Ghost Orchid

I just sent the final manuscript for publication, release date in September 2009. I'm tired but what a relief. The final edits are the toughest. Here's a long synopsis:

Ghost Orchid presents a complex story that intertwines a number of characters, a humid Florida setting, and the secrets and lies that surround one family. Throughout the narrative, the symbolic role of the mysterioius ghost orchid ties many themes together in a mystical way.

The story opens with the sound of twisting metal as two cars collide on a dangerous curve in the Everglades and shifts to the building romance between Roger and Neev, free lance photographers who meet on a shoot in the jungles of Venezuela and bond over a python in a staredown with the exquisitely beautiful Neev.

Vivid descriptions of Florida's lush flora and fauna and the blooming of the mysterious and sensuous ghost orchid bring the stories full circle with the laws of the natural world and their impact on people.

Roger and Neev's loving relationship is juxtaposed with Mel's loneliness as she walks through the swamp and longs for the companionship of a loving man. Readers who enjoy human dramas and ecological splendor coexisting in a story about love, loss, redemption and beauty will not be able to put Ghost Orchid down until tears of joy at the end.

A quote from Ghost Orchid:

"One thing she knew about walking in the swamp: she did not cry. She was filled with such an overwhelming sense of peace that her heart was full to overflowing with joy from the first step into its wonders until the last step out. Tears were for lonely automobiles, the back of the church, the empty roooms. She knew that her Creator who made this swamp such a beautiful and serene place where nature lived in harmony according to its predestined imprint had done no less for her. In the swamp, she felt her God filling the void in her soul; and she was at peace. This walk was the highlight of her day, a raison d'etre for the long drive to a job that had lost its spark with an accumulation of career disappointments. The swamp was never disappointing."

Congratulations DK. It must be a mixed blessing. A sigh of relief to have completed the hard work, and a feeling of satisfaction to see your work ready for publication.
The story line sounds very interesting.

Congratulations and now I imagine you are looking forward to holding the published book in your hands.

Carol

Congratulations and best wishes for your success DK!

Thanks for all the kind thoughts! I still look at my first novel, Arirang: The Bamboo Connection 500 pages in a beautiful red PA cover and am thrilled. Did I really write so many pages? Ghost Orchid is almost one third as long. I'm rather excited about finishing it. I hope readers enjoy it. I think it will be print, ebook and Kindle at the same time (or close).

Again, thanks for reading my post and providing your support.

While I was teaching The Great Gatsby I learned that the original version was several times as long as the final product. It is sooo hard to eliminate passages that we read and say, "Hey, I wrote that, Wow!" But sometimes it painfully necessary. I'm looking forward to Ghost Orchid, DK.

Ann

Interesting, like to give it a read.

Ghost Orchid is scheduled for release in the fall, around September. It's difficult to wait. I may post the prologue here. I think there's a thread for that.

Would love to read the prologue, DK. And congratulations for finishing another book!

Glad you have it finished up, DK.

Ghost Orchid is now for sale at B&N in Estero and Bonita Springs and at Lakeshore Mall in Muskegon, MI. Of course it's also available online at Amazon.com, etc. in print, Kindle and ebook versions. The print version online is $10.76 and the ebook around $5.00.

It never ceases to amaze me how an ebook price is set. Is there a value for the writer's contribution? Is that contribution worth only the $.80 to $1.00 earned in royalties per book?

The bar code price for Ghost Orchid is $14.95; but the internet competition has brought print book prices way down in many cases.

Please take a look at my September post. It was the first synopsis; perhaps still the best.