Writing the Book Might be the Easy Part! By Susan Sands

When an author releases a new book, especially a holiday title, she has a short window to get the word

out. The publisher does a certain amount of publicity, but it's up to the author to find creative ways to reach readers, especially during a pandemic. There aren't a lot of opportunities for in-person book signings and personal appearances. Zoom isn't especially well-attended, unless you are a big bestselling author. I am not a big bestselling author. But I do have friends who are.

I'm trying to be as creative as possible and do as much as I can during the short window between release day on October 19th and December 25th to promote my new book, Noel, Alabama. Besides screaming myself hoarse on social media, I've got an online book tour scheduled, lots of shoutouts with my author friends on release day, pre-release reviewers who've read the advanced copy, a big Zoom event with some of those big author friends I mentioned on release day, hosted by FoxTale Books, my local indie bookseller. I could go on because there are plenty of other smaller events to share... 

I'm scheduled to appear on my publisher's blog and their Facebook book club and they will be posting my cover on the website and social media pages. They've been doing some pre-pub publicity stuff as well. And I know there are so many other things done leading up to pub day on the publisher's end.

I say all of this to show how much time and effort goes into finding readers for mine and any author's book. The sales window for a holiday book ends on Christmas day, so all the effort is concentrated into a few short months--weeks. Writing the book really is only part of the whole picture.

It's a lot of effort for a book. I do hope my readers enjoy it!

Have a happy October!!

Susan Sands

His Mistletoe Wager

His Mistletoe Wager is released worldwide on 1st October 2017

In the middle of the summer heatwave of 2016, and halfway through writing my Wild Warriners series, my editor at Harlequin Mills and Boon asked me if I would like to do a Christmas book for them. I happily jumped at the chance but because I was already a third into A Warriner to Tempt Her and there was no way I was going to be able to turn a smallpox epidemic into a festive tale, I decided to write a standalone story for my publisher instead.

Sort of.

I say sort of because it is also a bit of a sequel to my second book, Her Enemy at the Altar although like all my books, you don't have to have read one to enjoy the others.

Thanks to several lovely messages from readers and quite a few comments from reviewers, I knew that some people, including me, wanted to see the tormented Aaron Wincanton and shrew-like Constance Stuart again. Fortunately, I gave Connie a younger brother in that book and so it was his story I decided to write as the sun singed my lawn and I melted at my computer.

Hal (Henry) Stuart, the newly minted Earl of Redbridge and notorious rake is a little out of sorts. Something is not quite right in his life but he can’t put his finger on what. His scandalous life has suddenly become very boring now that he has a title, largely because hunting for women has got too easy.

On a quest to find his missing vigour, he accepts a bet from his brother-in-law Aaron that he cannot steal five kisses in five separate places before Twelfth Night. One kiss for each of the berries on the sprig pinned to his lapel. Hal assumes he has to kiss five separate women, but Aaron decrees that all the kisses must be stolen from just the one woman.

Sullen Lizzie.

A committed spinster with a hatred for rakes and, unbeknownst to both Hal and the whole of the Ton, a very dirty secret she has kept hidden for five long years.

At times, these two characters had me laughing out loud as I wrote them and despite forming a fast and unlikely friendship, I couldn’t get Lizzie to allow herself to fall for Hal. Throw in a couple of meddling relatives, a menacing butler and three adorable and tenacious children and the end result, His Mistletoe Wager, was huge fun to write.

But in the end, a wager is a wager and it’s Christmas. And at Christmas there is always mistletoe…

Virginia Heath writes raunchy Regency romantic comedies for Harlequin Mills & Boon but her dog Trevor mostly writes her Facebook posts.

I know, I know! It's too early!

But shhh... Christmas is coming.

I know it's too early to think about that, but I'm excited. The book releases on Oct 27th and I've been waiting so patiently. It's a particular favourite of mine, partly because I was able to go back and visit Marietta, but also because the hero completely stole my heart.

You see, Quincy didn't know he had a son until the boy's mother passed away. Then he got a call from a lawyer that he had custody. He's kind of freaking out. So he hires Nicki and she's cute and funny and I just adore her. In fact, I loved the story so much, I had a book trailer made.

Watch Book Trailer Here

And, since the story revolves around an Advent calendar of activities, I even had a designer create a calendar you can print out and put together with your own little elves.

The one on the right is what I took to the designer and the one on the left is the almost-finalized mock-up. The kit includes the pages you print and colour, some recipes and some ideas for other activities and crafts. You'll find the link in the back of the book. 

So you see, Christmas is coming. And it's going to be a good one. Want to be sure you get this craft? Pre-order the book or join Dani's newsletter. (You'll also get a free download of my short ebook romance, Cruel Summer as a welcome gift.)

His Christmas Miracle, Montana Born Books, Oct 27, 2016

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And if you are thinking it's too early for Christmas, His Christmas Miracle will put you in the spirit. I promise.

What’s in a (hero) name? – Kandy Shepherd

When it comes to naming a romance hero, there are certain names that do it for me: Matt, Nick, Sam, Tom, Joe and Luke have all starred as heroes in my novels.

But one of my very favorite guy names is Jesse. I don’t know why it conjures up tall, dark and super sexy for me but it always has.

I’ve met a few Jesses in my time—and they’ve all been charming. Did their mothers have some intuition about what kind of men their infant boys would become? Or did they just like the name?

Because Jesse is such a favorite with me, I don’t know why I used it for a secondary character in my first book for Harlequin Romance The Summer They Never Forgot.

The hero of that book, Ben Morgan, had a brother Jesse. That Jesse was quite a heartbreaker became apparent both in that book and the second Dolphin Bay book The Tycoon and the Wedding Planner. Had I thrown away that wonderful name on a secondary character?

All made sense when I went to write the third book in the series, A Diamond in Her Stocking. This was going to be Jesse’s story—Jesse the handsome heartbreaker was going to fall very hard in this book.

Before writing the story I had a strong image in my of what my Jesse looked like:  “Jesse Morgan. All six foot three of him—black haired, blue-eyed, movie-star handsome.”

Jesse Spencer

So did I look for inspiration in gorgeous celebrities named Jesse? How about Jesse Spencer from House and Chicago Fire? I’ve always liked him, even when he was in Australia soapies and teen flicks.

Jesse Metcalf

Then there was Jesse Metcalf. It wasn’t just the Desperate Housewives who swooned over him in the role of John.

No. Handsome as those two are, I knew exactly who could model for my Jesse Morgan. Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) fitted the bill in every way—except of course for his name. Ian. I’m sure there are many wonderful romance heroes named Ian. It’s just not a name that does if for me.

Ian Somerhalder

So with an image of Ian Somerhalder (who I think is totally swoonworthy and especially because he is an animal lover) and the name of Jesse Morgan, the hero of A Diamond in Her Stocking came to life. Then, of course, as I wrote he became entirely his own person. I relished every moment of making Jesse worthy of lovely, feisty Lizzie Dumont, the heroine.

By the way, my next book for Harlequin Romance From Paradise to…Pregnant! (June 2015) has a gorgeous hero named Mitch. Mitch is another of my favorite guy names. I’ll share more about Mitch some other post...

What about you? Do you have a favorite romance hero name? Are there certain names you love/hate in a romance hero?

Make a comment to be in the draw for a signed copy of A Diamond in Her Stocking. Please include your email address in your comment if you want to be included in the draw.

Before I go, I’d like the chance to wish you all a wonderful festive season—see you in January!

Kandy’s third Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond in Her Stocking, is a December 2014 release and is available now.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.