Carol D. Marsh

Award-winning essayist and author of an award-winning memoir about living and working with DC’s homeless women with AIDS.
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Dear Readers:

I hope you all are staying healthy and managing well in these trying times.

I realize this message is coming to you sort of out of the blue, because I haven’t emailed you in a couple of years. In case you need a reminder, you’re on this list because you ordered my memoir - Nowhere Else I Want to Be, published in 2017 - or followed me in Inkshares.

The reasons you’re getting it: (1) I want you to know about my publication coming out this summer, and

(2) I’m going to migrate this email list to a different platform soon.

ABOUT #1: My prose chapbook, "Border/Between: A Symphony in Essays," will publish on June 30, 2022, from Bamboo Dart Press. A prose chapbook is a short piece--typically 8,000-15,000 words (for comparison, a book’s word count is typically 45,000-100,000 words)--printed and bound as a small paperback.

I’ll tell you more about the chapbook in the first email from the new platform.

ABOUT #2: I don’t intend to publish with Inkshares again, so it no longer makes sense that my current list is housed here.

I’ll say this in the next email, and I’m saying it now: I’ll make it clear how you can unsubscribe from the new email list. You won’t have to stay on my list by default.

Thank you for your support of my memoir and my writing. I’ll connect with you soon.

Peace, Carol D. Marsh

Dear Readers and Supporters of "Nowhere Else I Want to Be: A Memoir:

I’m happy to announce that "Nowhere Else I Want to Be" has won its fourth award.

FINALIST (Memoir Category) - Sarton Women’s Book Award 2017. (You can view the announcement HERE.)

Previous awards:
  • Grand Prize (Nonfiction) - Authors Talk About It Book Contest 2017
  • Finalist (Memoir) - Indie Excellence Book Awards 2017
  • Finalist (Memoir/Autobio) - NExt Generation Indie Book Awards 2017
Thank you for your support!
Carol

An anxious 20-something wife and former Christian struggling to reconcile her fantasy of marriage wi...

Dear Sweethearts, 

I hope that you all are doing well and that you’re staying warm, and that you’re having a lovely evening! I am writing to share some exciting news, a video that Health Magazine did based on "How to Get Run Over By a Truck" recently went up online! You can take a look here :) 

Amazingly, after it was posted by Health - People Magazine, Hello Giggles and Real Simple all also shared it, and just this week it reached over 1 million views! I wanted to share this with you, because none of this would have been possible without you and your support of me and this story! 

I have said this before, but I REALLY mean it this time, thank you x 1 MILLION! 

Heart,

Katie 


Progress on The Seclusion is happening on all ends!

At some point in the next week or so, my editor will submit the first three beautifully-polished chapters of the book to Ingram - a book distribution company that major retailers, and most indie bookstores, use to stock their shelves.

In other exciting news, the book is starting to pop up on major online retail sites for preorder!

The goal, as of now, is to shift from developmental-edit to copy-edit by April 1st. I’ll be hard at work every day until then to make sure we stay on schedule for a fall release, so that we can get this book in your hands!

I’ve been spending any and all free time over the last couple of weeks combing through the manuscript with two primary goals in mind - 1) Add to the inner voice of the protagonist, Patch 2) Flesh out additional world-building details. I regularly have at least one reference book open next to me as I work to sneak up on each scene from a new angle. My favorite as of late is The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface, by Donald Maass.

Last week, in an effort to soak up new world building inspiration, I used random photos found online and my favorite quick-marketing toy (Canva) to throw together a few concept images. Lately, I have these open as I hammer out my descriptive imagery for any given scene. Below are a few if you would like to take a look:

CHILDREN’S CLASSROOM

CITY CENTER

COMPLIANCE OFFICERS (COMPOS) AND PACIFIER (DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON)

I am guessing that over the next month I will hear from the Inkshares marketing team, and that cover design will kick off soon.

Back to edits! Until next time.

-Jacqui

Hey. Hi there. 

I have news. A couple of bits actually. I shall save the best for last though.

New book title

Ghosts of War is now.....Ghosts of War: Retribution. The change was made by me to help the title stand out a little more, and it gels better with what the story is actually about (and with the titles of the series going forward). I’m quite pleased with the change. 

With that change though, means something else...

A new cover


Production Status

Very good news on this front. This last Monday, Ghosts of War: Retribution winged it’s way across the interwebs into the hands of it’s copy editor. That means it is getting a thorough going over as it moves ever closer to release later in the year. Typically the time frame is 6 months from kickoff to publication, so it should land somewhere around the middle of the year. 

I should be hearing back from Inkshares soon with some more solid dates related to the production schedule and release, and I’ll keep you guys updated where I can.

Praise for the book

I’ve been getting the first lots of feedback on Ghosts of War: Retribution in the last few weeks, here’s a few blurbs that’ll be showing up in various promo materials going forward.

"Imagine that bastard you hate. Got it? Now imagine yourself gut punching them then throwing them down the stairs, and stealing their last donut. Robinson’s debut novel takes arch-rivalvary up a notch while giving that oh-so-satisfying desire to chew bubblegum and kick ass." - Rick Heinz, Author of The Seventh Age: Dawn 

 "Sci-Fi action-adventure at its very, very best. Paul Robinson gives us complex characters facing complex conflict in a futuristic world that, although dystopian, always carries the ring of truth. There’s revenge, retribution, heroism and, sprinkled throughout, satisfying bits of wry humor. A winning combination, and a debut author worth watching." - Jason Pomerance, Author of Women Like Us 

 “Ghosts of War: Retribution is an adrenaline-fueled adventure perfect for fans of fast-paced action sci-fi.” - Robert Batten, Author of Blood Capital 

 "Paul Robinson thrills his readers in the style of James Rollins and John Grisham, and then brings them to another world in the style of Robert Heinlein. You should pick up Ghosts of War: Retribution, though be warned: it’s hard to put down. ★★★★★" - Jonathan Maas, Author of Flare

 What now?

