My Mother the Man-Eater takes another bite

I am so excited to announce that revisions to MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER are complete and ARCs are available for anyone wanting to read the book in exchange for a book review on the release date. (The book is set to release on April 2, 2022.)

For those who read this book when it was first published in 2010, the backbone of the story remains the same. Joleen Allen, the mother of five grown daughters, is a ‘cougar’ searching for fulfillment through attention from the opposite sex. In the course of her quest, she tries to juggle five different men at the same time–with some unexpected results! Her vindictive ex-husband is out of prison and also out for revenge. One reviewer said, “Dramatic suspense, tender romance, & a tantalizing shot of wicked humor!” That about sums it up! In the end, she finds that God’s love is the only one that truly satisfies.

The book came out in 2010 but has since gone out of print. I received the rights back in 2017 but just didn’t get to the revisions until now. I was AMAZED at how much I’ve grown as a writer in twelve years! The writing is a lot tighter and I think much better than it was before.

For anyone curious about the changes, here’s a run-down:

I eliminated all POVs except Joleen and her daughters. The original was much more “omniscient” in that we also saw inside the heads of the men and even some of the villains. Movies still do this, but there is definitely a move toward more limited points of view, which make for a stronger connection to the story.

Originally, I could picture Joleen naming all of her children with the same letter. I felt it fit her character. However, it never occurred to me that this causes confusion for readers. I did receive some reader feedback that mentioned this and then later I attended a workshop where this was considered a big no-no. This time, I decided to use alphabetical order instead–an alternative I think Joleen might have done. I also changed some of the male and minor characters’ names to increase variety. Subconsciously, readers are better able to keep track if names begin with different letters.

The rest of the changes are stylistic. I’ve just become a better writer. So, eliminating unnecessary adverbs, cleaning up dialogue tags, making sure to show not tell, all helped to tighten things up.

I’m so pleased with the result! I hope readers will rediscover this book!

If you’d like an Advanced Reader Copy (the book isn’t releasing until April 2, 2022) fill in the contact form here. 

If you would like to help with the launch, you can download the “Book Launch package”.