I’ve reported forks in the road during my Travels quite a
few times now, and I encountered another one this last week. It’s either a bump
or a fork—too soon to tell.
On the surface, it doesn’t look like a good thing, but it
may turn out well. One of my publishers, Barking Rain Press, has gone belly up.
This has happened to a lot of my writing friends, but never before to me. Yes,
Berkley Prime Crime is out of business, but the whole publisher isn’t gone,
just that branch—the branch that published me (as Janet Cantrell), of course.
This time, though, it’s like those other closings where the
writers are left dazed and bewildered. Okay, dazed and confused—might as well
say it. There are some authors with BRP who published their first books there.
Some who had one in the pipeline and have been waiting for the release through
weeks of delay. Some are heartbroken and at least one has vowed to give up
mystery writing.
This closing leaves a lot of debris in the road for most of
us. I’m trying to pick up the pieces the best way I can. The books that are
orphaned are my Cressa Carraway Musical Mysteries, EINE KLEINE MURDER and
REQUIEM IN RED.
I’m seeing this as an opportunity for a fresh start for
these books. I’ve been delaying the third in this intended trilogy (at least),
so this is a chance to get some things straightened out and move forward with
Cressa. I would like to possibly use the titles I proposed originally, and new
covers should brighten up the books. If my agent succeeds in getting a
publisher for them, I’ll look forward to fresh edits, too. Heck, I’ll look
forward to all of those things, even if I self-publish them. And this is the
spur I need to get that third book written.
It could turn out okay for me. I sincerely hope it turns out
at least okay for many of my fellow BRP orphans.
all photos from morguefile.com
