Cover story by Michelle Styles

My latest cover --Summer of the Viking (out in June) popped into my inbox the other day. Because I have little control over my covers, this moment is always one of dread and anticipation. This time, it was huge relief as I really like the cover.

I was re-doing my website (www.michellestyles.co.uk ) and happened to place it along side two of my other recent covers.

The first thing  I noticed was the colour scheme for all three was similar.  I like the sort of yellow/sunset tinge to the covers.

The second thing was the  male cover model in Saved by the Viking Warrior and  Summer of the Viking appears to be the same. Not that I am complaining. I certainly would not kick him out of bed for eating crackers. I am not sure of the model's name. Perhaps Doug Porter. Does anyone know  for definite? I am always amazed by how many models' names some romance readers know!

I happen to like the background as it does remind me very much of the area around County Durham where the story takes place.

The other cover I have seen recently is the cover for my latest UK reprint. I had thought good when I saw via the computer but when the books arrived, I was really impressed. The lettering of Regency is in gold. 

It is a reprint of An Impulsive Debutante and A Question of Impropriety.  The UK has an on going programme of reprinting Regency/Victorian novels.

Anyway the choice of colour for the dress made me laugh. Originally I had a teal blue gown of this sort in An Impulsive Debutante but my then editor found a lovely cover picture which had a rose pink gown and asked if I would changed it. The model in that cover looked quite a bit like my editor. It wasn't crucial to the story so I did. It is good to have the dress that I had originally imagined on the front (even though I have no idea how it happened!)

The above cover was designed by Becky Gibbery and I think she did a lovely job. In addition to the dress, I really like the necklace but I think it would be difficult to keep good. It looks to be seed pearls.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historicals in a wide range of time periods. You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

Christina Hollis—Spring Is On Its Way!

Snowdrops

In the UK, we still have to wait another two weeks until our clocks are switched to summertime. Luckily, nature doesn't know that. When the air is still and the sun is shining, my bees come out to investigate the spring flowers. The hens are laying again after their winter break, and the birds are singing before dawn.

It wasn't like that this time last year! We'd suffered an endless wet, dark winter, with major flooding. It was cold, too, and everyone was miserable. I was under pressure from a tight non-fiction deadline, and then...I got the call to submit ten pages of fiction for a workshop run by the Marcher Counties Chapter of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

My Current Release

The minute I hit that deadline, all I wanted to do was take a break, and collapse with plenty of tea and cake, so that's what I did—and used writing as my relaxation.  I turned up the central heating, and let my imagination drift away to the perfect holiday destination, all sun, sea and sand. Then I added a handsome hero with a secret, and a heroine who's tormented by career and personal disasters. The result was the opening pages of His Majesty's Secret Passion. The workshop loved it, and so did The Wild Rose Press. They published His Majesty's Secret Passion earlier this year, and it's being getting five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. It's for sale in both ebook and paperback here, and to give you a taste of Leo and Sara's story, here's an extract...

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...

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?”

That last-minute workshop project grew into my new Princes Of Kharova series. The next book, Her Royal Risk, is released in early April and is available for pre-order here.

How do you lift the winter gloom? There's a signed copy of His Majesty's Secret Passion for a comment picked at random after 23rd March.

Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women–when she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold nearly three 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 at http://www.christinahollis.com. Her current release, His Majesty's Secret Passion, is published by Wild Rose Press, and available from them at http://bit.ly/1C0CxOU or in the UK, from Amazon at http://amzn.to/1DF99Dv.

The Perks of Being Fictional

Holly RWA '06

I posted on social media this week about July's RWA Conference.  I'm so excited that I'll be attending...I'll get to see my friends.  My kids refer to my writing friends as my 'invisible' friends.  Once when I mentioned an out of town friend, a particular child asked if they were with us now...was I talking to them?  Implying of course, that my friends are fictional.  

You'd think I'd be insulted.  But I do understand their confusion.  I've been known to talk about characters the same way.  I spend months invested in these fictional people's lives, and they do feel like friends.  As I write them, they get a bit more real and take on a bit more autonomy.  It's not unheard of to have a character do something that I totally didn't expect.  And like friends, I miss them when they're gone.

