Re-Christmas

First! A quick announcement.  Since I forgot to give a final reminder to enter my giveaway for two followers to win a $15 Amazon gift card, I am giving it now.  Last chance!  Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Thursday the 17th.  I will announce the winners this weekend.  Comment now or forever hold your peace! 

Also, since I'm in reminder mode, check out the SPD Luck o' the Irish Blogfest me and Colene are hosting.  Linky thing on Colene's blog!

So, a few weeks ago I ordered a few books from Amazon with a gift card from Christmas.  I got The Hunger Games, Matched, Fallen, Full Dark No Stars, Eat Pray Love, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  So far I've read Hunger Games and Fallen, and started Full Dark No Stars and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

The Hunger Games was pretty amazing.  Just the whole concept really floored me.  And it made me absolutely sob at one point (those of you who've read it will know which part).  Fallen was pretty good, kind of like Twilight but with angels instead of vamps.  I've kind of paused on Full Dark No Stars because (warning: you may find my next words blasphemous), I just couldn't really get into it.  I've never read Stephen King and thought I should, since he's so famous and stuff.  And I'm going to give it another try, but it seemed sort of sexist and I just really wasn't feeling it.  I'm currently reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and while the writing is excellent, it's slow starting.  It has a lot of backstory, which is something we're all told is a cardinal sin.  If it weren't for everything I've heard about it, I might not keep reading.

So, that's my Re-Christmas.  What are you guys reading these days?  Have you ever gotten a book by a famous author and not liked it?

Happy rest of the week!

When Characters Get Busy

Yes, I mean exactly what you think I mean.

So: romance in writing.  Love it or hate it?  For me, I like a nice balance.  A little sizzle and some romantic tension is the icing on a really good read.  But no need for gory details.  I want no mention of shafts, pillars or secret places of desire in what I read or write.

The second part of that question is, if you like it, can you write it?  Some people just don't have it.  You guys know I love J.K., but her attempt at romance is pretty terrible - "and then suddenly they started snogging".  What the heck??  But it's hard to write good scenes without being cheesy.  And then there are the writers who build up a ton of awesome tension, and then it fizzles out into nothing when the deed is done (I'll pick on Stephenie Meyer here).

Further, how do you decide who's going to hook up?  Do you know from the beginning that certain characters are destined to get together, or does it evolve naturally?  I'm currently working on the second book of my trilogy, and have been debating this for my MC (which kind of makes me feel like some sort of literary pimp).  Does she have a fling with the hot shapeshifter, even though she's in love with this other character?

So, writer friends, how do you feel about romance?  How much is too much (or can you never get enough)?  Do you like to write it, or does it make you blush?  Does your MC have multiple love interests?  Do tell! And happy V-Day!

Leprechauns, Darth Vader and Harry Potter

What do you get when you cross two Irish writer chics, an epic holiday, and free stuff?

That's right, the SPD Blogfest! 

Who: Colene, me and you guys!

What: Mega dose of Irish fun

When: SPD of course (3/17/11)

Where: Linky sign up thing on Colene's blog

How: Sign up, write your flash fiction or SPD/Irish story of 200 words or less (but nobody's really counting), visit everyone else's awesome posts!

Free stuff? Absolutely. Colene and I will each pick our fave post and award the two winners with the new release of their choice! 

Go sign up and join us in the Irish debauchery!  Or not-debauchery.  Up to you!

So, not to blow your mind with too much awesomeness in one post, but did you guys see this hilarious Super Bowl ad?  I don't watch football, but I came across this:

This reminds me of when I was a kid and was obsessed with having magical powers, thus the reason I now write fantasy stuff.  Minus the Darth Vader getup, this was totally me! Love it!  Of course, I may or may not currently have dreams about doing magic...

Lastly, my son is now reading the Goblet of Fire (he's blown through the first three in about 3 weeks). I love sharing the Harry Potter adventure with him!  He started reading the first one for a book report and character parade at school.  So, I drew a little lightning scar on his forehead with black eyeliner, and put a cape on him (coincidentally his Darth Vader cape from Halloween), and he already has glasses, so good to go there.  He sat down for his breakfast of cereal and put his hands on the table and said, "Where's my big feast? I'm Harry Potter!"  He grinned up at me and it was one of those priceless moments.  My kid rocks.

