Writers' Wednesday: What You Missed in This Month's Writer's Digest

I let my subscription to Writer's Digest expire a few months back before signing up again, and I have to say, I missed it. It's the best $16/year you'll ever spend, if you're a writer. Every issue is full of articles covering the craft, promotion, interviews with people in all areas of the trade, and best of all, it's not genre-specific. RWA is great for romance writers, but it's nice to hear about writing success and struggles and advice in very different areas.

Anyway, my favorite articles from the November/December issue:

"How to Develop Any Idea Into a Great Story" - gives some great, off-the-charts ideas for "bending" the traditional into the absoutely fresh and innovative. Among other suggestions: add insane characters; play up the pain of blood ties between characters; don't overplay the emotion; and my favorite (talking about starting in the right place): "Everybody's bloody and panting, everybody's heart is broken, everybody's hanging on by theor fingernails. Now what? Let the story begin!"

"Overcoming Writers's Block Without Willpower" - my favorite subsection in this article talked about eliminating one's constant dependence on technology. Don't check anything (email, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, voicemail) while you're supposed to be writing. Just write.

"The Amazing Mr. Appel" - I'm not sure I love him or hate him, but the winner of Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition has not only won before, did not only place 4 times this year in the Screenplay category, but is also a doctor at Mt. Sinai Hospital, a teacher at Gotham Writer's Workshop, and holds 4 Master's degrees and a J.D. (in addition to his medical degree). Um, yeah. Anytime I feel overwhelmed by my life and job, guess I better look to this guy (who apparently doesn't sleep) for motivation.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Monday Mentionables: I'll Be on the Radio!

Well, not really on the radio. Or, well, sort of. A fellow romance author, Bernadette Walsh, is dabbling with starting a blog radio show featuring romance writers. I'm always one to give a new kind of promo opportunity a try, so I jumped in and said Sure!

What will it entail? On Saturday December 22, at 11 am (EST), she'll be interviewing me live (via phone) for "Nice Girls Reading Naughty Books" and you'll be able to hear it online right here.

Even better, though, it will record so that if you miss the live interview, you can play the link as a sound file anytime in the future. And I'll certainly have it on my website (and here on this blog) so readers can listen in.

Fellow romance authors, if you're interested, she's actively looking for people to interview. Click on the link above, and there are details there about contacting her for a spot. All interviews are held on Saturdays at 11:00 am, for 30 minutes. (She's interviewing a senior editor from Lyrical Press this-coming Saturday, Dec. 8th)

Can't wait to give it a try and report back here! Remember: "Nice Girls Reading Naughty Books" on Saturday, December 22 at 11am. Give it a listen - and if you're really brave, call in with a question of your own for me to answer!

Friday Fun Facts!

I know, I know: I've been remiss in blogging lately. Chalk it up to my busy day job, or the busy time of year, or my lack of sometimes remembering that I NEED to blog, and, well.......

Anyway, I wanted to share with you 2 fun facts today: first off, one of my dear high school friends, who's a military wife and stay-at-home mother of 3, has started her own blog. And she's funny. Really. Well, sarcastic too. And hard-hitting, depending on the topic. Her Facebook status updates alone would make a pretty funny this-is-my-life type of book, a la Chelsea Handler. Drop by, would you? She's at MyLifeMyFamilyMyWay.

And I want to give a shout-out to a fellow Hudson Valley RWA member, Elf Ahearn, who just sold her first manuscript to Crimson Romance! Big cheers and congratulations!! Crimson is a fairly new imprint of Adams Media, and it looks like they're settling into the romance niche pretty well. Want to know more? Click here.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cyber-Monday Deals!

Whew!  Did everyone else survive the holidays? Between cooking for Thanksgiving, heading out in the wee hours for Black Friday sales, and leading my mother and sister on a walking tour of lower Manhattan on Saturday, I'm ready to go back to work!

In all seriousness, it was nice to see and spend time with friends and family...hope you felt the same.

And now, just in case you DIDN'T finish your shopping last week, Cyber-Monday has rolled around with some more great deals. For romance ebook readers especially, here are the ones you need to know about:

Samhain Publishing is offering 50% off ALL titles from midnight to 9 am on Monday, and then 40% off all titles from 9 am to midnight! Use EARLYBIRD coupon code for the first one and CYBERMONDAY coupon code for the second one ;)

Lyrical Press is holding their "Doomsday" sale from now through December 21st. Check our their home page for more information AND great discounts on all books purchased through their store.

