Press Announcement 09/13

 

SECOND CHANCES IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO’S EVER WISHED FOR A DO-OVER

A New Novel from Leigh Brown and Victoria Corliss Takes Readers on a Ride of ‘Coulda’, Shoulda’, Woulda’

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There’s nothing risky about reading Second Chances, the debut e-novel from Leigh Brown and Victoria Corliss. On the contrary, this compelling story of three people struggling to dodge their respective past, present, and future faux pas, will appeal to anyone who’s ever made a mistake in life. And honestly, is there anyone out there who can say they haven’t?

 

Looking to make a fresh start and a brighter future for herself, a young Pashmina leaves her family and home to create a new life free of heartbreak and conflict.  Now a successful author skilled in the art of mystery writing, it seems there’s little she can’t do-- except outrun her past.

 

Amelia, Pashmina’s young editor, isn’t sure if it was luck or skill that earned her the top spot working with the Mistress of Mystery but she’s thrilled regardless. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Now if she can just keep her insecurities in check, what could possibly go wrong?

 

Her boyfriend Tim knows. He’s spent a lifetime building an impermeable emotional fortress around himself making him invincible, invulnerable. But what’s it gotten him and at what cost?

 

Three lives tightly entwined become quickly entangled and soon they all find themselves wishing for a second chance.

 

This is a first-time collaboration for Brown and Corliss who bring passion and personality to the pages of their book. “Our favorite books are the ones we can’t put down and stay up all night reading. It’s exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Second Chances is it's own kind of roller coaster journey through the familiar and the foreign and we hope our readers enjoy the ride!”

 

Purchase your copy of Second Chances today at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/357298.

 

Leigh and Victoria live with their families in Rhode Island. To learn more about Second Chances and forthcoming novels from the Brown/Corliss duo visit browncorlissbooks.wix.com/secondchances or email them at browncorlissbooks@gmail.com.

 

 

NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER 11/13

 

‘Second Chances’: New Canaan High grad publishes e-novel

 

By New Canaan Advertiser on November 24, 2013 in Business, Featured News, Latest News, Lead News · 0 Comments

 

 

 

“One chapter has ended another is starting. Let’s hope the reading is good.” So read 18-year-old Victoria “Vikki” Stone’s (Corliss) senior quote in New Canaan High School’s 1982 “Perranos” yearbook. Three decades later, following a successful career in public relations, marriage and a family, Corliss is still an avid reader, but now she’s a writer too.

“Second Chances,” released in September, is the debut e-novel from Corliss and her co-author, Leigh Brown. “‘Second Chances’ is a story about getting a new lease on life, new beginnings, and that’s exactly what this book is for us,” said Corliss.

Following long careers in public relations for Vikki, and finance/interior designer for Leigh, and with sons headed for college, they were ready to chart a new course for themselves as well.

The decision to write a book was a natural choice for both of them and a lifelong ambition of Corliss’s. “When my family moved to New Canaan in 1976, the first thing I did was create a ‘writing room’ in my bedroom closet,” she said. “It was a small space, but it had everything I needed, including a light and a door for privacy. I was determined to write a best-seller.

“‘Second Chances’ is 100% fiction, but we couldn’t have written it without the benefit of having lived what I like to call high definition lives filled with sights, events, food, and people that bring so much color into our world,” she said.

Two of those special people are their mothers to whom the book is dedicated. “My mom, Kathryn Stone, still lives in New Canaan,” said Corliss, who now lives in Rhode Island with her husband and son. “Every visit with mom is a trip home and a walk down memory lane for me.”

This is the first literary collaboration for Corliss and Brown but not their last, according to a release. Their second novel, “The Pie Sisters,” set in New York’s Finger Lakes region, is slated for release in 2014.

“Second Chances” is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords for downloading to all e-readers such as Kindles and Nooks, tablets, including iPads, and to computers in PDF format.

 

 

Valley Breeze 12/12/13

 

Local authors join in rise of e-book publishing

 

CUMBERLAND - For aspiring authors, putting pen to paper is often the easiest part, as the nation's handful of major publishing houses do not freely dole out book deals.

