We survived the winter, friends! How are you?
My first quarter homeschooling both my kids was a success. Thanks for all the words of encouragement you sent my way after the last newsletter. I appreciate it so much!
Guess what? I finished the massive rewrite of Desert Willow last night. I couldn't have done it without the help of author Theresa Alt who encouraged me a great deal and who's now proofreading it for me so my agent can read it in April. Thank you, Theresa! After four years of work, I'm finally happy with the manuscript :)
Next week I'll be sharing images and stories of the real places in this Texas military romance via ICFW Blog. Stay tuned ;)
By the way, I haven't officially changed the title from The Song of the Desert Willow to Desert Willow, but I think I will. What do you think? Should I?
Oh! Remember I told you A Season to Dance would soon be available in audio book and that people would begin auditioning?
A wonderful, wonderful, wonderful narrator is working on the project as we speak. I could fill the page with the word wonderful and not do her justice. She's that good! We already have eighteen chapters recorded, edited, and approved. What a difficult book to narrate. I feel bad for the lady, but she's patient and enthusiastic and hard working. She is - well - wonderful.
When we finish I'll have her guest on the blog to talk about her work and the challenges of narrating. You guys are in for a treat.
It's competition season, and I'm thrilled to tell you that A Season made the INSPYs long list and several other bloggers' lists. Details and links below. If you're reading this, and you're a blogger, God bless you. You guys are amazing.
If you're not a blogger, God bless you too. You signed up to receive this newsletter, opened it, read it so far... Thank you. I appreciate you so much.
If you're a new subscriber, welcome! I endeavor to reply to all emails, so I encourage you to reply, let me know what you think, and make suggestions. This is a conversation. It might take me a couple of days to reply to messages, but I do reply. I'm so glad you're here.
Saving the incredible for last...
If you follow me on social media, you probably already know this. Guys! A miracle happened. Its name is Editora Pandorga.
My first agent and I tried so hard to get a Brazilian publisher for the debut, but nothing ever worked out. Two years into it, I ordered a good translation just so my family could read the story. Again I contacted some Christian publishers in Brazil but came up empty handed.
Then my American publisher, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, published the translation here in the U.S. That was late last year. November.
Well... God wasn't done. Editora Pandorga saw the LPC product, loved it, and bought the rights. Now they're going to put the translation everywhere back home. This is so cool. Pandorga publishes The Little Prince, Edgar Allan Poe books, etc. They're big. God's perfect timing, right?
God, please continue to bless this story. I am in awe of You and curious to see where we go next.
Friends, old and new, thank you for your support and encouragement always.
Love,
Patricia
