My name is Mala Burt. I write these Caribbean novels under the pen name Annie Rogers. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it makes for some confusion. Ann is my middle name and my husband is Roger Burt.
These novels were a collaboration between my husband and me. We'd plot. He'd outline. I'd write. He'd critique and tell me when I was writing myself into a corner. I truly don't think they would ever have been finished without his help.
I spend most of my time writing or volunteering in the writing community where I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This year I have helped plan meetings for Eastern Shore Writers' Association and did behind the scenes work for the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference held each year in February. This year's conference was another sold out success. We meet soon to begin planning for 2010. I also serve as the Managing Editor for The Delmarva Review, a new literary review published by the Eastern Shore Writers' Association. We are just about to go to press with the second issue.
Currently I am working with a new writing partner. Laura Ambler, whom I met through my Working Writers Forum. Laura is an incredibly talented writer and artist. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be collaborating with her. We have finished one young adult novel and are working on the second in the series. We're kicking around how to market the books as the publishing industry is in flux and, because of the economy, acquisitions are way down.
The book that I wrote with Laura Ambler, Big Skye Ranch, just won two awards at the London Book Festival. Best e-book and Grand Prize runner-up. For a digital book to be runner-up to the Grand Prize in a traditional book contest is HUGE. The pen name for the Big Skye Ranch series is Laurel Jaguar.
All of this keeps me from completing the third in the Caribbean series, but I think I now know how it ends which was part of why I couldn't finish the book sooner. Hopefully it will get back to the top of the list soon. Of course, spring is coming and the garden beds need attention. Somehow, it will all get done.
Writes romantic suspense set in the Caribbean
