Category: My Books

Driven

For those interested in the upside and drawbacks of SBK laser eye surgery!

Today I spoke to the clinic that did my surgery in December. The bad news is that if my eyes remain at 20/30 vision (which means my distance eye can see at 20 feet what a healthy eye can see at 30 feet), then my prescription won’t be “bad enough” (meaning my cornea or lens or whatever they operate on isn’t thick enough) to qualify for a touch-up. If I get a touch-up with 20/30 vision, there’s a chance I might lose the distance vision I have. So…I might have no choice but to suck it up and get glasses for driving and walking the dog (when I feel the need for the latter).

The good news is that I’m only at the three month recovery point, and my eyes might improve before the six month point that they have to wait before performing any touch-ups, anyway. The likelihood that my distance vision will improve when it has been steadily declining since the day after the surgery…I don’t know what the likelihood is, but I don’t have a lot of confidence that it will improve. However, I did go through that heavy bout of dryness, so I’m holding out hope that my vision will improve.

Also, it might take 7 or 8 months before my vision has stabilized. Now I understand why the clinic provides free touch-ups up to two years after the surgery.

I’m in a wait-and-see mode. But I do feel better about it after talking to the clinic consultant on the phone this morning. I am really nervous about losing the distance vision that I have achieved, so…we shall “see,” haha.

By the way, I just heard about a type of contact lens that you wear only at night, and it reshapes the cornea so that you can see during the day. That sounds pretty cool. Maybe that’s something that will work for me. Or I could suck it up and get driving glasses and then fake that I can read street signs while walking the dog.

Over time, you do get used to not being able to see as well as you could with contacts or glasses. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, you understand.

Now, tomorrow is the release date of the audio book of WHERE SHE BELONGS! That’s some news I can get behind. I’m holding a celebratory party and give-away TOMORROW on the blog. So pop back here Tuesday, March 20th and leave a comment in the post that will go live on Tuesday, March 20th, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of the audio book. Note, comments left on this post don’t qualify for the contest. Just tomorrow’s post. So be sure to check back.

Note, you can comment on this post and tell me to suck it up, or say, “Poor Cindy,” but the random number generator which will choose the winner of the audio book unfortunately will not be affected one way or the other.

Where She Belongs Audio Book News

The WHERE SHE BELONGS audiobook will release from AudioLark March 20th! Mark your calendars. I have some news I’ll announce closer to that date. Let’s just say you’ll want to visit the blog on March 20th. 😉 And again March 21st.

I have the audio cover and story blurb. They differ from the Five Star Expressions cover and back cover blurb, because Five Star owns the art. So AudioLark produces its own versions.

Jess Morgan will never return to Destiny Falls.

Nine years ago, a logging accident near the remote timber town killed her dad and her high school sweetheart. Despite Jess’s broken heart, her mother immediately sought comfort with another man. That choice tore Jess apart and drove her to seek a life far away. Now she’s successful and happily settled in Toronto.

Or is she?

When her stepfather dies, Jess can no longer stay away from home. Her plan is simple; visit just long enough to persuade her mom to come live with her. Surely healing the rift between them will fill the emptiness she’s felt for far too long. But when she lands in Destiny Falls, someone unexpected is waiting for her at the airport.

Adam Wright.

Adam plans to live in Destiny Falls forever. He loves every aspect of small-town living and his job that takes him regularly into the bush. He remembers Jess as a cute teenager who hung around with his little cousin, so when he’s asked to pick her up at the local airport, he’s not prepared for the polished woman who steps off the plane.

Soon Adam’s happiness is more wrapped up in Jess than his home or work, but while he could give up everything and move back to Toronto with her, he senses that won’t make either of them happy. How can he get her to give Destiny Falls a second chance?

It will take a combined effort from everyone in town who loves Jess Morgan, plus a little charm from the local landscape itself, to convince her to rethink her future plans.

The audiobook will be available not only on the AudioLark website, but on Audible, iTunes and Overdrive. I’m very excited that there won’t be a lag time with the third-party distributors with this audiobook!

I have other news, this time regarding BORROWING ALEX, but I’m holding off on announcing it until I receive a certain something in the mail. I’ve been sitting on this news forever. If I don’t announce this week, I’m hoping I can announce next week. We’ll see.

So…blog lurkers…what’s up in your neck of the woods?

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Categorized as My Books

Borrowing Alex on Audible!

It’s been a long wait, but the audio book of BORROWING ALEX is now up at Audible, iTunes and Overdrive. I don’t know how to create a link to iTunes, so if that’s your distributor of choice just visit the store and type the title into the search box. Oh, and HEAD OVER HEELS is at iTunes, too—dirt cheap.

I’ve supplied a link to the Overdrive software download site, but I don’t have the console on my computer so I can’t supply a direct link to the book there, either. If you have Overdrive, just search!

Fine Print: If you like laugh-out-loud romantic comedies and/or romantic comedy movies (“Chick Flicks”), then the audio book versions of BORROWING ALEX and HEAD OVER HEELS might be just up your alley.

If you hate romantic comedy movies, maybe…not so much. But give them a try, anyway, and tell me what you think.

Here’s the audio book cover and blurb:

What’s a girl to do when her fiance won’t set a date for the wedding? Pretend to have an affair with the best man, of course.

