Greetings! Back in 2015 author Sheila R. Lamb (she/her) had a Meet the Writer interview, which corresponded with a book blog tour I organized for her historical fiction Brigid of Ireland trilogy. Honestly, I still think about Lamb’s series, not only because I was drawn into it, but also because I knew so little about Ireland before Catholicism. In addition, I’ve gotten some questions right on Jeopardy! with my new knowledge. Now she’s back and re-releasing the Brigid books. I asked her some questions about what it’s like to decide to reintroduce books to the world, how to publish them, and in what ways the process is different.
Grab the Lapels: Sheila, you and I met years ago when I organized a virtual book tour for your Brigid Trilogy. Can you tell folks what that series is about?
Sheila Lamb: The Brigid of Ireland trilogy is about Brigid, who is known as a goddess, druid, and saint. Each book focuses on one of those aspects, fictionalized, of course! Brigid has a timeless connection with Patrick, and the two of them cross paths, time after time. Together, they represent the druid and Christian aspects of ancient Ireland and the story depicts their lives before they were saints.
GTL: And the books went out of print, which is unfortunate, because I still remember them vividly from when we were working together on the tour. Can you tell me about what made you decide to reintroduce Brigid to readers?
SL: This trilogy has been the love of my life, so to speak. A common piece of advice among writers is to put aside the old work and begin something new. I did. I have a short story collection in draft form. Stories from that collection-in-progress have been published — one in the Anthology of Appalachian Writers and another in the Appalachian Review as well as several other short stories. I also have another historical novel set in the Virginia Blue Ridge that I’m querying. But I’ve always returned to Brigid and Patrick. I love their story and their connection. When I was researching the book years ago, the quote that she and Patrick were of “one heart and one mind” stuck with me and became the catalyst for the trilogy.
GTL: Part of your decision to publish the Brigid books again included a large revision. Tell me more about what you felt needed changed.
SL: As I’ve written more, I’ve returned to these early works and saw where I wanted to make changes. In Once A Goddess, there were a lot of, what I felt, soap opera moments between Brigid and Padraic (also once Adriac, now Padraic), a lot of eyes meeting and shoulder grabbing. I really wanted to pare that kind of thing down. The biggest change story-wise is in Fiery Arrow. I had been very focused on sticking to the historically accurate age difference between Brigid and Patrick. So to do that, I created Brigid as a Voice and otherworldly. To be honest, that just isn’t my jam. I know. I wrote it but was never quite comfortable with it. And I was letting historical facts control the story instead of letting the story and love between Brigid and Patrick flow. So in Fiery Arrow, Brigid and Patrick do meet and spend time together in real life.
GTL: When writers take self-publishing very seriously instead of choosing that route due to impatience, I’m all for it! In fact, I’ve met some folks whom I’ve encouraged to self-publish so their book gets the care it deserves. What made you choose to self-publish instead of seeking a different press?
SL: Well, first, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find a publisher that will take previously published work unless you’ve had millions of sales.
As for the rest, there was a lot of synchronicity at play here. I’d gone back and forth with this for quite some time. Then, my dad wrote a nonfiction book, Religions of the World: A Question of Faith. I started Triple Fire Press as an LLC, created a logo, and found an amazing cover artist for him to help get his book out in the world. I was still on the fence about self-publishing my own work. I hear you about the “take it seriously” part. I get that publishers are “gatekeepers” for a lot of work, particularly when it comes to revisions, editing, and quality cover design. So I was wondering, should I put it out there or just Let. It. Go. Then I received an email via my website from a reader who said she loved Once a Goddess and was looking for a copy of Church of the Oak, the final book in the series. And that did it. I jumped off the fence and went all in.
GTL: How was the process different on your own? Or did you have anyone else involved?
SL: I feel like I’m more critical of my own work than previous publishers have been, so there was a lot of revision and editing on my own, reading passages aloud. I did share sections and blurbs with my English teacher friends who gave excellent feedback.
GTL: You mentioned being excited about the cover art for the new Brigid books. What’s got you fired up? Who created them? If it was someone else, were you involved in the decision making process?
SL: Through publishing Religions of the World and working with Alexandra Amor on that book, I was introduced to a fantastic cover artist, Amy Chae. She created the Triple Fire Press logo and the covers. I wanted the covers to be symbolic, rather than literal characters on the cover for this go round. Amy took my ideas and vision for new book covers and made them reality. I couldn’t be happier!
