Kate Noble's Blog, page 26

Nanowrimo: A Summation, A Week Behind.

'A week behind' is a good way to sum up my Nanowrimo experience this year.  Always rushing to catch up, never quite there.  However, if you allow me an extra week, it is also the first year that I was successful in my 'Wrimo Mission.   So, I'm counting it as a win.

This year I learned the benefits of doing something just outside the bounds of what I think I can accomplish.  I learned that people will leave you alone to work when you ask them to, but you have to be able to tune right back in to your guests when your allotted time is up.   I learned that the DVR will hold a remarkable number of episodes of Sons of Anarchy.  I learned most of all, that pushing myself only makes me stronger.

I hope Nanowrimo was as productive for all of you as it was for me.  We will return to normal, less abbrieviation-intensive blogging, but in the meantime, don't forget about the website contest!  The list of authors contributing to the goodie basket has grow to epic proportions!  Currently, there are books from Katharine Ashe, Mia Marlowe, Monica Burns, Shana Galen, Emma Wildes, Sophie Jordan, Ashley March, Lila DiPasqua, Vanessa Kelly, Tracey Jane Jackson, and of course, moi!  Don't miss out!

Until later, sweets, happy reading!

Nanowrimo Week 4: LEAVE ME ALONE AND LET ME TYPE.

I am going to make a formal appeal that next year, Nanowrimo take place during a month without a major national holiday.  Like… May.  Nothing happens in May.  Except graduations and spring and wanting to be outdoors and such, but nothing big.  Nothing that requires cross-country travel and cooking for 24 hours straight.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, the turkeys have been cooked (we had ours smoked by the BBQ place around the corner. YUM), and guests have come and gone.  And all the while I was guilty.  Guilty that I wasn't working.  Guilty that football held sway over my afternoon and not my characters.  Guilty that pie put me to sleep on the couch when I should have snuck in an hour here and there to write a couple hundred words.  Guilty that I didn't get to the gym… although that guilt is a constant and not really Nano-related.

I made sure to get in as much time as possible before the holiday, and actually managed to squeeze in an hour or three to myself on Friday to get work done.  But the fact of the matter is, I'm behind, I'm worried, and I don't think that any amount of time will be enough.  As of today, there are only 4 days left to November, and I have a lot of work to get done between then and now.  It's frightening.  And it's the fear that has me snapping LEAVE ME ALONE AND LET ME TYPE!  At least, that's what I told my family members.  And that's what I get to go do now.

Pleasure Me from Monica Burns! (It'll go in the prize basket in the background)

Until next week, let this tide you over:  I'm getting even MORE books for my book basket prize in my website contest!  Check out what Monica Burns sent me!  This and a dozen more romance novels are up for grabs, and will be delivered just in time for Christmas!  It's highly recommended you enter.

Until next week sweets, happy reading!

Nanowrimo Week 3: Too Busy to Blog

This week, Nanowrimo kicked into high gear for me, at around the same time regular work did too (everyone wants to get everything done before Thanksgiving it seems — and I don't blame them).  Thus, there is little to no time for insightful reflections on what the week of work has brought me, besides plot and character spinning through my head, and the early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome. Which, come to think of it, is how it should be.

We're gonna need a bigger basket.

But, to tide you over, I present to you a little eye candy!  This basket is full of books, from wonderful authors such as Lila DiPasqua, Katharine Ashe, Shana Galen, Vanessa Kelly, Mia Marlowe, Ashley March, Emma Wildes, Sophie Jordan, and more!  (Er…. perhaps I need to get a bigger basket.)

Coincidentally, this basket (plus any one of my books) is up for grabs in my website contest!  Which will conclude just before the holidays…  Consider entering the contest as a gift to yourself…

Until next week, folks, happy reading!

Nanowrimo Week 2: The Invasion.

Well kids, week two of Nanowrimo has come and gone.  It's the week when in times past, I had given up.  I let the intensity of 'wrimoing slip my mind, and I let life slip back in.  There's laundry, classes, dinners to prepare, Biggest Loser to watch, and oh yeah, regular work to do.  So, I was particularly keen to make it through this week without being distracted from my task.

There was one problem:  I had a houseguest.

Not for the whole week, but as I'm sure you all know, houseguests take prep.  Then, you want to actually spend time with them.  Finally, once they leave – sad as it is to see them go – you have to play catch up with the rest of everything.

