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January 2011

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

AUTHORS ARE PEOPLE, TOO!

I feel as if I should be humming the tune from that old kids' show Wonderama as I say that.  My oldest son Beau used to sing along and drum on his peg board desk, "Kids are people, too. Wacka-do, wackdo!"

I'm not looking for a pity party.  And I know perfectly well how to pull up my big girl pants and move on when my feelings are hurt.  Still, things are getting out of hand.

I don't object to criticism... constructive criticism... offered in a respectful manner. In the fifteen years since I've been published, I have answered every single letter that asks a question or raises an issues that requires a response. I love reader mail.

And I don't even object to negative remarks about my books, as in "I really don't care for your Cajun books; I much prefer the Viking ones," or "I really don't like your Viking books; I much prefer the Cajun ones." Or "What's with the bad language in your recent books?" Or "Perhaps you should research a little better. There are no boulders in Louisiana." Really?

I absolutely want to know if I have mistakes in my novels. Who knew that you don't peel okra! Or that a certain type pistol does not have a safety on it? In a recent reissue of a Xmas anthology, 'TWAS THE NIGHT, I refer to that scene from Top Gun where Tom Cruise and his buddy are serenading a woman with the song, "She's Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." The problem is that I refer to her as Kelly Preston, instead of Kelly McGinnis. How could this error have gotten by numerous editors and copy editors and readers in the first edition, let alone the second? But it did.

What concerns me, though, is the venom I see growing in a most toxic manner lately, both in reviews and letters to writers. Perhaps some people think we are celebrities earning vast amounts of money (ha, ha, ha!) who open ourselves to this type of vitriol by the mere act of putting our work out in the public eyes. I'm more inclined to believe that it is the anonymity of the Internet that prompts people to behave in ways they wouldn't if they were face-to-face. Let me give you some examples.

I got a particularly vicious email from a woman complaining about the manner in which I'd treated adoption in one of my books. She never did say what it was that I'd done wrong, in her mind, but she told me in no uncertain terms what she thought of me. Furthermore, she intended to go on every website she could find to blacken my name and of course she would be telling all her friends and acquaintances not to buy my books. When I wrote back, very politely, and told her that I would love to discuss the issue in a rational fashion but that she really needed to reread her email and see how offensive it was, she replied that she meant the email to be offensive, she didn't take anything back, and she hoped I was insulted because of the putrid person that I am, or something to that effect.

Then there are the reissues I have coming out for the next 17 months. Yes, I said 17. Avon bought my backlist from Dorchester when it was having money problems (not just mine but six other authors as well). Legally, they cannot use the same covers, and, hey, I agree, some of the originals are nicer, but it's beyond my control. One of the titles was changed from MY FAIR VIKING to THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE. Someone in marketing said the former sounded like a gay novel. I kid you not! Both of these things are beyond my control. What I have done is update each of those books, add funny scene tags and new reader letters and glossaries. I've even unkilled some beloved characters in one of them, and I'm posting an alternative ending on my website to another. And I insisted that the front cover of THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE indicate that it is a reissue.

But I am being personally blasted for these reissues. It's not as if reissues haven't been around since paper was invented. It isn't as if Nora Roberts, John Grisham, Danielle Steele, and every other author isn't being reissued. No, it's as if I invented reissues just to fool unaware readers. And the venom with which I'm being castigated is remarkable.

"I feel duped!  I feel lied to."

"Shame on you, Ms. Hill!"

"I am not happy with your marketing ploy..." My marketing ploy? Huh?

"Your webmail won't even let me email you. Shame again!"

My email address has been the same for fifteen years, although my website was down for two days. Not deliberately, I promise. I was always available by email.

Here's the thing, folks. I don't like buying a book and realizing I've already read it, either. In fact, there are so many reissues out there today (the economy is affecting the book industry like the rest of the world), that I've become diligent about checking the copyright page. And, frankly, I think publishers need to do more in this digital age to put up the reissue information on the Internet, not just on the book jacket.