Last year, I wrote Carry Her Heart, a book about Piper and Ned—two everyday people who fell in love.  Piper has a garden that puts mine to shame.  She's forever puttering around it, adding new plants.  The rest of her house is very organized and neat, but her garden...it gives the Secret Garden a run for its money.  Ned...well, I describe him in the book as an every-man sort of guy.  He's a put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other kind of guy.  They're just two average people who come together and find something that's anything but average.  It's magic.  When I finished the book, I realized how much I missed them both.  And then I realized...there was more story to tell.  It's not actually Ned and Piper's story.  It's someone else that you'll meet in their book.  But Ned and Piper will be a part of the new story.  I got back from vacation a week ago and I've started working on the new book.  It's like coming home...like going to a writers' conference and getting to meet up with all my 'invisible' friends.

I guess the idea of fictional (and invisible) friends seems natural to me...I grew up in books.  My first real honest to goodness crush was on a fictional character!  I reread some books so often, the characters did feel real...like friends.  I don't think I'm the only one.  Have you ever loved a character so much they feel real to you?

Holly

The Friends I’ve Met Along the Way - Kate Walker

As some of you may already know, this year I’m celebrating 30 years as a published author. It’s really a rather special occasion – and one I’m not quite sure how I got here! I was a child author,

of course!  Born with a pen in my hand and graduating to a keyboard before I could walk!    People often ask me how I managed to write so many books (63 and one on my editor’s desk  if you count the romance fictions stories--  another 2 if you take into account the  ‘How To’ books.)

The answers to that one’s easy (well – easier to answer than to managed) I wrote these books one word at a time – and that’s how I’ll continue to do so while I still want to write and people still want to buy my books.

So, last month, I received a box full of my newest book – Olivero’s  Outrageous Proposal – and if you’re one of the ones who gets hold of a copy early through the Book Club you’ll have seen that it has a very special dedication to a very special friend of mine.  My dear friend Pat who  had been a vital part of my life for 35 years lost her battle with cancer last year.  She left a huge gap – one that I will never truly fill.  Pat was one  of the very few people who knew that I was writing when I was just aiming for publication - so she and another long-term friend Noelle  have very special

places in my heart both as a writer and  a woman. But  this made me think about other friends being a writer -  friends who are an unexpected bonus  as a result of this writing life.

Because romance books are so well known all over the world,  one of the surprises that writing for Harlequin brought me was meeting up with people who read my books –and/or wrote their own – from  so many different countries.  For example - he reason I’m on this blog is because of one of those  readers. Lee Hyat came to visit my brand new web site and told me how much she enjoyed my books –  that’s always a great start!  I think she wrote first because of Constantine's Revenge  - We’ve been friends ever since.  And now here I am writing on Lee’s web site!

Regular readers of my blog will know that Michelle Reid and Anne McAllister are  writer friends pf mine – writers whose books I’ve enjoyed and then met the authors and enjoyed being with them too.   Well, actually the list of authors I now count as friends has grown too long for me to list  here – I’d only forget someone. But I do have to  mention my ‘twins’ – Holly Jacobs and Donna Alward.  We didn’t know we were twins until we met at a RWA conference. (What do you mean you can’t have 3 twins – we can!)

There’s a special place in my friends list for people who have come to my courses to learn about writing romance. Some of them  I’ve met on line – Julie Cohen, Anna Louise Lucia  and Abby Green  were all people I’d chatted with in forums or on line writers classes and  Abby came to my course at Writers’ Holiday. Now they’re all published authors with thriving writing careers behind them.

And that’s another reason why friends have been on my mind, Tomorrow   I’ll be heading to Weetwood Hall  in Leeds (UK)  to run another course – this year’s Writing Retreat.  I’ll meet up with a bunch of people who were originally students but now are affectionately known as my ‘Stalkers’!  I’ve had the great thrill and privilege  to see some of my students progress from studying writing to being successful at it – the latest student to be published had been Rachael Thomas, brand new Harlequin  Presents author. She is the 14^th of my students who has gone on to be a published writer. 

