Everything Old Is New Again

How do you like my new cover for the re-release of The Road To Paradise (also re-titled). It was my very first novel. First contracted for publication by a house that before it went to print closed the line... figures right? Then accepted at an online house that closed shortly after--this book was batting a thousand... then I just said the heck with it all and published it myself. I was a rank amateur at that time and POD was a baby back then... so it suffered some. Amazingly enough it sold well for a POD book at that time, and with mostly on-line sales too. I cleared 400 copies soldjust online, and just under 22 full cases (26 per) by hand and it is still in circulation at 37 libraries throughout the US according to World Catalog. Most of those libraries I had no contact with either. To me that's pretty impressive for a novel that's over 10 years old, self-published, and trade paperback with an AWFUL original cover (cover art creation was a mystery to me at the time, and seemed to be inundated with hard to understand requirements. LOL I learned a lot over the years) and the title was only so-so. LOL Anyway, a little more of that in a bit, here's the brand new 'Anniversary Edition' cover, let me know what you think:

Back to my little story: When I first published the novel as The Road To Paradise, one of my first sales hits was to my own public library. They told me (as kind as they could with a bit of a snub to POD) that they usually didn't carry books that were self-published even by local authors (this is a teeny little nowhere library too. lol) BUT, the librarian said, they would accept a copy and have a reader review it. If the review was favorable they would send me a check for it and carry it--two weeks later not only was the novel accepted, but a note from the reader came along with the check from the library. I had my very own piece of fan mail for the first time ever.

Strange and wonderful memories can be created along the way, even in this wacky world of publishing. It's something I'll always treasure, as much as I do the book itself, that for all of its original troubles remains one of my favorite works. I hope you like the new cover. I even added a new ending scene to the new version. It was a great deal of fun re-visiting my old characters. It has even sparked a little desire to sequel it with what happened to them ten years down the road... hum, the road gets longer. :)