Kate Noble's Blog, page 21

Final Website Contest Winner!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the final drawing of my Summer 2012 website contest.  It’s been quite a ride, so many wonderful books, so little time, etc.  But the truth is, it has to end.  Heck, summer itself ended a week ago.  So, without further ado, the final winner in my website contest is…

ANN SHEIRING!

Congratulations, Ann! You have won an autographed copy of Compromised!  We will email and confirm things, but for now, revel in your winningness!

Thank you everyone for entering, it’s been really fun.  Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks – there will be a new contest up soon enough, as well as a lot of new info on the website – and a lot of it having to do with LET IT BE ME, my spring 2013 book!  (I’m excited.  Can you tell I’m excited?)

But for now, sweets, kick back, relax, and happy reading!

Title Announcement – but first, a Drawing!

Well, summer officially has ended, but luckily, my summer website contest hasn’t!  We are going to the end of the month, so I’m drawing one winner today, and the last winner next week on Sept 30th.  Sound good?  So, without further ado, today’s winner is…

Renee Bains!

Congratulations Renee – You have won an autographed copy of Compromised!  We’ll email, it’ll be grand.  If you haven’t won, like I said, there is one more chance to win, next week.  So keep your fingers and toes crossed!  (and if you haven’t entered yet – hurry up, why don’t you?)

In other Awesome News, my next book has a title!  It is called LET IT BE ME, and it has a pub date of April 2nd, 2013.  I know that seems like a long time away, but trust me, that time will absolutely fly.  Check out the Coming Next page for more info – as well as buy links! (hint hint, nudge nudge.)

Things are terribly busy in the Noble household, but stay tuned for the above stated last drawing in the website contest, and more new and exciting news regarding LET IT BE ME (like, say, cover art), and other still-currently secret projects!

‘Til next time, sweets – happy reading!

Process Blog: The End really isn’t The End.

Typing “The End” is not the end of a book for a writer.  Although it is a moment of supreme relief, joy, mourning, and generally, exhaustion.  But there are several steps between “The End” and seeing the book in print — and not just those dreaded ‘editing’ step.  So, here’s a highly incomplete list of what I do when I “finish” a book.

1.    The second after typing The End, I save like a digital hoarder (which should totally be a new TLC show.)  I save my book file on my computer, on a thumb drive, and on my back up hard drive.  And then I email it to myself.  And I email it to my mom.   There are literally not enough places to save this file.

2.    Sleep.  Watch television.  Generally something involving Hoarding on TLC.  Then emerge into daylight, like a newborn stepping into the world for the first time.  Go buy groceries.  Pretend to be normal.  And as a special treat, see a movie IN A MOVIE THEATER.  Call my friends.  Remind them what I look like.  Oh my God, read a book! (Note: this step can last from 2 hours to an entire weekend.  But not beyond.  Because that way idleness lies.)

3.    Print out the entire manuscript.  It takes nearly an entire ream of paper, but I need the analog for when I do an editing pass on the book, before I turn it in.  I generally write pretty clean, i.e. I don’t do a lot of KISSING SCENE HERE, or HERO FIGHTS STREET THUGS SCENE HERE in my text to go back and fill in.  Therefore, I am mainly going back to clean, to clarify, and to correct any egregious errors. (case in point: I once caught myself calling my hero by the name of a hero from my previous book.  I guess I hadn’t gotten him out of my head yet.)  Also, I go back to strengthen character.  I get to know my characters best as I write them, so they are far more fully realized at the end of the book – complete with quirks and foibles – than they were at the beginning.  It’s worth taking the time to go back and strengthen the characterization in the beginning, now that I know them better.

4.    Turn in the book!  Dance in a circle!

5.    At this point, I have to (if I haven’t already) start thinking about the next book.  Chances are it will be about a character or characters already present in my head, as they have been present in the book I just turned in.  So I do that, while I bite my nails, wondering what my agent and editors thought of my book.

6.    They like it!  Dance in a circle!

7.    But alack!  Before I can get too far into the next book, I get edits back from my editor!  They are notes with concerns, plot guidance, and also copy edits to correct my terrible, terrible grammar.  I attack them, going through every line of the book again.  

Also at this time, I write the ‘extras’ of the book – the Dear Reader letter in the back, explaining some of the research that went into it, as well as the dedication, and any acknowledgements.  Then I super-duper grammar-check them, too.

