JUST FOR FUN: Pix of Me from 17 to 65

                                         In this siblings photo, can you tell which one is me?
                                                                (Hint: Black blazer)

WATCH FOR IT! Paperback versions coming soon!

Widow's Web: A Jim Cavanaugh Saga will be available on Amazon in paperback version in January. I'm preparing Mysterious Castle for paperback at this time. Hopefully it will be available later in January. One at a time, I hope to have the other three readied to have all on Amazon as paperbacks. My goal is February. I hope to branch out to Barnes and Noble and other outlets sometime in 2015. Happy New Year!

I'm having trouble finding time to write. Corporate Snare, another Jim Cavanaugh Saga, is underway but temporarily being neglected. 'Tis the holiday season. Happy Holidays one and all. We'll have a Merry Christmas at our home.

To think, I would have been at this stage two years ago, except for the editting of Widow's Web, if I hadn't heeded the advice of others to take the traditional route. Three would have been on the market for three years already. Bah Humbug. ;)  Wasted time. It's not easy for newbies to get noticed. Manuscripts were returned within minutes of receipt, literally back to the post office in less than half an hour per tracking info. I picture someone opening the packages at a post office table and sending back the ones that had SASE* supplies within, dumping everything into a blue shredding bin, and leaving with a manageable handful after sending the rejects back.
* Self-addressed Stamped Envelope

UPDATE 1/13/15:  I have all five novels in hand to proof. This proofing step is simply to review the bound copy and cover for format and a readthrough for any overlooked typos. Since thorough review and reading is necessary, it will by no means be an overnight accomplishment. I can only do one at a time. The first one I decided to tackle is the smallest. I have found a few adjustments to be made with hyphenation and a couple of corrections (such as a comma that slipped through as a period and a missing letter). I'm getting close to completing the final readthrough on Mysterious Castle, and then off to the longest, Widow's Web, saving the three middle ones for last. Maybe I should flip a coin to decide the order for Dreams & Secrets, Magnetic Attraction, and Turnabout in Fair Play.

FOR SEVEN DAYS ONLY: December 2 through December 8 (midnight)

Mysterious Castle ebook is only 99 cents on Amazon.com, a Kindle Countdown Deal for only seven days. A great gift item!

December 2 - December 9, 2014 ONLY

Kindle Countdown Deal
Mysterious Castle on sale for only 99 cents ($0.99)

Widow's Web -- A Jim Cavanaugh Saga

Just released as ebook exclusively on Amazon (Kindle) for $9.99: Widow's Web

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=DuannaLee+Petersen-Griffin&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3ADuannaLee+Petersen-Griffin

PRICE REDUCTION

Turnabout in Fair Play is now $0.99 (ninety-nine cents) [11/17/2014]. Take advantage of this temporary price reduction.
**  Magnetic Attraction is now $0.99 (ninety-nine cents). **
**  For Kindle Unlimited members: Mysterious Castle is FREE ($0.00). **
Readers, please rate the books. It helps other readers choose. I hope you like them!

Four E-Books on Amazon

I have four ebooks on Amazon now:
Dreams & Secrets
Magnetic Attraction
Turnabout in Fair Play
Mysterious Castle

Search under my name as DuannaLee Petersen-Griffin to get directly to them.

Two More E-Published with Amazon

That makes three novels published as ebooks on Amazon within 24 hours. So far three have sold, as of yesterday morning. It is interesting that the one I got the publishing offer on is the one that hasn't sold yet. (I rejected the offer.) Check them out on my website: duannalee.wix.com/petersen-griffin -- The Buy It Now buttons connect you to Amazon.

On Amazon, if you search for my whole name they show up, otherwise they get lost in the shuffle from the search. DuannaLee Petersen-Griffin lists my books first! (Petersen-Griffin pulls up Petersens and Griffins, even though that is the name it should recognizefor me. Duanna first pulls up a lot of other authors named Duanna.)

First Book Published

My first novel written was e-published tonight on Amazon: Dreams & Secrets. My previewing readership feedback left me in a quandary. A couple stopped reading early on, well trained by tradition. As soon as the couple married the story ended, ha! Not so. So I split it into 5 sections. None of my other novels follow that pattern. Dreams & Secrets came to me like a freight train one evening and wouldn't let me rest until it was finished two weeks later. Then I tweaked it for two weeks. I had burned the candle at both ends, so needed to rest up for a month. After that, I responded to critiques while I busily wrote other novels.

