After years of relative contentment, a cruel betrayal by her husband sends a dutiful wife into a tailspin of self-doubt and regret. Confused and angry, she strikes out on her own, crossing the country in a desperate search for peace. The last place she ever expects to find it is in the middle of the starkly beautiful Utah desert. There, she discovers a new passion for life with a man ten years her junior, which opens a world of possibilities she thought she'd left behind long ago.
I spent the first half of my professional life as an artist and gradually shifted into the realm of writing over the past two decades. After years of trial and error, my novel "River of Summer" (a romance) was published by Penguin-Putnam in 1999. Eleven months later my novel "Without Mercy" (a mystery) was published by NAL Dutton in 2000. All right! I thought to myself. I am HOT! I am ON FIRE! Two book contracts in one year, and a movie deal in the works.
Then I wrote a book that didn't sell. I wrote another book that didn't sell. It took several years -- and oh, maybe a hundred rejections -- for me to find my bearings again as a storyteller. "Returning to Taos" was published by Five Star in 2006, and "Lost in the Gila" (an archaeological thriller) was published by Five Star in February 2009.
My travails in learning how to write all over again and then finding a publisher for my work led me to start "You Can Get Published," a web-based developmental editorial service at www.loisgilbert.com.
My novels have been translated into several languages, and I've lectured on creative writing around the world for Norwegian Cruise Line. I've evaluated manuscripts for University of New Mexico Press, and was a featured speaker for the 2009 New Mexico Women Author's Book Festival. My motto? Life is good. It's never too late to learn, and it's never too late to re-invent yourself.