8.    Turn in the book!  Dance in a (slow) circle!

9.    A few weeks/months later, comes a tantalizing glimpse of cover art!  Wee!

10.    GASP – it’s only a few months now before the pub date, and my editor sends me galley pages.  This is my last chance to go through and correct any errors – and I’m not allowed to correct big, plot-related ones.  No, the time for that has passed.  This is just tiny typos.  So I go through it with a fine-tooth comb, reading very, very carefully for any still-as-yet uncaught errors.

11.    Turn in the book!  Move in a circle until I fall down.

12.    Receive ARCs.  Freak out, and figure out what reviewers and readers I should give them to.

13.    Receive author copies.  Freak out in general, and figure out what reviewers and readers should get them, too.

14.    The book comes out!  Dance in a circle!  Then obsessively check Amazon ranking.

15.    Do it all again.

And that’s the process of writing a book, after I’ve written “The End.”  Right now, if you’re curious, with my spring 2013 book, I’m around stages 7, 8, or 9.   I’ve got plenty of work to do on the book after that one, which is currently consuming my time – (I’ll eludicate on the process of beginning a book in the coming weeks.  But until then, kids – Happy Reading!

My Schedule Madness is Your Gain…

It's two winners in one!

Hello everyone, on this happy, happy Monday.  It has been a little while since my last post, and this is because my personal life kicked into overdrive for a few weeks.  My apologies, but now things have calmed down, I’m home, I’m unpacked, and I realize I have missed doing a drawing for my website contest.  So, today, you get to have the benefit of my lack of attention, because I will be drawing TWO winners in the website contest!  And without further ado, those winners are…

Sharon Extine and Lindsey Ekland!

You have won an autographed copy of Compromised, and Follow My Lead, respectively.  Congrats to both you ladies, and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the email I am about to send you both.

If you didn’t win, it’s okay.  There are still a few weeks left to my summer giveaway.  (I refuse to acknowledge the end of summer until the actual equinox. Call it a quirk.)  So, you are still entered and there are still a few chances to win.  (And if you haven’t entered, what are you waiting for?)

Back in the swing of my regular life again, and back to my regular writing life as well.  Stay tuned in the next few weeks – I promise to pontificate on how I begin a new project, how I handle the end of another project, and perhaps even, *gasp*, some cool cover art!

Until next time, sweets – happy reading!

 

7 Days, 8 Books

So, remember a couple of weeks ago, when I came home from RWA with a ridiculous amount of books?  And I promised I would share them?  Well, today’s the day!  Or more correctly, this week is the week!

Here are the 8 books I'll be giving away on Twitter this week. Start your engines!

Fair and gentle readers, I have decided to have a fire sale (although, not really a sale, since I’m giving them away for free) of eight fantastic books that I grabbed from eight fantastic authors at the RWA convention!  And I’m going to be doing this fire sale where all the fun is happening…

On Twitter.

Here’s how it’s going to work:  Once a day for the next seven days, I’m going to send out a tweet with a book that I’m giving away that day.  The first person to tweet me back gets it.  That’s all!

(What time of day?  I don’t know!  Which book on which day?  I ain’t tellin’! When will the random eighth book be given out?  You will have to wait and see!  I know, I’m mad with power!)

I suppose it would be a good idea to follow me on Twitter then, don’t you think?

For those of you who are not on Twitter, and don’t wish to be, don’t worry – there’s still my website contest, still plenty of delicious books to be devoured on a bi-monthly basis.

So hop to it!  And until later – happy tweeting!

A home run-touchdown-three-pointer kind of day! (aka, we have a new winner!)

Hello everyone!  I hope you had a lovely weekend.  And a marvelous Monday.  And now it is Tuesday, and I am picking a new winner in my website contest!  (I’m just trying to keep the good feelings going through the week.)  And without further ado, the winner is…

Diane Johnson!

Congrats, Diane!  You have won an autographed copy of Follow My Lead. Check your email, we shall chat.  For those that didn’t win, the contest has been extended another month, so there are still plenty of chances to win.

In the meantime, life is getting hectic over here in the Noble-verse.  The next few weeks are going to be exciting and hopefully a little fun, so I better get back to my keyboard.  Until next time, sweets – happy reading!

RWA Anaheim Round Up

Well it’s been a week, and I feel fully recovered enough to give you my name-dropping, book-hoarding round up of the Romance Writers of America National Conference that was held July 25th-28th in Anaheim, California.

First of all, the fact that it was held in Anaheim was a boon to me.  I live in Southern California, and this meant that I didn’t have to pony up the expense of booking a hotel room.  The drawback is, of course, less time to interact with my fellow authors and readers, less likelihood that I was going to have a chance run in at the bar at midnight with my favorite author, and a bit of a commute.  But what the heck, I had a lot of podcasts and I’d been trying to get through the audiobook of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White forEVER, so the drive wins out over staying at the hotel.