Houseguests are the death knell of Nanowrimo.

I was determined that this year would be different.  Thus, when my houseguest arrived, I did something out of character.  I said, "Hi, fabulous to see you, I hope you don't mind doing some things on your own because I have work to do."

And you know what?  They were.  Perhaps I underestimated people understanding the fact that my work days are far more fluid and somewhat intense than others.  Perhaps they were hoping to explore the city on their own.  Or perhaps they saw my unwashed hair and bleary gaze and were grateful for the excuse to back away slowly.  But the point is, I got work done.  Work, therefore, can get done, even with the obstacles we put in our way.

Which means I guess I better get back to it.

Enter my contest, and these could be yours, plus a bunch more!

I hope everyone is doing well in their Nanowrimo endeavors.  If you are 'wrimoing, let me know!  We can be writing buddies.  And I would like to remind everyone that there is a brand new contest up – one lucky winner will win a huge basket of books from a bunch of fabulous authors, just in time for the holidays.  I'm receiving new books almost daily – today Katharine Ashe and Vanessa Kelly's books came in the mail.  They could be yours!

Until later sweets, happy reading!

Nano the Heck out of the Wrimo

For those of you who follow me on facebook or twitter, you must have noticed that over the course of the past week or so, I've been using the word "Nanowrimo" a lot.  You might be surprised to learn that it is not the name of an awesome Native American ceremony, nor is it a particle smaller than a neutrino, currently being spun at the speed of light in the Large Hadron Collider.  It is instead, a convoluted acronym for a very panic-inducing exercise.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which takes place every November.  Founded in 1999, Nanowrimo has grown from it's humble roots to unofficially taking over the month of November, as hundreds of thousands of writers – both professional and aspiring – try to write a 50,000 word novel in a month.

That's right, an entire novel.

Now, you might say, but Kate, you write novels for a living!  Surely the idea of a deadline does not frighten you!  To which I would reply, yes, I am a professional writer and deadlines TERRIFY me.  It is that terror that wakes me up in the middle of the night, and keeps me typing during the day.  But yes, I suppose that I should be accustomed to the terror, and not need some arbitrary month declared the time frame in which to write a novel to motivate me.  After all, I do it all the time.

But, what I don't do conceive a story, block it out, write and revise it, in the space of a month.  Which is what I'm planning to do.*

Now, I have attempted to participate in Nanowrimo before, to little success.  A lot of people get very excited at the beginning of the month, but then flag in the middle, and by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you're in a pie-induced stupor and have forgotten about it completely.  But this time, I have a secret weapon:  You.

I'm going to make myself accountable to you.  Posting word count updates, writing problems, and their eventual solutions.  And you can do the same to me!  Find me on facebook or twitter – or just email me here.  Or, become my writing buddy on Nanowrimo.org (my user name is KateNoble).  Together, you and I can get through this, and come December 1st, our stupor will be project induced, not pie!

So as you can see, there's lots of writing to be done.  But in the meantime, check out my brand new contest!  The winner will receive a huge box of books from me, just in time for Christmas!  Besides the authors listed on the contest, there are books from Katharine Ashe, Shana Galen, Vanessa Kelly, and Mia Marlowe, too!

Until next week, happy Nanowrimoing!

*Yes, this is slightly different than the standard rules of 'wrimo-ing.  But I make my own rules!

Final Contest Winner!

Hello ladies and gentlemen – today I am drawing the final winner in my three month website contest. It's been a fun run, but we've reached the end. So, without further ado, the winner is –

BELLA FRANCO!

Congratulations, Bella! You have won an autographed copy of Compromised! I'll be emailing you shortly so we can get the book to you ASAP.

For those who did not win – take heart. It may be the end of this contest, but in a couple of days, there will be a brand NEW contest up, with new quiz questions, and new prizes! So stay tuned!

Lots of work for me this week – not only that, but I am fulfilling my civic responsibilities and have jury duty this week. Who knows, maybe the sterile government environment will be a great place to just sit down and type. Until next time, sweets – Happy Reading!

What Kate's Reading, Fall 2011 Edition

As a writer, I have to tightly schedule my reading time.  After all, any time that I'm reading is time that I could be writing, right?  But reading has always been my vice.  Therefore, I find that I'll go a few weeks without reading a book, and then I glut myself on many over the course of a weekend.

