Elizabeth Boyle's Blog, page 35

Third Place Books Signing

First of all, huge props go to Stefanie Sloane who organized this wonderful event. As Julia Quinn and I joked, nothing would have happened–not the food, the flowers, getting the word out–if Stefanie wasn't the world's most organized writer. I will only take credit for picking up the incredible and beautiful cakes from Bakery Nouveau, which was a task I was assigned based solely on the fact I live in that part of town.

Everything was ready and waiting for us. From our books:

To lots of Lord Langleys awaiting good homes. Doesn't he look entirely lonely and in need of adoption? Luckily there were plenty of takers and hardly any left.

All we had to do was show up. Here we are, me, Stefanie Sloane and Julia Quinn.

Ready for questions and to sign our hearts out.

I think the real star of the evening was the food. The food deserves its own post! It was so gorgeous and delicious.

Love these cakes!

But mostly, I loved all the beautiful fans, readers and curious who showed up and greeted us with such wonderful enthusiasm. Thank you very for being the true stars of the evening. You reminded all three of us how lucky we are and how much you mean to us.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

One Busy Week

Bracing myself for the week ahead. Three events, four if you count that this morning, Lord Langley goes on sale! Huzzah! Hurray! Yee-hah! I think that covers it.

Since I am usually a stay at home mom who has been known to drive through carpool pick up wearing her slippers, being trussed up, er, dressed up for three events (one of them in front of a live stream internet audience) is rather daunting. But I will survive if only because A) I get to meet so many of you, and 2) I'm hanging with my good peeps, Julia Quinn and Stefanie Sloane.

Here are the particulars:

Tonight: Booksigning & Launch Party at Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, Wa. Think lots of chocolate, celebration and good times. At least that is what is on the schedule. I'm in charge of getting the cake there in one piece. I make no promises on that! And if a piece is missing when I arrive, I chalk that up to nerves.

Friday, June 3rd: Romance Live! Powell's Books, Beaverton, Or and LIVE! via the internet. So this open to everyone. I mean, everyone. Like from the North Pole to the South Pole and all points between. Which if I start thinking about that too much, I may just pass out in the middle of it. So if you would like to see Julia Quinn have to call 911 as I suffer a full on panic attack, tune in. But truly, you can tune in, ask us questions, and even order a signed book personalized just for you.

(I think my cousin is coming to this, so if you see a tall, handsome looking guy in the back, ask him if he is related to me. That ought to freak him out. He'll think all my readers are clairvoyant.)

Sunday, June 5th, Booksigning, Barnes & Noble, Silverdale, Wa. Love going across the Sound and seeing all my friends across the water. Really is more fun than work.

All the details for these events and more, can be found on my Events page.

So if you are anywhere on the planet, you can attend one of these three events. No excuses. Save if you are squeamish about seeing an author panic. Or Julia puts peer pressure on me to read aloud from my book. I'm not saying it will get ugly, but believe me, she'll only make that mistake once. LOL.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Book Spooting

A long time ago, a typo in a group post amongst the Avon Authors became the butt of some good-natured ribbing. I don't even remember who it was, but someone had gone to their local store to see if they could "spoot" the new books that were supposed to be out that day.

Book spooting! We all laughed, but after that it became a monthly tradition for everyone to report in and give "book spooting" reports as to when our various titles had arrived at ones local Walmart, Target, B&N, Borders, Books-a-Million, grocery stores, et al. This was before all the instant information was available for authors and we each liked reporting in about our various corners of the country (and the world) as to when the new books came out.

Often times, we intrepid authors would be the front line of cajoling and in some cases, harrying poor booksellers to "GET OUR BOOKS OUT." Besides being creative spellers, we were a pushy lot.

So it was with some delight and surprise when @JoyfullyReviewed over on Twitter posted this picture of Lord Langley is Back in Town at her local Giant grocery store a whole five days early from when it was supposed to be out:

The pic made me smile and remember those sometimes hilarious "book spooting" reports.

Then I thought about how much easier it is now to book spoot. Just bring out your phone and snap a picture and in a click it is on Facebook or Twitter or email. Kewl Beans!



So here's the CONTEST:

Send me your book spooting reports! Either a pic on Twitter with #LordLangley or upload it to Facebook and tag it with my name, or just make a comment down below where you intend to find the book or have ordered it from. You can also email your pics to me at "Elizabeth AT ElizabethBoyle DOT com". I'll give you all until midnight, PT, Saturday, June 4th to give spooting a try and get your entry in.

PRIZE: A Portland goody bag, featuring some fun chocolates, coffees, goodies, and of course, books from one of my favorite Pacific NW cities.

