Not Waving, Drowning earns a Kirkus Review!

What Kirkus had to say:

Sands, Linda NOT WAVING, DROWNING CreateSpace (224 pp.) $14.99 Paperback $2.99 e-book September 26, 2011 ISBN: 978-1466409736

The lives of three women, separated by time and connected by loss, are woven together in unexpected ways in Sands’ debut novel. The seductive Southern charms of Savannah, Ga., provide the backdrop for Sands’ tapestry of a novel that interweaves the lives of three women from starkly different eras.

In August 2011, photographer and grieving widow Maggie Morris arrives in Savannah after her husband’s sudden death in a boating accident. While investigating his mysterious drowning, Maggie becomes entangled in the lives of several local residents. One of these is a handsome, young lighthouse restorer who recounts the story of the famous Waving Girl—Savannah’s own maritime legend who greeted ships for over 40 years from the island home she shared with her brother.

In alternating chapters, the novel flashes back to the 1890s, when a feisty newspaper reporter named Bobbie Denton, who also happens to be Maggie’s great-grandmother, meets the actual Waving Girl, née Florence Martus, while on assignment in Savannah. Flora’s story, told from an intimate point of view, centers on one day in 1940 when the 72-year-old woman lays to rest her dead brother, George, while recalling her life’s dark secrets.

If this all sounds a bit complicated, it is. Sands writes with graceful lyricism about the longings and regrets that bind these disparate women, and the images of lonely lighthouses and windswept shores are often stunning. As a whole, however, the novel suffers from narrative interruptions, with the chapters alternating rapidly and often abruptly, and many threads becoming tangled as a result.

On their own, each woman’s story is rich and engrossing. In an ambitious novel spanning more than a century, Sands creates tension in small moments and haunting questions—many of which are not answered until the final pages.

Despite the awkward narrative structure, there is plenty of Southern charm to keep readers hooked until the end. Strong female characters and an evocative setting make this an enjoyable read.

What Bookwenches had to say:

Title: Not Waving, Drowning

Author:  Linda Sands

Author’s website:  http://linda-sands.com/

Publisher: BookBaby

Release Date:  September 26, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-61842-1715 Length:

Novel Format:  Electronic

Genre: Fiction

Language/Violence Level:  2 Sensuality Level: 3 Rating:  5+ Keeper

Reviewed by:  Clea

The stories of three women, spanning a century, interlink with one another in beautifully haunting ways. Flora, a feisty elderly woman, chooses to reveal a lifetime full of secrets to a complete stranger on the day of her beloved brother’s death.  Bobbie, a turn of the century reporter, travels for her job but is actually running from the trauma of her past, sacrificing her soul for scraps of love. Maggie, a woman who finds it increasingly difficult to express her emotions, goes to Savannah to look into her husband’s mysterious disappearance. ******** Savannah, Georgia, with all its quirks and traditions serves as a back drop to a multigenerational story of three unconventional women who struggle to survive the paths their lives have taken. Their stories are linked by beautiful poetry filled with love, hurt, death, grief, and life. The poetry serves not only as a tool to link the women and their experiences, but it also enhances the feelings behind each scene and draws the reader into the lives of these characters even more. Flora, Bobbie and Maggie are three unique characters that will haunt you long after you’ve finished reading their stories. They are strong, independent women full of heartache who struggle to survive and move forward with their lives the best ways they know how. Often that means making unwise choices in life which can lead to little bits of insanity, but sometimes that’s the key to survival. This book is overflowing with emotion and a lot of it is often sadness and loneliness, but the author manages to interject mild touches of humor even in the darkest moments of sadness. This may move you from tears to giggles in the blink of an eye, but the author does it in a way that is tasteful and serves to remind you that life goes on. One thing about this book that kept me turning the pages is how the story leaps from different points in time and takes us on a timetable throughout the history of the world from the late 1800’s, to the 1940’s then jumps to modern times.  I loved how the author uses this technique to show how the things we do, think and feel will affect people of generations to come. Not Waving, Drowning isn’t a happy-go-lucky story that will perk you up and make you feel good about life; instead it is a beautifully written, sad story that will leave a lasting imprint on your soul.

Many thanks in advance.

( you can also get ebooks anywhere you like to connect or buy paperback from Amazon- see links in red HERE )

Because I’m here to tell you. Publishing has changed.

Not just publishing of books, newspapers and magazines… virtually everything in print is now coming at us at the speed of light- well, sort of. Maybe it’s more like the speed of me driving the sports car to Florida on that open stretch in Alabama that’s too barren for cops to hide. Yeah, like that.

