I received my copies of Just Rose today and I am so in love with the finished product.
This is a relaunch of the book after a long haul from memory box, to publisher, to indie release and now under the loving care of Pict publishing.
I was so excited to unbox these beauties and will be organising some sort of giveaway in the near future to properly celebrate the fact she is finally done and out there for all to share.
She symbolises a long journey for me really, a great mark of achievement, as she was the first book I wrote when I came back to writing. After years of being told that a dyslexic writer would never get anywhere. Here I am.
She was the book at 15 I penned on paper, typed on my first PC at 16 and was offered publishing for at 17 via one of the big 5 publishers. I stupidly thought that getting an offer was easy, considering I only posted this manuscript to 3 places and got positive responses from all 3. I was very blind to the realities of publishing and realise how stupid turning down that offer was.
I ran off and joined a girl band instead, as all clever, sane, smart girls do and abandoned the 5 novels I had written in my early teens to gather dust while I had myself an adventurous life. I can’t complain – it has fuelled every book I have written in the last two years.
Two years ago I decided to revisit Just Rose (named ‘Thorns of a Rose’ back then) when I came across the original in my memory box. Pages and pages of innocent writing from an obviously very young girl. A girl with no real insight to the complexity of love and relationships.
I rewrote, revamped and changed many of the characters names and personalities, while still keeping the original plot in tact.
I had grown so much from that book. The influences of my difficult life in childhood shone through the pages in a rather alarming way and made me realise that my thought process, and what I believed in men was acceptable, had done a complete 360 turn around.
I reinvented Rob. Made him a hero worthy of Rose.
I also highlighted the mental health awareness in this book with a much more delicate hand than my former 15 year old self.
More importantly, Just Rose was based in the small highland village where I spent my teens. A real small town cosy community and made the book so much more special now that I live back in the central area of Scotland. It really does capture a part of my life.
So then Rose was picked up by the first publisher I posted to and spent a good 9-10 months under their care before I decided I wanted her back with my Carrero series, as they were killing it under the care of Pict. I got her back and the book was treated as a new manuscript all over again. New editing, proof reading and cover redesign. Although the image is the same as the original it was revamped by the talented Sarah Marie.
So here it is…shiny, new and PINK!!!! Well I have to contrast my Carrero Series and indulge in the other side of my girly.
A book that took 20 years to come to fruition. Grew as I did and symbolised the reinvention of myself and the return to a passion I had once tossed aside.
The Blurb – Just Rose
The unexpected death of Rose’s beloved aunt ends up being a driving force in her uneventful life. She gives up her lonely, unfulfilled big city existence for the country home and life from cherished childhood memories.
But can it live up to them?
All she wants is to find her place in the world; the happiness and independence she has been searching for. With her little dog Muffin by her side and a much needed new friend, it does seem possible – until an encounter with the handsome local Laird of the Munro Estate sends her spiralling from young professional woman to hormonal bundle of goo.
Their chemistry is undeniable, but with him not seemingly on the market, this might not be the place for her after all.
Thrust into the world of country living, will Rose ever find true love?
In this roller coaster of emotions and a whole lot of country charm, one thing is for sure: Rose is certainly not going to be bored anymore!
Buy the book –
mybook.to/JustRoseLTMarshall
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