CJ Carmichael: Goodbye for Now

I’ve been a guest blogger here on Tote bags ‘n’ blogs for a good many years and this month I want to take the opportunity to thank the woman behind the scenes…Lee Hyat. They say writing is a lonely business, but every smart author has a support team behind them to help with the many steps involved in publishing and promoting their novels.

For me, Lee has been one of these important people. She has designed some of my most beautiful book covers…like these ones for my Carrigans of the Circle C series:

She has designed graphics for me as well, including this beauty that she created to promote a 99 cent book sale on Close To Her Heart:

In addition Lee has posted numerous reviews on my books, chatted me up on Facebook and Twitter, and basically been incredibly supportive, pleasant and lovely at every turn.

So thank you Lee for all you’ve done to help me and other authors like me in this crazy romance writing world. This may be my last guest blog for a bit, but I know I’ll be back because I’ll miss you too much!

Affectionately,

C.J. Carmichael

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C. J. Carmichael: The First Sentence Matching Game

In every book I write, no sentence gets as much attention from me as the opening line. If I spent as much time on every sentence I wrote, I’d be finishing my first book...oh, about six months from now. Why is that opening so important? Well, I want to hook the reader into buying the book. But I also want to be true to my characters and the setting, and hopefully hint about the conflict about to unfold.

The best book covers have the same objectives as the first sentence, only using a title and a picture as tools to attract the reader’s attention while giving them an idea of the characters, setting and type of story.

So, theoretically, a good opening line should match the cover of the book, right?

To test this theory I came up with a matching game for my 6 book Carrigans of the Circle C series. Can you match the following opening lines to the correct book cover? (Note: I’ve substituted my name—Carla—whenever the heroine is named in the first line.)

Opening Lines: A, B, C, D, E, F

Book Covers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Share your answers below and on November 6^th I will pick two random commenters to receive an ebook of their choice from me (provided they contact me with their email address by November 8^th). You can shop for your prize here: http://cjcarmichael.com.

One more thing...this month I’m running a contest for a Kobo Glo HD. Wouldn’t you, or someone on your Christmas list, love a new ereader? Enter here: http://cjcarmichael.com/connect.php

It’s snowing in Calgary while I write this, thick, slow-falling flakes that are the true markers of a changing season. Winter is here. Happy Reading!

C. J. Carmichael

CJ Carmichael: BOOKS VERSUS MOVIES: Which Do You Prefer?

I love stories in all forms. Not just books, but movies and TV shows as well. I bet you do, as well. Most often, however, if a story started life as a book, only to be subsequently produced as a movie or TV show, I’ll end up preferring the book. Not always. But usually.

The list of books that were much better than movies for me includes:

The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien), The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), The Road (Cormac McCarthy), Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell), To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee), The Time-Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger), In Her Shoes (Jennifer Weiner), Emma (Jane Austen)

Movies that I enjoyed as much as the original books:

Life of Pi (Yann Martel), A Room With A View (E.M. Forster), The Hours (Michael Cunningham), Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Movies that I enjoyed MORE than the original books:

The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje), The Shipping News (Annie Proulx)

There are so many more titles in the first category, than the other two. And that’s because, if I loved a book, I almost never love the movie quite as much.

But What About Soundtracks?

For the most part I’m much happier writing books than I think I would be writing screenplays. Getting inside a character’s head is one of the best parts of my job. And that’s hard to do in the movies (unless you use a narrator). One tool at the disposal of the screenwriter, that I wish I could also have, however, is the ability to have a soundtrack. So often when I’m writing, a song will come to mind. Something that I feel captures the mood of the scene, exactly. If only I could give that experience to my reader!

The second best thing is to make up a playlist to share with readers. And that is something my publishers did for my recent release, Good Together. I’d like to share a link to that playlist today. It’s a list of the songs my main character, Mattie Carrigan, is listening to when her neighbor, Nat Diamond, drops by to see how she’s doing since her husband left her. The songs are tear-jerkers, and Nat asks her, “What is this? Music to slit your wrists by?”

I happen to think they’re lovely songs, and I hope that you do too!  

Good Together Playlist here: http://montanabornbooks.com/play-with-caution/