As production finally ramps up on Ghosts of War: Retribution, I’ll be working hard with Inkshares to get it into your hands and I’ll also be continuing to work on the sequels which are now called Ghosts of War: Reprisal and Ghosts of War: Reckoning

As always, stay tuned for updates.

Dear readers and friends of Nowhere Else I Want to Be: A Memoir - 

It’s January, and my book has been out for a year. An eventful year. Thank you once again to those of you whose orders made sure we reached the 750 preorder threshold, and who have recommended and championed the book for the past twelve months.

Here are some highlights of 2017

"Nowhere Else I Want to Be: A Memoir" has earned three 5-star reviews:
  1. Book Review Directory - HERE
  2. Authors Talk About It - HERE
  3. Readers Favorite - HERE
And it has won awards:
  1. GRAND PRIZE, Nonfiction - Authors Talk About It 2017 Book Contest
  2. FINALIST, Memoir - Indie Excellence Book Awards, 2017
  3. FINALIST, Memoir/Autobio - Next Generation Indie Book Awards, 2017
I redesigned and updated my author website - HERE.

I founded my online school for the support, nurture and challenge of people serving others, FORUM FOR GROWTH IN SERVICE - HERE.

In Forum for Growth in Service, there’s a FREE course with a videoed talk about the major themes of my memoir. If you’ve read the book and would like to know more about it and how/why I wrote it, HERE is the link.

I gave my first ever podcast interview - HERE.

I started doing some public speaking: 
  1. at book clubs, 
  2. nonprofit events (Little Friends of Peace; ALIVE! Alexandria), 
  3. Georgetown University’s Family Medical Residents
  4. Washington AIDS Partnership.
Three of my essays were published:
  1. "Highest and Best" (an excerpt from "Nowhere Else I Want to Be) - Honorable Mention in Under the Gum Tree’s Fifth Anniversary Contest. (Not published online)
  2. "How to Build A Bonfire" in Los Angeles Review - read it HERE
  3.  "If Memory" in Lunch Ticket - read it HERE.

Taking a deep breath and gearing up for 2018! I hope you are, too. And I hope you have a productive, peaceful year.

Carol D. Marsh

Today is a great day, thanks to you, and Inkshares. 

I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am without the experience I had working with Inkshares on Sunshine is Forever. I have had both negative and positive experiences with the company, but I know their editorial process really improved my writing and taught me a ton. I want to thank Inkshares and all of you for supporting me with this book. You helped elevate me to the next level.

I’ve been querying to get a writing agent for 7 years. Well, I can finally announce that I have officially accepted representation with Jennifer Soloway at Andrea Brown Lit. I am thrilled! Here’s to a long and prosperous writing career! 

http://www.andreabrownlit.com/

I appreciate all of you! Don’t forget to review Sunshine is Forever on AMAZON!

Kyle T. Cowan

I’m sitting at my desk this lovely morning, watching the snow fall out the window of my mountainside home and feeling very grateful for all of you. This update is coming a little later than usual, and for that, I apologize. I was waiting to hear back on a few points so that this update could be a bit more substantial than the last few. And, it will be!

I have multiple exciting updates to share with you!

1) Developmental Edit Progress

Since my update at the end of October, I have concluded another round of developmental edit rewrites. The book is now back in the hands of my editor. He is going through one more time (he estimates this will take about two weeks), and then he plans to send the book to a beta-reader to get some third-party, objective feedback. We will then use that feedback to do one more pass before forwarding the book to a copy-editor.

2) Title change

While I like The Walls are Closing In (and we may still use it as a tagline for the book), we have decided that a different title is more marketable, provides a bit of mystery, and is catchier for the future selling of property rights (fingers crossed).

So, without further ado, the new title is:

The Seclusion

3) Genre Change

We are making a few changes to the plot and market the book as YA(Young Adult). This will only marginally change the story but will double the audience. It allows us to not only market the book to fans of books such as 1984, Fahrenheit 541, and The Handmaid’s Tale, but also to fans of books such as The Hunger Games and Divergent.

3) Release Date!

The book has been assigned a tentative release date and an ISBN number (this second part is probably not exciting to anyone but me).

The Seclusion is currently set to publish on:

October 2, 2018!

This is a bit later than I had hoped, but I am beyond thrilled that there is an official trajectory. Between now and then I will be doing everything in my power to ensure that the launch is a success.

One last note - the first two chapters on the book’s page have been updated to reflect the changes that we have been making. Feel free to check them out!

Until next time,

-Jacqui

Carol is the author of
Sometimes you see an injustice and decide to help. Along the way you discover that the ones you think you’re helping, the hopeless and lost ones, are giving you your life. This is about women, some with AIDS, transforming one another.
Books Carol Recommends
A young adult novel about a boy growing up in Alaska - well written and interesting, I can see young people reading this book and loving it.
Book one in a character-driven middle reader series about an Alaska Native teenager living in small-town Alaska. While helping his dad at the Moose Like Espresso Cafe, Rigs Seward gets a firsthand look at the locals, and all of their local drama.
A book about depression by a therapist who knows depression in more than an academic sense. This is going to be a good book, and helpful
Clinical depression is an often misunderstood condition. I am both a therapist and a patient, and I hope that the telling of my own story can lead to greater understanding of this very common illness.
I like to keep track of us nonfiction authors on Inkshares, and am excited about Patrick's book. Check it out and lend your support!
A book featuring large photographs of beautiful bicycle infrastructure from around the world.
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