I am happy to announce I have zeroed in on the next title for publication. A tough choice because I have so many books I have written and so many more I want to write. It's hard to dedicate myself to just one and stick with it. But I have learned a lot about the self-publishing world with this latest edition of THREE CROSSES and feel much more confidant with the process. I am not ready to divulge the title just yet - superstitious and all! But will in the near future.
In the meantime, I ask for your help. I need to get THREE CROSSES noticed to pave the way for the next book. My sales are very slow to come through at Amazon - so pass the word if you have read it or buy it if you haven't. The Kindle version will be out in the 1st half of May for those of you who prefer the e-versions. I will let you know once it is available to buy on the Kindle.
Having spent the majority of the day soaking up the sun's rays while working on the forthcoming book, I am now getting hungry. Time to start the grill! Yippee! Another awesome day in the land of my imagination. Doesn't get much better than that:-)
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A Reader's Response to THREE CROSSES
I received an email from Daniel - a 17-year old who recently read THREE CROSSES. He was in his art class where Pamela (the THREE CROSSES dedication recipient) is the teacher and he was complaining about how his girlfriend is always reading. Apparently he's not an avid reader. Pamela suggested he try reading THREE CROSSES and loaned him her copy. He needed some persuading, but Pamela convinced him that his girlfriend would be happy if he showed some interest in her favorite hobby. Lo' and behold, a reader was born ...
Once again persuaded by Pamela, Daniel sent me my first "fan letter" since the re-release of THREE CROSSES.
" I hate books but Pamela (his art teacher) kept telling me I would love your book cuz your friends and id like it. I like it a lot. I liked the people in it and thought *** (spoiler alert!!) was the killer. Denise (his girlfriend) is going to read it next."
I asked Daniel if there was anything else he liked about THREE CROSSES and he said "it was easy (to read) and awesome."
Daniel, thank you so much for the incredible compliment. Pamela, thank you for not only pushing THREE CROSSES but for converting a non-reader to a reader.
And there you have it ... me flying high:-)
Once again persuaded by Pamela, Daniel sent me my first "fan letter" since the re-release of THREE CROSSES.
" I hate books but Pamela (his art teacher) kept telling me I would love your book cuz your friends and id like it. I like it a lot. I liked the people in it and thought *** (spoiler alert!!) was the killer. Denise (his girlfriend) is going to read it next."
I asked Daniel if there was anything else he liked about THREE CROSSES and he said "it was easy (to read) and awesome."
Daniel, thank you so much for the incredible compliment. Pamela, thank you for not only pushing THREE CROSSES but for converting a non-reader to a reader.
And there you have it ... me flying high:-)
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Re-release of Three Crosses
Please visit Amazon.com and search C. L. LeMay. Ta-dah! The newly revised, edited, and updated Three Crosses is for sale as a paperback. The Kindle version will be available in a few days.
Hopefully there will be no more comments about the title needing a good editor. And now my mind is free to focus on the next novel. I will post updates on my progress of that title in the near future. I also will finally have my web page up and running in a few weeks. I will let you know when it is ready.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
News from the desk of C. L. LeMay
Well, hello there stranger! Where have you been? Haha!
Picture me wagging my hand in a friendly "hi, I'm over here" gesture.
I have been busy on a project.
And the anticipation builds...But alas, the disappointment sets in as author C.L. LeMay announces she will unveil her project in 3-4 weeks.
In the meantime, try reading a Barbara Delinsky novel. They are always a good read.
So check back in soon. I hope to dazzle you!
Picture me wagging my hand in a friendly "hi, I'm over here" gesture.
I have been busy on a project.
And the anticipation builds...But alas, the disappointment sets in as author C.L. LeMay announces she will unveil her project in 3-4 weeks.
In the meantime, try reading a Barbara Delinsky novel. They are always a good read.
