Author Jerri Corgiat On Being Humble

Please join me in welcoming award-winning author Jerri Corgiat as the special guest blogger today as Istoria Books (eBooks You Want to Read at Prices You Want to Pay) announces the e-publication of her five tender romances in her LOVE FINDS A HOME series, originally published in paperback by Penguin's Signet imprint. 

Jerri’s LOVE FINDS A HOME series is one heartwarming extended family in a small town nestled amid the stunning Missouri Ozarks. Two of the series were featured selections of Literary Guild, Doubleday and Rhapsody book clubs when they were released in paperback by Penguin’s Signet imprint. The series is now available for Kindle, Nook, and other eReader devices through Istoria Books. 

Jerri stopped by to share her thoughts on ‘WHAT HUMBLES ME.’

Let’s be honest. We all know why I’m here. I’m here to sell books. Specifically, my books. I don’t feel at all bad about pushing them at you, either, because if you like the kind of book I write (and even if you don’t) I think they’re better than at least half the books out there. 

Hey, put those tomatoes down. I’m writing this with a wink! Really!

Let me explain and crunch a few numbers:

A little research turns up the fact there are approximately 13 million books in print. A look on Amazon shows there are nearly a million digitized books for sale in the Kindle Store. There’s overlap between the two;  nobody seems sure how much.

A lot of those books are like mine: My books had their type repurposed through the magic of software and are now rebirthed… only this time not in black-and-white and on paper, but in high contrast, non-glare, eInk on a 6-inch, 8.5 oz device that can talk to the Internet. 

Whoa. 

So, what I’m getting at here is that instead of claiming to be better than 6 million other books, we’re only looking at 500K—half of those one million ebooks. I’ll even ratchet it down another notch and consider only the 277,264 books that are listed as fiction. 

This is me, practicing humility.

So I was thinking about this statistic I read the other day. That 93 percent of all drivers think there’s nothing wrong with the way they drive. Bear with me, this will all come together.

Stops you dead in your tracks, though, doesn’t it? I mean, you and I know that while we have nothing at all wrong with the way we drive, that just isn’t true for the other 92.99 percent in our statistical group, although it does make sense that of the remaining seven percent who do admit they aren’t excellent drivers, none of them are men. My guess is that only fourteen other people in the continental United States and one person in Alaska—all women—plus 0.5 people in Hawaii, a guy with gender issues, have this driving thing down.

So yes, just as I’m certain I’m part of that 93 percent, I am equally sure I write better books than half the books out there. And if you’re a writer, I’m sure you also think you write better books than half the books out there. And if you’re not a writer, you’re certain that if you did write, you’d write better books than half the books out there.

Let’s be honest.

Anyway, no matter what kind of statistics I look at, I’m pretty proud of my writing. I have to be; any writer has to be. If we weren’t, we could no longer do it.

What does humble me, though? When you buy one of my books. Because you could have made 277,263 other choices. 

I’m very proud that the five books in the LOVE FINDS A HOME series are now available as ebooks from Istoria Press. I hated abandoning the series, but several years ago, my publisher decided to go different directions than the family-saga-combined-with-women’s-fiction-and-romance-type book that I write (yes, I was a never-ending source of bemusement to them on how to market these things). And since I felt few readers would want them printed out from my home computer…

Anyway, the books went into out-of-print mode. Eventually I was able to get the rights reverted back to me and, as is happening for so many authors and their backlists, reissue them as ebooks. Woot! 

This makes me not only proud but happy! Happy enough that a sixth book in the series is now taking shape on my laptop.

I would love to hear from you here, either a comment—keep it clean—or answer my question: Now that there are so many new authors on the ebook frontier, how do you decide what book to buy?  If that’s of no interest, I’d appreciate recipes for low-cal summer desserts. I’m on a diet. (Friend me on FB and post it there, if you’d like.)

The first in the series, Sing Me Home, is being offered for 99 cents, as part of the Istoria Books Gift of Summer Reading Sale!

Jerri, thanks so much for guest blogging. I enjoyed your ‘humble’ outlook. I don’t own an e-Reader but I’m beginning to have a better appreciation for e-Books. They are a great way for readers to enjoy books that have gone out-of-print and been reborn (as you said).

Now for a bit of background on Jerri, award-winning author, editor and former bookseller. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, son, dog Rosie—and the true queen of the house, their cat, Princess Piggy-Britches. Their home is located in rolling woodlands reminiscent of the Ozarks, where she spent her childhood summers and where the LOVE FINDS A HOME series took root in her imagination. She is currently working on her sixth book. Her website is: http://www.jerricorgiat.com You can also read an interview with Jerri at the Istoria Books blog.

The LOVE FINDS A HOME series by Jerri follows the extended O'Malley clan in Cordelia, Missouri, as they confront both life and love challenges. Although the books are part of a series, they do not need to be read in order. Books in the series include: 

·    SING ME HOME-- Lil O'Malley falls for the children of rehabilitated country star Jonathan Van Castle, leading her to accept his proposal for a marriage of convenience that ultimately allows him to win her heart.
·    FOLLOW ME HOME -- When Alcea O'Malley Addams's husband betrays her, luxury and self-worth go out the window...until an old flame comes into town, leading her to reevaluate her past, her value and her future.
·    HOME AT LAST -- Marigold (Mari) O'Malley returns home to lick her wounds after a big-city career sinks under the weight of a relationship with her boss. Her broken heart begins to mend when she reconnects with a bad boy from her past who teaches her how to trust and take chances at the same time.
·    HOME BY STARLIGHT -- Widow Patsy O'Malley remains fiercely independent until a broken ankle  and an itinerant musician (from Jonathan Van Castle's band) both knock her off her feet.
·    TAKE ME HOME -- Florida Jones thinks she has the perfect fiance and the perfect life planned until a car accident results in injuries that threaten her sight. An unlikely helpmate guides her to recovery, where she ultimately "sees" the love that is most important in her life.

What are your thoughts on out-of-print books becoming e-Books? As always, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Remember, Jerri wants to hear from you either here or on Facebook.