The Pearlsong Letter

Ebook version of At Long Last, Love by Judy Bagshaw now available from Pearlsong Press

The Adobe PDF ebook version of Judy Bagshaw's short story collection At Long Last, Love is now available from Pearlsong Press.

Judy Bagshaw is a retired elementary schoolteacher and writer in Southern Ontario, Canada. Her short stories feature plus-sized characters leading rich and active lives, just as she does.

Other ebooks available from Pearlsong Press include the recently released Adobe PDF ebook of Pat Ballard's romantic suspense novel The Best Man, as well as Ballard's novels Abigail's Revenge, A Worthy Heir, His Brother's Child, Nobody's Perfect, & Wanted: One Groom , and Ballard's short story collection Dangerous Curves Ahead.

The ebooks can be purchased directly from Pearlsong Press at www.pearlsong.com, as well as at select online ebook retailers.

Judy Bagshaw's "A Fat Woman's Manifesto"

Judy Bagshaw, author of romantic fiction with full-figured heroines (including At Long Last, Love, published by  Pearlsong Press), has A Fat Woman's Manifesto that she distributes on printed cards. It's posted here with her permission.

A Fat Woman's Manifesto
by Judy Bagshaw (copyright 2001)
(this big girl will NOT be pushed around any more!)

1. Diets will no longer factor at all in my life. A healthy lifestyle will!
2. Life is a banquet. I intend to get my money's worth.
3. My weight is not open for discussion -- period!
4. I'll eat anything I damn well please!
5. I will not settle for second best.
6. I will greet the world with my head up.
7. Fear will no longer rule my actions.
8. I won't put up with put-downs.
9. I won't base my self-esteem on other people's opinions.
10. I'm Fat. Get over it!

The American Heritage Dictionary defines "manifesto" as "A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature."

What's political about fat, you may ask? Well, a former U.S. surgeon general declared "war on obesity" a few years ago. For a lengthier answer, you might read J. Eric Oliver, Ph.D.'s book Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America's Obesity Epidemic.

The Literary Word on At Long Last, Love

Charlene Martel of The Literary Word blog has called Judy Bagshaw's short story collection At Long Last, Love "delightful....A great little book. A speedy and heartwarming read."

"What makes this book refreshingly different is the fact that the heroines of the tales are far from being the traditional image....It's about time that someone was able to capture what many women go through, and place it within the pages of a book."

Read the entire review here.

Big girls -- and women -- live happily ever after in tales by Canadian author Judy Bagshaw

Judy Bagshaw has a mission and a vision: writing romantic stories and novels in which plus-sized women live rich, involved lives. It’s a dream that grew out of her struggles living as a large woman in a world in which fat is reviled.

It wasn’t until her late twenties that Bagshaw realized she had wasted a good portion of her time obsessing about her weight and her looks. The subsequent journey of self-acceptance led to her writing career.

Her most recent work, At Long Last, Love, a collection of short stories featuring plus-sized (and in some cases middle-aged) heroines, was published by Pearlsong Press in April 2007.

Writing had always been a part of the Canadian school teacher’s life, but it became a serious pursuit when she reached her mid-thirties. Bagshaw started taking writing classes and one summer stumbled upon an ad for a publisher seeking plus-sized romances.

“I can remember a writing instructor telling me emphatically that there was no real market for romances featuring plus-sized heroines,” she says. “I thought then that I would really enjoy proving him wrong!”

Her first work was published in 1999. In 2005 Bagshaw retired after a 28-year career as an elementary school teacher to devote herself to writing fulltime at her home in southern Ontario.

“I have so many stories I want to tell. And since finding publishers who want work that is outside the mainstream box, I know that there are people out there that want to read stories where the big girl wins the hero’s heart and lives happily ever after.”

At Long Last, Love: A Collection is available from online and offline booksellers, directly from the publisher at www.pearlsong.com, and wholesale from Ingram Book Co. and others

Coming in April 2007 from Pearlsong Press -- romantic short story collection by Judy Bagshaw

Psssst. Want a peek at a new book of romantic short stories coming from Pearlsong Press in April?

Here's a glimpse of the cover of At Long Last, Love by Canadian author Judy Bagshaw. Get ready for 12 stories featuring plus sized (and some "mature") heroines from a retired schoolteacher and author with a mission: writing romantic stories that show plus sized women living rich, involved lives.

Learn more about Judy (and At Long Last, Love) at her Pearlsong Press author's page or her own website at www.judybagshaw.com.