River Fork: Delayed Release and Customer Info

May 8, 2026 / jmorise / Leave a comment

Those of you who ordered, and already received River Fork – The Bear in the Storm, please contact me at jm@jmorise.com* See below for the why.

Why?

In March I announced April 2 as the release of my debut novel: River Fork – The Bear in the Storm.

Then I pushed it out to April 30 with a promise of a final review, update and submission to the publisher to meet the deadline.

Well that didn’t work out!

Hubby went to ER. His breathing was seriously comprimised. They admitted him to the hospital. He stayed a week. The problem—his heart.

During his stay at the hopital, I remained at his bedside 9 hours a day. A phalynx of doctors entered his room every other day with more info and concerns.

Of grave concern was his low red blood count—therefore, his O₂ level was low.

The next task…replace Hubby’s Aortic valve. At this time, we are still waiting for his surgical procedure.

Back to my book: I cleverly saved a working copy as a .PDF file and imported it into my KOBO reader, which I brought to read while sitting on a small folding chair, cramped between the bathroom wall and Hubby’s wheeled tray where he ate and stored books to read.

First problem: constant interruptions, doctors appropriating my handy notepad where I made notes for planned edits to be execute once I returned home late in the evening.

Second problem: I was bushed, unable to focus, and missing Hubby’s presence in our now all-too-quiet house.

With my energy drained, my review was not good. I missed simple typos, a mispelled word, and a missing word. But among these, other salient details had been incorrectly represented. Perhaps only I noticed? Or would others notice too? All of this caught my attention while re-reading my paperback copy which arrived May 2nd.

I was apalled! How could this be! OMG!

So, the remedy*, find those customers who ordered their printed book between April 1 to May 3.

How?

If you are one of those lucky customers, you now own a collector’s item (and I appreciate your being one). However, for a remedy, please contact me at jm@jmorise.com . We’ll talk.

(The deadline to contact me regarding this issue is May 20, 2026)

J. M. Orise
Author

Note to those planning to order River Fork: The Bear in the Storm, for this interval of time in May only, there may be a short delay in delivery. I appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience.

River Fork: Delayed Release and Customer Info

May 4, 2026May 8, 2026 / jmorise / Leave a comment

Those of you who ordered, and already received River Fork – The Bear in the Storm, please contact me at jm@jmorise.com* See below for the why.

Why?

In March I announced April 2 as the release of my debut novel: River Fork – The Bear in the Storm.

Then I pushed it out to April 30 with a promise of a final review, update and submission to the publisher to meet the deadline.

Well that didn’t work out!

Hubby went to ER. His breathing was seriously comprimised. They admitted him to the hospital. He stayed a week. The problem—his heart.

During his stay at the hopital, I remained at his bedside 9 hours a day. A phalynx of doctors entered his room every other day with more info and concerns.

Of grave concern was his low red blood count—therefore, his O₂ level was low.

The next task…replace Hubby’s Aortic valve. At this time, we are still waiting for his surgical procedure.

First problem: constant interruptions, doctors appropriating my handy notepad where I made notes for planned edits to be execute once I returned home late in the evening.

Second problem: I was bushed, unable to focus, and missing Hubby’s presence in our now all-too-quiet house.

I was apalled! How could this be! OMG!

So, the remedy*, find those customers who ordered their printed book between April 1 to May 3.

How?

If you are one of those lucky customers, you now own a collector’s item (and I appreciate your being one). However, for a remedy, please contact me at jm@jmorise.com . We’ll talk.

(The deadline to contact me regarding this issue is May 20, 2026)

J. M. Orise
Author

Book Release: River Fork – The Bear in the Storm

April 29, 2026April 30, 2026 / jmorise / Leave a comment

A few links here:

Order your copy now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, or other outlet.

Book Release – April 30

A Young Adult Historical Fantasy novel based on my childhood experiences regarding loss, and wishing that something magical would make everything better—make things be as they once were.

My characters are based on what I observed in people, their loss, their pain, whenever they shared thoughts with me, the child, and with me, the adult.

The story is from a world I alone had the privilege to wander through. To meet the characters, listen to them and interpret what they said, thought, and did, based on what I said, thought, and did from when I was five, when Mom died, and later, in my teens, when other family members and friends died. I wanted things to be as they used to be. Doesn’t everyone?

Growing up is challenging, and searching for that someone out there who used to be and perhaps still is with me…no matter which dimension they now inhabit, is a refreshing thought. Something I believe in.

Listen.

If you listen with your heart,

you will hear them.

