Category: Risky Book Talk

Posts in which we talk about our own books

Cover fix and giveaway

Updated on September 6, 2013 by Elena Greene

The cover for the paperback version of Fly with a Rogue is fixed now. It took a little longer than I’d hoped, but that’s what I get for finding problems over a holiday weekend! Anyway, the paperback is available at Createspace right now and will be up on Amazon soon. Which means I can do a giveaway. 🙂

I never did talk about what is risky about this book. Basically, the whole premise seemed risky to me, based on the lukewarm response I got from the few industry professionals to whom I pitched the idea, years ago.

One told me I needed a sexier idea than a balloonist hero and suggested I try writing a courtesan story. The problem was that I’d read some good courtesan stories and couldn’t think of a fresh take on the concept.

Another seemed puzzled by the combination of my hero Gil’s military backstory and ballooning. The mix of dark and light elements didn’t make sense to her. I probably didn’t pitch it well, because at the time I didn’t have a clear idea of where the story was going. Most of my stories emerge in the writing.

But this story was the one I really wanted to work on. Once my husband had recovered enough from his stroke that I had a few hours here and there to write, I resolved to make those hours as fun and fulfilling as possible. I decided not to worry about the market, because who knew if or when I would ever finish. I’m still not sure Fly with a Rogue fits with market trends—not a duke or duchess in sight, though I’ve been seeing “rogue” in a lot of titles lately. I’m just glad I finally managed to give Gil and Emma their happy ending.

So, for the chance to win one of five paperback copies, let me know what trends you enjoy in Regency era romance. Anything you’d like to see more of? I’ll pick winners next Thursday and announce on Friday.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

P.S. I still haven’t heard from the following winners of the e-book version: bn100 and Annette. Please email me at elena @ elenagreene.com (no spaces) and let me know if you prefer Kindle, Nook or a Smashwords coupon.

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk | Tagged Fly with a Rogue | 24 Replies

Stuff happens and winners!

Updated on August 30, 2013 by Elena Greene

This picture is an example of the sort of week I’ve been having.

See the pretty page proof of Fly with a Rogue on the left? It’s actually the second of three proofs I ordered for checking out updates to the paperback version. Nice cover, right? And that’s just as it was in the first page proof. But there were still some issues to be addressed in the interior, so after making corrections, I ordered the third page proof. In the rush to check the interior, I didn’t take a close look at the cover. After all, it was good in the previous two proofs and I hadn’t changed the file, right?

My bad. Next time I will check everything, every time. For now, I’m going to wait until the cover is fixed—which should be soon—before I do a giveaway of the paperback copy.

Other Stuff That Went Wrong this week. One of the support cylinders for the trunk of my hard-working, much-loved but soon-to-be-replaced Subaru Outback broke, so now it takes two people to load or unload anything, one to hold the trunk open, one to handle the stuff. An important message to the narrator of the audiobook for Lady Dearing’s Masquerade didn’t go through for whatever reason—and with no error reported, so I didn’t know until I sent her another note that she hadn’t gotten the first. Anyway, she’s now working diligently to make up for the lost time, which I appreciate!

So nothing terrible, just little annoyances and setbacks. So how was your week? Any accomplishments? Any setbacks, large or small, you’d like to share?

But first let me announce the winners of the e-book version of Fly with a Rogue. Congratulations to:

HJ
Nancy
bn100
Annette
Shelley Munro

Please email me at elena @ elenagreene.com (no spaces) and let me know the correct email to use for the gift and if you prefer a Kindle, Nook or Smashwords copy.

So let me know how your week has been going!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Giveaways, Risky Book Talk, Risky Regencies | Tagged Fly with a Rogue, Lady Dearing's Masquerade audio book | 4 Replies

A Frivolous Competition

Updated on August 27, 2013 by diane

Maybe it is because I’ve lost too many Words With Friends games lately, or maybe it is because I watched part of the Sonoma Grand Prix today, but I’m feeling competitive, so I’ve devised a Risky competition. A dumb one.

Game on! What Risky Book Commands The Highest Price On Ebay?

I even devised rules for the game.

1. Book must be a paperback
2. It must be Historical (leaving out some Jewel and Mullany books)
3. No novellas or double books
4. No special releases (leaving out a bunch of McCabe and Gaston books)
5. Written under our “Risky” names (No Diane Perkins books – Amanda sneaks in with her Laurel McKee because it is on the Risky site)
6. Book must mail from the US, because the UK and AU books (McCabe, Mullany, Gaston) are more costly by virtue of being far away.
7. Book must not sell directly from Barnes and Noble on ebay as Janet’s and Carolyn’s books do. That’s just wrong.

Here are the results in no special order except the winner comes last.

Susanna Fraser

Poor Susanna did not make it to the gate, but, in her case, this is a good thing. Because her books are ebook only, if they appeared on ebay they’d likely be pirated versions, so we are glad she is not running this race. We will, however, put up the cover of her latest book, A Dream Defiant, out now!!

Gail Eastwood

Gail has a very respectable offering in An Unlikely Hero (1996) which has a Buy It Now price of $7.99

Myretta Robens

Myretta lags a bit behind Gail. Her Just Say Yes (2005), the book that finalled for the 2006 RITA Award for Best Regency Romance, is going for $5.98.

Laurel McKee

Laurel is pretty far ahead with Duchess of Sin (2011) at $9.75. Can anybody beat her?