So, go sign up for the SPD blogfest, don't forget about my 100 followers celebration contest (more free stuff!), and have a stellar weekend!

Special Guest Interview: Eric from Pimp My Novel!!

I am totally stoked guys!  Today we have Eric from Pimp My Novel, which is like the goldmine of publishing blogs.  Eric works in the sales department of a publishing house and always has awesome, palatable advice. 

I think a lot of the time we get so hung up on getting an agent that we don't think about what the heck happens afterwards (sheepishly guilty as charged).  Kind of like a house cat that gets outside, and finally catches a bird, then doesn't have a clue what to do next.  So, when I first discovered PMN, it was really exciting.  And continues to be invaluable.  It is overflowing with all the stuff us writers need to know, with lots of Eureka! Jackpot! OMG! moments.  Go check it out!  After the interview...

What aspect of the publishing process most often takes first-time authors by surprise?

I think it's probably the fact that publishing a book takes a long time. A really long time. This is likely exacerbated by our growing preference for e-books over physical media, since most people imagine it takes almost no time at all to generate an e-book from an electronic file.

Physical books generally take up to a year (sometimes more) to progress from acquisition to publication, and since most publishers that produce physical books and e-books try to release the two formats simultaneously, the e-book usually takes just as long to appear. Even e-only titles or electronic titles put out by presses publishing predominantly in electronic formats can't be made available instantly—copyediting, formatting, and exporting files to various retailers takes time. Just as a printed-out Word document isn't immediately ready for publication, neither is an electronic Word document fit for immediate release as an e-book.

What can a new author realistically expect to have control over in the publishing process? And is it solely the agent's job to champion the author's rights, or should the author take initiative to be more involved in the process?

This generally depends on the size of the publishing house with which the author has signed. If an author is self-publishing, (s)he can theoretically control all aspects of publication, but almost universally at the cost of having a professional cover designer, editor, marketing team, and sales force on board (all of whom are virtually certain to want to make changes). Smaller publishing houses usually allow the author more latitude with things like the title and the cover image; larger houses will entertain some input, but almost always have the final say in these matters. Authors signing with large houses like these generally won't be able to select their cover image, on-sale date, and so on, and may even be asked to change their titles (if, for example, a given title is too similar to that of another well-known work).

While the agent is certainly a champion of and for the author's rights/interests, I absolutely think authors would do well to take active roles in the publishing process. The agent/author relationship is unique to each agent and author, however, so I'd encourage any author who wants to get more involved in shepherding his/her book through publication to talk to his/her agent first. Poor communication between agent and author leads to missed opportunities/duplicated work at best, and outright conflict at worst.

What are the smartest marketing moves an author can make to increase their sales, aside from blogging, Facebook and Twitter?

In my opinion, an author needs a solid website. In the age of social networking, blogging, and micro-blogging, we often overlook the simple website: a place for readers to learn about authors, read about their other/previous books, view a schedule of upcoming readings, book signings, and events, and find out how to get in touch with them. A good website serves as an author's digital hub, and accounts with services like Facebook, Blogger, and Twitter serve as great peripherals to that hub.

It's also important for an author to be easily found on the Internet. It's worth looking into methods of search engine optimization (SEO) to figure out 1.) how search engines like Google and Bing actually work, and 2.) how to create a site and link to it in such a way that it shows up earlier on a list of search results for a given set of terms; for an author, this is usually his/her name or the title(s) of his/her recent book(s). Websites, blog posts, Facebook events, and Tweets all provide searchable content, so authors should keep this in mind when producing on-line promotional content.

Finally, it's essential for authors to maintain their on-line presences—that is, regularly update websites, write blog posts, actively participate in social networking sites, and so on. While it's by no means necessary for authors to participate in all available social media, it is important for them to consistently use those in which they choose to participate.

Eric, you rock! Thanks so much for taking the time for this interview!!

Seriously, writer friends, follow his blog if you are not already.

Other quick news - Colene at The Journey and I are hosting a St. Patrick's Day blogfest!  A round of green beer for everyone!  The linky thing is over at her blog.  So go check it out, sign up, be happy, spread the Irish love!

The P-Word Part Two

I talked about procrastination a few weeks ago, and today I'm going to talk about a great procrastination buster I made up.  Well, I'm sure many people have tried this before me, but I can't remember anyone mentioning it, so I'm claiming it :~)  But first, some brief bits of news.