Lightning striking over a rushing mountain river with dark stormy clouds and twisted trees

Order your copy now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, or other outlet.

Exciting News: River Fork Is With the Publisher!

April 6, 2026April 6, 2026 / jmorise / Leave a comment

Wooo Hooo! Yay!

A long, long time coming

River Fork – The Bear in the Storm is DONE. It is in the hands of my publisher!

I am relieved—so relieved. 🤣

Please let it be perfect…no missed bloops.

I’ll receive a proof copy for review.

Once I re-read, and any needed changes are done, the book goes public!

Keep a lookout on jmorise blog (type “jmorise . com” without the spaces), go to Facebook, and Instagram.

All comments welcomed by this author.

J. M. Orise

Feb. 16, 2026 – Update! – River Fork: The Bear in the Storm, uploading to a publisher service soon!

February 16, 2026 / jmorise / Leave a comment

River Fork: The Bear in the Storm was reviewed last April. The reviewer loved the story and concurred it needed to be published for Young Adults as well as Adults.

Happy to hear that, I re-read the story to check for typos, awkward sentences, etc., just in case.

Since then, I have re-read and edited it seven times. It is amazing how one does not see what is in front of them when reading their own work. This phenomenon is known as expectation. You see what you expect. Very easy to do in a manuscript. That’s why another pair of eyes is helpful.

Am presently formatting the manuscript, making it ready to upload to a publisher.

The novel is Young Adult, Historical Fantasy. The setting is 1956-1957 in a fictitious farming and logging town in the New Hampshire mountains.

The theme deals with loss, grief, belief, acceptance, self-discovery, and coming of age.

Though a Young Adult novel, it is suitable for children and parents dealing with loss.

Please keep in touch to learn more about the River Fork series, and to purchase it when available.

Thanks for following.

Keep following for my updates!

Please tell others about it.

Contact me below to: reserve your copy ahead of time OR leave comments and questions.

I’ll keep you informed when River Fork: The Bear in the Storm is available, and where to purchase.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Thawing From My Trip South Took a While!

February 5, 2025February 5, 2025 / jmorise / Leave a comment

We left Maine in January. Two months later than anticipated due to discovering a blockage in my heart, and dealing with all the craziness of that experience.

And we left a day later than planned due to an unanticipated snowfall—4 inches. Neighbor John who watches our property plowed us out! We weren’t exactly “Snowbound”—I read John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem when I was a teen. I believe 4 FEET and more is what he had in mind.

For our trip, I opted to wear cotton socks with my L.L.Bean loafers. Sure it was cold at home, but we were heading south after all. We’d be warm by dinner time!

We left early in the day in 9° F weather. It would be warm soon, we’d be in the truck until 9-10 PM, and arriving in the southern mountains, in Wilkes-Barre, PA! Warm country.

Driving at speeds of 65-70 mph, the truck’s heater could not compete with the incoming flow of cold air…(Hubby’s analysis). Late in the day, it was so cold, the heat barely warmed our feet. My feet, although jammed into the heat outlet were being cooled. Being a bit of a contortionist, I pulled one foot up to the seat to warm it, and switched to warm the other. The floor area was cold! When we swapped driver, I felt the heat move around my feet at the accelerator a tiny bit. As a passenger, Hubby’s feet got colder.

I determined something was plugging the airflow. Next time we swapped driver, I crouched down and dug into the passenger’s heater duct. I proudly displayed chewed up paper napkins and other fibers. How pervasive was this blockage? Who were the perpetrators? Mice? Squirrels?

I engaged the heater’s air blower to the max. Tissue paper and bits of filter netting, a part of the dash construction to filter dust and debris that might be lodged in the heater passageway to the dash and window air ducts, flew at Hubby and me. Chunks of paper snow! I pulled more and more fragments from the dash’s vent grillwork with tweezers I had packed in the back seat of the truck.

We got more heat!

We arrived to 11° degrees Farenheit in Wilkes-Barre! Warmer socks and shoes were packed and inaccessible in the bed of our truck. With feet nearly frozen we hustled to our room and cranked the thermostat to 73°.

This intense cold lasted for two days. Even with vents cleaned out, we barely got warm. On the third day, in southern North Carolina, it was warmer…in the 30s. I finally dug out my thick cotton socks and a second sweater.

We arrived at our Florida destination late that night, but it was too cold to spend a whole lot of time unpacking in the dark with a flashlight. However, I brought in all that should not be left out in the cold…well, it had been left out for a couple of days and nights… but how cruel can you be to your stuff? My stuff? I like my stuff.

