Posts pertaining to the scientific murder-mystery, “The Winship Affair”
Here’s another blurb from the back cover of The Winship Affair:
A grisly murder under the dark moonless sky and a mysterious package in the mail set the perfect stage for intrigue in this sophisticated nail-biting page turner. […] With style, wit, and a robust cast of fascinating characters, The Winship Affair keeps readers in their seat right up until the last page.
-Robin Stratton, Boston Literary Magazine
I queried my publisher today regarding availability of the novel in e-book format. Here is their reply, “the e-book has been uploaded to Amazon’s Kindle library…it should appear there sometime today or early tomorrow…it does take them a few more days to get it linked up with the printed copy as well. Or, rather, it has in the past at any rate…”
Here’s one of the blurbs for the novel that will grace the back cover. William McKeen, a successful Boston area writer (“Outlaw Journalist” and “Mile Marker Zero”) and Chairman of the Boston University Journalism Department writes:
This is one of those books that you pick up and when you blink you realize you’d just read 60 pages. It’s written with the economy of James M. Cain and the quiet grace of Robert B. Parker. You’ll fall in love with the heroine, Carrie Bloomfield. This is a stunningly good tale.
The publication of my novel “The Winship Affair” is getting closer by the day. Yesterday, my publisher, Blue Mustang Press, wrote back, “We are in the last couple of weeks…this should be go quite quickly now.” I hope so. It’s been a long road. I finished the first draft of the novel at the end of November, 2011. I submitted it to the publisher in January, 2012, and it was accepted in July, 2012. (Patience, Grasshopper!)
Here’s the teaser that will probably find its way onto the back cover:
“Life is about to become much more interesting for Carrie Bloomfield, an eccentric, but brilliant, multidisciplinary scientist living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When a mysterious package from a deceased scientist turns up on her doorstep, she soon discovers that its secrets could lead to technologies that might revolutionize the world’s energy supply. But it seems that a shadowy multinational corporation knows about the materials, too. They’re determined to have the discoveries for themselves. And they’re not about to allow the law, ethics, or especially, a quirky scientist to stand in their way.”
After almost a year and a half, the book feels very real. I received the galley proofs yesterday, and finished a final read through. I spotted only a handful of corrections that need to be made. Seeing it laid out in book format makes all the difference in the world! Next milestone: awaiting word from the publisher about the cover art design.
Finally! After months of sitting on pins and needles, I received word this morning from my publisher:
I did want to let you know that we’ve reviewed “The Winship Affair” and feel it would be a nice addition to the Blue Mustang Press family. We’ll be emailing you a contract in a few days.”
Yes! My first full length fictional novel, which I began writing for the 2011 National Novel Writing Month project, is slated to appear in print and e-book format in the first half of 2013. Here is a brief synopsis:
“Life is about to become interesting for Carrie Bloomfield, an eccentric, but brilliant multidisciplinary scientist living in Cambridge, MA. When a mysterious package from a murdered scientist turns up on her doorstep, she soon realizes that its secrets could lead to technologies that will revolutionize the world’s energy supply. But a shadowy, multinational corporation knows about the materials, too. They’re determined to have it for themselves. And they’re not about to allow the law, ethics — or especially, a quirky scientist — stand in their way.”
First week of “literary abandon” in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is now under my belt, and it’s going better than I thought. Until now, I’ve written only uber short-short and flash fiction stories. Writing a full-length novel will a formidable challenge. I’m getting a lot of help for the scientific dialogue from my better half, Ariel. Currently, my word count stands at 10,958. I have until Nov. 30. to reach 50,000 words.
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