Madison Street Publishing, my new publisher for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM, just posted a press release for the publication of the book!
You can read the press release here: http://madisonstreetpublishing.com/2013/01/31/new-msp-author-scott-d-southard/
The book should be out in April!
Hi readers!
After a few lousy days and the painful experience of watching the eBook disappear for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM (with the old and troubled print version shortly to follow), I can triumphantly declare that a new publisher has emerged for the book!
I can’t say too much more at this time since the contracts still are being signed, but after another quick edit and preparation work the book should emerge back on the market better than ever.
I am happily overwhelmed with this development and I look forward to sharing this new release with you in two to three months.
Thank you for reading!
An interesting new review for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM has appeared on The Jane Austen Centre.
In many ways it is “real-time” review (here) as a very well-read Austenite goes through the book almost chapter by chapter (she even calls me cheeky!). A lot of the clash of history versus fiction in the book is discussed and for her as an Austenite it was a little distracting seeing the very intentional differences (which to me is understandable, since I’m dipping into new fictional territory here, re-imagining a life as something very new), but the end says it is a “a classic read with a humourous touch, well done!”
Please be aware! There are a A LOT OF SPOILERS in the review, including the big twist in the book.
–So read this at your own warning!–
You can learn more about the book, read interviews and excerpts, and find links where to get it via the A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM page here.
I wrote my first collection of short stories at age 16. I have always loved writing. My mom still tells the tale about how on a car ride home at age 6 I made up an entire story (it involved a ghost watching his grieving wife, I believe) that she felt she had to write down when she immediately got home. For good, and many, many times bad, there was little else I saw myself doing with my life.
And when I was young and new to the field, I had hundreds of questions. For example, there was the time I met this professor at my undergrad college at orientation; well, he was a published writer (I read some of his books before going), and I pretty much stalked him, asking him question after question that afternoon. Embarrassingly, I believe I might’ve followed him all the way back to his office.
Recently, I got a comment on my site from someone calling herself a newbie novelist, and through the comment she asked me a series of questions regarding how to break through and what to do, reminding me of myself when I met that professor. But this time I was the professor, expecting to have the answers, the secrets to the castle, the path to Oz.
The fact is today, if I was that professor, I would’ve taken a different approach. While agents and publishers and the debate over publishing vs. self-publishing are all important, some other things get missed in the excitement around the idea of just finishing a book. Below are the six pieces of advice I would give to any new writer first. (more…)
A new review is online for my novel A Jane Austen Daydream. This time done by the Capital Area District Library in Michigan.
You can read the review here: http://www.cadl.org/books-movies/recrev/2013/southardjane.html/
And if you are interested in learning more, checking out interviews and excerpts, and finding out where to buy it in print ($9.99) and eBook ($4.99), please visit my A Jane Austen Daydream page here.
I have always been allergic to cats, which means my relationship to them has been one of avoidance for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, most cats do not know our little “arrangement,” and seem to seek me out, enjoying the little sufferings that they cause me as I sniffle and cough at their mere presence.
Each time this occurs, the cat owner will laugh and tell me how cats always seek out the one with allergies, the one showing them the least interest. They always seem amused by this idea; me, I have always have seen it as something more sinister. Yes, I might giggle out loud but inside I am preparing for the possibility of feline confrontation.
Okay, let me clarify, I don’t think cats want my downfall, nothing like that; I simply think cats know they have some power over me and relish in it.
Finally, able to put a human in its place—that has to be the thought—as they rub against my legs, crawl up on my lap, or rub against my arm. Leaving their fur everywhere they can, knowing that I will have to wash everything when I get home.
Little bits and pieces of torture with fur. (more…)
Hey, do you have a Kindle? Do you enjoy this blog? Why not combine the two? It worked for peanut butter and chocolate!
Okay, I have really got to work on my salesman routine. But what I am trying to say is that it is now possible to subscribe to this blog via amazon.com for your Kindle!
