Molly O'Keefe's Blog, page 32
August 20, 2012
CRAZY THING CALLED LOVE COVER REVEAL!
The third book in the Crooked Creek series - Billy and Maddy's book is out Jan. 29. And I'm really really thrilled about the cover. No, there's no facial scar, and it's a good thing there isn't a fourth book in the series because I have no idea how they'd dress him - but I think this cover is beautiful. Just lovely. And her eyes are closed - I love that. What do you think?
In this poignant and deeply sensual new contemporary romance, Molly O’Keefe proves that lost loves don’t have to stay lost forever.
Dallas TV morning show host Madelyn Cornish is poised, perfect, and unflappable, from her glossy smile to her sleek professionalism. No one knows that her iron will guards a shattered heart, and memories of a man she’s determined to lock out. Until that man shows up at a morning meeting like a bad dream: Billy Wilkins, sexy hockey superstar on a tailspin—still skating, still fighting, and still her ex-husband.
Now the producers want this poster child for bad behavior to undergo an on-air makeover, and Billy, who has nothing to lose, agrees to the project. It’s his only chance to get near Maddy again, and fight for the right things this time around. He believes in the fire in Maddy’s whisky eyes, and the passion that ignites the air between them. This bad boy heartbreaker wants a last shot to be redeemed by the only thing that matters: Maddy’s love.
“Molly O’Keefe is a unique, not-to-be-missed voice in romantic fiction.”
—New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen
In this poignant and deeply sensual new contemporary romance, Molly O’Keefe proves that lost loves don’t have to stay lost forever.
Dallas TV morning show host Madelyn Cornish is poised, perfect, and unflappable, from her glossy smile to her sleek professionalism. No one knows that her iron will guards a shattered heart, and memories of a man she’s determined to lock out. Until that man shows up at a morning meeting like a bad dream: Billy Wilkins, sexy hockey superstar on a tailspin—still skating, still fighting, and still her ex-husband.
Now the producers want this poster child for bad behavior to undergo an on-air makeover, and Billy, who has nothing to lose, agrees to the project. It’s his only chance to get near Maddy again, and fight for the right things this time around. He believes in the fire in Maddy’s whisky eyes, and the passion that ignites the air between them. This bad boy heartbreaker wants a last shot to be redeemed by the only thing that matters: Maddy’s love.
“Molly O’Keefe is a unique, not-to-be-missed voice in romantic fiction.”
—New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen
August 17, 2012
It's time to go back to work
I've been slacking... really, really slacking. It's been summer and weekends are busy, and with the nice weather, who wants to be indoors and there's Bachelor Pad and So you think you can dance, and a whole host of other excuses.
And so four months has gone by and I have precious little to show for it. So now it's back to work, page counts and weekly goals and being held accountable, because without it, I don't get anything done.
And I'm pretty sure the rest of my critique group is right there with me.
So who else has been slacking this summer?
And has anyone else read The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I devoured it, loved every moment with a crazy passion and immediately after reading the end, went to the author website to see when the next book is coming out. It might be my favourite YA since The Hunger Games.
And so four months has gone by and I have precious little to show for it. So now it's back to work, page counts and weekly goals and being held accountable, because without it, I don't get anything done.
And I'm pretty sure the rest of my critique group is right there with me.
So who else has been slacking this summer?
And has anyone else read The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I devoured it, loved every moment with a crazy passion and immediately after reading the end, went to the author website to see when the next book is coming out. It might be my favourite YA since The Hunger Games.
August 16, 2012
Smart Talk...
For any readers of our blog who don't know - Molly and I were interviewed by Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches during one of her RWA National Conference podcasts. It was actually one of the highlights of the conference for me because I’m such a huge fan of the DBSA podcasts in general.
I love listening to really smart people talk about romance seriously. And sometimes not so seriously. The jokes are there about romance novels no doubt, and to truly have an intelligent conversation you have to accept the good with the bad. But for the first time listening to those podcasts, I really appreciated having someone legitimize both what I write and what I read.
Then Molly and I got to be the smart people talking and that was fun too. We chatted for almost two hours about books, and sex, and the impact of sex in romance novels on women and their lives and I thought YES! This is so cool.
