Allie Boniface's Blog, page 23
January 6, 2014
Monday Mentionable: Kensington Acquires Lyrical Press....Meaning What, Exactly?
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and ate and drank appropriate amounts of holiday food while laughing with friends and family. Can you believe it's 2014? Well, two days into this new year, I got some interesting news from the publisher of my recent novel, Beacon of Love. Lyrical Press was acquired by Kensington, a well-known, well-established New York publishing house. (Here's the full press release.) Why? Well, advantages to Kensington would seem to be a backlist of 200+ romance titles and authors, as well a Managing Director who's spent the last 7 years running a digital press. I think New York houses are finally coming around and realizing the potential of the e-book market. The advantages for Lyrical are the chance for some of its staff and authors to join a larger publishing company which has wide-spread, well-established resources for sales and marketing.
What does this mean in the big picture? All Lyrical authors have the option to sign a new contract with Kensington, putting our previously-released books into Kensington sales channels. Lyrical will remain a romance imprint under Kensington, releasing new works digitally and longer (full-length, at least 60K words) works in Print-on-Demand as well. Royalties are competitive with other digital presses, as far as I can tell. Or authors can choose not to sign, and to keep our rights to those books published with Lyrical - we could perhaps contract them with other publishers or potentially publish them ourselves.
What does this mean for me personally? As of right now, Beacon of Love is no longer currently for sale. If I sign with Kensington, it will be re-released within the next few months. This also means, however, that until I decide what I'm doing with Beacon of Love, I won't be publishing Inferno of Love this month, as I had originally intended. (I'm sorry, I'm sorry....I know some of you were waiting for it!). Don't worry - it WILL come out, I promise! And I'll keep you posted on both stories and where you can find them in the next few months.
Tentatively, I can say that I'm excited about this chance to sign with a New York publishing house. While I enjoyed indie publishing The Promise of Paradise, and will probably indie publish again in the future, it's hard work to do so, folks - especially when I have a full-time teaching job that consumes my days as well. And to be honest, being able to say that I'm a Kensington/ New York author is a big feather in my cap, one I've been dreaming of since I first started this publishing journey.
I'll keep you posted every step of the way. I have to say, it's been a pretty exciting start to 2014 so far!
What does this mean in the big picture? All Lyrical authors have the option to sign a new contract with Kensington, putting our previously-released books into Kensington sales channels. Lyrical will remain a romance imprint under Kensington, releasing new works digitally and longer (full-length, at least 60K words) works in Print-on-Demand as well. Royalties are competitive with other digital presses, as far as I can tell. Or authors can choose not to sign, and to keep our rights to those books published with Lyrical - we could perhaps contract them with other publishers or potentially publish them ourselves.
What does this mean for me personally? As of right now, Beacon of Love is no longer currently for sale. If I sign with Kensington, it will be re-released within the next few months. This also means, however, that until I decide what I'm doing with Beacon of Love, I won't be publishing Inferno of Love this month, as I had originally intended. (I'm sorry, I'm sorry....I know some of you were waiting for it!). Don't worry - it WILL come out, I promise! And I'll keep you posted on both stories and where you can find them in the next few months.
Tentatively, I can say that I'm excited about this chance to sign with a New York publishing house. While I enjoyed indie publishing The Promise of Paradise, and will probably indie publish again in the future, it's hard work to do so, folks - especially when I have a full-time teaching job that consumes my days as well. And to be honest, being able to say that I'm a Kensington/ New York author is a big feather in my cap, one I've been dreaming of since I first started this publishing journey.
I'll keep you posted every step of the way. I have to say, it's been a pretty exciting start to 2014 so far!
December 23, 2013
Monday Mentionables: Reindeer Sing White Christmas
Two more shopping days until Christmas! Are you ready? In honor of the holiday, I'm sharing one of my favorite videos from this time of year. Enjoy :)
December 20, 2013
Friday: Two More Excerpts for You!
