Among Women - J. M. Cornwell

Alone. 

Abandoned in New Orleans with no friends or family, surviving only on her wits, Pearl Caldwell has finally put herself back on the road back to the life she wants.

Then she's arrested on a false charge and thrown into jail.  Among women of all sorts, Pearl finds a strength she never knew she had and a voice to tell her own story -- and the stories of the other women on the quad in the Orleans Parish jail.

Bio:
J. M. Cornwell has been writing since she was eight and living in Panama. Under the influence of Homer and Edgar Rice Burroughs, she wrote a book about a girl who gets lost in the jungles of Central America and finds a lost civilization. Since then, she has written articles and won awards, raised a family, divorced and moved around the country with the Air Force and on her own, and come back to writing, her first love.

In the Colorado Rockies in shadow of Pikes Peak, she writes about people and secrets and relationships. Her stories have been included in several anthologies, including A Cup of Comfort and Chicken soup. She also writes book reviews for Authorlink and her debut novel, Past Imperfect, was published by L&L Dreamspell in 2009.

What will readers like about your book?

The mystery, the shock of being in jail, the complex characters, and finding out what was in Lainie's trunk when she tried to drive into Lake Pontchartrain. Most of all, they'll like the stories about some of the women told within the framework of Pearl Caldwell's story.

Why did you self publish? 

 
Two reasons. My publisher turned the book down and when I queried agents they wrote back they were enthusiastic, but not enthusiastic enough to take it on. A friend kept suggesting I give self-publishing a try and I decided to go for it rather than wait two years from acceptance to print.

Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Since Among Women is part literary novel and part mystery with a dash of a mystery, it's hard to categorize in any one genre. I'd call it contemporary urban fiction and I don't know that too many authors write in that particular genre. I like many different authors, but my current favorites are Jasper Fforde, Charles Todd, Kristin Gore and Marcia Clark.

Links:
http://www.redroom.com/author/jm-cornwell/
http://lldreamspell.com/JMCornwell.htm