Day 1:  Hello Again!

I drive down to Anaheim, pleased to find that the traffic really isn’t that bad.  (Note: for those who are not Southern California natives, “not that bad” is a relative term.)  I get through nearly an entire disk of Wilkie Collins’ Victorian legal mystery, and feel confident I’ll finish before the week is out.  Thank heavens.  Those Victorians tend to go on and on in their indecision.

I walk into the hotel, and immediately run into my fabulous editor, Cindy Hwang.  She and I chat for a few minutes but she’s off somewhere, and I have yet to check in, so we part and I head to the registration, where the person who checks me in is none other than the fabulous Shana Galen!  Again, we chat for a few minutes, as she checks me in and hands me my conference bag.  In the bag are the first 8 books of my new collection.  For those of you who have been privy to previous RWA posts, you know that aside from the chance to see and meet with authors and readers, the main reason I come to RWA is to get books.  Lots of books.  TONS of books.  Books that I can revel in and dive through, ala Scrooge McDuck.

Desperate for some coffee, I find my way to the in-hotel Starbucks, where I run into none other than Liza Palmer.  I haven’t seen her in so long, that we end up sitting and chatting while she is very obviously trying to get work done.  Then, Megan Crane shows up and all hope of Liza getting any work done is down the tubes.

Together we check out the goody room (where people put all their free swag, available for the taking) the bookstore (but really, why buy books when I am anticipating getting SO MANY in the coming days) and the lobby.  The lobby is going to get a lot of legwork from me in the next couple days, although I don’t know it then.  The lobby opens to the bar, which opens to the pool, and it is a perfect Southern California day – dry and warm in the sun but still cool.  You couldn’t ask for better.

Soon enough, it’s time for my meeting with my webdesign folks (Waxcreative, and you all should be ready for some wonderful new things to be put up here in the relatively near future) followed very quickly by the Literacy Signing!

me in my LBD tee, with the lovely Sarah MacLean and fabulous Sabrina Darby!

The RWA Literacy Signing was held at the Anaheim Convention Center, and it was PACKED.  People were apparently lining up for hours before hand.   I, who am usually alphabetically seated in between the lovely Miranda Neville and the incomparable Brenda Novak, was subject to a bit of a change in the seating this year, thanks to RWA trying something new, and got to sit at a table with the marvelous Kieran Kramer, Olivia Drake, and RITA finalist Farrah Rochon.

People came.  We signed books.  I wore my The Lizzie Bennet Diaries T-shirt.  I ran out of books.  And by this point, I was very very tired.

The drive home is uneventful.  I get through another TWIW disk.  I collapse in bed once I arrive.

Book Count: 9 – 8 from the conference tote bag and 1 from Megan Crane, who knows of my Scooge McDuck fantasies.

Day 2: DRAMA

I drive to Anaheim again, and get through another disk of TWIW.  At this rate I should be done by the drive home tonight.  I am slightly displeased that I do not get to take the turn to Disneyland, but I’m not wearing appropriate shoes for it anyway.

I meet with my lovely agent, Annelise Robey, in the morning.  One of the absolute best things about the conference is (excluding the free book glee) is the face time I get with the people who work so hard to help me write books.  It’s not the same as a conversation over the phone.  I am grateful for every second I get with said people and therefore spend only 70% of the time with Annelise gossiping about Robert Pattinson.  We have work to talk about, after all.

Unfortunately, my meeting with Annelise means I miss the luncheon speech by Stephanie Laurens, which I read later, because it caused quite the hubbub.  The jist of it (at least to me) was that readers are still reading – voraciously.  So writes must still write.  We are the two absolute necessities in the marketplace.  Publishing might be undergoing some shifts, but reading is still reading and writing is still writing.  That is not going to change.  So we should all keep doing both.

In fact, the Stephanie Laurens speech encapsulated a feeling of excitement around the digital publishing phenomena that is now a huge percentage of the market share.  While years past, it seemed like people were wary of digital publishing, this year everyone was far more inclusive of it.  Because it is something in which we can all take part.  There is no need for an ‘either/or’ philosophy.  (And that’s about as philosophical as I’m willing to get in the blog post on the state of the industry).

I find I’m spending a lot of time in the lobby.  You’ll just run into someone and end up talking and suddenly you’ll have missed the beginning of the next set of workshops.  As such, I made it to one workshop this entire time.  One.  It was put on by Victoria Alexander, so totally worthwhile, but I still wish I had had more time to spend learning than gabbing.

