I’ve just embarked on a self-publishing journey with the release of my new novel, Yesterday Road, after having had a book published by William Morrow/HarperCollins ten years ago. It’s been a tough row to hoe, trying to break through with a second book, and not for lack of trying. But things have changed a lot since my first novel, Parts Unknown, and there are enough powerful tools at hand now to take a shot at self-publishing and connecting with new readers on a much more intimate level.
Sometimes it feels like I’ve been writing fiction since I was a kid. It’s been in my bones a long time, in any case, and I’m starting to believe I’ll be pecking away at a keyboard till the proverbial lights go out.
I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by stops in Newport News, Virginia, London, San Diego, San Francisco…
The long awaited third novel in The House of Crimson and Clover series is now available on Amazon, BN, Kobo, and Smashwords! Links for Itunes, Sony, and Diesel coming soon.
Nicolas Deschanel was betrayed by the only two people who matter to him. Their disloyalty stung and an overwhelming sense of loss lingers. Nicolas has lived the high life professing to not have a care in the world, and now this illusion is calling his bluff.
Determined to take control of an existence now devoid of purpose, he sojourns to his family’s holiday home on the Gulf of Mexico. Resolved more than depressed, he plans to privately say goodbye to a world which no longer needs him. Of questionable fortune, he finds a woman, Mercy, sitting alone on the shore at eventide. Nicolas is conflicted between an obligation to help, and annoyance at her intrusion.
Mercy has many layers of secrets. Deepest of all, she cannot tell this Child of Man she is thousands of years old and very powerful. In her presence, Nicolas’ own dormant powers begin to surface, triggering a sequence of events that cause both of their lives to spiral further out of control. When old friends from both sides come to help, together they all learn a painful truth: new life can only begin once you’ve set free what means the most.
What Reviewers Are Saying
“In a word… beautiful. With every new installment I get to read in this fantastic series I fall more and more in love. This is by far the best novel by Sarah I have read, and one of the best books I’ve gotten my hands on of the year.”
“Many books can leave you breathless until the book abruptly ends and you have so many unanswered questions and feel cheated. That is not the case with this book. The author takes you to the very edge, then brings you back on multiple occasions.”
“LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!! Could not put it down!!”
“This is a story about forgiveness and redemption, thickly seasoned with fantasy and paranormal. Cradit has mastered connecting the dots.”
“Cradit’s ability to weave a story filled with mythology, paranormal, and the reality of life so fluidly kept me turning page after page, thoroughly engrossed. The Illusions of Eventide is by far my Top favorite of 2013!”
“Page after page of twists and unexpected turns, running the full gamut of emotions. At times it is heartbreaking, exciting, witty, charming.”
“I said it before, and I’ll say it again, this author develops characters better than anyone else I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I simply cannot recommend this book enough.”
“Sarah did a fabulous job of painting the pictures of places, characters, events, and visions! I felt the pain, passion, love, hate, and anguish of each character!”
“I cannot wait for the next installment!”
“This series is one you won’t want to miss out on. Sarah is an amazing writing and knows how to suck her readers into the story.”
Usually, Friday the 13th is a lucky day for me. At least, it’s a day I don’t dread. I love black cats and I make it a point to walk under ladders, so celebrating Friday the 13th is just another way to thumb my nose at superstition. Except for this Friday the 13th. Today is my bureau chief’s last work day before retirement, and now Friday the 13th indeed feels unlucky. I love this woman. She is the nicest person I’ve ever met: she smiles easily, has a warm and welcoming demeanor, and rarely speaks ill of anyone. She is very organized and dedicated to her work. She has been my buffer between the work I need to do and the bureaucracy that often tries to trip me up. She knits.
I have many gifts to remember her by. Here are a few that I can share. (more…)
At the risk of depressing everyone around me … this song won’t leave my head. It takes me back to my teens when almost all I ever thought about was running away. Problem was that I lived in the country, and running away would likely result in my dying of exposure in the woods or an open field. When I was very little, I did run away … to my neighbor’s house. I think my mother found it amusing in a way (like, “really, Marie, how can I take you seriously when you just crossed the yard, but then you’re only six”).
But this time of year, I tend to reflect on my place in the world and the fact that, even as an adult approaching her “golden years,” sometimes I still want to run away. I do often wonder “how did I get so jaded.”
What connects Sherlock Holmes, W. G. Grace, Peter Pan, and the Mary Celeste? Our previous collection of Sherlock Holmes facts proved so popular when we posted it back in May that we decided to write a sequel. This seems especially timely since the hit BBC TV series Sherlock will be returning for a third series in a few weeks. So here we are: ten more facts about Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
1. The original name of Dr Watson was Ormond Sacker. In the early drafts for plot outlines, Doyle has Holmes’s friend and sidekick named ‘Ormond Sacker’ rather than the altogether more common and humdrum John Watson. Doyle must have realised that Watson’s everyman status was better served by a more down-to-earth and usual name, and altered it. Which brings us to our second fact …
Here is the 23rd installment of Ten Top Lists of What Not to Do by Marie Ann Bailey of 1WriteWay at http://1writeway.com and John W. Howell of Fiction Favorites at http://johnwhowell.com. These lists are simu-published on our blogs each Monday. We hope you enjoy.
10. If you are buying a gift for a girlfriend, do not plan to give clothes unless you are double dog sure of the sizes. If you’re lucky, you buy something too small and she feels bad (yet happy) because you think she’s smaller than she really is. If you’re unlucky, you buy something too big and she makes you feel bad for thinking that she’s bigger than she really is.
9. If you are buying a gift for a boyfriend, do not plan to give him one of those latest mechanical gifts from an on-line gadget store. Best case: he won’t be able to figure out what it is for and will feel stupid. Worst case: he will know what it is for since he already has one.
8. If you are getting a gift for a mother-in-law, do not plan to re-gift something you received from a family member or even a complete stranger. In the best case, you’ll have left the gift receipt in the box with last year’s date. In the worst case, it will be the very gift your mother-in-law gave you two years ago. To make it even more embarrassing, you raved about how perfect the gift was when you got it.
7. If you are buying a gift for a father-in-law, do not plan to give any kind of hat. The best case is your mother-in-law will tell him he looks ridiculous in it. The worst case is he will actually like it and wear it just to spite the mother-in-law, and then you will be on the hook for the resulting friction.
6. If you are buying a gift for a spouse, do not plan to give them anything they asked for when you asked what they wanted for Christmas. At best, your spouse will consider the gift as a no brainer on your part and wonder why you didn’t get something else. At worst, your spouse will have changed their mind and you now have a new door stop.
5. If you want to give a gift to a teen-ager, do not buy anything. Simply give them the money you would have spent. If you do buy an unwanted gift, the best you can hope for will be an eye-roll followed by the teen-ager getting a cash refund for the gift. At the worst, you’ll soon find the gift, with the gift sticker still affixed, at your local thrift store.
4. If you are buying a gift for a co-worker, do not buy any intimate apparel or anything that could be considered personal. In the best case, you will be thought of as “kind of creepy.” In the worst case, you will be explaining to Human Resources what you had intended by the gift.
3. If you buying a gift for the postal person, do not give anything you have baked. The postal employee is fully capable of putting their own cookie together. At best, you will see your baked goods handed off to the next mailbox on your street. At worst, you will wonder why your mail stopped after the holidays.
2. If you are buying a gift for a white elephant gift exchange, do not buy anything you might not want to take home. The best case is you manage to avoid being stuck with what you brought. The worst case is you will be the proud owner of the gift you brought which then you will have to store away until next year or gift to your mother-in-law.
1. If you are buying a gift for your boss, do not try to keep up with his tastes. Simply get a gift card from Amazon and let him pick up a book. The best case is whatever you give other than the gift card will never cost enough. The worst case is you might actually spend enough to find out your boss has one of what you bought. Unless it is a new Ferrari, you will never recover.
It has been an absolute honour and a privilege, once again, to be entrusted with the publishing of such incredible work.
I am continually amazed at the diversity of work that is submitted each month, no two pieces are the least alike. It has been wonderful to see how people have interpreted the ‘Culture’ theme, I have had a fascinating insight into some incredible cultural phenomenon’s across the globe.
It has been quite a difficult week for me over here in my little corner of the globe, but I am thrilled to finally publish the very last issue of The Paperbook Collective for 2013.
This is so cool! This new website, That Part Where, is a great place for authors to promote their books and for readers to find new books. Take the path through Kevin’s post to find out more :)
My feature at That Part Where is live now, and looks great! To reiterate, at this site you get to highlight a scene from your book — any scene at all — set it up with text that you write, and link to a purchase site and other places where you have a web presence. With any luck, someone new finds your book and buys it.
The good folks at That Part Where also do some promoting for you via their Facebook page and Google Ads.
All for $10.
Let me know what you think, and spread this around too! Reblog this post, tweet it, tell your ma, tell your pa, sing it from the nearest hilltop!
Marie at 1 Write Way 