Nikki St. James knows kidnapping Alex Hart and whisking him off to secluded Lake Eden is probably a little extreme, but her fiance barely seems to notice her existence any more, and she needs Alex to help her get his attention. Besides, she’s probably doing the college professor a favor – he’s so uptight a little R & R at a lakeside cabin is just what he needs. Not that she cares what he needs, or has noticed how handsome he is….

Alex needs a break from his quest to achieve tenure at warp speed—but being kidnapped is not his idea of a good time; especially not by his college buddy’s crazy fiancee! He’s not one to judge, but if what he’s heard is true – that she’s perfectly happy with an “open relationship” – why bother to get married at all?

Alex quickly realizes he’s been mislead about Nikki. Worse yet, he’s beginning to fall for her. Can he make her see the truth about her impending marriage without ruining his chances for a happy ending?

I have other great news regarding BORROWING ALEX, but I’m not quite able to announce it yet. Stay tuned!

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Categorized as My Books

Proofing and Literacy Autographing

The proofs for the audio book version of WHERE SHE BELONGS arrived in my in-box yesterday from AudioLark. I proofed four chapters right away, so am about 25% through. I’m really enjoying the audio book! The narrator, R.E. Chambliss, also narrated BORROWING ALEX. She did such a great job capturing the romantic comedy tone of BORROWING ALEX that I wondered how her narration of an emotional romance novel would compare. My verdict? R.E. is every bit as good at narrating serious, emotional stories as she is at narrating romcom. Jess, Adam, Nora (Jess’s mother), and the secondary characters are all coming alive for me. I think that’s what I love most about my novels being made into audio books–how they feel to “come alive.” It’s a different experience listening to a book you’ve published, and I am so pleased with the audio rendition thus far. I hope my readers (listeners?) will be, too.

As for the Five Star Expressions library-hardcover edition of WHERE SHE BELONGS, I’ve registered for the RWA National Conference in Anaheim this July. I signed up for the Librarians’ Luncheon on Wednesday, July 25th, and I just found out today that Five Star is donating a box of my books to the Literacy Autographing that will occur in the convention center next to the Conference hotel. So I’ll be signing copies of the book for the public.

I am excited about this. I have only signed as Cindy once before, and that was a long time ago, when HEAD OVER HEELS was first published. I donated ten of my own copies to the Autographing, however, because there wasn’t a box of books by my station, my name placard and place were removed. Then I arrived with my books in my arms, and the volunteers setting up the stations realized they’d made a mistake. There was no room for me in the Ps, so I sat at the end of a table in the Ms. I managed to sell all ten copies of HEAD OVER HEELS that I had brought along, but it was a little weird to be sitting among the Ms.

I have signed as Penny once, and the publisher in question always donates books to the Literacy Autographing. Apparently, they had donated a box of Penny’s books plus had stuffed two more copies into a box of another author’s books. Good thing they did, because the full box of books was nowhere to be found and all I had to sign were those two measly copies. I quickly “sold out,” heh heh, but stuck around to speak to readers regardless.

So…my third Literacy Autographing is approaching, and this time cross your fingers it goes off without a hitch!

For My Birthday, I Received A 4-Star Review from RT Book Reviews!

I know, I’m always talking about my book lately. But there’s been a lot to talk about! And I’m putting in eye drops every hour as a result of my laser eye surgery 4 weeks ago. The computer monitor is not nice to my “new” eyes. Right now I’m blinking away really heavy eye gel as I type.

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a good one. Partly because the day before I learned that RT Book Reviews (formerly known as Romantic Times), awarded WHERE SHE BELONGS with a 4 Star review! I am thrilled about this.

Here’s the review:

Procter-King has written a “home” for all of us. Destiny Falls is the place that holds your first love, your first triumph; it’s where you lost a person you cared about. Jess is a character who women will identify with, having to forget a past that is beyond difficult to do. Coming to terms with loss, while attempting to understand that a parent is also a person who needs their own life and love, is a tough road. But the author has done a good job of showing readers that out of anguish can come hope.

RT also saw fit to post the cover near the review. I have no idea how they decide which covers to feature on the review pages. But thank you, RT, for choosing to highlight my cover!

Now I need to write a newsletter and update my website pages. But I can’t stay on the computer long enough. So I’ll do some filing. Maybe even laundry.

Yes, the life of a writer is glamor, glamor, glamor.

Audio News

I am thrilled to announce that I’ve sold the audio rights to WHERE SHE BELONGS to AudioLark, which published the audiobooks of HEAD OVER HEELS and BORROWING ALEX.

Renee Chambliss, who narrated BORROWING ALEX, is also the narrator for WHERE SHE BELONGS. The audiobook should be available from AudioLark and third party sites like Audible, iTunes and Overdrive in mid-March. That’s the tentative release date. I’ll let you know if things change.

Meanwhile, the BORROWING ALEX audiobook has hitherto only been available from the AudioLark website, but now is in the queue to upload to Audible, iTunes and Overdrive.

I am very excited about getting both BORROWING ALEX and WHERE SHE BELONGS onto Audible. HEAD OVER HEELS has done very well there for sales, and hopefully my other two books will measure up.

Meantime, I’m finishing up the second of five short stories in an romantic comedy series I intend to self-publish. I’ll take a break between stories 2 and 3 to write a short for Penny. At least, that’s the plan for now. We’ll see how Elle Muse cooperates.

How are things going in your corner of the world?