Jane Porter's Blog, page 27

Pre-Release Event in NJ & Good Daughter Giveaway

Just two weeks left until The Good Daughter hits shelves, the reviews are coming in (they’re good!), and I’m continuing to finalize travel details for my East Coast book tour, which now includes a pre-release party in beautiful Northvale, New Jersey on February 4th.

This is a new event to my schedule and time is getting short so help me get the word out about this fun new addition to my book tour if you can!

 Not near Northvale?   Remember I’ll also be visiting -

*Cranford, NJ on February 5th

*Albany, NY on February 6th

*Springfield, MA on February 7th

You’ll find more info for each of these dates on my Events page, with these four events just the start of many more to come.

And to keep my pre-release theme going, I’m pairing the announcement of my pre-release event at Books & Greetings with a pre-release giveaway of The Good Daughter!  Want a chance to win one of two advanced reading copies of Kit’s story?  Just tell me which of the Brennan Sisters is your favorite (you’d probably have to have read The Good Woman to answer this one…) OR tell me if you’ve got any sisters, and where you fall in your family’s birth order.

This is a short contest and I’ll be drawing the two winners on Friday sometime before 3 pm PST.  If you’re one of the winners, and want to read this book early, check back to see if you won, and if so, email me your address ASAP so I can get your prize out in the mail on Saturday.  Even better, the arc of The Good Daughter is only one of the fun things in your very cool, California prize box so enter, enter, enter!

And speaking of prizes…have you checked on the last contest or two to see if you won?  I’ve still got a couple prize boxes sitting on the corner of my desk.

Talk to me and with any luck, you will be one of the two people reading The Good Daughter next week!

 

Original article: Pre-Release Event in NJ & Good Daughter Giveaway

©2013 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Coming to a City Near You!

My book tour for The Good Daughter will kick off in early February and I wanted to make sure you’ve got all the details!  If you can, come see me, as I love meeting my readers, and you my readers, have become my friends.

The first four events of my book tour are all on the East Coast:

Monday, February 4th, 2013 :: 7:00pm

Pre-Release Event – The Good Daughter

Books & Greetings

Northvale Square Shopping Center

271 Livingston Street

Northvale, NJ 07647

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 :: 7:00pm

The Good Daughter - New Jersey Launch Party

Kilkenny House

112 South Avenue East

Cranford, NJ 07016

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 :: 6:30pm

The Good Daughter - New York Launch Party

The Olde English Pub & Pantry

683 Broadway

Albany, NY 12207

Thursday, February 7th, 2013 :: 7:00pm

Party in Springfield with Jane Porter

Mama Iguanas’

1150 West Colombus Ave

Springfield, MA

Then, I return to the West Coast via Portland, Oregon before heading down to Orange County:

Saturday, February 9th, 2013 :: 2:00pm

Afternoon Tea with Jane Porter Tea Court Lounge, with guest author TJ Brown!

The Heathman Hotel

1001 SW Broadway at Salmon

Portland, Oregon 97205

Sunday, February 10th, 2013 :: 2:00pm

Afternoon Tea with Jane Porter

The Posh Tea Room & Cafe

220 Avenida Del Mar

San Clemente, CA 92672

A week later I’m on the road again, with five days of events, including reader events in Atlanta (2/16), Raleigh, NC (2/17) Greater Detroit (2/19), Denver (2/24) and details for those and future events will be added soon.

However, the Atlanta tea in Roswell, is on my event page now, and the wonderful Wendy Wax will be joining me so RSVP soon as space is limited to the first 15 and three spots are filled already!

Saturday, February 16th, 2013 :: 2:00pm

Afternoon Tea With Jane Porter & Wendy Wax

The Roswell Teahouse in Historic Roswell

108 Magnolia Street

Roswell, GA 30075

Looking ahead to March:  Three more events will hit my calendar soon:

1)  Bellevue/Seattle, more cupcakes & conversation at Barnes & Noble on Sunday March 3rd at 2 pm

2) Central Valley, CA,  a Girls Night out in Fresno on Friday, March 8th

3) And Bay Area readers, hoping to do something with you all the weekend of March 23rd!