The cold lasted for a few days after we arrived…in the 30s and 40s. Nearly a week later, we have 60° and low 70° weather.

Discomfort is soon forgotten when things get better.

Things are better.

Hope all is well with you all. Leave a comment below. Love to hear from you.

Oh, and keep warm, too.

I’m Back With Friends Again.

December 16, 2023December 16, 2023 / jmorise / Leave a comment

Here I am at the Citrus Writers of Florida meeting, in Citrus Springs.
My heart fills with joy. But I can’t fill a form without making errors I have to scribble out—street address, phone number, what software do I use for this and that. I scan my cell phone for answers I know I mentioned in past FB posts. I’m not functioning properly. I am too excited.

SO I THOUGHT.

But THAT excited?

I met some of the people I longed to see for the last two years. This was a Citrus Writers of Florida monthly meeting I had just learned about from an author friend. I didn’t think I’d be able to attend for Hubby had appointments out of town. Medical checkups, etc..

We left very early. Hubby didn’t believe it was a twenty-nine minute drive. More like an hour drive, he argued. I had started breakfast, he went to the car and waited for me to appear! He dialed my cell phone. “Are you coming?”

Okay. Nix the breakfast, brush your teeth, see if you are presentable, grab a book, pour coffee in a portable cup, grab a bottle of water, jab a banana and two apples in the purse and off we go. I quickly ate the banana and drank the coffee. (I need to eat in the morning and this would have to do.)

The appointments went well. We cancelled a scheduled scan Doc said was no longer necessary. And another appointment we planned to schedule was already scheduled for next month. So that was easy.

Because of our twenty-nine minute drive, we were early. The nurse immediately called us for our appointment, and said, “Glad you came early. I’ll take you now.” On our way home, I realized now I had time to attend the 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. meeting in Crystal River! Hubby obliged and drove me to the meeting and I had 4 minutes to spare. He planned to read and snooze in the car.

Like I said, it was a wonderful meeting. I plan to sign up as a member.

Returning home, I ate my apple and looked forward to more food. I was starved. After our late lunch, I had a revelation. My sugar level was low. I usually experience signals when it gets low. This time, I was so happy to be somewhere, it just didn’t register.

I have Hypoglycemia. I manage it with protein, and especially with breakfast. I was running on empty and filled my tank with a high glycemic banana, and a black coffee, which acts like sugar. That’s when my system registers too much sugar here, and begins to rid itself of the sudden stockpile. But there are times when it doesn’t turn off when it should and I get giddy, forgetful, confused and sometimes sick to my stomach.

Ergo: my difficulty in filling in a form and remembering simple things and people’s names at the meeting, and trying to remember who had notified me of the event.

I first experienced these symptoms many years ago. I had to convince my doctor that I had low blood sugar. He didn’t believe me until one day, during an appointment, I turned very pale and sick to my stomach. I said, “I need milk. Now.” His nurse sacrificed her lunch milk. I recovered immediately. Doc gave me a home finger test and chart. “Do a finger blood test first thing in the morning. Write the results here,” he pointed to the chart. “And write anything/comments here. Come back in a week.”

In the mornings, I leaned against the kitchen counter and “chased” my finger with a little spring loaded tiny blade gun (I hate cutting and needles). The right hand had a job to do. The left hand wanted to live up to its name, “left” which is past tense of “leave.”

I smeared the blood on paper strips and filled in the numbers on the form. At times, I couldn’t spell simple words. Once I struggled with the word “with.” I gave up on the third try. I won French spelling competitions in grammar school and I was also a great English speller.

I left the misspelling and scribbles for Doc to see. He said, in his ten years of medicine, no one had ever diagnosed themselves with the condition. He agreed. I had Low Blood Sugar.

His advice: monitor and control the condition with nutrition as I had been. It was better than drugs.

So I eat breakfast every morning. And it is under control.

I hope the form I filled doesn’t alarm the group. I was tired, hungry, listening, researching, writing…all at the same time. Talk about stressors. Stressors alone can make one’s sugar act weird.

But I was happy! And still am.

I can’t wait to attend the next meeting.

Speaking of Interuptions…

February 6, 2022May 30, 2022 / jmorise / Leave a comment

I’m managing Hubby’s care. He underwent surgery a few days ago. Due to Covid restrictions, I wasn’t allowed inside the hospital.
We have a slew of doctor appointments coming up and wouldn’t you know, thinking I had it “all together,” I planned a sneak appointment for me, in between errands, to get a professional hair trim, and still show up in time for Hubby’s release from the hospital.

