NEW RELEASE AS HISTORY UNFOLDS

 First we pray for Ukraine. First I lift my eyes up to the Lord, who has made heaven and earth. First I pray for the people of Ukraine, caught in a decades-long goal of an evil dictator in Russia. A power-monger... a land-grabber... a man of strength with a core of evil. We are living a history our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will learn about. (Hopefully...) A time when a tyrant ruled and they will look back and know what was done-- and what wasn't.

And now back to THIS NEW RELEASE!!!!

Okay, it's actually a re-release of one of my first Love Inspired stories, an absolutely delightful book!

The joy of re-releasing stories is in the updates. I was able to go in, update the book, change a few things and I realized (again) that it's amazing how technology has changed since this book was published in 2013.... Nine years... think of what's happened in nine years!

WE HAVE "CLOUDS" NOW!!!!!

Everyone and their brother has email.

Cell phones from that year are pretty much dinosaurs now.

BLACKBERRY??? WHAT??? TIVO???? DITTO!!!!! 

It's funny to see that as the tech world goes, so go our stories and now I'm more careful about specifying tech stuff because it does go out of date so quickly. When that happens, it dates your story. Instead of being relatable and timeless, it's like "HUH????"

So I'm enjoying that process and learned a lot.

The other side of this is the business of writing. I have loved working with publishers. I've learned so much. But I also like running my own business and vagaries of publishing the past few years tipped me further into the indie side of publishing. Not because I didn't have contracts... but because the industry had shifted stripes/colors/intent and I realized I was a fish out of water. And that's okay.

I also learned that nothing is perfect. No industry, no business. But when you're running your own business and you love to write, to produce stories, Amazon has offered an amazing opportunity that certainly pays off. And what a bonus, to have older books that won't be reproduced by Harlequin become a commodity that gets shelf life again! That makes me so happy and I was inspired by authors who fought for that right less than two decades ago. So much has changed.

A dozen years ago authors had little choice. It was hard to get your rights reverted so once stories lost their place in bookstores, they were done. And then the law decided that wasn't fair to writers (truth!) and indie publishing was growing... and the influx of authors with rights-reverted books and new stories blossomed. 

That became a cornerstone for good books on Amazon because we're talking famous bestselling and award-winning authors.... and there were a lot of them. 

Indie publishing has changed, too. The industry is still fluid... and in a flux following the ravages of the pandemic.

But in the middle of all that are authors who write... who work... who republish and newly publish and work with publishers and with KDP (Kindle Direct)/Amazon.

We are blessed!

So we have just released book 2 of the Southern Tier Romance series... Small Town Hearts... Kindle and paperback. It's a warm, sweet, inspirational story that inspired my homemade Maple Fudge, a fudge we sell at the farm now! :) I love it when one business "bleeds" into another.

The road to publishing and self-publishing isn't easy.

I don't think it's supposed to be.

I've watched authors who got "the call" fairly quickly crash and burn because the work required and the expectations of editors and publishers means that we adjust/change/edit/revise as directed and most often that means a better book... but you do swallow your pride! :) And humility is a wonderful if acquired taste. 

Enjoy your day! Pray for Ukraine.... Help in any way you can.... and if you want another lovely Ruthy-read, go grab this book and get lost in the small town grace of Jamison, New York tucked in our very own Allegany County, NY.... South of Wishing Bridge and a bit north of Pennsylvania. And thank you!

SMALL TOWN HEARTS AVAILABLE HERE!!!!!

LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS BOOK AND A SWEET SURPRISE! 

Books three and four coming this spring and summer! 

Multi-published, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne is co-owner and manager of a busy pumpkin farm in Western New York which means she is kind of dirty, messy, sweaty for six months of the year, and yet having so much fun.... almost as much fun as writing nearly seventy books. Living her dream, Ruthy is the mother of six with a seventh "daughter of her heart", a slew of grandkids and a couple of goofy Golden Doodles who had nine puppies last years. She loves God, her family, her country, kids of all sizes, chocolate, coffee and has such faith in her Lord and Savior... and the goodness of mankind... that she knows God's blessings first-hand. Friend Ruthy on Facebook, email her at loganherne@gmail.com, or stop by her website at ruthloganherne.com.