Whew.  Now back to writing and I can’t wait to see you all soon!!

Original article: Coming to a City Near You!

©2013 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Books, Fans & Friends

Crazy writing going on right now.  I am bouncing back and forth between chapters 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 as I often write out of order, and then weave scenes together.  Sometimes its useful and sometimes I just confuse the heck out of myself.  Monday I was horribly confused.  Yesterday, after writing until 8:30 pm, I went to bed, feeling a bit more clear.  Today will be about smoothing scenes that are good, adding in connecting scenes, and deleting scenes that don’t move the story forward (which is harder than it sounds because I foolishly get attached to the words I’ve written!).

But I can’t ignore the rest of the world just because I’m lost in my head and book.  The Good Daughter will be out really soon–in just 3 weeks–as is my very sweet, romantic cowboy reunion story, Be Mine, Cowboy, a Harlequin American Romance that is being released the same day as The Good Daughter, on February 5th.  Just a couple weeks after that, my intense, passionate Harlequin Presents, The Fallen Greek Bride, will be out so its exciting right now as I look ahead.

However, I wouldn’t be anywhere without my readers.  My readers are the reason I have three books out next month.  My readers are the reason I’m writing and publishing even when this industry is changing so fast it makes my head spin.

But the ups and downs of being a traditionally published author (meaning published by one of the big NY houses) have been significant, and the uncomfortable, disorienting roller coaster ride has made me question everything, including my desire to write.  But as you know from my blog a month ago, I’ve realized I still want to write…I just need to do it differently in the near future.  I don’t want to give up where I’ve been….I just want new opportunities, too, and a little more control.

So, I will be trying new publishing options this year.  I’ll be writing some shorter stories, like novellas, and I’ll also be writing more single title romance that is heavy on story, but not necessarily overly explicit.  I enjoy erotica and hot love scenes, but I don’t need to write them.  I need to write about women and their lives and their hearts and their dreams.  So that’s what I’ll be doing, and I’ll be self-publishing some, and others might go to an indie publishers, others to my current publishers, and others will be ebooks only.

Which makes me wonder, how many of you read on a Kindle, or a Kobo, or the Nook  (or even your iPad)?  If I had a story out in ebook format only, how many of you wouldn’t be able to read it?

If you can tell me in the comment section below, you’ll be entered to win prize package that includes a $30 gift certificate  (your choice from either B&N, Amazon, or Kobo) AND an advanced reading copy of The Good Daughter AND a copy of Cowboy Be Mine (yes, two sneak peeks at my books early!!) plus lots of fun JP reader goodies.  So this is a serious prize as I truly value your opinion.   The contest runs through Saturday night, January 12th, and I’ll announce the winner Sunday morning, Jan 13th.

So do be sure to let me know if you read on a device, what that device is, and if you don’t…

And before I get back to my book, I’d love to invite my die-hard readers who enjoy being active in the JP blog and reader community, to  join my new yahoo group Jane Porter Fans & Friends.  Be forewarned, it’s a combination of street team–meaning, I’m going to ask you to help me out, and promote me– and chit chat as a group, so we can build community.  I used to have a yahoo group from 2004-2007 and loved it, but closed it for a bulletin board that I didn’t enjoy half so much.  So after much soul searching, I’m starting up a new yahoo group, but its really about coming together with like-minded women, and giving me help so I don’t get lost as I strike out in new directions.  My JP yahoo group is going to be my foundation and my sounding board…I’ll want your advice, I’ll want your expertise, but most of all, I’ll want your friendship, because its no fun being alone.  I love being an author because I have you.

