I have to give a huge thanks to Melissa Amster and the rest of Chick Lit Central for hosting me as part of their Disney month interview series. To check out the interview and triple your chances of winning a copy of Desperately Ever After, click here. I had so much fun answering their questions–and reliving my childhood in the process! If you aren’t familiar with their blog, I highly advise taking a look around. Continue reading
Cover Reveal and the first Desperately Ever After giveaway!
It’s finally here! The highly anticipated (at least on my end!) reveal for the cover of Desperately Ever After, which hits the cyber shelves at Amazon February 1!
I have to thank the wonderful Hazel Gaynor once again for directing me to Andrew Brown’s Design for Writers. He did a great job tackling my desire for a whimsical and fantastical–but not too girly–design. Yes, there is pink, but we tried to offset it with the orange sky and the deep red font, about which a dear friend said: “The crimson reminds me of blood and thus I feel the desperation.” That still makes me laugh.
Plus, the book Andrew designed for Hazel went on to sell close to 100,000 copies before William Morrow stepped in and gave her two-book/reprint deal. So there’s that…
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WIN
Enter to win the very first e-book of Desperately Ever After by leaving a comment below. Just tell me why you’d like to read it by 11.59 p.m. Tuesday, January 28.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS for RELEASE WEEK!!
Tuesday (1/28): In addition to the contest mentioned above, Chick Lit Central interviews yours truly and offers another (double!) giveaway. Hint: It’s Disney Month over there, so a fun time is guaranteed!
Wednesday (1/29): Ruth Mancini, author of Swimming Upstream, talks about her inspirational journey from self-publication to coveted reprint deal. Stop by to hear all about it and enter to win an e-copy of her acclaimed novel. Continue reading
Filed under Desperately Ever After
A case for the 1990s (and giveaway winners)
Thanks a million to A.L. Waddington for stopping by this week and talking about her new EVE series. There were some fantastic answers to her question — If you were to live in two different time periods, what two eras would you choose and why? — with the most popular being the 1920s, 1960s, and Recency England. Huzzah for Jane Austen!
(I just picked the winners of her ESSENCE giveaway out of a nice blue bowl, so Tiffany Dominguez, Emily Charpentier, and Cosegrove Julia, check your email shortly.)
For me, being a woman made A.L.’s question more difficult. As romantic as Regency England sounds, being forced to marry for money sounds like Hell on Earth, and I treasure not having to walk outside to use the bathroom.
The Roaring ’20s is tempting, but personally I’d jump past World War II and go for the 1950s — poodle skirts and the birth of Rock & Roll, baby!
Then for my second option, I’m going to say the 1990s. Yes, the 1990s. True, I was a teenager then, so perhaps I was just sheltered … but that was before the real estate bubble burst, before 9/11 changed everything, and before social media turned privacy into a dirty word. We still had these cool new things called “Instant Messaging” and “E-mail,” putting us in touch with the world like never before, but we didn’t eat dinner with our smart phones in our laps, and our children weren’t tweeting with total strangers (or schoolyard bullies).
Plus, we still had modern medicine, hot water still came with the turn of a knob, and MTV actually played music videos. What wasn’t to love?
Filed under Author Interviews, Misc
EVE series author A.L. Waddington wants YOU in her next book!
A.L. Waddington (hereafter referred to as Angela) is a mother, a writer, and a visionary with loads of advice for aspiring authors. She is the force behind the EVE series–of which the first installment, Essence, came out last week. I am honored to host her during her Essence release blog tour.
After the interview, enter to win one of three Essence e-books on behalf of Angela and Skipping Midnight. And then sign up for her super exciting grand prize drawing: a signed copy of the next book in the series, Enlightened, as well as … wait for it … a walk-on character named after you! Now how’s that for some riveting dinner conversation?!
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1. The EVE series is set in two parallel planes of existence–following a young woman as she falls asleep in one and wakes up in the other. Where did you get the inspiration for such an intriguing premise?
