(this hat was made for me by sister Reba!  One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year!)

So…..what did you get for Christmas?????

Greetings fans and friends!  I hope this New Years Eve finds you recounting all the blessing in your life, and if your 2011 was miserable….then may I say along with you…good riddance, 2011!   With all the upheaval in our world, I pray that you and your loved ones have managed to establish your own little “postage stamp of peace”  regardless of the insanity that has become planet earth.  Throughout this holiday season as my family has been grappling with one personal crisis after another, I am thankful to have a hand full of very close friends who always stand beside me, and I am thankful to have a very great love…a love that many never find in all their lifetime.  I am also thankful that despite my own weaknesses, fears, and shortcomings….my faith in God somehow remains, even though at times it seems a puny, inadequate thing.  In times like these when all is being shaken around me, I reflect that I do not live by my own faith….but by the faith OF Jesus Christ.  The very same faith that rose him from the dead is the faith that upholds me.

And so, we….you and I, will move onto the next year not knowing what is to come.  Know however, that after taking a much needed break from revisions,  this author is back to work on the revised Chanson de l’Ange 4 part series, and it is my aim to bring this series to its completion and publication early this year.  At the time of release, the Chanson series will be available in both paper back and ebook format, so please keep checking the site for updates…and thank you so much to those of you who have been sending me kind, uplifting, and encouraging emails and messages.

Cheers!
Swannie

Early in November I had all but convinced myself that I wasn’t going to put in as much time or effort as in past years, but those boxes of decorations managed to burst out of storage and I now sit here in a thoroughly decorated wonderland.  I guess Christmas has come to mean so much to me that it’s no longer just a “thing” I do….but it is part of who I am.  This holiday represents my fondest childhood memories, all tied up with the bittersweet realities of my past, present and future, and my deepest faith in Jesus Christ.   I am aware that there will come a day when Christmas will no longer be the big production it presently is in our home….but even if in the very distant future all I can manage is a shabby little Charlie Brown tree on the table…I will keep Christmas at my house.   So as Tiny Tim observed in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol….”God bless us, every one!”

Please enjoy photos of my abode!  Swannie

Dear fans and friends, as you may have noticed, it has been a while since I posted a new blog on my site-but just as Autumn brings changes to our Summer gardens, so has this Autumn brought about many changes in the lives of my loved ones.  It has been a season of turmoil, and regrettably that has directly impacted my ability to finish up revisions on the revised Chanson de l’Ange series in time for release this year.  Therefore, the release has been moved into early 2012.

My mother was just diagnosed with dementia, so the family is not only dealing with her decline, but also the fallout from family skeletons, recently unearthed in the wake of my mother’s worsening condition.  Moreover, another close family member has been struggling with serious mental health issues, so I’m afraid most of my energy has been geared toward making myself available to my family.  But despite these significant setbacks, I have been enjoying a beautiful Autumn here in the NW, and have been snapping photos to capture some of those special moments.  Please enjoy the photos posted  below and have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Swannie

Taken from inside my house.  Hubby raking leaves!

Our front porch on Halloween!

My cat Nicodemus!

Hubby on a walk in Columbia Park near our home.

Columbia Park near our home

More from Columbia Park

Random people in the park

Greetings fans and friends!  Have much I want to blog about in the next few days, but until I get the time to do that, I am now posting the new synopsis and all 4 cover designs for the new series.  Still no release date yet…but working it!

Cover designs by Frances Wheeler and Nathan Allen Pinard

Chanson de l’Ange by Paisley Swan Stewart is a four volume epic retelling of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Drawing inspiration from The Opera Ghost in all his incarnations through book and film; and remaining faithful to key story elements from the classic original, the author weaves a haunting tale of Christine Daae’s companionship with the mysterious Angel of Music.

Book One~Orphan in Winter: opens with the tragic death of ten year old Christine Daae’s father, ushering in dramatic changes when she is left in the care of Madame Louise Giry, ballet mistress at the Paris Opera House.  Christine makes her new home in the opera’s conservatory where she encounters a bohemian world of singers and dancers, and where she is visited by the unseen Angel of Music.

Book Two~The Bleeding Rose: continues Christine’s journey into an unorthodox attachment to her invisible teacher, and a bond of obsession and music is forged as her dark Angel methodically makes himself known.  Through the illusory dreams of her adolescent desires, Christine will discover that not all angels have wings and not all devils are what they seem to be…for there are two sides to the Angel’s enchanted mirror.

Book Three~Firelight Through Diamonds: As Christine takes center stage in the Joan of Arc opera, events swirl out of control, having dire consequences.  The Angel of Music steps out from the shadows and mirrors become the portal into both heaven and hell.  Caught between the two greatest loves of her life, Christine is torn between the light and darkness of her own soul.

Book Four~The Angel’s Song:  In the concluding chapters of Chanson de l’Ange, Christine confronts the ghosts of both her past and present.  As she performs the starring role in her Angel’s magnificent opera, she must brave a future where all those she loves are thrust into a soul stirring crescendo that will leave readers breathless.