If you’re interested in the group, the link to join is:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JanePorterFansAndFriends/

Street teams aren’t for everyone, so please don’t feel obligated.  I will continue to have my blog, my contests here, my FB pages, and events, so you will never not have access to me!

xoxoxo

 

Original article: Books, Fans & Friends

©2013 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Introducing Special Guest, Author Teri Brown

I’m just about to leave for the airport to catch my flight home.  I’ve worked really hard this trip to Hawaii–haven’t gone to the beach or pool once, not even out for a walk as I put in 10-14 hours a day, every day for 9 days–but my dedication is nothing compared to my friend Teri Brown’s, who writes as T J Brown.

I will let Teri tell her story, but know this–I’ve known her for years and she isn’t just an angel…she’s a warrior!

~~~

Scoring a contract from one of the major publishers is a dream come true for an author. Getting two in the space of eight months takes the dream, sprinkles it with glitter and serves it up on a cloud of cotton candy. That’s pretty much where I was last spring after Gallery Books made me an offer on the Summerset Abbey series. I had already sold a young adult series to Balzer+Bray; this new opportunity propelled me forward into stay home and write status, especially since I had rapid-fire, back to back deadlines for the next eleven months. So I did what most self-respecting authors would do; I rearranged my life, quit my job and prepared to live the dream, baby.

Except that days after signing the Gallery contract, I was diagnosed with throat cancer.

In my dream, no one gets cancer.

As far as cancer goes, I guess I was lucky. The lymph nodes in my neck did their job and stopped the evil cells from spreading. The cancer was of a type very responsive to treatment, I wouldn’t have to have chemotherapy, blah, blah, blah. No, really, that’s kind of what it’s like when you’re diagnosed with cancer. You know you need to listen carefully, but shock turns everything into a blur. Honestly, after I heard that my chances of complete recovery were very high, I only had one thought.

My deadlines.

Throat radiation treatment is brutal. You get sores in your mouth. Your neck gets scorched. Your throat burns and swells. It hurts to swallow and eating is a nightmare. And at some point you’re on pain meds 24/7. But still, all I could think was my deadlines. So I put my head down and did what I had to do.

Looking back, the eight weeks of radiation treatments and three months of recovery is a blur. My pain, fear and uncertainty were off the charts, but so was my creativity. I went to treatment, I slept, I wrote. My God, how I wrote. Through a morphine and pain induced haze, I crafted sentences, checked historical details with my fact checker, worked with a freelance editor, and wrote scene, after scene, after scene.

As Jane can probably attest, there is a certain kind of creative craziness that develops when writing a novel in a short amount of time. It’s hard to describe. You know, of course, that things are going on in the real world all around you. You may even participate in taking care of your children and all the details of life, but on some level, your mind is a ferment of ideas, concepts, characters and plot problems. It’s like being two separate people, or maybe being one person with two minds.

I wrote two books during that time, Summerset Abbey and Summerset Abbey: Bloom in Winter. All my books are special to me, but Summerset Abbey can be credited with keeping me positive and focused during an incredibly tough time in my life.

In retrospect, I probably learned more about myself and my creativity in those five months than I ever have. I list a couple of them here even though none of them are new… they’re just truth.

Human beings are AMAZING and relationships really are the only things that matters. My family and friends gathered round and took care of life’s details so I wouldn’t have to think of anything but fighting the cancer and writing my books.  And in the end, when you’re gone, the only thing left of you is in the memories of your loved ones. Your possessions will NOT remember you.
My work matters. Whether or not I ever become a bestselling author does not, but to have respect for myself and my process keeps my art honest and honesty is what keeps it art.

People have said, “Oh, you’re so brave!” But it isn’t true. All I knew is that I was not going to allow cancer to define the career I had worked so incredibly hard for. I just did what I had to do. Women who raise children in sub-Saharan Africa, people who live with HIV, people who work long hours in a sweatshop to send their children to school–those people are brave. Or maybe, like me, they are just doing what they have to do.  Maybe that is what bravery is all about.

In celebration of the launch of SUMMERSET ABBEY, the first book in an awesome trilogy, I’m holding a book lovers contest.  All you have to do to enter is pre-order SUMMSERSET ABBEY through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, or through your local independent bookstore and then forward the e-receipt to: Teri(at)teribrownbooks.com.  My contest runs from January 3rd through January 14th.  Winner will be chosen at random and announced on January 15th, the day Summerset Abbey comes out!  Is that an awesome way to celebrate or what?