I’m done with being maligned for reading what I love. I’m done thinking that romance books can’t be smart and worthy of serious discussion. I’m done listening to men chuckle behind their hands when they bring up 50 Shades of Gray and how all books like that are just porn. Then I have to explain how it is a romance, but it isn’t a romance and what does it matter?
I read plenty of books by men that have sex in them. But when a woman writes a book about sex suddenly – it’s there. Molly made such a good point about why women aren’t more educated about sex, aren’t more open about sex. It’s the judgment.
I know it seems cliché to say there is a double standard but flippin’ A there is a double standard. And listening to our conversation back and hearing us talk I was reminded again how much I love reading these books. I love writing these books. I love talking about these books!
I love listening to really smart people talk about romance seriously. And sometimes not so seriously. The jokes are there about romance novels no doubt, and to truly have an intelligent conversation you have to accept the good with the bad. But for the first time listening to those podcasts, I really appreciated having someone legitimize both what I write and what I read.
Then Molly and I got to be the smart people talking and that was fun too. We chatted for almost two hours about books, and sex, and the impact of sex in romance novels on women and their lives and I thought YES! This is so cool.
I’m done with being maligned for reading what I love. I’m done thinking that romance books can’t be smart and worthy of serious discussion. I’m done listening to men chuckle behind their hands when they bring up 50 Shades of Gray and how all books like that are just porn. Then I have to explain how it is a romance, but it isn’t a romance and what does it matter?
I read plenty of books by men that have sex in them. But when a woman writes a book about sex suddenly – it’s there. Molly made such a good point about why women aren’t more educated about sex, aren’t more open about sex. It’s the judgment.
I know it seems cliché to say there is a double standard but flippin’ A there is a double standard. And listening to our conversation back and hearing us talk I was reminded again how much I love reading these books. I love writing these books. I love talking about these books!
August 15, 2012
The Karaoke Analogy
So, several months ago, a traditionally pubbed author caused a lot of controversy when she called self-publishing literary karaoke. And I get why people were upset. I get that self-pubbed authors took this as a dis and a claim that they were all a bunch of amateurish hacks.
But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was an okay analogy. Not a perfect one, but not at terrible one either.
Before you get all mad, hear me out.
The thing about both karaoke and self-publishing is that anyone and everyone can get up on stage and take the mic. Now, right there I see the first flaw in the analogy, because while, sure, it takes courage (or alcohol) to take the mic in karaoke, with self-pubbing you actually have to write a book first. Which is a big accomplishment in itself. And way harder than following the bouncing ball over some lyrics. Kudos to everyone who has written a book. Seriously.
But... after that I start to like the analogy better.
On any given night in karaoke, (let's say on every stage around the world to get a big sample), about 5-10% of the people who grab the mic are truly gifted. They are awesome singers and performers. They are pitch perfect. Their phrasing is innovative, their tone pleasing, their stage presence exciting. Everyone in the room is in awe and wonders why that person doesn't already have a huge recording career, why they aren't already super famous and successful.
And every now and again Jewel gets on stage.
And then let's say that another 5-10% of the people who take the mic are truly deluded (or super-drunk) and have absolutely no talent. They can't carry a tune. They can't keep the beat. They jumble the lyrics. They're painful to listen to. It's embarrassing. It's sad.
So that leaves the middle 80-90% who are, well, competent. They have moments of brilliance. They hit some great notes. They really get into the groove in parts. Some show great promise and raw talent and maybe with a great vocal coach, or more practice or an awesome band or talented producer, or a better song in a different key they might be fantastic. But really, as of right now, their performances aren't spectacular.
Now even out of that middle group of singers a few of them might get really lucky. A talent scout might decide to take one of them on and help them do some polishing. Or someone in the crowd might film the performance and the video might go viral on youtube and get spotted by Ellen or Usher. But lets face it: there are a lot of singers' videos on Youtube too... and not many Justin Beiber stories...
So, that middle 80%--there's nothing wrong with them taking the mic and just being okay. Most of them will be happy singing a few songs everyone now and again, and don't have real expectations that it will lead to a career. Most simply enjoy performing and their friends enjoy their performances and a few people in the crowd will stand up and cheer at the end and maybe offer to buy them a drink, but that's about as far as it will go.
