One of the books I put out I dearly love but always knew it'd be a hard sell to readers as it is a romance that covers a subject that sometimes is covered in romances but never quite like mine. When I first begin writing I thought being original would be good... guess what-- it's not. Readers want the plots they have read and liked over the years. They want it a thousand times but with different characters. If you don't believe me, check out the popular romances. So to be original which might seem would be good-- is not. Anyway it doesn't matter because as I've said a zillion times-- we write what we can write and the stories that come to us.
Moon Dust is the story of a marriage on the brink of divorce. Its hero is a high school principal confronting what is very typically a problem in schools today and sadly was when I wrote the story over 15 years ago. It also deals with the ramifications of childhood abuse on adults. That isn't so unusual when it's a heroine but in this book's case, it's the hero.
I don't know why people have wrongly tended to think sexual abuse of males as children isn't as serious a crime. I think that is changing. Sexual abuse of children is a crime of control and it's not less disastrous for the impact on an adult when it's a male than a female. I did a lot of research for the book, reading case histories, coming to understand what might be the telltale clues.
Then I set my story into the problems this high school principal was facing with violence in the schools. It's kind of a difficult subject every direction but I think I handled it tastefully and believably while keeping the story romantic. Still it's not surprising it's been a hard go for readers.
What I needed was a cover that depicted the story in a way that at least leads potential readers to look at the blurb and read the sample. It's what a cover is all about-- like fishing bait on a hook. The bait interests them and hopefully the hook is the blurb and free sample of the first chapter. Cover though comes first and I've tried a lot of them. The current cover is back from an earlier one but with a new background and font. Will it help sales? whoever knows with eBooks. You really never know what leads to them or means you get none.
I'd like to see this book do well not only because of the healing information that I think is within for individuals but for our culture; but also because it then leads into reading Second Chance which I think is also a book that has more than a romance as a reason to read the story.
So, once again new cover and maybe... just maybe... it'll be the last one as this really is Susan's story as she wrestles with first the loss of her marriage and leaving a man she still loves and then the truth of why he has been as he is. Finally as she has to fight to save him.
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