~~~

TJ Brown is passionate about books, writing, history, dachshunds and mojitos. If she could go back in time, she would have traveled back to England, 1910, Paris, 1927 or Haight-Ashbury, 1967. She resides in the burbs of Portlandia, where she appreciates the weirdness, the microbreweries, hoodies, Voodoo Donuts and the rain.

Thank you, TJ, for sharing with us today.  You are such an inspiration, and a joy to know.  I really adore you and am so proud of you, too!  xoxox

Readers, I’m giving away five copies of  Summerset Abbey, Starbucks drink cards, and lots of fun JP reader goodies.  The contest runs through Jan 9th and I’ll announce the 5 winners on Thursday morning, the 10th.  But if you don’t win—you can still pre-order your copy now (and enter Teri’s contest!) and the books will ship January 15th.  What a wonderful way to start a new year!

 

 

Original article: Introducing Special Guest, Author Teri Brown

©2013 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Vintage JaneBlog: Respecting the Turtles

Every now and then I go back into the archives of my JaneBlog, and revisit something I’ve written, and share it with you again.

Some I share because I like the blog or the story.  Others I share because I’m still working on that life lesson.   Respecting the Turtles is one of those blogs about learning a life lesson.  I wrote it in January 2010, three years ago, when Mac was nine months old and I was struggling with my writing and losing weight and my self-esteem.  I don’t know if you know, but I had terrible post-partum blues following Mac’s birth, and the medicine they gave me made it impossible for me to focus and write…but I had deadlines.  I had to perform.  It took almost another year before I started to feel like myself again.

So why share this blog again?

I’m reposting it because once again it’s January, and even though Mac is now 3 1/2, I’m frustrated at how slowly I’ve slogged through this book.  I don’t like writing over the holidays, and Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years this year was dominated by this book.  Please God, let this be a good one or I’ll…I’ll…

what?  Stop writing?

Sigh.

This is why I’m dragging this blog out.   I thought it was time to breathe, and remember this is my life.  This is my real life.  There isn’t any other life, so I better make this one good.

So, deep breath, Jane.    Be patient with yourself, and kind.  Turtles are lovely creatures.

———-

January 26, 2010

I’ve had a hard time with my blog lately.  I feel almost queasy about writing a blog. It’s not because I don’t want to write one, but because there’s so much I’m thinking about, so much I’m feeling, so much I’m struggling to put into place that I feel, well…fraudish.

I talk about self-acceptance.

I talk about self-esteem.

I talk and talk and well, sometimes it’s just talk.

The truth is I’ve really wrestled with…me…lately. Wrestling with who I am and what I expect and what I deep down believe.

I’m so good at empowering others. I tell everyone else to be nice to themselves. To love yourself. To be kind to yourself. And then in the privacy of my own home–and mind–I beat the hell out of me. And it hurts. As well as being exhausting.

I’ve been so mad at myself for not writing more. For not going hungry more. And running more. For not slipping back into a tiny, tan, successful, glorious version of me…a version I’m not sure even, or ever, existed. But that’s what my tricky mind remembers and that’s what I must do to what…sell a book? Be loved? Be happy?

And so I’ve had endless conversations with myself, probably more than I should, probably more than what is safe and sane. But during one of these fierce conversations I had this ephihany—I’m going to get there.

It’s just going to be slow.

Maybe really slowly. Perhaps even painfully slowly. But maybe its okay to be a turtle. Maybe the slow crawl will get me the same results the sprint would. Maybe. And even if not, its where I am now.

