My Books

I'm currently working on my second novel, which remains untitled for now. It's very much in the research and development phase as of early 2014, but I did write a blurb for it:

Two souls chase each other through time and space in a love story that spans entire continents and eras. A Greek god falls in love with a mortal youth; a born-again preacher falls under the spell of a brilliant yet icy scientist; a young tribal leader risks everything for the sake of a wild nomadic shaman. These stories intertwine with many others to form a complex tapestry that explores the intersection of faith and love, and the very human fear of making leaps in both.


My first novel is called Cloudland, and Other Stories. However, apparently some enterprising soul (damn you, Joseph Olshan!) already has a book published under the title Cloudland, so I have a feeling that might not stick. I worked with an editor to create an actual, readable, submit-able draft for future publication somewhere, sometime, somehow, and am in the process of querying agents. Stay tuned.

Here's what Cloudland is about:
Six-year-old Jake knows his mom isn't dead. After her car tumbled off a bridge during a freak autumn storm, his father said she was gone, but there’s no body. So when a mysterious, arrogant Voice magically appears in Jake’s head, and tells him It’s there to help him, Jake knows it’s up to him to find his mother and bring her home. 
Jake knows where his mom has gone. She’s in Cloudland, in the stories she tells him about before bed. He just isn’t sure how to get there. It’s only when he meets Sara that he and the Voice understand how he’s going to get to the Stories: Sara is going to help them.
Sara, however, has enough problems of her own. Her first job as a school social worker is interrupted by her father’s sudden death. She can barely manage to get to work, much less help a grieving child with a heartbreaking story that’s far too similar to her own. But everything in Sara’s life is pushing her towards Jake, and when she finally agrees to work with him, the session is beyond anything she could have expected. The Voice transports them both into the sky, to a strange, wild land made of clouds and stories. Together, Jake and Sara undertake a heart-wrenching and ultimately healing quest to find their lost parents.

2 comments:

  1. Liz,

    I am writing a novel, too! Have you considered self publishing online through kindle and other e-readers? You get 70% of each book sold, as opposed to some change. Of course, you have to do all of your own promotion, but sometimes publishing houses are bad at promoting the little guys anyway. Just thought I would throw it out there.

    Constructive criticism on the blurb: I love it! But only starting at the second paragraph. The last three paragraphs are very compelling and give me the chills, but the first one doesn't draw me in at all. If I were a publisher, I would never make it to the second paragraph. It could be that Jake's story is inherently more compelling to me in that it is unusual and heart breaking. The second paragraph feels like a great lead in. Since you only have one or two sentences to make an impression, these are the two I would go with. It's got tragedy, mystery, and beautiful writing. Obviously the last two paragraphs would have to be reworked to include who Sara is, but maybe in a more succinct way.

    Miss you! Good luck! love, melissa

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    1. Sorry for the very belated response!!! Thank you, thank you for the critique. My hesitation with starting with Jake is that it makes the book sound like a Young Adult novel (that's one common response I've gotten), but if it's more compelling, maybe that's more important.

      As for self-publishing, I haven't ruled anything out yet :) Good luck with your writing - keep me posted!!!! I'd be glad to be one of your readers!

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