As I reported last week, Lake Union Publishing will be bringing out my novel, A Wilder Rose, in February 2015. The book--the true story of Rose Wilder Lane and the writing of the Little House books--first came out in hardcover, paperback, and ebook just a year ago (October 2013), under my own imprint, Persevero Press. It has done very well since, selling more than 12,000 copies and being offered in some 700 libraries in the U.S. and abroad. I'm sure that the reprint edition will do even better.
But in the meantime, the book is getting a do-over. Maybe you've heard the old saying, "A book is never really finished--it just bumps up against the deadline." I'm spending this week on minor touchups and a few major revisions, using my own notes and some suggestions from Lake Union's editor, who gave the book a careful going-over. It's a pleasure to dive back in and revisit Rose's life story, her work on the Little House books, a huge effort that spanned over a decade of her most productive literary life. You'll see the resulting do-over in February--I hope you'll like it as much as I do.
Revising Rose, however, means that parts of the Reader's Companion (the documentation of my research for the book) will be out of synch. I have two new projects brewing, as well as the next China Bayles (A Malted Murder), so I'm not sure when I'll get around to reworking the Companion to match. That will also be another big job. In the meantime, it's available (for less than a dollar!), so if you don't have it yet, now's a good time.
The Dahlias bloom in September. The new 1930s garden club mystery, The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush, will be out in early September. I'll be giving a couple of book talks (in Austin and in Houston). Check out the schedule here.
Reading report. One of my favorite summer reads this year was The Mockingbird Next Door, a memoir by Marja Mills about her time as the next-door neighbor of Harper Lee (author of To Kill a Mockingbird) and her sister Alice. I enjoyed it, and enjoyed writing the review. It's here. I'm currently reading The Little Girl who Fought the Great Depression: Shirly Temple and 1930s America, by John F. Kasson. A very good read--hope to get around to writing a review of it soon.
Reading note. If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. Isaac Asimov