So check back in soon. I hope to dazzle you!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Daily Word
I write because I need to. I write because if I don't, I get cranky and my head gets too jammed up with words and characters and events. But as anyone who writes novels can tell you, there comes a point when writing a few minutes here and a few minutes there doesn't cut it. Eventually you need a steady stream of blocks of time. Rather than not write at all, I am committing myself to 15 days of writing something, anything. Perhaps the posts will be excerpts or character developments or scenes from a yet unwritten novel or even something like below. I do not profess to be poetic despite the poem essence in my below words. They are thoughts strewn together in a rhythm I found soothing to write. I will not be editing or critiquing - just writing.
Into the dusky eve, I steer and write.
No sense of time or the lack of light.
Pull me down deeper, into that gorge,
So it is written - my allegiance is forged.
Trading my soul
For an inspired spark.
Professing my unawares,
Of the complete and utter dark.
The course I have taken,
Playing with the dead,
Enlightened for a moment,
Till' my hands are stained red.
There are no more words
Flowing from my pen.
As I wait for my judgment,
My life - it is condemned.
I'd pray for forgiveness,
But forgot how to kneel.
These crimson wounds,
Never will heal.
Into the dusky eve, I steer and write.
No sense of time or the lack of light.
Pull me down deeper, into that gorge,
So it is written - my allegiance is forged.
Trading my soul
For an inspired spark.
Professing my unawares,
Of the complete and utter dark.
The course I have taken,
Playing with the dead,
Enlightened for a moment,
Till' my hands are stained red.
There are no more words
Flowing from my pen.
As I wait for my judgment,
My life - it is condemned.
I'd pray for forgiveness,
But forgot how to kneel.
These crimson wounds,
Never will heal.
Monday, September 3, 2012
My Web Presence
I Googled C.L.LeMay to check my Web presence and was rather surprised by what I found. Goodreads.com has ratings for me. Cool, right? Not so much. Why? Because my rating is low - not that I disagree with the comment "Needs a good editor." The e-book versions of THREE CROSSES are not representative of the actual manuscript. There are 2 problems - 1st is THREE CROSSES has been professionally edited since it was published in e-form and 2nd is my MS Word is outdated and when I upload to an e-publishing format or the paperback publishing format, the translation is jumbled, making the published versions of THREE CROSSES a mess.
Suffice it to say, I have unpublished the e-books. I greatly appreciate everyone who purchased a copy and once again apologize for the mistakes. Anyone who has read THREE CROSSES since I have edited it, please join Goodreads.com and make a case for the improved manuscript and provide your honest rating of the book. Please and thank you.
As many of you know, writing novels is a great love of mine. It is very difficult at times to keep up the momentum to pursue publication for THREE CROSSES as the process is very mentally & time-consuming. I want to make a good impression on a prospective agent but find the task of writing a kick-ass query letter more difficult than writing a 400-page novel!
So if my Fairy Godmother is listening, I will do all the writing and editing if you would be so kind as to research agents and submit an incredibly terrific packet! Sounds good, doesn't it? But alas, if I just want to be an author, an author I am. If I want to be a published author, I best get a little more aggressive about the business of submission. I need to decide if being an author is enough for me. Just how badly do I want to be published?
As I write the last sentence, I realize I had great fun publishing A MIRACLE FOR MACKENZIE on my blog, albeit I stopped working on it after 7 or 8 submissions, but I still think about that book and look forward to getting back to it one day. I am toying with the idea of publishing through my blog. Hmmm? Not a money-maker, but heck, I get to keep doing what I love and my readers get to read my work. Of course I will have to decide which of the five novels I am actively working on will be the published novel. I guess the first step is to focus on one book. So hard to do when they each are pulling and tugging and clawing for my attention.
God, I love writing!
Suffice it to say, I have unpublished the e-books. I greatly appreciate everyone who purchased a copy and once again apologize for the mistakes. Anyone who has read THREE CROSSES since I have edited it, please join Goodreads.com and make a case for the improved manuscript and provide your honest rating of the book. Please and thank you.