So now I’m hoping  to see another one – perhaps one of this group in Leeds – become the 15^th!  There are a couple of people I have hopes may well make it soon (fingers crossed) and that being so I’ll be delighted to in traduced them to you over on my blog.  But in the meantime I’m looking forward to spending this weekend with them – and  meeting up with some I know as friends

already and getting to know newer friends better as the weekend progresses.

Friends are important. I knew that with my dear Pat and I lost her way too soon. So I’m grateful for all the other friends – writers, readers, students . . .  I’ve made as  a result of  this writing game!  So that’s why Olivero’s Outrageous Proposal is dedicated to Pat. 

Thank you to all my friends – and to the readers out there  - too many to list – who write to me and tell me you enjoy my books.  You’re an important part of my life even if we’ve never met. And I’m so glad you’re there.

What about you? Do you have one special friend or a gang of friends?  Are your friends all close to you – or, like mine, spread out all over the country – the world. Tell me about a special friend and I’ll get my furry friend – Charlie the Maine Coon  - to pick out one comment so that you can give your friend a present of a  Kate Walker backlist book.

The 63rd book of mine  Olivero's Outrageous Proposal will be out at the end of March /early April.

And the 12 Point Guide To Writing Romance is now available on Kindle. (I hope to have some extra news about that 12 Point Guide - for people who prefer print books - very soon. Watch my blog for that.)

You can catch up with all of Kate's news on her website  or on her blog.  You can also find her on her author page on Facebook.

Spring Cleaning!

The notion of me writing about spring cleaning would without doubt have my mother spinning in her grave.  My mother could -- and did -- clean rings around me. 

But it's not just that sort of cleaning I'm talking about.  In my case, it's the cleaning off of my desk.

Last weekend I finished the very last bit of a book I have been working on for, er, ever.  And during that time I didn't really clean off my desk. I even wrote another book in the middle of the all-encompassing one, amid the mess.

Now it's time to clean off the desk.  It's a little sad (not very) because I have become used to the pictures I've tacked up on the bookshelves behind it. I've got used to reaching for the particular books and magazines and files that have helped me ground Lukas and Holly in their respective worlds. I have piles of notes and papers, many yellowing now with age, that I'm shoveling off the desk and into the wastebasket. And I will miss them, truly.

But, oh boy, I love the clean desk.

I love the space, the potential, the promise.  

This is the point at which hope is springing eternal. It's the moment when everything can go right. I'm not yet frustrated by plot points that don't seem to fit, character motivations that are, well, fuzzy.  I'm not tearing my hair and wondering if I'm going to be writing page 62 for the rest of my life.

No, I have a clean desk.

My mother would say that having a clean house is equally liberating. I have no doubt that she's right. But she never had to find homes for several thousand migratory books who don't have bookshelves to light on.  She never had piles of paper that needed filing (she wisely threw it out. Or filed it so she could find it again).  I don't doubt her. I'm just not like her.

But I love my clean desk.

This morning I opened up a new 'one note' book on my computer. I named it for a series of books I intend to work on next. Like my desk, it is pristine, unmarked. It's waiting for me to pull pictures and scraps and ideas into it. 

And like a kid anticipating the first week of school, I'm sharpening literal and figurative new pencils, labeling folders and files, lining things up, ready to start.

It's better than new year's resolutions, this clean desk, these unused files.  They make me smile.  

I saw a robin this morning.  The world is e. e. cummings mud-licious. The thermomenter reads are above freezing. The barest green tips of this spring's daffodils are just peeking out.  Spring -- with all of its promise -- is finally coming.

And there is spring in my office at last. I have a clean desk!

 

1. By Bilboq (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

2. By Kunal.vicky (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

3,  One Note, wikipedia.com

4. By Sujit kumar (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) via Wikimedia Commons

5. Kunal, ibid.

Lazy Sundays

Happy Sunday!  When I was growing up my grandfather used to say this to us every time we arrived at his house.  :)

Getting my book-geek on at the British Library!