Check out my website: duannalee.wix.com/petersen-griffin
It's still very new to me, but I hope it is easy to access for y'all.

Self-Publishing with Amazon

I've been busy! After turning down a publishing contract that was totally unacceptable, I decided to epub. I have been working on that, with delays by a broken foot/ankle and severe allergies, I'm finally there. I hope to have my frst three novels available through Amazon in September. Yes, this month! I'll keep you posted.

Glitches

I just sent out manuscripts to a publisher, right? I was bored yesterday so began a re-read of the longest one. I discovered typos that had been corrected more than once. Argh! Shot in the foot?

I hate imperfections, especially in something so important. What's going on? I can't trust an editted document to remain editted? I decided to check my computer to see if there was anything I could do to reduce the chances of this problem's recurrence. Why do my longer documents get scrambled with older versions whenever the packets reassemble? There must be a solution somewhere. First, I checked the most obvious cause. Ah, I have my PC set for weekly defragmentization, every Thursday at 3:00pm, but the last one done was May 9th! Eight months ago?! I set a defrag into motion. It took quite awhile. I hope this reduces the problems in the future. Now, I hope it is permanently fixed. I cringe at the thought of the reaction to the flaws by this publisher. I'm cleaning the document up, again.

January 23, 2014: Resubmitted Mysterious Castle, finally. I found that my documents formatting was changed when emailed. Thank goodness I sent it to myself first to test it. So I had to find out a solution to that problem and fix the entire document, then retest it. Now I'll need to do the same with the other novels before I can resubmit them.

January 27, 2014: Resubmitted Fair Play.

February 1, 2014: Half through with Magnetic Attraction. Needing  a break. I've decided to read for awhile, estimating 2-3 day break.

February 7, 2014: Resubmitted Magnetic Attraction.

March 2, 2014: Received a contract to publish Magnetic Attraction. Must decline. I turns out it's a vanity press that also wants royalties paid to them for seven-plus years. Sure, they'll distribute the books. . .solely at my expense. Thanks, but no way. That cinches it. I'll epub.

April 20, 2014: Working on the cover art and epub requirements, for all my completed books. I'd rather be writing.

September 16-17, 2014: Placed my first three novels onto Amazon.com as ebooks. I had 3 sales within a few hours, but not one of each (2 Dreams & Secrets, 1 Turnabout in Fair Play).

October 1, 2014: Placed Mysterious Castle onto Amazon.com as ebook.

November 1, 2014:  Only one more sale in October, Turnabout in Fair Play. Reduced price of Magnetic Attraction to 99 cents. Changed Mysterious Castle to Kindle Select which offers it free to Kindle Unlimited members. Scheduled a promo for Mysterious Castle for first week of December, available to anyone on Amazon for 99 cents.

Hello 2014!

It's a new year, a new page in my book of life.

As I grow older, I reflect on the past more. Besides remembering the good things, I ask myself "What have I learned?" Those who know me best know that I am deeply religious. Yes, I believe in God. I am a Christian. Many people now'days have a problem with that, for these are the Last Days, being brainwashed against a Creator when it is so logical and obvious. What those-who-don't-believe don't know is that some of us actually KNOW, more than hope or trust. We've had proof given to us in our lives in a personal way. It is undeniable. Make your excuses as to why I'm wrong or foolish, but in the end we all shall know the truth for death will be the educator. When our body rots in the earth or turns to ash, our spirit/soul with our mind's knowledge and memories continue on. Enough said on that for now. I won't force my opinions on anyone, and I expect the same respect in return. It's our freedom of choice.

As I grow older, my family circle shrinks even though the family itself grows larger. It's difficult to stay connected. My immediate family is changing and my siblings are disconnected. It's also dwindling as the older ones die off (a fact of life), hopefully from old age (but never count on it). I'm turning 65 in a couple of months. I was married for almost 1/3 of my life, flying solo the rest. . .but not by preference. I'd rather not be. I didn't plan on that, but let's face it, I'm not very trusting and either too picky or undesirable -- probably a combination of all three. I'm still dealing with resentment issues regarding the marriage dissolution and broken family. One never truly heals. It was detrimental to the children, but how can a mother undo that pain and confusion? I've tried, but the damage was done.

As I grow older, I have relaxed my expectations and my perfectionism. I've tried to anyway. It was a stress issue. Die of a heart attack or learn to chill out. Chilling here.