Since it's the final day of my cover reveal tour through Black Lion Tours, I thought I'd share 2 more short excerpts with you from Inferno of Love, releasing in January 2014!
A flash of memory hit Finn in the gut, he and Aubrey sitting on the Bradleys’ back porch and watching a meteor shower. Make a wish, she’d said the first time they saw one shoot across the sky, and he’d given it his number one wish, the biggest he could think of, not knowing there would be twenty more by the time the shower finished. I wish I could marry this woman, he’d said to the sky. Marry her and have kids with her and live in a place like this someday. The Bradleys’ cedar deck spread out before them, three levels leading down to a heated in-ground pool, and he knew it had been silly to want something so extravagant. But sitting next to Aubrey, listening to her talk about all the places they might go someday, he’d believed it possible. He’d believed anything possible with her, even that the son of a dirt-poor steel worker and a pill-addicted homemaker could marry a brilliant, Boston-bred girl and make her happy...
“Mmm...” Honey began humming again. Aubrey’s face grew hot, and she wriggled in the chair to try and find a comfortable position. “Count backwards from fifty,” Honey said. “Slowly.”
Aubrey wet her lips. “Uh, okay. Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight...” When she reached one, she kept her eyes closed and waited.
“All right, you’re standing next to a car you know well. You’ve ridden in it lots of times before. Your boyfriend is beside you, opening the door. What do you see?’
She screwed up her forehead and concentrated. “Nothing.”
“Relax. Don’t force yourself to remember anything in particular. Just think of him next to you. His cologne. His smile. It’s dark, right? It’s nighttime.” Honey paused. “What else is there?”
“A gravel parking lot,” Aubrey said before she realized it. “There are lots of cars, but everyone else is inside. No one else is out there, just us. Aaron’s trying to hold my hand. He keeps asking me to get inside his car.” Her fingers dug into the padded arms of the chair.
“Mm hmm. Good. What else?”
“I don’t want to go with him. I keep looking over my shoulder, toward the restaurant.” What was she looking for? Who was she looking for? Then she saw him – the figure from her dreams, the tall, thin, silent man. He stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, watching her. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew him. Without a shadow of a doubt, he was someone she’d met that summer. In Lindsey Point? At the Cove? Her head ached with the effort of trying to remember...
A flash of memory hit Finn in the gut, he and Aubrey sitting on the Bradleys’ back porch and watching a meteor shower. Make a wish, she’d said the first time they saw one shoot across the sky, and he’d given it his number one wish, the biggest he could think of, not knowing there would be twenty more by the time the shower finished. I wish I could marry this woman, he’d said to the sky. Marry her and have kids with her and live in a place like this someday. The Bradleys’ cedar deck spread out before them, three levels leading down to a heated in-ground pool, and he knew it had been silly to want something so extravagant. But sitting next to Aubrey, listening to her talk about all the places they might go someday, he’d believed it possible. He’d believed anything possible with her, even that the son of a dirt-poor steel worker and a pill-addicted homemaker could marry a brilliant, Boston-bred girl and make her happy...
“Mmm...” Honey began humming again. Aubrey’s face grew hot, and she wriggled in the chair to try and find a comfortable position. “Count backwards from fifty,” Honey said. “Slowly.”
Aubrey wet her lips. “Uh, okay. Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight...” When she reached one, she kept her eyes closed and waited.
“All right, you’re standing next to a car you know well. You’ve ridden in it lots of times before. Your boyfriend is beside you, opening the door. What do you see?’
She screwed up her forehead and concentrated. “Nothing.”
“Relax. Don’t force yourself to remember anything in particular. Just think of him next to you. His cologne. His smile. It’s dark, right? It’s nighttime.” Honey paused. “What else is there?”
“A gravel parking lot,” Aubrey said before she realized it. “There are lots of cars, but everyone else is inside. No one else is out there, just us. Aaron’s trying to hold my hand. He keeps asking me to get inside his car.” Her fingers dug into the padded arms of the chair.