Sundays have always been a day for lazing around and doing things just because you want to not because you have to.  For me that's reading.  Here are my top five romances of all time.  

1. Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.  Bobby Tom Denton is such a sexy bad boy from the very first moment we meet him, but for me it’s the heroine Gracie Snow who I really identified with.  She’s sort of plain, sort of shy and is in charge of “wrangling” this charming, sexy man who has never heard the word no.  I have never laughed so hard reading an opening of a book.

2. Lover Awakened by JR Ward.  Zadist.  The hero of this book is so captivating from the first time we meet him in the earlier novels of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.  He is dark, tortured and his past is incredibly dark.  He keeps to himself, which suits him and because he’s scary everyone leaves him be.  Except Bella.  She sees past the tattoos and the scars to the man underneath and when circumstances force them alone together, they mate and fall in love.  What I love about this book was the way that Zadist fights his own love for Bella because he wants better for her.  I’ve seen that theme written before in romance novels but this books captures it perfectly.  

3. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.  I love the dichotomy of a man who is believed to be a bit of fool but is really the a dashing hero.  I love the backdrop of the French Revolution and the fact that Percy wears a mask not only when rescuing the aristocrats from France but also in his marriage.  I’ve loved this book since the first time I read it.  

4. A Bravo’s Honor by Christine Rimmer.  Actually I love this entire series.  I read the first Bravo book back in the early 90s and have been addicted to this series ever since.  What I love about the stories is the complicated emotions that the characters go through to get to their happily-ever-after.  There is a sense of realism to the books.  These are characters I can always relate too.  And I love going back to the series and seeing some of my old favorites show up on the page each time.

5. The Best Man by Kristan Higgins.  The humiliation of being rejected at the altar sets off this story between Faith and Levi.  He knew her fiancé’s secret and didn’t tell her so she sort of blames him for the way things turned out.  There love story is sweet and complicated. I love their entire town and how community plays such a big part in this romance.

Tell me your favorite romance.  I'm giving away a Cheryl's Cookie card and winner's choice of my backlist titles on e-book to one lucky commenter.  I'll announce the winner here next week.

Kathy :)

Addison Fox: The Joy of Discovery

Much has been made over the past few years of the availability of free books. For those with ereaders, we are in an age where content is there for our perusal and enjoyment. The technology has eliminated much of the barriers to making a book free (paper and printing being the biggest) and readers are now given the opportunity to sample widely across genres they enjoy.

As you might imagine, publishers have been a bit slower to adopt the “free” curve. But even publishers have begun to come around to the idea that providing a reader an opportunity to sample an author’s work is far more effective than ads and social media posts.

Which brings me to my question today. How do you feel about free books? Do you believe they are just that – an opportunity to sample an author you’ve not tried – or do you see them as nothing more than (a) a gimmick or (b) a vast wasteland of too much noise? I’ve heard many comments over the past year that suggests readers are far more trusting of something priced at $1.99 or $2.99 than simply free.

As I say frequently, I’m a reader first. I can honestly say that this isn’t a perspective I have. I know I enjoy getting to try authors who are new to me with low risk and the potential for very high reward.

Admittedly, my question today is somewhat motivated by a new opportunity that came my way recently. My publisher, Entangled, has priced my book TEMPTING ACQUISITIONS free for the month of March. If you’re so inclined, download away!

Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Acquisitions-Entangled-Indulgence-Boardrooms-Billionaires-ebook/dp/B00DXJOE70/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1425643563&sr=1-1&keywords=tempting+acquisitions

Nook:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempting-acquisitions-addison-fox/1114112544?ean=9781622660018

Thanks for joining me today.

XOXO,

Addison

Despite early ambitions of being a diver, a drummer or a doctor, Addison Fox happily discovered she was more suited to life as a writer. She lives in Dallas and - thankfully - doesn't have to operate on anyone. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com. Her latest book, SILKEN THREATS, is out now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense. You can visit her at her website at www.addisonfox.com

BIRD BY BLUEBIRD

When I was making my bed today, I kept hearing something like a branch hitting one of the windows–only there was no wind and no branch for that matter. Living in our house, stuff like that isn’t unusual, but since it was cleansed for good several months ago, my first thought was “They’re back.” (Yep, it's haunted, and I don't want to talk about it.)