So, I went to the grocery, hurried home to put food away, then had a quick lunch/snack. As I was getting ready to head out, something hard as rock presented itself in my mouth.

What?

In a split second I realized what had happened. I was right. And my plans abruptly changed.

A bridge composed of two connected crowns detached from my teeth. The crown covered two teeth. The first two after my canine and a third tooth was a cantileverd molar. The two teeth were in perfect conditionm but were sacrificed to support a bridge and ultimately a sculpted molar. A “floating” molar replaced a molar which had been incorrectly removed from my right upper jaw years ealier by another dentist. (After removal, he said it was a perfectly strong tooth. He had attempted to relieve me of a pain in my jaw and temple. The pain returned after the extraction. Over time, it went away….and I was missing a tooth. Not a happy experience.)

This complicated bridge was installed forty-seven years ago. 47! I was told it could last thirty years—if I was lucky. At that young age, thirty years seemed an eternity. So I agreed to have it done.

The set is polished, and still new looking. I am hopeful a dentist of great talent will re-install the set, even though the first tooth I had sacrificed to make this crown possible had now broken off at the gumline. The second tooth, which was reshaped to accept the crown as well, is still in position. So there will be some serious pain in drilling and poking, I’m sure. Perhaps the last canterlevered molar can be cut off the set, then a tooth implant can be installed in its place, thus giving me a sturdier bite. This idea for the last molar is based on now learning that a cantilevered crown is not a very good setup…it would have ultimately failed over time. Well the time is now and it is a very inconvenient interruption.

Is there ever a good time for interruptions?

However, there is some good news. Hubby is home and slowly getting better. We will be walking within a week or two in our favorite woods path. Our daily habit. That is not an interruption. That is a planned event. I’ll make an appointment to have my hair trimmed some day soon—I hope.

Like and leave a comment. Appreciate it.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Are you a Beta Reader? Want to swap?

November 16, 2020February 6, 2025 / jmorise / Leave a comment

Hello fellow writers, authors, publishers, readers,

I’ll swap with Beta Readers for my YA historical, paranormal manuscript. Approx 53,000 words. Want an honest critique. I’ll do the same for you.

Theme: loss, guilt, frustration, anger, love, acceptance, hope and coming of age.

The setting: 1957, New Hampshire, fictional farming town on the Saco River, cradled in the White Mountains.

Tim will be 13 in 4 days. His two friends are 15 and 14. Each has experienced loss.

Synopsis:

Tim’s refusal to accompany Dad cost him his dad.

His dad had spoken of the bear with magical powers. But Tim hadn’t asked enough questions. Where and how could he find this creature? He and and his friend, Charlie, go on a quest to the Saco River, searching for the bear. Tim hoped it would bring Dad back. But an unexpected storm unfolds.

The boys are trapped in a cave with little food. How can they find the bear if they are trapped? Tim has to convince his friend to believe in the bear, that it will rescue them like it had rescued his dad years before. But did Tim truly believe?

Tim’s roller-coaster emotions confuse him. Is he angry at Dad for leaving? He doesn’t think so. But then—

Please leave a comment, share and like if you truly like.

Helpful critiques are always welcome.

Thanks for reading.

Have I Mentioned My Re-writes Lately?

February 10, 2019March 12, 2020 / jmorise / Leave a comment

Sung to the tune of:
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, by Rod Stewart

Have I Mentioned My Re-writes Lately

Have I mentioned my re-writes to you lately?
Have I mentioned my second manuscript too?
They fill my heart with gladness
Take away any sadness
Easily trouble me

That’s what they do

Oh the midnight oil’s forever burning

Greets the day with hope

That this will do…this time

Re-reads fill my life with laughter
I can write it so much better
Easily trouble me

That’s what they do

There’s a manuscript that’s divine
It might be yours, it sure ain’t mine

And at the end of every re-write
I give thanks then I pray
This is the one, yes this is the one!

Have I mentioned my re-writes to you lately?
Have I mentioned my second manuscript too?
They fill my heart with gladness
Take away any sadness
Easily trouble me
That’s what they do

There’s a manuscript that’s divine
It might be yours, it sure ain’t mine

And at the end of every re-write
I give thanks then I pray
This is the one, yes this is the one!

Have I mentioned my re-writes to you lately?
Easily trouble me
That’s what they do

But I surely won’t give up
No matter all the mark-up
I’ll keep writing, that’s what I’ll do

Have I mentioned I’m still writing lately?

Share your writing journey. Fill my heart with gladness. I bet you can.

← Back