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Archive for the ‘Cities’ Category
Monday, July 26th, 2010
This week, just about everyone in the romance writing industry is going to be heading to sweltering Orlando for the Romance Writers of America National Conference, and I for one, am so excited. How excited you may ask? Excited enough that I have been packed for a week now – and I won’t even be there until Friday!
I’m only going for a truncated visit, so sadly I’ll miss the Literacy Signing on Wednesday evening, but if you happen to be in the Orlando area, I encourage you to stop by – its open to the public, over 500 authors will be signing their books and I guarantee you the space will be air conditioned. The thought alone of Orlando in July makes my hair curl.
But I will be there for the Berkley House signing for conference attendees on Friday and the RITA awards on Saturday evening. Since Revealed is a nominee, there is no way I’m missing my one chance to give an Oscar speech, if I win. Maybe even if I don’t win. I’ve hired Kanye West to come steal the mike from Tessa Dare when her name is inevitably called. (By the by, I just finished Seduction of a Siren. DUDE. So Good! Which is so aggravating for me!)
I prepped for this year’s Romance convention, by spending this past weekend at another convention: the San Diego Comic Con. I have long wanted to go, and witness the madness. But since previous to this year I lived 3000 miles away, it seemed impractical. Being only 150 miles away now, I had no such excuse.
It was INSANE. I have never seen anything quite as colorful, and loud and yet polite (except for the guy who got stabbed, but there is not violence like nerd violence) as comic fans. My favorite booth was naturally, the BBC America, aka the Doctor Who booth. I got T-shirts. I curse myself for not getting a desktop dalek, but since I already had a TARDIS piggy bank, I thought the dalek might have been overkill.
(these are my Doctor Who shirts. Jealous?)
But the best thing about Comic Con is that everyone there loves comics. And that got me in the spirit for RWA, and now, as I sit at my desk and write, I can only think on the awesomeness of the coming weekend, the friends I will meet and those I have yet to, and the easy joy of being around a sorority of women who simply love romance.
If you happen to be there, please come find me and say hello! If not, until next week – happy reading!
Posted in Los Angeles, RWA, Writer's life | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
I have a chalkboard on my wall that lists things I have to do. There are some things on this list that are finished right away, like ‘laundry’ or ‘buy OJ’, and there are some things that take a little longer, like ‘finish writing novel.’ That one, I just checked off. But there are some things that will never get checked off the list. For me, it’s ‘Fix Clock’. (Long story short: When I was moving in to my apartment, I have a clock that broke, that I should get fixed and haven’t. The End.) I could write something poetic about time having stopped, but it didn’t, because it’s been almost a year since this occurred.
Which means it’s been almost a year since I moved to Los Angeles.
I look at my life a year ago versus now, and from the outside, it has changed pretty drastically with pacific coastal living. I’ve changed jobs (again!), and started driving regularly – and swearing at other drivers, as is natural. I have a whole new pack of friends, I haven’t had to wear a winter coat since early 2009, and have actually gone hiking voluntarily. These are things New York Me would not be doing.
But here’s the thing: New York Me and LA Me aren’t that different. LA Me still loves to write books. LA Me still has eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast. (LA Me also still has to go back into her apt one last time to make sure she turned off the stove…) LA Me still wants to have brunch on Sunday with her New York girls. LA Me still wears laceless chucks as her go-to shoe. And New York me would, dollars to donuts, not have that clock fixed yet, either.
Which is kind of comforting.
Turned in the book this week, so I’m giving myself a short break from writing. Extremely short, because I have a couple of ideas I want to explore, that need to be jotted down…
As always, Happy Reading!
Posted in Future books, Los Angeles, New York, Writer's life | No Comments »
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
My apologies for this post being a week overdue — wordpress was playing fun fun games with me, but hopefully we’re friends again.
It has been a truly insane few weeks, what with the release of The Summer of You, all the online promotion for it and traveling across country to Lady Jane’s Salon. You can read my rundown of the evening over on Lady Jane’s site, but suffice to say, I had a fantastic time, made new friends, and managed to not flash anyone in my short dress!