So I ignored the noise and kept at it, but the noise kept at it too. I’d just finished arranging too many pillows on the bed when I gave up and looked at the window to see the culprit–an adult male blue bird. A major miracle considering the crazy cold weather here in Charlotte; although it was 70 degrees here today. (Don't hate me. It's supposed to be in the 30's tomorrow.)

I have a group of author friends. We call ourselves Panera Bread Babes (or Bitches depending on the day.) We get together at, you guessed it, our local Panera Bread about once a month and talk about the crazy publishing industry.

The fact that minute you’re soaring and the next minute you’ve looked at last week’s sales on Amazon’s Author Central and you’re plummeting to the ground.Then you’ll get another good review or an email or Facebook post from a happy reader, schedule a couple of book club appearances, or look at those darned sales again when you swore you wouldn’t and WALLAH! They’re up again. It’s hard to stay on an even keel in real life as it is, but throw in the complications and joys that come from a foray into creating and selling imaginary worlds and it’s next to impossible.

As I stood at my bedroom window watching that tenacious little fellow I was sure he was trying to tell me something, and then it hit me. The metaphor isn’t about me. The poor bird had nearly wracked himself silly trying to make his point and it had nothing to do with luck or happiness.The point is that he keeps trying.

I think that little blue bird was meant to remind you and me that whether you’re self-published or traditionally published or trying to sell your first novel, the only way any of us will get where we want to go is to keep fluttering our wings and believe that one day the window will open.

So aspiring writers, I want to help you by giving away three copies of this fabulous little book with tips from bestselling authors! Just comment below to enter.

CJ Carmichael: Take The Audible Quiz…Please!

Since you like to hang out at Toteblogs I already know two things about you. First, you like to read. And second, you read fiction, including romance and women’s fiction. (For the record, so do I. I also like to write aforementioned books.) Today, with your indulgence, I’d like to find out a little more about you. Like, do you also enjoy listening to recorded stories? And if so, how much?

This isn’t just idle curiosity on my part. On April 7 my 5 book series, the Carrigans of the Circle C is going to be available on Audible. (In fact, you can preorder now.) I’m pretty excited about this, but it’s also a sign of the times, isn’t it? 

When I was a kid, if I wanted to read a story, I had to do so with a book. Now we have the choice of eBooks and recorded books, depending on preference. I know I’m open to all 3 formats of stories, but I’m curious about You. So please take the following quiz and list your responses in the comments section. (I will be offering inducements, of course, to be mentioned later...)

1.       Do you listen to recorded stories

A.      Often, at least one story a week

B.      Occasionally, about one a month

C.      Infrequently, a few times a year

D.      Never

2.       What technology do you use to listen to recorded stories (List all that apply)

A.      I’m  a member of Audible.com (an Amazon company)

B.      I buy my stories from iTunes

C.      I buy stories on CDs

D.      Other—please tell me where else you find them!

3.       How much are you willing to pay for a recorded story?

A.      If it’s a story I’m really interested in, I pay the going rate

B.      I have a price point I won’t go above.

C.      I am a member of Audible and have a free credit every month and rarely buy more than that.

4.       When do you listen to recorded stories?

A.      When traveling in the car/bus/train

B.      While exercising

C.      While doing chores

D.      When I’m relaxing

5.       Do you find quizzes like this

A.      Enjoyable

B.      Annoying (Luckily you caught me in a good mood today.)

THE END

To thank you for taking this quiz I’d like to remind you that I have a free book available for Kindle, iBooks, Nook and Kobo…you can find the links here: http://cjcarmichael.com/books/daughter.php#order

Also, if you include your email in your comments you’ll be entered for a 3 month gift membership to Audible (valued at $45).