Creeping along. Trying hard. Doing my best. And seeing a lot of the same scenery. I suppose one really gets to appreciate the scenery when you’re not racing, or breathless, or fighting a side ache.

I once enjoyed being  the sprinter. I felt smug, the clever hare bounding along, dashing over the heads of turtles, grinning as I shot from here to there. Well, that Jane’s gone. Don’t know if she’ll ever come back.

So I’ve spent the last nine days learning to love the turtle in me and say things like “good turtle”, “lovely turtle”, “just keep going, turtle.” You see, there’s not a lot of glamour in being a turtle but if I get to the end…and don’t give up…I’ll have the journey and the success.

And maybe peace of mind.

——

In 2010 I offered a gift for one of my commentors, and this time I have prizes for 2 of you!  Are you a turtle or a hare?  Have you ever been a turtle?  Would you want to be different than you are?  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?  Talk to me, posting your thoughts in the comment section below.  The contest will run through Sunday, January 6th and I’ll announce the two winners names on Monday morning, January 7th once I’m back in California.

Enjoy your weekend and be kind to yourself.  Even better…enjoy yourself.  You’re awesome.  You’re unique.  You’re you.  Here’s to a wonderful 2013!

 

Original article: Vintage JaneBlog: Respecting the Turtles

©2013 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

New Year’s Author Feature: Cathy Lamb

It might be almost New Year’s Eve but I’m here in Hawaii, deep in writing, as I’m so late on this book that its making my head swim.  Thankfully I have good friends who have come to the rescue, and women’s fiction author, Cathy Lamb, is joining us here for an early New Year’s treat.    Cathy is absolutely wonderful and since she just wrapped up writing her latest novel before Christmas, she’s all ours at the moment and I think you’ll love this interview!

Welcome Cathy Lamb!

Cathy, what do you love most about writing Women’s Fiction?

I love to write stories about women and the challenges they have with their families, work, friendships, men, their pasts, and in their own heads.  I love living in my imagination, creating storylines and characters, deciding which issues I’ll address in my book, and writing scenes that make me laugh and cry. I love the journaling that I do as I work.

I think what is the most fun for me, though, is to be up really late at night writing a scene and yet watching it, as if have a movie running in my head.

I let the characters take over my brain. I write down what they say and do, and worry about adding setting, motifs, symbols, weather, repetitions, and sensory stuff later. The characters go off on their own tangents and I follow them around, like an invisible spy. They become people I hadn’t exactly planned for them to be, with problems and issues, quirks and flaws, lovable and funny qualities that I hadn’t sketched out. I leave room for sub plots, too. Some characters I understand right away, but now and then I’ll have a character that I don’t really “get” until the sixth edit.

If you want to tell stories, just write. That’s what I do. I let it flow, no negative voices in my head allowed. They are banned. The editing process is my friend, no matter how crazy it makes me, and how much muttering and talking back to the characters that I do while I’m in the thick of it.

Writing gives me an excuse to daydream all the time.

Some writers like to let plot ideas percolate and grow for a while before they start writing the story. Would you say this applies to you as well?

Yes I do let ideas percolate. However. My deadlines come up pretty quick, so I can’t sit around in the Bahamas, drinking pretty drinks with umbrellas while the ideas run around in my head for weeks on end. Oh, wait. I have never been to the Bahamas and I don’t drink.

I’ll think about my books when I’m on a drive in the country, drinking coffee, running, walking, eating chocolate, all the time. The story is constantly there. I relax and let it come to me.

Do you incorporate any of your own life experiences into your stories? Do you get asked this question very often?

Yes, some of my own life experiences are in my books, and yes, I am asked that question a lot.  Just as important, a lot of the emotions I’ve experienced – joy, grief, loss, loneliness, anger, gratefulness, devastation, etc – I put in my books. I may not have gone through exactly what my characters have gone through, but I get much of the emotional aspect of it. 

No one likes going through horrible times, but there’s no question they give you a depth that wasn’t there before. I take the horrible times in my life, throw them up in the air, watch them spin around, and then give aspects of them to my characters.