To add to the heady excitement of that evening, The Summer of You, has been receiving such marvelous feedback and reviews, and I got to visit with all my New York friends, that I am on a virtual cloud nine.
Now, if only I didn’t have this looming deadline, and this next book was already done…
During the insanity of the week, I received an email from a reader that I felt deserved an answer, so I give you my first ever Mail Bag blog post!
Dear Kate –
I just finished The Summer of You and loved it! I ordered it online, but the copy I received has an orange cover. [The site] has a blue cover for the book. Are there two different covers?
Thanks, Angie
Ah, thankfully there is an easy answer to your question, Angie. (And yay! I’m so glad you liked the book!) No, there is only one cover of the book. What happened was, the original cover of The Summer of You featured a red-headed woman next to a lake during a summer day – the blue cover you saw online.
BUT – there was some concern, that since my previous book, Revealed, has a predominantly blue cover, at a glance it might be too easily confused The Summer of You. So the cover art was adjusted to make it look like sunset – the orangey/pinkish cover on the book you received.
The problem is, the original cover had gotten leaked online a mere few days before the adjustments were finalized. And so, some places online simply didn’t correct the artwork. Which, considering they got my name and the title of the book correct, and the story on the pages was the one I wrote, it’s not the biggest deal in the world. After all, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover… right?
So, I hope that answers your question, Angie. That’s all for this week. I may be stopping by a couple of friends’ sites in the next few weeks, but more than anything else, I’ve got LOADS of writing to do. Must catch up!
As always, happy reading!
Posted in New York, The Summer of You | No Comments »
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 »
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 »
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Holy cats, February has been flying, right? Flying so fast that, I looked at my calendar and saw that Revealed’s mass market release is a mere week away! Revealed was originally released a year ago, in trade format. This means, for those of you who missed it the first time around, can now find it again at your local bookstore, at a highly reasonable mass market rate.
But it makes me think: has it really been a whole year since my second baby was released upon the world? Since Phillippa Benning graced us with her estimable presence and Marcus Worth, er, learned to put up with her? Some things have changed. A year ago, I was living in a different city, working at a different job. I didn’t own a car (in New York you don’t need one), and didn’t yet know that I could stream Netflix through my Xbox. But other things are basically the same. Those 5 stubborn pounds that existed on my frame are still there. My hair is basically the same length. I’m still eagerly anticipating my next book coming out while working feverishly on the one after.
And since its only a week until Revealed hits the shelves in Mass market, that means that we are BARELY over a month away from the release of The Summer of You. April 6th, 2010. Can. Not. Wait.
Until next week – Happy Reading!
Posted in Books, Los Angeles, New York, Revealed, The Summer of You | No Comments »
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
In my reboot of the website, I took down a feature called “What Kate’s Reading” because I didn’t feel like I updated it enough to make it worth the reader’s while. Which means, I haven’t told you what books I’ve been reading recently. Time for an update!
But first, a caveat. Like most everyone else who reads voraciously, I have a To Be Read pile. Mine is less a pile and more one small shelf and two-larger-boxes-that-live-under-my-bed. I also have a separate shelf entirely devoted to Georgette Heyer novels that my mother decided I needed but I have no idea when I’ll get around to reading them. (I’ve previously read 4-5 out of the 30 or so I received. Thanks Mom!) No matter how much I try to pare down and read what’s in my TBR pile, the thing just keeps growing.
The four most recent books I’ve read are (and I know this because, yes, I keep a list): Lush Life, by Richard Price, A Field Guide to Burying your Parents by Liza Palmer, Naughty by Nature, by Barbara Pierce, and Pure Princess, Bartered Bride by Caitlin Crews.
 
 
They are an urban crime drama, a family drama, a historical romance, and a Harlequin Presents. Of these four, one was purchased in the last week, one in the last month, one in the last two months and one gotten at a conference almost two years ago. So out of the four books, only one was *really* a resident of the TBR pile for any length of time.
No wonder I never make a dent.
All were very enjoyable, but I have to say I probably enjoyed Lush Life the most. Only because I don’t read a lot of urban crime drama, and this one took place in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It’s an area of town I am very familiar with and therefore it was a very visceral experience reading this book. Also I find that if I take a breather from romances once in a while, when I come back to them, I love them even more.
