Hello again!

Mission accomplished! The Gantlet and Kismet are published!

Hi everyone! Whew, as many of you know, Friday, August 1^st was my, what the industry calls, “pub day.” The first day of actual publication of my books, The Gantlet and Kismet. Did you ever think it would really happen? Fourteen years is a long time to work on a project and I’m so grateful to those of you who know me personally and cheered me on!

It’s been a hot minute (over two years) since I posted a new blog. The good news is I needed that time to implement the edits of a professional editor. She suggested I radically change my original story from alternating chapters between two protagonists into two, stand-alone stories. Looking back, I don’t know why the idea hadn’t occurred to me except that it took exposing the stories to fresh eyes.

Little did I know that there have been few, or maybe no, intertwined novels released at the same time. It gets complicated, just like having twins, I suppose. But it’s done, they are both released into the world for the readers to enjoy. I’m proud and humbled to have made the decision to become my own publisher. Let me tell you about that decision.

On September 12, 2024, I was walking my corgis for their morning constitutional and listening to a podcast by Matt Gottesman. His podcast is called, “The Niche is You” and this episode was titled, “Don’t be Afraid to Be the Exception… Life is About Being an Anomaly, Not Fitting In.” Matt’s words shook me to the core, and I realized my truth. I had been afraid of listening to my instincts with my stories. I had been willing to follow the traditional publishing route because I didn’t have the credibility to publish my own work, right?

At this point, I had spent six years following the rules of the publishing world. Granted, none of that time was truly wasted since I was learning all the time. But I had made some big decisions, taken control of some aspects, and it was still very frustrating. After Matt’s podcast, I knew it was time to take complete control. When I told Joe I had a very important decision to discuss with him, he immediately paid attention.

After hearing me out, I’m not sure which of us was more excited! We are partners in other businesses, but this one is different. A brand-new adventure that neither of us knew anything about and therefore, a challenge. From that moment on and at every turn, the doors have opened. My first call to enlist the help of a book design firm was to Mayfly Book Design in Minneapolis and they took our project immediately. Their team jumped right in, and it has been a glorious experience to work with such professional folks. We’ve been able to navigate all the industry stuff with little to no drama. I’m so very grateful to all who have played a role in these books.

So here we are. The eBook and paperbacks are now available on Amazon. For those who don’t shop with Amazon, I will have paperback copies in the James Ranch Market by August 21^st. The collector’s edition hardbacks will be arriving around the first of September. These will be signed and numbered, beautifully packaged and lovely gifts if you are so inclined. These will also be available at the James Ranch Market.

My website, www.jjameswheeling.com will be another place to get paperbacks and collector’s edition hardbacks. We are setting it up to take orders and shipping. I’ll let you know when we’ve got everything in place.

I have so many to thank in this process and there will be a time to celebrate everyone’s contribution soon. Joe and I are blessed to be supported by so many wonderful folks, and we look forward to sharing our success with everyone.

The next pair of books are rattling around in my head so when writing season starts in November, I’m ready to get after it!

Thank you all for your encouragement and support,

Jenn