Shut the laptop & picked up some paint brushes...

Full Color

Custom Pet Portraits, hand-painted from your pet's photo.

 

Black and White

http://atouchoffaith.authorsxpress.com/about-the-book/

Check out the link above!

So, what is my book about? Here is a tiny window - take a peek...

Mary and her best friend, Susan, have no idea how much Mary going back to finish college is about to turn their lives upside down.  Mary discovers her psychic abilities and hidden powers, when she learns of St. Anthony's reason for recruiting her.  Little does she know that lives will now depend these abilities along with her choices...including the life of one who betrays her. Labeled a “quitter” at a young age; Mary must face her inner demons, along with the outer ones who are closing in fast. An evil plague is spreading. It is almost too much for her to handle.  She wonders if her “touch of faith” is enough to save the man she loves, or is his tortured soul primed for the taking? The Angel's Advocate Group Book One "A Touch of Faith" By Kathleen Schipper

To query, or not to query...

In September, I reactivated our internet, and began to research agencies and the publishing process.  After sending out about ten query letters, and speaking with a few agencies, here is what I learned...

1. Typically an agency edits your book at no charge, and then sells it to a publisher, retaining about 15% of that sale price for their services.
2. First time authors, like myself, receive only a few thousand dollars for their first novel.  (This means that you DO NOT make a % of any future sales.)
3. Self-publishing is the way it is done these days, for many reasons, and I can understand why.
4. It only costs a little more to self publish, than what a publisher will buy your book for.  My theory:  If you expect someone else to believe and invest in your book, and you can afford it, then keep your rights and royalties...you earned them...invest in yourself.
5. You will average around a dollar per book (ebook or paperback).

I decided to choose Abbott Press, who is associated with Writer's Digest, to publish my novel.  It is about a 14 week process, which I just began.

Follow my blog, which is sure to be filled with my ups and downs, through this exciting journey.  I am happy to share my experience with other new authors, and receive advice from accomplished one's, too!

Please join me!

A summer without internet...

What happens when you give up internet for the summer?  For a laptop junkie like me, it meant reopening the door to my imagination.  Staring at the blank screen...no Facebook, no Twitter, no online shopping...just me, and a story that had been brewing for years.

The best part, which I never expected, is how it became a fun adventure with my children.  They would wake up in the morning, as if it were Christmas, anxious to see the gift that arrived while they were asleep.  Their enthusiasm was encouraging, and their reactions were priceless, as I unwrapped the storyline for them... chapter by chapter.


Three months later, we had a novel on our hands...and a good one too!

 So now what?