A legacy of clean
Mom’s final wishes are no longer in print- and she’s thrilled
Three months before mom passed away, she got on a one-woman mission to combine her love of reading with the zeal an editor who would have made the toughest critic in Manhattan proud.
“Let’s get the words out before I go,” she abruptly announced. Words? What in the world was she talking about? “The swear words!” It took a moment, but then I realized she was pointing to a stack of my novels by her bed.
“Weren’t you the one who told me swearing is authentic?” I retorted, skeptical. It would be a major undertaking, and she was having trouble holding a book. “And besides, you swear yourself, as do certain people in certain situations.”
“Yes,” she admitted with a raised eyebrow. “But I’ve improved. So should you.” It was so wonderfully, annoyingly classical of mom and emblematic of her lifelong theme of continual improvement, even on her deathbed. Meeting her maker hadn’t lessened her drive one bit: it had made her more zealous!
With her time on earth limited, I agreed.
A first read
The journey itself was both painful and incredibly gratifying. Pre-deathbed, mom had a hard time completing a single book of fiction I’d written because she personalized so many characters. This in turn, meant she’d not done her job as a parent.
“If every character were me, I’d be Sybil and insane,” I’d laugh in response, not to mention she’d be Mommy Dearest! Furthermore, not every dad was my dad, nor were the boyfriend or partner emblematic of my husband of 25 years.
The good news is that with each page, chapter and book completed, her engagement increased, wondering about the why’s and how’s and the future(s) of the characters—just like a professional editor. She even changed her tune about the technology-heavy books like Global Deadline and Incarnation Series, appreciating the realities of DNA and software even if the truth behind it all scared her “to pieces,” as she liked to say.
The only book she left untouched is the Sue Kim authorized biography. Sue’s life was both amazingly wonderful and harsh, the highs of the money followed by devastating lows—just like moms. Mom knew that “the swears” were direct quotes, and thus, she maintained “They have to stay. It was their reality, not your fiction.”
A week before she passed and could no longer even lift a pen, she’d read through each book three times. Most only had a handful of “light swears.” (yes, that’s a real thing. Sort of like the PG-13 words as opposed to the R, let alone the X)! In the process, she nit-picked a ton of minor issues and errors that many better paid professionals had overlooked/not caught.
Simultaneously, both Apple and Google took my bestsellers and converted the books to audio. What an amazing blessing. This is one application of artificial intelligence that is wonderful for the author and reader!
As you read or listen, thinking of mom and her final gift to us all: ‘swearless’ books.
Booklist as of 7.23.2023
| Title | Genre | Audio | eBook/print |
| Above Ground | Suspense-Thriller | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, hoopla, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| Global Deadline | Suspense-Thriller | Google, Apple | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio |
| Incarnation | Suspense-Thriller | Google, Apple | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, hoopla, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio |
| Incarnation: the Cube Master | Suspense-Thriller | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, hoopla, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| A Convenient Date | Romantic Suspense | Google, Apple | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio |
| In a Moment | Romantic Suspense/NDE | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| Made for Me | Contemporary Romance, Book 1 Danielle Grant Series | Google, Apple | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio |
| Destined for You | Contemporary Romance, Book 2 Danielle Grant Series | Google, Apple | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio |
| Meant to Be | Contemporary Romance, Book 2 Danielle Grant Series | Google, Apple | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio |
| Chambers | Historical fiction, action-adventure | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| Chambers: The Spirit Warrior | Historical fiction, action-adventure | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, hoopla, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| Sue Kim: the Authorized Biography | Celebrities & entertainment | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| The Overlooked Expert | Non-fiction, success, entrepreneurship | Amazon, Apple, B & N, B & T, Bibliotheca, BorrowBox, Gardners, Kobo, Odilo, OverDrive, Palace Mktplace, Scribd, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio | |
| Author Straight Talk | Non-fiction, publishing, writing | Amazon | |
| Pricing | Audio $2.99-3.99 | All eBooks .99 Print books vary |