Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

"Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. " ~Alfred Hitchcock

Today: I am in NYC on a field trip with my students. It's supposed to be chilly but sunny...I'll be back with a full report (and maybe some pictures!) soon.

Tomorrow: I am getting rid of my Facebook account. Sigh. I loved keeping in touch with people, especially as I was planning my high school reunion last summer, but there got to be too much drama recently - leave it at that. Anyone else experience anything similar, on FB or Twitter or another social networking site?

Writers' Wednesday: Links for Writers

"All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Wednesday! Okay, not every link today is for writers. Some are for readers too...

First off, check out the Book Video Contest over at JK Coi's blog and vote for your favorite!

The Meadowland Review is a small, new online literary journal that's accepting submissions for its spring 2010 issue. Details here.

Revelry Magazine is another small, online magazine that's just starting out and welcoming submissions from authors ~ in their words, "anything that relates to the literary world."

Since there were a couple of articles in last month's Writer's Digest about using small markets to boost your writing resume, I highly recommend checking out either of the above and submitting anything you might have. Those publications look great when writing your query letters to dream agents!

Finally, Summer's Song releases in ebook two weeks from yesterday...very exciting...and I'm currently thinking up some kind of cool giveaway events. Oh, I'll be promoting the book in a variety of places that week, too, so stay tuned for the places and times as release week gets nearer. Many cool prizes to be given away, including (of course) the ebook itself!

Monday Mentionables: Thoughts on Halloween and Daylight Savings Time

"One need not be a chamber to be haunted;
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place." ~Emily Dickinson

How was your Halloween? Do you get a lot of trick-or-treaters? None at all? Somewhere in the middle? I've found there are 2 theories to people who hand out candy (or, in the case of my best friend from high school, who hands out candy to the kids and jello shots to the adults bringing them around): you either buy candy you like, so whatever's left you'll eat yourself...or you buy candy you hate, so whatever's left won't tempt you.

Which one are you?

We don't get any trick-or-treaters at all, which always makes me a little sad, but I guess that's OK. We did go to a party Saturday night, which turned out to be a little more raucous than I expected: one of our friends is recently separated and dating a much younger woman (24), so all of her friends were there...and let me just say that it's been a long time since I was 24 and partied like that. Hmm. I don't really miss it, either, truth be told - though it was good for some character ideas for future books. Of course, what isn't good for character ideas?

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And then there's Daylight Savings Time. OK, while I do appreciate the extra hour when it comes to early morning (I suppose), this day in fall always seems like f-o-r-e-v-e-r long. Doesn't it? I was ready for bed at 6:3o, and not just because it was pitch back outside. Ugh. It really does just make me want to crawl into bed after work for the next 4 months!

But enough about me. How was your weekend??

Friday Fun Facts: Random Pages from Entwined

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection." ~Anais Nin

So NaNoWriMo is nigh upon us...for those of you writers out there, that means that November is the month in which if you're crazy enough, you sign up to write a 50,000-word novel by the end of the thirty days. Yes, many people do it every year. No, I have not ever been one of them, though last year I chose December as my own month to attempt to do the same. That produced the first 30,000 words of Entwined...and now here I am a year later, trying to finish it. Yikes!! Where does the time go?

Anyway, for kicks, and also to motivate myself to finally finish this story, I thought I'd have my husband choose 5 random page numbers and then post the first 2 sentences on each one. I thought, I don't know, that maybe it would kick start me into remembering why I like this story and where I still have to go with it. Here they are...

5 - Edward Meacham stands to the side, watching. He waits until the sea of black parts and only Alex Smithson and his wife Trinity stand beside Natasha.

86 - His smile changes a little, grows rueful. “If I tell you I don’t really believe in that sort of thing, will you still have dinner with me?”

157 - Of course she wants to know. But it has taken so much effort to heal her heart that she suspects reading Maggie’s journal will undo all the work of the last six months.

211 - “Listen, I’ve got it bad,” she confesses. Her smile is a half-moon singing to him.

234 - There are truths that reach beyond what we can see or read or believe in consciousness. There are truths that should stay hidden, truths that belong to no one except the people who create and hide them in the first place.

Ooh, now I'm excited again! OK, how about you? Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Do tell, and your reasons why or why not!

Writers' Wednesday: A Blog Post from Yours Truly!

"If you don't allow yourself the possibility of writing something very, very bad, it would be hard to write something very good." ~Steven Galloway

Well, I'm blogging over at the Samhain Publishing Blog today....do stop by and visit me there, would you? Love to hear from you!

Monday Mentionables: Pics from the Boston Trip!