And in that, I think karaoke actually does have a lot of similarities to self-publishing. And maybe publishing as a whole for that matter, now that I think about it... although with trad publishing at least there's an audition process and coaching involved and someone dresses the "singer" in a professional costume, does their hair and make-up and teaches them how to properly use a mic.
But here's my other problem with the karaoke analogy--which might have fit better right after the Jewel takes the stage section.
Right now in self-publishing, Jewel equivalents are taking the stage more regularly than they do in karaoke. By which I mean that authors with lots of publishing experience--who've previously worked with the "pros"--are self-publishing in higher percentages than proven singers are taking karaoke stages on any given night. (Except maybe in LA or Memphis, where one might be more likely to spot a pro-- I'm guessing.) So in my analysis of this analogy, I'd like to exclude all those authors. All the authors re-releasing backlists or the few of their manuscripts (out of many) that for whatever reason didn't get a contract. I think that's different and does NOT fit the karaoke analogy well. And if that's the people who were insulted. Well, I agree. I'm insulted for them.
But for people who've never had the experience of being professionally published and/or have never caught the attention of an agent, for people who are self-publishing their first or second manuscripts, and/or are ignoring negative feedback and assuming everyone who rejected them just didn't "get their genius"--for those people I think the analogy fits.
That is, I'd guess that 5-10% of the those authors are probably truly awesome and have just had bad luck/timing and didn't land on the right desk on the right day. I think we all know that not every publishable manuscript gets published, even when writers have been repped by agents and editors have praised and wished they could publish their work. It sometimes takes a frustratingly long time to get published and it's equally hard to stay published. And if some of those manuscripts are now seeing the light of day via self-publishing. Great. I think it's awesome that self-pubbing is giving options to writers who have worked really, really hard on their craft and have been THIS CLOSE a bunch of times without actually getting a contract. But I also believe that a percentage of the books being put out there are at the other end of the spectrum. They're beginner level and/or embarassingly bad. And I also believe that the vast majority are merely okay. (And again, I am excluding from this entire analogy authors who are re-releasing backlists and/or moving away from their trad publishing careers to gain more control.)
I'm a little nervous posting this. Because I really don't intend to insult anyone. And I know that everyone has to make his or her own choices in publishing and everyone has different goals and there's definitely more than one way to achieve publishing success (not to mention different definitions of success). But when I heard all the brou-ha-ha about the karaoke analogy, I wasn't all up in arms, even though I have considered self-publishing myself and have total respect for others who have done so. Instead I thought, hey, literary karaoke--that's kind of clever and almost fits.
But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was an okay analogy. Not a perfect one, but not at terrible one either.
Before you get all mad, hear me out.
The thing about both karaoke and self-publishing is that anyone and everyone can get up on stage and take the mic. Now, right there I see the first flaw in the analogy, because while, sure, it takes courage (or alcohol) to take the mic in karaoke, with self-pubbing you actually have to write a book first. Which is a big accomplishment in itself. And way harder than following the bouncing ball over some lyrics. Kudos to everyone who has written a book. Seriously.
But... after that I start to like the analogy better.
On any given night in karaoke, (let's say on every stage around the world to get a big sample), about 5-10% of the people who grab the mic are truly gifted. They are awesome singers and performers. They are pitch perfect. Their phrasing is innovative, their tone pleasing, their stage presence exciting. Everyone in the room is in awe and wonders why that person doesn't already have a huge recording career, why they aren't already super famous and successful.
And every now and again Jewel gets on stage.
And then let's say that another 5-10% of the people who take the mic are truly deluded (or super-drunk) and have absolutely no talent. They can't carry a tune. They can't keep the beat. They jumble the lyrics. They're painful to listen to. It's embarrassing. It's sad.
So that leaves the middle 80-90% who are, well, competent. They have moments of brilliance. They hit some great notes. They really get into the groove in parts. Some show great promise and raw talent and maybe with a great vocal coach, or more practice or an awesome band or talented producer, or a better song in a different key they might be fantastic. But really, as of right now, their performances aren't spectacular.
Now even out of that middle group of singers a few of them might get really lucky. A talent scout might decide to take one of them on and help them do some polishing. Or someone in the crowd might film the performance and the video might go viral on youtube and get spotted by Ellen or Usher. But lets face it: there are a lot of singers' videos on Youtube too... and not many Justin Beiber stories...
