Mara Conley is returning to her small hometown in the midwest after eight years. She is no longer the chubby, acne faced teenager that had run away the night of her graduation. She has a new positive image, career, and she would like to find some answers. Discovering she has a genetic disease that can only be transmitted by family genetics, she goes back to Illinois. She searches for her best friend, wants to reconcile with her parents, find answers to the questions she has burning inside her of why she was treated so coldly as a child. Follow her journey back to her previous life, to look for answers. Subplot involving best friends husband and hostage situation. See how she handles the strain of being back home and yet being a different person. Reconciliation is accomplished, she understands more of who she is and how she relates to those around her.

No sex, no bloody violence, nothing I would not want my granddaughter to someday read. Hints of spirituality, but not preachy. First book of a planned trilogy. Second book, tentative title "Marisol" which means water and sun.

If you need more information or can help me in anyway, please e-mail or private message me.
Chatty, Pam? Can you help me in anyway?

Thanks to all,
Sherri

I don't want this post to get lost. I need some guidance and I'm looking for my boomer friends to give it to me.

Sherri, what kind of guidance are you looking for? What are your specific questions? It sounds like Women's Fiction.. or Mainstream Fiction.

My husband thinks if it's listed as womens fiction, it will be disregarded by men and he thinks it's a book that men would enjoy too. I don't want to classify it as Chick LIt, cause that isn't what it is. It's more of a spiritual journey, coming of age, healing novel.

Any help?

THanks for responding Vicki

Sherri

What about Genre Fiction: Family Saga, and/or Contemporary? I just looked at Amazon and books like "Brick Lane", "Swinging Bridge", "Secret Life of Bees" and "Kite Runner" are all in either the contemporary fiction or family saga genre or both...this book sounds like it might fit in both, without scaring away the male readers.

Hmm, most guys don't read women's issues. Do they? I think women's fiction too.

Inspirational Contemporary Fiction?

Sherri I've read Bitter Water and I think it's definitely womens fiction.

Thanks Pam, I appreciate the input.

Why the need to label the book? Is this a marketing thing? why not let the readers decide?

boys won't read stories written by women
(that's whey authors like J.K. Rowling use intitals in their names) - i guess it continues into their adult years for some men - if they read at all

...don't mind me, I'm just a humble librarian...

I agree with you Julie, unfortunately book stores want some way to pigeon hole a book.

Yep, book stores want a genre, so I'm going with inspirational womens lit. Let them find a spot for that...lol. Tate publishing is a Christian publishing house so they'll know where it fits best probably.

Thanks everyone. Libraians should know!! THough my husband reads books by both men and women, but I know I have one in a million...lol.

Men do read books written by women as long as the book has something to say to men. It'd be tough to find a "womanier" book title than mine, "Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America," but at least half of my readers are men. I have email relationships with male readers all over the country. And they're repeat buyers. They read the book, then come back for gift copies. If the book is for and about women, men won't read it. If it's about universal issues that speak to a broad cross-section of people, they will, as long as you brand it, position it and market it well.

Thanks Lori, I am prepared to market it well, and I hope to have a forward written by a male friend of mine. It has universal appeal. One person's travel into her past to become healthier for a better future.

That's great, Sherri. I wish you much success. Having a male friend write the forward is a wonderful idea. Cover design is also key. Having a cover that appeals to both men and women will increase your reach. My cover is a photograph I took on the journey that inspired the book. It's a lone biker riding down a thin road into a panorama of purple mountains, and it's the kind of image that has broad appeal -- freedom, adventure, travel, America, dreams...

Another suggestion is to secure early reviews and quotes about the book from men and use these in your promotional material. I put famed author William Least Heat-Moon and a well-respected male talk show host right up front on my website because I wanted to dispel the notion that "Ribbons" is a "chick book" right away.

I'm the Featured Author this month, ladies. Please come by and chat on the Featured Author Forum.

I love your phrase "One person's travel into her past to become healthier for a better future." It definitely sounds like a family saga genre, as well as inspirational. I am just starting my journey into writing, this is gonna be many years in the making and probably split into 2 if not 3 books, all creative non fiction. There might be a fiction piece as well, whatever the Lord lays on my heart. Good luck, and keep us posted!

I decided to go with Women's Fiction, this first book is one of a trilogy of a group of 3 friends. All books will refer back to each other and the same characters will be worked into each new book with the protaganist being a new woman for each book. Title of second book will be "Marysol".

You can see the cover of my book Bitter Water on my websight. If you check it out, leave me a note!