Do you have a writing schedule or any writing rituals to help you achieve your daily writing quota?

My best writing time is from ten at night until two in the morning. Lately it’s been stretching closer to three, even five thirty in the morning,  because I had a deadline.  I’m at peace knowing that all of my kids are safe and sound and I work best within the quiet and darkness.  There’s nothing to distract me so I simply think better in the wee hours of the morning.

As far as writing goals…When I’m writing my first draft of a novel, I write 2,000 words a day, 10,000 words a week or I don’t let myself go to bed on Saturday night. I’ve had some incredibly late nights. When I’m in the editing process, I give myself a certain amount of pages I have to edit before I go to bed each night. Honestly, sometimes I have cried trying to get to that elusive goal, but I get there.

 I edit each book eight times before I send it to my editor, and as the book gets in better and better shape, I’m able to set a new goal and edit more pages each round.

I would rather play. So, if my books are going to get done, I have to set out really hard and fast goals for myself, and get them done, or I’ll just go skipping off into the wild blue yonder and have a grand ole’ time.

What are you working on right now?

This past week I just finished my next novel, If You Could See What I See.  It’s about three sisters, a  lingerie business, a mother who’s a sex therapist, and a grandmother who says she came from Ireland after slipping off the curve of a rainbow with a dancing leprechaun and flew to America on the back of an owl. That she has whip marks on her back dims the story quite a bit, but she refuses to tell the truth about her past.  It’s also about leaving a legacy, a fashion show, a documentary film maker, a tree house, a dog named Pop Pop, falling in love, and finding two fathers. 

Name five items sitting on your desk right now.

What desk?

Name three books you hope to read soon.

Next on my line up: Slaughterhouse Five, The Light Between Oceans, Molokai, Where’d ya go, Bernadette?, Behind The Beautiful Forevers, The Kitchen House, Someone Knows My Name.

Okay, that was more than three. I get a little too excited about books.

What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without if you were stuck on a deserted island?