So, that middle 80%--there's nothing wrong with them taking the mic and just being okay. Most of them will be happy singing a few songs everyone now and again, and don't have real expectations that it will lead to a career. Most simply enjoy performing and their friends enjoy their performances and a few people in the crowd will stand up and cheer at the end and maybe offer to buy them a drink, but that's about as far as it will go.
And in that, I think karaoke actually does have a lot of similarities to self-publishing. And maybe publishing as a whole for that matter, now that I think about it... although with trad publishing at least there's an audition process and coaching involved and someone dresses the "singer" in a professional costume, does their hair and make-up and teaches them how to properly use a mic.
But here's my other problem with the karaoke analogy--which might have fit better right after the Jewel takes the stage section.
Right now in self-publishing, Jewel equivalents are taking the stage more regularly than they do in karaoke. By which I mean that authors with lots of publishing experience--who've previously worked with the "pros"--are self-publishing in higher percentages than proven singers are taking karaoke stages on any given night. (Except maybe in LA or Memphis, where one might be more likely to spot a pro-- I'm guessing.) So in my analysis of this analogy, I'd like to exclude all those authors. All the authors re-releasing backlists or the few of their manuscripts (out of many) that for whatever reason didn't get a contract. I think that's different and does NOT fit the karaoke analogy well. And if that's the people who were insulted. Well, I agree. I'm insulted for them.
But for people who've never had the experience of being professionally published and/or have never caught the attention of an agent, for people who are self-publishing their first or second manuscripts, and/or are ignoring negative feedback and assuming everyone who rejected them just didn't "get their genius"--for those people I think the analogy fits.
That is, I'd guess that 5-10% of the those authors are probably truly awesome and have just had bad luck/timing and didn't land on the right desk on the right day. I think we all know that not every publishable manuscript gets published, even when writers have been repped by agents and editors have praised and wished they could publish their work. It sometimes takes a frustratingly long time to get published and it's equally hard to stay published. And if some of those manuscripts are now seeing the light of day via self-publishing. Great. I think it's awesome that self-pubbing is giving options to writers who have worked really, really hard on their craft and have been THIS CLOSE a bunch of times without actually getting a contract. But I also believe that a percentage of the books being put out there are at the other end of the spectrum. They're beginner level and/or embarassingly bad. And I also believe that the vast majority are merely okay. (And again, I am excluding from this entire analogy authors who are re-releasing backlists and/or moving away from their trad publishing careers to gain more control.)
I'm a little nervous posting this. Because I really don't intend to insult anyone. And I know that everyone has to make his or her own choices in publishing and everyone has different goals and there's definitely more than one way to achieve publishing success (not to mention different definitions of success). But when I heard all the brou-ha-ha about the karaoke analogy, I wasn't all up in arms, even though I have considered self-publishing myself and have total respect for others who have done so. Instead I thought, hey, literary karaoke--that's kind of clever and almost fits.
August 13, 2012
What Do You Want to Know?
I'm about to update my website (long overdue, I know) and actually send out a newsletter to people who said they wanted to know about what was going on with my books. My question is . . . what do people want to know?
Just to be clear, I'm going to keep this book-focused. I'm not going to send out recipes or household organizing tips, not that I have any worth sharing, but still . . .
I have a couple things I know I want to put out there.
1) I have a short story up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for less than buck, but I am going to offer it as a free PDF download for my newsletter subscribers.
2) Don't Kill the Messenger is available in mass market paperback and Dead on Delivery will be available in that format in November.
3) Dead Letter Day, the third Messenger book, is due out in March of 2013 and I might have a cover to show everyone by the end of the week.
What else do people want to know? I've had a couple of foreign sales recently. That was nice news to me, but does anyone else care? I don't have the covers yet. Should I wait and talk about those when I have something to actually show? Or should I mention it now?
My life is basically an open book. I'll tell anyone about anything. Just tell me what it is people will be interested in hearing about.
Just to be clear, I'm going to keep this book-focused. I'm not going to send out recipes or household organizing tips, not that I have any worth sharing, but still . . .
I have a couple things I know I want to put out there.
1) I have a short story up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for less than buck, but I am going to offer it as a free PDF download for my newsletter subscribers.
