Reading galleys

ByDeborah Raney
6 Comments

My daily work recently (besides packing for our move to Missouri in two weeks!) has been to read the galleys for my new novel, Chasing Dreams, which releases October 22. Galleys are a PDF file of the pages of my book typeset exactly the way they will appear in the printed version. This is my last chance to catch any mistakes before the book goes to press.

Usually, by the time I reach galley stage, several months have gone by since the last time I had eyes on my story. I love that because it means I’m able to read the book with a little more objectivity. After reading for several hours yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I was really enjoying my story! And there were even a few scenes that surprised me because I’d forgotten I wrote those scenes. It always brings a sigh of relief when a book I’ve read at least a dozen times as I wrote and edited it, still feels fresh and fun when I get a chance to experience it as a reader.

Chasing Dreams is the second book in my new Chandler Sisters Novels series and the sequel to Reason to Breathe. I love the cover my publisher came up with—so much so that I even added a new scene inspired by the rag bunting and twinkle lights featured on the cover.

Because of all the distractions of our move, I haven’t been able to accomplish much on the third novel in the series, Finding Wings. But reading galleys has been a great way to get back in the swing of the series. Ideas for the book, Britt’s story, are coming fast and furious now and I can’t wait to be settled in my new office in Missouri to finish the book! The photo at right is the road to the country home where our oldest daughter and her family used to live. (Now they’re building a home on an equally gorgeous piece of property not far from here.) This scene inspired my fictional setting of Langhorne, Missouri, where both my Chicory Inn Novels and my Chandler Sisters Novels series are set. If you’d like to see a few other photos that inspired my characters and setting for these books, check out my PINTEREST BOARD. I’ll be adding new photos as I work on the final novel in the series. I’ve loved writing about these sisters…even as I prepare to move too far away from my own sisters.

And speaking of sisters, I’d like to wish a very blessed birthday to my next-in-line (one year younger than me) sister, Vicky, today! We think this photo is from my birthday party since there are three candles on the cake and I seem to be the one opening the gift while she looks on longingly. But regardless, Vicky is one of the best gifts our parents ever gave me!

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DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a four-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

6 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing a bit more of life as a writer. I have experienced that same feeling with my own writing–coming back to it months later and being surprised by a scene or enjoying the reading of it. It is somehow validating and makes me feel that perhaps I really was listening to God’s guidance as I wrote it.

    Blessings on the upcoming move and finishing the next novel. The photos are beautiful.

  2. Best wishes on your move. I have one suggestion: order some books that you have been dying to read and then have them delivered or pick them up in your local bookstore or public library. The catch is that you can’t read them until you get your new driver’s license, register to vote and unpack, etc. .It will give you something to look forward to after the move.

  3. Reason to Breathe was so well-written I found myself “in” the book with the Chandler sisters. Really looking forward to Chasing Dreams. Thoughts and prayers with you as you are preparing for and moving to Missouri.

    1. Thank you so much, LaDonna! You made my day! Especially as I’m working on Book 3 and refining the first chapter to go in the back of Chasing Dreams as a sample for readers! 🙂

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