See, I’ve been reading stuff like this about reader’s habits.

and this about ebooks vs traditional books

and figured out this.

which made me do this.( see the widget to the right, falling off the page.)

oh yes. you like that? Look here, so do they.

and if you comment below? I will give you a free copy. Game on, son.

But the reality is… when the mountain didn’t come to Mohammad, the fat bastard got off his lazy ass and went to the mountain.

Today, I give you all a mountain.

AND 10 free ones this week to those who write to me on my facebook page and ask- nicely- or not so nicely… after all this is a free world. Speak up.

John Locke, the author- not the LOST character-though both have pretty amazing stories, has recently signed a distribution and sales of print only deal with Simon and Schuster (who seem to be all over the board this month).

Is this the end of traditional publishing as we know it? Or an exciting pre-eminent takeover by authors?

Locke was the first self-published author to sell a million e-books through his own company. Which pretty much tells us he knows what he’s doing. And now, with this deal… he’s kind of a hero around here.

Kudos to his agent, Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, who handled the deal.

Locke-ism for the day: “When I saw that highly successful authors were charging $9.99 for an e-book, I thought that if I can make a profit at 99 cents, I no longer have to prove I’m as good as them … Rather, they have to prove they are ten times better than me.

Direct from the article in NYT by Julie Bosman:

On Tuesday Penguin Group USA, the publisher of Tom Clancy, Kathryn Stockett and Nora Roberts, will unveil its own venture, Book Country, a Web site for writers of genre fiction.

In its initial phase Book Country will allow writers to post their own work — whether it’s an opening chapter or a full manuscript — and receive critiques from other users, who can comment on points like character development, pacing and dialogue. Later this summer the site will generate revenue by allowing users to self-publish their books for a fee by ordering printed copies. (The books will bear the stamp of Book Country, not Penguin, and the site is considered a separate operation from Penguin.)

The site will also explain the business of finding an agent, marketing and promoting a book, using social media and handling digital and subsidiary rights.

Penguin hopes the site will attract agents, editors and publishers scouting for new talent, and allow writers to produce work with more polish and direction than they could otherwise.

The project has been spearheaded by Molly Barton, the director of business development for Penguin and the president of Book Country.

“One of the things I remember really clearly from my early editorial experiences was this feeling of guilt,” Ms. Barton said in an interview. “I would read submissions and not be able to help the writer because we couldn’t find a place for them on the list that I was acquiring for. And I kept feeling that there was something we could do on the Internet to really help writers help each other.”

read the whole thing here

What do you think? we’re all talking about it on Facebook. Jane started it- here. Don’t be shy. Chime in.

Last night my daughter told me that I could start my own used book store with all the books I have on my shelves.

I laughed, then wondered again, about storage for my darling hardcovers, all those signed and first editions- books that I imagine will be called “antiques” before I die.

I know publishing is a changing industry. I accept that. I bought my Kindle, and shopping for tablets, read downloaded material all the time.

I even have my own e-book at all the retail outlets.

Simple Intent

* on sale for the next fews days at a discounted rate of $4.99

Though I still buy books in all forms, I must admit, the nights of wrestling with a 600 page hardback book while trying to get comfortable in bed, only to have it bonk you on the bridge of your nose when you fall asleep… won’t be missed.

Yes. I have met this person….many times.

and yet…

I had been speaking with my writer friend, Gwen Morrison, a brilliant author, editor and publisher, and my partner in the newest venture: Write by the Water: a writers retreat about the best place to write in our homes… something most people ask of authors at those Q&A’s after the reading, on the big book tour.

As suburban moms, we have both adapted a room in our house to act as office/writing space. A place where children and dogs come and go as they please, usually leaving us more interrupted than inspired.

I hit up my good friend, Mr. Google to see what he had to say what I typed in PLACES TO WRITE.

The writers at Wicked Writers had a list of 10 places to write.

I got a kick out of this one.

5 – From a Jail Cell: Well, not in reality. Whenever I can’t seem to find peace and quiet anywhere, the loner in me dreams of writing from a jail cell in solitary confinement. No Internet, no planning dinner, no vacuuming, and no teenagers not doing their homework. Ahhhhh

Novelist and Coach Jacqui Lofthouse suggests “going on holiday” is the best way to get any writing done. In other words, get out of your natural element.

She speaks of getaways in  Tuscany and the South of France, dropping uber-attractive nouns; villa, country-home… I like her thinking.

This article reminds me that:

Oh, yes. I like that. All you women writers now have a perfectly good reason to overtake the den.

And, yep. Even JK Rowling has something to say on the subject.

THIS IS where I’m going to be writing this fall.

In one of the spacious rooms, on a balcony, under a tree, on the beach, in a kayak…

You can join me…..  it’s easy. CLICK HERE for all the details. I’ll save you a spot on the sand.