Megan Frampton

Megan’s 2005 Regency, A Singular Lady, slips back in the pack with a $5.98 price tag, but if you don’t have this delightful book, you might want to snap it up. This is the only copy for sale on ebay.

Elena Greene

Elena’s 2005 Regency (2005 was a GREAT year for Regencies), Lady Dearing’s Masquerade , sprinted past Laurel with a cost of $10.62. She’s the girl to beat.

Amanda McCabe

Amanda just squeaked past Megan with A Notorious Woman (2007), one of her early Harlequin Historicals, set in romantic Venice, for sale at $6.99, not enough to catch up to Gail and way behind herself/Laurel and Elena.

Diane Gaston

A surprising surge for my Valiant Soldier, Beautiful Lady (2011), passing Elena and Megan at $7.86. Why this book? Why not one of the older, harder to find ones? I am so close to Gail, by the way, I could just reach over and knock her off her…..never mind!!!

Carolyn Jewel

Wait a minute!! Carolyn just streaked past me with Not Wicked Enough (2012) at $9.75. She’s pumping her legs hard to catch up to Elena. The race is getting exciting!

Elena’a struggling, too, though, to catch up to the leader. One of us is way ahead!

Janet Mullany

The first place winner is Janet! Her Jane and the Damned (2010) is crossing the finish line at a speed–I mean–cost of $13.88. That passes even the Laurels in this group.

Personally, I think vampires should be excluded (well, I think that now. In fact, I just thought of it this second)

Which reminds me, I never thought of a prize….I think the prize should be the satisfaction of a race well-run. What do you think? What should the prize of this competition be?????

Posted in Anything but writing, Risky Book Talk | Tagged eBay, game, Regency | 11 Replies

Busy at home and RITA changes

Updated on July 19, 2013 by Elena Greene

Part of me wishes I could be at RWA. It’s been years since I’ve seen many of my writing friends. However, the logistics involved in leaving my disabled husband for that many days make it complicated. Not impossible, but complicated.

This year, I’ve actually been too busy to pine (much).

After mulling the top two auditions, both very good, I picked a narrator, Robin Rowan, for the audio book version of Lady Dearing’s Masquerade (cover shown here). I look forward to working with her, because she makes my story sound so good!

I’m continuing to edit Fly with a Rogue to address comments received through critique. Last week I compared being critiqued to sitting in the dentist’s chair. This week it’s more like therapeutic massage. It takes some pressure to work out the knots, but it feels so good afterwards!

I’m also excited to hear that the RITAs will now be open to-self published books. This is partly on a personal note, as I will be able to enter Fly with a Rogue this year. The opportunity for peer recognition is not critical for me—I had already decided, for business reasons, to self-publish this book—but it is nice to know I have the option.

On an organizational level, I think it’s very important. If the purpose of the RITAs is to “promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding published romance novels and novellas”, it doesn’t make sense to exclude self-published romances, many of which have already hit the New York Times, USA Today, and other bestseller lists. As I understand it, entrants will have to be eligible for RWA’s Published Authors Network, which means the contest will be open only to authors with a proven record of sales.

There will also be a new category for erotic romance, which many authors of erotic romance have been asking for. I know there are others who say erotic romance should just be entered in whichever category fits otherwise (paranormal, historical, etc…) I understand their point, but I also know that there are judges whose reaction to extremes of sexuality in a book can impair their ability to judge fairly. Allowing those judges to choose not to opt in for the erotic romance category should help ensure better judging.

I haven’t read enough erotic romance to know for sure if this is always true, but in the ones I’ve read, sexual awakening or healing is an important part of the characters’ journey. This is in addition to being part of the relationship development, as it would be in sexy romances in other categories. The special role of sexuality in an erotic romance is also another argument for a unique category.

What do you all think of the RITA changes?

I hope everyone is having a great time in Atlanta and I’m looking forward to seeing pictures here!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Risky Book Talk, Writing | Tagged RITA, RWA | 4 Replies

Excerpt from FLY WITH A ROGUE

Updated on July 12, 2013 by Elena Greene

I’m busy editing Fly with a Rogue based on critique partner input. Like going to the dentist, critique is something you wouldn’t do if it wasn’t good for you. But it’s going well.

Here’s an excerpt, near the beginning of the story. Gil Manning crashes his balloon and after a brief first meeting with local schoolmistress Emma Westfield, he passes out due to a concussion. He is brought to her cottage where she watches him through the night, having been warned by the surgeon that he might never revive.

He was a flirt and a daredevil, there was no doubt of that. A gambler. A gentleman, perhaps an officer sold out since Waterloo. She wondered if he’d known . . . but how likely was that? Yet how could she not think about it? She’d seen the scars, the result of bullets and swords piercing his flesh. Scars that could not obscure the beauty of a healthy male body.

She blinked away a tear. Lud! She hadn’t cried in ages. What was the matter with her now?

She knew what was the matter.

It was the look of childlike innocence Manning wore in sleep, as he might in death. Had Charles looked so when he died? Had he thought of her? Perhaps, regretted . . .?

Charles . . . my love . . .

She caught herself whispering the words aloud. Now she was going mad.

But Manning did not wake. Perhaps his spirit was already beyond reach. Did he have a wife or a sweetheart who would mourn him?
Tears blurred her vision as she leaned over him. His mouth was surely made for smiling. For laughing. For kissing. Grief welled up along with the feeling that he might never do any of those things again.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. They were cool and unresponsive.

Then they parted.

She jerked back, saw his eyes flutter open.

“Don’t stop now,” he whispered.