“Mm hmm. Good. What else?”
“I don’t want to go with him. I keep looking over my shoulder, toward the restaurant.” What was she looking for? Who was she looking for? Then she saw him – the figure from her dreams, the tall, thin, silent man. He stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, watching her. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew him. Without a shadow of a doubt, he was someone she’d met that summer. In Lindsey Point? At the Cove? Her head ached with the effort of trying to remember...
December 18, 2013
Writers' Wednesday: We Need Some Heat!
Brrr!! It's awfully cold in my neck of the woods. We got hit with 2 back to back storms in the last week, and we have about a foot of white stuff on the ground out there. One of my kitties doesn't mind, though - she's ready for Christmas!
In other news, Black Lion Tours is hosting a cover reveal tour for me this week, sharing my gorgeous cover for Inferno of Love in a bunch of places all around the web. You can win a copy of the first book in the series, Beacon of Love, too, if you visit any of the participating host blogs. Here are yesterday's sites; please drop by and give them some love!
http://markedbybooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/inferno-of-love-blog-tour-hometown.html
http://www.iknowthatbook.blogspot.com.ar/2013/12/cover-reveal-inferno-of-love-by-allie.html
http://www.thestuffofsuccess.com/2013/12/cover-reveal-inferno-of-love-by-allie.html
And if you want to know what's in store in Inferno of Love, here's a brand new excerpt to add some heat to your day. Enjoy!
She closed her eyes as he rained kisses along her collarbone. Words mixed up inside her head, words like yes and why and this is how. The synapses in her brain sizzled, connections there, then pulling apart, then gone. She breathed him in, loving the scents of soap and aftershave mixing with bleach from downstairs and above it all, the Lindsey Point air. Saltwater and pine. Yummy.
Heat filled the space between her legs and spiraled up her spine in an instant. She was on fire from a single kiss, from that and everything his hands were doing to her. Weakening her. Turning her inside out. He nipped her neck, and she cried aloud...
In other news, Black Lion Tours is hosting a cover reveal tour for me this week, sharing my gorgeous cover for Inferno of Love in a bunch of places all around the web. You can win a copy of the first book in the series, Beacon of Love, too, if you visit any of the participating host blogs. Here are yesterday's sites; please drop by and give them some love!
http://markedbybooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/inferno-of-love-blog-tour-hometown.html
http://www.iknowthatbook.blogspot.com.ar/2013/12/cover-reveal-inferno-of-love-by-allie.html
http://www.thestuffofsuccess.com/2013/12/cover-reveal-inferno-of-love-by-allie.html
And if you want to know what's in store in Inferno of Love, here's a brand new excerpt to add some heat to your day. Enjoy!
She closed her eyes as he rained kisses along her collarbone. Words mixed up inside her head, words like yes and why and this is how. The synapses in her brain sizzled, connections there, then pulling apart, then gone. She breathed him in, loving the scents of soap and aftershave mixing with bleach from downstairs and above it all, the Lindsey Point air. Saltwater and pine. Yummy.
Heat filled the space between her legs and spiraled up her spine in an instant. She was on fire from a single kiss, from that and everything his hands were doing to her. Weakening her. Turning her inside out. He nipped her neck, and she cried aloud...
December 13, 2013
Friday Fun Facts: Join Me for a Blog Tour!
Happy Friday! I'm excited today because IMG Tours is sponsoring a cover reveal tour for Inferno of Love, due out in mid-January ~ and you'll have a chance to win goodies if you visit the blogs who are kind enough to host me today.
I'll be posting the blog links all day long, over at my Facebook page, so if you haven't yet liked me over there, please join me today. And in addition to the IMG tour giveaway, I'm throwing an Amazon gift card into the mix for anyone who comments on my Facebook page today about the tour.
Hope to see you there!
