Let’s Take a Shelfie

by Joanne Rock

So I’m in a position where I need to reorganize my bookshelves. I realized that so much of how I organize books depends on how much space I have. When I have lots of room, I can afford to have more keeper shelves and maintain a broad collection of books from all my areas of interest. I have many shelves of the books I’ve written, the books I’ve written that are translated to other languages, shelves of friends’ books, and signed books. Plus there are books I organize by interest—medieval culture, castles, knighthood, medieval literature, the courtly tradition, the Pre-Raphaelites, mythology, psychology, world religions, literary novels, poetry, and the list goes on.

I love my bookshelves! Browsing is a joy, and I continually find old gems I haven’t looked at in a decade. If I had my choice, I’d leave them as is. But I’m consolidating homes after living in a few places of the last decade, and that means merging collections—and, worse, losing the home of the biggest, best bookshelves.

One of several shelves I had to dismantle.

Minimalist sensibilities might say that’s a great thing. Do less with more! And if it was anything in my life except for books, I’d agree with that idea. But we love books, don’t we? Parting with them is like saying goodbye to old friends.

First to go were books that weren’t favorites—works I’ve only read once and didn’t feel called to read again. That wasn’t so bad. But then there was the pairing down of my own foreign editions, which was hard because I had hoped to keep one of everything. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, so I mailed books to libraries all over the country, re-homing them.

Now, I’m in a period of stasis, trying to figure out what can go next. Most days I contemplate building more bookshelves in my new home to accommodate all the volumes. But in my more productive periods of organization, I try to choose the “best of” books from each favorite category. I don’t need all the books I have on mythology, so I pick my top two or three choices, and so on.

We’ll see if this yields a more manageable collection. For now, I can say that I have renewed appreciation for cyber bookshelves like those I have at Goodreads. Even if I no longer possess the physical copy of the book, I can keep track of what I’ve read there—when I remember to enter it. I also like that I can put a book on multiple shelves so that it’s not just a book poetry, it’s also a book by a friend and a book I read for book club. Having the ability to sort books into topical categories and specialized fields makes it easy for me to look up all the books I’ve read for book club or all the books I’ve consulted on Avalon.

But I’d love to know what you do! Do you keep track of books in a platform like Shelfari or Goodreads? Do you use a notebook and paper to list books you’ve read in a year or by series? And how to you keep your home shelf or shelves organized? Share with me here and I’ll give one reader a print copy of my Texas Playmaker story, THE PERFECT CATCH. Book #2 in that series is now available - GAME ON!

The Sheikh and the One-Handed Writer

It's been an interesting start to the New Year.

Those of you follow me on Facebook or Twitter will know that I broke my arm in the middle of January. There was a horrible week in which I had a slab plaster from shoulder to palm. Thankfully it was replaced with this much lighter contraption but it's a bad place to break and the prognosis is 8-10 weeks.

Since then I've been waddling around like a one-winged duck, unable to drive, unable to do the most basic things. Try opening a jar of your favourite spread with one hand, buttering a slice of bread, cutting up your food and you will see what I mean. :)  I'm calling this the one armed diet. Pulling on a pair of pants with just one hand reminds me of something from a Laurel and Hardy movie. Which has been another problem. Not many of my clothes have sleeves wide enough to cover the brace. Thank goodness for the best beloved's T-shirts!

Working has been a struggle. I'm writing one of a quartet of books for Tule at the moment with three fabulous authors Anne McAllister, Sophie Weston and Jessica Hart. Getting the words down has been a battle. The choice has been using voice recognition software, or typing one-handed, neither of which is much fun - it's been really hard to ge a flow going. On the other hand, the four of us are having a day out in the Cotswolds next week to familiarize ourselves up close and personal with the setting for our Invitation to a Royal Wedding series.

However on the positive front The Sheikh's Convenient Princess, published by Harlequin Romance has been storming away during February, garnering a very pleasing number of five-star reviews on Amazon and at Goodreads. Even readers who wouldn't normally choose a sheikh have loved Ruby and Bram's story.

You can read an excerpt at my website, or here are the links to The Sheikh's Convenient Princess 

Harlequin

Ibooks  Barnes & Noble

Kobo
 Amazon US
Amazon UK

Hopefully I'll be back in one piece next month when I'll tell you all about the exciting Summer at the Villa Rosa.