If you didn't check in with my blog last week, I traveled to Boston for a whirlwind 2 days. While there, I accepted a teaching award at Boston College and visited with 3 friends from high school/college. had a WONDERFUL time! So, here are some pics...

With (from left to right) the former student who nominated me for the award, the Dean of the BC School of Education, and the president of the BC Student Senate




With my husband, standing in front of the BC flowers (there were a few of these, all around campus). Boston College has a gorgeous campus, and the weather on the day we visited was 70 degrees~

With my former student, Kerry, in front of one of the many beautiful buildings on campus

A view in Boston Public Garden

In Boston Common, downtown

One of a few squirrels foraging in the now-empty flower beds in Boston Public Garden - they each had their own, by the way. No sharing. Hmm..wonder if it's a squirrel-etiquette thing

They do love posing for pictures

And this duck was hard at work catching something for lunch...

Friday Fun Facts

"Three things give the student the the possibility of surpassing her teacher: ask a lot of questions, remember the answers, teach." ~Jan Amos Comenius

I'm in Boston today! Pictures from yesterday's teacher awards ceremony to come next week :)

In the meantime, here's some info from the latest Romance Writers' Report:

The first annual National Bookstore Day, "devoted to celebrating bookselling and the vibrant culture of bookstores," is scheduled for November 7. Wonder if my local stores know this and are doing anything to celebrate? I'm thinking an open wine tasting, 50% discount on best-sellers, etc....

AND

Romance fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2008 and was the biggest share of the consumer market, with 13.5%. 7311 new romance titles were published, and 74.8 million Americans read at least one romance novel in 2008. And the "most typical" romance reader is a woman between the ages of 31 and 49 who is currently in a romantic relationship.

Interesting, huh??

Writers' Wednesday: A Contest!!

My author friend J.K. Coi is hosting a marvelous book video contest: one entry per person, and she'll post all the submissions on her blog November 2 -6 for voting. What does the winner get? A great basket filled with books and other goodies AND a 50% off coupon for a trailer or a trailer review at Blazing Trailers.

So....if you're an author with a book video, you might want to give it a try. I haven't decided if I'm entering or not, but if I do, which one do you think I should enter? Here are the 4 I currently have:

"A gifted teacher is as rare as a gifted doctor, and makes far less money." ~Anonymous

Finished proofreading the galley for One Night in Napa this weekend - thankfully! Whew...but it's always nice, in reading something you've written, to love the story again. I do like this one and can't wait to see it in print!

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Diane Craver wrote me a lovely review of it, by the way. Here's just a snippet:

"I enjoyed the fast moving suspense in One Night in Napa...During the twenty-four hours, the climax explodes with passion and sexual desire between Kira and Grant...I have read all of Allie Boniface's novels and I highly recommend them. Her books, including her latest, are always exciting and satisfying page-turners filled with lots of emotion..."

Thanks, Diane!

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I'm excited: the end of this week, I'm off to Boston where I'm being given a teaching award by Boston College. Can't wait to see the student who nominated me - she's a senior there and looking forward to "showing off" her adopted hometown and school.

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Did you see that 3 people died during the Detroit Marathon yesterday?? Now that's scary...

Friday Fun Facts

Audrey Niffenegger, author of the runaway best-seller The Time Traveler's Wife, received close to $5 million as an advance for her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry. According to Writer's Digest, it's "a ghost story set in and around London's famed Highgate Cemetery...mirror-image twins inherit their aunt's flat and begin to question their identities, the bonds of sisterhood, and whether their aunt is really gone after all." But $5 million dollars. Wow.

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The holidays will be here before we know it -- I should know by the fact that we had snow yesterday - on October 15th!! Yikes...I'm not ready!

But anyway, as those days of hot cocoa and carols fast approach, what are you going to buy the writers and readers in your life? Books? Bookstore gift cards? A cozy throw and slippers for curling up while reading that shiny new book? I think I'm adding an ebook reader to my list this year. Since my books all release in ebook prior to print, I'm thinking I should support the industry and actually own one. Plus I sort of like the idea of carrying around a bunch of books on an electronic device that can fit in my purse~

Writers' Wednesday: Tackling the Galley

Before I became published, I didn't have the foggiest notion of all the steps that occurred between submitting a manuscript to a publisher and seeing the finished product on the shelves of a bookstore. Now, 3 books in and 2 more to come in 2010, I have a better idea. And I'll be honest: it's a long, lengthy process. Right now, I'm tackling the galley of One Night in Napa, which will release May 1, 2010.

What is a galley? It's the final author look at his/her manuscript before it's released in print, permanently. This means that the publisher sends you the complete document for you to read through, page by page, to catch any last-minute errors or wording changes before it's immortalized on the page. Ugh. Utter tedium, as far as I'm concerned.

OK, it's nice to have that last look at your words before they release in print. But for me, it requires so much close attention that I can only read through a few chapters at a time. I feel wholly responsible for each word, each letter, and I tend to lose concentration after 30 or 40 minutes or so.

So the reading of my galley is consuming my life this week. I try to tackle it little bits at a time, though October 19 is my deadline, so I don't have too much time to play with.

The nice part about the galley? It allows me to fall in love with my story again, to remember why I love these characters their story so much. So as much as I complain about the close reading, I do like being reminded of why I wrote it in the first place. And I hope you'll feel that way as well!

Less than 7 months until One Night in Napa releases in print...I can hardly wait! Can you??

Friday Fun Facts

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not." ~Oprah Winfrey

Attention all authors: the Backspace Writers Conference will be held on November 5 and 6 in NYC. This conference prides itself on creating an informal atmosphere in which authors and agents can mingle at several different times and in different ways, as opposed to the formal "agent pitch session" you'll find at most conferences. It's a little pricey, IMO ($500 for both days, $250 for one) but it might be worth a look if you're in the market for an agent.


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A great writer's ezine, WOW-Women on Writing, just released their latest issue. Lots of writing info and opportunites. Check it out here.

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A writing friend of mine emailed the other day to ask me how much I spend on marketing per book. I was embarrassed to admit that I don't know, exactly. I mean, I was able to sit down and figure out a rough estimate, between online and print advertising, ordering bookmarks/other swag, and buying my own author copies. But I know some other authors keep detailed accounts of every dime they spend on marketing and promotions. Are you one of those? Do you use Quicken or some other program to keep track of all your author expenses?

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Have a great weekend!

Writers' (or Maybe Readers'?) Wednesday

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." ~Anna Quindlen

Busy, busy, busy! I always forget once school begins how full and complicated my days become. Thus, no official blog post today, but I do have a question for you: one of my friends is starting up a book club, and we're trying to decide of which books to read for our first few meetings. Any suggestions?

Monday Mentionables

Received another 5-Book review from The Long and the Short of It last week, for One Night in Memphis!

"Allie Boniface has given us another terrific read...I got so lost in this story with the characters and the plot and the scenery...Ms. Boniface took a storyline and made it into a work of art. She's definitely an author you must read. And this is a book - and a series - you'll want to read over and over again."

The cool thing is, I think this reviewer went looking for my other books after she read and enjoyed One Night in Napa. I only hope new readers will do the same!

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Went and saw the movie "Bright Star" with some girlfriends last night. It's an independent film, a love story based on John Keats and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, who became his muse. Though a little slow, it had some beautiful moments and lines. I didn't realize he died at just 25 years old. How much more poetry could he have written if he'd lived even another 10 or 20??

Finally, A Cover!

What do you think of the cover for Summer's Song??

This one took the most back-and-forth with my editor and cover artist ~ we had a hard time getting the right visual we were all satisfied with. I'm really happy with this one; it has the mountains in the background and Damian's guitar in the foreground, which are both important to the story. And I think the interaction of the hero/heroine is just sensual enough... ;)

Mostly, though, I have to say that I'm so happy this story finally has a home. It's the one I worked on the longest and revised the most, so to see the title finally on an official cover is just like heaven :)

P.S. It releases in ebook November 17th...

It's Banned Books Week!

It's Banned Books Week! Now, when I mentioned that to my high school English students yesterday, they all (all) stared at me with blank looks on their faces. I didn't know whether to be annoyed that they were so clueless, or happy that they hadn't personally experienced the concept of banned books before.

Regardless, I took the time to explain what it is -- a week established by the American Library Association to raise awareness about the importance of the First Amendment and the freedom to choose which books we want to read in this country. Of course, some of the "classics" now taught in many high schools across the country were banned or at least challenged at one point, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, and Huck Finn. And many current favorites have also come under fire, including the Harry Potter series and Judy Blume's coming-of-age teen novel, Forever.

I also showed the students my all-time favorite YouTube video: John Green talking about why his book Looking for Alaska shouldn't be banned in a New York eleventh grade English class. It's worth another look, here:





What do you think? Is there ever a case where a book should be banned from a school or public library?