Of course, there are more sales all around the web, including BN.com and Amazon.com. Go forth and buy books!

Monday Mentionables: New Audio Books Available!

Imagine my surprise when I discovered over the weekend that One Night in Napa and One Night in Boston are both now for sale on Audible.com! The release dates were scheduled for early 2013, so I'm thrilled that they're up early :) And check out these fun covers:

 

Hey folks, audio books are AWESOME for anyone who's too busy to sit down with a book (and unfortunately, that's a lot of us these days). Commuting? Prepping your kitchen and your turkey for the big day? Sneaking in a little time on the treadmill? Download a book or two for your iPod and enjoy a little romance a la Allie Boniface!

Friday Fun Facts: Thanksgiving Trivia

Just in time for the holiday, here are 10 little-known facts about Thanksgiving (well, they were little-known to me, anyway). Hmm....think maybe there's a story idea in here somewhere?

#1. Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese are thought to have made up the first Thanksgiving feast.

#2. Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States.

#3. The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.

#4. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade used to use live animals instead of floats (they borrowed the animals from the Central Park Zoo).

#5. The night before Thanksgiving is the single biggest day for bar sales in the United States. 

#6. According to Guinness World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked was 12 feet in diameter and 2,020 pounds. The recipe required 900 pounds of pumpkin, 1,860 eggs, 300 pounds of sugar and 250 pounds of crust!
#7. While commercially raised turkeys usually can't fly, the wild variety can hit speeds of up to 55 mph when outrunning a predator.

#8. Part of the reason that Swanson started creating T.V. Dinners in 1953 was because they needed to find something to do with 260 tons of frozen turkeys that were left over from Thanksgiving.

#9. The original cornucopia was made from a curved goat's horn.

#10. Scientists have found fossils suggesting that Turkeys roamed North America 10 million years ago!

Monday Mentionables: There's a Party Coming Up!

Hey readers, next week The Romance Studio will be holding a Thanksgiving Week Bash, with tons of authors posting teasers and questions and trivia and PRIZES....and I'll be there as one of them!

Want to know more? Click on the banner below. Three days of partying....hope you can join us!

Friday Fun Facts: Does Swag Lead to Sales?

The latest issue of the Romance Writers' Report was all about the statistics of romance sales: who's buying, what they're buying, and in which format. The feature article also discussed why readers buy books, and the top reasons included familiarity with the author's other works, recommendations from friends, & excerpts from the book they could read online or at the end of other authors' books. To a lesser extent, reviews and covers encouraged readers to buy a book. What landed at the bottom of the list? Swag, or free "stuff" that authors give away, such as bookmarks, magnets, goodie bags, etc.

I mention this for a couple of reasons: my local RWA meeting is this weekend, and a few members want to discuss swag and what works/what doesn't (for the record, I've found it's very hard to tell what promotional items or efforts are directly tied to sales. Marketing experts will tell you pretty much the same). I'm also interested in knowing YOUR opinion: what makes you buy a book? Have you ever bought a book because of swag you got from an author? Should we authors be putting money into promotional items - bookmarks, pens, posters, flyers, etc...? Or not?

Please share!

Writers' Wednesday: Hook, Line & Sinker Contest Still Open!

Calling all writers! Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Hudson Valley RWA has extended its deadline for the Hook, Line, and Sinker Contest to this Friday, November 8th. Entry fee is just $10 - get feedback from published authors on the first 3 pages of your manuscript....those tricky opening lines where you either hook your reader or lose 'em!

More info here.

In other news, I finished my edits for Beacon of Love and now just have to work on the dedication and the "catchy but brief" author bio to put at the end. And now off to the keyboard, my friends.....

The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Today my heart and my thoughts go out to all those people in NYC and New Jersey who suffered loss at the hands of Hurricane Sandy this week. If you don't live in the area, I'm sure you've seen the pictures: so much of the Jersey coast, lower Manhattan, and Long Island has been destroyed. At this point there is widespread power loss; people are struggling to find gas stations; some are returning to their homes to assess the damage while others are trapped in their homes unable to leave. 

I send prayers to ALL of you, and I urge anyone who is able to reach out in whatever way you can, even if it's just a similar prayer or a wish on social media or donations to a charity that's actively helping the survivors. 