So now it’s on to revising The Bleeding Rose~Book Two of the new Chanson de l’Ange 4 part series!  You know, as a writer I must confess that it is much more enjoyable to write fresh material than to be constantly revising, but at the same time I’m so thrilled that the work is being done for my readers, who deserve the best from me!   I expect my revisions on Book Two to be completed by November. (books 3&4 have already been revised and formatted and are now in the hands of my publisher)

In other Chanson news, work on the CD is going well!  Toni Gibson, the guest artist who will be performing The Bleeding Rose has just completed her recording session of the song, and now Nathan will engineer her vocal recording with his orchestral accompaniment.   Michele Karmin, who will be performing Firelight Through Diamonds, has now received Nathan’s accompaniment track and is in rehearsal for the song, which she will record in the near future.  Next we begin work on composing the song for Carrie Shaw’s lovely voice, That Summer by the Sea.

Along with all this great news, just today I received the mock-up cover design for the new Book One~Orphan in Winter from Frannie, the same amazing graphic artist who designed my previous covers.  Let me just say that I cried when I opened the file because it so perfectly captures the title!  I am soooooo blessed to have all these amazing people working with me on the Chanson projects!

I literally sent Frannie a whole bunch of individual images and left it up to her to piece together the cover idea!  I could not be more thrilled!

Now, because I’ve been keeping you all in the loop throughout Chanson’s creative process, I’m going to give you a sneak peek of the cover mock-up, but please remember that, because this idea is only a quick sample image, we used low rez water-marked photos straight off the istockphoto site.  The final version will be highly detailed, utilizing very high rez images, and it will be much larger.  Again, this is only a mock-up and it will likely undergo a few changes on the way to publication.  Also, there is no cover text on this sample.

So what do you think?  It’s going to be gorgeous, yes????

laptop on fire

Greetings fans and friends!  This is just a quickie to update you all about my progress on the revisions for Chanson de l’Ange.  Does the photo give you a clue?  No, my laptop has not caught on fire and is still in perfect working order…(for an ancient computer, that is)  This photo is meant to represent the work I have been doing just about every day on revising the original ‘Book One’ manuscript for errors and lousy grammar.  In other words, I am working my a$$ off!  So to those of you who are emailing, posting on my blog and facebook page begging to know when the new 4 part series will be released….this is your answer:  I am working on it! All kidding aside, my goal now is to release the new series this year!   For now, that’s all I can tell you.  I know some of you are disappointed that you will have to wait longer than expected….but imagine how I feel?  I’ve been working on this novel since 2005!  I would like to have a life again!  But hey, when your passions drive you,  you just have to go with it, right?

I must say that I am very pleased with how the revisions are progressing.  Be assured that the story content and plot are not changing.  I am improving the writing but the story is the same.  It is very hard work, going through the entire manuscript again, but it feels so good knowing that my readers will have the quality of writing they deserve.  Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as my beta and I burn up our computers!

Swannie

Greetings fans and friends.  I have an important announcement to make and I hope you will all be profoundly excited about my news!  As you know my novel has been picked up by TreasureLine Publishing and I am in the process of migrating my work away from Xlibris to this small but growing traditional publishing house.  TreasureLine offers their authors hands on assistance and encouragement with a team of professionals who function together like a warm and cozy family.  At this time in my life and in the life of Chanson de l’Ange, TreasureLine is the perfect fit and I am thrilled to have been added to their bookshelves.  But this means that there will be BIG changes for Chanson de l’Ange…changes that I hope you will welcome… (Click the MORE button to read entire article)

In reviewing the Book Two manuscript for formatting, one of the TreasureLine team members was so impressed with Chanson that she felt it deserves a special treatment.  Given that Book One is over 600 pages, and Book Two over 500 pages, her idea is to divide Chanson de l’Ange into 4 separate volumes as a series, instead the 2 thick volumes it is now.  The 4 books would be about 300 pages each, and my publisher feels that as books are getting slimmer and shorter, dividing my books would make them less intimidating for readers who don’t want to lug around a heavy book.  So let me give you a quick run down of what is about to happen.  I have decided to split Chanson up into the 4 separate books as my publisher has suggested.  In addition I have decided to revise the Book One you all know and love in order to correct the many spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.  In retrospect I wish I had waited to publish Book One until I could find a reliable editor, but caught up in the desire to bring my 5 year efforts (now almost 7 years to date) to a close, I made the mistake of putting it on the market before it was ready.  For this I offer my profound apology  to all the devoted readers who have had to suffer through so many errors, and to be perfectly honest, it is an embarrassment to me.  Please be assured that for the most part, the revisions of the original Book One will only be of technical nature.  Although I will perhaps alter some of the sentence structure, the story itself well not change, so if you are happy with the original edition you will not need to purchase the revised one.

The decision to publish 4 volumes means a lot of work for me, and it also means that for those of you waiting for the conclusion to the story….you will have to wait a bit longer.  In order to prevent confusion between the Xlibris and the TreasureLine editions, I have decided to complete revisions on Book One before releasing the 4 volume series.  I am truly sorry to disappoint my readers but after giving this much thought, I think this is the best way to handle the transition.   Although the first edition of Book One will remain for sale on the various online outlets as is, as soon as the manuscript has been revised and edited, production of the series will begin.

