So I’ve just had a ARC giveaway over at Smart Bitches. The good news is, it was really fun. The bad news is, the giveaway is now closed. BUT, because I’m such a big softy, I’m having a consolation giveaway on my Facebook author page. Ha, you didn’t even know I had one of those, did you? Most days I don’t either. All this multiplicity of social media makes my head spin. But since it is there, we might as well climb that mountain. So head on over right now and post a comment in the giveaway announcement. No need to say anything witty, you just can write, “Ima Reader wuz here” or “Want book” and that will count. We’ll hold that open for 72 hours.
And if you don’t get lucky there, I’m giving away another copy on March 29 on author Ashley March’s blog.
Now onto Other Stuff.
1) AT YOUR PLEASURE is out next week. Have you pre-ordered your copy yet? If not, why not?
2) TEMPTING THE BRIDE has a cover and it’s a good one.
I love her face. That is the perfect face for Helena, the heroine of the book, who will most definitely be glancing toward the hero with that look of challenge in her eyes.
I am on my knees in prayer that the book will be as good as the cover. It is still being worked on and will prolly be worked on until Berkley comes to take the pages out of my cold, cramped hands to hand them to production. That’s the thing about secondary characters in other books–they always seem so interesting. And holy @#$%, the hero of TEMPTING THE BRIDE submits an illustrated erotic manuscript to Helena, a publisher, in book 2 of the trilogy–I’d call that interesting. How to do it so that they don’t suddenly become boring in their own book? The stress has very nearly wrecked my wrists.
(When I get stressed I play casual games, esp. the time management variety–the irony. Those are hard on the wrists, even more so if you play them on a laptop. There were a couple of weeks when I had radiating pain shooting up and down my wrists and forearms. I even purchased some braces on Meredith’s advice. But since then I’d come to my senses and uninstalled some of my favorite games and my wrists are back to being okay. Phew.)
(Isn’t that awful? There are writers whose wrists are damaged by actual work. And here I am, damaged by fun.) 🙂
3) And you thought 3 books out in a year is a lot. Well, as it turns out, I am also part of an anthology featuring Courtney Milan and Carolyn Jewel titled MIDNIGHT SCANDALS. We are self-pubbing it August of this year and the price point will prolly be something like $2.99. Cheap thrills, folks, cheap thrills. 🙂
4) This does not really affect readers in North America much, but my books are not available for legitimate downloads in UK, ANZ, or other markets because Random House, which publishes my backlist, does not have world English rights and cannot offer them for sale outside of the U.S. (They can export physical copies, but cannot directly sell digital copies on such platforms as Amazon.)
But I can. And I will, very soon. Working with my agency, we are in the process of making my books available on Kindle overseas (Amazon is the only one that lets me select the territories, so I don’t step on RH’s toes here in N.A.). We’ve the covers. I’ve already proofed PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS and DELICIOUS and will be proofing the other two shortly.
The overseas editions will actually be slightly improved over their domestic counterparts, as the RH ebooks didn’t have the proper accent marks for either books when foreign phrases were involved. Also, all the occurrences of the word “madam” in DELICIOUS, used to address the character of the Dowager Duchess were changed to “madame”s–in both paper & e editions–after I had done my final proofing, without my knowledge, which quite frustrated me, as one simply do not go around calling an Englishwoman “madame” for no reason. So now only the French cook will be addressed as madame. Which probably matters to no one else, but really matters to me.
(And oeufs à la neige had been turned into something that made no sense at all in the e-edition, at least. So that is also now correct.)
It was interesting to read PA, which I hadn’t read since I proofed it for publication. I think my taste in prose has become more spare, at least in the simile/metaphor department. There were times when I thought to myself, this is verging on florid, but I usually left the prose as written. However there was one particular simile, something like “thoughts in his head streaked wildly like chickens at a weasel invasion” that stopped me cold. As it was in the middle of a dead serious scene, I was like, yeah, time to wield the mighty delete button here.
I also corrected for a few Americanisms that I hadn’t known about then, a couple of minor research errors, some conversion-related punctuation errors and word breaks and that’s pretty much it. Not sure about the exact dates they will be released into the wild, but I think definitely before the release of BEGUILING THE BEAUTY in May.
5) I will be speaking at quite a few RWA chapters this year, starting with a keynote gig at the Connecticut Fiction Fest in May, then on the the San Francisco Chapter in June, the National Conference in Anaheim in July, to which I’ll bring my new subtext workshop, the Orange County Chapter in August, North Texas Chapter in Forth Worth, TX and the Buns & Roses event in Richardson, TX both in October, and to round it out, a daylong gig at the West Houston Chapter in November. Dates and whatnot are on the front page of my website.