2) Don't Kill the Messenger is available in mass market paperback and Dead on Delivery will be available in that format in November.
3) Dead Letter Day, the third Messenger book, is due out in March of 2013 and I might have a cover to show everyone by the end of the week.
What else do people want to know? I've had a couple of foreign sales recently. That was nice news to me, but does anyone else care? I don't have the covers yet. Should I wait and talk about those when I have something to actually show? Or should I mention it now?
My life is basically an open book. I'll tell anyone about anything. Just tell me what it is people will be interested in hearing about.
Summer Reading Had Me a Blast!
Ha! Get it? Summer reading...summer lovin'. The Power of Grease.
I do not know what I was thinking when I planned this summer. It's been non-stop. Between vacations, conferences, cottages, swimming lessons and now camps - I'm wrung out. Wrung. Out. I also haven't gotten anything written since the middle of July - yikes.
I have, however, been reading like a fiend. And lots of great books. Here's my list:
The Lonely Polygamist - Brady Udall is one of my favorite authors. The combination of tears and laughs and anxiety is a potent one.
About Last Night - Ruthie Knox, for those of you who might not have read her yet - is a gem. Funny, smart, sexy, sad. Good good stuff.
The Great Escape - SEP's latest isn't as great as her early works, but it's still a great way to pass the time.
Suzanne Brockman's Darkness book, the new futuristic - I loved this book. It takes a second to get into the world, but once you're in, the pages fly by. Great hero, great heroine, fun chemistry - exciting world. Want more.
The Fault In Our Stars - a very very very sad YA. very very funny and smart, but mostly I stayed in the bedroom and cried.
Liquid Lies - this is a really cool sci-fi romance. I loved the romance and the sci-fi. Fans of Battlestar - this one is for you.
Tessa Dare's first two Spindle Cove books - I LOVED these. Loved them. Gobbled them up. the set up - a small town of oddball outcast women hit a lot of my favorite tropes. They're funny and sweet and very romantic.
Sherry Thomas' first two books in her new series - wow. Now, I didn't love these like I loved some of her other books. I think the fault is mine - I read them too fast and in the car - yuck. But I was DYING to read them. And they're great. Emotional. Gritty. Different.
And finally The Cloud Atlas - just finishing this one. It's amazing. Epic. Tour de Force etc... just don't try to read it when you're going to bed tired. It's dense. But one this last cottage trip I got to spend some time with it when I wasn't exhausted - amazing. Just amazing. Can't wait to watch the trailer.
All right - how about you guys? Reading anything good?
I do not know what I was thinking when I planned this summer. It's been non-stop. Between vacations, conferences, cottages, swimming lessons and now camps - I'm wrung out. Wrung. Out. I also haven't gotten anything written since the middle of July - yikes.
I have, however, been reading like a fiend. And lots of great books. Here's my list:
The Lonely Polygamist - Brady Udall is one of my favorite authors. The combination of tears and laughs and anxiety is a potent one.
About Last Night - Ruthie Knox, for those of you who might not have read her yet - is a gem. Funny, smart, sexy, sad. Good good stuff.
The Great Escape - SEP's latest isn't as great as her early works, but it's still a great way to pass the time.
Suzanne Brockman's Darkness book, the new futuristic - I loved this book. It takes a second to get into the world, but once you're in, the pages fly by. Great hero, great heroine, fun chemistry - exciting world. Want more.
The Fault In Our Stars - a very very very sad YA. very very funny and smart, but mostly I stayed in the bedroom and cried.
Liquid Lies - this is a really cool sci-fi romance. I loved the romance and the sci-fi. Fans of Battlestar - this one is for you.
Tessa Dare's first two Spindle Cove books - I LOVED these. Loved them. Gobbled them up. the set up - a small town of oddball outcast women hit a lot of my favorite tropes. They're funny and sweet and very romantic.
Sherry Thomas' first two books in her new series - wow. Now, I didn't love these like I loved some of her other books. I think the fault is mine - I read them too fast and in the car - yuck. But I was DYING to read them. And they're great. Emotional. Gritty. Different.
And finally The Cloud Atlas - just finishing this one. It's amazing. Epic. Tour de Force etc... just don't try to read it when you're going to bed tired. It's dense. But one this last cottage trip I got to spend some time with it when I wasn't exhausted - amazing. Just amazing. Can't wait to watch the trailer.