Well, on a recent weekend, I found myself in the throes of not one, not two, but three fabulous historical romances.  Thus, I felt the need to share them with you:

The Rules of Gentility by Janet Mullany

[image error]A very traditional story, but a very different sort of romance novel, in that it is told in 1st person, from her hero and heroine's perspective – sort of like dueling diary entries.  It's billed as Bridget Jones meets Jane Austen, and given how much those two have in common its inevitable that this is a fun, exciting read about a young lady out in society, who has no greater ambition that to trim the best bonnet while avoiding her less than desirable suitors, and a rascal of a hero who only wants to avoid the parson's mousetrap. Thus, a sham engagement is proposed – in a water closet, no less –  so they can each enjoy the season without pressure from family.  But as they get to know one another, and trust each other with their secrets, the inevitable happens and they fall in love.  I could not love the bubbly tone of this book more.  (Amazon has this book on sale right now – you should definitely check it out!)

The Heir by Grace Burrowes

Yes, yes, I finally read The Heir. I'm a little behind the curve.  But considering this debut book went to the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, I'm not the only one who adored it, but adore it I did.  I was really impressed with Burrowes's world building.  She puts you so irrevocably into the lives of the Earl of Westhaven and his housekeeper Anna Seaton, that you never want to leave them.  (luckily, this is the first in a series, so you don't have to!)  Yes, I said Anna is a housekeeper.  But a housekeeper as young and pretty as Anna is unusual, and a housekeeper that can read and write several languages is unheard of.  This intrigues Westhaven, to say the least.  And he'll stop at nothing to figure out Anna's secrets… and then, he finds himself protecting her from them.  (Note – the kindle version is on sale right now.  Don't say I never did anything for you!)

The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen

[image error]I just love Shana Galen's writing.  What an evocative book.  What a fantastic tortured hero – tortured in the very literal sense.  Armand Harcourt has spent the last 12 years locked away, forgotten in a French prison, while the Revolution and subsequent war happened around him.  He hasn't had interaction with his family – let alone with humanity – in all that time, and as such, doesn't know manners, or the rules of society.  Felicity Bennett is hired to be his tutor, and from the first moment, he is enraptured by her.  And while dark and dangerous stuff lurks hidden in his mind, threatening his progress and their happiness, you'll be pleased to know that right wins out, and love does indeed conquer all.

(note – the kindle version is also on sale right now, so… you know… you should check it out.)

So that's what I've been reading – I'll be back next week with the penultimate winner in my website contest, so if you haven't entered yet, now's a good time!  Until then, sweets – happy reading!

The Winners Keep Coming!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the day I draw another winner in my website contest!  And without further ado, that randomly-selected winner is…

MICHELLE BLEDSOE!!!

Congrats Michelle!  You have won an autographed copy of Compromised! We will email to organize the details, but for now, bask in the glory of winning!

For those of you who did not win, fear not – there's still a little (but only a little!) time left on this contest, and another winner will be drawn in two weeks.  However, if you haven't entered yet, why not?  It's easy!  Here's the crash course:

1.     The contest will run for three months.

2.     A winner will be drawn every two weeks.

3.     To enter, all you have to do is fill out the form on the contest page.

4.     The prize is your choice of Compromised, Revealed, or The Summer of You.

5.     If you want to read more about the books you could win, go to the book page.

6.     If you've entered once, you will be entered for the length of the whole contest.  You do not need to enter again.

7.     One entry per person.

That's all for now, sweets, but I'll be back in a few days with a run down of the best books I've read lately – and I read a LOT.  Until then, happy reading!

Cover Art

I recently posted the cover art for my next book, If I Fall, and I think is utterly gorgeous.  So do all of my friends, whom I proudly display it to on my phone, like a grandma with newborn grandchildren.

This inevitably sparks conversation, and one question that is brought up time and again is — how much input does an author normally has on the cover of their books?

Well, the answer to that is that there is no standard, no normal.  It varies between authors, and between publishing houses.  I know some authors who have absolutely no input, and just have to hope that what is given to them fits with the theme and style of the story.  Then there are other authors who are able to dictate to the tiniest detail what should be on the cover of the book. (One of the benefits of self-publishing, I'm told, is being able to have absolute control over the covers.  It's also one of the most terrifying things.)

