Sunday, October 7, 2012

Successful Book Signing

My oh my, how the days fly by!  It's hard to believe how much time has past since my first book signing! I am thrilled by how successfully the event transpired. It was both fun and a little nerve-racking. So here's the news....


Saturday, September 29th was the first book signing for Pacific Northwest author, Richelle E. Goodrich.  The event took place at Hastings book store in Moses Lake, Washington from 1:00 - 4:00 in the afternoon.  People lined up from the very beginning, putting an instant smile on the author's face.  "So many friends and family, it was wonderful!"


Sara and Cassie wait for their books to be personalized.

Richelle arranged a table by the front doors, assisted by her parents, Lanny and Arlene.  Chocolates and bookmarks advertising her book were set out to give away to passing customers.  "My parents were a huge help.  I'm so grateful to them for giving me their time and energy."

Trying to concentrate on writing while talking to those in line takes talent!

 
Most who attended the book signing were local residents, though friends from the Seattle area showed up to support their friend from youth.  "It was a real treat seeing David after twenty-plus years.  I was privileged to meet his wife and sweet daughter.  My best friend from high school, Jackie, accompanied them.  I can't tell you how much it meant to have their support.  I only wish I'd had more time to visit!"

Jackie and Richelle, lifelong best friends!

The event was a real success, ending with every copy available of Richelle's book, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue, SOLD!  "I should have brought more books, I guess.  38 signed to date.  Now to plan for the next book signing!" 

Mindi  keeps Richelle company for the second hour.




Wednesday, September 19, 2012

How Many Books?

I have been asked the same question a number of times since the publication of my first book, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue Once readers discover that this is just the beginning of Eena's extraordinary adventure, they want to know...

"How many books are in the saga?"

Well, the truth is...

Eena's tale, which I refer to as the Harrowbethian Saga, was originally the Harrowbethian Trilogy.  When I took on the challenge of creating a new fantasy-science fiction-romance-adventure story, I was only interested in compiling three books.  Quite frankly, that is about my personal attention span for any series.  Not that I haven't read the four, five, six, seven, plus volumes of many excellent strings of amazing works of fiction, but I tend to grumble about it.  So, to satisfy my own preference, Eena started out as a trilogy.

It was a three-book package that I handed out to dozens of my friends for pre-reading.
Book One - Eena, The Return of a Queen
Book Two - Eena, The Two Sisters
Book Three - Eena, The Companionship of the Dragon's Soul

Personally, I still prefer the story in this trilogy bundle.  I think it is perfect.  However, as is often the case in life, others disagreed with me.  The fact is, these original books comprised 700+ pages each.  A little lengthy, maybe, but well worth the read.  Who is not frustrated when an entertaining tale ends too soon?  At first, I ignored the few who suggested I consider dividing these novels into shorter-length narratives. 

"Ha!  Are you kidding me?  It's a trilogy, people!  Would you tolerate cutting The Lord of the Rings in half?  Or slashing the Inheritance Cycle Saga into eight parts?  Yeah... I didn't think so."

But there were arguments to consider.  Young adult literature is more likely to sell if the page count isn't overwhelming.  The majority of book buyers shy away from thick books, preferring something they can tackle on a round-trip flight.  It is more cost-effective to publish a smaller book. 

"Yadda, yadda, jibberish, nonsense, yawn... whatever."

Then the miraculous day came when I was actually on the phone speaking to an interested publisher.  Unbelievable!  Not an easy occurrence to come by, I'll tell you.  Oh my gosh, if within the first five minutes she wasn't recommending I divide each book in two, persuading me with the same previously brushed-off arguments.  Wisely I said, "Of course I'll consider it."

Then I hung up the phone and groaned.  "Ugh, my beautiful trilogy!  My poor, perfectly-wonderful-as-it-is trilogy!  They want to tear you apart and destroy you!"

So, a bit on the unwilling and disgruntled side, I complained to my husband.

"Three books is the perfect number, the perfect length for a saga. More than that and you lose the interest of readers!  And then tell me this, how am I supposed to find a coherent midpoint at which to slice each book in half?  What if I can't?  How do I end half of a book and create a new book from the other half? How do I make it believably two books when obviously it is meant to be one?  That's insane!  It's impossible!  And then... oh yes... and then I would need to come up with THREE MORE TITLES for THREE MORE BOOKS!  I might as well just call them part one and part two of what ought to be one solid book!  Criminy!"

My husband heard me out and said little.  "If your goal is to get published, Richelle, you should do what the publisher asks."

"Grumble, grumble, traitor... whatever."

So, I went to work butchering the first of my books.  Dreadful, anguishing chore!

Honestly... shockingly... it turned out to be easier than expected severing the book in two.  The story's action naturally came to a nice shift in settings and plot near the midpoint. 

Huh.  Interesting. 

Okay... alright... so maybe that wasn't so hard.  But there was still the chore of having to write a new ending to this first-half of the book, making it believably a stand-alone book of its own.  A grievous task... if even possible. 

It took me two added pages.  Hmm. 

But... there remained a need for another title!  A catching caption to slap on the cover of what had now been transformed into two books instead of one. 

Okay, so in this first book the heroine discovers her true identity and is rescued from dire circumstances.  How about... Eena, The Dawn and Rescue

(Dang, that was easy.)

