The White House

Is now available via Kindle and Smashwords. Legend has it that Blackbeard frequented an inn in Beaufort, North Carolina that was called The White House. This story is based on one fateful visit that the town still talks about today. Annie Simpson is a Scottish lass on her way to the colonies as an indentured servant until her ship is attacked by Blackbeard's crew. Israel Hands is Blackbeard's second in command who is questioning his commitment to pirate life. Lizzie Poole is a lonely innkeeper's daughter who longs for a secure home all her own. As their worlds collide they explore the timeless dynamics of power in personal and professional relationships.

The first story of the Of Sound and Sea short stories is now available in ebook form through Smashwords and Kindle.

Great historical fiction for less than a cup of coffee.

I'm super excited about this and will likely post more about the legends that inspired the story in the near future.

Busy busy busy

What a week, and it's only Thursday afternoon.  There is some very exciting stuff going on in the Stoddard house. First of all I'm happy to report that our 2nd grader made the Honor Roll for his very first report card of the school year. This is an awesome development. We've always known our boy was crazy smart, but he's also "gifted" with ADHD and doesn't adjust well to change, so back to school is usually a tough transition. That he has done this well is fantastic.

I have been hard at work getting the website off and running, but have also been working on the third of my short stories about the Manney-French love affair.  Formatting "The White House" for ebook release and making a cover for it. I'm still working on the cover as I'm not 100% sold on the font. Still, I would love to have that out in the next week or two.

Also, I'm lining up a gig as an ebook reviewer at Read All Over Reviews. Pretty excited about this. I'm always excited to interact with other avid readers. As a result, I'm also adding a blogroll to the bar on the right linking there and some other places that I find helpful.

I promise a more in depth post when there is more to say, but things are moving.

M

Of Sound and Sea gets a cover

...and I learn some new skills.

Since you will discover that I am very cheap, and I already use GIMP for editing pics for my etsy store, I decided to get into using layers and text to make my own book cover. Yes, I'm still writing the book and only have a handful of short stories for it right now. However, I have picked the title and I super love it. Plus it's a great motivator to be able to get a picture of what I want the finished book to look like. So there it is. Feel free to let me know what you think, and any tips you might have for making book covers, as this is my first attempt and I expect to make more in the future.

If you're interested in making book covers too, here is the tutorial that I used: How to create an ebook cover with GIMP

I do have one confession to make. The photo I used is not of the sound or the sea. It is in fact the Potomac. I couldn't get down to the NC coast to take a picture, but I took this one at Westmoreland State Park here in VA and the driftwood and water seemed to invoke the sound so I'm using it.