Cover Reveal: The Language of Hoofbeats

Nothing makes me much happier than a good cover reveal. Unless it's two cover reveals in less than a month. In March I shared the new cover for Take Me With You, which will be released in the U.S. on July 15th. (Sorry, I know I said June 10th, but it changed.)

Today I am absolutely thrilled to show you the brand new final cover for The Language of Hoofbeats. It will be out in December, worldwide, from Lake Union (Amazon Publishing). If you want to know more about it, check out the new The Language of Hoofbeats page on this site. Or just go straight to its Amazon page, because it's already available to preorder.

It's going to be a good year!

Taking Giveaways to a New Level (Soon)

Not too long ago I wrote a blog post called "No More Ebook Only." I had made the decision to add paperback editions of my three books that had previously been available only in Kindle. (The Long, Steep Path, Always Chloe and Other Stories, and Subway Dancer and Other Stories.) I made my initial choice because I knew these books--an essay collection and two story collections--would not sell quite as briskly as my novels. And the vast majority of my book sales are in Kindle these days. So I didn't expect to see a great deal of sales on those paperbacks. But when I could afford to, I added them anyway. Because some of my readers still love paper, and some read exclusively in paper. I didn't want them to be left out.

Then along came 365 Days of Gratitude (well, it will be coming along... soon) and a conundrum. The book consists of some text, yes, but mostly 365 high-resolution color photos. My production cost on a paperback is likely more than you would want to pay. Once I have it distributed to bookselling sites, and they take their cut, the price tag I'd have to put on it would be downright silly.

But I made a decision. I'm going to have it set up for paperback anyway. But I'm not going to sell it. I'm going to start by ordering fifty copies for my own use, with the option for more. And I'm going to offer them to readers, but as gifts and giveaways. That way I can honestly say that none of my books are available in ebook only.

So keep an eye on this blog. It will take awhile to get the paperback set up. But I promise to keep you posted when it's here, and available to be won. I'll probably give some away on my Facebook author page as well. 

More news as it becomes available.

Update on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 7:43AM by Catherine

I got a question by email from Susan Schleuss about people being able to buy them if they are willing to pay the high price. Well, the price would be about $60 just for me to slightly more than break even.

So that should settle that.

But it gave me a great idea. Anyone who wants one of these books and isn't having any luck winning one is welcome to buy a copy... from the author. I'll sign a book and mail it to anyone who asks, and only charge what it cost me, which is about $27. That might work, right?

But don't be too quick to jump at that idea, because I'm going to give a bunch of these puppies away! Stay tuned!

Discussion Guide for When I Found You

I've been getting a great number of requests from book groups who are reading When I Found You and looking for discussion questions online. The book has enjoyed a huge swell of popularity in the past ten months or so. And I'm happy to say lots of people are reading it.

As to questions... well... there weren't any.

The book was first published in the UK by Transworld (Random House Group) and about half the time they come up with a discussion guide. For this one they didn't. I don't think of myself as being very good at writing those, so in response to the requests, I asked my wonderful editor at Amazon Publishing if a guide sounded like a good idea. He thought it was a great idea! He said he'd be happy to post one as soon as I came up with it.

Oh. Me.

Well, it seemed like time to give it a try. But, as I say, I don't have a lot of faith in my abilities with these. I've done maybe one guide before. But I drafted this out, and I would really love some book group feedback on it. If you are a member of a book group, I'd appreciate it if you'd take a quick look and tell me if it looks like something that would lead to a good discussion. If you're part of a book group who's planning to discuss When I Found You, please do take this for a test drive. Let me know if there's something you think would make it better.

Meanwhile it's definitely progress!

You can view the guide HERE.

You can download the guide by clicking THIS LINK.

All thoughts welcome.

Cover Reveal: Take Me With You

This is the one I've been so excited about, folks. It's brand new. You've never read it in any form. It's due out June 10th* from the new Lake Union imprint of Amazon Publishing. It's called Take Me With You.

And this is its cover.

It's not just me, right? This really is the best cover ever. Right? 

*PS: Wonderful UK readers, I'm sorry. It will get to you later, and with a different cover. Now for the good news: With luck, this is my last apology to you. My next novel, due out in December, will be published by Lake Union worldwide!

Cover Reveal: 365 Days of Gratitude

We've just finalized the cover of my very first photo book ever. It's 365 Days of Gratitude, an ebook compiling the "best of" the Daily Gratitude photos I post online every day.

Even if you follow my online posts, there will be many photos in this book you have not yet seen.

I don't have a final release date, but you know I will keep you posted.

Meanwhile I've just given 365 Days its own book page on this site.

Stay tuned for more news, including a cover reveal for my novel Take Me With You (due out June 10, 2014 from Lake Union Publishing) which I hope will be coming up very soon. (Hint: I've seen it. You'll like it.)

More will be revealed.

-Catherine 

No More Ebook Only!

Here's a happy announcement. When I first published My two newer short story collections, Subway Dancer and Other Stories and Always Chloe and Other Stories, I published them as ebook-only. I don't sell nearly as many paperbacks as ebooks, and it was a little faster and less expensive. But I had an incredible year, and I feel it makes sense to reinvest in my independent titles. And not everyone embraces ebooks (and even among those who do, sometimes a paper book is nice).

Now both of these collections are available in paperback.

The next bit of good news is that my collection of creative nonfiction The Long, Steep Path: Everyday Inspiration from the Author of Pay It Forward, will very soon be released in paperback as well. Watch this space for more announcements.

One last bit of fun: if you are one of the people who "like" my author page on Facebook, I'm doing a giveaway with these books. In a couple of days I'll be choosing six people at random from among those who comment that they enjoy short stories and paper books. I'll give away three of each of these. And when The Long, Steep Path is ready, I'll give away some of those, too. So if you are not following my Facebook author page, now might be a good time to start.

As always, happy reading!