If you missed any of the lovely ladies I interviewed earlier in the week, please pop in and take a peek at the new interviews page which you should see at the top of the page.  Jen, Jennifer and Talli are all so awesome and talented and cool, so I don't want you to miss out. 

Also, a reminder that I am giving away two $15.00 Amazon gift cards.  Just be a follower and leave a comment on this post to be entered.  Easy, right?

A quick look into the future reveals that my interview with Eric from Pimp My Novel on Wednesday is going to rock your socks off!  Don't forget to stop by, because he's an amazing source of information for all things publishing. 

Almost to the p-word stuff, but first, one more update.  I know a lot of you have been waiting to hear what happened with the second partial request I got from an agent.  Alas, I got the bitter R-word.  Yes, that one deserves a capital letter.  Double alas, I got no feedback on this rejection, which to be honest bummed me out tremendously, as this is kind of the silver lining of a partial request rejection.  So, my gameplan now is to resume querying next month after I get my agent critique at the writer's conference I am attending.  That way I can get a professional opinion and make any necessary changes before exhausting my list of agents to query.

Okay, procrastination buster! Share my secret I will (hehe, I sound like Yoda now).  Actually, this is a procrastination buster and writer's block buster.  See, my biggest excuse for procrastinating is that I don't have enough time.  Really, I might have 30 or 45 minutes, but I tell myself it's not enough time to really 'get into it'.  Also, I write really slow, agonizing over every word, sort of editing as I go.  This can lead to writer's block if I feel I can't find the right words.  So, this is what I did the other day.  I decided to write as fast as I could, whatever came into my head, for 15 minutes, not worrying about whether it was total dreck.  I made it sort of a challenge, which was fun.  Now, this isn't something I want to do all the time, because I like to take my time and write the way I like to write.  But when I'm feeling unmotivated or blocked, it does the trick.  I've been making good progress on the first draft of book number two, which I hope to have finished by the end of April.

I hope that was helpful to you guys, I hope you have a great Monday, and I definitely hope you stop by and say hi to Eric on Wednesday!   

Friday with the Fun and Fabulous Talli Roland!

Today we have bestselling author Talli Roland! Talli's book, The Hating Game, came out on December 1st and made quite a splash on the Amazon Kindle bestseller list.  It continues to rock the charts; Talli reported that it sold 1,400 copies in January alone! 

Talli lives in England (dreamy sigh - how fun would that be?). She loves coffee and wine just like me, so I knew she was a cool gal instantly!  If you don't know Talli, you definitely want to.  Go check out her awesome blog, or you can purchase the e-book version of The Hating Game on Amazon.  The print version will be available next month, for those of you (like me) that don't have an e-book reader yet.  Oh, and Talli also has an official website!

Okay, so read this yummy description of The Hating Game:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy.

After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £200,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes.

Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

What is your writing story?

I’ll sum it up in almost 140 characters, just like Twitter: Three years, five (or six?) unpublished manuscripts, lots of rejections - then acceptance! Now I've had two non-fiction books published, as well as my debut novel.

The Hating Game has a rather untraditional publishing story. Since I already knew the publisher, I just wrote up the synopsis and the first three chapters and it was accepted (yay!). I wrote the first draft in about two months, then spent another few months revising and editing.

What was the most exciting point in your writing journey?

Definitely the release day for the Kindle version of The Hating Game. I had so much support from bloggers, Tweeters and Facebookers around the world -- it was overwhelming.

How did you get The Hating Game to be in the top 25 Amazon Kindle downloads, and number 1 on the Amazon Kindle Movers and Shakers list?

It only takes a few sales over a short period of time to rise in the rankings on Amazon Kindle. So, I thought how great it would be if I could get as many people as possible to buy my book on release day, and see how far up the rankings it could climb! I started my campaign about three months before my release day, and over time more and more people signed up. The results definitely exceeded my expectations!

What was the first thing you did when you woke up on the day The Hating Game was released?

Cursed my husband’s snoring (a typical morning)! I remember waking up super early that day, because I was so excited and nervous that I’d made a big deal out of it – what if no-one bought it and the whole thing tanked? The first thing I did was fire up my trusty little laptop and check the sales rank on Amazon!

