Writers Life | The Renewable Life of Books

Publishing a book is a forever thing.

When one sends a book out into the world, one never knows where it might turn up—or in what format. Long-lived books continue to recycle in various formats and editions with covers to match new tastes. Ebooks, audio books, even film adaptations become possibilities never thought of a few years ago.  What has now become my Celtic Cross Series is a good example through its quarter of a century plus life so far.

Scotland’s Story Led the Way

The original story first saw the light of day in 1996 as The Fields of Bannockburn: A Novel of Christian Scotland from its Origins to Independence. Three then-contemporary young people set out to discover the real Stone of Scone. This one-volume, 707-page epic moves the reader through more than a thousand years of Scottish history with dramatic accounts of St. Columba, Viking raiders, Queen Margaret, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.

The Fields of Bannockburn original cover

Ireland Followed

The Banks of the Boyne: A Quest for a Christian Ireland, appeared 2 years later with Mary and Gareth moving to a troubled Belfast to work for peace amid the turmoil of demonstrations and bombings. Ireland’s battle-scarred past plays out in 823 pages. The plantations, Cromwellian wars, King Billy’s ascendancy, the union with Britain, the great famine, and the birth of Northern Ireland form the background to a stunning conclusion for Mary and Gareth.

The Banks of the Boyne original cover

Out of Date; Out of Print

Time and technology moved on. Readers’ tastes changed. If these stories were to stay alive, they needed new formats, up-to-date editions. Ebooks, shorter, more accessible paperbacks… I had the vision for years—but no time. Then Covid brought lockdowns. The past almost-three years have been times of uncertainty for all, hardship for many, and tragedy for some.

A New Beginning

For many writers, however, the enforced solitude meant increased writing space. For me, it provided time to produce The Celtic Cross Series. Now these stories of men and women of valor and faith through the ages who stood against tyranny and evil to bring ultimate triumph to their nations, could live again.

Have you experienced publishing or re-reading old favorites in new formats? I’d love to hear your experience in a comment below.

Author

  • Donna Fletcher Crow

    Donna Fletcher Crow, Novelist of British History, is the author of 50-plus books, including Glastonbury, an Arthurian epic. Her mystery series are: Lord Danvers Investigates, The Elizabeth and Richard literary suspense, and The Monastery Murders. Her current project is the Celtic Cross Series, historical novels set in Scotland and Ireland.

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Published by Donna Fletcher Crow

Donna Fletcher Crow, Novelist of British History, is the author of 50-plus books, including Glastonbury, an Arthurian epic. Her mystery series are: Lord Danvers Investigates, The Elizabeth and Richard literary suspense, and The Monastery Murders. Her current project is the Celtic Cross Series, historical novels set in Scotland and Ireland.

6 replies on “Writers Life | The Renewable Life of Books”

  1. Hi Donna, Congratulations on rereleasing the books in your Celtic Cross series. I will reread books, and it’s good to see older books coming back into print, and staying in print. I still have 3 out-of-print books with the rights reverted that I need to rerelease. It’s on my long to-do list. 🙂

  2. Thank you, Narelle. Yes–do let me encourage you to rerelease your OOP books. It gives them new life–and it feels so good to have it done.

    1. Thank you, Sheila! I do hope your mum approves–she is a very discerning reader.

  3. Thank you for sharing this. I am very interested in getting these books, especially the one on Scotland. My husband’s heritage is Scottish, actually the Orkney Islands. His family were in our church from when I was born. His mother was my Sunday School teacher when I was about 6 and we heard a lot about Orkney from our early years. My mother also had a step sister and step brother who were descendants of Sir Walter Scott. I knew them both, especially the sister who was Aunty to me. Thanks for sharing this.

  4. What a great heritage, Heather! Thank you so much for sharing! I would love to go to the Orkneys! I’ve been to the Hebrides several times, but, sadly, had to write the Orkney scenes in my books from research. I hope it’s accurate, but, honestly, nothing is quite up to actually being there.

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