I'll be posting the blog links all day long, over at my Facebook page, so if you haven't yet liked me over there, please join me today. And in addition to the IMG tour giveaway, I'm throwing an Amazon gift card into the mix for anyone who comments on my Facebook page today about the tour.
Hope to see you there!
December 11, 2013
Writers' Wednesday: What's on Your Wish List?
'Tis the season to be wishing for gifts under the tree, which leads me to ask: what books are on your Wish List this year? What are you reading right now, and what would you like to be reading in the new year? I'd love some good recommendations, by the way.
And...in this world of technology, how many of you are wishing for old-fashioned books on Christmas morning? Or is an e-reader on your list? Maybe a few ebooks to load up your Kindle? Or a gift card to your favorite online bookstore?
And...in this world of technology, how many of you are wishing for old-fashioned books on Christmas morning? Or is an e-reader on your list? Maybe a few ebooks to load up your Kindle? Or a gift card to your favorite online bookstore?
December 9, 2013
Monday Mentionables: The Allure of Audio Books
In the most recent issue of Romance Writers Report, one of the articles discusses the audio book market - specifically for authors. I will echo the sentiments in that article and say that if you're not taking advantage of that market as a writer, you're missing out.
Audio books may not be huge sellers, compared to print or ebooks, but they have a steady audience, and with the ease of downloading files today, I think that audience will only grow. Today, if you're signing a contract with a publisher, consider trying to keep your audio rights for yourself. In my experience, most small presses will take those rights but probably won't use them. I was lucky; Samhain never took my audio rights, so when the up-and-coming company Audio Lark was looking for new authors, I was able to sell my books to them. In the last year, Audio Lark has stopped producing audio books, but 4 of my books produced through them are up and available on Audible (the biggest seller of audio books, an affiliate of Amazon), and I still receive royalty payments from them every quarter.
Today, ACX provides indie authors with a super-easy way to produce their books in the audio market. All you have to do is sign up and post your project. You'll have to provide a script for potential narrators, and then you'll need to audition narrators and decide who sounds best. This is a crucial step! Make sure to take your time and choose someone whose voice matches the tone and content of your book. Also make sure the audition tape is professionally produced.
You have 2 choices when it comes to ACX: you can pay your narrator upfront (probably at least a few hundred dollars for a full-length novel), or you can opt for 50-50 royalty-sharing, which means you split all royalties but you pay nothing upfront.
Hearing your book spoken out loud is a crazy and wonderful experience. Being able to earn royalties on it is even better. If you haven't yet explored the possibility of turning your books into audio books, now's the time to do so! (And if you want to check out my audio books, here's my page at Audible. Please consider giving one a try - you can listen to free samples of each one!)
Audio books may not be huge sellers, compared to print or ebooks, but they have a steady audience, and with the ease of downloading files today, I think that audience will only grow. Today, if you're signing a contract with a publisher, consider trying to keep your audio rights for yourself. In my experience, most small presses will take those rights but probably won't use them. I was lucky; Samhain never took my audio rights, so when the up-and-coming company Audio Lark was looking for new authors, I was able to sell my books to them. In the last year, Audio Lark has stopped producing audio books, but 4 of my books produced through them are up and available on Audible (the biggest seller of audio books, an affiliate of Amazon), and I still receive royalty payments from them every quarter.
Today, ACX provides indie authors with a super-easy way to produce their books in the audio market. All you have to do is sign up and post your project. You'll have to provide a script for potential narrators, and then you'll need to audition narrators and decide who sounds best. This is a crucial step! Make sure to take your time and choose someone whose voice matches the tone and content of your book. Also make sure the audition tape is professionally produced.
You have 2 choices when it comes to ACX: you can pay your narrator upfront (probably at least a few hundred dollars for a full-length novel), or you can opt for 50-50 royalty-sharing, which means you split all royalties but you pay nothing upfront.
