Happy Anniversary

This is a celebration of sorts.

It has been a year since the e-book version of the novel was released.  It has yet to achieve national recognition or international acclaim.  Since Flo is so darned shy and couldn't afford an agent or publicist, it has been more of a small town, home team effort.  We still have hopes for this bittersweet, quirky tale.

Thank you to the people who paid the full price of $3.99 for the e-book download from Smashwords.  Thank you to the people who took advantage of the coupon offers for free copies.  You all went through the pain of creating an account with Smashwords.  The way I see it, you also opened up your e-shelves to a world of promising indie authors. Thank you for making the effort.

As of September 8, 2012 Flo has decided to allow potential readers to set the purchase price, starting at the Smashwords recommended minimum of 99 cents.  Thank you to Smashwords for enabling a world of indies and satisfying my tree hugging sentimentality. 

Still not sure?

• Enjoy comments from readers
• Read some short excerpts online

Thanks for dropping by.  Do come back to read about le petit project for the next two years.  


T

Année du Lapin Un roman

Mon Dieu!  As if I don't have enough projects on the go...

During 2013 and 2014, Flo would like to translate The Year of the Rabbit, a novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness to French.  A grand idea?  Crazy or what? I am going to need the help of kind, skilled people (for free).

Je voudrais traduire le roman en Français.  Ce sera un projet durant 2013 & 2014. Grande Idée?  C'est fou, non?  J'auras besoin des gens gentils avec des compétences (gratuit). 

Apologies for the weak translation.  I am learning. Excusez-moi pour la traduction mauvais. J'apprends.

This project is intended to improve my skills in speaking and writing in French.  It will connect me with nice, talented people.  It will keep my mind busy and hopefully improve my grey matter well into old age. 

Follow this web page for updates. Suivez-vous cette page pour lire quoi de neuf. 

Thank you.  Merci.

- - - - 

The Year of the Rabbit, a novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness  is indeed a story about fate, family and forgiveness.  It is about friendship, loneliness and hope. It is about teenagers, pregnancy and adoption.  Visit this page for a list of themes within the story.  Follow Flo for Twitter updates. 

The Year of the Rabbit as a Project

Have you had long term goals that seemed out of reach or just impossible to achieve?  With proper planning, organized teamwork and frequent spoonfuls of determination, we humans are capable of almost any positive accomplishment.  

The Year of the Rabbit, A Novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness provided me with a creative outlet as well as a structured approach to a goal.  The title represents hope, respect for traditions and the conquering of fears.  While conceiving, nurturing and planning for it, I was able to exercise creative freedom as well as practise some basic project management skills.  Yes, The Year of the Rabbit for me was a concept as well as a project.

This post will focus on the project angle.

It started as an idea in 2007 and was documented in January 2008 with an anticipated delivery date in mid-2010.  I had set targets for completion of various phases and milestones like chapter draft completion dates, novel edit version 1, version 2 completions, etc...  

I acquired resources who helped as readers, subject matter experts and editors.  Some services were obtained in exchange for lunches, dinners or for my own skilled offerings.  Some were offered freely.  Some required payment.  I met new people, made professional connections and obtained some unlikely new friends.

Along the way, it became apparent that I would need to adjust the time span represented in the novel and the intended milestones leading up to the release.  There were real life distractions with family issues, volunteer group commitments, working a day job plus preparing to downsize and move the family home in mid-2011 (yet another project).  

Due to the quickly changing publishing scene in Canada, my dream to have the novel released on target by a credible publisher soon faded.  There were other options but there was no way I was going to pay to have hundreds of copies of my novel printed and eventually end up storing boxes of them in my own home.  No way - especially if this  would hinder the moving project.  I thought about the cost, the space, my energy performing the leg work plus... the possible waste of trees and paper.  

My goal had to be delayed or re-imagined.  I pondered options available to me.  I explored alternatives.

Enter the liberating opportunities for Print on Demand and ePublishing.  

In April 2011, I released the Print on Demand edition of The Year of the Rabbit, A Novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness under the pen name of Florence T Lyon.  The reader feedback was encouraging.  In September 2011, I released the eBook version.

Although the targeted completion date was delayed, I am proud to say that this project was completed in 2011.  Visit www.yearoftherabbit.ca where you can follow links to enjoy excerpts, reader comments, tweets and other blog entries.  

As for the missing parts of the final product, they may be part of a new project that I intend to nurture, plan and release as a collection of short stories by 2023.  Another project I can envision is for the novel to be made into a movie.  I think it has the potential to rank with the likes of To Kill a Mockingbird and Stand by Me. I also think I need time to re-energize before even drafting a plan for that project.  

Yes, I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, the same year as the novel’s main character, Sera Fletcher.  

Thank you for reading this far.  Comments are welcome.   

TJ