My husband and I live in the lower Hudson Valley, about an hour north of where the hurricane hit hardest. We were very fortunate: we only lost power for about 30 hours, and our house didn't suffer any damage. Many, many trees are down around us, though, most torn up by the roots:

The gas shortage is starting to affect our area now. I know many, many people are desperate for gas to run the generators at their homes, not to mention for their cars so they can get to the grocery store or leave and stay with relatives. Yesterday every gas station in our area had lines backed up along the road, and by late afternoon/early evening many were out of gas altogether. I am hopeful that this is only temporary and that shipments will be on their way soon. In the meantime, we'll be cautious here over the next few days and stay close to home. 

Amazing how affected we all can be by an natural disaster like this one. Join together however you can, folks, and know that those people in NYC/New Jersey really need your strong thoughts and support right now :)

Monday Mentionables: Riding Out Hurricane Sandy

Happy Monday, everyone! So...if you're anywhere on the East Coast, you're probably either in the middle of or anticipating the impact of Hurricane Sandy. If you are in its path, please stay safe! Here in the lower Hudson Valley, NY, we're preparing as best we can and hoping the damage is minimal.

Anyway, the good news today is that (if you didn't see it on my Facebook or Twitter pages) I have a cover for my spring release, Beacon of Love! Here it is:

Hope you love it as much as I do!

Also, for readers, Lyrical Press is offering a great Halloween Sale: 50% off all titles this week! Great time to shop for new books and authors, don't you think?

And for writers, The Romance Studio is offering a tremendous 7 for the price of 1 advertising sale - through October 31! More details here.

Okay - batten down the hatches and let Hurricane Sandy do her worst! See you on Wednesday :)

Writers' Wednesday: The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Hi all! Thanks so much to Diane Craver, who tagged me last week in the "The Next Big Thing" Blog Hop. Today I'm talking about my upcoming release (May 2013), Beacon of Love. I know next May is still a while off, but keep me in my mind ;) I love this story!

What is the working title of your book?

Beacon of Love

Where did the idea come from for the book?

My husband and I vacation each summer in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. We visited a lighthouse a few years back while there and I started asking the inevitable author question, "What if...?" I thought what if a news reporter came to a town to uncover the story of a haunted lighthouse and what if she fell in love with a local guy who was trying to protect its secret??

What genre does your book fall under?

This is a contemporary romance, set in a small coastal town :)

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

"In a town that won't give up its secrets, she's determined to find the answers..."

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am multi-published without an agent; this will be my sixth published novel, and my first with Lyrical Press. I am also published with Samhain and The Wild Rose Press.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Once I got on a roll with this one, it took me about 6 months to write. Since I'm a full-time high school English teacher during the day, I did most of the writing during the summer of 2011, then polished in the fall and submitted in early 2012. I signed the contract in spring of 2012.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

This is a "small town" romance, so it's pretty similar to works by Kristan Higgans and Jill Shalvis :)

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I was lucky enough to meet a great friend who inspired me to write what I referred to for years as "the lighthouse story." The luckiest authors are those who have people in their lives who truly inspire them :)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It's a love story mixed with suspense mixed with a 50-year old unsolved mystery. Interested??

Monday Mentionables: Contests and Covers

Hey writers, just a reminder that November 1st is the deadline for the Hudvon Valley RWA's "Hook, Line, and Sinker" contest. All you need to enter are the first 3 pages of your manuscript and $10.00, Best value for your writing dollar around! Judges are published and trained/unpublished authors, and the final judge is a Harlequin Senior Editor! More details here.

Just another little mention: I got a sneak peek at a draft of my cover for Beacon of Love, scheduled to come out in Spring 2013. Needs some tweaks, but I'm loving it so far, and I can't wait to share it with you!

I'll be posting this-coming Wednesday as part of "The Next Big Thing" Blog Hop, thanks to Diane Craver's tagging me last week, so join me to find out more about Beacon of Love AND the sequel I'm working on now, Inferno of Love.

See you Wednesday!

Writers' Wednesday: What's on Your Wish List?

Hi writers (and readers!) What's on your wish list for books this year? Do you buy books for yourself for the holidays? For others? Heck, does anyone still buy books period? Or are they all electronic downloads straight to your Nook or Kindle or iPad these days?

On my list of books I'd like to read in the next few months:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

What about you??