But having said that, would it be so hard to write a polite letter and say, "Ms. Hill, I was disappointed to buy THE VIKING'S CAPTIVE and realize that it was a reissue of a previous title I had already read. Is there anything you can do to ensure that your publisher makes this more apparent in the future?" That's all that would be needed. I would pass those letters on to my publisher and urge them to be more proactive both online and in print copies to make the buyer more informed.

So, what do you think?

www.sandrahill.net

 
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Resolve to Be



My latest release, MIDNIGHT KISS, NEW YEAR WISH (in stores now) returns readers to my fictional town of Riverbend, IN, and focuses on New Year’s Eve, and the possibilities that come with the start of a new year. I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people who makes New Year’s Resolutions (NYR), and keep maybe half of them, LOL. This year’s resolution is to stick to my exercise and diet plan and finally lose those last few pounds that I keep meaning to lose.

I think NYR are all about dreams. Whether your dream is to be an author, to own your own business, to save up enough for that trip to Hawaii…it’s all about the dreams we have for our future and committing ourselves to achieving them. Then, despite all our resolving, we end up breaking those new habits within a few weeks.

It happens to the best of people and the best of intentions. Every year, I vow to go back to writing daily in my diary. It lasts through January 1st and January 2nd…and then I’m done. Time runs shorter as soon as the kids go back to school and my plans are blown before I’ve learned to write 2011 on my checks. This past year, however, I did manage to keep my writing NYR which were all centered around increasing my output. I think that’s pretty good, considering the topsy-turvy years we all had recently.

This year, you can also make and keep your own NYR about whatever dreams you have. IMO, the key is to be realistic. That’s not new advice, certainly (check out any women’s magazine for the same tips). You know that setting goals too high makes them impossible to attain. And yet, we all do that with our NYR (I’m going to lose 50 pounds by February. I’m going to save $100 a day. I’m going to stop drinking coffee cold turkey). When you make the goal nearly impossible to achieve, you often have planned for failure.

So, this year, aim for realistic NYR. Make yourself stretch, but don’t expect yourself to be Rubber Man. Think about making graduated goals, i.e.: “In January, I will write ten more minutes per day.” “In February, I will increase that to twenty minutes per day”…etc.

Make sure you have the tools you need to reach those goals, too. If your goal is to write more, then have a pen and paper ready at all times. Get a pretty journal on clearance (or two or three of them) and get some cool pens so you’re inspired to use them. This makes breaking in your goal fun, which can lead to keeping your NYR.

Don’t forget to reward yourself either. Set a date at the end of the month to take stock, re-evaluate and reward. Maybe you set the bar too high, or maybe too low. If you look at your progress on a monthly basis, you can more easily see where you are falling down or overachieving. Plus, this helps you realize that you have indeed moved forward, thus increasing your desire to keep your NYR.

What if your best intentions fall apart by January 10th? No biggie. Sit down, plan again, and start anew. The first of the year is *symbolic* for NYR. It’s not a date that is set in stone. Your goals and resolutions will undoubtedly shift throughout the year, to meet the challenges of new opportunities.

Many of you know I am a big fan of motivational calendars and sayings. My Page-A-Day motivational calendar is always perched on my desk. Some of the sayings are so great, I keep them and tape them up on my computer. A couple years ago, this was the saying for January 1:  “Insist on miracles—you can make them come true.” — Anonymous

I like to think of it more in terms of dreams. Insist on your dreams…because you can make them come true in 2011! One step at a time :-)

Those who comment on the blog are entered in a drawing for a paperback copy of one of the two previous Riverbend books (reader’s choice): either MIRACLE ON CHRISTMAS EVE or MARRY-ME CHRISTMAS. And in 2011, look for another Riverbend Christmas story—a sequel to MIDNIGHT KISS, NEW YEAR WISH!

www.shirleyjump.com

 
Monday, January 17, 2011

Serendipity or Coincidence?