Click here to visit the amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AYHC5WU
If you subscribe, every time I have a new post up, your subscription on your Kindle will immediately update as well. In other words, you will be able to read my posts (editorials, reviews, etc.), my fiction (Permanent Spring Showers), and everything else on my site on your kindle whenever you want! No longer will you have to experience my site and writing on your computer screen… You can use a smaller Kindle screen! heeheehee…
I hope you will consider subscribing for this service. And thank you for supporting (and reading) my site.
Cheers!
There are two new reader reviews for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM up on amazon. Both gave the book five stars! Here are some excerpts:
…With wry humor, wit, and poignant sensitivity, Scott D. Southard has created characters that are so real that they seem to have only a tenuous hold on their fictitious world. When Jane walks, the reader walks. When Jane finds, loses, and finds love again, the reader will find herself warning, comforting, and cheering this character on.
Southard’s novel is well written and full of witty characters…. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Jane would have too.
I hope you will consider checking out my new book. You can find it in print and eBook here:
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B00AILCDJCAnd remember- a new chapter of Permanent Spring Showers will be up tomorrow!
Happy 2013, my loyal and wonderful readers!
Have you enjoyed my editorials on this site and my original fiction here, Permanent Spring Showers and Upon the Ground? As you plan your reading in 2013, why not check out one of my three available books? Below are their descriptions and some links on where you can find them. I hope you will consider checking them out (and did I mention how wonderfully affordable they all are as well?).
My Problem With Doors
Jacob’s life changed in a single moment when, as a toddler, he walked through his bedroom door only to find himself in the office of a British officer in Capetown, 1870. This would begin a thirty-year journey which would take him from ancient to future civilizations, and innumerable places and times in between. Through all of his travels, Jacob seeks for the purpose of his predicament while meeting pirates, poets, loves, and even Jack the Ripper.
My Problem With Doors is available as a paperback (on amazon here), an eBook (on Google Play here) and even as a downloadable audiobook (here).
Megan
Megan Wane is caught in a life of dull dreariness. She goes to work in a dead end job with a boss she can’t stand, and comes home to a silent apartment with only a standoffish cat for company. She can only get away through her imagination. And there, in her thoughts, there exists a fairy-tale kingdom with wizards and dragons. A place called Prosperity, where she is both a princess and a hero. On this day, both Megan’s external reality and her interior world will suffer tragedy that will turn her life upside down and shake her to the foundation. Can Megan turn disaster into deliverance?
Megan is available as a paperback (on amazon here), an eBook (on Google Play here) and even as a downloadable audiobook (here).
A Jane Austen Daydream
Jane Austen thought she knew everything about love, but was there something she wasn’t telling us? A self-confessed dreamer, gossip, and matchmaker, Jane emerges from a prophetic meeting with gypsies and sets out to discover her soul mate. As Jane writes through the twists and turns of her turbulent romances, Southard ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years – did she ever find love? What would the story of that love be like if Jane could write it? Binding fact with fiction, courting brace new literary twists, and written in the style of Jane Austen herself, A Jane Austen Daydream is the tale of Jane’s life as a novel. It contemplates the eventual fate of Jane’s heart, and uses her own stories to fill the gaps that history left to the imagination.
A Jane Austen Daydream is available on all major sites in print and eBook including amazon.com (here).
…and thanks for all of your support of my writing over the last year!
The first reader review for my novel A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM is on amazon! I couldn’t be more thrilled.
I’ve yet to find an author who is as adept as Mr. Southard at imitating voice. Reading this was like reading Jane Austen – and I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. I think she’d be pleased, too.
This story weaves fact and fiction effortlessly. I love the pace, the form and obvious admiration the author has for the subject. This is not your typical book, yet it’s eclectic nature is its draw. I can’t say more without a spoiler. Sometimes we just need a happy ending.
I highly recommend this book to Austen fans.
The print and eBook version are both available on amazon right now. You can find them here via my author page: http://www.amazon.com/Scott-D.-Southard/e/B002EDX5VC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
The Stories of Scott D. Southard 