All right - how about you guys? Reading anything good?
August 10, 2012
My secret crush
Or not so secret now. OK, so we've been talking about hot men all summer, Vamp Eric, Taylor Kitsch and they are lovely, but the person I'm loving right now is Will Ferrell.
It was a slow conversion. I found Old School mildly funny, I did love Elf, found Anchorman funny, but mostly for Steve Carrell, and then Bewitched killed any budding love I had for him.
Talledega Nights and Step Brothers were mildly funny, buy I never did see the overwhelming love other people (mostly men) had for Will, until The Other Guys. I don't know why, but that movie makes me snort milk (who am I kidding, cider) because I'm laughing so hard.
It even made me love Mark Wahlberg, whom, aside from The Departed, I've found to be mostly forgettable, even with those abs.
It was like a switch turned on, and now I find Will Ferrell hilarious, even the pretty awful Land of the Lost made me laugh. No one else does pompous stupidity better, except maybe for John Cleese in Fawlty Towers.
I'm going back now and watching everything he's ever done and finally finding Anchorman hilarious and this weekend, I'm going to watch Talledega nights. I'm even going to try and see the Campaign in theatres.
I'm on the Will Ferrell is a genius bandwagon. He's hilarious in interviews, we know almost nothing about him, because he almost never talks about his personal life, and started the Funny and Die videos, which if you haven't seen, well, google them, and ... you're welcome...
So he's my not so secret summer crush.
It was a slow conversion. I found Old School mildly funny, I did love Elf, found Anchorman funny, but mostly for Steve Carrell, and then Bewitched killed any budding love I had for him.
Talledega Nights and Step Brothers were mildly funny, buy I never did see the overwhelming love other people (mostly men) had for Will, until The Other Guys. I don't know why, but that movie makes me snort milk (who am I kidding, cider) because I'm laughing so hard.
It even made me love Mark Wahlberg, whom, aside from The Departed, I've found to be mostly forgettable, even with those abs.
It was like a switch turned on, and now I find Will Ferrell hilarious, even the pretty awful Land of the Lost made me laugh. No one else does pompous stupidity better, except maybe for John Cleese in Fawlty Towers.
I'm going back now and watching everything he's ever done and finally finding Anchorman hilarious and this weekend, I'm going to watch Talledega nights. I'm even going to try and see the Campaign in theatres.
I'm on the Will Ferrell is a genius bandwagon. He's hilarious in interviews, we know almost nothing about him, because he almost never talks about his personal life, and started the Funny and Die videos, which if you haven't seen, well, google them, and ... you're welcome...
So he's my not so secret summer crush.
August 9, 2012
Lois Lane, Princess Leia and more on difficult women
I found the best new cable channel ever. The Hub. It’s rerunning old classics from the 80s and 90s and re-airing from start to finish The New Adventures of Lois and Clark.
I’m not going to lie. I loved this show. In hindsight I can see that it might have had a lot to do with Dean Cain walking around without his shirt on for a good chunk of the show.
1995 Dean Cain is my new boyfriend. I know… my boyfriend situation is getting quite complicated.
But in looking at this show in all its corniness and bad effects, at its heart it’s a love story. A well told story over a pretty big arc. They meet, they become friends, we have the typical conflict of the other love interests, but the biggest conflict is the duality of Lois’s feelings for Clark and Superman. One is her friend. The other is the man she wants. Good stuff.
But what I’ve also been enjoying about the show again is realizing Lois is not an easy character. She is in fact a very driven professional. She’s difficult, competitive, hates to lose and is immersed in her work. Clark however seems to appreciate all of this and loves her. Crazy – but he’s truly a beta to her Alpha. Which is then contradicted by his Alpha qualities as Superman. Real good stuff.
And it’s always at that point where you think you might not like this character that she does something goofy or silly or is humbled in a way that helps the audience to connect to her.
I remember getting into an argument with my sister-in-law (I was like 12) over Princess Leia for the same reasons. My sister-in-law said she was basically a bitch. I pointed out it’s not easy leading the rebellion against the Empire! Is she exactly grateful when Luke and Han save her from jail? No. But she’s got other things on her mind. Her planet has been destroyed, she needs to escape with the plans for the Death Star… save the rebellion. I mean give a girl a break.