And remember, harry booksellers at your own risk. Lovely people 99% of the time, but when unfed or overworked, they can be dangerous. Approach with chocolate and you should be safe.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Five Things about Stefanie Sloane

Meet debut author, Stefanie Sloane, who won't be a debut author for very long since she has three books coming out in the next three months. Yes, you heard me correctly three wonderful Regency historical romances, one after another. And you get to meet her first! (BTW, the first one, The Devil in Disguise is out now!)

So, without further ado, here are Five Things about Stefanie Sloane:

Favorite indulgence: Cake. Any kind of cake, though I do love an old-fashioned, run of the mill, Grandma-type fudge chocolate cake.

If you could go on a date with one of your heroes, which one and why? William Randall, the Duke of Clairemont, from my debut book, The Devil in Disguise. I had Gerard Butler in mind while writing Will, and honestly, who wouldn't want to go on a date with Gerard Butler?!



Favorite place to shop online: http://www.etsy.com. I'm not the least bit craftsy, though I wish I were, and Etsy has the most amazing artsy, craftsy, unique items to be found on the planet.



Most played song on your iPod – Tough one as I go through phases, but right now, I'm listening to Adele's newest album a lot. Specifically, her cover of The Cure's "I Will Always Love You." Absolute magic.

Best advice your mother ever gave you about men: Always wear clean underwear. Ok, this was not meant to be specifically about men–actually, knowing my mother, it absolutely was not meant to have ANYTHING to do with men. But if one were so inclined, it could easily pertain to, oh, I don't know, romantic trysts, for example. You know, should your mind wander and all.

Keep your eyes out for The Devil in Disguise, and coming in June, The Angel in My Arms, and finally in July, The Sinner Who Seduced Me.

Learn more about Stefanie and her upcoming Regency Rogues novels at StefanieSloane.com.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Lord Langley Winner

We have a winner for the early finished copy of Lord Langley is Back in Town. And without too much further ado, (But I do love a good ado when it drags out the suspense that much more) the winner is: ChrisS, whose comment on May 23 at 11:22am started as follows:

I definitley prefer a flawed Hero.

There you have it, ChrisS, you are my winner. You'll find my email at the top of my Contact page. Please send me your full name and address before noon PT tomorrow (May 26th) so I can overnight your copy of Lord Langley is Back in Town to you. Bragging rights come complimentary.

And don't despair if you didn't win. I'll be holding contests like this every Monday. And next time it could be you (unless you are ChrisS, then it is you)!

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

In Defense of Felicity

As the early reviews began to come in for Lord Langley is Back in Town, I was quite pleased to find that all of them were very favorable. I wanted the story to be funny, but I also wanted the story to have an emotional depth, since it is a story of coming home and about discovering one's identity, and the reviews I was reading got that. Hurrah!

But one review stood out, and not for its kind words about the book but what it said about Felicity, the heroine of Love Letters from a Duke, and a reoccurring character throughout this series. They wrote:

Felicity was mentioned several times in this book, and as I haven't read her book yet, I'm not sure if the Felicity that is being depicted here is what I would find when I read her book. Yet, I find myself not liking this Felicity at all. I can understand why she'd want Lucy, Elinor and Minerva (widows related to her husband by marriage) to stay together in one house (to cut down expenses), but to even begrudge them the basic repairs that would make the house livable is I feel too much, especially as I'm sure she's rich, being a duchess. What happened is that I'm not left with a charitable impression of Felicity. (Romance Reviews)

To be honest, this isn't the first time that a reviewer or a reader review has nailed poor Felicity for her, ahem, single-mindedness.

I will say here and now, that the Felicity whom we met in This Rake of Mine, who found her heart in Love Letters from a Duke and takes her bow in the last pages of Lord Langley has never changed. Nor would I want her to.

Here is why I love Felicity: she is so wonderfully flawed. She is a determined, bossy, pain in the butt, who will stop at nothing (and I mean nothing) that crosses her plans. We all have friends like this, "my way or the highway" sort of people, who see the world through tunnel vision and have their objectives squarely in their sights. But here is why we keep them as our friends: their intentions are always well-meaning.

There isn't a vicious bone in Felicity's body–when she tosses the Standon widows into that tumbledown house, she hasn't done anything to them that she hasn't already survived herself. That was her house and she knew how much she wanted out of it, so she knew that desire to rise out of the mire would only motivate the widows to get off their duffs and find their true loves.

Yes, not to freeze, not to starve, but to move beyond the anger and stagnation that was their lives before Felicity kicks them in the butt. She is a matchmaker for one of the best reasons: she knows the redemptive powers of love. It saved her when she met Fletcher, and since then she has done her determined best to make sure everyone else discovers their own "happily ever after" as well.

