Thursday, July 15, 2010

BOOK REVIEW: Finders Keepers by JoAnn Carter

I read an intriguing inspirational romance recently called Finders Keepers by JoAnn Carter. It was advertised as a book, but it was about 3,000 words long so I guess it would be considered a short story. However, it was formatted like a book and separated into chapters. I found the eBook free from White Rose Publishing. I don't remember how it came to my attention initially, but the word "free" did catch my eye.

The length, or shortness, of the book surprised me, so I looked up the publisher's website and found the following in the Submission Guidelines section:

We publish romance in a variety of lengths:

Short stories range between 10,000 and 20,000 words (ebook)
Novelettes are between 20,001 and 35,000 words (ebook)
Novellas are between 35,001 and 60,000 words (ebook)
Novels are between 60,001 and 80,000 words (ebook & print)

White Rose publishes romance only and the story must be either Christian or such that it is not anti-Christian. As you can see, only novels are published in print form. The rest are digital only. I checked Amazon and found many of their eBooks available in Kindle format.

The availability of eReaders and the popularity of eBooks has made it possible for authors to publish odd-sized stories. I believe that is a good thing. The story I read, Finders Keepers, was excellent and as long as it needed to be. In the past, a story of this size would only be found in magazines or compilations of short stories.

If you have a story idea that isn't long enough for the print market, check White Rose Publishing. Or, if you're interested in some excellent reading, some of it free, some a dollar or two, check there also.

I saw a warning somewhere on the website that the free books had not been edited, but I still couldn't resist sending JoAnn Carter a few corrections. She was very gracious about it. She has a number of other excellent books available. Check them out.

8 comments:

  1. Hello! I was delighted to find your post with JoAnn Carter's free read from White Rose Publishing. As a White Rose Publishing author, I have read other books by JoAnn, though I haven't read this one. She is a wonderful author, and White Rose Publishing is an amazing publishing company. It's great to work with Christian editors, who completely "get" the God thing and apply it not only to their personal lives, but to their careers as well. I hope you and your readers continue to enjoy WRP offerings.

    Blessings,
    Delia Latham

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  2. I was so pleased to see your blog about JoAnn's book and about White Rose Publishing! I second Delia's comment about JoAnn. Her books, as well as books by many WRP authors, were what drew me to this wonderful publishing company. I sold my first book (short story) to them last year and have been amazed at the experience. The editors really are THE BEST in the world. All of our WRP authors promote each other on our personal blogs, websites, facebook pages, twitter, etc. We're a lot like a family and to see your kind words about JoAnn's book makes all of us happy! I hope you continue to read White Rose Publishing books and to share us with others as well.

    Blessing!
    Theresa Lynn Hall

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  3. Sid, as we are Facebook friends, you know of my allegiance to White Rose Publishing. JoAnn's work is top notch - I'm so glad you found your way to her story, and gave it a try. Cindy K Green also has a free read out that you might enjoy as well. The quality of work found at White Rose is fantastic, and I can't say enough good things about the editors and designers and marketing team. To a person they are responsive and encouraging. They make it a habit to go the extra mile for their authors, which is probably why this house is growing. Thanks so much for the mention of WRP on your blog - and for encouraging Christian fiction! As you already know, I appreciate it very much!! Blessings to you!

    Marianne

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  4. White Rose has come out with some wonderful inspirational stories that don't preach but definitely have a message to share. For those of us who are Christians it's a wonderful place to find reading we don't have to worry about the content, and for those who aren't, it's a place with stories that will not offend your values. Truly a peace filled island in a world of despair.

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  5. Thank you for sharing your experience with White Rose Publishing. JoAnn is a fabulous author--one whose releases are always on my "buy" list. White Rose Publishing is top notch, and I'm happy to say I'm one of their authors. Every book and short story I've read from this publisher is great. I love that my book is available in both print and in e-book. Having it on Kindle is a big plus!

    Carol Ann Erhardt
    www.CarolAnnErhardt.com
    "A Spark of Romance, A Shadow of Suspense, and A Mustard Seed of Faith"

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  6. I'm also a White Rose Publishing author and from the number of us who have left comments, I'm guessing you can see the truth to Theresa's statement that we are a lot like a family. Technology has opened up many new doors for authors - a bigger market for short stories, ebooks, POD books, more affordable self-publishing and so on. But it's still truly miraculous to find a company like White Rose Publishing. I consider myself blessed to be a White Rose reader and author. I'm so glad you enjoyed JoAnn's story!

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  7. Thanks for all the great comments from WRP authors. Now I have a lot more reading to do.

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  8. Thank you so much for your blog on White Rose Publishing. I am another author of that particular publisher. E-publishing is the way of the future, and it has been a blessing to work with these wonderful people. I enjoy being able to write stories of various lengths for publication and the encouragement I receive from publisher, editors and authors. I've been a part of this company almost from the beginning and I love how it has grown and matured. I look forward to being with them for a long time.

    Cindy K. Green
    www.cindykgreen.com

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