Driving Home Without a Hitch

The Noose is Live!

The One-in-the-Noose was submitted to Twisted Dreams Press on September 4, 2025. I received the notice that it was accepted for publication on September 18. Then I waited.

As I mentioned in last month’s post, Death in the Cards was going to be republished as a second edition and there were other books ahead of Noose in the queue that were to be published first.

I signed the contract with TDP for both books on March 21, 2025. Death in the Cards was released on April 1. Then back to waiting. But, I had another book that I was writing, so I had plenty to keep me busy and distracted.

At last, on August 27, the Publisher and Editor in Chief of Twisted Dreams, Jennifer Horgan, sent me her first round of edits for the manuscript of Noose. I was delighted. Eleven months to get started on the editing work was not excessive, as I had learned from my previous publishing experiences.  

The usual and expected timeline in the publishing world is about eighteen months from contract to release, but that can vary by a lot at times. Most contracts I’ve signed give the publisher rights for a twenty-four month window after submission of an accepted, complete manuscript. As a writer, I want the process to go as quickly and smoothly as possible, but sometimes issues or situations happen beyond the publisher’s control. A little extra time is worth it. Consider how long it would take to terminate the contract and start the process all over again.

Truthfully, there weren’t many changes that were recommended, and I got through those edits and returned the manuscript the next day.

Jennifer sent me a second round of edits, based on some comments I made to her, the next day on August 29. I accepted those changes and we were ready to move on to the design phase.

First, the cover. Jennifer asked me for my vision of what I wanted the cover to look like. I sent her some ideas I’d been mulling over. Twisted Dreams Press has a small in-house team of cover artists, and also contracts certain covers out to independent artists.

She also asked for additional information from me: 1) The book description that would appear on the back of the print version, on Amazon, and in social media posts; 2) Any dedications, acknowledgments, or other information to be included at the front or back of the book; 3) An author bio and photo that will be added as the final page and used for promotional purposes on social media. 

I got busy right away with a draft of the book description as well as updates to my bio. I wrote the dedication and a page of “other books by the author.” I also found some examples of photos to give Jennifer an idea of the cover design I had in mind. I sent her all of these on August 31.

The next day, she offered her first draft of the cover. I loved it! I had a few suggestions for changes and Jennifer got right on it. We worked together over the next few days, tweaking the design. One component a little brighter here, a little more transparent there, and so on, until it was absolutely perfect. Both of us loved the design and the creepy feeling it gave.

The cover reveal on social media was on September 4.

Jennifer immediately got to work on formatting the book along with all the front and back matter I’d sent her. The first proof copies, e-pub and print versions, were received on September 8, and I went through each one. Even though both Jennifer and I had read the copy over and over, I still found four corrections! She had the second round proofs ready the next day, incorporating those. I went through both of them, and didn’t find anything else. Noose was ready to go!

With formatting done, there were a few decisions to finalize. Jennifer sent a copy of the full print wrap for my approval. Then, there were the publishing options. I decided to have all three versions available: e-pub, paperback in 5” x 8”, and hardcover in 5.5” x 8.5”. The last decisions were about pricing, the actual release day, and potential for pre-orders.

All the decisions finalized, we chose a release date of September 23, with all three formats releasing on the same day.

Then it happened. The One-in-the-Noose went live on September 23, 2025.

Working with Jennifer at Twisted Dreams Press was such a pleasure. She worked hard and put in a lot of hours making sure everything was exactly as I envisioned it should be. I was completely delighted with the final product. A perfectly creepy cover and formatted text that looked attractive and professional. Marketing was a joint effort, mostly across social media platforms.

I’ve been satisfied with sales. I don’t ever expect to get rich off the royalties, but I’m pleased to have The One-in-the-Noose out there and available.

One more positive piece of news. The One-in-the-Noose won the 2026 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Gold Medal. I’m proud to have a copy of that medal printed on the front cover. I loved writing that book, and I think it’s one of my best and spookiest.  

What’s Next?

Gracie! Coming soon!