The Devil's Daughter Springs onto the shelves!

Two things I’ve been waiting for are finally happening.

First, of course, is spring. Today is the first day of spring and it couldn’t have come sooner for me. It’s always been my favourite season for so many reasons, but mainly because it’s a fresh start for everything. Trees that have stood in limbo for so many months now begin show new signs of life, crocuses are in full bloom, and the daffodils are pushing up and out, too.

The whole world seems to heave a sigh of relief as people creep out of their homes with gardening tools in hand and their jackets unzipped. It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for and finally it’s here! Having lived in the Yukon and Northwest Territories for the better part of eight years, we soon learned that the calendar might proclaim it was spring, but Mother Nature wouldn’t start warming things up for another couple of months. So we learned to improvise.

While friends and family would email us about their blooming gardens and warm temperatures, we would still be hunkered down in our parkas and Sorels knowing we wouldn’t see a blade of grass until well into May. Not to be deterred, we would often plant our bulbs indoors and set them in a warm place so that we, too, could enjoy some spring colours too. It wasn’t the same as being able to enjoy spring with the rest of the world, but it was enough to get us through to the end.

This year, spring is better than ever! My new book, The Devil’s Daughter, due out April 1st, is already shipping from Amazon. This book has been a labour of love from the very first spark of inspiration, which oddly enough, was nothing more than the title (and thank you sooooo much to my editor and the marketing people at Dorchester for allowing me to keep it!). From that little spark, everything else worked its way into the story one tiny bit at a time. It has been written, rewritten, had chunks completely deleted, edited, rewritten, more chunks deleted, and rewritten again.

The funny thing about this book is that it truly almost didn’t see the light. I’d been told over and over again that it needed to be darker, that I needed to up the paranormal factor and go deeper. Silly me, I tried. After all, it *is* about the devil’s daughter, so it made sense (sort of) that the story should be darker. But then I met my editor, Leah Hultenschmidt, at a conference in New York and everything changed.

(If I’ve never mentioned how fabulous Leah is, let me say it loud and clear right now. She is fabulous!!!!!)

Anyway. . .. . .I’d never pitched a story before and there I was, stuttering my way through the longest five minutes of poor Leah’s life. She was so kind and understanding, and frankly, she nearly knocked me out of my chair when she said she wasn’t really looking for anything ‘dark-dark’. Well, did I have the book for her! Who says everything about the devil’s offspring has to be dark and horrible? LOL

The rest, as they say, is history. With Leah’s guidance, we molded the story into what Harriet Klausner has called “devilishly delightful” and RTBOOKReviews says “. . .reads like the best of Americana.”

So it really is the best time of year for me. The Devil’s Daughter is here, the garden’s blooming, and all is right with the world.

Cheers!!

Laura