I’ll get right to the point. My Detective Cancini Mystery series has been picked up by Witness Impulse, an imprint of Harper Collins. It’s been in the works for a few months, but until now, I haven’t been ready to make the announcement. (I don’t really know what I was waiting for, but now feels right). Time to celebrate!!!!
So the big question is – what does that mean? First, it means that the current versions of A GUILTY MIND and STAY OF EXECUTION currently on Amazon and other sites will no longer be available (a few more days is all). Both are currently getting makeovers including edits, new covers, and a new author name – K.L. Murphy. This part is bittersweet for me. While I’m quite sure the new covers will be wonderful and will better establish this series and “brand”, I loved the work my cover artist at Crittenden Studios created.
On the other hand, I’m thrilled to be writing as K.L. Murphy, a name I seriously considered right from the beginning. This is another aspect of my new adventure that feels right for me.
The journey itself has already been great fun. My editor has been wonderful to work with and I’m confident the revisions will do justice to Cancini and his stories. While it’s challenging to juggle structural edits and line edits and the draft for the third novel simultaneously, I’m loving it.
I self-published A GUILTY MIND in 2012 for many reasons. One of the most important was based on the idea that a protagonist who is not obviously empathetic and straddles morally gray areas might not be easy to sell. This analysis by an agent I respect made sense at the time, however, the market and the publishing industry have changed. I also had a great support network of friends and family encouraging me to share the book. It was the right decision at the time.
Witness Impulse is a digital first imprint that focuses on mysteries and thrillers. They already have a solid reputation and work hard to help their authors find readers and that, for me, is why I’m thrilled to be a part of Witness. As an author, my goal is to reach readers and while I’ve been fortunate to find many readers on my own, I’m happy to have the opportunity to grow as a writer and introduce Detective Cancini to a wider audience.
Although this journey is still in the early stages, I couldn’t be more excited. The revised versions of the first two books in the series are scheduled for publication in March and May of next year. The third in the series will be published in early 2017. All I can say is, I can’t wait!
Hey, Kellie! I just saw your December announcement and wanted to offer up a great, big congrats. Best of luck on the republish and the new book. If you need reviewers, you know who to call. 🙂
Thanks, D.A. It is a lot of fun. The publisher has shifted the new dates to June to market as “summer reads”. I like the idea and hope readers will respond. Thanks for the comment and I will definitely let you know. Hope all is well for you!