About Me
- Pamela Clare
- I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.
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Tuesday, December 06, 2011
SURRENDER 2.0 is out today!
Today is the day! Iain and Annie are back!
After thinking the MacKinnon’s Rangers series was dead, lost to the chaos of the publishing industry, I am so happy that Surrender is available again.
A couple of you have asked me in emails what it was like to get a second chance to write a book I’d already written, and one person was afraid I had changed the book so much that it would no longer be the story she loved.
I will say that working on a book was published in 2006 was strange at first. My first objective was to decompress parts of it by taking scenes out of memories or flashbacks and making them real and present scenes. That was actually harder to do than I imagined. If thinking back to something that happened earlier in the day had been woven into Annie’s or Iain’s thoughts in a scene, and I removed that and put it in the present tense on stage, then what happened to the original scene?
I gained an appreciation for how tightly written the story was. Still, I found ways to make it work that I really liked and which solved a couple of problems that had been there before.
As for changing the story too much, I am not George Lucas. I did not take Surrender and fill it with stuff that just didn't need to be there. (I am so a fan of the original Star Wars films and so not a fan of the redone ones with their endless unnecessary CG creatures.) No CG creatures in Surrender!
It is the same story with the same plot. The only difference is that there are a few new scenes, an extended scene — and the entire thing has been re-edited. I’m a better writer than I was today. When I found ways to make the prose tighter or to eliminate a repetitive word or change something that could have sounded better, then I did it.
One big change, from my perspective, was changing the name of the fort from Fort Elizabeth, which it was in the original published edition, to Fort Edward, the name of the real fort where the Rangers, the country’s original special ops team, encamped.
Fort Edward is now a town, and the good people of Fort Edward were less than enthusiastic about their town disappearing from its own history. I can’t blame them. The third largest city in the Colonies during the French & Indian War, it is now a very tiny town the significance of which is almost forgotten. I didn’t want to be a part of helping the nation to forget Fort Edward. So now it’s Fort Edward and Ranger Island. (See recent blog post for sat images of both.)
Rather than sharing an excerpt, which I’ve already done, I wanted to share the dedication and acknowledgments because they’re really important this time around.
DEDICATION
With
love for my sons, Alec and Benjamin. You will always be the best and most
important thing I have ever done.
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With
special thanks to Catrìona Mary Mac Kirnan for giving Iain and his brothers
their Scottish Gaelic voice; Gary Zaboly for his meticulous drawings and
research; Eileen Hannay for answering ten thousand questions and sharing the
magic of Rogers Island with me; and Timothy Todish for his work on Robert
Rogers’ journals. This series would not be the same without you.
I’d
like to thank Natasha Kern for her tireless support, and Cindy Hwang, my
editor, for giving me the chance to revisit this series and breathe new life
into its pages. I truly couldn’t bear to leave these characters behind, and
because of you, I don’t have to. Additional thanks go to Leis Pederson for her kindness
and help through the years.
I’d
also like to offer heartfelt and lasting thanks to you, my readers, who’ve
clamored to see the MacKinnon’s Rangers series continue. Your enthusiasm for
Iain, Morgan, Connor and the men—yes, even Lord William—means so very much to
me.
Personal
thanks to: Michelle White, Mary White, Sue Zimmerman, Kristi Ross, Libby
Murphy, Ronlyn Howe, Jennifer Johnson, Suzanne Warren, Sara Megibow, and the
wild women of RBL Romantica and Rebel Writers Refuge.
Thanks
most of all to Robert Rogers and his Rangers, men who did the impossible back
when doing the impossible was harder than it is today. They suffered unimaginable
hardship on behalf of a people who have largely forgotten them.
To
learn more about Robert Rogers and Rogers Rangers, visit the Rogers Island
Visitor Center at www.rogersisland.org, or visit Rogers Island (Ranger Island)
in Fort Edward, N.Y., a forgotten historical treasure.
So happy re-issue day to all of us who have supported and loved this series! To celebrate I’m giving away three copies of the book! To be entered, comment below and tell me what period of history is your favorite.
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26 comments:
Happy release day Pamela!!!! I'm glad the day has finally come. I'm a HUGE history fan so learning about Fort Edward in your previous post only whet my appetite for this story because I KNOW it's going to be GREAT!
My favorite periods in history. I love colonial America, there's so much going on how could you not love it! I also love historical romances set in Scotland, because too, there was always so much going on politically, and of course this is helped by my love of Outlander.