6) Foreign Covers
There is no escaping them! 😀
First up, German re-release of Delicious.
Now, Indonesian Delicious.
I am happy any time there is food on a Delicious cover and here is food aplenty.
Beautiful cover for Tempting the Bride! And can’t wait to see you this summer!
Squee! Will you be coming down to Anaheim then?
Definitely coming, whether or not I officially attend Nationals. Still trying to decide about that.
You definitely don’t need to officially attend to be there and have a good time!
Beautiful covers, and that’s great news about the e-books. (So–what *did* oeufs à la neige turn into?)
I’m so glad we’ll have FOUR new Sherry Thomas stories this year. Take care of those wrists!
The wrists are pretty okay now that I’ve torn myself away from those darned games. 🙂
And oeufs à la neige turned into blanc et neige. I had a total WTF moment when I saw that meaningless phrase.
You’ve written three new books, one short story and are proofing four of your backlist books. When do you sleep and eat? Have you been out of the house this past year? LOL After you turn in the third book are you planning to take some well deserved time off or jump into another book?
LOL, I’m all right, maybe a little underslept at times but certainly eating plenty! I’m not quite sure there will be time for a holiday this year but there is always next year. This is what I want to do, so no complaints.
Wow. My favorite of your covers yet. That model is killing it.
Odd that they decided to include a face on this one, when the previous two in the series are faceless. I wonder if there was some change in the art-direction staff? But they’re all great covers. Still can’t get over the bodacious figure of that Beguiling the Beauty model 🙂
And that bodacious figure is after I asked for her cups to be reduced a couple of sizes. My first reaction to the original cover was pretty much a hypnotized “Boobs…booobs…”
Her facial expression, however, was a bit vacant, so we cut her off at the lips. I really wanted the next model to have her face showing, as she had a good face for Millie from RAVISHING THE HEIRESS. But my editor didn’t like her face so that was nixed.
This time I begged for it. Her expression was so perfect I was like, let’s keep her face, please, please. And we did.
West Houston, that’s my chapter. I’m so there! I love that cover, by the way. The shadow between her legs is so unexpected! I mean, we, great expression, yes.
The what between her legs? Holy smoke, didn’t even notice that until now.
Yeah, err, great expression indeed.
(Look forward to seeing you in November!)
I just read the interview at Smart Bitches, and since it’s too late to comment over there, I’d like to elaborate on my “like reading a really good Loretta Chase book” comment here. The characters and storyline aren’t like Loretta Chase, but what was like it was the reading experience — I stayed up all night reading and had a great big grin on my face almost the whole time. I could see the similarity to Ivory’s Beast, too, but Beguiling the Beauty was just so darn much fun.
Go forth and enter the Facebook giveaway!
Thank you! Such a compliment!
Tempting the Bride should be fun too. So the trilogy is like two slices of fun at the ends with a double-serving of angst in the middle. 🙂
I second Kim’s questions. What were you THINKING, taking on all of that? My wrists hurt in sympathy.
The Richardson library is sponsoring Buns & Roses?! My cousin’s best friend works there. I might be due for another visit to the Texas part of the family in October. Hmmm.
Congratulations on the new series! While I’m waiting for the first book, I’ll be reading At Your Pleasure and generally pestering Meredith 🙂
I can’t wait to read At Your Pleasure. Janine was blown away by it.
I hope to see you at the Buns & Roses event if you make it!!
i really do like the expression on that model’s face for the cover.
Not that I love them a whole lot, but no more clinch covers? Just wondering because the new reissues had clinch covers and wondering it was going to be the new thing (or is this not the trend anymore versus the pretty dress poses?)
I’m with a different publisher now. I think Berkley have had some good successes with their single lady covers and I’m by all means thrilled not to see mantitty. 🙂
Soooo excited for the trilogy! And the short story!!! Woot! Will your story in the anthology be related to the characters in the trilogy? (Not that it matters—I’ll be reading them all, regardless!)
Yes, definitely related. The heroine of the novella is a major secondary character in Ravishing the Heiress.
*raises hand*
I also play time management games when I get stressed. My husband does not understand. Neither do I. It’s not exactly what I would call “fun.”
And it is hell on the wrists.
Also, I know for a fact that Apple lets you select territories. I’m pretty sure that Overdrive and Google do, too.
My husband is frankly baffled by my addiction to time management games. I, however, do understand it. It is those clinky, swooshy sounds. I can’t get enough of them. Instant approval!!!
I’ll be sure to let Lori at NLA know about Apple, Overdrive & Google.