Monthly Archives: May 2015

A bit of a family affair

General

I launched this new version of the Rosa Mira Books site while off in the Blue Mountains — with the help of my brother Hugh Todd, who also designed the new header. Then I went pretty much offline, without telling you what’s (almost) up. As soon as the author is back in his home town, we’ll launch the digital version of Peace Warriors. My mother read it last week. ‘I wish we’d had a book like this when I was young,’ she said, reflecting that little was said in her school or household about fighting or its alternatives, even though her father fought in the Somme and came to hate war. It’ll be a terrific resource in schools and adults I know who’ve read it have been moved (some to tears) by the potent accounts of those who’ve gone against the grain of their cultures and waged peace.

At the risk of turning this into Family Pages (yes, I did marry the abovementioned author, too), below is a representation of Can Serrat in Catalonia by our daughter Alex Huber, which is being worked into the cover image for a digital reprint of my memoir Digging for Spain, a writer’s journey,  for which I’ve had many grateful responses over the years. (Hard copies are still available via the link above.)

IMG

I like to think there’s a story already sealed within each of us. Some of us take a long time to uncover, decipher and assent to it. We start our search when we find that the stories we’ve attached ourselves to prove no longer accurate, their themes too limited … I’m talking about the midlife  quest we’re invited on when all we’ve abandoned or ignored of our earlier impulses towards life begin to clamour for attention. … I knew I was in some kind of trouble the day my finger started jumping.

But honestly, (almost) all the other books published this year by Rosa Mira will be extrafamilial.

Welcome to our new website

News

When Rosa Mira Books began four years ago, our list and website needs were modest. That list has grown and so has Rosa Mira’s modus operandi.

Ebooks: we’re still primarily about publishing exceptional writing in stylishly presented ebooks. We intend to go on filling our bookshelf with carefully selected ebooks for sale on this website and elsewhere.

Publishing: we’re creating a model that combines the best of both traditional and self-publishing approaches: while manuscripts are still carefully hand-picked, publisher and author are partners, sharing resources, expertise and marketing as well as income from sales.

We will sometimes collaborate with hard copy publishers such as Mākaro Press, sometimes republish out-of-print books in digital format — and we’re open to new ways of working. Talk to us about your ideas.

We have some exciting writing lined up for this year. The likely order of appearance keeps changing but four novels are in the wings, each showcasing the power and the promise of its author. A digital copy of Raymond Huber’s  Peace Warriors will appear this month, the first of several collaborations with Mākaro Press, and we’ll reprint four previously published works as ebooks.

We also offer writing services: from help with your manuscript to the possibility of publication, check out our menu for writers.

I’m waiting to see how often the rat will show up for the PR this year. He may have had his day and retire to the dim, cool, fairy armadillo burrows of Patagonia. We might need a critter that’s simpler to draw. A worm, perhaps, who will, anyway, resemble Ratty’s tail.

Meanwhile, pōhutukawa leaves.

2 leaves