Janine made me do it.
I just did something I haven’t done in many years–bought a contemporary romance novel. Not historical. Not set in the UK. No magic or fantasy around.
And I freaking hate the cover.
Why did I buy the kind of book I don’t read with a cover I hate?
Janine on Dear Author made me do it.
You see, I often like what Janine likes, and she has pointed me to some really good books. Even if it’s not the kind of book I ordinarily read.
Even if I hate the cover.
But.
Cross-country bike trip with camping*?
Janine liked it?
I am so in.
Ride with Me: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance
Some of you have been around long enough to remember back when I was a bike-riding person*. I need to get my bike fixed so I can ride again. But that’s a different subject.
Do you have a reviewer or friend who can convince you to read something even when it’s something you don’t usually like?
$20 Amazon Gift Certificate to one lucky Amazon reviewer!
And I have to remind you–it’s here! The chance for you to win a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate for leaving an Amazon review of Scandalous (available at Book View Cafe, Amazon, Kobo and BN) before February 14. Details here.
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?
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
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)
• What did you recently finish reading?
Khepera Rising
• 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!
WWW Wednesday (September 26, 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?
Today I am returning to The Ringed Castle
Listening-reading? I have just begun Where Dreams Begin
And then there is the other book I am reading. Scandalous, but this writer you might of heard of–oh, ME. This is going to be out in December in time for Christmas, as it’s set at Christmas, although it’s not “about” Christmas. It’s about a madcap heiress and the unfortunate guy she has targeted to be the target of her scandal, and it’s lots of fun, but I am up against an “issue” and I would like your help, especially if you are someone who might buy a romance novel with this kind of story.
The original cover is the one I refer to as “the one with My Friend Cindy and Cadaver Ken on the front.”
This photo does not do it justice. Because seriously, that guy? Looks dead. Cold. Waxy. As I said, Cadaver Ken.
Cindy Paisley deserved better.
But that’s why I need your help. We are currently looking at new cover ideas and I am having trouble deciding between one which is very fun and playful and different with an image like this on it? Which fits the story, believe it or not.
Or something more like this on it. Which fits her hero very much so.
Help me choose! Real people or cartoon, this time?
• What did you recently finish reading?
Just last night finished reading the proofs for The Trouble with Air and Magic by Patricia Rice–the sequel to The Lure of Song and Magic
• What do you think you’ll read next?
I just got word that my UK edition of The Casual Vacancy
I’m avoiding all spoilers and reviews. I know nothing about it except that it’s a mystery and I think takes place in an English village. I’m so there!
What books have you excited right now? What are your WWWs? Let me know via link to your blog, or in my comments!
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: I am running another contest to reward reviewers on Amazon. If you’re interested, here is your chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate.
And it’s back! A $20 opportunity to thank my reviewers!
I did this once before to thank you for reviewing La Desperada on Amazon.
Now I’m offering the same thank you prize for posting a review of Some Enchanted Season on Amazon.
Here are the rules for eligibility:
1) Post a review of Some Enchanted Season on Amazon. Honest reviews are all I ask for, whether you liked the book or not. Feel free to cut and paste your review from a different site or your book blog if you’ve already posted it elsewhere.
2) Unless you are absolutely positively without a doubt sure that I know how to contact you, come here and post a comment OR email me at planetpooks (at) gmail (dot) com. Because otherwise, if you win and I don’t know how to get your prize to you, I have to draw again.
It’s that easy. Yes, this contest is restricted to people who have read the book and are willing to review it on Amazon, but I have other contests that don’t require you to read my books or review them so sign up for email notifications (see the left sidebar), and it all works out.
Contest runs from September 25, 2012 to Midnight Central Time October 31, 2012!
Remember, if you need an epub version (or mobi, for that matter) you can buy the book at Book View Cafe and still review it on Amazon. Thanks!
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.::
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
WWW Wednesday (July 11, 2012)
I‘ve missed a few weeks even though I’ve been reading. But, moving forward!
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?
Another library ebook loan, Crossed
I’m also reading The Disorderly Knights: Third in the legendary Lymond Chronicles
• What did you recently finish reading?
I earlier mentioned an audiobook, Anita
I’m bringing it up again because… well, it’s one of those very rare audiobooks that I didn’t finish. It’s a short story collection and it frankly didn’t hold my attention. Others’ mileage definitely varies.
Fortunately, Thief of Shadows
• What do you think you’ll read next?
After I finish the third chronicle of Lymond (see above) I have so many to choose from, but I may make a quick foray into the realm of nonfiction with Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion
“Overdressed does for T-shirts and leggings what Fast Food Nation did for burgers and fries.” —Katha Pollitt, The Nation columnist
I need to buy some clothes, having lost weight over the past few months. I’m much more interested in cotton and wool than synthetics for various reasons. This book looks like it’s the right inspiration at the right time. If it gets me out of t-shirts and jeans it will have moved a mountain!
