This week’s topic on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop seems very timely. A.S. Fenichel says: Let’s talk about book covers. Pick three of your covers and tell us: what was your thought process for the design or, if you’re traditionally published, tell us what you thought the first time you saw your shiny new cover. If you have a great story about your cover(s) please share. If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome! The reason I say this topic is timely is because, just last week, a Canadian artist who designed more than 500 Harlequin romance covers, was awarded his very own stamp, based on one of his covers. Check out the full story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/he-designed-over-500-harlequin-romance-covers-now-there-s-a-canada-post-stamp-in-his-honour-1.4607014 As for my own covers, I’ve been very involved in their creation. My first two books were published by a small press, but I was able to give them a very clear idea of what I was hoping for, and I think they did a great job. I have to say, though, the cover of my first self-published book is my all-time favourite. When Time Falls Still was actually a finalist as Best Cover in the 2017 RONE Awards. Thanks so much to my cover designer, Steven Cote, for making it look so wonderful! The second cover above is the first publication of Mountain Fire. It will always hold a special place in my heart, since it was my first published book. Just last year I revised it and self-published it with a new, extremely dramatic cover (second from right). Not everyone can see it at first, but there is a silhouette of a couple kissing above the fiery treeline. Can you see it? What do you think?
And the last is No Life But This. It may seem odd that a romance novel doesn’t have a couple on the cover, but this image spoke so clearly to me about Abigail’s journey in the story that I had to use it. Now it’s time to hop over the instigator of this blog, A. S. Fenichel. What cover is her favourite? Check it out here!
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It’s the most romantic day of the year soon. Leslie Hachtel asks: Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Why is it special for you? And what do you wish for? If you joined me from A.S. Fenichel, welcome! I have a confession to make. Mr. C and I don’t “do” Valentine’s Day. We decided many years ago that we’d give this holiday a miss, and try to remember to show our gratitude and appreciation for each other in our own way. Getting flowers on a random Thursday, or deciding at the last minute to have a date night, is our preferred celebration. That being said, I can certainly understand why others make it a special day, especially those at the beginning of a relationship. Who doesn’t enjoy roses and chocolates or a wonderful meal—and best of all, time spent one on one with the person you love? So, do you think I’m a humbug for not doing Valentine’s Day? What do you do to make it special? Let me know in the comments, then hop on over to S. C. Mitchell https://scmitchell.wordpress.com/ to see how he celebrates. Romance Writers Weekly Share the Love Valentine’s Giveaway!!! We want to share the love with you. You could win a $50 Amazon gift card! From February 12 to 15, visit each participating authors' Facebook page (go to the Romance Writers Weekly Facebook page to see a full list) and like, post, or comment on their page. When you’ve visited us all, fill out the entry form at HERE for your chance to win the grand prize (deadline to enter is midnight, February 15)! Each author is also give away additional prizes. You could win an e-copy of my vacation romance, No Life But This. Be sure to comment on the contest post on my Facebook page. I'll be drawing from those people who comment before midnight on February 15. I find this week's topic very relevant. A.S. Fenichel asks: The year is half over! OMG! Tell us how you organize your world? Do you keep a day planner? Do you use your phone? Is organization important to you or is your life in total chaos and you love it? If you joined me from Jenna Da Sie, you'll know how that busy mom keeps her days straight. As for me… Holidays have a way of disrupting the time-space continuum in my life, and with a couple weeks away I'm finding it hard to get back in the flow of things. People who know me well (waves a hand at Mr. C) know that I do best with a set schedule. I prefer knowing what's happening well in advance. I like to think I'm more flexible than I used to be—having three children, two of whom are a lot more laid back than I am, will do that to you—but I am most happy and contented when I have a clear plan. That being said, I don't feel like I'm an obviously over organized person. I don't use coloured tabs in notebooks or have post it notes all over the place. At my day job I use Google Calendar, as I have to share schedules with other people, and I love the ease of that. But personally I only mark it on the calendar if I'm truly worried about missing something important. In my writing, I'm a plotter. I like to outline quite substantially before I get started on a new story. But when it comes to setting time to write, I don't have it on a planner, because it always happens at the same time. And I have a daily word count, so that takes care of itself. When I'm not working on a new book, I use that time for editing or publishing duties. So far, it's all seemed to work out just fine! If I'm looking at the year as half over, I'm feeling pretty good about how I've organized things. I released a new book in January, pretty much on time. I finished the manuscript I was working on at the end of May, before heading off on holiday. That had always been the goal, but I had to really up my word count in the final month to achieve it, so I was really pleased I made it. I'm getting the rights back on m first novel this fall, so my job over the summer is to get that ready for release, and I'm pretty confident with that. So all in all I think my organization plan is working out! How do you get organized? Do you keep a beautiful day planner with your notes all written in a stunning copperplate? (That's what I wish I did, but my handwriting qualifies me for med school.) Or are you a technogeek with your iPhone or Android leading the way? I’d love to hear from you! Then, be sure to hop over to S. C. Mitchell and see how he keeps on track! If you joined me from A.S. Fenichel, welcome! We're having fun on Romance Writers Weekly today. Jenna Da Sie has us playing the "Would you rather?" game. Keep on reading to see what I mean. 1) Would you rather go way back in time and meet your ancestors Pre 1800’s or go way into the future and meet your great grandchildren Post 2200? I think I would definitely want to go back in time. I'm fascinated by geneology, and someday when I have the time I want to really research my family tree. I have a pretty good record already, but more would be great. The other reason to go back in time is that at least I know there's a happy ending—in the fact that I exist! But going ahead may provide unwelcome surprises that I don't want to know about. Maybe it's the coward's way, but its just what I think. 