My Friend, My Co-Author

By Joanne Rock

Catherine Mann & Joanne Rock at RWA

I’m so excited to be writing a book with my critique partner, Catherine Mann, this month. We’ve worked together—reading every sentence one another has penned—for almost eighteen years. I can always keep track of the date since I’d just had my second son the first time I went over to Cathy’s house for lunch and we embarked on the coolest partnership and friendship. The baby I’d been rocking over that lunch turns eighteen in April and my critique partnership with my fabulous friend has spawned a fun new creative direction—writing a series together.

Like all great ideas, it seemed to jump from our brains simultaneously. We might have been talking about the pressures to write more and faster in the current marketplace. Or we might have been discussing stories we’d love to write and hadn’t found the time. But something prompted the spark of an idea—what if we co-wrote some stories for fun?

Snapped this pic on a long ago road trip 

Because at the heart of the business still rests the creative joy of writing. It's a tricky balance when you turn your creative outlet into your work. New pressures are applied. Deadlines become important, looming beasts. “Productivity” enters your vocabulary and makes you wish you’d never heard it. So it’s important to peel away the work environment around our beloved craft sometimes and remember why we started in the first place—for the sheer joy of telling a story and entertaining a reader with the effort.

Before either Cathy or I sold our first books, we dreamed about what it would be like to have readers who sought out our books. We worked hard to tell the best stories possible—to make our writing engaging and our storytelling unique so that an editor had to buy our manuscripts. We’d share fun books we’d read and dissected what made them great. But over the years, as we’ve each pursued our writing dreams, we have less opportunities to call one another and blurt out a story premise because it’s so new and exciting. Part of that is because we've each been blessed to find readers and audience so we blurt out fun ideas to them! But it’s also because our storytelling fell into a rhythm and pattern.

That’s good, of course. Yet it’s always fun to mix things up as a creative person. To dig deep. To reinvent yourself—if only a little facet of yourself—and see what else you can do. To try a new process and find out what it yields. Working on a story together has done all of those things for me. Cathy called me yesterday and the ideas she brought to the work-in-progress were so exciting. She took the story in new directions, added fun levels I hadn’t thought of, and forced me to up my storytelling game. Even eighteen years into our professional partnership, she’s teaching me things. I hope I’m inspiring her right back.

All of this is to say, I’m really excited about the new Runaway Brides series Cathy and I are rolling out on April 7^th (would you believe that’s my middle son’s birthday? Kismet!). Tule Publishing is working on gorgeous covers for us that we’ll share soon. But first, we have some finishing touches to put on a series that has pulled from the very best of us and given us a chance to savor the creative fire of something new.

***Have you ever had the pleasure of working with a good friend? Or has your work led you to important people in your life? Share with me today on the boards and I’ll send one random poster a copy of my upcoming Harlequin Superromance, NIGHTS UNDER THE TENNESSEE STARS!  

                                                                                                                                                                    

Eve Gaddy: A Cover Affair

I've been thinking about covers lately. I recently posted a picture of my least favorite cover ever, for one of my own books. I love the book but the cover . . . well, it sucks. I gave away the book on my Facebook author page and in the picture I covered it up with SWAG. (There are puppies. I wish the puppies were the only thing on it.)

I mentioned that the cover sucked, which is why I buried it, and one person said, "Oh, I bet it's not that bad." When I posted it, she had to agree. Yes, it was *that* bad. Really, really awful. Really. Awful. For the curious, it's A Marriage Made in Texas--it's a Harlequin cover. The cover won't change until they give me back the rights.:(

My question is, how much does the cover affect your perception of the book? Would you buy or not buy a book based solely on the cover? I know what conventional wisdom says and I agree for the most part. I have to say I think covers are important. But does a bad cover doom a book?

I just asked my daughter, son-in-law, and husband their take on this topic. After they finished groaning, (here she goes again) they answered. My husband Bob said everybody judges by appearances. He says that of course people judge a book by its cover.

My daughter Diana said that if she didn't know the author or know of the author, as in the book was recommended to her, she would not read a book with an ugly cover. (Bearing in mind liking or disliking the book cover is subjective.) I said, "Even though you know the author doesn't always have control over the cover?" She said yes, even then. She says if she knows nothing about the author the cover and blurb are all she has to go on.

