I never ever wanted to self-publish because I
knew that if I did so, I wouldn’t have nearly enough time to write. That has certainly
proved to be true. But rereading and reworking old stories has been an
enjoyable and enriching process. Because
every story is a part of who I am at the moment I wrote it, revisiting these
stories has been a trip back in time. I can’t help remembering the event in my
life that inspired a plot twist or a character trait and I find it enlightening
to reflect on those events and what they meant to me then from a more mature
perspective.
Also—I feel a
responsibility to bring my story children alive for all those e-readers who
missed these books when they were originally published.
 |
| Texas: Children of Destiny series |
I once received a
fan letter begging me to republish my Children of Destiny series (now Texas:
Children of Destiny). Many of her friends had signed this letter at the bottom.
I was moved, but powerless at that time to get these stories republished. Now I get to do this in the hopes that these
characters will go out into the world and make new friends for me.
I had to write
PASSION’S CHILD (the first book) over three times before my editor was
satisfied, and when I sent it to New York for the final time, I’m afraid I had
few negative feelings about it. Later after it was published, I received a fan
letter from a woman who was at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston sitting beside
her younger brother, who was dying of cancer. She said that the only moments of
joy she’d had during this ordeal was reading about Triple, the heroine’s son in
my book. She said Triple’s antics made her laugh. I burst into tears and was so
grateful to her for writing that to me since the book had literally drained me
emotionally. She made me feel that the effort it took me was worth all the
headaches if my character comforted another human being in such terrible distress.
 |
| Destiny's Child by Ann Major |
She made me think
of all the times I have turned to stories during times of heartbreak when I
needed a friend’s shoulder to cry on—but it was the middle of the night and I
didn’t want to bother a friend, who’d already suffered enough tears from me.
Even if I can’t
work on new projects as much as I want to right now, it has been an unexpected
thrill to breath new life into my older stories.
Also—I feel a
responsibility to bring my story children alive for all e-readers who
missed these books when they were originally published.
I once received a
fan letter begging me to republish my Children of Destiny series (now Texas:
Children of Destiny). Many of her friends had signed this letter at the bottom.
I was moved, but powerless at that time to get these stories republished. Now I get to do this in the hopes that these
characters will go out into the world and make new friends for me.
 |
| Passion's Child by Ann Major |
I had to write
PASSION’S CHILD (the first book) over three times before my editor was
satisfied, and when I sent it to New York for the final time, I’m afraid I had
few negative feelings about it. Later after it was published, I received a fan
letter from a woman who was at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston sitting beside
her younger brother, who was dying of cancer. She said that the only moments of
joy she’d had during this ordeal was reading about Triple, the heroine’s son in
my book. She said Triple’s antics made her laugh. I burst into tears and was so
grateful to her for writing that to me since the book had literally drained me
emotionally. She made me feel that the effort it took me was worth all the
headaches if my character comforted another human being in such terrible distress.
She made me think
of all the times I have turned to stories during times of heartbreak when I
needed a friend’s shoulder to cry on—but it was the middle of the night and I
didn’t want to bother a friend, who’d already suffered enough tears from me.
Even if I can’t
work on new projects as much as I want to right now, it has been an unexpected
thrill to breath new life into my older stories.