You get the picture.  Each book of the original trilogy was divided into two halves creating a six-book epic saga.  The new titles (around 350 page count each) are as follows:

Book One - Eena, The Dawn and Rescue
Book Two - Eena, The Return of a Queen
Book Three - Eena, The Curse of Wanyaka Cave
Book Four - Eena, The Two Sisters
Book Five - Eena, The Tempter's Snare
Book Six - Eena, The Companionship of the Dragon's Soul

Now, as the twisted irony of fate would have it, the publisher that showed such promising initial interest in my books backed out, leaving me with transformed written works and a bucket of pitiful tears.  Yes, I cried a bit.  But after a little lamenting, I picked myself up, whispered a prayer, and resolvedly quoted myself, "Don't ever give up!"

I decided to invest in a self-publishing venture, and on April 26th, 2012 a box was delivered to my doorstep.  Inside the cardboard package, in paperback form, was the first novel I had ever written, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue.  I am grateful now for the events that encouraged Eena's story to be sectioned into smaller books, enabling me a better opportunity to find success in this self-publishing world.

Eventually, I hope to have Eena's story published in the trilogy form in which it was originally meant to exist.  At that day, it shall sit on my bookshelf next to the great J.R.R. Tolkein's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings

Don't laugh.  A girl can dream.












Sunday, August 12, 2012

First Book Signing

The date has been set, and YOU'RE INVITED!

Saturday, September 29th
1:00 - 4:00 pm 
@ Hastings Book Store in Moses Lake, WA.
My first book signing! 

If you have a copy of my book, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue, please come to Hastings and get it signed.  There will be a few copies of my book available for purchase.  You're welcome to stop by and say hello.  Stay and chat for a while.  I hope to see many friendly faces! 



You can buy the paperback or e-book 
version online now!


in PAPERBACK or E-BOOK
KINDLE   NOOK    KOBO   iTUNES 

Thanks so very much everyone for your support!
- Richelle E. Goodrich

Friday, June 1, 2012

Re-read and Review

Since my first book was published, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue, I've taken the time to re-read the adventure.  Happily, I found myself all smiles at the last page, entertained by my own story and eager to move right into the next book.  There were multiple places where I wanted to rewrite a scene.  Never happy.  Never perfect.  (I'll admit I did make corrections in my personal digital copy of the book which led to an improved second publishing with added dialogue.)  But what author doesn't rearrange the same paragraph a dozen times, hoping to find the perfect delivery?  It is a curse.  It is a challenge.  

So I left a review on goodreads.com.  Thank you to those readers who have also posted kind reviews about Eena.  I truly appreciate it!


Eena, the Dawn and Rescue 
by Richelle E. Goodrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was written for me, so of course I love it. The entire Harrowbethian Saga deals with relationships and fantasy exploits I often daydreamed about as a young woman. What else was there to do with all that free time in school? 

It was delightful fun inventing new cultures and then mingling them in a way that forced a cast of dynamic personalities to interrelate. Meet the strong and sexy Mishmorats, the fearless warrior Viiduns, the repulsive Ghengats, and Eena's race―cemented in tradition―the refined Harrowbethians.  There is never a dull moment in this tale, whether running from frightful, gem-eyed dragons (that receive names in book two) or surviving the persecution of Ghengats or taking sides in conflicts between blood-related enemies as well as reluctant friends. Get ready to find yourself hooked on a lively fantasy-scifi-adventure-romance because this is just the beginning of Eena's unusual adventures! 


View other reviews


Friday, April 27, 2012

A Wonderful Surprise

So... there I was, running around the house completing my daily tasks, keeping up a seriously good pace. I was multitasking like you can't imagine when... BAM! out of nowhere a UPS courier dropped off an unexpected package at my front door. Naturally, everything came to a screeching halt.

Okay, in truth I wasn't at the house to receive the small, cardboard box that was delivered. I was driving my son home from guitar lessons (carefully keeping to the speed limit) when the dark, ominous UPS truck pulled away from my house. But the sight did make me curious.   

As soon as I stepped through the front door, my family announced, "Mom, it's your book!"

"My what?"

"Your book!  We think it's here!"

I noticed a package on the kitchen table. My eyes flickered to the upper left-hand corner of the box at the name of a publishing company. My heart picked up tempo. This wasn't supposed to arrive for another week.

With trembling hands I managed to swipe a sharp blade through the packaging tape before opening the flaps. I reached in to carefully remove a layer of padding. Beneath that was a letter from the publishing company; it quickly fell by the wayside. Beneath that was my book. 


MY book.  Mine!

I dared to touch it--a bright, glossy paperback with my artwork and my name printed on the front cover.  


So how do you react at seeing your story actually fashioned into a tangible book? A daring dream come true. Five years of effort and painstaking rewrites and earnest prayers wrapped up in a cardboard box. All I could do was stare at the book as my fingers handled the pages, slowly flipping through the thickness of my creative work in print.  

"It's my book," I managed to breathe to those standing around the table watching me. I believe at that moment I learned what euphoria feels like.

I would like to thank everyone who helped me make this dream come true. Thank you for the kind support of friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, and even strangers 
who helped successfully promote and sell my book. Thank you for your part in the fulfillment of my dream.

Truly,
Richelle E. Goodrich