Friends Don't Let Friends Write Alone!

      One of the most amazing things about the romance writing community is the friendships and support there. Yes, technically we are all competitors, but I think the message was best said by Harlen Coben at a workshop I attended years ago -- 'no one has to fail for me to succeed.'  And, in the romance community more than in any other, there's not just acceptance of other writers, but also the offering of help and support every step of the way. 

     So, along the way, I've found a number of writing friends who have been there for me when I need them and sometimes when I don't even realize that I do! Large groups like the Harlequin (Historical) Hussies - lots and lots of authors who write the amazing stories in the HH line-- as well as smaller groups like the Hermits. The Hermits are the group of authors who gathered each November at a beach house in Charleston to write and brainstorm and chat and drink wine (and watch Dancing With The Stars and Castle). Let me tell you that those women have saved my sanity more than once over the years!

    One of the other groups I've found is one of authors in the southeastern PA/northern DE area...and me - I'm from NJ. We've known each other for years and about two or so years ago, we began getting together on a regular monthly basis. We started calling ourselves Writers-Who-Lunch and spent the first couple of lunches chatting about all sorts of things including writing and publishing and news and kids. But then someone said - 'hey, we're writers, we should write something together!' 
 
     Within a month or two, we'd gathered for a brainstorming session, chosen a family name (the Blackwoods)  and common history (a Jacobite rebel is transported to Pennsylvania after the Rising in 1715), driven all over Chester County looking at horse farms and stone houses and decided the theme of the first collection - brides! We each picked our time period and generation and planned out our stories -- all the while meeting each month and making sure it all worked together. There were genealogy charts and time lines and historical research on indentured servitude and so much more. One of the original authors had to step out and another friend stepped in. It was so exciting and invigorating and inspiring to work with authors with different voices and stories and yet see everything fall in place. 
 
     Yesterday we held the first print copy of the anthology in our hands and I admit it - there were tears! The author who joined us midway has never been published before so this is her debut and it was so special to watch her face as she held that book in her hands. 

     It is a special moment in an author's career and it was even more special to be part of it and to share this project with these other women....it's just what writers do for other writers. 




 
 Brandywine Brides - A Blackwood Legacy Anthology will be released on April 25 in digital and print editions across retailers. The digital edition is now 99¢  - a special pre-order and first week price! 


Kindle        Nook       iBooks      Kobo     

CAPTIVE OF SIN has been released!

by Anna Campbell

Hey, guys, I've got a new book out! Huzzah! CAPTIVE OF SIN has been released which is a bit of an oxymoron, I admit! But what's an oxymoron between friends?

I'm really thrilled about this book which is a passionate, dramatic tale involving a runaway heiress, a national hero with PTSD, an elopement, a marriage of convenience, a gorgeous house on the Cornish cliffs, dastardly relatives, and lots of derring do.

Not to mention one of my favorite heroes ever in Sir Gideon Trevithick.

Publishers Weekly must have liked my lovely Gideon too. They just chose CAPTIVE OF SIN as one of their top 100 books of 2009, one of only five mass market paperbacks to make the list. How cool is that? You can find the list here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6704595.html

Here's the blurb:

He pledged his honor to keep her safe . . .

Returning home to Cornwall after unspeakable tragedy, Sir Gideon Trevithick comes upon a defiant beauty in danger, and vows to protect her whatever the cost. He’s dismayed to discover that she’s none other than Lady Charis Weston, England’s wealthiest heiress—and that the only way to save her from the violent stepbrothers determined to steal her fortune is to wed her himself! Now Gideon must hide the dark secrets of his life from the bride he desires more with every heartbeat.

She promised to show him how to love—and desire--again . . .

Charis has heard all about Gideon, the dangerously handsome hero with the mysterious past. She’s grateful for his help, but utterly unwilling to endure a marriage of convenience—especially to a man whose touch leaves her breathless. Desperate to drive him mad with passion, she would do anything to make Gideon lose control—and fall captive to irresistible, undeniable sin.

You can check out an excerpt here: http://www.annacampbell.info/books.html

And for the very first time, I have a book trailer. A lovely friend of mine Vanessa Barneveld made me a promo video as a surprise present. Sure beats new socks in the present department! Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTsRuTIYBaM

Isn't that gorgeous? And SOOOO romantic!

The reviews have been great so far, including a Top Pick from Romantic Times who said, "Campbell holds readers captive with her highly intense, emotional, sizzling and dark romances. She instinctually knows how to play on her readers' fantasies to create a romantic, deep-sigh tale." You can read more reviews on my Latest News page on my website.

And I'll finish up with news of a giveaway. Share your New Year's resolutions for 2010 - yeah, how scary is that? It's nearly 2010! - and you could win one of two prize packs. Both include signed copies of CAPTIVE OF SIN plus a few books out of my prize cupboard. A lovely surprise bonanza to start the year with. Good luck! Just check out the contest on my website.

And check out CAPTIVE OF SIN! It would be a sin to miss it!

Hmm, have I got a future in advertising? Nah, I didn't think so either!

So how has your year been? Hard to believe it's so close to saying goodbye to 2009!

Books and Bookstores

I have to admit it right up front. I haven’t prepared a blog for today, but I have a good reason!

I started work at our local independent bookstore this past summer. It’s a smallish store, but very cozy and fun, and it’s been in the town for over 30 years. In mid-September, the owner told us she was going to close the store in October and retire. There's no question she deserves to retire, but the thought of not having a bookstore in town was enough to throw me (and all our regular customers) into a full-blown panic.

Enter my husband who suggested we buy the store.

We. Us. Him and I. Who have never owned a store before.

My response to him? Hell ya!

Needless to say, it’s been full-on chaos ever since, what with paperwork, credit applications for various publishers and distributors, painting, organizing, reorganizing, ordering, reorganizing again, and trying to figure out the who, the what, and the what-the-hecks of running a bookstore.

Our new store, The Bookshelf, opened on November 12th and we couldn't be more excited.

To make it even more exciting, we've opened just in time for my December book, DANCING WITH THE DEVIL, to hit the shelves! In this sequel to THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER, Deacon has returned from Hell to do the one thing he has never done before (and the one thing that is sure to earn him another eternity of fire and brimstone.)

He has come to right a wrong; to heal the heart of the only human he’s ever felt anything other than disdain for - the same heart he left shattered not so long ago. The problem is that Rhea will have nothing to do with him and tries to blow him into a million pieces on her front porch. It doesn’t look good for Deacon, and when his younger sister shows up on a mission from dear old Dad, things get decidedly worse for everyone.

I’ve posted an excerpt and reviews on my website and I hope you’ll stop by and get to know Deacon, Rhea and the entire town of Penance.