If I were stuck on a desert island I don’t think I could live without Keanu Reeves.  Don’t tell my long suffering husband I said that.

~~~

Cathy, thank you so very much for answering all my questions and spending time with us here today.  I know my readers will enjoy getting to know you and they’ll also love having a chance to win some of your amazing books.

Readers, I’m giving away 3 terrific Cathy Lamb prize boxes, filled with her novels, chocolates, Starbuck drink cards, and tons of JP reader goodies.  The contest will run until midnight Jan 2nd, and the winners will be announced on the morning of January 3rd.  To enter, please comment in the comment section below.  Have you read Cathy Lamb before?  Did you read anything over the holidays?  Can you recommend anything fun to read?  Please remember to check back on the 3rd to see if you won.  I announce the winners names in the comment section, too.  So go to the bottom of this blog’s comments, and look for the announcement from me.  Easy!

Happy New Year, everyone, and for those of you wanting to learn more about Cathy Lamb and get a complete listing of her books, visit her website.

Original article: New Year’s Author Feature: Cathy Lamb

©2012 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Be Mine, Cowboy!

Today over at Harlequin’s page on Facebook, they’re unveiling the gorgeous cover for Tanya Michaels and my Valentine anthology, My Cowboy Valentine, which goes on sale February 5th.  I love both of our novellas and am so happy to be part of this very romantic anthology.   Tanya is an amazing writer and loved by readers and writers alike and I know you’ll enjoy her story, Hill Country Cupid, as I really did.

My novella is called Be Mine, Cowboy and its a reunion romance (which is one of my favorite kinds!).

Years ago, Rachel James gave Cade King an ultimatum, and he walked. Heartbroken, Rachel moved on. Life is tough as a single mom, but Rachel is doing just fine.

Now Cade’s back after burning up the rodeo circuit, and things are different. He’s sober, but with one burning regret. He has some work to do to show Rachel he’s changed-but he’s up to the challenge.

Writing Cade and Rachel’s story made me remember how much I love writing about small towns, ranchers, cowboys, and community.   This story also allowed me to revisit one of my favorite parts of the country–Parker County and Palo Pinto County in Texas.  I used Weatherford and Mineral Wells as part of the setting in She’s Gone Country, and I’m back there again in Cowboy, Be Mine.  But this is nothing new.  I used Palo Pinto County and Parker County as the setting of  All-Around Cowboy, the story I wrote in 1997 that won the GH in 1998 for best long contemporary series novel.

Why am I so drawn to this part of Texas?   For one, it’s rodeo cowboy country.  For another, it feels right to me…familiar.   With a Texan grandfather who owned three cattle ranches, I love ranch land, and oak trees, and this part of Texas just feels like home.   But then, I feel this way about Texas in general.

Because I loved writing Be Mine, Cowboy so much, I’ve decided to write more cowboy heroes in the future with more ranch stories, more small town settings that have a lot of heart as well as community. I’ve also decided to give away a three copies in a special cowboy contest. How to enter? In the comments section below, tell me about your Christmas, or the favorite gift you received, or one sweet moment that just felt like Christmas this year, and you’re entered. The contest will run through Dec 30th and I’ll announce the winners on New Year’s Eve.

But wait! As part of the prize, you’ll also receive a copy of She’s Gone Country, and Colton: Rodeo Cowboy by my good friend, CJ Carmichael. If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know CJ’s a very dear friend of mine and we go back a long way, back to 1997, before either of us were published, and we met at a writer’s conference in Victoria, BC (where we also met Barb Dunlop, today an award winning, bestselling author for Desire). I’m a huge fan of CJ’s cowboys and her August release, Colton: Rodeo Cowboy is a fantastic story. And because I do believe sometimes that more is more, I will also tuck a Starbucks drink card, some chocolate, and JP reader goodies into the box of books so talk to me and you might one of my three winners!

I’m going to be turning my attention back to the Brennans now, but I can’t wait to hear from you. Fill me in when you can!

Original article: Be Mine, Cowboy!

©2012 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Festive Tidbits & Good Daughter Contest

 

Hi everyone!  I’ve been asked to be the guest blogger over at  The Book Reporter.  It’s a rather nostalgic piece about my Christmases as a little girl.

If you can, leave a comment there, but its okay if you can’t, because you can still comment here, and if you do, you have a chance to win an arc of my February release, The Good Daughter, plus a B&N gift card, and lots more special reader goodies.   This is my first sneak peek at The Good Daughter so its a special contest.  The winner will be announced here on my blog, before midnight, on Saturday, December 22nd, so do drop by the Book Reporter blog, read what I had to say, and then share with me one of your special Christmas memories here from when you were a child!

Saturday is also my son, Ty’s 14th birthday so we’re busy trying to figure out what to do for his day…looks like maybe it’ll be a movie, The Hobbit, and dinner in Laguna Beach.  I know he’d love to hang out with friends, but they’re all up in Bellevue, so sorry kid, this year you’re stuck with just me and family.

