Fridays with Friends--Donna Winters
Welcome, Donna, and welcome to all my other blog readers. Donna has great advice for all of us about tackling new ways of doing things, and she has great insight into the changes in the publishing world, so read on to hear her wisdom and to see how you can win a copy of her book, Fayette--A Time to Love. I just love the cover, don't you? I think it gives a great feel of the time period.
Welcome, Donna, and welcome to all my other blog readers. Donna has great advice for all of us about tackling new ways of doing things, and she has great insight into the changes in the publishing world, so read on to hear her wisdom and to see how you can win a copy of her book, Fayette--A Time to Love. I just love the cover, don't you? I think it gives a great feel of the time period.
Moving On by Donna Winters
Have you ever had to make a move to a place or new experience that you dreaded?
In my book, Fayette—A Time to Love (set in Upper Michigan in 1868), the new iron smelting town of Fayette, Michigan held no promise for sixteen-year-old Lavinia McAdams. The moment she arrived, she took an instant disliking to its muddy streets, acrid smoke, and dirty furnace men. The sooner she could return to her hometown in Canada, the better. Then Huck Harrigan came along to challenge her thinking and soften her iron will. Could she really find happiness in this raw, new town with a "pig iron" Irishman from across the bay?
This situation got me to thinking. In looking back on my life, I realized that I have been completely blessed. Every physical move I have made has been one that I desired, one that would be better, one that would bring blessings in abundance to me and my family. Wow! Isn’t God good?
On the other hand, as a writer and publisher, I have had to make many moves into new experiences that I feared and dreaded. I started writing in 1982 and publishing in 1989. The changes in writing and publishing have often been overwhelming.
In 1988, after my first three romances had been published by big Christian publishers, the inspirational romance market died. If I was going to continue writing, I had to also publish. My husband and I started our Great Lakes Romances® Series and took all the risks. That was so frightening to me that for a month, I froze in panic, wondering if we would ever be able to recover our investment. God blessed us, and we’re still moving forward with new releases.
After several years of traditional publishing (negatives, plates, and sizeable print runs), the digital age arrived. My book printer wanted digital cover and text files. I needed to learn how to operate a new computer system and many new software programs. I invested time and money in equipment, software, and classes on how to use them. God blessed us and we moved into the digital age.
My newest challenge has been the arrival of the ebook generation. This fall, my husband gave me a Kindle and I discovered that I love reading books on this device. That was just the motivation I needed to tackle the latest publishing move: convert my stories into ebook format to reach more readers than ever. I had to learn how to turn my books into files that a conversion company could transform into Kindle and epub formats. I have successfully moved into the ebook era with the first of my conversions, and I want you to help me celebrate!
I would like to give away a copy of Fayette—A Time to Love in your choice of formats: paperback, Kindle, or epub. To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment telling me about a challenging move you have made in your life, either physical, technical, or in some other way that you define. Please include your email address in your comment, along with the book format you would prefer to receive if you win. The drawing will take place on Saturday morning.
Additional links for Donna Winters and Fayette—A Time to Love
Visit Donna’s website here: http://www.greatlakesromances.comVisit Donna’s blog here: http://greatlakesromances.blogspot.comSearch for Donna on Facebook by entering her email address in the “search for friends by email” search box: bigwaterpub [at] gmail [dot] com
Find an excerpt of Fayette—A Time to Love here:
http://www.greatlakesromances.com/Fayette%20Love%20Excerpt.htmlFind the Amazon paperback here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0923048898/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262868115&sr=1-1&condition=newFind the Kindle version here:
http://www.amazon.com/Fayette-Great-Lakes-Romances-ebook/dp/B004IK8I1Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1295444722&sr=1-2Find the epub file at Barnes & Noble here:
