Thissing and Thatting

It’s Friday and my plate runneth over. I am going to park a long need-to-do list here, but first–

I found some cool stuff this week.

I bought this book, Harry Potter’s Bookshelf: The Great Books behind the Hogwarts Adventures by John Granger (hey, any relation…?).  Harry Potter’s Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures explores the literary landscape of themes and genres J.K. Rowling artfully wove throughout her novels-and the influential authors and stories that inspired her. From Jane Austen’s Emma and Charles Dickens’s class struggles, through the gothic romances of Dracula and Frankenstein and the detective mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers, to the dramatic alchemy of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and William Shakespeare, Rowling cast a powerful spell with the great books of English literature that transformed the story of a young wizard into a worldwide pop culture phenomenon.  Not sure when I’ll get to read it but I had to have it in print so I could mark it up.

I read a really good article about the terrific state of publishing today for writers who aren’t crying in their beer like Scott Turow is. I agree with Kris Rusch, in that I have access to so many books today in digital format that would never have been reprinted. Life is good for readers and writers, both.

This fall I’m offering my Blueprinting Your Novel class for those who have been waiting for it and have already taken the Basics class, but I’m offering it much earlier in the semester than usual. So if you’ve been waiting for that class drop me a line, or keep following this blog and/or my facebook page and/or my classofpooks blog.

Now, that plate that runneth over.

Here are a few things I need to do:

Bite my nails over good news I can’t announce yet.

Do my taxes.

Change my front page here on this site, since the big “buy my book NOW!” push isn’t hot on the top of my list, though of course, I would love for you to buy any of my books NOW.

Pull Scandalous from the BN site because they are doing annoying things and truly, life is too short.  So if you have a Nook and were wanting it, get it soon before it disappears.  Otherwise, all my ebooks are available at Book View Cafe in .epub (Nook) or .mobi (Kindle) so it will still be available, just not at BN.

Mail last two print books off to be scanned and sent back to me for release as ebooks. I’ve already paid for this service so you’d think I’d get right on that, right? You’d think.

Revamp the cover to Some Enchanted Season to match the new cover style I’m using on all my romance novels, yay!

Work on cover designs for last two romances.

Get pub dates from Book View Cafe.

Design new book page for this site.

Split script of Redemption away from novel La Desperada, so people can get whichever one they want and not have to get both.

Switch facebook cover page and avatar from the current Scandalous promotion which I love because it’s pretty, but it’s time for a change.

Finish reading good book I’m reading for good writer and write notes on it.

Work on short story.

Work on trilogy series (what do you call a five-book series? oh, a five-book series).

Research Medieval Ireland, Tudor Ireland and Arthurian connections to Ireland. (Got references? Let me know in comments!)

Read the really good books that are sitting my TBR waiting to be read.

Oh, yeah–record my March reads in the Embarrassment of Riches Challenge, oops.

Bite my nails over good news I can’t announce yet.

Do my taxes.

That’s some of what is on my plate right now.

What about you?

Blog Hop and WWW Wednesday (12-12-12)

My WWW Wednesday entry is at the bottom of this post, for those who are more interested in what I’m reading than what I’m writing.

I was invited to join in this blog hop by WP Admirer, whose post is here.  Thanks, Sarah! This is my first-ever blog hop!

The questions:

1) What is the title of your book?

Scandalous

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

My muse had madcap heroines from the 20s/30s on her mind, I’m afraid, even though I was writing about a world firmly set in the (then) contemporary 90s. Before I knew it, speakeasies and flappers and romances of Christmases past were occupying my mind and the life of Paisley Vandermeir.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Louise Brooks

Romance. It was meant to be a romantic comedy, and it definitely has those elements, but it ended up having a bittersweet poignancy as well, as Paisley deals with the death, bequests and scandals of her great-aunt.

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Louise Brooks is the obvious choice, but alas, she is dead.

Jennifer Lawrence

So I’d go for Jennifer Lawrence, whose spin in Silver Linings Playbook is spot on perfect and has the kind of tough vulnerability (compounded by being downright weird) that I see in Paisley, even though the characters are very different from one another.

Also, even though she’s much too young, I definitely can see Susan Sarandon as the fiercely independent Aunt Isadora [aka Auntie Mame on acid]. I wrote a screen adaptation of this book in which Aunt Izzy comes back as a ghost and haunts Paisley in an attempt to make her do things she wants done. That was more fun than a bag of monkeys.

As for Chris–I don’t know. He just needs to be able to look charmingly befuddled, as if he doesn’t know what just hit him, splendid in a tux, and also be willing to fight like hell for love when he finds it.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

“All she needed was a safe little scandal, and he seemed as safe as they come. Oops.”

6) Was your book self-published or represented by an agency?

Represented by an agent in its print format. The digital edition available now was published by Book View Café. I’m currently looking for an agent who specializes in my current areas of writing interest, science fiction and fantasy.

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

Probably three months, though that was once I sold the proposal. Creating the idea, characters, proposal–that all takes more time than I can usually calculate because some of these things live in my head for years before I actually put them down on paper.

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

The fashion! Aunt Izzy left a magnificent couture wardrobe behind, and Paisley is having to let go of it one memory at a time.  I am not a fashionista, but I had so much fun researching this book!

And I had fun with this blog hop. Thanks, Sarah/WP Admirer for inviting me!

I’m tagging these terrific writers, all of whom have tales to tell!

Jeffrey A. Carver
Katharine Eliska “Cat” Kimbriel
Pati Nagle
Steven Harper Piziks
Deborah J. Ross

Now for WWW Wednesday. Again, this meme is from shouldbereading:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

I’m listening to The Twelve Clues of Christmas (A Royal Spyness Mystery) by Rhys Bowen. Yes, it’s set in the 30s. Do you detect a trend? It’s the newest book in a series of mysteries set between the wars in England. “Her ridiculously long name is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Atholt and Rannoch. And she is flat broke. As the thirty-fourth in line for the throne, she has been taught only a few things, among them, the perfect curtsey…” Lots and lots of fun.

• What did you recently finish reading?

Khepera Rising, by Nerine Dorman. Horror… fantasy… not sure which it’s considered but it’s graphic, brutal, compelling, and I liked it a lot. Set in South Africa, and the first book I’ve read about that nation that wasn’t political. Nerine says, “Khepera Rising is my first novel, a tale following the doings of Cape Town-based black magician James Edward Guillaume. Themes in this work include drug abuse, religious intolerance, violence, magic, alternative cultures and sexuality.” Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

• What do you think you’ll read next?

I can never answer this question!

What about you? What have you been reading lately?  Put the link to your WWW Wednesday entry in comments, or just tell me!

Entry from Deanna the “Nana Ghoul!”

My Nana never took me out trick-or-treating dressed like a ghoul, nor would she have pulled it off with this much flair!

Thanks, Deanna, for being the first entry in the “Out of Paisley’s Closet” Contest!

The contest rules.

Entry #2.

Entry #3.

Entry #4.

Entry #5.

Entry #6.

Entry #7.

Entry #8.

Entry #9.

WWW Wednesday (October 31, 2012)

Again, this meme is from shouldbereading:

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

• What are you currently reading?

I’m finally reading–rather, listening to– The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I am not sure that listening to it was the best choice. After seven audiobooks and I don’t even want to know how many hours of Jim Dale reading Harry Potter, I am finding it difficult to hear his voice in the context of this story.  I have seen it categorized as a romance in a couple of places, and if it gets romantic I’m sure I’ll be missing out on a lot of it just because of Jim Dale. Not his fault, of course. I can’t be sure until the book is over and I see how it all ends, but now, I’m thinking I would have enjoyed it more if I’d read it myself instead of taking advantage of a good sale and snagging it on on audible.

On my Kindle, I’m reading (and loving) Danse de la Folie by Sherwood Smith. What a lovely, lovely Austen-esque romance. I am enjoying this so much, like a fresh dip into a clear, crystal stream of sheer Regency delight. Sherwood is one of my fellow authors at Book View Cafe.  Even though I’ve bought a couple of her books, this is the first book of hers that I’ve read. I will definitely be reading more.

I’m still reading The Casual Vacancy, and blogging my reactions, section by section. I’m very near the end but forced myself to stop. One more section to blog, then I can finish the book and post my last comments.  Join me here if you want to start the ride with me. I look forward to your reactions, whether you hate it, love it, or are somewhere in between.

• What did you recently finish reading?

Easy, by Tammara Webber. This is another one of the self-published books that became a huge success on Amazon, and now is being picked up by Penguin and published in print. I wanted to see what it was like. I got about 1/3 of the way into it and it was a big DNF [did not finish] because I thought she was TSTL [too stupid to live]. Honestly, a few reviewers were frustrated with her because she played hard to get. I wanted to bitch-slap everybody and say, “Really? THAT’S what you think is wrong here?” I wanted to run around in circles flailing over her foolhardy stupidity, at how foolish and stupid she was about her safety, again and again and again–and if the book hadn’t been an ebook I swear I would have tossed it at the wall.

And a few days later I went back and finished it. And it ended up being a very empowering book on several levels.  I see why it’s popular. Webber writes strong romance and a sexy hero and incredibly deft action. And she eventually gets around to giving her heroine a backbone. I’m glad I went back and finished it. This isn’t a perfect book by any means, but it has strengths and eventually ends in a good place. [Note: This is a book I wouldn't have known about without following WWW Wednesdays. I do love this process because it forces me to slow down occasionally and record a few thoughts about what I'm doing, and it also points me to books that aren't in my typical areas of interest.]

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Tough question. If I read anything at all in the next month it will probably be very light reading. I am going to attempt to do nanowrimo. Yes, I’m crazy.

Warning: My notifications aren’t working. If you leave a comment, I will reply to it! But you won’t know unless you check back to see. Sorry. I’m having wordpress issues!

NOTE: Midnight tonight (Halloween) is your last chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate.

Thumbing our nose at book-banning on BVC.

It’s Banned Books Week.  Last year I posted about a banned book every day all week long.  This year I’m joining the other authors at Book View Cafe in our own nose-thumbing exercise. There will be blog entries all week long. Also, we’re posting pictures of ourselves reading banned books.

Join us. Post your picture on your blog. On twitter. On facebook. Let’s get this party started.

So many banned books on my favorites shelf. So little time.

Erotica author Marissa Day writes about “50 Shades of Burning Books,” the burning of 50 Shades of Grey.

Science Fiction/Fantasy author Sherwood Smith writes about the history of book-burning in “Put Her In the Fire!”

And our photo meme is launched on facebook.

“Nothing comes between me and my Mark Twain…”

I’ll be posting links all week.  Join us. Have fun. Thumb your nose at book-banning!

This and that for the weekend

So. What’s up? First of all, the annoying bit of the technology called the fitbit was less annoying than usual today.

Today was a day when I had to run some errands and damned if I didn’t walk 3 miles, just shopping.  I hit Lowe’s twice, looking for a lamp with a swivel-arm so I can read more easily in bed. Got it! It even came with a shade!

Gotta say, I wish it weren’t so heavy and masculine but it was cheap plus the only swivel-arm I found so, okay, it’s mine.

Then I went to Half Price Books and scored an amazing find. Amazing. While I was accomplishing “decluttering” by selling them a box of books, I went looking at science fiction and discovered a first edition hardcover with dust jacket of Ursula K Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.  I’ve been looking for a banned book to read next week.  Guess I found one.

Mind you, I now I have to order the one I just linked to, because no way am I going to carry around a first edition and mess it up. Plus, I believe in buying new books when they are still available so that the author gets paid. If I were starving it would be different, but I believe in artists getting paid for their work so if something is still available new, I’m not going looking to buy it used. That’s just me.

Then I went to Whole Foods Market and did a lot of wandering back and forth because it’s a location I rarely shop at, and I couldn’t find the stuff I usually get. I bought a sugar pumpkin. What is that, you ask? I dunno.  A pie pumpkin. I am going to stuff it with something tasty and bake it.  Any suggestions?  I’ve never tried this before.

So by the time I got home I was over 2.5 miles, and now I’m over 3 miles.

Now, in case you’ve been under a rock, I have a new book, SOME ENCHANTED SEASON (about the football season, doncha know) out for sale right now here and here!

Also, right now you have excellent odds of winning the $20 Amazon gift certificate I’m giving to some lucky reviewer here! In fact, you will always have excellent odds because it’s not like fifty people are suddenly going to run read and review, so what are you waiting for?

And because I’m in a mood to be generous, I’m also selling La Desperada at the same price if you buy it at Book View Cafe and use this discount code:  OCT2012LD

Have a great weekend! And while you’re at it, find a banned book to read. Because Sunday is the beginning of Banned Books Week!

Tonight’s step-count, 7087 and I haven’t cleaned the kitchen.  I have yet to hit 10,000, but hey, one of these days…

New book day!

I once had a friend who wrote wonderful historical romances back in the day when they were 150,000 to 200,000 words long and often earned the nickname “bodice rippers.”  She also was a high school English teacher.

When one of her books came out, she told us that she stood up at a big conference of English teachers and held it up and told everybody to go buy one.  Or, buy three, duct-tape them together and use them as doorstops. “Don’t tell me you don’t read romance. I didn’t tell you to read it. I told you to BUY it.”

My husband’s friend once told me, “Let me know when your book comes out so I can buy three or four.”

I was startled. Three or four?

He shrugged. “I buy Girl Scout Cookies, all sorts of stuff at work that I am not going to eat, so why not buy a few of your books?”

I will admit for a split-second I was offended that he equated me with a charity. A split-second, and then I got over it. Believe me, I let him know when every book was available after that.

I do buy books I will never read for similar reasons.

Oh, guess what!

I have a new ebook out today! A reprint of my Bantam Loveswept Romance, Some Enchanted Season.

It’s available for Kindle (to be read on a Kindle, iPhone, iPad or computer via Kindle app) at Amazon.

It’s available for any ereader, any device, DRM-free, at Book View Cafe.

It’s only $2.99.

Unfortunately it won’t make a good door stop.

But don’t let that stop you!

I am not going to be so crass as to tell you to buy my book even though you don’t intend to read it.

But if you want to, I won’t stop you.

::Exit pooks, whistling innocently.::

PS It is getting some nice reviews!

Are you ready for some football?

Then you’re ready for…

Kevyn Llewellyn needs a god.

She must have exactly the right model for Darius: Warrior-God of the Gray Planet, or she’ll lose the contract to illustrate the rest of the series. When she sees him—none other than NFL football player Rusty Rivers—she does the absolutely logical thing: she kidnaps him. Or rescues him… it depends on whom you’re asking.

Rusty Rivers is no god.

He’s the kind of guy who’s squandered every opportunity from the Redskins to the Cardinals, while Kevyn’s had to fight for every chance to prove herself as a cover artist for fantasy novels. His struggles have been broadcast across the sports pages, while she keeps hers buried deep. They’re as different as meteor and moonbeam, with nothing apparent in common.

In this doomed, yet enchanted, football season, dare they hope something magical can happen that will last forever?

SOME ENCHANTED SEASON available 9/25/2012
from Book View Cafe
Originally published by Bantam Books

Hanging around the library.

This is me, hanging around, browsing, reading.

Waiting for people to check me out.

Except for, you know, the fact that I’m a girl.

I’ve known it for awhile, that La Desperada is available in libraries.  More and more, all the time.

This is because my publisher–the glorious cooperative of brilliant writers who form Book View Cafe–is selling to libraries around the world.

See the Library Journal article: “It’s very easy to be frightened of change but, for authors, our biggest fear is obscurity not free books. But, the main reason we want to work with libraries is that we’re all huge supporters. We grew up with libraries and we want the next generations to grow up with libraries.”

You would think that knowing people are buying my book would be the big thrill, but knowing my book is in libraries is even bigger.

My first memory of a library is in the basement (children’s section) of the old Jefferson Library in Dallas. I hate when people decide ripping down and building new is the best idea. I was a wee thing when we used that library, and my memories are hazy and indistinct, but the one thing I knew about it was–

There was magic there.

Where was your first library?

And the winner is…

The winner in my blog’s drawing for the Grand Opening of Book View Cafe is bn100.

bn100, please email me so I can send you your prize! You chose Dread Hammer, by Linda Nagata, “because the characters sound fascinating.”

If you’re wondering how the winner was chosen, I used the highly scientific method of asking someone, “Choose a number between 1 and 4.”

She chose 4.

And that’s my method.

I know, so brilliant you have to squint to avoid retina burn.

But if you want to see the best method ever, you must go see the “choice by Pooka,” aka, the Lippizan dancing horse!

Have fun reading, everyone!