Regency period...you can't love historical romance and not love that time period.
Irish history. I've been enamored with Ireland for a while now, but it really started when I was in college and had to read Oh Come Ye Back to Ireland for an Anthropology class. Hooked.
Yeah, basically I love history of just about any time period and place. Ancient Rome, the Vikings, Native American Indians...it's all fascinating!
Congratulations on the re-release, Pamela! I would have been so disappointed if this series had died. As for my favourite period in history, there are two: the Great War, because I think a generation that fought in one World War, sent their sons to another, grew up with horses and buggies and lived to see men walk on the moon is remarkable, and the American Civil War because of its divided loyalties.
I really love everything historical. My favorite would be 17th and 18th century Scots or cowboys. "Surrender" is the first of your books that I ever read. It is my favorite book so far. The time period was just what I like in a historical and the heroes were great. Thanks Pamela!! Cant wait to reread before "Defiant" comes out!!
Happy release day! I adored Surrender when I first read it and am looking forward to reading the new version.
I love many historical periods including medieval England, Restoration England, the Regency period, 18th century Scotland (the Outlander influence) and Colonial America. It's all good!
Congratulations, Pamela! I'm so happy for you that you could finally release the version of Surrender you wanted.
My first romance books were books set in the Regency period. And I still love them but thanks to you I'm now also a huge fan of books set in colonial America. Your books were the first I read of that time period (they've got a special place in my heart just for that *g*) and I really came to love it. Because I'm from Europe, I didn't know that much about this particular time period. So, your books were a great education, too. :)
So happy for your re-release day! When Ronlyn Howe first INSISTED on these books before I really even knew who the wonderful Pamela Clare was I couldn't imagine how much I would LOVE this series. Now these are some of my absolute favorite historical reads. As for which time period I like the most.... I really can't pinpoint an absolute. It always depends on the mood I am in when I select the next historical I want to read.
Congratulations....to US I should say since we the readers get to reap the bounty of the new version. Woo hoo!
Congratulations, Pamela! You've worked so, so hard for this and I'm so happy to see all that hard work finally come together!
that Ronlyn Howe chick is bossy, huh Crystal? LOL
HAPPY RE-RELEASE DAY! Surrender 2.0 is just as wonderful as the original. *happy dance*
I really love the Colonial time period. And Modern. And...
Congratulations - it was a pleasure working with you Pamela! I'm pretty sure you know exactly what time period is my favorite...
Hi,
Pamela I'm so happy that Surrender is finally rerelease because that means we are getting close for Defiant release. I love historical romance but if I have to choose the time period that I like the most is 17th centuary Scotish. Thanks a lot for writing and keep on writing so that I can keep on reading.
Thanks
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone!
I'm loving hearing what interests you all.
Booklover, I think that's pretty must most of human history there. Can't wait to see what you think of the story.
Jennie, the period of the Great War is one that is discussed a lot in this household because my younger son, Benjamin, is devoted to that period. He learned French just to study it more. He's working on a screenplay about Verdun right now, actually. And, yes, what a technological leap!
Hi, Amanda — Wow, fun to think SURRENDER was your first book of mine. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and I can't wait till we're celebrating DEFIANT.
Hi, Joanne — Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it then. I'm so interested to hear from someone who has read both. That hasn't happened yet.
Hi, Claudia — That makes my day! I love knowing that reading a book I wrote sparked someone's interest in the history of that time. I love the Colonial American period. I wish more romance readers would give it a try. I'm glad you did!
Hi, Crystal — Ronlyn can sure be pushy, can't she? I'm so glad you gave them a try and am naturally delighted you enjoyed them. Maybe we can get together for me to sign the ones you have, given that we're sort of neighbors (if you don't count the 45-minute drive).
Thank you, Timbera! <3
Hi, UM — Thanks so much! That's very sweet of you. It was a surprising amount of work, but I'm so glad to have the book available again!
Hi, Ronlyn — LOL! See, even you say you're pushy. But it's a good kind of pushy and we're all grateful because we've read great books because of YOU! :-)
Hi, Eileen — Thank you! And many thanks for your patience and for sharing your knowledge. As for your fave period, I think it's the same as mine... ;-)
Hi, Maria — Yes, DEFIANT is not far away. Those Scotsmen have a lot of fans. They do have a fascinating history.
Speaking of DEFIANT, I'm going to disappear for a while to write!
Thank to all of you for sharing this special day with me.