My inspiration for the creation of the EVE series was my three teenage children and their strong love for the imagination of something just a little beyond their own existence. I have, hopefully, written my manuscript(s) in a fashion that will appeal to this particular genre’s ever-changing reality that translates into the adult world and allows them to melt into a world grounded in reality yet makes them ponder their own perception of reality.
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2. What else can you tell me about the story? What will people love about it?
Hopefully, I have created characters that are relatable to just about everyone. That was my goal; to create the average high school girl who discovers she’s inherited an ability that only a few people have. The EVE series is ultimately a love story between Jocelyn and Jackson. It is freshly unique in that it bridges genres with its cross over between science fiction/time travel/romance/young adult as a work of commercial fiction. The main characters are relatable to a large audience in that their age group is late teens to early 20s. The narration of the story is told from 18-year-old Jocelyn Timmons’ viewpoint and the distinctively different lives that she leads on parallel planes when her soul travels nightly.
Filed under Author Interviews
Books provide SHelf Help for the winter blues
Are you feeling blue today?
With spring months away and no more holiday lights to distract us, mid-January can seem … well … bleak. For many, this is the heyday of seasonal affective disorder–that quarterly depression that my mother thinks is hooey and that I combat with a sunlight desk lamp.
I’m not going to contribute to the myriad articles out there suggesting you:
• invest in light therapy (mine was a gift),
• pester your doctor for Zoloft (pills ain’t the answer, man),
• sprint around the block every time you want a cookie (though I’ve done it; it sorta works),
• or nix the coffee (it suppresses serotonin, which is bad; but it also makes me less like the Incredible Hulk in the morning, which is good).
However, as a writer who can attest to the therapeutic benefits of the pen (or keyboard, or iPad, or whatever), I WILL suggest that you follow Vintage Book’s lead and seek solace between the pages of a book. And I do not mean the sort of book you find in the dreaded self-help aisle. What I mean is more along the lines of … wait for it … SHelf Help ;) Continue reading
Filed under Distractions, Industry News, Misc
The Grimm Report: Snow White leaves seven dwarves on short notice
The Grimm Report is always a fantastic source of amusement–especially if you’re in the fairy tale mindset. This is a fantastic little piece by Allison Christie re-imagining what it was REALLY like for Snow White to live with seven quirky men with dubious manners.
A Special Report By Grimm Report Chief Girl Power Correspondent,
Allison Christie
allisonsarah16.blogspot.co.uk | @allisonsarah16
Snow White has abruptly left her seven roommates, having grown exhausted of her living arrangement. Ms. White explains, “I was sat enjoying my first champagne breakfast of the new year when the parlour door flew open and in stomped Grumpy. ‘Ha make me a full English,’ he snapped without even a smile. I stared after him in disbelief but after countless hours of domestic slavery, I found myself rising to my feet and heading towards the kitchen, almost as if I was brainwashed.”
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Filed under Fairy Tale Spin-offs
Giveaway & Interview with Mari Passananti: “You just keep going”
I met Mari Passananti through a mutual author friend, Wendy Walker, and I’m so glad I did. She is truly the sort of person who makes her own luck and doesn’t take “no” for an answer. In 2011, after leaving a longterm law career to pursue her real dream of writing, she published THE HAZARDS OF HUNTING WHILE HEARTBROKEN with her own Rutland Square Press. Two years later, she veered off the “chick lit” path dramatically to release a political thriller called THE K STREET AFFAIR.
Like self-publishing phenom Heather Gaynor, she’s an inspiration to every writer who has what it takes to make it in the big leagues and won’t stay put until she gets there. I’m honored to have her here today.
After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of one of her books. This week, you’ll have two chances!
1. You practiced law for many years before deciding to take the plunge and try your hand at writing full-time. Was this something you always knew you wanted to do? If so, what gave you the push to finally take that leap and how did you make the transition?
I practiced law at the beginning of my career, and left law firm life to become a headhunter, which I did happily for several years. I always wanted to write, and I had flirted with the idea of writing a book for I don’t know how long. Then I had one of those milestone birthdays that makes you stop and think, and I decided to go for it.
