officers, detectives, anyone in the courts, friends and family of those who are currently in jail, and the curious will find The Tug interesting.

The Thrust is a sequel to The Tug and picks up the story with a deeper plot and surprising twists, with a sense of what it must be like in jail, keeping in mind that officers don’t have as much control as they think. Much goes undetected leaving vicitms on their own…while in Jail! But to make it work, survival that is, inmates must have connections inside and out of jail. Macon’s survival depends greatly on his ability to gain connections. Question is what will he do when he gets them.

I am thrilled to present a modern day jail experience for readers! It isn’t contained inside and could reach any one of us at any time!