It makes me realize how I’ve always had a thing for difficult heroines. I like it when they are edgy. I’m okay with ambition. Leadership to me is an amazing quality, and not something to be frowned upon because it doesn’t always make for a sweetness and light heroine.
As women we need to stop worrying so much about how likeable we need to be. Especially with our characters because they are fictional! They can’t really tick anyone off.
And the men we write for them, who really deserve them... well let’s hope they are all just like Superman.
Without his shirt on.
I’m not going to lie. I loved this show. In hindsight I can see that it might have had a lot to do with Dean Cain walking around without his shirt on for a good chunk of the show.
1995 Dean Cain is my new boyfriend. I know… my boyfriend situation is getting quite complicated.
But in looking at this show in all its corniness and bad effects, at its heart it’s a love story. A well told story over a pretty big arc. They meet, they become friends, we have the typical conflict of the other love interests, but the biggest conflict is the duality of Lois’s feelings for Clark and Superman. One is her friend. The other is the man she wants. Good stuff.
But what I’ve also been enjoying about the show again is realizing Lois is not an easy character. She is in fact a very driven professional. She’s difficult, competitive, hates to lose and is immersed in her work. Clark however seems to appreciate all of this and loves her. Crazy – but he’s truly a beta to her Alpha. Which is then contradicted by his Alpha qualities as Superman. Real good stuff.
And it’s always at that point where you think you might not like this character that she does something goofy or silly or is humbled in a way that helps the audience to connect to her.
I remember getting into an argument with my sister-in-law (I was like 12) over Princess Leia for the same reasons. My sister-in-law said she was basically a bitch. I pointed out it’s not easy leading the rebellion against the Empire! Is she exactly grateful when Luke and Han save her from jail? No. But she’s got other things on her mind. Her planet has been destroyed, she needs to escape with the plans for the Death Star… save the rebellion. I mean give a girl a break.
It makes me realize how I’ve always had a thing for difficult heroines. I like it when they are edgy. I’m okay with ambition. Leadership to me is an amazing quality, and not something to be frowned upon because it doesn’t always make for a sweetness and light heroine.
As women we need to stop worrying so much about how likeable we need to be. Especially with our characters because they are fictional! They can’t really tick anyone off.
And the men we write for them, who really deserve them... well let’s hope they are all just like Superman.
Without his shirt on.
August 8, 2012
Goodreads, Bloggers, Amazon Reviews: Oh My!
It's never fun to read a bad review and/or opinion about your work, but if writers release their work for sale to the public (via a publisher or via self-publishing) reviews come along with the deal.
The world of reviews has changed a lot over the past several years with the cutbacks at newspapers and the advent of the internet. And particularly since Amazon started encouraging customers to post reviews, and reader community sites like Goodreads became popular, and book lovers discovered blogging.
But it kind of amazes me when authors get up in arms about "unprofessional" reviews on Goodreads or amazon.
My take on it is that Goodreads is primarily a social networking site for readers. Some of the reviews posted there are very professional and thoughtful, but some members just put their thoughts, whether or not they're coherent. And that's okay. In fact, it's great.
The way I see it, Goodreads is a place where people who love books can meet each other and share ideas and talk about the books they love and hate. Facebook for avid readers, if you like. As an author, I can't see a downside to this. I think it's awesome. Sure, some people on GR have posted some negative things about my 2 books that are already out in the wild and I'm sure the same will be true for my upcoming releases, and I'm not going to pretend I'll enjoy that. But again, it comes with the territory.
Similarly, customer reviews on e-retailers like Amazon.com, B&N.com etc. are there to boost sales. Retailers know that prospective customers are more likely to make a buy decision for a product if they can read reviews or see ratings from others who've bought it before. In fact, consumers are skeptical of products with no ratings or conversely exclusively high ratings.
Are all of those reviews on e-tailers' sites well thought out? No. Are all of them even relevant to the book? No... But again, as frustrating as it is to read the bad ones or the ones that complain about the cover or the shipping or packaging or other things that have nothing to do with the book, I think overall it's great for authors that these online retailers let prospective customers see which books many people have bought and liked (or hated). And let them give feedback for the books they've already bought.
