Casual Commentary on the Arrival of Book II in the Bandita Series -- Bandita Bonita and Billy the Kid:
The Scourge of New Mexico
I’m anxiously waiting to receive the galleys from my publisher for Book II. I’m way ahead of them, as I’ve taken to revisiting the manuscript early so that I can get any last minute corrections in order. I’m happy to report that I’ve found only one small necessary correction and another that I’ve decided I’d like to change. Learning from my first round in this industry, I knew that if I needed more time to recalculate my story then that’s the way it was gonna have to be, unlike my first experience working with my publisher; I did as I was told despite being given 5 days to return an epic length manuscript, all while working a 40+ hour work week. As a result, homonym mistakes slid through my panicked editing as I wanted to have my manuscript ready for the appropriated day; I was concerned about causing a fuss as this was my frist published book--this is a mistake I live with daily and scold myself for--I should have insisted more time, but as every new author knows, or every aspiring writer should know, you don't want to make waves with your publisher. Publishers have a funny way of not wanting to work with a difficult author. Nonetheless, I should have stuck up for myself and stuck to my guns instead of living with the repurcussions of not doing so.
As a first-time author who’s serious about her prowess as a writer and concerned with her reputation, I can promise you that the last thing you want to do is create a bad-term relationship with your publisher, so you do what you’re told. After my initiation into having the first book in my series published and the mistakes borne from it, please allow me to direct you: you must learn that you have to stay true to your work and its integrity. Once you’ve proven yourself to the publisher, you should have no problem making subtle demands as to when and how you will return the written product. Once you’ve established your relationship and reputation, your publisher should have faith in you and have no problem meeting your requirements. A good publisher is, after all, more concerned with thoroughness and accuracy over speed**. I’d exercised my burgeoning status within the writing industry and my publisher responded positively: I contacted them and explained that I will need a necessary extension, of which they had no trouble providing. (**it is important to note that, unless you are with the Top Five publishers, editors do not "edit" manuscripts, per se. The industry has changed quite a bit so as the writer you must be vigilant when it comes to your own work!)
So, now I’m in the homestretch and cannot wait until Bandita Book II (Bandita Bonita and Billy the Kid: The Scourge of New Mexico) hits shelves and virtual shelves alike! Book II is my personal favorite, though that’s not to say that I in no way value Book I (Bandita Bonita: Romancing Billy the Kid). Book I was a tremendous anthology of character development, scene setting, and historical chronicling. In between all of that, humor abounded (humor is my tradmark, after all! A good, dry wit can make all the difference in a book that could otherwise be specified as "series", and I use it in spades...), alongside a paralleling of modern social issues. It truly is a great read if one is so inclined to enjoy fiction connecting with historical accuracy.
But, with Book II, I was able to do a little deviating. The historical accuracy is there—after all, that was the crux of the matter when I had the idea to write the series. But I could expand more on the relationship between Lucy “Lucky Lu” Howard (Bandita) and Billy the Kid, having a lot of fun playing with both the primary and ancillary characters alike while weaving through historical notes.
Bandita, Book II, should be available within the next two months, sold at Amazon and Barnes and Noble (available for Kindle and Nook in addition to print), as well as Google Play, iPad, and various independent book stores across the U.S. and Europe.
**Don’t forget about Book s III and IV, which are coming down the pike!