Friday Fun Facts: Shout-Outs for Writers

Hey writers - if you'd like to join me for a blog hop, let me know! I'll "tag" you on Wednesday October 24th and then you'll post on October 31st (ooh...Halloween...could be fun!) All you have to do is talk about your latest book. Easy and enjoyable, right?

And another heads-up for writers: my local RWA chapter, the Hudson Valley RWA, is now taking entries for our "Hook, Line, and Sinker" contest. More info here, but here are the best parts: only a $10 entry fee to have your first 3 pages read, and the finalists will be judged by Harlequin senior editor Brenda Chin. Published and unpublished/trained judges, with great feedback for all entrants. Deadline: November 1st!!

Happy weekend, everyone. Enjoy and write on :)

Writers' Wednesday: A Free Read and Lots of Goodies!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm super-excited to share some good news for my fellow romance author, Diane Craver:

First off, her book Marrying Mallory is currently a Free Read at Amazon, so if you're looking for a good story, hope on over and download yourself a copy. It's only free 'til Thursday, though!

Second, to celebrate the release of A Joyful Break, her Amish romance, Diane's having a contest over at her blog with several giveaways – a $15 GC to Amazon, $10 for Bath and Body Works and book giveaways.Here's the link so you can find out more :)

I'm always happy to share the news when it comes to writing friends, so if you have some links or announcements, email me!

Monday Mentionables: Who's Your Skeptic?

I was talking to a writer friend of mine over the weekend, and our conversation inevitably turned to those sticky moments in a story when you know that what you're writing might not be entirely believable to the reader, but you really need the plot to go in a certain direction, so you hope your reader will suspend disbelief long enough for you to get there.

Sound familiar?

Sometimes it works; sometimes readers aren't that patient. I took an online workshop over the summer that addressed that problem in a great way, though: make sure you have a minor character who works as the "skeptic" in your story.

Simply put, have a minor character voice the doubts you know your reader will be having at any given point. Know your main character shouldn't fly to Iceland after his estranged girlfriend without a plan? Have his best friend tell him all the reasons he's being an idiot for getting on that plane. Know your reader will wonder why the heroine is letting a stranger into her apartment when three other women in the apartment complex have been killed? Have her mother tell her so over the phone (right before calling the police because her daughter's clearly lost all rational thought).

Those skeptical comments from other characters in the story will signal to your reader that you as the author are still in control of this story. You've put your characters in questionable situations, yes, BUT never fear: all will turn out well, and you know exactly where you're going with your plot.

I really connected with this piece of advice when I heard it; it made a lot of sense. And it's already saved me with a couple of plot problems in my current WIP. Try it; add it to your arsenal for those times you write yourself into a situation that seems questionable even to you ;)

Happy writing!

Friday Fun Facts: News for Writers

Hey writers, here are two links for you to check out today:

The Romance Studio is holding a blow-out Columbus Day sale: Buy One Get Four Free! Yes, Four. Looking for some advertising at really reasonable prices? Click here for more information.

America's Next Author is a writing contest judged by the online public (and some industry professional judges too). The prize? $5,000. More info here.

Happy writing, and happy weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: Best First Chapter Contest!!

Thanks to everyone who voted in D. Renee Bagby's "First Chapter" contest! My novel Summer's Song tied for Best First Chapter of August!

And if you'd like to hear part of that first chapter, go right on over here to Audible, where you can get a sneak peek!

Monday Mentionables: Favorite Covers, Favorite Lines

Hmmm....what's mentionable in the world of my writing today? Well, I did finish proofing the audio files for One Night in Napa over the weekend - and the coolest thing about that was that I didn't want to stop listening. I love that story :)

I also love that cover:

I also finally had a chance to dig myself out from under a ton of student paperwork and do some writing of my own. I'm back at work on the sequel to Beacon of Love, starting  at the beginning with some major changes needed, but I did work my way through 3 chapters. So I'm feeling as though I accomplished something!

Favorite lines from what I wrote this weekend:

Waverly breathed deeply, and that's when she saw it. A small wooden cross, faded with weather and years, sat embedded in the ground near her feet. She kneeled. No words, no writing at all. Was that for us? She touched it and waited for a jolt of memory to shock her. It didn't. She closed her eyes, and her chest ached at the emptiness. She'd never realized that the loss of memory, even a horrible one, was a loss all the same.

Happy Monday, everyone!