So, with a new book coming out, I'm simultaneously excited and terrified that people are (I hope) going to be reading and reviewing it.
And speaking of that... Drumroll... I'm doing a Goodreads giveaway!!!
Enter.
Tell your friends to enter.
Add my book to your shelves. :)
And, oh, you could also pre-order it if you're so inclined.
Then, after you read it... review it. Please. Even if you hate it. I mean it. Really.
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Goodreads Book Giveaway
Deviants
by Maureen McGowan
Giveaway ends August 27, 2012.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter to win
The world of reviews has changed a lot over the past several years with the cutbacks at newspapers and the advent of the internet. And particularly since Amazon started encouraging customers to post reviews, and reader community sites like Goodreads became popular, and book lovers discovered blogging.
But it kind of amazes me when authors get up in arms about "unprofessional" reviews on Goodreads or amazon.
My take on it is that Goodreads is primarily a social networking site for readers. Some of the reviews posted there are very professional and thoughtful, but some members just put their thoughts, whether or not they're coherent. And that's okay. In fact, it's great.
The way I see it, Goodreads is a place where people who love books can meet each other and share ideas and talk about the books they love and hate. Facebook for avid readers, if you like. As an author, I can't see a downside to this. I think it's awesome. Sure, some people on GR have posted some negative things about my 2 books that are already out in the wild and I'm sure the same will be true for my upcoming releases, and I'm not going to pretend I'll enjoy that. But again, it comes with the territory.
Similarly, customer reviews on e-retailers like Amazon.com, B&N.com etc. are there to boost sales. Retailers know that prospective customers are more likely to make a buy decision for a product if they can read reviews or see ratings from others who've bought it before. In fact, consumers are skeptical of products with no ratings or conversely exclusively high ratings.
Are all of those reviews on e-tailers' sites well thought out? No. Are all of them even relevant to the book? No... But again, as frustrating as it is to read the bad ones or the ones that complain about the cover or the shipping or packaging or other things that have nothing to do with the book, I think overall it's great for authors that these online retailers let prospective customers see which books many people have bought and liked (or hated). And let them give feedback for the books they've already bought.
So, with a new book coming out, I'm simultaneously excited and terrified that people are (I hope) going to be reading and reviewing it.
And speaking of that... Drumroll... I'm doing a Goodreads giveaway!!!
Enter.
Tell your friends to enter.
Add my book to your shelves. :)
And, oh, you could also pre-order it if you're so inclined.
Then, after you read it... review it. Please. Even if you hate it. I mean it. Really.
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layou... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layou... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; }
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Deviants
by Maureen McGowan
Giveaway ends August 27, 2012.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter to win
August 6, 2012
Talent Talent Everywhere
On Saturday night, I went to a birthday party for a friend and at some point, someone introduced me to a young woman named Emily Senecal who is interested in writing. This happens all the time. Usually the person is thinking about starting a book or maybe has made a few attempts to start things.
Not Emily. Emily has written seven books of a series. Seven. She wrote most of them in one year. ONE YEAR. She said she'd tried to get an agent, but had gotten frustrated and decided to put the first few up with Kindle Direct Publishing.
She was sweet and I told her to email me and we could talking about writing and publishing and all that stuff. When I got home, I went online and the first book in the series was only $2.99. I figured I'd buy it and glance through it so I could offer some constructive criticism when we connected up.
Ha! I've got nothing. I've only just started the first book, but it's darling. Funny. Well-written. Well put together. I like the characters. I like the voice. I like the setting.
It's daunting, I tell you. Daunting. There is so much talent out there.
Not Emily. Emily has written seven books of a series. Seven. She wrote most of them in one year. ONE YEAR. She said she'd tried to get an agent, but had gotten frustrated and decided to put the first few up with Kindle Direct Publishing.
She was sweet and I told her to email me and we could talking about writing and publishing and all that stuff. When I got home, I went online and the first book in the series was only $2.99. I figured I'd buy it and glance through it so I could offer some constructive criticism when we connected up.
Ha! I've got nothing. I've only just started the first book, but it's darling. Funny. Well-written. Well put together. I like the characters. I like the voice. I like the setting.
It's daunting, I tell you. Daunting. There is so much talent out there.