What about you? What are your WWWs? If you post on your blog, leave a link below! Otherwise answer here.
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!
WWW Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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 currently reading Farthing
The most fascinating (and horrifying) aspect of these books is that they feel very real, and represent a bullet dodged, a future we are very fortunate not to be living.
• What did you recently finish reading?
The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie
• What do you think you’ll read next?
I don’t know! My piles (figurative, since most are on my Kindle) and shelves (still have a couple of shelves of real books waiting) are filled with books I want to read. Not a TBR list. To-Be-Read indicates a duty. Mine is a WTR list. Want. To. Read.
And it all depends on the mood I’m in when I finish Farthing and am ready to dive into the next.
What about you? What are your WWWs?
What should I read next?
I’m listening!
[This art is from Ephraim Rubenstein. I am now craving some of his book art.]
The Black Hawk, a review
One problem I have with writing reviews is that I don’t like negatively influencing what someone might buy. You know how it goes. Somebody you respect urges you, read this book, and you do and don’t like it. Well, you know, “I love this book and you might, too,” is one thing. But, “This book didn’t work for me and this is why,” has the potential to do something worse, in my opinion, and that’s discouraging someone from reading something they might have loved.
Now don’t get me wrong. I actually loved a lot about Joanna Bourne’s The Black Hawk. 
The characterization was superb. I loved Hawker. I loved Owl. These characters were sensitively and exquisitely drawn. I sometimes ached for them. Both were children with horrid pasts who grew up scarred yet amazingly strong. She was French and he was English, and both were spies. They were enemies in love, and it worked on every level. This is romance at its finest.
I’ve sought out other reviews and every one I’ve read was written by someone who had read all of Bourne’s previous books and has waited with great anticipation for Hawker’s story. I wonder how much difference it makes that these reviewers opened the book already knowing Hawker at different periods in his life, had already fallen under the spell of his personality and the things he overcame, and entered the story with that knowledge.
Here’s the way it worked for me. I had read one previous book and honestly, really liked it a lot, and honestly, remembered little about it when I opened this one. And when I opened this one, it worked. I didn’t know Hawker’s past, nor did I know Owl’s. And from the earliest pages I was caught up in their story.
[Do you sense a "but" coming?]
This book is told through a series of flashbacks that were perfectly executed. I never got lost, and once I got into each time period (which didn’t take long) I was caught up in the tensions and dramas of the moment. As a novel, this structure worked.
As a romance novel? Here is my “but” and I offer it knowing that few other reviewers have had this problem. I was never able to sink fully into the narrative of the story–despite how beautifully the relationship was drawn–because it was not told chronologically and did not give me the “romance novel” experience of a building tension that left me breathless, wondering what would happen next. I knew from the beginning what would happen next. They would survive to a certain age and position in London. “How” was a question, but I was robbed of much of the drama. When one flashback ended in what could be seen as an ultimate betrayal of one gravely injuring another, I was not left with the devastated individual dealing with the knowledge that their beloved would think it was done deliberately. I didn’t suffer with the other who must have believed that very thing.
Instead, I was whisked back to the present.
It was only when I finished the book that I was able to put all of this in perspective, to understand how I could find the book so well-constructed and emotionally gripping, and yet feel distanced. It was because the very construction that on the one had worked, did not ever allow me to completed give myself over to the story and live through the characters.
I say this knowing that I am in the minority, and hoping I don’t discourage anybody from reading this book. I do wonder if it would have been different, had I entered the book with the same deep background knowledge and affection for the characters as the typical romance reviewer.
As a novel I would give it 5 stars, meaning, I enjoyed the heck out of this book.
As a romance, I would give it 4, and since it was meant to be a romance I will have to stand by that rating.
But hey, if you like romance, read it and let me know what you think. It’s a book worth reading.
[Subscribe to this blog, comment on the contest entry, win a prize? It could happen!]
Another small digression.
W
What Wild Ecstasy by Patricia Burroughs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I wrote it. The adaptation I wrote was awarded a $30,000 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting (presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). I hope I can be forgiven for giving it five stars, understanding that ymmv! (Obviously the story had a lot more going for it than the bodice-ripper that the cover presents.)
I may someday figure out how to scan it in and convert it and make it available as an e-book. Unfortunately right now I haven’t the time or patience for it.
It’s so funny, I expected this book cover to be all desert-toned and dusty, and instead it was pink.
Pink? OMG, what on earth? (Of course this was the 80s and pink and blue were the hottest color combo around, so it was hard to complain. Too much.) And then I opened it–my first published book, oh my god, my baby… and reread the opening of the first chapter, first sentence of second paragraph:
Within minutes the peaks of the rugged mountains to the west appeared, bathed in pink and orange and magenta, honored by the sun’s first rays.
I’m just lucky they didn’t toss in orange.
