I’ve published my first short story via Kindle Direct! Experiencing a jumping-off-the-high-dive sensation over here!
When I finished writing my novel BROKEN GROUND (due out May 3rd!), I found myself missing some of the characters, and wondering about the before-and-after of their lives. In particular, I missed Thomas. He’s not the central figure in BROKEN GROUND (her name is Ruth Warren), but he came to the story with a complex personal history that I wanted to explore more deeply.
So I wrote the short story and prequel, GOOD HARVEST.
Like BROKEN GROUND, the writing of this (longish) short story entailed research which took me to surprising places. I learned about the earliest court cases concerning school desegregation, which occurred in the southwest and California in the 1930s. In particular, I learned about the city of Lemon Grove, and members of the Mexican community there, who as immigrants used the public system of justice to test their children’s rights as U.S. citizens. I decided to set my short story in that town, just prior to what is not known as the Lemon Grove Incident.
Greg Halvorsen Schreck (a photographer who happens to be my husband), and Jeremy Botts (a graphic designer who happens to be my friend) generously worked up the cover, which I love.
And now you can preorder GOOD HARVEST (and BROKEN GROUND) on Amazon for .99 cents! That’s right, folks! 99 pennies! (I’m afraid I sound like the voiceover for a commercial for Japanese steak knives. But when I thought about offering the short story for free, people with more experience said, “No. Don’t do that. Not a good idea.” So I gulped and chose the smallest cost possible.)
GOOD HARVEST releases this coming Friday, on February 19th! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it if you are able to give it a read!
And for those of you who are avid readers of self-published fiction, I’d love to hear how you’ve gone about expanding your digital libraries. What do you like about self-published work? What draws you to this work or that?
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