2) Would you rather have no internet or no cell phone? That's easy-no cell phone. The world moves so fast these days, and I think no cell phone would help slow it all down. Really-how many calls a day do you get on your phone that couldn't wait another hour or so until you got home? But the internet is another matter. I love having the world at my fingertips, especially when I'm writing. Got a quick research question-done. Can't remember how to spell a word-bam! 3) Would you rather talk like Yoda or breathe like Darth Vader? Oh, my. I guess neither isn't an option? Then I'd have to go with Yoda. I think the breathing would drive my husband crazy after awhile. 4) Would you rather have the ability to fly or read minds? Despite that I'm scared of heights, I think I'm going with ability to fly on this one. Birds look so free and awesome as they float on updrafts. And I think I would learn too much that I didn't want to know (see Question #1 for my reluctance to know too much) if I could read minds. 5) Would you rather have mermaids be real or unicorns be real? Gotta go with unicorns here. In mythology, mermaids are not always the nicest creatures, causing storms and luring sailors to their deaths. This was fun! Why not leave your choices in the comments below? But don't forget to continue on the hop. Your next stop is Dani Jace Just a quick not that my fourth contemporary romance, NO LIFE BUT THIS, is now available! It was released Friday, and to celebrate, all my books are on sale for only 99 cents. Check them out here. And don't forget, you still have time to enter to win a Kindle in the January Preorder Super Sale & Giveaway! 25 Romance Authors are sharing their upcoming releases. And just for subscribing to our newsletters or following us on Social Media, you could win a Kindle! Click here to enter! Writers often talk about the voices in their head. I know this is true for me, with some characters I've written speaking louder than others. This week on Romance Writers Weekly, S. C. Mitchell asks: Tell us about the people living in your head right now. Do an interview with the hero and/or heroine of your current work in progress or your latest release. If you joined me from the wild and crazy, Tracey Gee, welcome! If you're starting here, be sure to follow the hop all the way through. Tracey's sure to have some interesting characters to introduce you to! I am current working on the middle book in a trilogy. The first is sitting with a publisher waiting for a decision, which is making me anxious to get going on this story. That anxiety hasn't helped, because it's causing me to freeze at the keyboard. Also, I've never written a series before, and another issue I'm having is that the characters from the first book are still so vivid in my mind that I'm having trouble getting into the heads of my new hero and heroine. So this will be a great exercise for me! I'll stick with the heroine of my new story. Josephine Bendixon is the youngest of three sisters. In book one she has a few scenes, and when I wrote her she was flighty and indecisive and vaguely irresponsible. Now that I'm working on her book, though, I've learned a few things. I'm going to let her tell you more about herself. "I get where you're coming from, Brenda. I do appear a bit of a goofball to people. But that's just the shell I hide behind. All I want is to be needed. My sisters are quite a few years older than I am, and they've always looked out for me, taken care of me. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but they can't seem to get out of the habit of it. So when I offer to help them—the family business is going through a bit of a bad time—they pat me on the head (figuratively) and tell me not to worry. I want to worry! I want to be an adult they rely on. I'm twenty-four years old for pity sake! Of course, I can be my own worst enemy. I seem to get myself into situations where I am doomed to fail. And it doesn't look good that I’m still living in my parents' house. Let me explain—I'm not living with them. They're on a cross-North America RV trip, and I'm house-sitting while they're gone. But before they left, yeah, I might have still be living at home. Then there's Luke. He was a friend of my sister, Mattie, during high school. They've lost touch a bit now, but we run in the same circles so it wasn't unusual for me to see Luke a few times a year just by accident. Now I'm helping him with a concert in the park he's doing with his teenage music students. I get the feeling he doesn't want me around, but there's no way I can quit another project I started. My sisters already think I've got to staying power. So he's just going to have to put up with me. If you asked my sisters, they'd say I've had a crush on Luke since I was a kid. They're wrong. Sure, he's handsome and sweet and all that, but he's never looked twice at me. I'm just Mattie's kid sister. It's kind of relaxing, actually, not to have to worry about impressing him as a woman. I can be myself around him." Hmm…that last line is something new to me. I knew Jo didn't have the crush her sisters thought she had, but the thought that she's more "herself" around him than other guys is interesting. Interesting enough that maybe I should go do some writing… Be sure to keep going on the hop. Visit Jenna Da Sie next! You've still got time to win a Kindle - check out the January Preorder Super Sale & Giveaway! 25 Romance Authors are sharing their upcoming releases (including me!). Most of them are on sale for a limited time. It's just our way of thanking our loyal readers. And, just for subscribing to our newsletters of following us on Social Media, you could win a Kindle! Click here to enter! My next contemporary romance, No Life But This, is coming out this Friday!! Find out more about here.