Hope you’re all set for the holidays.  I was so stressed the other day I could barely breathe, and then I spent a few minutes looking at the photo we took with Santa and I realized its all good…its all a gift, and a blessing, and all I need to do is slow down and appreciate the life, and the blessings, I’ve been given.

xoxoxox

Original article: Festive Tidbits & Good Daughter Contest

©2012 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Fun contest at BookReporter.com

If you have a moment, read a fun holiday piece I wrote for The Book Reporter.

Comment there, and here in my comments below, and one of you will will win an arc of The Good Daughter, plus a B&N gift card and lots more goodies! Winner will be announced before midnight December 22nd!

Hope you’re enjoying your holidays. It’s my son, Ty’s 14th birthday on Saturday, and then soon Christmas will be here.

Original article: Fun contest at BookReporter.com

©2012 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.

Jane’s Favs: The Secretary’s Seduction

I’ve written over 40 books now and of the 40 there are reader favorites, and critics’ favorites, and then there are my favorites.  I don’t know why I love some books more than others.  I put the same amount of effort and energy, passion and patience into each.  But some books are a struggle, and you wrestle with the characters and the plot, and wonder why you’re even writing that story, while others just pour out in an easy, smooth draft.

I haven’t had an easy smooth draft kind of story in awhile.  (Flirting was one, Mrs. Perfect was another, and then there was Lazaro’s Revenge, which is one of my all time favorite Harlequins, and my second Rita finalist for best short contemporary series).  But smooth easy to write stories aren’t necessarily indicators of a book’s success.  I’ve struggled over stories that become immediate bestsellers.  Obviously, the reader doesn’t always know when I’m cried and sweated (and maybe bled!!) over a book.

But looking back over the past forty some novels I’ve written since my first sale in 2000, there are a few stories I truly love, and right at the top is The Secretary’s Seduction.  

The Secretary’s Seduction was also the first (and only??) one of my Harlequin Presents that didn’t make it out into the market in regular retail.  It was instead part of a collection, that only a few stores carried, and most of my readers never read it….until now.

The Secretary’s Seduction was also a turning point for me as a writer.  It was a ‘lighter’ story than my previous Harlequin Presents, with a more playful tone, and the hero, while still an alpha, (and wealthy and gorgeous), was more contemporary…more modern.  I think my editors were a little disappointed with this book, as it was sweeter than my previous Presents.  Some readers said it felt more like a Desire than a Presents, but honestly, I loved it.  It was fun to write.  I loved writing a boss/secretary romance that was also an Ugly Duckling story.  This was also the book I wrote before I wrote The Frog Prince, my first single title novel, which some dubbed chick lit, and I just call modern lit.

In Australia they recently re-released The Secretary’s Seduction as part of a Jane Porter bestsellers collection, which delighted me as its impossible to get copies of this story in print.  And then this week, I received copies of the Japanese manga edition for The Secretary’s Seduction, and it just made my week.  Its probably one of my biggest thrills right now as a writer…seeing these cartoon versions of my novels.  The drawings are incredible–the stylized characterization…the heroines so gorgeous with tons of long hair and big eyes and lots of tears sparkling in their eyes.  The heroes almost always have long hair, too, and strong jaws.  I’ve scanned some of the pages of the new manga so you can see.

As I mentioned above, for the past six years The Secretary’s Seduction has been almost impossible to get in print, anywhere, but its now–happily, wonderfully–available as an ebook, through Amazon and B&N.com.

But…thanks to the wonderful Harlequin office in Australia who sent me three copies of the Australia Jane Porter bestseller collection, I have  three copies of the book to share with you, my readers.

So in honor of the holidays, and the fact that I adore this fun, sweet, sexy story (no horrible brooding heroes here!), I’m giving away all three copies of the Secretary’s Seduction in a awesome prize box.   Each prize box is packed with great things, including a signed copy of The Secretary’s Seduction (a book that has truly become a collector’s item now), a beautiful glass Christmas ornament that ties into the NY novel setting, a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card, a surprise Jane Porter novel, popcorn, JP water bottle and lots more JP reader goodies!

For a chance to win one of these fun prizes, talk to me about your upcoming holidays–what are your plans?  how are you doing?  what are your favorite part of the holidays?  is anyone as stressed as I am?!? –and you’re entered.  The contest is a shortie and will run through Thursday night, and in a rare twist, I will also announce the winners sometime Thursday night…not sure when, so enter early and don’t leave it to the last minute, as I’m hoping to mail the 3 prize boxes out Friday.  If I don’t do it then, they won’t get out for awhile as  I’m heading to Hawaii on the 26th where I MUST finish my current book.

In the meantime, happy happy holidays.  Sending so much love to all of you!

xoxoxox

Original article: Jane’s Favs: The Secretary’s Seduction

©2012 Janeblog. All Rights Reserved.