Happy reading.

CJ Carmichael: So Many Books... So Little Time

When I was a kid growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan (think North Dakota, only less cutting-edge) it seemed I couldn’t get my hands on enough books. Our one-room school house (think Little House on the Prairie meets Lord of the Flies) received a rotating number of books every month from the local school library system. But I always plowed through those before the month was over. As a results I re-read my favorites many times over.

Those days are long over. Now it seems I am flooded with books. Every time I go on Facebook or Twitter, or visit Amazon, Kobo or Audible, I see dozens of books I’d love to read. And don’t get me started about Goodreads! Or bookstores!

The most amazing thing of all, is that having identified a book that interests me, I can have it purchased and downloaded to my Kobo, Kindle or iPad within five minutes (or less)!

Buying books is easy, fun…and addictive. But time to read them is increasingly scarce.

So…how to decide what to read next? For me I usually circulate among the following:

·        The monthly  reads chosen by the “Happy Bookers” my Calgary reading group

·        New releases from my favorite authors

·        New releases getting a lot of “buzz” on Goodreads, Publisher’s Weekly, or the Globe & Mail (think New York Times, Canadian style)

·        Older books I always meant to read…sometime

·        Classic titles I haven’t yet gotten around to

 

What about you? How do you decide which book you’re going to read next? Do you, for instance, pick up titles you see discussed on Facebook or Twitter? Do you receive author newsletters and buy a lot of books from those? Or do you subscribe to discount newsletters like Book Bub or ENT? And hey, does anyone browse actual book stores anymore?!? I do. Witness this photo taken in Portland this summer...

I really want to hear from you on this! To prove it, I have a lovely mug and totebag which I will be sending to one randomly chosen person who comments below with their top 3 ways of picking their next read. If your name is chosen you need to contact me with your mailing address (via Facebook or my website) so I can send you your prize! (Just follow the links under my name.)

Oh, and while I have your attention, why not enter my website contest for a grab bag of 10 books? (If you win you won’t have to worry about what to read next for a long time!)

Happy Reading!

C. J. Carmichael

C. J. Carmichael Website

C. J. Carmichael on Facebook

Christina Hollis—A Giveaway, And A Very Early Christmas Present...

http://bit.ly/1ujX5zc

I'm running a Goodreads Giveaway this week over at http://bit.ly/1PBDK9H, so I hope you'll all join in! There's a free copy of my book His Majesty's Secret Passion on offer, which is the first novel in my Princes of Kharova series for The Wild Rose Press. 

King Leo's romance with career girl Sara in His Majesty's Secret Passion really set the ball rolling. Her Royal Risk followed. It was the linked story of King Leo's personal assistant, Krisia, who was "promoted" into a job with career soldier Prince Athan. Sparks flew, and led to a third book, Heart Of A Hostage, which is going to be launched on 4th December.  Visit my blog at Writing A Series to find out more, and read this teaser for my Giveaway...

The sea was so calm, Sara felt a wonderful sense of release. The Neroli swept across the surface like a swallow. She loved it. “You handle this boat like you were born to it, Leo.”

He seemed to find this funny. Seeing him look so happy made her heart do a little dance in her chest. The tousled man who kicked off his shoes and commanded his vessel barefoot and windblown was a world away from the sleek seducer of the night before...

http://bit.ly/1GQPIIq

Sara had a sudden crisis of conscience. She hadn’t texted her PA since the night before. Digging in her bag for her mobile, she switched it on. “Why do I get the funniest feeling I’m being watched?” she said without looking up from the keypad. 

“Because you are. And there are two good reasons for that.”

 “You’re going to moan at me for checking mail when I should be taking a break.”

“That was one of the reasons.”

She guessed the other before he put it into words. “Blushing suits you, Sara.”

“It’ll look a whole lot better when my skin’s lost this pasty white colour.”

Leo clicked his tongue. “A woman like you should be sophisticated enough to accept compliments with better grace.”

“Sorry, but I don’t take orders from a guy who looks like a pirate.” She lolled back against the rail. It felt good to let the sun pour over her body. “Stop laughing, Leo.”

