I did it. I unpublished my books. De-published? Contra-published? I took them down from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etcetera, and I am going to edit, rewrite, republish.  I did lots of things wrong when I first self-published years ago, so why not? The best thing about self-publishing is that I am in control, and I have only myself to blame. Which is also the worst thing, of course.

I asked Stephen Morgan for advice (very nice person, highly recommended), and he suggested I start with Arabella’s Gift, my most romance-y book. It also has a dragon and some paranormal witchy stuff. But also a rape scene, which is not a popular thing to have these days. It’s been some twenty years since I wrote that book, and I no longer want to read books with rape scenes myself. So that’s a big rewrite.

My sister-in-law, also an author, Sally Brandle, thinks I should start my rewriting with Matriarchs: Eliza’s Revenge, my most sci-fi book, and a mystery with a romance. My protag is from a matriarchy planet, and she has to team up with a Captain Kirk-ish guy whom she dislikes from the get-go. It’s a complicated plot dependent on some genetic engineering tech which is outdated. So, again, rewriting and some serious research to make sure I’m not making a fool of myself.

My oldest book is Snail’s Pace, a novella about a Victorian woman who becomes the “governess” to an alien child on a spaceship. The aliens look like snails. It’s probably my favorite book and my most difficult to sell. I actually had an agent for that one, many years ago. I wrote about that experience here. I don’t really know where I’d start in rewriting it.

My newest (not counting the one currently making the query rounds) is Lizzie in the Land Beyond, a YA fantasy with a little romance. It’s about a young woman who tries to commit suicide and wakes up in another world. Lizzie is an Advanced Placement student, and like many AP students I’ve known, she thinks she understands a lot more than she does. She’s also a singer and sings her way through her many humbling learning experiences in the new world. I don’t think it’s been long enough since I finished to be rewriting that one.

Thanks, everyone! Talking it over with you has helped me make up my mind! Arabella it is, and when I get stuck with her, I’ll begin my genetic engineering research to see what I need to adjust in Matriarchs. (Besides the title. That title has to change. What was I thinking?)