And remember - pre-order for just 99 pennies! I've been quiet on the blog the last couple of weeks, but it's great to be back! The Romance Writers Weekly kicks of 2017 with a Lyra Parrish topic: How did you spend your New Years? What literary goals have you made for 2017? Mr. C. and I are notorious for not celebrating New Years with too much fanfare. When the kids were younger we'd play games until midnight and then hit the sack. That was more for my sake than anyone else's – I'm a grouch much past 10 o'clock at night! This year, however, we attended a fundraising event called Boogie with the Stars. Local celebrities and business owners pair up and take part in a dance competition. It's all in good fun, because no one is a professional (although they do have great instructors). The "winner" is the team that raises the most money for our local hospital foundation. We really enjoyed the performances, and then danced to a live band for the rest of the evening. It was a lot of fun! 2016 was both a good and bad year for my writing. I made my first venture into self-publishing, made a lot of new connections, and was asked to submit a full manuscript to Harlequin (still waiting on the verdict for that one). But I did not start a new story last year, spending most of my time revising and marketing. This has been weighing on me quite a bit. Since my first book was published, I've managed to complete a first draft of a new manuscript every year except for 2016. I feel like I've fallen behind my own self-imposed schedule. So for 2017, my goal is to complete a new manuscript. I would love to be mostly finished by the end of May, but that might be pushing it a bit. I have got a start on it, and I think I have a good handle on the story, so I'm feeling fairly confident. It is the second book in a series so I know the world – it's just a matter of sticking with it and not letting my inner editor bog me down. Other goals in 2017 will be to keep networking and marketing, of course. I have a new release launching on January 20th (No Life But This - read an excerpt here!) that I'll be promoting. As well, the rights to my first book, Mountain Fire, will revert to me this fall. I plan to self-publish it, but I need to decide whether to revise it first or simply relaunch it. It looks like 2017 is going to be busy, doesn't it? Maybe I should get to it, then! As for you, be sure to hop on to A.S. Fenichel and see what her goals are for the new year! And I'd love to hear what your goals are - leave them in the comments below. Check out the January Preorder Super Sale & Giveaway! 25 Romance Authors (including me!) are sharing January Preorders! Most of them are on sale for a limited time. It's just our way of thanking our loyal readers. Even better, we've pooled our funds to offer an awesome giveaway! Enter to win a Kindle just for subscribing to our newsletters or following us on social media. Just click here to see all the authors and enter the giveaway! Today on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, A.S. Fenichel asks:
What's the craziest thing you've ever done in the name of researching a book. Or...what's the craziest thing you'd like to do to research a book. One of the reasons I love to read (and write) is because I can live a dangerous and exciting life without leaving my couch. So when it comes to research, I'm not too adventurous! In No Life But This (which I hope to release later this year) my hero and heroine go paragliding. Well, you'll never catch me jumping off a cliff. But YouTube has plenty of videos of people who are crazy enough, so I watched those to at least get some feel for the experience. Like most writers, though, I do blend my own experiences into my stories. No Life But This is set in the Azores. My husband has family there, and we traveled there in 2013. It was such an amazing place I simply had to work it into a book somehow. And this summer we plan on going whitewater rafting, which I'm sure will come in useful some day. But for now, Google is my friend when it comes to research. Sorry for the very boring post this week. I hope Jenna Da Sie has something wild and crazy for you to read about! Check out her blog here. This weeks challenge for us Romance Writers Weekly members comes from Carrie Elks: “Stephen King famously said that it's necessary to 'kill your darlings' when editing your work. Do you have anything you had to remove from a book that you're still proud of? Or something that embarrasses you so much it will never again see the light of day? If you're feeling really brave, share some of it with us!” If you joined me from Leslie Hachtel, welcome! It is often a single image that inspires me when I am thinking of ideas for new stories. For my novel “No Life But This”, that image was a young woman spinning a