Although gabbing is awesome.  Especially when it is a preordained meet up at the bar for all of The Ballroom Blog authors and readers!  We plan to meet in the bar that night, so before hand Miranda Neville, Sabrina Darby and I go to dinner in Downtown Disney (which, it should be noted, should not be attempted in even the shortest of heels.  Ouch.) and then make our way to the bar to meet up with all the fabulous people who read and laugh with us at The Ballroom Blog.  It was a wonderful event, and one for which I wish I had some pictures.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay long, because of the commuting, but was glad for every moment I got with the wonderful readers.

I drive home.  I do indeed, finish The Woman in White.  Onto the hoarded podcasts!

Book count: 11.  2 new ones that Liza Palmer grabbed for me from the Stephanie Lauren’s luncheon.  Because she too, is aware of my addiction.

Day 3: So. Many. Books.

Friday brings with it the first day of my gorging on books.  The first free book signings are occurring, and I line up with the rest of the eager readers, a faint sheen of perspiration dotting my upper lip, a gleam of consuming madness in my eye.  I try to make small talk with people in line, but it does little to quell my anticipation.

I get so many books.  So. Many. Books.

This is admittedly, one of those times I could have foregone the book-getting and attended a workshop or two, but clearly, I have a sickness.  Someone call Intervention.  My book gluttony is only vaguely interrupted by a lunch with the darling Sarah MacLean, and a meeting with my lovely editors at Berkley.

Oh, and I leave the Marriott to help the gorgeous Maisey Yates do a hotel switcheroo. (I’m happily wearing flatter shoes this day)  Clearly, I needed the air.  When I get back, I run into Miranda Neville and debut author Megan Mulry at the hotel bar, and we have a quick beverage before I change my dress for that evening’s cocktail parties.

A note on cocktail parties.  They are awkward under the best of circumstances.  But when one is driving, and therefore one cannot really drink, the awkwardness can be more apparent.  The awkwardness of trying to eat large shrimp while standing, for example.  Someone should teach a class on to how to do that properly.  The awkwardness of being near awesome Nalini Singh and not knowing what to say.  I don’t know if any class can fix that.  But I manage to eat my shrimp without total embarrassment, and meet some awesome new people, (hi Julie James!) and soon enough, it’s time to make the drive back again.

I’ll admit it, the commute is beginning to wear on me.  But there’s only one day left, thankfully.

Book count: I lost trip sometime during the third trip to my car with more books.

Day 4: My Workshop Debut!

Saturday is the last day of the conference, and it is the day of my own house book signing, which is scheduled for 9 in the morning.  Unfortunately, I am under the misapprehension, that it was scheduled for 9:30 in the morning.  So when I stroll in at 8:59, thinking that I am comfortably early, I find that I am in fact, very nearly late.  But luckily there are a few choice minutes for me to set up my table, my bookmarks, and steal a copy of soon to be RITA-winning Joanna Bourne’s The Black Hawk (with her permission, of course) before they open the doors and let everyone in.

Everything goes really fast.  I’m so happy that I get to see so many wonderful and excited readers, and that they are all eager to read If I Fall.  But my books are gone so quickly, there is a happy benefit:  The Ballroom Blog is the subject of a workshop that I thought I was going to have to miss, due to my presumed conflict with my house’s book signing (see misinformed about the time, above).  Thus, I get to dash across the conference hall and jump into speaking at my first ever workshop.

I honestly have no idea what I said.  You can download the recording of the workshop here.  Tell me if I sound weird.

Today is a short day for me, because I have family plans that evening.  Thus, I unfortunately, miss my fellow Ballroom Blog authoress Tessa Dare winning the RITA for Regency Historical Romance at the awards ceremony that night, but it is beyond awesome and I can’t wait for her to bring it to the Ballroom.  But all in all, it was a wonderful conference and I at this point, an so tired I needed a whole week to recover from it.

Book count: unknown.  Here’s a picture though…

Me and my haul. A love story.

For those of you who were at the conference, I hope we got a chance to meet and talk, at least a little bit.  For those of you who weren’t, if you are an author, an aspiring author, or a reader, I highly recommend the experience.  There is so much to learn and so many people to see — it is beyond a great community of people who are supportive and encouraging (truly, minimal professional jealousy).  And I only got asked if I had read 50 Shades of Grey about 4 times, so I consider that a win.

And for those of you who are as avid lovers of free books as I am, rejoice!  I SHARE.  I managed to grab a few extra copies of books, so I am going to be doing special impromptu giveaways in the next few weeks.  (This is aside from my regular website contest, which is always running).  Want to get in on it?  Well, I’ll give you a hint.  It might be a good idea to follow me on twitter.

