Saturday, May 23, 2009

Romance in the Backseat

Today's the second installment of the Round Robin story, so make sure to pop on over and read the latest! I also wanted to mention the main page of Romance in the Backseat, though, because there are some terrific promo opportunities for published and unpublished authors alike.

***

And in other, unrelated news, hubby and I are going to the Indy 500 this weekend! I'll try and blog the next couple of days, but if I don't, you'll know the reason why...my head is spinning from watching cars go really, really fast in circles!

Happy weekend...

Friday, May 22, 2009

Round Robin Story!

"Our best thoughts come from others." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hey all, here's a really fun little project I've been involved with...a Round Robin story that's being passed around between a few published authors. I've done one or two of these in the past, but always as writing exercises, never with the end goal of being published somewhere (even online), and never with best-selling authors. Gulp...it's a little intimidating!

Anyway, nerves aside, the story begins today with the uber-talented and lovely Kristan Higgins. Here's the link - don't forget to go back each day and read the latest installment! (ok, I'll remind you, so you don't really need to remember ;)

And happy weekend!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Magic of Starting from Scratch

"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster." ~Isaac Asimov

So the other day I gave in to my itch to start working on a new One Night... book, One Night in Savannah. I have a basic outline (of course I do, I'm a plotter) and I really just wanted to tackle the first chapter and see what might happen. I think I'm getting better at figuring out where a book should actually start (don't laugh, it's taken awhile), and I thought I'd give you a peek at what I came up with.

Of course, this will probably change significantly by the time I finish (do you like the positive intention here?), but I liked what came out on the page, so here's part of it, just for kicks...

10:00 am

Ivy stared at the growing crowd of protesters six floors below the high rise’s window. “Shit.”
“Told you.”
“I didn’t think there’d be so many of them. So soon.”
“Would-a been better if we could have gotten you a spot on the morning news. In and out before seven.”
Ivy turned and wrapped both hands around her elbows. The air conditioning blasted through the green room, raising gooseflesh. “We didn’t want the news. The Hot Spot has the best ratings of all the talk shows. That’s what you said.”
Henrietta Clausen, literary agent, publicist, and one of Ivy Mandolin’s closest friend since college, grinned. “I know what I said. And that’s why they’re here. Those people down there wouldn’t bother unless you were the biggest name in the news right now.”
“I didn’t want to be big. That wasn’t why I wrote the book.”
Henrietta shrugged and stood to pour them both a second round of coffee. “I know. But it’s too late now.”
Ivy took another peek at the knot of people milling around 54th and Broadway. Some held signs. Others clutched small dolls. She knew if she looked closely, the dolls would all have blonde hair and blue dresses, symbolic of Katie-Ann Pierson the night she died.
“How worried should I be?”
Henrietta blinked bright green eyes and passed her client a mug. “Leave worry to me. And to Thomas.”
Thomas Manson. Fitting name, Ivy supposed. Outside the door of the green room stood her bodyguard as of last week, six-foot five and scowling. All muscle. All meanness. And the only thing that stood between her and a crazed protester.
“Think I have any fans down there? Or just haters?”
“Of course you have fans. Lots of people love your book.”
“I don’t know about ‘love.’”
“Well, they think you’re doing the noble thing, bringing out the truth after all these years. That’s close enough.”


I love the excitement of starting a brand new book. I love the magic, when the plot seems perfect and the characters spring to life and you have all kinds of energy to write your fingers off...until the sagging middle hits, of course.

But no thought of sagging middles today! Just the magic of starting from scratch -- as long as I can hang onto it, anyway...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Miss Mae

Welcome to a beautiful May day, and an interview with author Miss Mae...

Hi there! Can you tell us a little about your background?

I'm married, live in Georgia on a small parcel of land where our home faces a blue-gray line of the Appalachian mountains, and I'm an animal lover.

Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

My historical story, "It's Elementary, My Dear Winifred" is now out with Class Act Books. I'm excited about this book because it was such fun to write. Here's the blurb...