For me, I don't get a lot of input, but I do get some, and I'm grateful that I do.  Lemme walk you through the process.

Cover Conference.

My publishers will have a cover conference to discuss the book and what kind of cover they think would go with it.  About a week before this conference, my editor asks me for a one page synopsis of the plot of the book, character descriptions and any important scenes or themes that I think should be featured on the cover.

The new prettiness. Love it!

But, you might ask, don't they have they book in hand?  Why can't they just read it, and then know what would work?  Well, in point of fact, they don't necessarily have the book in hand.  A lot of different factors go into the scheduling of the cover conference, including but not limited to the number of books in line in front of my book, the availability of their preferred artist and model, etc.  For If I Fall, the cover conference occurred before my deadline.  And yes, it's true, I do write an outline beforehand, which my editor has had for months, but that outline probably doesn't list the physical characteristics of the characters or any of the themes that emerged while writing the story.

For If I Fall, I wrote that my main character had blonde straight hair, green eyes, etc.  But I made sure to mention that the color gold is a primary theme for her.  It's just about all she wears (I hope I'm not giving away too much for you here!)  That, and given the title of the book is If I Fall, it makes sense that a balcony would figure into the story at some point, right?

My editor takes this document into her cover conference.  This is the extent of my influence on the cover… unless, three months later when the cover is done, changes are necessary.

If There are Changes…

In my understanding, once a cover is done, it's done.  Love it or hate it, it's very rare for a cover to undergo significant changes.  That said, two of my covers have been… tweaked.  One, a relatively minor change, the other slightly more complicated.

The original cover of The Summer of You

The final cover of The Summer of You

For The Summer of You, the original cover had a blue background, like a bright summer sky.  However, it was mentioned that since the cover of my previous release, Revealed, is blue, it might cause some confusion on the shelves.  Therefore the background color was changed to a pinkish-coral, like a sunset.  Since the painting for the cover was done on computer, it was relatively easy to change a single element like the background color. (** short rant** Sometimes, the original blue cover can still be seen on bookseller websites, even though it was never published that way.  Drives me nuts. **rant end**)

The cover of Follow My Lead was a little more complicated.  You see, it was originally going to feature not only a female figure, but a man as well.

Follow My Lead... now with extra jaunty!

Full disclosure: I may have requested this in my cover conference document, saying that since the book is told heavily from the male perspective, and it's about following and chasing, hey, why not have a guy on the cover too!

But then the cover came, and I think my boyfriend summed it up best when he said:

"Oh my.  Isn't he… jaunty."

Now, as a romance novelist, you want any man featured on your cover to be a number of things: Desirable… Powerful… Shirtless… but never jaunty.  So together, my editor, agent and I discussed how to fix this.  We couldn't have it repainted (far too complicated), couldn't readjust sizes, so really, the only option was to erase the jaunty gentleman, and breathe a sigh of relief that the rest of the cover was drop dead gorgeous.

 

The final cover of Follow My Lead. Less jaunty. More pretty.

Bear in mind, every author's relationship with their publishers are different regarding covers, thus, your mileage may vary.  Sometimes it's painless and you fall in love instantly with your cover art, and sometimes a little tweaking is necessary.  I will say, however, that I'm eternally grateful for the amount of input I do have and am gratified to have pretty damn beautiful covers, each and every one.

That's all for me today, sweets.  Until next time, happy reading — and while you're reading, take a moment to appreciate all that goes into the cover art.  And all that goes into the book underneath it.

New Gorgeousness!

Hi all, and happy Monday! And why is it so happy?  Because we have wonderful news here at KateNoble.com.  The prettiness of the cover for If I Fall has arrived!  And without further ado, here it is!

I'm so in love with this cover – The gold dress, the balcony, the look in her eyes… the fact that she has eyes… (my previous covers, while beautiful, are rather notoriously headless).  But most of all I can't wait for you to fall in love with Sarah Forrester and Jackson Fletcher the way I did.  They'll be arriving April 3rd, 2012, but stay tuned hereabouts, because in the near-ish future there will be sneak peeks, excerpts and more!

(But if you really, truly can't wait, pick up a copy of Follow My Lead!  There is an exculsive excerpt in the back of the book!)

Until later, sweets, happy reading!