What about you? What are your reading patterns?
Another week of writing stretches before me, and as such, happy reading everyone, and good luck shrinking that pile!
Tags: Barbara Pierce, Caitlin Crews, Liza Palmer, Richard Price
Posted in New York, What I'm reading | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Ok, so I’ve been living in Los Angeles for about six months now, and I think I figured out why A. so many other people live here and B. they shoot movies here:
Its freaking gorgeous.
Seriously. I mean I knew it was nice. Temperate. There’s a beach. But its been raining for a week, and this weekend, when the sun came out, it became paradise. The smog was cleared, the hills and ground were this verdant green that rivals emeralds, and you could see clear to the ocean.
Oh, just look:
This was taken from the trail that hikes up Mt. Hollywood. See?
That O and H are the back of the Hollywood sign. Try to climb it and the sheriff in his helicopter will come after you.
In other news, now that the release of The Summer of You is a little over two months off, I’ve been thinking a lot about promotion. I’m going to be setting up some guest blogs and hopefully some website reviews, but I can tell you that one personal appearance I will be making will be at Lady Jane’s Salon in New York the first weekend of April! It’s a great cause and it seems like so much fun: Can. Not. Wait.
And other than that, I’m typing. Typing typing typing. Sigh. Typing.
That’s all for now, so until next week – Happy Reading!
Tags: Lady Jane's Salon
Posted in Los Angeles, The Summer of You, Writer's life | 5 Comments »
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
I’m having some difficulty getting my blog page to post pictures, so unfortunately I won’t be able to display my awesome new cover of The Summer of You! But suffice to say, I’m working on it, and if you would like to see it, hop on over to my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/katenoblewriter. (and while you’re there, friend me!)
And we have a released date, too: April 6th, 2010. So mark your calendars, everyone! (Mom, you too.)
Left Coast Living is… different from the East. First of all, I have to drive everywhere. I used to read on the subways all the time, so now I’ve lost about an hour of reading time a day. Conversely, it’s gorgeous here. ALL THE TIME. Why would I want to be reading on a subway when I could be out crossing a beautiful canyon? But this is a problem, because I got a bunch of books at the RWA conference this year, and these are the books I would normally read on the subway. I’ve got everything from Deanna Raybourn to Amanda Quick.
So here’s my question for you: where should I start?
Posted in Los Angeles, RWA, The Summer of You | No Comments »
Monday, April 6th, 2009
Hi everyone – I want to thank everyone for entering my first ever contest. From Savich and Sherlock to Shaggy and Scooby Doo you guys plumbed the depths of your favorite investigative partnerships. All five winners have been notified via email – but I want to give a special shout out to April, for her deep and devoted love to the movie K-9, which was truly the most passionate and inspired entry I received. If you entered, check your email, and congratulations to all the winners!
In other news, I spent this weekend on the road. I love a good road trip – I don’t drive all that often — living in New York City, I mostly take the bus or subway to get to where I need to go. When I visit my family, planes and trains are the mode of transport, rarely automobiles. So when I get into the car, and drive all day, it’s an experience I relish.
On a road trip, I’m allowed fast food. Don’t tell me you can drive past 400 Arbys and not stop at one for a jamocha shake. And I always have an inlaid stock of twizzlers, diet coke, and cookies with some form of chip in them. Fritos, too. Love fritos. Never eat them at home. Calories consumed during a road trip don’t count.
I also allow myself book tapes. I’m a little of a book purist (It must be read to be understood!) but that’s really just an act because I can’t listen to book tapes on my ipod. I’m afraid I’ll be sitting on the subway and burst out laughing at something in the story and people will call the transpo police on the crazy blonde, laughing to herself in the third car. So this weekend, it was me, the open road, twizzlers and David Handler. I had a wonderful time. What about you guys? Do you have any road trip rules?
Happy Reading, everyone!
P.S. Occasionally I stopped the book and listened to a little radio. Who is the Florida person and why did he cover Right Round by Dead or Alive? Did he think he could top the fabulous video they did in the 80s with the flags from color guard? There is no topping the flags from color guard!
Posted in Compromised, New York, Revealed, Writer's life | No Comments »
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