Surrender *edited*

Many of you who didn't check the Potpourri board might be wondering about the following post. Someone posted a couple of letters concerning this book. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really read the whole letter in depth - I mostly just skimmed them. But I was upset at the tone the poster Angie (no - not our AngieW) used and I responded. When Ms. Clare found out about these letters, she asked that they be removed as they were confidential and were not to be out in public. Laurie Gold graciously removed them and the following thread. At that time I also put this blog into save mode. I didn't want to make the situation worse. I've debated since then on what to do. I finally decided to put it back as it's common knowledge *grin* how much I loved her previous book and how anxious I've been to get a copy of Surrender. And since I didn't post any part of the letters, merely my response, I will let it stand as is - I think




No – this isn’t the review. I just got the book in my hot little hands last night and haven’t had a chance to read it yet – soon though, very soon. Rather it’s a story about the book.
Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows something of what my husband and I have been going through.
I had the worst day of my life recently. Ron’s throat was burned all to hell from the radiation. What was particularly devastating was it happened after the radiation had stopped and we thought he wouldn’t be suffering the after effect they had warned us about. But they were delayed. It was so bad he couldn’t even drink a glass of water without intense pain. On top of this he’s on a steady dose of chemo so that has him feeling bad too. I blogged about it recently. One day in particular, when he was in the midst of it, everything hit me at work. Everyone around me was in meetings and since I’m only there on contract, I wasn’t in on the meetings. With everything going on at home, and no one around me at work, I was left alone and things started caving in on me. Big time! For some reason I sent an email to Pamela Clare – distraction I think – and she quickly emailed me back. We started a flurry of emails – totally unrelated to her writing and I didn’t mention Ron or what I was going through at all – more just discovering a lot of things we had in common. There’s not a doubt those emails helped “save” me that day. I still ended up going home early, but at least I was relatively held together. Now it seems there might be something – probably not much – that I can do to return the favour.
It seems there has been a major snafu with the release and shipping of Surrender. Someone on the AAR Potpourri board posted a rather snarky message. This was my reply

Yes, as a matter of fact I do and I see it completely different
than you. I love her work. I think her stories are unique and refreshing. So
many of us are looking for historicals that are rich in detail and character and
that's what she writes. We are also tired of all things English ton. Last year's
Ride the Fire blew me away and I voted for it in quite a number of categories in
the AAR poll - more than I ever have in the past. So when I found out Surrender
was coming out and once again in a similar setting I was ecstatic and could
hardly wait for it to come out. When the release day came, I checked the
bookstores around here daily. It wasn't showing up. Finally I just got fed up
waiting and asked them when it would be in and was told they weren't receiving
any so I special ordered it. Just got it yesterday.
: I have begun emailing
authors when a particular book has touched me - not many of them and only
mid-list authors and their books had to have really connected with me - but I
thought I really appreciate hearing when I've done a good job and I'm sure
authors feel the same way. I emailed her letting her know how much I enjoyed
Ride the Fire and she responded quickly with a very gracious reply. Now this
happened on a day that was particularly difficult for me. I have been going
through a very trying time lately personaly and when I received her reply, it
really helped me get through the rest of the day.: I don't know much about the
ins and outs of the publishing world, but I do know mid-list authors do depend
heavily on sales. I think it would influence things greatly if for some reason
her Surrender didn't hit the shelves. I live in a fairly large city and there
isn't a copy to be found anywhere. So if a mid-list author who writes stories I
and others - I'm not the only one who loved Ride the Fire - love to read, are
different and refreshing, needs help, then I will do what I can to help. : No -
I'm not a fan girl. I just want to be able to keep reading her truly wonderful
stories.

So, I don’t know if there is much I can do to help the situation – just encourage anyone thinking of reading this book to buy it. I know both Nicole and Misty read it and loved it. But she helped me and I want to help her.