"Schoolmarm Winifred Merryweather guards her identity as the daughter of one of London's most notorious villains. To separate her life from his, she spends her lonely existence with her cat, Theodore, and meets twice monthly at the estate of Lord Nelson Chatham. Losing herself in the pages of a mystery story shivers Winifred's spine -- until the day that she’s forced to live through one. Kidnapped and thrown together into a chaotic adventure, newspaper reporter Remington Hawthorne’s flirtatious charm thaws Winifred’s icy reserve. But can they uncover the meaning of the clues, and survive, before the tale reaches the page that reads The End?"

This is my fourth published book. I hope more are coming!

Oh, I'm sure they are! Now, what do you find most difficult about writing?

Trying not to fall asleep. I'm serious! I come in here all excited and fired up to get the keyboard burning with words and it seems after about thirty minutes of staring at this lighted screen, I start yawning and nodding. I think the computer hynotizes me.

What do you find most exciting or rewarding?

Typing "The End" and breathing in that great sense of accomplishment of knowing I stayed awake long enough to beat this confounded machine!

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

Yes! I take two aspirin and call myself in the mornings...Seriously, I give myself some space. I back off from writing and do other things like take a walk, read things totally different from the subject matter in my manuscript, and spend time with my husband. That's the part he likes best!

Describe your writing space for our readers.

Space? What space? I live in a four room mobile home, so my "office" is one of the bedrooms. This I share with my hubby's closet, piled up shelves, a coat rack...and three dogs whenever they feel like barging in!...LOL...

When you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

I type it out on the computer. I used to do it long hand with paper and pen. Can you imagine the mess I had with all the black-outs, corrections, scribbling in margins, etc.?...LOL...The computer certainly makes all that much neater! :)

Miss Mae, thanks so much for being here today...is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Yes, I'd like to share the news about my books listed with The Wild Rose Press. "See No Evil, My Pretty Lady" has received outstanding reviews since its release January 2008. "Said the Spider to the Fly" will be released February 2009, and "Dove Island" is a free read available for download. Also, trailers and excerpts can be viewed at my website and I'd love for folks to visit my blog... http://missmaesite.blogspot.com

Thank you, Allie. It's been a blast!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

One Night in Memphis Releases in Print!!!

May 19, 2009...it's the official release date for One Night in Memphis!! I know, I know: it's been out in print (from Amazon and other bookstores) since the beginning of the month. But today it's offiical. I should have run a contest to celebrate, but I've been overwhelmed with schoolwork. So...in early June, The Romance Studio will be running another Book a Day Giveaway for the print version. I'll make sure to give you a heads-up so you can enter!

And just to celebrate today's release, here's the trailer for One Night in Memphis:

Monday, May 18, 2009

Another Positive Review for One Night in Memphis

Got a really nice email over the weekend from a fellow author I met at the CT Fiction Fest who read One Night in Memphis. Here are 2 recent entries from her blog:

May 16: Right now, I’m in the middle of reading “One Night in Memphis” by Allie Boniface. When the story begins, the heroine is learning a hard lesson about falling in lust. Will she find love?

I became fascinated with this book when I was at a conference and heard Allie talk about how a person’s life could change within one 24 hour period. ”One Night in Memphis” explores the concept of love at first sight. Excuse me, I need to read more...

May 17: What is the mark of a great book? A book that keeps you up all night reading it. That book is One Night in Memphis by Allie Boniface. This book keeps moving with all hell breaking loose when waitress Dakota flees her deranged ex-boyfriend and meets the sweet and chivalrous Ethan. I couldn’t put it down until I knew the whole story. I love chivalrous men, who focus on love instead of danger. I recommend this thrilling, edge of your seat, contemporary romance.

Thanks, Susan!!

The book officially releases in print tomorrow...are you ready to get your copy?

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Signing Recap

"Success doesn't come to you…you go to it." ~Marva Collins

Thanks to everyone who made my Borders signing yesterday a terrific success! I ended up selling 31 books (26 of One Night in Memphis, 3 of One Night in Boston, and 2 of Lost in Paradise). Tip: always, always bring extra books with you if you can. The store only ordered 10 copies of Memphis, which sold out in the first 1/2 hour, so I was lucky to have another 20 in the trunk of my car.

Of course, this was my local bookstore, and my first book out in print since 2008, so lots of friends and family showed up. The other authors with me sold only a couple of books each. Still, it was pretty cool to know that I have a small fan base around here :)

And here's my fave pic from yesterday, with 3 former students (notice how proudly they are holding their autographed copies!)...