After going to the trouble of establishing a pen name and identity I'll be self-publishing as myself: Christie Maurer. It came about sort of by accident. Last winter I sold a story, "Whitewood Kitarra," to Swords and Saga Press and, since my other stories had been under Christie Maurer, I kept that name. However--"Whitewood Kitarra" is a prequel to The Dark Lady's Stone, so it makes sense to keep the same name on the novel.
Self-publication is slowly coming together. Thanks to cover artist Sheri McGaffy http://sherimcgathy.com/sheri/book-cover-design I have a cover, and I love it. The image of the Dark Lady is one of my own paintings, originally intended to be the last true High Priestess of the goddess of waters. Sheri has done a number of lovely Romance book covers. I am awaiting my edited manuscript, after which I'll make the necessary changes, and...

According to the folks at Yahoo! Finance news, a rise in romance novel sales is one of the "10 quirky indicators" that the economy is still in the porcelain fixture.

The economy has broken your heart and stomped it to pieces and now you need to put it back together. At least that's what Harlequin, the giant romance novel publisher, says is happening. In 2008, Harlequin's sales were up 32% from the year before. In 2009, its sales are still rising.

The publisher credits this its uplifting stories that offer a haven, and to the low prices of the books relative to other entertainment. This theory has stood the test of time. Harlequin saw a similar sales increase during the recession of the early 90's. So if these stories start piling up unwanted on the discount table at the bookstore, alongside all those mis-timed guides to real estate riches, better news is on the way.

We report, you decide.