Something strange happens whenever I write a book.  Information I never even thought of until I used it in a book suddenly shows up on TV in interviews or in magazine articles.  Or I discover that something I thought I’d invented myself is really quite accurate historically.

In the case of the Hellions series, it’s the character of Hester.  The series is about a grandmother, Hester “Hetty” Plumtree, who lays down an ultimatum for her rapscallion grandchildren:  either they all marry within the year or she will disinherit them all.  It has to be a group effort.  And since she has all the bucks in the family, she figures she can call the shots.

I chose her name out of a book of English Christian Names.  Then I made her a woman who took over ownership and management of a brewery after her husband died, which isn’t as odd as you might think.  Plenty of women ran businesses, especially those begun by their husbands.

What I didn’t realize until later is that there was actually a Mrs. Hester Thrale whose husband died, leaving her his brewery (she had only daughters, just like Hetty, so no son could inherit).  She didn’t have the technical expertise to run it, however, and rather than rely on a manager she couldn’t oversee, she agreed to a sale of the brewery, and she and her daughters lived off the proceeds.  But the situation is awfully close to my character, even down to the name.  So how strange is that?

It gets stranger still.  There’s another Hester who took over her husband’s business in the Regency and developed it into a very famous silversmith’s shop:  Hester Bateman.  Her silver is still prized by collectors today.  She and her sons built that business into a powerhouse of silversmithing.

And there’s one more Hester, but this one isn’t a Regency one.  I just happen to be a fan of the show “NCIS.”  So when the new spin-off, “NCIS: Los Angeles” came out shortly after I’d turned in my first Hellion book, I, of course, had to watch it, too.

Lo and behold, the Machiavellian spitfire of an older woman who is head of the whole gang of agents is named . . .  you guessed it. Hetty.  It’s like a gaggle of Hettys in my world.

I have a scientific-minded friend who would call these
coincidences.  She would say that I must have read about Hester Thrale and that info was buried in my subconscious (although that doesn’t explain the Hetty from “NCIS: LA”). But I call all of this serendipity.  I see it as Fate telling me I’m on the right track with the book.

And Hetty is quite a pistol in my new book, HOW TO WOO A RELUCTANT LADY.  When her granddaughter Minerva decides to get a fake fiancé whom she’s sure her grandmother will hate—Giles Masters—Hetty doesn’t react quite how Minerva expects.  In fact, she behaves true to form—manipulating events to her own advantage.  She’s determined to get great-grandchildren!

So how do you feel about coincidences?  Do you believe in Fate?  Or when mysterious coincidences happen, do you just chalk them up to chance?  Have you ever had a serendipitous moment that changed your life?  I have an autographed set of my first three Hellion books for one of you who comments today!

www.sabrinajeffries.com
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Monday, January 10, 2011

A Lot Like Love


Happy New Year, everyone!

As we settle into 2011, I thought I’d take a moment to introduce you to my upcoming release, A LOT LIKE LOVE . 

THE FBI WANTS HER COOPERATION.

As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city’s top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there’s only one party the FBI wants to crash:  the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother’s release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.

AGENT McCALL JUST WANTS HER.

As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal.  This “date” with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment—one they’re both determined to pull off even if they can’t be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick’s investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they’re a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more . . .

The idea for A LOT LIKE LOVE came to me after my husband and I took a trip to Napa Valley.  I knew I wanted to write a contemporary romance with the wine industry as a backdrop—after all, wine and romance go hand-in-hand—but also knew I needed to do some research.  Sure, I knew a little about wine, but I needed to learn more if I wanted to write a heroine who owns a wine store.  So I interviewed the owner of my local wine shop and shadowed her for a day, and I also took a wine appreciation course.  (Not exactly a hardship, I know.)


