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Monthly Archives: April 2012

Retreat!

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I’ve been busy preparing for a writers’ retreat this weekend, preparing leftover meals for the family, baking my go-to oatmeal cookies (taking half, leaving half with the family to keep them in charity with me), getting a new laptop to replace the one that died a few years ago (my multi-draft writing takes a toll on technology), and generally getting psyched.

My friends and I have been doing these retreats for years and our formula is pretty fool-proof: a house on Cayuga Lake, laptops, notes, food, wine and chocolate. We write a lot during the day and in the evenings, we chat and watch romantic films.

I always come out with fresh ideas and often a big jump in the wordcount for my mess-in-progress. However, I learned during the earlier retreats that success doesn’t come from pushing too hard. It’s a good idea to think about goals beforehand, but once there, I just trust the process and let myself enjoy it.  I won’t check wordcount or the clock, or check if I’m on track.  I just enjoy my friends, the lake and the story, wherever it goes.  If I get stuck and the writing ceases to be fun, I switch gears. I go for a walk, I paddle on the lake, I meditate. If one of my friends isn’t busy, we may brainstorm. Or I might even take a nap! I go with the flow and something always works.

Friends of mine are going to the New England Chapter conference this weekend. I hope they have a wonderful, inspiring time.  It’s a conference I’ve enjoyed in the past but right now, getting my balloonist story finished is top priority.  As with retreats, I think it’s good to have goals for a conference. It’s also good to totally forget about them and be open to surprises.
Do you have anything fun and/or productive planned for this weekend?  How do you get yourself psyched for success?
Elena
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Another Retreat…

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I’m just getting caught up on Risky Regencies posts (and everything else), because I, like Elena, have been to a Retreat. Mine was more conference-like–Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat, always titled In The Company of Writers.

The WRW Retreat is more conference-like, because there are workshops and speakers but it is also retreat-like, because we dress casually and the number of attendees stays small, about 110 this year.  No paddling on a lake, like Elena could do, but lots and lots of mixing with friends, old and new.

As in other years, the agents and editors attending are always asked what is selling these days; what is hot.

Contemporaries, especially small town stories and romances, are doing well, apparently. But all agreed that a good book will find its home and as soon as someone declares something won’t sell, a wonderful book will burst out and become the next big trend. They said it was much more important to feel passionate about the book you are writing than to try to write to trends.

One of the editors said that Regency remains an appeal because readers feel they know the time period and are comfortable there.

Mary Jo Putney talked about her 29 years in publishing and about her return to the Regency genre after writing some contemporaries, fantasies, and YA. Mary Jo also very much advocated writing what you are passionate about and, in the past, she took some big chances with her career to do just that.

What I took away from all this, was how important it is to write a book you are passionate about, no matter what the genre or subgenre.

Speaking of Mary Jo, she said her new release, No Longer A Gentleman, is on bookstore shelves. If you’ve purchased the book before today, check to see if page 362 is missing. A printing error left out page 362 in the first printed books. Ebooks are complete. Go to Mary Jo’s website for the text of the missing page.

Speaking of subgenres. Amanda’s blog yesterday was posted late. Go there and read all about The Taming of The Rogue, Amanda’s latest. Look at its fabulous cover and post a comment for a chance to win a signed copy!

What do you think? Can you tell if the author is passionate about the book you are reading?

Come to Diane’s Blog on Thursday for more about the WRW Retreat.

 

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Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Buy My Book

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The book is The Malorie Phoenix and to save time you don’t have to read the rest of the post but you can go here for to buy for Nook and here for Kindle.

    1. There is a villain called E****! No kidding (I think you can guess a villain-type name). Not a spoiler, he’s so obviously up to no good from his first oily manifestation on the page, when he oozes his way into the heroine’s life with a Nefarious Scheme.
    2. H/h first have sex by fireworks in Vauxhall Gardens.
    3. There’s a secret baby!
    4. I narrowly escaped yet another sex in the maze scene later in the book, when, realizing I had one in both Dedication and A Most Lamentable Comedy, I hurriedly rewrote it to be sex in the stable. With horses watching. As you know, the use of sex scenes in mazes is rigidly administered by the Regency Police and I am licensed for only two every five years. Too late I remembered some heavy breathing in the presence of a horse in Improper Relations.
    5. (Yes, I’m cross-selling)
    6. There’s an awesome book trailer, for which CPE Bach very kindly composed the music:

  • There is a super awesome tagline: She plays a deadly game but nothing is as dangerous as love.
  • The hero has one of the best-ever names in Romancelandia–Benedict de Malorie, Earl of Trevisan. I just love those vaguely Frenchified “we came over with the Normans” type names.
  • But there’s another character in the book called Evelina Stanley who was named in honor of my friend’s late golden retriever mix (whose name was Stanley, not Evelina. The dog, not the friend). The heroine is called Jenny.
  • … and finally–THE CLINCHER, LET’S MAKE A DEAL–this is my cheapest book ever! $3.99! Go for it.

 

If you are a genuine blogger or reviewer you can request a review copy from NetGalley.

Would you like to win a copy of The Malorie Phoenix? Give me your reasons why you are qualified to win (although as usual the random.org thing will apply): did you have a hamster named Stanley? A haddock named Edwin? An exciting experience in a maze? I will give away two copies and announce the winners on Friday evening at about 10 pm, so you must either leave a neutered version of your email address or make sure you check in then.

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | Tagged , | 12 Replies