Hearing your book spoken out loud is a crazy and wonderful experience. Being able to earn royalties on it is even better. If you haven't yet explored the possibility of turning your books into audio books, now's the time to do so! (And if you want to check out my audio books, here's my page at Audible. Please consider giving one a try - you can listen to free samples of each one!)
December 4, 2013
Writers' Wednesday: Setting Goals for 2014
Can you believe it's December already? In another few weeks, we'll be saying goodbye to 2013. For me, it was an exciting year in my writing. I released my very first indie title, The Promise of Paradise, I released the first Hometown Heroes story Beacon of Love, and I wrote the second Hometown Heroes story which will be coming out in early 2014, Inferno of Love.
(By the way, if you have a blog and would like to host, both Black Lion Tours and IMG Blog Tours are scheduling cover reveal tours for Inferno of Love for mid-December. There are giveaways to whet your appetite...)
At the book signing over the weekend, my fellow authors and I talked about our writing goals for 2014 - because the best marketing is always to write your next story. What are my plans for the new year? Well, besides seeing Inferno of Love on the cyber and print shelves in January, I hope to release my "Cocktail Cruise" trilogy, 3 novellas set in and around a Caribbean cruise ship. I also hope to fine-tune my Young Adult novel and send it out to editors and agents, and maybe start a new project that's been simmering in the back of my mind. (Actually, I have a few of those...will have to decide which simmering project I'll bring to a full boil).
So there you have it! What are your writing goals for 2014?
(By the way, if you have a blog and would like to host, both Black Lion Tours and IMG Blog Tours are scheduling cover reveal tours for Inferno of Love for mid-December. There are giveaways to whet your appetite...)
At the book signing over the weekend, my fellow authors and I talked about our writing goals for 2014 - because the best marketing is always to write your next story. What are my plans for the new year? Well, besides seeing Inferno of Love on the cyber and print shelves in January, I hope to release my "Cocktail Cruise" trilogy, 3 novellas set in and around a Caribbean cruise ship. I also hope to fine-tune my Young Adult novel and send it out to editors and agents, and maybe start a new project that's been simmering in the back of my mind. (Actually, I have a few of those...will have to decide which simmering project I'll bring to a full boil).
So there you have it! What are your writing goals for 2014?
December 2, 2013
Monday Mentionables: What Women Want
A great big thank-you to everyone who came out and supported the vendors (including Yours Truly!) at yesterday's What Women Want shopping extravaganza!
What's even better than signing and selling a few books at an event like this one? Meeting other local business women and entrepreneurs who are more than willing to connect and share other marketing opportunities. When I got home from yesterday's event, I had 3 new Facebook friends and messages. Gotta love networking ~ as popular and widespread as social media sites are, don't ever underestimate the power of talking to people in person. You never know who you'll reach that way!
What's even better than signing and selling a few books at an event like this one? Meeting other local business women and entrepreneurs who are more than willing to connect and share other marketing opportunities. When I got home from yesterday's event, I had 3 new Facebook friends and messages. Gotta love networking ~ as popular and widespread as social media sites are, don't ever underestimate the power of talking to people in person. You never know who you'll reach that way!
Monday Mentiontables: What Women Want
A great big thank-you to everyone who came out and supported the vendors (including Yours Truly!) at yesterday's What Women Want shopping extravaganza!
What's even better than signing and selling a few books at an event like this one? Meeting other local business women and entrepreneurs who are more than willing to connect and share other marketing opportunities. When I got home from yesterday's event, I had 3 new Facebook friends and messages. Gotta love networking ~ as popular and widespread as social media sites are, don't ever underestimate the power of talking to people in person. You never know who you'll reach that way!
What's even better than signing and selling a few books at an event like this one? Meeting other local business women and entrepreneurs who are more than willing to connect and share other marketing opportunities. When I got home from yesterday's event, I had 3 new Facebook friends and messages. Gotta love networking ~ as popular and widespread as social media sites are, don't ever underestimate the power of talking to people in person. You never know who you'll reach that way!