I had a ton of fun doing my research, and I hope to bring that feeling—that fun—to A LOT LIKE LOVE.  The heroine of the book, Jordan Rhodes, isn’t merely a wine store owner, she also happens to be a billionaire heiress.  She’s smart and sophisticated and not accustomed to meeting guys like the hero, the tall, dark, and smoldering Special Agent Nick McCall.  Unlike the Ralph-Lauren-and-Italian-loafer-wearing types Jordan usually encounters as part of the crème de la crème of Chicago society, Nick is rugged, sarcastic, and wholly unimpressed with the wine scene.  Although the sparks fly when the two first meet, they have to find a way to get along because they both want one thing: for the undercover operation to succeed.

A LOT LIKE LOVE features one of my favorite romantic comedy tropes—the couple that has to pretend to be dating.  Combine that with a little opposites attract dynamic, a set-up between a wealthy businesswoman/heiress and a rough-around-the-edges FBI agent from Brooklyn, and the proverbial high jinks ensue.

I’m really excited about A LOT LIKE LOVE, which will be released on March 1.  To find out more about the book, you can read an excerpt at my website, www.JulieJames.com.

In the meantime, I’m busy working on my next book, which features the brother of the heroine in A LOT LIKE LOVE, who’s both a billionaire heir and a convicted felon.  I’m thinking that’s not a combination you see every day . . .

In the spirit of the New Year, I’m also running a giveaway.  All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us your favorite romantic comedy trope.  Or share your favorite opposites attract book/movie.  Or feel free to ask a question about A LOT LIKE LOVE.  One randomly selected person will win an ARC of A LOT LIKE LOVE.

Happy reading!

 
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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

MORE IS LESS

I’ll admit that I barely batted an eye when, in the grand, cosmic scheme of  crazy calendars, I wound up with a book  release date (SCARED TO DEATH, AVON, on sale December 28) just three days before a book deadline (NIGHTCRAWLER, the first in my new Avon trilogy coming in 2012)—and squarely in the midst of  the holidays, at the tail end of the year.

After all, I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of person who rolled with things. In the midst of ghost-writing a celebrity novel when my firstborn decided to make an early entrance. He was born on a Friday after 47 hours of hard labor. I came home from the hospital on Sunday and was back at my desk first thing Monday with the baby cozily strapped into a snuggli against me as I tapped away on the keyboard.

Flash forward fifteen—wow, almost sixteen!—years.

As this past December marched on, I found myself frantically scrambling to finish writing one book while preparing to tour for another amid a frenzy of holiday baking and wrapping and visiting—and not truly enjoying any of the things I used to love. Writing, travel, family, friends, holidays…suddenly, it was all just too much.

When, I wondered, had laid-back Author-Wife-Mom checked out so that  stressed-out  insomnia-ridden Author-Wife-Mom could take her place?  When had life become one enormous, joyless to-do list, a string of chaotic, exhausting days and sleepless nights?

It came on gradually, I realized. Looking back over the year—the last few years, really—I see that the more I accomplish, the more I want to accomplish and believe I can accomplish. Little by little, I reach and strive to do just a little more—and I always manage to get it all done efficiently, and on time.  But at what expense?

Ambition is great. Goals are admirable. Without those things, I wouldn’t be where I am today. But in the end, always trying to do more, more, MORE gave me less.  Less down time, that is—and it’s the down time that really matters, right? The time we spend relaxing and enjoying life, sleeping and eating and reading and laughing and loving; living.

I’ve decided that’s going to be my new year’s resolution this year. To do less—and live more. To put off until tomorrow the things I don’t really have to do today. That’s right—procrastination is my goal! What is yours? Be sure to comment below and let us know! Everyone who comments will be entered into a random drawing for an autographed copy of SCARED TO DEATH!

PS I’m off to a great start on procrastinating—I’ve put off my resolution until next week! The Christmas tree is still up, NIGHTCRAWLER made it to my editor’s desk on time, and I’m about to fly to California for ALA and several appearances to promote SCARED TO DEATH. Check out my tour schedule and read an excerpt at www.wendycorsistaub.com, and be sure to friend me at www.facebook.com/wendycorsistaub !

 

 
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