Book Signing Today!

"I find friendship to be like wine, raw when new, ripened with age, the true old man's milk and restorative cordial."- Thomas Jefferson

I'm so excited...today is my first book signing with One Night in Memphis in print...and at my local Borders, so I'm hoping lots of friends and family will be stopping by. Who else will be there? Among the regulars I usually sign with (Stella Price, Bianca D'Arc, Cat Johnson, and Tilly Greene -- love ya, girls) will be best-selling author Jacquelyn Frank. Don't know her or her work, but I'm looking forward to meeting her.

Updates here tomorrow!

One Reader's Review of One Night in Memphis

Just a quick note today:

The Romance Studio held their Book a Day Giveaway last weekend, and the woman who won an e-copy of my novel One Night in Memphis read it in one day (!) and emailed me this lovely note yesterday (with permission to use it as a review):

Hi Allie,

Thank you for sending me the book. I can't believe I won it, and I have to say, I just finished reading it and it's excellent. Lots of action, emotion and just the right amount of chemistry involved to make it almost realistic. I adore Mike, and wonder if there is a story surrounding him. There is lots of hints with more to come with all your characters. Ethan is a true inspirational kind of man I hope to meet in my future.


Aww...now don't you want your own copy?? It's releasing in print next Tuesday...mark your calendars!!

A Million Little Pieces

"If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want." ~Oscar Wilde

I just liked this quote...

*****

So apparently Oprah apologozed to James Frey for lambasting him on her show after it was revealed that his best-seller A Million Little Pieces was not, in fact, a memoir. Why did she feel the need to apologize? I didn't read the book because as an author, I shared the feeling of betrayal...sure, I could market my novel as a memoir to get a publishing contract. But I didn't feel like lying to an agent/publisher/the general public.

*****

Did you see this article about men in Saudi Arabia who can slap their wives for exorbitant shopping? Yet another reason I'm glad I live in the United States...

*****

Turns out President Obama has a sense of humor. Did anyone see his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner? Not too bad at delivering his jokes. Here's a recap:

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Linda Banche

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! Before I forget to mention it, I'll be looking for authors to feature right here for interview spots, starting in July. Interested? Email me at allieb@allieboniface.com for more information.

And now, help me say hello to Wild Rose Press author Linda Banche!

Linda, can you tell us a little about your background?

I'm a brand new author with two published Regency novellas so far. Although my stories are by and large historical, some fantasy and paranormal creeps in. And everything I write contains humor. I like a funny story at any time, and with the current economic climate so dismal, everyone can use a laugh.

Sounds like a great combination! So when did you first begin writing? Was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

I never had a life-long desire to write. I love romances, and for a long time I was happy to read others' books. But about four years ago, I went on a romance reading binge. I read romance after romance after romance. But after I had wallowed in romance for a while, (and did I have a good time wallowing), I ran out of books. Panic! What to do? Why, write my own. Almost at once I discovered how hard writing is. But did that revelation stop me? No. I tell people I'm persistent. That's French for "too stupid to quit".

LOL...now, tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

My very first book, Lady of the Stars, is the story of a woman who sees a man she thought forever gone through the back door of a gazebo. Little does she know that back door is a time portal that whisks her back to 1817. Culture shock abounds on both sides, as she and the man she literally runs into adjust to each other. But as they fall in love, the hero's family legend awakens. Will it bring them together, or tear them apart forever?

Pumpkinnapper, my second story, is a Halloween comedy. Long-separated childhood friends rediscover love as they join forces to catch the thieves who try to steal the heroine's pumpkins. Complications arise in the form of hero and heroine's skewed expectations of each other, as well as from the heroine's jealous pet goose. Both novellas are with The Wild Rose Press.

What kinds of books do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

My favorite books are historicals, mainly Regencies. I don't find the modern world romantic. For me, romance comes from the past, in a world that is unlike ours, but at the same time has similarities. The Regency, that period in England about two hundred years ago, fits the bill. That time was different from our own, but not too different, as the era was the very beginning of the modern world.

So many authors are favorites; I have a hard time picking and choosing. I'll start with the Regency romance superstars, Mary Balogh, Mary Jo Putney, and Loretta Chase. But my absolute favorite may be Barbara Metzger, who writes wacked-out comedies, which my stories also tend to be.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Why, read romances, of course. While I mainly stick to Regencies, I do read the occasional Georgian, Victorian, or earlier era. I've even been know to read a contemporary (gasp!) or two. I like something in addition to the romance, so I prefer stories that add mystery, adventure, or suspense.

Finally, what advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

Keep trying! Lady of the Stars was a loser in The Wild Rose Press's Through the Garden Gate contest. But they saw enough there to ask me to resubmit. I resubmitted twice before TWRP accepted the story. And keep learning and practicing. The more you write, the better you become, and the reward will be a contract.

Want to know more about this author?? Visit her on the web at any of the addresses below:

http://lindabanche.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lindabanche
http://www.facebook.com/people/Linda-Banche/1059787652
http://twitter.com/LindaBanche

This Writing Stuff is Hard Work

"Do not wait; the time will never be "just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." ~Napoleon Hill

Uh oh...it's happening...that awful moment where you get pulled away from your WIP because it utterly frustrates you for the temptation of the new, shiny story idea waiting in the wings.

I haven't written anything for a couple of weeks, mostly because May is a CRAZY busy month with school and I've been doing promo stuff for other books. But Entwined is still 60K words in, waiting for me to figure out the ending. Which I can't manage to do. Oh, I have a general idea of what I want to happen. But the last few times I've tried to tackle it, nothing's really worked, and all I have is this voice inside my head saying, "Well, that's not going to work. Readers will see right through that. And how are you going to get 30K more words with that plotline??" Sigh.

Meanwhile, the other day I tinkered with the outline for my next planned 24-hour novel, One Night in Savannah, and thought, "Oh, yeah. Really like this idea. 4 and 5 am are still a little rough on my outline, but I can work through it. Maybe I should start the first chapter..."

Then I slapped my hand and closed the document. I know other people work on multiple stories. Heck, so do I. But I also know it's a dangerous thing to scurry away from a WIP that isn't, well, working when you have a new story begging to be told. Here's the thing: that new story will soon give you just as many problems as the others, mid-way through. I know that. So I'm doing my best to hang onto writer's discipline and finish Entwined, tough as it may be.

What about you? Are you one of those that bounces from story to story? Does it help your creative juices? Or do you find yourself 3/4 of the way through more than one WIP, unsure how to finish because it's hard?

Yeah, it's really hard sometimes...

Weekend Recap

"Success is where preparation and opportunity meet." ~Bobby Unser


Two more book signings for My Mom is My Hero this past weekend, and while I'm tired now, I gained a couple of valuable insights:


1. Networking is key (like we didn't know this already??) At the signing Friday night, I discovered that the manager of that particular Waldenbooks is a huge romance fan. Not only did she introduce me to a fellow fantasy author who haunts their bookstore, she invited me back for a signing of my own books, later this summer!


2. Meeting fellow authors is a great way to spend an afternoon. Saturday I signed with a guy who had a story published in the Mom book as well. Not only are we both writers, we're both public school English teachers, so needless to say, we had a lot to talk about. It's always fun and refreshing to talk to someone else who's trying to balance grading papers with fleshing out a storyline. (And we're good-looking besides, right??)