Grab the Lapels 
Thank you!
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Great interview as per usual! It was very interesting to read about rereleasing novels and choosing self-publication. Thank you for the information.
I like the term ‘gatekeepers’ for publishers. It feels so accurate. Who knows what the world misses out on because someone just didn’t quite meet the usual standards. I would love to be a publisher. To read someone’s work, see the potential in it and help grow that potential into something big. It just seems like so much fun. (The downside being having to turn down things.)
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Thanks for reading! I think as far as publishing goes, they have to be able to market a book. There may be works that are good and well-written but can it find a large audience? That’s where small presses or self-pub fits in.
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Sheila, it does make me wonder how they get some books so very wrong, like The Martian of Fifty Shades of Grey. Perhaps The Martian seemed to scientific for big audience, and Fifty Shades too poorly written.
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I’ve been a slush pile reader, and let me tell you, when it’s bad, it’s awful. And sometimes it’s bizarre, like the person who kept sending poems that looked like ransom notes. Sometimes the writing is terrible but the cover letter has the most heart-wrenching sob story, and you feel like a pile of horse poo for saying no.
I’m glad Sheila Lamb re-released her novels. As I mentioned, I truly remember a lot about them and still think about the characters.
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I am so intrigued by poems that looked like ransom notes lol.
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Hahaha, sound the alarm.
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I’m not interested in religious subjects, but I believe the process of self publication will eventually lead to the collapse of the existing over-centralized system, probably via small publishing cooperatives.
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Bill, this trilogy reads more like a historical fantasy novel. The old religion blended enough magic to make it distinctly different, in my opinion, from Patrick showing up with his Catholicism. The more I write, the more I think the books would make you mad.
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This is very interesting, thank you. I published my own books, to retain control and because I knew there was a market but they wouldn’t appeal to a publisher. But again, seriously, with proper quality control. Well done, these look great and your process of revision is interesting.
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I like the new covers quite a bit more than the previous ones! It’s interesting to hear about her decision to re-publish on her own, particularly the changes she made. Having worked in book sales for so long, I’m always hesitant about self-published books but this makes a lot of sense for this situation.
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I’ve had bad experiences in the past with self-published books, not only the quality, but many of the authors saying that I’m damaging their career if I post even the smallest negative comment in an overall positive review. I’ve had many people I’ve had to report, block, etc. Sheila Lamb is lovely!
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Yikes! That sounds particularly bad. I’ve seen self-published authors get mad when their book doesn’t magically sell from the store shelf with no effort on their part but mostly what I’ve seen is authors who have created a passion project and don’t understand that readers at large are not going to be as interested in it as their immediate friends and family.
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Yes, sometimes what thrills the author is not interesting to anyone else, and I see that more so with experimental books. This cry of, “Why are readers such sheep!?” Well, because I need a manual to understand anything about your book…
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Yeah, if your book needs you to be right next to the reader in order to explain the book…then you’re doing something wrong.
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I like the re-release covers! Really interesting to hear these insights into the process of self-publishing, thank you.
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I love it when folks republish something as a passion project, and the fact that a reader as Lamb where the third book is suggests that other people feel passionately about it.
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The new covers and the logo of the press are great! I’m glad Ms. Lamb is so happy with the re-release process.
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I think she designed the covers herself. I like that they are simplistic, but I also liked the water color ones, too.
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I love this idea of taking self-publishing seriously to bring your books to the next level. So many people ask for my help to get their books in front of publishers, but I encourage self-publishing if you really want to see your book in print. Don’t wait for the gatekeepers! Do it yourself and do it right, which is clearly what’s been done here 🙂
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I wondered what you might say about this conversation, Anne, given that you’ve worked in publishing and various reviewing formats (radio, blog, etc).
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I’m becoming more and more open towards self-publishing, simply because I understand the motivations behind it a bit better. If you’re not trying to become the next bestselling author – why not self publish?
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I’ve read some absolute gems that were self-published, and all I could think is some of us are not cut out for the freakin’ hoop-jumping involved in publishing with a press.
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yes absolutely, traditional publishing is definitely not for everyone!
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