Warner Robins author releases 'The Perfect Gift' novella just in time for holidays
On the heels of her ebook novella series, a local author has released another work just in time for the holidays. "The Perfect Gift" by Elaine Manders, a Christian romance writer who lives in Warner Robins, came out in electronic format on Amazon in early November, and the paperback version became available Dec. 2 through the site.
Set in Macon in 1963, the novella follows Macy Lance as she's about to graduate from Mercer University. Her fiancé is from a wealthy family, and his father has offered her a job at his pharmacy. However, Macy hasn't been truthful about herself or her background, and she knows she must come clean by Christmas Eve.
Manders said she always wanted to write a Christmas book, and "The Perfect Gift" evolved from an old manuscript she wrote as a teenager in the 1960s but only recently rediscovered. She worked on the story on and off for about two years, revising it and changed the plot substantially. The book contains a lot of Christmas elements, including tree-decorating and nostalgic songs, games and details.
" 'The Perfect Gift' is a beautiful love story told through a Christmas setting," Laura H. Poole wrote in a review on Amazon. "Author Elaine Manders' descriptive writing made me feel like I was right there in the story. The backstory and angst of the main character Macy were carefully woven in at just the right points. The story carefully unfolded in a way that you couldn't guess what would happen next, even when you thought you could."
Manders has been writing since age 12, but she didn't get really serious about it until after she retired as an Air Force accountant. She started out doing more secular romance pieces, but eventually switched to Christian fiction where she was more comfortable. She said this genre allowed her to get more into the emotions of the characters.
She has chosen to self-publish her works directly through Amazon rather than going the normal route of an independent publisher. Writers often wait years to be picked up by a publishing house, and Amazon allowed her another option, she said.
"Most of my readers are genre fiction readers who find my titles on book lists they subscribe to," Manders said. "I've sold books all over the English-speaking world, a few scattered in other countries. Quite a number are from England, Canada and Australia."
In July, she released a three-part, eBook novella series, which is in the popular mail-order-bride sub-genre of Christian fiction. "Adela's Prairie Suitor," "Ramee's Fugitive Cowboy" and "Prudie's Mountain Man" are about three young women attending the Harvard Annex in the late 1800s. After complications, the ladies answer ads for mail-order brides. Manders said she loves to write about history, and her works include or are inspired by factual elements.
"I kind of wanted to write (a mail-order-bride book) where it's a little bit different. After a while, you have basically the same plot over and over again. When I just happened to discover that these 23 women went to Harvard back in the late 1870s, I thought that would be perfect," she said.
Brenda Blackwell, who grew up with Manders in Abbeville, only picks up Christian books and read her friends' novellas back-to-back as soon as they came out.
"They're interesting from the front to the end. She keeps you into the story," Blackwell said. "I'm proud of Elaine and the accomplishments she's had. She's a very talented person, and I love reading her books."
These three novellas are prequels to Manders' upcoming four-part, full-length suspense series called "Intrigue Under Western Skies." She's already written books one and two, and "Pursued" (the first) is tentatively scheduled to come out Dec. 30. Carianne Barlow, who's also in the prequels, and Rhyan Cason are the main characters for these books, which will most likely be available in digital and print formats.
In addition to being a writer, Manders sews and has incorporated that hobby into her books. She makes dresses specific to the time period of her novels, and then models are photographed wearing them for her covers. This lets her achieve results that wouldn't be possible with stock photos, she said.
"I've always enjoyed sewing, and during my research into the clothing of the period, I made contact with clubs for historical costume seamstresses," Manders said. "Since I'm an independent publisher, I could produce my own covers, so it seems the perfect solution to sew the costumes to fit my vision."
This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Warner Robins author releases 'The Perfect Gift' novella just in time for holidays ."