Monday Mentionables

Finally got my first review for One Night in Napa, which released in ebook back in July. I don't mind waiting for this one, though, 'cause it's a good one! 5 Books from The Long and the Short of It:

Hot, hot and wow hot! One Night in Napa is packed with sensuality, emotion, and passion. A talented author, Ms. Boniface has given us a story that offers a little bit of everything and with her aptitude the story flows from one scene to the next. One Night in Napa is a classic story of two lovers defeating all the odds. And, boy! When the lights go out the fire between the two heats up.

This is the first story that I have read of Allie Boniface's and let me tell you -- I’m already searching her backlist and her future releases for more great reads. If her other stories are even close to as well-written and entertaining as this one, I'll be more than pleased.I can highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the odds of one night changing everything between two people. A mere twenty-four hours and your destiny is written.

In addition, One Night in Napa was in the running over the weekend for LASR's "Best Book of the Week" award, and as of late last night was running first in the polls. So thanks! to everyone who voted, and if you're an ebook reader who hasn't yet picked up One Night in Napa, maybe you'll want to give it a try...

Friday Fun Facts

"Drinking coffee for instant relaxation? That's like drinking alcohol for instant motor skills." ~Marc Price

I just liked this quote...

TGIF!!! Hope you're looking forward to your weekend as much as I am. If you're an author who writes romance with some spice, check out All Romance eBooks' "28 Days of Heart" submissions call. They'll be releasing a short story each day in February 2010 and are taking submissions now through October 31 from any author who has a book listed for sale on ARe (check with your publisher if you aren't sure).While all proceeds from the sales of theses stories will be donated to the American Heart Association, this is a great promo opportunity and a chance to get your name out there~

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And if you love spas, check out www.spaweek.com. Hundreds of spas across the country are offering great deals and discounts during the week of October 12-18. If you're a spa junkie - or if you've never tried one but always wanted to - this is a great way to check out what some of the elite ones offer at a fraction of the price!

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Finally, I saw the movie "Adam" last week and LOVED it. It's an independent film, the story of a 29-year old man with Asperger's Syndrome who's living in NYC and struggling to negotiate his first time falling in love, living without his father, finding a new job, etc. It was beautifully acted and filmed, and it absolutely captured the quirky characteristics of people with Asperger's (I have had a few students with Asperger's in the past). I think the movie might be on its way out of theaters, but if you have a chance, go see it. It was just wonderful!

A Vacation from Writers' Wednesday

"Teaching is the profession that teaches all other professions." ~Anonymous

No authors to feature today...

Instead, here's a few tidbits of information, both from the writing world and my own personal little corner:

Literary agent Donald Maass puts up a bimonthly feature on his website called "What We're Looking for this Month." For September, interestingly enough, it's authors who have submitted work to the agency in the past and been turned down. Well, that's not *all* they're looking for, of course, and his discussion is a little tongue-in-cheek. But it's worth a read, here.

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My local writing group, Hudson Valley RWA, is currently accepting entries for our Hook, Line and Sinker contest. Test out the strength of your first three manuscript pages -- finalists get a read by Harlequin Senior Editor Brenda Chin! Find out more here.

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And in unrelated news, I had a pleasant surprise earlier this week in my other life -- the full-time teaching one that pays the bills -- a letter in my mailbox telling me I'm receiving a teaching award from Boston College. One of my former students is a senior in the School of Education there and apparently wrote a letter nominating me for the award. Pretty neat! I'll be going to a luncheon there in October as part of an Education Symposium.

Ah, the idealistic me thinks maybe she can change the world after all...

Monday Mentionables

"Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home." ~David Frost

Hi there! Hope your week is off to a good start. Did anyone watch the Emmys last night? Let's talk about fall TV, since 'tis the season for new shows and new episodes of favorites. Which ones am I excited to see start up again?

Fringe - love the crazy sci fi concepts and love Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv (John Noble too as the crazy father/doctor).

Life - I think Damian Lewis as the lead character is just terrific, with his quirky personality and intense yet sexy persona. Can't wait to see where they take the love interest with his co-detective Reese, either!

Lost - yes, I'll stick with it for another season. I'm too far in now to quit!

Survivor - the only reality TV show hubby and I watch religiously.

So You Think You Can Dance - I watch this one on my own, but I do love the talent that emerges!

The Mentalist - hubby and I discovered this through reruns over the summer. Love - love - love Simon Baker as the weirdly intuitive police agent who also is easy on the eyes!

Flashforward - this is a new one, by the creators of Lost: the entire world loses consciousness for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, during which everyone flashes forward 6 months to see their fates. Sounds like an interesting concept, and it has good buzz right now.

What about you - what television shows are you looking forward to seeing this fall?