Did you have a book release party or other celebration?

Not for the Kindle release, although I did take my husband out for a no-holds-barred Chinese dinner (you don’t even want to imagine the amount we ate!). I’m debating whether to do one for the paperback launch in March.

What are you working on next?

I’m just about to start working on Watching Willow Watts, about a country girl whose life is transformed when she becomes a YouTube sensation. It’s due out for release in November – I really must get my butt in gear!


Thanks so much for stopping by, Talli! You are awesome and I can't wait to pick up a copy of The Hating Game when it comes out in print. 

Free stuff people!  Don't forget about the Amazon gift cards I'm giving away.  Leave a comment on this post to be entered.


Wednesday with the Wickedly Witty Jennifer Hillier!

Happy Wednesday, writer friends! Today I welcome Jennifer Hillier, whose thriller Creep is being released by Simon & Schuster in July. Jennifer was another one of my first followers, so I feel like I’ve known her a long time though I only started blogging seriously in September.

It’s been soooo fun getting to hear Jennifer’s journey and find out what happens after you get an agent and a publisher. She spills it all on her blog, so you should definitely check it out! I’m a regular stalker. And what’s mega fun is that you can pre-order Creep on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Chapters Indigo. Jennifer also has an official website (don’t you love the sound of that?), which you should visit, too.

Okay, so read this deliciously tantalizing description of Creep:

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behaviour. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, desolate and depressed when they weren't, she realizes the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she's engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and her life is about to change for the better. But when she attempts to cut the affair dead in its tracks, Ethan Wolfe won't let her walk away.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex tape that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn't resist — who is now the monster who won't let her go.

Interview time!

What have you experienced thus far in the publishing process that you didn't expect?

I honestly didn’t expect things to happen so quickly! I was prepared for it to take years to see a book in print, and I was prepared to write lots of books before even getting close. I spent fourteen months total writing and revising CREEP. I signed with an agent three months after I started querying, and I was submission for only two months (which, admittedly, felt like an eternity at the time) when my book sold. When I look back at 2010, I can’t believe so much happened within such a short time frame. I feel very lucky, and very blessed.

When might we see the inevitably awesome cover for Creep? Do you get any input in this process?

I haven’t heard anything about the cover art yet, though the cover copy (the back cover blurb and opening pages) was sent to me back in November. I wake up every morning expecting to see the cover art in my inbox! I don’t get any input in the graphics or design, but I definitely trust my publisher to know what will best sell the book. In my head I picture it being very edgy, very slick, very broody, with giant letters that shriek “CREEP”! It’ll be interesting to see how far off the mark I end up being.

**Editorial Note: since the interview Jennifer has gotten her cover art! She can’t let us see it yet, but read all about her initial impressions here.

What do you have planned for Creep's release date? Will there be a book release party?

I actually don’t have anything planned at the moment. I currently live just north of Seattle, WA, but most of my family and friends are in Toronto, Canada. So I might do something back in my hometown to celebrate, since I know way more people there than here.

Now that you have an agent, how you do propose future projects? Do you just shoot her an email, or call her up and share your ideas? Does she give you timeframes for when she'd like to see your next book?

My agent and I have already had a few discussions about my current work-in-progress, and she’s ready to see it whenever I’m ready to show it to her. Which I so am not! It’s a first draft, and like most first drafts, it’s in rough shape. I’d be embarrassed for her to read it as it is now. Most of our discussions are via email because with the time difference (she’s in New York), it’s just easier, and she’s always lightening fast with her email responses. We’re hoping to submit a proposal for the first book to the publisher (who has first right of refusal) before CREEP is out, but I want it to be the best it can be before anybody sees it.

If you were in one of your books, what would be your weapon of choice?

Ah, my favorite question! Definitely an ice pick. You can buy one for $2.99 (very practical for this economy) and for just a bit more, upgrade to one with a rubber handle (which of course I would do – who wants calluses?). In my stories, my villains are always hands-on. Death is always personal to them... and messy.

Thanks so much for the awesome interview, Jennifer!  I'll definitely be in line to get Creep in July (for my birthday!).
 
Don't forget to drop in Friday for my interview with Talli Roland! And, if you want to enter the drawing for a $15 Amazon gift card, go to this post and leave a comment.