Thursday, October 28, 2010

In Review...

This review was a nice surprise :D

"A fun, sexy, inventive contemporary romance ..." and
"This book kept surprising me, with realistic insight from the characters like the moment Sophie realizes “she could not handle a casual relationship with David”, and when David realizes “How wonderful life would be if he could just trust himself to be who she thought he was.” I enjoyed it, and I’m not the only one..." Read React Review
And my favorite part? It was a very well written review :D I just love that. It usually has me looking around the site for more reccomendations.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Pink Heart Society: Slushing Through : Conferences

The Pink Heart Society: Slushing Through : Conferences: "The Pink Heart Society editor Jenna Bayley-Burke put on her big girl golashes and slushed through a regional conference. She's back, shari..."

Friday, October 01, 2010

Thinking

The article in the Slate spurred more articles of the not so flattering nature. I'm trying to laugh it off. You know what's helping?

It sold at least one copy of Compromising Positions to a reader who wrote a review and said "I read an article on Slate about how this novel was porn. lol There isn't very much sex in the book, but the build up to it is great! " It doesn't get better than that. Thank you Terri Sprague :D You made my day.

And thanks to Caleb Hannan who wrote in Seattle Weekly "Slate reports on the "strange" rise of e-reader pornography. A rise that's only strange if you're a Quaker. (And even then not so much.) "

Finally, the voice of reason!

** Come and see me tomorrow night at the Emerald City Writers Conference Book Fair & Author Signing at the Bellevue Hilton 4-6pm **

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Polishing The Slate

I'm polishing a workshop I'm giving at Emerald City Writers Conference this weekend - Mommies Guide to Writing Around Kids. MG Braden & I have 6 kids between us and have written through death, illness, pregnancy, job loss ...we have lots of material beyond the simple tell them to play outside or put the baby down for a nap.

I love giving workshops that are interactive. Takes the pressure off of the whole having people stare at me bit. So, I'm going through my notes, rewriting my bits, and collecting prizes for the brave folks who participate in my games. This is the fun side of being an author.

The not so fun? An article in The Slate that uses the success of Compromising Positions to make a point about porn and self-publishing. Huh? The three tenets of the article don't apply to my book since it's not free ($4.40 from the link provided in the article), porn (the journalist even states no one would consider it such), or self-published (Samhain isn't even all that small of a publishing house anymore!). But, the writer opted to use my book as a stepping off point. Which is...well, I honestly don't know how to feel about it.

I do want to answer the question he posed at the end. "will the presence of e-books like Compromising Positions at the top of Amazon's charts sully the e-reader's reputation?"

Romance novels make the world a softer, more tolerable place. Whenever the world darkens - globally from natural disasters, nationally from economy or personally from tragedy - people turn to romance novels for a reminder that people are good, things will get better, and love can heal.

e-readers and romance novels have a similar reputation. They sell like fans during the first heat wave of summer, are read by the smartest and most educated, and yet are looked down on. It doesn't make sense, but it also doesn't matter.

Romance publishers have been at the forefront of the digital revolution and I'm sure e-reader manufacturers have been happy for the support. So, what would the presence of a romance novel mean to Kindle? Probably that they're doing something right.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

I Love Vegas

I'm just back from a trip to Las Vagas with Hubba Bubba to celebrate his birthday. We had a great time. Lots of highlights - the water show at Bellagio, Sirens of Treasure Island, volcano at Mirage, flamingos at The Flamingo, lions at MGM...and that was just the free stuff!

There was a slot machine called True Romance, so even though I wasn't my cutest, I had to take a picture. And after it ate my dollar, I went back to my favorite machine - Invaders From The Planet Moolah!


We were lucky enough to catch three Cirque du Soliel shows - Mystere, Zumanity, and KA. They were all phenomenal. Zumanity is the funniest, KA the most amazing. The entire theater is the stage. Love, love, loved it!

There were great restaurants like Emeril's, trying an oxygen bar, a comedy magic show...and The Price Is Right. Well, the live edition. Still, it was fun and hosted by Joey Fatone which warmed my 16-year-old *NSYNC lovin' heart.

Now I just need to go back.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Summer Vacation : Part The 3rd

The icing on our summer cake was a gorgeous wedding. Hubba Bubba's brother & his bride really know how to throw a party! At their 3-day wedding extravaganza a good time was had by all.

After the rehearsal, the guests trekked over to Hamilton Mountain for a hike followed by a BBQ. The hike was...vertical. Not great since my orthotic inserts were in my work-out shoes. (I've been working through platar faciaitis and heel spurs, but there wasn't enough cortizone in the world for that hike). I made it until the trail split with this warning :: Hardy Creek Trail - Difficult. Hamilton Mountain - Even More Difficult.

I headed back down, while the other hikers pushed onward. A few of them may be bionic...I'm not naming names.

Once everyone made it back to the picnic area, we had a great time visiting until Sebastian arrived. Who is Sebastian? The pig roasted for the event. If that doesn't make you go vegan, nothing ever will.


The group made plans to meet for a run the next morning. We opted for a hike to find the lakes and spy on the golf course...and were passed by the runners! They were all so sweet not to laugh...especially the best man who mowed a jogging stroller right past us with only a slight spray of dust.

The sun got brighter with each moment as the evening wedding neared. Hubba Bubba had to arrive early to help seat people or whatever it is that ushers do. I came later...and when he was done he asked where his speech was. Um yeah...instead of watching the bride walk down the aisle I was racing through the lodge, running just as fast as the marathoners of the morning to get the speech and get back to the ampitheater before he had to talk.

I made it...but hadn't quite caught my breath when he was called to speak. His mother and aunt liked his speech and said it was well-written...which made me smile.

Next came a cocktail hour while the family ran through the obligatory photos. Then it was on to the reception. I kind of feel I should mention the crab cakes and bacon wrapped scallops and raspberry lemon drops and huckleberry sours...only to be topped by the Stecato Gelato cart and homemade cookies!

The bride & groom asked for song suggestions on their RSVP cards...and they had a great band who was able to move between Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, country, funk, rock...it was amazing how diverse they were...and how many people stayed on the dance floor! Very few wallflowers in this bunch! We even danced together -- 7 songs! I really think he doubled as much as he's danced in our whole married life in one night!

An amazing couple, loving family, fantastic friends, delicious food, gorgeous setting, and a truly great party! It could not have been more perfect.

And now...school is in and I need to get back to work. I need to get a novel polished and submitted to my editor before I head to the Emerald City Writers conference next month. I need iron out the wrinkles in the workshop I'm giving there. Oh...and I'm taking an overdue vacation with Hubba Bubba. Just me and my mister.

September is a beautiful thing!