Oh, her methods are a bit high-handed, I'll give you that, but here's my last word on Felicity.

She's never boring.

I think that is one of the biggest flaws in romance, that we are expected to make our characters likeable, and I don't argue with that per se, but what I don't want to do is write about perfect heroines. The sugar sweet sort of Disney heroines of old who float through a magical world into the arms of their waiting prince.

My heroines will never float.

They will cheat, claw and fight their way to that man's side, and he better be darn worthy of her when she gets there.

So tell me: Do you like characters with flaws? Loads of them? Or just a few? What are your favorite character flaws?

Comment and enter to win one of the very first finished copies of Lord Langley is Back in Town! I'll pull one winner's name Wednesday at noon PT, and give them until noon Thursday to email me with their address and then I will overnight the book to them so they have it for the three day weekend. (Sorry, I can only do this for US residents.)

I will award the prize only if I get over 100 unique comments on my blog–so share the contest, tweet about it, let your peeps know and encourage them to enter. This prize comes with big bragging rights.

MONDAY BLOG CONTEST Guidelines and Rules:

Three ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment here on my blog. (If you are reading this on Facebook, pop over to this post on my blog, http://elizabethboyle.com/blog/?p=1000 because Facebook has gotten all stinky about contests, so entries can only done at my website.)

2) Follow me on Twitter (@ElizBoyle) and then make the following tweet:

I just entered to #win #LordLangley from @ElizBoyle! #AndILoveToWin. You can enter at http://bit.ly/l3LbX0

3) Do both and you're entered twice!

And don't forget, check back to discover if you've won and contact me before Thursday, May 26, 2011 at noon PT to claim your prize.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Lord Langley ~ Regency SEAL?

Last weekend, the Seattle Times ran a front page article about Navy SEALS and how they make great romance novel heroes. On the front page of the paper. If you didn't get to read the article, here it is in its original form via the Washington Post.

Of course all my husband sees as he reads the article is how successful all these books about SEALS are and has to ask, "Why aren't you writing about SEALS?"

Well, I am here to argue that I am. And have been for years. May I introduce my newest Regency era SEAL, Lord Langley, and five ways he can be compared to his modern day (and oh-so-hero-worthy) counterparts.

1) Lord Langley has slipped in and out of danger for years. Okay, mostly into the boudoirs and bedrooms of beautiful women. But seriously, you don't take a margravine as a mistress unless you can protect yourself.

2) Thalia and Felicity Langley's long lost father, who everyone thought was dead, has survived some pretty harrowing adventures to return to London. And the worse is yet to come.

3) He's gotten himself engaged to Minerva Sterling. Obviously this is a man who isn't afraid to stare death in the face.

4) Langley and Aunt Bedelia get along. For the most part. I say that takes a whole lot of diplomacy and the keen ability to watch your back. After outliving five husbands, she's hardly an enemy any man wants to make.

5) When it comes to risking everything, Langley will not stop until his country, his family and his beloved are safe and sound. (With the help of a few of his friends: Clifton and Mad Jack, just to name a few)

What do you think gives Navy SEALS that heroic edge? And can a Regency era hero boast the same?

P.S. CONTEST WINNER And just in case you wanted to know–the winner of the Monday, May 16th Twitter blog contest is Kati R or @romancingrakes as she is known on Twitter. Kati, please contact me with your address and I will get your prize of a book bag and books off to you. You have until May 29th to claim your prize. Not a winner?? Check in again this coming Monday for my next blog contest.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Five Things About: Laura Lee Guhrke

The cool part about being an author is that you get to meet lots of other authors. So I thought I would share the fun with all of you and asked a bunch of my author buddies to share something about themselves that you might not know.

Here is the first in a series of Five Fun Things . . . . about Laura Lee Guhrke:

1) The last book you read: Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

2) Favorite place to shop online: Amazon. Where else? They have books.

3) If you could go on a date with one of your heroes, which one and why? Gosh, no. I'd never date one of my heroes. They are too messed up.

4) Favorite dessert: pie, pie, pie

5) Most played song on your iPod: Lately? The Pogues, If I Should Fall From Grace With God. I put that song back on my Ipod because I couldn't get it out of my head after seeing the commercial of the little boys playing hockey.

Want to find out more about Laura? Visit her website, LauraLeeGuhrke.com, or give one of my new favorite books of Laura's a try, Scandal of the Year.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Twinkle, Twinkle, I'm on Twitter

I've been twittered. Or at least I've dipped my toe in and have given it a try. I feel so . . . connected and a little baffled and a lot overwhelmed by the feeds. Who to follow? What are the rules? What are the social niceties that one must follow so that one does not upset or insult anyone? Which being me, won't be all that hard NOT to do.