My son-in-law Russell said most people don't realize the author has no control over the cover. (With self-publishing, the author does have control, but with other publishers she often does not.) Russell also said that with ebooks it isn't important to him because he doesn't look anymore. I didn't manage to ask my son, Chris, what his opinion was. Or my 94 year old father-in-law. I'll ask them my next question, but that's for another blog.

Then I asked my four-year-old twin granddaughters. I showed them two of my book covers and one said she would read the ugly one and the other said she wouldn't. But they both said they'd read the pretty one. My daughter said they're four and don't understand theoretical, but my grandchildren are brilliant so I think they do.:) However, I think they're still a bit young to be as influenced by the cover as adults or teenagers are.

I've been known to buy a book with an ugly cover. Although when I do it's usually because I've heard of the book, or read the author and don't care about the cover.

I have another question. Does it jerk you out of the story for the cover to be nothing like what you imagined? Or do you just ignore it? How much does it affect your enjoyment of the book if say, the hero in the book is a clean-shaven blond but the man on the cover is a dark haired man with three days of stubble?

Or what if the cover implies a dark, suspense type book but when you read the book it's a light-hearted romance with no suspense?

I'm very fortunate in my current publishers, Bell Bridge Books and Tule Publishing. They understand the importance of the cover and the author has a lot of input. I am now eagerly awaiting a new book cover from each.

Last Shot is published by Bell Bridge Books and should be out any time now. Last Shot is a romantic suspense with a very sexy hero who I've wanted to write since he first walked onto the page in my book Just One Night. Nick Sheridan is the brother of Alex Sheridan, heroine of Just One Night. I'm dying to see what Debra Dixon comes up with for my cover.

I'm guest blogging today for the wonderful Lee Hyat, who also happens to be hard at work on a cover for a new series from the marvelous Katherine Garbera and me from Tule Publishing, Texas Born, Whiskey River. The first story, written by both of us, is Where There's a Will and it should be out some time in May. We are very excited about our new series. Can't wait for the covers!

Do you buy a book for its cover? Yes, no, sometimes? Which one best describes you?  I'm giving away an ebook of Sing Me Back Home to one commenter today. I love this coverJ


***Eve's winner is Erin!  Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing details!***

Kate Hewitt: Comfort Reads

Some days I’m in the mood for a comfort read. You probably know what I mean: the literary equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate, a warm fire, or a bubble bath. The kind of book you can just sink into and sigh happily as you read; it’s an escape from work, from dirty dishes or whining children or ill relatives or unpaid bills or whatever else life is throwing at you at the moment.

Lately I’ve been gorging myself on Carla Kelly’s backlist of Regency romances. These books are light without being too frothy; her heroes and heroines are genuinely nice people but they have often have some emotional baggage. And yet that baggage, whatever it is, does not cause them too much angst; Kelly’s Regencies are full of witty repartee and intelligent banter and of course a few sparks, although in general the romances are quite sweet and the bedroom door is very much closed.

I’ve read five or six of them in the space of a week, usually in the evening when the children are in bed and I can disappear for a short while into a world of eligible marquesses and women who tend not to have two pennies to rub together, but plenty of charm and wit. If you are new to Carla Kelly, I’d recommend Libby’s London Merchant and its semi-sequel, One Good Turn. I also particularly like The Admiral’s Penniless Bride.

Of course there are other books I turn to for that much-needed comfort read: Anne of Green Gables, Tisha, Wintercombe, and any Harlequin Presents by Sarah Morgan also can often fit the bill! What about you? Do you have a favorite comfort read? Please share your recommendations—I’d love to have a few more on my go-to list!

Happy Reading,

Kate

Rejection? Or High Praise? You Decide...by Jenny Gardiner

Rejection? In the publishing world? Ha! That is downright inconceivable! I mean, isn’t writing all about pouring your heart out into the novel of your dreams and then everyone loves it and you sell it for a fortune and land huge film deals and you earn enough money to quit your day job and take some fun trips and maybe pay off some loans and you all live happily ever after as you write subsequent bestsellers in your lovely Parisian artist’s garret????