Congrats on the re-release, Pamela. I'm fascinated by the medieval period, especially during the Norman invasion. No need to enter me.
Happy release day, Pamela! I am a big fan! I guess my favorite time in history is around the civil war.
Pamela,
I don't know that I can narrow down my love of history to just one era.
From the tales of Fallen Angels in the book of Genesis onward to Noah's deluge; Nemrod's travels into Eastern Europe,(Beowulf); The Illarians, Vulgars, Magars and Huns; Tales of Vesislav of Polotsk,(The werewolf king); Elizabeth Batharoy,(Vampire/Serial Killer) and HarzBrocken Witches.
Lets not forget some great warriors: William Wallace; Hannibal; Alaric the 1st (Visigoth king) and his war elephants (one of my personal favorites) and then there are the heroes who risked everything to come to a new world to escape unbearable persecution.
They packed up their wives and children and sailed into the unknown praying they'd have the skills and knowledge to keep them save. What courage. They forged a life with the help of men like Rogers and his Rangers, like Nicholas Kinleigh.
There are few historical romances that I've truly enjoyed, because they take too much literary license away from history, however, after reading the Kinleigh series I'm looking forward to reading the 2.0 series.
Sorry, I should have proofread/edited that before I hit publish. Sigh. You get the point.
Yipee!! congrats on the rerelease!!!!
I think for me it will have to be regency period. I adore historical romance and regency got me hooked in a big way. I just adore everything about it!!
Annie
alltherhage AT gmail DOT com
Congratulation on the ebook release of Surrender. I'm happy for you and for all of us readers. Hum... my favorite period of time would be during the hight of the Maya Civilization. They were an amazing and advanced people.
Ronlyn if you didn't suggest or ahem... insist on me reading certain books I would seriously be lacking in wonderful books!
I devoured it! The good thing is that I feel all warm and fuzzy from having read it. The bad thing is that I have that much more time to fill before Untamed is re-released and Defiant comes out!
If I may, my absolute favorite added scene was when Lord William stayed up through the night when Annie was giving birth. That just melted my heart and made me want his book that much more!!
Hi, Jane — I love that period, too. Medieval fascinates me, and some of what I write that's not Colonial America is going to be medieval. Did you ever read Rexanne Becnel's medievals? I really enjoyed them.
Hi, Berta — Thanks! You know there used to be a lot of Civil War romances. Then they sort of disappeared altogether... I think the issue of slavery made it very difficult for writers to approach them. Either that or everyone just got tired of reading them.
Hi, Juliaenne — That's a pretty comprehensive list, and I found myself nodding with a lot of it. When I was working on my master's in archaeology, I swore I would one day write the definitive historical fiction book about Hannibal. It would be the Hannibal/Scipio book -- back and forth between Rome and Hannibal's army -- and the climax would be the field at Zama where they had a face-to-face conversation. No one knows what they said except the two of them, and, well, they're dead.
Thanks so much for your post!
Hi, Annie — I knew someone would mention Regency. I think Jane Austen is responsible for enchanting generations of women with that period.
Thanks for posting!
Hi, Kristen — Thanks! It's in print, too!
They had an amazing civilization. I watched a program about 2012, but it went into much more than that, including sports and architecture. Really fascinating stuff. And there's very little that touches on the Mayans.
Crystal, I hear that! :-)
Rachel — YAY! Someone has read it! HURRAY! OK, well, I don't want too many spoilers out there. If you feel like emailing me to chat about it, you're the first person I know who's read both versions. And now you made me want to read that scene. LOL!
And the winnders (picked automatically by a contest randomaizer) are:
ClaudiaGC
Julieanne
Joanne
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Winners, please email me with your mailing address so I can get Iain and Annie in the mail to you!
Thanks for spending the day with me. I really appreciate it!
Pamela, thanks.
It would have been a much more inspiring list had I paid attention and put Alaric and Hannibal in the right order, since we all know it was Hannibal who took the elephants over the alps and not the Visigoth king when he sacked Rome. Sigh.
Thankfully you knew what I meant, instead of what I said. Now, if you ever do write that book, please let me know, I'd be first in line.
I think there is enough evidence from everything we know before and after Zama, along with all the documented details about the two men, to give us a pretty good idea how Hannibal and Scipio A. dealt with each other that day.
I sent you my address. So happy I won.
i particularly like the 1930'a, not sure why i guess the survival.
Thanks for having this giveaway
Julie
Who wouldn't want to "Surrender"?