Secret Legacy by Anna DeStefano...A review for the future in publishing.

SECRET LEGACY by Anna DeStefano… A review for the future in publishing.

 

SECRET LEGACY is the second book in the fast-paced, exciting Legacy series brought to readers by Anna DeStefano. Whether you prefer Thrillers, Suspense, Romance or even Fantasy this is the book for you. I’m not sure labeling it any one genre or even doing a cross genre label does the story justice. It is one of those books that will appeal to everyone who enjoys a story that will leave you utterly satisfied and yet demanding the next book in the series the moment you finish reading the last page.

 

The heroine in SECRET LEGACY, Sarah Temple, was first introduced in DARK LEGACY after being in a ten-year-long coma. In DARK LEGACY, Maddy, Sarah’s twin, must come to terms with her family's physic legacy and her connection with her sister, before their minds are completely destroyed by those who have embedded themselves into their dreams to create the ultimate weapon. Maddy must trust a man she’s not prepared to trust, much less allow him into her reality or her dreams. It is a race against time. You really get the feel for these two women’s struggles in life and in their dreams and how those two worlds collide both in action and emotion.

 

SECRET LEGACY picks up with the twins and their determination to regain control of their minds and their legacy. Sarah Temple has to fight against everyone, including herself, and delve deeper into her dreams. She must risk loosing her mind forever, and all for a child who calls to her in her dreams. This child might not even exist. But what if she does? Not only that, but the man in her life had put his own honor and duty before his love for her once before, testing her faith in his loyalty. Will he be able to do his job and keep the twins and their legacy safe?

 

As I finished writing the last sentence in the above paragraph I got chills. I had the honor and pleasure of reading an advanced copy of SECRET LEGACY and it truly is one of the best books I have read all year. Anna out did herself and the ending… well the ending is one of the best-crafted endings I have ever read. The way the plot meshes around the characters and the way characters become part of the reader and how it’s all pulled together, makes the reader let out a short breath, only to suck it back and demand more. It is an emotional, exciting, thrilling journey into a world that everyone can appreciate no matter what your tastes.

 

If there is any book worth the purchase price and the time it takes to read, SECRET LEGACY by Anna DeStefano is THE book to read.

 

Which brings me to the changes we are seeing in publishing, specifically with Dorchester’s announcement to go from Mass Market Paperback to digital and Print-On-Demand business model. Dorchester is Anna’s publisher for this series. Anna discusses how she personally and professionally is handling this shift with her publisher on her blog. I recommend this blog because it is written by a person who is living this change here and now, not from people looking at the situation from the outside and making predictions or commenting on what they think should be done.

 

For the last year or so, everyone in publishing has been listening to the mantra that publishing has to change, or that it will change, or that it is changing. We have seen a few authors turn their nose up at NY and go their own way. A few have been moderately successful. We have also seen a huge NY publisher deal with a big name who recently switched publishing houses. What is really changing? Are authors changing? Are readers changing? My business partner, Bob Mayer, has always said that authors are the producer of the book, and readers are the consumer of the book. Publishers provide the author with a chain of distribution, which connects the readers to the authors. This is very symbiotic dynamic, and crucial not just on a financial level for the author.

 

With the introduction of the digital book, along with growth in other printing options that have been around for a long time,  distribution alternatives are expanding in new ways. But still, the book must find it’s way into the hands of the reader. I don’t know the actual percentage of the eBook market. It is gaining in popularity as more and more people read on their eReaders, phones, and other devices. But it is still a small segment of the market, and the reality for an author trying to make a living is that a smaller market (without mass market paperback distribution) is just that--smaller.

 

As an ePublished author and co-founder of Who Dares Wins Publishing, I know the realities of the eBook market. And while it is gaining ground every day, the numbers just don’t support the sales required to reach a best-seller list. Anna is a best-selling author. She has made an incredible name for herself at Harlequin, and with this new Dorchester series has taken her storytelling to a new level. I can say without any reservation that SECRET LEGACY is her best work to date. It’s one of those books that as a writer makes me step back and wonder….will I ever be THAT good?

 

We can make speculations about Dorchester. About the publishing industry as a whole. About what will happen next. But we don’t actually know. We can, however, take action. Change is coming. It’s coming faster than any author, editor, agent, or publisher could have ever imagined. As readers we have the power to change the way we read books and the power to make an eBook or POD book rise to the top where it belongs. You can either look at this as a bad thing, or you can look at it as an opportunity to grow and change, the way Anna has on her blog.

 

SECRET LEGACY comes out in November. Take a chance. Buy the eBook. You won’t be disappointed in either the story, or the reading experience.

Anna will be speaking to he Central New York Romance Writer's of America in March of 2010.