Delays

I am finding out that the worst part about writing a book are the delays in publication. You proofread it yourself many times, you have your spouse and close friends read it, and then it goes to a professional and still there are errors. Finally it is ready to submit for publication.  But to be safe you decide to order a proof copy, just to be sure. One that you can inspect closely and handle and feel the cover.
Yes, that is the stage I am at right now.  And it's a good thing I ordered a paperback copy to hold in my hands and look over.  I found several glitches that need to be changed.  Just minor things, like the fact that the Table of Contents page numbers don't line up, and the dedication page is missing.  Oh, and the worst of all is that for some odd reason each new conversation does not begin on a new line but runs on to the next person speaking in one long paragraph.  And that is throughout the whole book!  I'm very tense right now, but I will get through this.  I will get through this.  I will get through this.

A Taste of Chapter One

Here's a little something to tempt you with.
 It's a paragraph from Chapter One of The Tangled Roots of Bent Pine Lodge:



The Tangled Roots of Bent Pine Lodge
by Jane O’Brien

A guiltie conscience is a worme that never ceaseth.
Nicholas Ling
Politeuphuia, 1597

Kate – 2014

Chapter One


The gravel crunched under my tires as I turned onto the long drive through the woods that would take me to my parents’ cottage.  My car dipped and bobbed in the grooves made by the snow melt and runoff of the spring rains.  The two-track should be grated and then smoothed out to a hard, dirt surface.   It's one of many things I would have to take care of now that I had become the owner of the cottage in the woods.
I had forgotten what a long drive it was to get to the house.  I have not been here in several years.  The thick oak and white pine forest formed a canopy overhead, creating a tunnel effect.  The sun was blocked out completely, but I  was familiar with the setting and felt very comfortable here.  I knew what awaited me at the end of the quarter-mile stretch.  And there it was, coming into view as I rounded the last curve.  The sun was shining a welcoming ray, a beam that looked like it was meant just for this house, and this house only.  It illuminated the opening around the large log cabin.  It almost seemed as if a magical chord from the heavens should sound.  For this was no ordinary log cabin.  It was a work of art, created by my great-grandfather in the 1930s.  It was built to last, and last it had, providing a sturdy home for my great-grandparents and my grandparents, as well, to raise their children in, and then later, when all the children were grown with families of their own, it was used as a family cottage for all to share until the day my parents retired and moved here permanently.  They had not intended to be the sole owners, but as they liked to say, life happens.

I Finally Did It! My New Book!

Well, it took a little longer than I first expected when I last wrote in July.  But good things come to those who wait.  My first book has now been published on Amazon.com.

The Tangled Roots of Bent Pine Lodge is the first in the White Pine Trilogy.  Each book is a separate story, set in Western Michigan, but they all connect to each other through characters who show up unexpectedly from the previous book, so although it is not necessary to read them in order, it is by far more enjoyable.
Once again, here is the synopsis of my first book:

Kate Lemanski's world has been shattered with one family problem after another.  When she inherits her family's log home in West Michigan, she returns to the river property to make a new start and to put the pieces of her life back together. 

As soon as she meets the handsome stranger who lives through the woods, Kate immediately feels a connection, but is unsure of what it is.  Living alone in the woods along a river presents some challenges, but it isn't long before she settles in and begins to feel like herself again.  When she starts to dig into her family tree, a long-time hobby,  she discovers some new and unsettling facts.  But what does it all mean for her and her new found relationship with the man next door?

I hope you enjoy meeting Kate and others who are in her life.  I fell in love with her as I was writing, and she seems very real to me.  I actually gave her a complete genealogy family tree.  Please leave feedback at Amazon after reading it.  Thank you so much.  Jane