This may sound macabre, but I looked in the mirror, realized that (in actuarial terms) I’m probably halfway out of time, and that if I want to reinvent myself, to take a stab at making it as an author, I had to get to it.
I had one of two key things I should have had when I took the plunge: a bit of a financial safety net. Little did I know that I would also need a tribe. I thought writers lived a solitary existence, that they worked at cluttered desks surrounded by cats and overgrown plants. Maybe that works for some teeny minority, but I think most of us benefit from robust discussion with other professionals about both the craft and business of fiction. Continue reading
Filed under Author Interviews
What’s your opinion: Convicted murderer’s crime novel wins publishing deal, award
Image courtesy of franky242/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
There is a story flying around Twitter today about a crime novel … written by an incarcerated convicted murderer.
As reported by the New York Times on Friday, Cuts Through Bone earned first place (which includes a publishing contract and $10,000 advance) in a debut writing contest sponsored by Minotaur Books* and the Private Eye Writers of America. The 44-year-old author drew inspiration from “Law and Order” episodes, books and maps about New York City, and novels he borrowed from his South Carolina maximum-security prison library, where he works handing out periodicals every day. It’s been 25 years since he last saw the outside world.
Alaric Hunt is reportedly serving a life sentence for the 1988 murder of Joyce Austin, a 23-year-old Clemson University graduate student. Austin died of smoke inhalation when Hunt and his brother set fire to her 12-unit apartment building (as well as Clemson’s Fort Hill Mansion) in order to distract police while they robbed a nearby jewelry store. They stole $200 worth of women’s rings. Continue reading
Filed under Industry News
Two contests and a bunch of weddings
PHOTO BY LOWELL DARRAGH PRODUCTIONS
Once again, the competition was fierce for this week’s author giveaway–with Kerry Schafer’s fans REALLY stepping to the plate to win a copy of her first two BETWEEN books. Both she and I were thrilled and humbled by the response. And while we’d love to give copies to everyone, the winner (by random number generation) is … Alex Clapper!
Congratulations to Alex and I you all come back next week, when Mari Passananti stops by to chat about her road to publication. And, yes, to offer up a copy of both THE HAZARDS OF HUNTING WHILE HEARTBROKEN and THE K STREET AFFAIR.
On another note, I’m happy to announce that the long-awaited annual Westchester/Hudson Valley Weddings magazine is in stores now. If you’re thinking about getting hitched in the area … or just enjoy reading about rehabbed venues with tons of history (like former Civil War factories and silent picture studios), take a look at my feature on pages 76-85. Or, if you’d rather just read the Internet version asap, click here.
Filed under Author Interviews, Journalism
What dreams may come: Author Kerry Schafer hosts giveaway
As a redhead, I was immediately drawn to Kerry Schafer’s BETWEEN because of its cover. Of course, that’s like saying I was drawn to the Louvre because because it has comfortable bathrooms! Kerry is a phenomenal author with a great discovery tale and loads of ideas springing from her fingertips. I’m honored to host her today at Skipping Midnight.
After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win both BETWEEN and an advanced reading copy (well, aren’t you ahead of the game!) of WAKEWORLD, which comes out January 28.
1. You have a very interesting publishing story, having gotten your big break using Penguin Random House’s Book Country. What appealed to you about this community and how did it lead to a two-book deal with Penguin/Ace?
When I connected with Book Country is was brand new and still in test mode. I was invited to be one of the original beta testers and the whole idea just sounded like fun! it was also helpful to my writing process. Getting feedback from a wide variety of readers is an eye opening thing – it helped me see some aspects of my writing that beta readers hadn’t pointed out. It also helped me understand that what one reader loves the next reader might hate, and that you can’t possibly please everybody. As for the book deal – a lot of agents and editors keep their eyes on Book Country. I was lucky to be the first author acquired directly off the site. Continue reading
Filed under Author Interviews
LauraKenyon.com 