That’s all for now (and whew, that’s a lot!).  It’s back to the grind for me, so stay tuned in the future – and until then, sweets, happy reading!

Every time a bell rings, a winner gets a new book.

It’s that time again – we have another winner in my website contest!  And the lucky winner is…

Samantha Miller!

Congratulations, Samantha!  You have won an autographed copy of Follow My Lead.  Check your email, we shall gab.

For those who did not win, fear not!  There are still plenty of prize drawings to come as summer wears on, and if you’ve entered already, you’re entered for the whole length of the contest.  And if you haven’t entered yet, what on earth is stopping you?

As for me, I’m engaging in a little R&R after the whirlwind of activity that was the Romance Writer’s of America Conference.  But stay tuned, I’ll post my RWA wrap up once I’ve caught up on my sleep.

Until then, kids – happy reading!

 

 

Countdown to the Conference

The Romance Writers of America’s national conference in Anaheim is right around the corner – T minus 3 days and counting! – and my excitement is reaching levels of unprecedented glee.  However, it’s around this time – a mere 72 hours out – that I start to realize just how colossally unprepared I am.  But, let my procrastination be your gain, as I detail what I have left to do, what I will pack, and what I’m going to do at RWA 2012.

What I have left to do:

1. Double check that you have sent and replied to all messages from friends and business contacts I intend to see at RWA.  All dates/times set up, with ample room left over for chance encounters at various coffee locales.

2. Put the finishing touches on any ideas I want to present to said industry contacts.  Really, come to think of it, this should be priority #1, but I’m more psyched to be seeing my buds.

3. Pick out my outfits.  Business casual, walkable shoes (for a better breakdown of this, I wrote a blog on getting ready for RWA last year.)

4. Get a manicure – because I’m going to be shaking a lot of hands.

What I need to pack:

This year's swag! Who wants some?

1. The aforementioned outfits.  (Unfortunately, I won’t be going to the RITA awards ceremony this year, so I can skip the evening dress and killer shoes.  Although this is no consolation.)

2. All of my swag!  This year, not only do I have some gorgeous new bookmarks, but I also have these Lizzie Bennet Diaries cards!  And of course, the ubiquitous “signed by the author” stickers, without which, we would all be lost in a haze of guestimation.

3. My signing pen.  Purple.  For royalty.

4. My computer – I will be finding a certain amount of time to sit and decompress at a coffee shop that has free wi-fi, and I will use that time to my best advantage.

5. My phone – which will have every single contact and meeting inputted into its calendar. (note – I should probably put “input info to phone” on the Things Left To Do List.)

What I need to do when once there:

1. Have a ball!

For those of you who will be at the conference, I’m so excited to get to see you!  I’ll be at the Literacy signing on Wednesday July 25th from 5-8pm, at table 602, so come find me!  (RWA helpfully posted a chart to help.)  Also, I’ll be hanging out with the ladies of The Ballroom on Thursday the 26th at 6:30 pm in the Marriott Bar, so come raise a glass of ratafia with us!

For those who will not be at RWA, I’m sorry that you’ll miss it… but if you want any of the swag mentioned above, just send me an email — I’ll happily send it your way.  (Plus, you know I’ll do a round up blog, so you’ll at least get a run down of what happened.)  Also, don’t forget to enter the website contest, there will be prizes for the rest of summer!

Until next time, sweets, happy conferencing!

 

 

New Winner, and Prepping for RWA!

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that every fortnight, a new winner must be drawn. However little known the feelings of this winner upon learning of their prize, the truth of their joy is so fixed in the minds of the non-winners, that they are set upon by furious jealousy.

And another one of those winners is drawn today! And so, without further ado, here she is:

MARICELLA BRILMYER!

A hearty congratulations to Maricella – you have won an autographed copy of Revealed! Check your email for further details. For those of you who did not win, take heart – there is still plenty of summer left, and plenty of drawings! Stay tuned for more excitement.

As for me, I am deep into the preparing for the next big thing: aka, the Romance Writer’s of America Convention in Anaheim! Are you going? I am picking out outfits, getting all my bookmarks and swag together, and I cannot wait to see everyone! I will be at the Literacy Autographing on Wednesday July 25th, at table 602, for those of you who want to stop by. Or you can come hang out with me and the ladies of the Ballroom Blog on Thursday July 26th, in the Marriott bar at 9:30pm Or, I’ll also be at the Berkley signing on Saturday, July 28th at (eep) 9:00 in the morning! Plus, if you happen to spot me by my hair, come say hi!

Are you coming to RWA? What are you most looking forward to? Authors? Editors? What panels should I hit up?