“If I’m a pirate, then the sea should be my only mistress. Is that what you want?”

...and while you're in the mood for reading, here's a sneaky peek ahead of the release of Heart Of A Hostage....

Your early Christmas present!

When Maia's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, a handsome stranger comes to her rescue. But Mihail is a rebel leader, and Maia's brother is the king. Mihail takes her hostage, but instead of the meek little mouse he expects, he finds he's snagged the houseguest from hell...

"We’re stuck with each other now, aren’t we? For my part, I’m not bothered," he said with a shrug, "I stopped caring what people thought about me years ago. But you…”

Maia watched, transfixed, as he lifted his hand. He traced the curve of her cheek with his fingers, gently kissing her skin with his touch. She couldn’t pull back. He was crossing more lines than she could count, and his deadly smile was a reminder of exactly how much trouble she was in...

If you live in the US, you can order a paperback copy of Heart Of A Hostage in advance of its release date here. If you'd rather have an ebook, or live outside the US, then click here.

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold over two million books worldwide. You can catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books on her website

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Victoria Purman: The Best Review I've Ever Had

So there’s an author thing. You may or many not have heard of it.

And no, it’s not about how much coffee we need when we’re writing a book (one cup a day for me).

Or about the amount of chocolate it takes to write a book (not admitting to ANYTHING on that one).

And no, it’s not about how hard it is to stare at pictures of gorgeous men for inspiration (you’re right, the only problem with that is that it’s terribly distracting).

It’s the to-read-or-not-to-read thing.

The to-read-or-not-to-read-our-reviews thing.

I read all my reviews. Every single one. I can take it – the good and the bad. The meh and the marvelous.

And why do I do it? Do I have some kind of sado-masochistic streak or something? Nah, it’s nothing like that.

I spend a lot of time in front of my Mac staring out the window and talking to my dog. Oh shoot, that should have said, I spend a lot of time pounding a keyboard and writing books.

And after I’ve thought and written and rewritten and edited and edited again and the book is finally out there in the world, hell yeah I want to know what people think of it!

I really like knowing that I’ve made people laugh or cry or sigh or that I’ve taken them to places they may one day like to visit. (Australia, anyone?) I like to know if readers liked my characters and my stories, if they found their dilemmas real. I love knowing that I made someone’s lady parts tingle for the first time in a long time (yes, someone actually told me this!)

And – yes – I can cop it on the chin when someone says they didn’t like one of my books. As Forrest Gump said, life is like a box of chocolates (See how I brought this back around to chocolate?) Some people like hard centres. Some like fudge. Some like peppermint creams and some like nuts. Some people don’t even like chocolate, although I find this impossible to comprehend.

And all of that’s okay. Maybe I’m a glass half full kinda gal. I know some authors find it very difficult to read their reviews. Some reviewers and readers can be blunt – or more – and that’s hard.

But, you know what? If I didn’t read my reviews I wouldn’t have seen this one for my first book in the Millionaire Malones series, The Millionaire.

This from Sue on Goodreads:

The Millionaire really did it for me! I loved it! Victoria managed to pull me in and make me feel everything from laughter to heart ache to joy for Ellie and Chris. The Millionaire is a great, catchy story that took me on an emotional journey.

And I wouldn’t have discovered this lovely one from Shelagh about The CEO:

Reading Victoria Purman is like snuggling into a warm and familiar blanket ... so comfortable that you feel right at home from the first page.

If I didn’t read my reviews, I would have missed out on hearing how much enjoyment my books have brought to people.

And that is better than all the coffee and chocolate and gorgeous men in the world combined.

What will reviews be like for the third and final in the Millionaire Malones series, The Rebel?

I honestly can’t wait to find out!

Reflecting and Looking Foward

I'll come right out of the closet and admit I'm a bit of a solstice worshipper.

This isn't meant to take away from Christmas in any way. I simply find the shorter days of winter depressing and derive great comfort in knowing the sun is returning and the days are beginning to lengthen. By the same token, I get a bit blue at summer solstice, when the longest day happens and the sun retreats. Maybe I should identify as a sun worshiper.

In any case, whether you are like me or if you just like the clean slate of a fresh calendar for a new year, you probably do a bit of reflecting and projecting this time of year. I certainly do.