But in the age of the iPad and Kindle, more writers are taking the business side into their own hands and self-publishing e-books that can be downloaded and read faster than the time it takes to pitch a novel to industry executives.

Bowker, the country's official ISBN Agency and leading provider of bibliographic information, reported in October that the number of self-published titles in 2012 was more than 391,000, which is an increase of 59 percent over 2011, and a whopping 422 percent over 2007.

 

The ProQuest affiliate also reported that more than 80 percent of those titles came through with support from just eight companies, including Smashwords, a distributor of independent e-books that was founded in 2008.

The market for e-books has been rising in tandem with self-publishing, with BookStats, an industry statistics model launched by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group, reporting in may that the e-book market has grown 45 percent since 2011.

 

One of those Smashwords e-books was "Second Chances," a novel written by Cumberland resident Victoria Corliss and Leigh Brown, of East Greenwich.

The co-authors, who met while their sons were on the same baseball team and immediately bonded over a shared love of books and writing, decided to use Smashwords as they stepped into the self-publishing world because of the site's user-friendly aspects that walked them through marketing, legalities and registering the book's ISBN with the Library of Congress.

 

"Let's face it, we needed 'Self-Publishing for Dummies,'" Corliss said with a smile.

But getting through the process and coming out on the other side with a published work boosted their confidence in writing and publishing, Brown said. After four years of work, the book about three people facing their past, present and future mistakes is now available through Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

 

"The beauty of self-publishing," Corliss said, "is that it gives every author the opportunity to get their book out there right away."

 

That means immediate feedback from readers, which helps as authors begin to tackle subsequent projects.

 

Now that they are beginning to master the business-side of the industry, the authors are onto their second book, "The Pie Sisters."

 

Corliss, who has worked in public relations, and Brown, who has a background in interior design, now focus on writing full-time with the hopes of getting the next book out by next year.

 

Taking on publishing, especially in a digital format, makes that a possibility.

"We're writing this because we want to share it with people," Corliss said. "We're trying to share our love of reading, and use our love of writing to share that."

 

 

SPECIAL EVENT

 

LEIGH BROWN & VICTORIA CORLISS FEATURED SPEAKERS AT CUMBERLAND LIBRARY’S TEEN WRITING WORKSHOP FEBRUARY 15.

 

CUMBERLAND, RI, February 4, 2014--The Cumberland Public Library’s Teen Writing Workshop (TWW) is excited to announce special guest speakers: Rhode Island authors Leigh Brown and Victoria Corliss.

 

The Teen Writing Workshop for teens ages 11-18 years old was founded in 2013 by Jenn Cournoyer, the library’s Teen Librarian. “Through my work here at the library, I discovered that many of the teenagers who use the library and its resources for school work also have an interest in writing for personal and creative purposes. The TWW helps them to hone this skill in a safe and supportive environment and to pursue their passion through practice, sharing with peers, and learning from experts.”

 

Each month, the TWW tackles a different writing challenge: writing believable dialog, creating interesting characters, etc.  When Cournoyer saw the Valley Breeze article about Second Chances, “I just knew I wanted the authors to come share their stories and experiences with my group of upcoming writers.” Leigh Brown and Cumberland resident Victoria Corliss are looking forward to the opportunity. “I’ve wanted to write books since I was a very young girl,” says Corliss who together with Brown published Second Chances last fall. “If I’d had the support and encouragement of a group like the TWW, maybe it wouldn’t have taken me so long to realize that dream.”

 

In addition to Second Chances, Brown and Corliss are currently at work on their next title, The Pie Sisters, due out later this year.  With one book already published and another in progress, the two authors have some good insight and tips to share with the group. “It’s sad but true that a lot of school age kids see writing as a chore, something they have to do,” says Brown, “but the TWW group wants to write. That’s exciting and I can’t wait to meet them.”

 

The Teen Writing Workshop meets one Saturday a month and is open to teens in middle and high school.  Writers of all abilities are welcome to attend.  Register online at www.cumberlandlibrary.org or by calling the library at 401-333-2552.

 

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