At this point I have no idea how long the turn around time will be, but as I get more information from my publisher I will pass it onto you.  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments feature…but please, no rotten tomatoes!

The covers Frannie and I designed for Book One and Two will still be used, and I am currently in the process of designing 2 brand new covers for the 2 extra volumes.  Now let me share with you the titles I have chosen for the Chanson de l’Ange series:

Book One~Orphan in Winter: new cover design
Book Two~The Bleeding Rose: original cover
Book Three~Firelight Through Diamonds :new cover design
Book Four~The Angel’s Song: original cover

Here is the new synopsis:

Chanson de l’Ange by Paisley Swan Stewart is a four volume epic retelling of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Drawing inspiration from The Opera Ghost in all his incarnations through book and film; and remaining faithful to key story elements from the classic original, the author weaves a haunting tale of Christine Daae’s companionship with the mysterious Angel of Music.

Book One~Orphan in Winter: opens with the tragic death of ten year old Christine Daae’s father, ushering in dramatic changes when she is left in the care of Madame Louise Giry, ballet mistress at the Paris Opera House.  Christine makes her new home in the opera’s conservatory where she encounters a bohemian world of singers and dancers, and where she is visited by the unseen Angel of Music.

Book Two~The Bleeding Rose: continues Christine’s journey into an unorthodox attachment to her invisible teacher, and a bond of obsession and music is forged as her dark Angel methodically makes himself known.  Through the illusory dreams of her adolescent desires, Christine will discover that not all angels have wings and not all devils are what they seem to be…for there are two sides to the Angel’s enchanted mirror.

Book Three~Firelight Through Diamonds: As Christine takes center stage in the Joan of Arc opera, events swirl out of control, having dire consequences.  The Angel of Music steps out from the shadows and mirrors become the portal into both heaven and hell.  Caught between the two greatest loves of her life, Christine is torn between the light and darkness of her own soul.

Book Four~The Angel’s Song:  In the concluding chapters of Chanson de l’Ange, Christine confronts the ghosts of both her past and present.  As she performs the starring role in her Angel’s magnificent opera, she must brave a future where all those she loves are thrust into a soul stirring crescendo that will leave readers breathless.

Greetings fans and friends!  You haven’t heard from me in a while because I have been very busy!  This week I am excited to announce that Chanson de l’Ange Book Two: The Angel’s Song will be submitted to my publisher tomorrow!  I have no idea about the time frame to the actual release, but I should imagine it will be at least a couple of months or more.  I will make an announcement as soon as the release date is set…. (Click the MORE button to read entire article)

In addition to that exciting news, I am also thrilled to announce that Nathan has launched the official Chanson de l’Ange Soundtrack site!  Please take a look and sign up for our email list.  Nathan will be blogging his updates and progress as we move forward to the CD release.  Toni Gibson has now received the orchestral accompaniment to The Bleeding Rose and is working on learning and performing the song!  I can’t wait for her to send us a reference recording!  She will then record the song professionally in Aukland NZ in a couple of months!

I am taking a short break before I begin the daunting task of revising Book One for re release with my new publisher.  During this break time, we have finally been able to landscape our yard, so I have been busy planting and getting my hands in the soil.  I will post some photos here as soon as I’ve got everything planted.

Lets hope Summer arrives here in the great NW soon!  It’s been a pretty drippy spring!

Blessings!
Swannie

Greetings fans and friends,

It seems that every time I turn around there are more delays and more challenges in getting this darn book submitted for publication!  Last week we were having a sprinkling system installed in our front yard, and out of nowhere, our main waterline sprung a substantial leak and flooded our basement.  It was apparently very old and ready to blow at any moment, so when the soil was moved away from the pipe it expanded and cracked.

A week and a half, and a few thousand dollars later, with an amazing dry-out service called Water Out we were able to save the carpet, but part of a wall had to be replaced.  Unfortunately Nathan’s studio and our bedroom are both located in the basement so it has been been complete chaos around here trying to get everything back in order.  The flood also set back our work on the Chanson CD, so that project will have to be delayed as well.  The good news is that I expect to send out the Book Two manuscript to my publisher next week, who will then have one of her editors review it and correct any errors. (thank God, because I had no one for Book One)  I don’t know what the turnaround time will be for the official release, but will announce as soon as I have that information.

As some of  you may know, for the past 3 years my husband has been dealing with some fairly serious health problems.  Bill has always been a very youthful, strong and healthy man, so it has been a tremendous strain on me watching him go through all this.  In addition to an auto immune disease he is currently being treated for, my dear hubby has been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that is often a precursor to Alzheimers, and he is now taking medication to slow down the progression of the disease.  We are praying that in the next year or so, new hope and new medications will be made available for people like my Bill, who is only 66 years young and envisions himself  living a full and happy life well into his 80′s.

All along this more than 7 year journey of my writing both Book One and Book Two of Chanson de l’Ange, Bill has been there to support and encourage me, even when we had no idea how truly ill he was, or what we would be confronting now.  I am so thankful for every day we enjoy together, and I believe we have many wonderful days ahead of us.

This May the 19th we will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary!!!