What is done cannot be undone.
England, 1326. Edward II has been dethroned. Queen Isabella and her lover, Sir Roger Mortimer, are at the pinnacle of their power.
Fated to rule, Isabella’s son becomes King Edward III at the callow age of fourteen. Young Edward, however, must bide his time as the loyal son until he can break the shackles of his minority and dissolve the regency council which dictates his every action.
When the former king is found mysteriously dead in his cell, the truth becomes obscured and Isabella can no longer trust her own memory . . . or confide in those closest to her. Meanwhile, she struggles to keep her beloved Mortimer at her side and gain yet another crown—France’s—for the son who no longer trusts her.
Amidst a maelstrom of shifting loyalties, accusations of murder propel England to the brink of civil war.
In the sequel to Isabeau, secrecy and treason, conspiracy and revenge once again overtake England. The future rests in the hands of a mother and son whose bonds have reached a breaking point.
The release of The King Must Die is coming soon! The paperback should be available in early April, followed shortly afterward by the Kindle book. I'll post here when and where the various formats can be purchased - or if you're a regular user of Facebook, sign up for my fan page (it still seems weird to me to say that). Don't worry - I keep my postings to about one per week, so I won't flood your newsfeed. You can also drop me a line via e-mail at imgnr "at" imgnr "dot" com and I'll add you to my e-mail list for new releases.
Some folks have wondered why I ended Isabeau where I did and why I didn't tell "the rest of the story" (not giving out any spoiler here, so forgive me for not elaborating further). Initially, I intended to write a single book, but there was just so much to tell about Isabella and Mortimer I knew I couldn't do it justice without writing an 800 page book. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find doorstoppers like that a bit daunting. Isabeau begins in 1308 with her wedding to Edward II, yet she lived until 1358. Covering that many years while moving the story forward and keeping it all connected was a challenge. So as I considered events, I decided there were two distinct periods in Isabella's life worthy of telling - and thus, two books.
For anyone who thinks I research and write fast enough to put out fresh new books every six months . . . uh, sorry, but I actually write much more slowly than that. I started writing over 12 years ago, while my kids were at school, and even while I was querying agents and then my lovely agent was circulating my manuscripts to editors, I kept writing. During the past two years, I've been mostly re-writing, adding a few new chapters here and there, learning about digital publishing and gleaning wisdom from the generous indie author community.
While I enjoyed my writing time, those 12 years were sometimes also lonely and frustrating years. There was a time when I thought The King Must Die would never be finished, let alone become a real book. It sat on my hard drive 2/3 complete for close to three years. I sincerely want to thank all the kind readers who have made the long struggle worthwhile. You are the reason I continue to park myself before the keyboard everyday. I hope that you learn a little bit along the way while getting lost in the world of people and events from the past.
Until later,
Gemi
9 comments:
Anyone's crazy if they think they can research for a historical novel, write it, and get it edited and published every six months. I can write the first draft of a book in that time, but getting it publication ready? Don't fool me ;)
I love the cover for this, in fact, I like all your covers. How do you go about doing them? I end up doing the artwork for my own because at least then I know I'm getting what I want ;)
Hi Hazel - Indeed, the research can take as long as the writing itself. And then there's the RE-writing and editing, which again takes as long. Writing the final 30,000 words on this and then practically having a nervous breakdown during the editing stage... Let's just say the last few months have been harrowing. Right now I'm in that dreamy lull of having a finished book. Good news is the next one is already started.
Re Covers - Since we can't all afford to hire artists for original work, I hunt for photos that portray the characters in the books. When I find the right one, I fiddle around on my cheap desktop publishing program with various layouts and fonts. Then I ask the opinion of a few trusted individuals. After some more tweaking and about when the book is nearing completion, I send my ideas on to my graphic artist Lance Ganey. Then, after some back and forth, which can take a month or so, we have a final cover!
The cover looks wonderful. Good luck with the launch
I'm currently trying to revise a novel I wrote several years ago and it's giving me no end of grief. I'm about at the point that I'm wondering if I should just re write the whole thing! It's seriously the formatting that gets me though, I've described it before as working on a time bomb. I'll admit I am not a lover of Word...
And I think it's great when authors can pick their own covers. I never like books where the covers hardly seem to have anything to do with the story.
Thanks, Priscilla! BTW, your goats are soooo adorable. I bet they're very entertaining, too.
Hazel - Sometimes you do have to start over, figure out where the glitch is. Good luck with it!
I feel your pain! I'm in the end stages of writing a book I started four years ago. I've deleted 150,000 words out of what has become a 75,000 word book!
Ah well. Live and learn and it's almost done :)
Congrats on your cover and being 'almost' finished with the book.
Sarah - We can commiserate then. I'm about to start rewrites on an even older book. When I was finally brave enough to look at it after years of not doing so, I discovered it was better than I thought. But I also saw the head-hopping, grammar mistakes, unclear sentences... Work to do, but I adore the characters in this story, so it'll be a labor of love.
From a reader's standpoint...Thank you for all your years of writing and rewriting your books. All of your books are really well done. I am sure your new one will be no different.
Thank you, Wendy. Something in my gut told me to persist all those years. I'm just elated to finally be able to share my stories with readers. Books can take us to such wonderful places.
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