I like to take stock in December, writing down some of my accomplishments for the year and recording things that I am grateful for. It's easy to forget to take time to evaluate yourself and your life, so the solstice is a nice reminder for me. The astrologers look at New Moons as a great time to cast intentions so I think the solstice must be a good time for new beginnings, too, don't you think?

Years ago, I took a fabulous online course from the incredibly fabulous Lucy Monroe. The aim of her course was career planning, but the goal setting piece was life changing for me. Basically, she had you list out broad goals, then break them down into do-able pieces. It's Project Management 101, but at the time I'd never encountered anything like it. She changed my entire approach to goal setting.

At the same time, one of my Life Goals has always been to find and maintain balance. I love writing. It's hard for me to step away from it, especially now when I'm seeing some success and want to keep feeding my fan base with new books. Sometimes, I bite off more than I can chew.

Exhibit A: Books published Oct 2012-November 2014

Other times, real life happens and I wind up chasing a deadline. It's super easy for me to lock myself in my attic office and not speak to my family for ten to twelve hours. That's bad, right? I'm just checking, because I'm pretty sure it is, but I still get away with it more often than I should.

Therefore, some years ago, I began working on a holistic approach to my year end goal setting. I have writing goals, absolutely, but I look at my life in general and try to set goals like: Walk Every Day or Go To The Gym Twice A Week. Non-writing stuff that certainly impacts my writing (positively) but helps me become a more well-rounded person. (Less rounded in the case of the gym!)

So, to that end, I have a list that I came across years ago. It was part of an article on writing that I didn't have the sense to keep. I only hand wrote the list, but it comes from a martial arts class. If I recall correctly, the aim is to practice one of these eight disciplines each week.

1. Flexibility: In my case, this means not only being willing to try different lengths or genres in my writing portfolio, but also being willing to close my computer to drive my son into town or have coffee with a friend. Time was always so precious when I was writing around a day job, I often pushed important things like social contact to the perimeter of my life. I can do better!
2. Strength: Hey. I lift. I really do. Not much, but I do. It was weird at first, but now I love it. But strength also means supporting a friend emotionally, bouncing back from rejections and other career lows, and not only identifying where you are weak (dialogue, confidence, cooking skills, time management) but being willing to work harder to build strength in those areas.
3. Stamina: This is a big one for me. I had nine titles come out this year. On the one hand, very exciting, on the other, completely exhausting. I was courting burn out so, while I advocate pushing yourself in small ways, don't be dumb. On the non-writing front, um, cardio. I have some serious work to do there, but I'm also looking at my house and thinking about how long I can stand certain things that have outlasted their purpose (carpets.) 
4. Skill: Let's talk about parenting for a sec. Do you ever feel like you've finally mastered how to work with your child then they go and change on you, hitting puberty or getting a girlfriend or what-have-you? Parenting is one of those things you practice, throwing more skills in the tool box as you go. On the writing side, I'll be honest. I am always willing to learn more about the promotion piece, but I freak out if someone starts messing with my process. I took a long time to figure out how to write books. I shy from workshops on dialogue and romantic conflict, afraid they'll mess with my mojo. Skill can be anything - golf even. I took lessons for a while and loved it, but I let it go when time got tight. I'll work on time management and consider golf again when I master my calendar.
5. Proper rest: Okay, this is a no-brainer for me. Once I had the forced sleep deprivation that is an infant, I recognized that I am a much better human being if I have slept well and I am a fire-breathing dragon if I have not. I think better on eight hours of sleep and I sleep better when I exercise. It's a vicious cycle.
6. Proper Attitude: I've done a lot of work on positive thinking and how we phrase things when asking favours from the Universe. I'm careful with my 'I' statements. While I'm often self-deprecating, I try to avoid negatives remarks about myself or others. We can always improve on ourselves so I'm going to try to be nicer than I already am. ;o)
7. Proper Nutrition: 'nuff said, right? 
8. Proper Attendance: This means practice. Show up. Be willing to do the work. For me, I also look at it as staying mindful of who I'm with and what I'm doing, whether that's driving, talking to my husband, or cooking. (Do you smell smoke?) 

