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Archive for March, 2010
Monday, March 29th, 2010
I had a very cute, very demure post all planned out for this week before The Summer of You hits the shelves. It was, I kid you not, about the weather. But all of that went out the window, when on Thursday morning, I was awakened by a phone call telling me that Revealed was a RITA® Finalist in the Regency Historical Romance category! The Romance Writers of America’s RITA awards are the highest honor in romance writing, so the squeal I let out was wholly justified – really, neighbors, it was. I knew the announcements were coming sometime at the end of March, but I wasn’t really paying attention (read: I didn’t think I had a shot in hell) so getting the wake-up call was a complete surprise. I still don’t think I have a chance in hell – I think either Tessa Dare or the estimable Julia Quinn are going to beat the living crap out of me, (Literally. In the alley behind the hotel in Nashville) but it truly is such an honor to be a finalist.
And this happy news is on top of all the excitement for the countdown to the release of The Summer of You! I am getting on a plane this week for the reading at Lady Jane’s Salon, which will be on April 5th, followed by a bunch of blog appearances at only the very best places. (Details can be found on the Recent News section of my website.)
I feel like I’ve been talking about The Summer of You for so long, and preparing for its release that to have the day within my sights is… weird. I’m desperate to have Jane and Byrne out in the world, but some small part of me wants to keep them to myself. But the day, April 6th, is coming, and there is no turning back the tide. Besides, you can’t fully appreciate the 99% of happy without that 1% of sad.
Very, very busy week this week – hopefully I can hit my word counts!
Posted in Books, New York, RWA, Revealed, The Summer of You | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
The countdown clock on my desk is getting closer and closer to zero hour; closer and closer to April 6th, the official release day of The Summer of You!
And as such, I wanted to give everyone a heads up as to where I will be (both physically and on the web) in the coming weeks – because aside from learning new and interesting things about The Summer of You, at certain events there will be giveaways.
Giveaways of what, you may ask? Why, of these:
(These landed on my doorstep yesterday. So pretty…)
So without further ado, here’s where I’ll be when:
(note: * denotes giveaway dates! Yay!)
April 5th kicks off release week with my one and only public appearance at Lady Jane’s Salon in New York City. I’ll be reading with Miranda Neville, Sarah MacLean and N.K. Jemisin. 7pm, Madame X. All are welcome! Admission is $5 or a gently used romance novel.
April 6th — Release Day! I’ll be Mandi’s guest at Smexybooks. *
April 8th – I’ll be talking about my Inspirations and Influences at The Book Smugglers. *
April 11th – 17th — All this week I’ll be stopping by the Romantic Reads Board at Barnes and Noble – come by and chat!
April 12th – I’ll be Katiebabs guest at Babbling About Books. *
April 15th – Historical Guest Blogger at Rom Con Inc. *
April 19th – Interview over at The Raving Readers. *
April 26th – Article at the Seattle Examiner.
Phew! I’m tired just listing all this info. I’m putting this all up on my Recent News, and will do my damnedest to keep it current. (Up until recently I’m pretty sure I had stuff from 2008 still there.)
Other than that, more writing for me this week. Got to get as much out as I can now, because as you can see, I’m about to get very busy.
Happy Reading!
Posted in The Summer of You | 2 Comments »
Monday, March 15th, 2010
There is an equation every writer has to work out for themselves. That equation is how long can I glue my ass to this chair and type before my butt goes numb? It has constants – number of words to be typed, the number of hours in the day. It has differentials, such as how much lumbar support you have, how cushiony your seat, or how often you cross and uncross your legs.
And I have been attempting to perfect this equation all week.
Luckily, I recently found a coffee shop in Los Angeles with vaguely comfy chairs and good lattes, that makes my fingers fly faster (but also has the residual effect of creating typos with more frequency). Unluckily, everyone else knows about this coffee shop.
Like, I said, there are equations to be balanced when writing.
More writing this week, but the countdown to The Summer of You, so there are going to be very cool things coming up in the near future.
Until next week, happy reading!
Posted in The Summer of You, Writer's life | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
I went to visit my sister this weekend, and in the pacific northwest, mere days after the conclusion of the winter Olympics just a few miles and an international border north, spring is springing. Take a look:
These are just a few of the buckets and buckets and buckets of flowers at the Pike Place Market. (They sell fish there, too.) Add to that the crocuses (croci?) daffodils and cherry blossoms gracing my sister’s front yard, and you know spring is ridiculously impatient this year. (Of course, I’m sitting at the airport as I type this, and its snowing outside, so you have to appreciate the season’s mood swings.) But the true harbinger of spring in recent years has been the advent of the Oscars! We all anticipate and wonder and prepare and view obscure little films we would never see for any other reason than trying to accurately judge their chance of winning and therefore our chances of winning the office pool, and wonder most importantly what everyone is going to wear.
Now, I’m not going to critique what people were wearing: I’m too lazy to hunt down and upload pictures of stars, and besides, there are bloggers that snark on Oscar fashion professionally, far better than I ever could. (I’ll just say this: Charlize, Xena wants her lilac satin breastplate back. There, I’m done.) However, I am a huge film buff. Really. I’m sought after by pub quiz teams for my mad movie trivia skillz. Best picture 1970? Patton. First movie that Tupac Shakur was in? Nothing But Trouble, as a background dancer guy. Don’t doubt my interest in or encyclopedic knowledge of all things film and TV. I will see everything, remember it, and judge it accordingly.
So, having seen all ten (!) nominees, I was deeply gratified to see that the movie that won best picture was the one I thought should win, as well as the director I thought should win, and not the one that made all the money. Now, time to go collect on my office pool…
More writing this week, so until later, happy reading!
Posted in TV & Movies | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
I’m in a crappy place today. Not in real life – in real life I’m in southern California, its 70 degrees on the first day of March, it can’t get much nicer. No, I’m in a crappy place in terms of my book. I’m at that place that every writer knows and dreads, the place where you start to question everything, and nothing is as good as it was when it was bright and shiny but still solely in your brain. Where you just want to pull everything apart, or shake your characters and scream “what do you want from me???”
Of course, this isn’t practical. Or (in the case of character-shaking) feasible. Instead, you have to write through it, and eventually, you remember why you liked these characters and their story in the first place, and the pendulum swings the other way. I know my process. All will be well.
In other news, Revealed is out in mass market TOMORROW. (Or today, depending on your time zone.) Get excited people! This means that there is only one month until the official release of The Summer of You!
Posted in Books, Los Angeles, Revealed, The Summer of You, Writer's life | 2 Comments »
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