My very first book Adventures of the Soul was published as an erotic romance with Loose Id back in 2005. The book never sold well but was always reviewed highly and readers loved it. I never understood why it didn’t sell well when everyone who read it praised it. Then I started reading Cozy Mysteries and realized that Adventures of the Soul was actually an erotic Mystery. If there is such a thing. That is when I decided to revise it. I had originally planned to just take the love scenes out and rerelease it as a Cozy Mystery. But I just couldn’t do it. I still kept dragging my feet. So I had to do some soul searching—what a fantastic name should I decide to make it a series—and realized it needed a major overhaul. It needed more work. The story is sound but the writing… well, let’s just say, I have learned a lot since 2005. My writer’s voice has changed and matured and I’ve gotten a lot better at grammar. 🙂 Thanks to working with editors.
Revising Adventures of the Soul now called Stolen Sun (the title fits better) has become a labor of love. I’m enjoying myself immensely. It has brought up all sorts of emotions. This was the first book my dear friend Ally Blue critiqued for me. It’s how I met her. The publisher asked her to review the book for a quote to promote her first book. And I reviewed her book as well. I believe it was Forgotten Song. Sorry it has blurred together, it was so long ago. I have critiqued most of her books since that time. As some of you may know, Ally passed away last year.
Doing Adventures of the Soul is also where I met my dear friend and critique partner Jet Mykles. Jet did the original cover for Adventures of the Soul. She even did a picture for me of Cue and Vivian.
Ahh… Vivian! The inspiration for my very first blog The Amorous Pigeon. As you can see, I’ve repurposed the name and am using it for my current blog. Coincidentally the initials are TAP and I’m a tap dancer. 😉
I commissioned the new cover to be done by my niece. As you can see, she is quite talented. And I’m very proud of her. She did a fantastic job!
The revision is not only a labor of love but I also feel as though I’ve come full circle. I can’t wait to get the story released and out to all of you. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I’m enjoying the revision!