Train-Wrecked Hearts, Book One in my Norfolk Southern Series, is my fifteenth novel to be published. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll notice this release comes with little fanfare, and I must admit, a lot less stress.
No “Countdown to Release” posts seven days before the big day. No seven articles after the release day. No hosting a release party on the publisher’s Facebook page with hourly posts and giveaways.
Hours and hours of research and writing that took me away from doing what I love best about being an author—creating stories God puts on my heart. I understand the wisdom behind release posts. Keep the reader engaged.
The only problem? There was no fruit from all that work unless you count me being exhausted, disgruntled, and resentful toward my publisher. Anything I might have earned with one book (and believe me, it isn’t much) was spent producing the next. And I had no control.
Long before I walked away from my publisher at the Lord’s urging, Chris (my husband) suggested I go indie for various reasons, and the above-mentioned is just one.
Years ago, when I was contracted with the Steve Laube Literary Agency, I kept hearing the Lord whisper to my spirit, “Let me be your agent.” After six months of praying and waiting for confirmation, I obeyed.
Months after Chris first suggested I go indie, I again heard the Lord whispering to my spirit. But this time, he kept saying, “Let me be your publisher.” He used my husband to prepare my heart for the big, scary step.
So, here we are, release day for my first indie novel! For the next couple of weeks, I will continue to offer the ebook version of Train-Wrecked Hearts for the preorder price of only $2.99. Or if you go to this original post on my website (www.JenniferSienes.com) and comment, you will be entered for a drawing to win the ebook version.
You might be wondering what’s next. Sign up for my newsletter, receive a gift (The Road Less Traveled, a short prequel to Night Songs), and find out. As a bonus, whenever I change my lead magnet (the gift for signing up), my current newsletter subscribers receive that, as well.
Need a little enticement? Here is the Train-Wrecked Hearts back cover copy:
Sarah Beth McAllister returns home to Rossville, Georgia broken and wiser after being estranged from her mama for eight years. She’ll surely have to eat a little humble pie to get back into Mama’s good graces, especially since all she has to offer is her four-year-old daughter and a boatload of guilt.
Maybe if Sarah Beth had taken to heart Mama’s lifelong lament on the evils of men, she wouldn’t be in such a fix. Like mother, like daughter.
But a lot can change in eight years. Mama’s taken to bed, the family-owned motel where she was raised is crumbling around her, and a stranger seems to be her only lifeline.
The railroad is in Aaron Cooper’s blood. It should be since he’s the fourth generation to make a career of it. But times are changing, and a smart man will make whatever shift necessary to keep up. Like buying the rundown motel next door—or rather the land it sits on—to build a spec home. Fix ’em and flip ’em.
The only problem is, Georgina Pickett is as prickly as a porcupine and doesn’t much like him, even though he’s keeping her in groceries. It doesn’t appear she has anyone else in her life, which might could be why she’s so cantankerous. It’s his Christian duty—even if he has an ulterior motive.
But Aaron doesn’t take into account Sarah Beth McAllister. When she arrives on the scene with a precocious little girl, a high-maintenance puppy, and a mystery to solve, she starts to chip away at the wall he’d built around his heart.