Welllllllll….Gather ’round, kiddies, and let me dopeslap enlighten you!

Not to complain, but just to burst your bubble open you to the potential soul-sucking vagaries realities of the publishing business…

Rejection isn’t simply the rejection of your words by agents and editors and reviewers. It’s really more like the endless obstacles that threaten the potential success of your writing career/marathon.

A sample of such things that you might well encounter along the way:

• A director of sales at a publishing house who doesn’t like your book and therefore won’t do much to try to sell it (which means forget it, your book is doomed).
• A publishing house that goes belly-up and you never see payment owed you (don’t quit your day job!).
• Editors who are Goldilocksian in their rejection of your masterpiece (Too long! Too short! Not happy enough! Not sad enough! Lacking character development! Too much character development! Plodding! Too fast paced!). I think if the future of the human race relied upon editors loving someone’s work, the species would be long gone by now.
• An agent who disappears off the planet after you sign with said agent, who then simply never does even the basics of what needs to be done to pitch your book, leaving you flapping in the wind and your career on default life support.
• An editor who leaves the business halfway into the editorial process, leaving your book with no advocate (also known as Dead in the Water; see doomed book, above).
• An editor who loves your voice and loves your book and really wants to publish it, but one editor on editorial board kiboshes it, so it’s not going to be acquired (Dead in the Water, natch).
• A big name author who bails at the last minute with the cover blurb promised you for months.
• You get so bogged down with marketing and publicity that you never write another book.
• An industry that changes like the shoreline, leaving you feeling as if you are trying to capture elusive air between your fingers.
• Life crap that decides to interrupt your creativity so that you fall off the planet and miss the myriad changes that have befallen the industry and, as an added wallop, lose your readers, while you were in a life-induced writing coma.

A career as an author is not for the faint of heart. It is for someone who has deep conviction in their product and one who is determined and hearty and perhaps a little foolish and—despite deeply-entrenched, occasionally self-sabotaging cynicism—holds out a bizarre scintilla of optimism in the face of overwhelmingly grim odds (this could simply be human survival skills at work).

So my advice is this: ignore everything. Ignore it all. Because you can’t control one damned bit of it. Instead, just write. Get back to the basics: read and write and write and read and refine your craft as you so do, and to hell with the rest of it.

In the early days of my career, writer friends and I repeated to one another this mantra: TPT—Talent. Persistence. Timing. Honestly, I can tell you from some books I’ve read that talent is actually optional (though desirable)—plenty of crap books get published, which still mystifies me. Persistence, however, is essential. And timing? Well, that’s the ingredient over which we have little power. If you’re lucky enough to have the fairy dust sprinkled over you and you write a book that becomes a blockbuster and you are the darling of the publishing world, well, hey, good on ya’. But if you don’t, it’s vital that you are able to maintain that very core of what started you on the process to begin with: you love words, you love stories, and you know you have an ability to combine them in a way that works.

And sometimes, that’s all you can hang your hat on.

I was quite frustrated recently, feeling as if launching a book nowadays is sort of like felling a tree in a remote forest—does anyone hear a thing? —wondering how anyone can hear about your book if no one is listening.

And then, voila, I got a lovely review from a book reviewer, which helped me to remember what it’s all about: writing something that will touch others.

Now go. Write. And to hell with all the rest of it.

The first of my IT'S REIGNING MEN series was just released: SOMETHING IN THE HEIR. Here's the cover (alongside the covers for books two and three in the series--more to come!)

 

and some time soon I'm going to reissue Anywhere but Here---I'll keep you posted.

Sleeping with Ward Cleaver

Slim to None

Anywhere But Here

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me

Accidentally on Purpose (written as Erin Delany)

Compromising Positions (written as Erin Delany)

I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship (I'm a contributor)

And these shorts:
Idol Worship: A Lost Week with the Weirdos and Wannabes at American Idol Auditions

The Gall of It All: And None of the Three F's Rhymes with Duck

Naked Man On Main Street

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