I'm big on lists and guidelines that help me feel like I'm doing things well. If my goal is to find a better balance in my life, this seems to cover a lot of bases, don't you think? Of course, if I sleep eight hours of each day, that only leaves sixteen hours for the other seven disciplines, but come on. Sleep. I'm still catching up from those newborn years.

Now, I have a friend who actually lights a candle and does a little ritual in preparation for this ceremony. I just spend a few days hand writing my goals into a notebook. I break them down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly, checking back often and bringing forward whatever I haven't done. It's not a science, but it does set me up for success when I can cross something easy off the list like Have Coffee With Ange.

Do you feel the new year is a time of new beginnings? How do you feel about the short days of winter? Do you find your life is out of balance? What steps are you taking to bring it back to something healthier?

I'd love to send a PDF copy of my Christmas book, Blame The Mistletoe, to one lucky commenter. You can also enter my Goodreads giveaways for print anthologies that include Blame The Mistletoe and Hometown Hero. Both giveaways are open until midnight tonight.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Christmas In Montana

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 17, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Montana Homecoming

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 17, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

BIO

Award winning author, Dani Collins writes Harlequin Presents, romantic comedy, medieval fantasy, erotic romance, and now small-town rancher novellas for Tule's Montana Born imprint. Whatever the genre, Dani always delivers sexy alpha heroes, witty, spirited heroines, complex emotions and loads of passion.

Stay current with Dani’s new releases by joining her newsletter or visiting her here:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 Purchase on Amazon: US | Canada | UK  

Michelle Styles: Social Platforms for Books

Harlequin Historical Author Michelle Styles explains a bit about the options for talking about books on the internet.

One of the great loves of my life is reading. When I was growing up, my idea of a great treat was to go to the library. There is just something about a library...I also like talking about books that I have read. Thankfully all of my family share my obsession with books. Being able to discuss books with my children is a favourite part of parenting for me. It is great when they discover a book I love or when they pass a book on to me. My daughter is especially good about passing books on. She recently recommended GRR Martin's Game of Thrones which is basically the War of the Roses with dragons. A tv adaptation is currently being televised in the US on HBO and in the UK on Sky Atlantic but the books are better.


Various websites understand that people like to talk about books with other people. My publisher Harlequin runs eharlequin http://www.eharlequin.com/ and the Mills and Boon sites www.millsandboon.co.uk which I enjoy. The Eharlequin site has been around for over ten years. But what if you want to talk about more books from other publishers? Or you want to list all the books you have read? And how can you connect with other people who love books?
 Facebook is not really suited for that sort of activity.
The three main social platforms that allow you to do that are: GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/ , Shelfari http://www.shelfari.com/ and Library Thing http://www.librarything.com/. Each has its own advantage and particular style. You can take a tour at each site and find out which one suits your own personal needs best. All of the sites allow you to say which books you have read, put a review up or simply discuss the book. You can also see the books that your friends on the site have put up and enjoyed. You can also friend authors and other readers plus send them messages.

Shelfari, for example, now has an interface with Amazon. Authors have the ability to put character lists, themes and books that influenced the writing of the book on to Shelfari or books that are linked to that book as well their author profile. These are now integrated with the kindle network and when someone downloads a book on to their kindle, they can get the extras provided by Shelfari. You can also easily add all your Amazon purchases to your Shelfari book shelf and you can put your book shelf on to your blog etc.

Library Thing has the ability to list events and have local chats. It is actually the platform I know least about. But it does have a dedicated base and it does operate a lot like Wikipedia. Authors are allowed to use the RSS feed to put their blogs on Library Thing. Various publishers participate in the early reviewer program and it can be a way to get your hands on free books. Library thing also has author chats and lists local signings and readings.

GoodReads happens to be my fave at the moment. It claims to have over 4.6 million users. Among other things, it has that great procrastination tool – the Never Ending Book Quiz where you can answer multiple choice questions about books that other members have submitted. There are groups, author Q & A and then there is the giveaway section where it is possible to get free books. It is easy to become a fan of an author and discover when they are doing events, or having a new book come out.  Like Library Thing, GoodReads allows a RSS feed of blogs, so you can follow a variety of author blogs.

So what do other people think of book social platforms? Do you have a favourite?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

To Marry a Matchmaker

by Michelle Styles

Giveaway ends June 23, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win