Friday, October 28, 2011

Friday Fun Facts

Fun (?) Fact #1: It snowed here last night. Yes, really. Sigh...and it's only October. Wonder how long THIS winter is going to be?

Fun Fact #2: Hubby and I are going to be spending spring break at a race track in Salt Lake City, where he will get to drive a very fast car at very fast speeds and I will get to...watch. Hey, I'm thinking it will be good book material, right?

Fun Fact #3: I'm now more than halfway through my revision of Beacon of Love and seeing, maybe, a glimmer of the light at the end. Incidentally, I'll be looking for a couple of beta readers for the story when I'm through. If you're at all interested, shoot me an email at allieb@allieboniface.com and let me know.

Have a great weekend, and happy writing!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Writers' Wednesday: It's a Guy Thing

I'm in the middle of revising my latest WIP, Beacon of Love, and I'm finding it interesting that my hero, Lucas, has really become the central character at this point in the novel. Don't get me wrong, the heroine, Sophie, is holding her own, but Lucas has somehow developed this complex backstory that (for me anyway) is enriching him as a character. I hope this doesn't turn off some readers; I know that usually in a romance the heroine is the one with the central conflict and journey. But this time, it seems as though it's going to be the guy.

Here's an excerpt from the chapter I revised last night, and even though it's told from Sophie's POV, it's still more about Lucas than about her:
*********************

“Hi there.”

She stopped in her tracks, halfway between the kitchen and the parlor. “Damn, Walker. Looking good.” The combination of dark blue button-down shirt and faded jeans suited him well.

He colored. “You ready?”

She nodded. He reached for her hand, and her fingers tingled as he tucked it into the crook of his elbow. Scratch that. Her whole damn arm – okay, the entire right side of her body, spreading fast to the left and all parts south and lonely – tingled. Could we maybe skip dinner and go right to dessert? she wanted to ask. Instead she just breathed in his cologne and led him lead her down the front steps.

“Hey, no hat!” she realized as they walked to his truck. To be fair, she’d only looked up a few seconds earlier. The parts of him on her level – broad back, wide shoulders, ass that filled out his jeans in just the right way – were more than tempting. But the rest of him up top was pretty nice too.

“No hat,” he admitted.

“I like it. I can see your face.”

He grinned but didn’t say anything, just helped her into the cab of his truck and closed the door behind her.

“So what’s the name of this place again?” she asked as they headed for the highway. He adjusted the radio to a jazz station.

“The Cove.” At the cross out by the city limits – for Barbie Collins, Sophie remembered after a minute – Lucas slowed. For a minute she thought he was going to stop, maybe say something or get out and pay respects. But he didn’t even glance at the cross, and then she wondered if the slowing was almost subconscious, a reflex that happened every time he went near one of the memorials without even realizing it.

How do you measure grief? Watching Lucas, Finn, the Walkers, even Shannon O’Brien, the answers were beginning to come to her: in little pieces, minute actions, the slightest change in the everyday ways people adjusted their lives after a loss.
****************

What do you think? Do you have a certain expectation when you read a romance novel that the heroine is going to be the focus? Do you want her story to be the focus? And, would you care if the hero had at least as central a role as the heroine?

Monday, October 24, 2011

Monday Mentionables: Don't Forget About Audio Books

Opened my email to a pleasant surprise this week: my royalty statement from AudioLark, where 2 of my books are available as audio books. I released them in that format over a year ago, more interested in the process than thinking that the additional format would bump my royalties. And for the most part, the payback has been very, very small.

However, most of AudioLark's titles are now available on Audible, the biggest audio book website out there, and what a surprise to find that my sales of One Night in Memphis saw a terrific boost over the last quarter! In fact, it was a nice reminder to me not to forget that I should be marketing those books as well (hint hint...the holidays are coming). I clicked on over to my page at Audible and found a listener rating of 3/5 - not great, but I was more pleased by the fact that the average was based on 22 ratings. Not too shabby!

So...if you're a reader/listener, consider purchasing an audio book or two, either for yourself or for a friend. Remember they're great for riding in the car, listening to while you're doing housework, etc. And if you're a writer, consider putting your work into audio book format (provided you have the audio rights, if you're previously published). You never know how many additional fans you might get!