globe, longing for excitement and adventure. Many of us have done this – watched the world blurring by, then tapping it with one finger and saying “There, that’s where I’m going.” My heroine, Abigail, does exactly that, and finds love on the tiny, little known Portuguese island of San Miguel, Azores. After I’d written the manuscript, I sent it out into the world of beta readers. And almost every single one of them said they enjoyed the book once the romance got going, but that it started soooooo slowly. So I tightened up the beginning – and more readers said exactly the same thing. In the end, I hacked off about five chapters, before I finally found what I feel is the right place to start the story. But I still have a soft spot for the original opening scene. It was this image, this atmosphere, that sparked the entire story. Maybe a reader doesn’t need it, but as a writer I think I needed to put it into words, so that the rest of the novel was infused with the thoughts and feelings I wrote about. Here it is. Abigail's fingers bumped gently across the globe. The surface was irregular, as if it truly was a miniature world - Everest shrunk to the height of a fingernail, the waves of the oceans smoothed to an infinitesimal roughness. Its high gloss finish glared where the light from the floor lamp struck it. I’m so glad I had a chance to share this scene with you! Now I invite you to move on to J.J. Devine and see what darlings she’s had to “kill”.
Social media has dramatically changed how writers interact with readers. Snail-paced fan mail has been usurped by instant reviews, posts and tweets. It has also changed how writers interact with agents and publishers. They are less the men and women behind the curtain a la the Wizard of Oz, and more often people we follow on Twitter and like on Facebook.
Writers used to be told to have our Elevator Pitch ready – a short blurb of our story that could be given to an agent or publisher when we have them trapped in an elevator, riding from one floor to the next. Now we have the Twitter Pitch – 140 characters or less! Agents/Publishers create a hashtag and follow the pitches on twitter, watching for retweets and favourites to see what resonates with other writers and readers. This week we've been challenged to Twitter pitch our WIP or latest release. I’ve done this a couple of times, and trust me – it is HARD! It’s especially hard when you need to take into account the hashtag you must include or no one will see your tweet (I made up one, to keep in the spirit of the game). If you joined me from Kate Robbins blog, what did you think of her pitches? Sound intriguing, don't they? I figured if I’m going to go through this exercise, why not take advantage of it? So I am going to post 2 different versions of pitches for each of my finished manuscripts. Which one do you like best? NO LIFE BUT THIS (contemporary): #RWWPITCH Can the shifting sands of a vacation affair become the rock on which a life-long relationship is built? #RWWPITCH She’s a reserved quiet soul. He’s an adventurous, cheerful womanizer. Together they ignite a passion neither is ready for WHEN TIME FALLS STILL (romantic suspense): #RWWPITCH She’s on tenure track until a sexy campus security guard distracts her, yet more than her heart is in danger at this university. #RWWPITCH Does a university professor dare put passion over ambition? Or will she lose more than her heart to this sexy security guard? Let me know your favourites in the comments. Then be sure to hop on over to Xio Axelrod's blog. She's the one who set this topic for this week, so I have high expectations. :) Many of the RWW members are working on stories we hope to publish in an anthology and a boxed set later this year. J.J. Devine wants a sneak peak at our opening scene. If you've joined me from A.S. Fenichel's blog, welcome. What did you think of hers? Here’s the first scene of “No Life But This” – my contribution to the Romance Writers Weekly Box Set. Santos Carregado pulled the twelve passenger van into the taxi loading zone and set the parking brake. Grabbing the cardboard sign and crumpled sheets of paper his sister had thrust into his hand before he'd rushed out the door this morning, he strode into Arrivals. A scattering of people milled about, no one going anywhere fast. To his right the building stretched, long and narrow, toward the Departure area. Muted sunshine fell through the glass ceiling two stories above. A sparrow, seemingly at home in the echoing space, swooped and swept, landing on a precarious edge along the outer wall. Santos took a seat on a log hollowed out into a bench. I'd love to hear what you think - let me know in the comments! Want to see what Kim Handysides is working on? Check it out here!
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