I blame Liza Palmer (@LizaPalmer) and Megan Crane (@megancrane) (who also writes as Caitlin Crews) entirely for this situation. When I was down in LA for the Romantic Times conference, they took me out to dinner, forced me to eat way too much food, as well as second dessert, and then, when I was in a food induced, pushed-over-the-edge-by-too-much-chocolate hangover, they convinced me that I couldn't live without Twitter. More like browbeat. The peer pressure was too much. I caved like a souffle. Albeit it, a really good chocolate one.

So what have I learned from being on Twitter? [image error]

1) Well, it is an entirely new language. Full of #marks, RT (which means Retweet, aka a forward, not Romantic Times–which is totally an honest mistake if you spend the first three days on Twitter wondering why everyone is plugging Romantic Times.)

2) That you can truly waste a lot of time wondering what is going to roll up next in the feed and also that if you live on the West coast, that on Tuesdays you shouldn't go on Twitter after 5 pm, unless you like having a new episode of Glee spoiled by all the East coasters tweeting their opinions of said episode, #whichIhaven'tseen. Same goes for during the day when All My Children and One Life to Life are playing any where east of northern Idaho.

3) That, like Facebook, Twitter opens you up to a new a much bigger world of connectivity. I have met some interesting new people, hooked up with some old friends–waving at former Dell author and talented writer, Shelly Thacker (@shellythacker)–as well as communicated and shared tweets with famous folks I never thought to "meet." I've also happened upon some news pieces and business news that would probably have never passed my radar before Twitter.

All in all, I've enjoyed meeting other Austen aficionados, knitting addicts, and of course, lovers of books and especially romance novels. I love the quirky humor of my fellow romance authors (@KatharineAshe and @TessaDare) and love peeking into the lives of others. Therefore, if you are so inclined, and are not easily insulted, and most of all, will humor my missteps and odd tweets, I invite you to follow me, @ElizBoyle.[image error]

Now to make it more fun, I want to hear about your adventures or non-adventures with Twitter and to sweeten the pot, I am giving away a bag of books to one lucky commenter, tweeter or otherwise lucky person.

CONTEST Guidelines and Rules:

Three ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment here on my blog with either your Twitter handle or on why (and more importantly, HOW) you have avoided Twitter. (If you are reading this on Facebook, pop over to this post on my blog, http://elizabethboyle.com/blog/2011/0... because Facebook has gotten all stinky about contests, so entries can only done at my website.)

2) Follow me on Twitter and then make the following tweet:

I just entered to #win a bag of romance books from @ElizBoyle! #AndILoveToWin. You can enter at http://tinyurl.com/3q4px39

3) Do both and you're entered twice!

Enter before May 20th, midnight PDT and I will announce a winner in my Saturday, May 21st blog. Check back to discover if you've won and contact me before Saturday May, 29th to claim your prize.

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.

Making Progress

Here I told you all that I would get another blog written last week and here it is Friday of this week. Sheesh. Um. Wow. I've been writing? Does that work? I actually have been writing. Head down, working on the next book. And I've come to the realization that getting a book done is like cleaning the kitchen. It gets done one thing at a time.

Or, in the case of a book, one page at a time.

There are nights when I drag my tired carcass into the kitchen and wonder who made the mess cooking dinner (answer: moi) and why do I have to clean it.

But then I remember my mother's adage that you just focus on thing at a time. Don't think about the entire job, just the ketchup that needs to go back in the fridge. Then the leftover that needs something to go into. Etc. Before I know it, the kitchen is finished and I've gotten the task done without it seeming like a boatload of exhausting work.

Really, what I've done is put on tunnel vision to keep from panicking as I wade into the chaos.

So when I get bogged down in the writing or can't seem to see the story through the forest of writing the needs to be done . . . or fixed . . . or thought up . . . I start breaking the book down into the most manageable parts I can face–the chapter that is bothering me, the scene that seems off, the thread of the plot that keeps unraveling.

Don't focus on the giant task ahead, rather do what is in front of you and finish it. Then worry about what is next.

My mother's advice works for just about every aspect of life–I even use it in my knitting when I start to tackle some project that seems beyond my skills. I start with the cast on, then Row 1, even, when it gets really complicated, just the SK2P in front of me.

I think everyone has tasks in their lives that can use a deep breath and a little tunnel vision. What do you have to face that a little tunnel vision could help?

©2011 Elizabeth Boyle Blog. All Rights Reserved.

.