As many of you know, writing novels is a great love of mine. It is very difficult at times to keep up the momentum to pursue publication for THREE CROSSES as the process is very mentally & time-consuming. I want to make a good impression on a prospective agent but find the task of writing a kick-ass query letter more difficult than writing a 400-page novel!
So if my Fairy Godmother is listening, I will do all the writing and editing if you would be so kind as to research agents and submit an incredibly terrific packet! Sounds good, doesn't it? But alas, if I just want to be an author, an author I am. If I want to be a published author, I best get a little more aggressive about the business of submission. I need to decide if being an author is enough for me. Just how badly do I want to be published?
As I write the last sentence, I realize I had great fun publishing A MIRACLE FOR MACKENZIE on my blog, albeit I stopped working on it after 7 or 8 submissions, but I still think about that book and look forward to getting back to it one day. I am toying with the idea of publishing through my blog. Hmmm? Not a money-maker, but heck, I get to keep doing what I love and my readers get to read my work. Of course I will have to decide which of the five novels I am actively working on will be the published novel. I guess the first step is to focus on one book. So hard to do when they each are pulling and tugging and clawing for my attention.
God, I love writing!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Lunchbreak Lowdown
In true WIZARD OF OZ fashion, I acted like Glenda the Good Witch and had myself a whole bunch of munchkins this morning which means I am not hungry for lunch. So...I am blogging instead.
"Why munchkins?" You ask. We have a grandmother-to-be (as in hours away of becoming a grandmother) in the office and she is waiting patiently by the phone to get the news. She's on the east coast - the new baby is coming into the world on the west coast. Being up all night, she was in need of sustenance...thus the reason I have "We represent the Lollipop Guild...the Lollipop Guild...the Lollipop Guild" jingling in my head. By the way, is it lollipop or lollypop? Or is it one of those words that can be spelled either way? I personally prefer the "i" over the "y".
OK, enough with the flipping munchkins. Here's what is going on with my writing life - I have heard from a couple of agents who rejected THREE CROSSES; however, they actually contacted me to reject me vs. not acknowleging the rejection. This is a big deal. AND they rejected me by stating that it was a very difficult decision. They also said I was publish-worthy and had market appeal. So, despite being rejected, I feel pretty darn good. Besides, like I said, they didn't even have to bother responding at all. Oh yeah, they invited me to submit other manuscripts. Not bad, huh?
This summer is about writing short stories for competitions through Writer's Digest. I have submitted two thus far and have plans to complete two more. It's a great change of pace and who knows...maybe I will place in one of the competitions and will then have something wicked cool to put on my resume. Once the summer rolls on by, I will return to COVET (I just heard a small chorus of "Yippees") for editing and submission.
Ciao for now:)
"Why munchkins?" You ask. We have a grandmother-to-be (as in hours away of becoming a grandmother) in the office and she is waiting patiently by the phone to get the news. She's on the east coast - the new baby is coming into the world on the west coast. Being up all night, she was in need of sustenance...thus the reason I have "We represent the Lollipop Guild...the Lollipop Guild...the Lollipop Guild" jingling in my head. By the way, is it lollipop or lollypop? Or is it one of those words that can be spelled either way? I personally prefer the "i" over the "y".
OK, enough with the flipping munchkins. Here's what is going on with my writing life - I have heard from a couple of agents who rejected THREE CROSSES; however, they actually contacted me to reject me vs. not acknowleging the rejection. This is a big deal. AND they rejected me by stating that it was a very difficult decision. They also said I was publish-worthy and had market appeal. So, despite being rejected, I feel pretty darn good. Besides, like I said, they didn't even have to bother responding at all. Oh yeah, they invited me to submit other manuscripts. Not bad, huh?
This summer is about writing short stories for competitions through Writer's Digest. I have submitted two thus far and have plans to complete two more. It's a great change of pace and who knows...maybe I will place in one of the competitions and will then have something wicked cool to put on my resume. Once the summer rolls on by, I will return to COVET (I just heard a small chorus of "Yippees") for editing and submission.
Ciao for now:)
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