Megan Chance's Blog, page 40

Today marks the day that ALL of my historical romanc...

Today marks the day that ALL of my historical romances are now available in ebook format. Fall from Grace is up for both Kindle and Nook. This is arguably the favorite of my romances (though I have a soft spot for A Candle in the Dark and The Portrait as well). It's about an outlaw gang in 1870s Texas, and features an uncompromising and pretty profoundly emotionally damaged heroine. I think this book caught many readers by surprise, and it's not for the faint of heart, though I have always loved it, and my love was only reinforced by reading it again.

Reading all the romances again for proofing purposes was quite an experience. I can tell you that my favorites still held up, and that revisiting the others ended up being a bit of a surprise. I found After the Frost absolutely the strongest in terms of sheer sexual tension; I was surprised by elements I hadn't remembered in The Way Home, and I was moved all over again by Aaron Wallace. And The Gentleman Caller reminded me of how much I loved New Orleans, and how much I would like to set a book there again.

All in all, revisiting these books was a fun and surprising experience. As an author, I think of my old books as part of an archaeological record, of sorts, so I didn't change things even when I desperately wanted to. But I think you can see the evolution of who I am as a writer from reading these books, and I can still say that those days of writing in the romance genre were absolutely critical in developing story telling technique and confidence. They made me the writer I am today.

This weekend I'll be speaking at Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in Bellevue, WA. 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. As I am not a morning person, this should be quite an experience. :)

Various things

I've added a new speaking engagement, this one is for Northwest Bookfest. I'll be speaking on a panel with C C Humphries, Carol Esby Dagg, and Deborah Schneider on American-set historicals. It's scheduled for 2 p.m. on October 2nd, and more information can be found here: Northwest Bookfest

Also, one of the most beloved of my historical romances is available as an E-book on Nook and Kindle. The Way Home is set in Texas in the 1870s, and features a pair of brothers who couldn't be more different, an illiterate heroine, and one of the most unconventional heroes I've ever written (a shy poet who's a mess around women).

Fall from Grace should be up in the next couple of days. In the meantime, here are the links for The Way Home.
Kindle here, and Nook here.

Interview

Last June, when I spoke at Third Place Books, I also did an interview with Bill Kenower of Author Magazine. Bill does a great job with these interviews--check the archives; he's spoken to many, many authors on their way through Seattle. The one I did is up today, so check it out:

Interview with Megan Chance for Author Magazine

New Ebook release!

Today marks the ebook release of another of my classic historical romances.  "The Gentleman Caller" is now up on Kindle and Nook. This one's set in New Orleans in 1856. After three years in Parish Prison, Jack Waters stumbles onto the opportunity of a lifetime--but all good things aren't quite what they seem, as he soon discovers.
For Kindle
For Nook

I'll be putting up the final two in the next couple of weeks--my summertime task this year--so watch for "Fall from Grace," and "The Way Home," coming soon. Once they're up, all of my historical romances will once again be available. I'm looking into getting them into Google as well, but that might take a bit longer.

So I've been working on all that, AND researching a new novel AND working on another project as well. I'm feeling a little workaholic these days, but given that thus far the summer's been mostly ... cloudy ... that's all right.

Enjoy!

A Season in Eden--Nook version

And now A Season in Eden is available in a Nook version.

Everything old is New again...

Another of my classic romances is now available on Kindle (and Nook soon!). I've always thought of "A Season in Eden," as the bridge book between the romances and historical fiction, but upon reading it again discovered it's really very firmly straight historical fiction. Set in 1880s Yakima Valley, Washington, it's the story of Lora Cameron, who must find her way back to her husband and her dreams after terrible tragedy hits their farm. It will be up on Nook soon. For now, here's the Kindle link.

Interview

Here's a link to an interview I recently did with Reuters about City of Ash and Seattle....

Reuters

Touring Comes to an End

As much as I have enjoyed meeting many of you over the last two weeks, I have to admit I'm grateful my mini-tour is at an end. Writers tend to be solitary creatures, and I am no exception. So while it's fun to get out and meet the people who read and like your books (and believe me, I'm always happy to hear from them!) there's also a lot to be said for wearing yoga pants and slippers and burying oneself in one's office with imaginary characters who don't care much what you look like (after all, to them I'm GOD <g>).

Here's a picture of my reading at the Loft 47 in Poulsbo, WA for Liberty Bay Books (if you'd like an autographed copy of City of Ash or any of my books, you can order from them online):




Thanks to all of you who came out to listen to me speak or to buy a book. It's much appreciated!

Two new speaking engagements: I'll be speaking at Tumwater Regional Library, in Tumwater, WA for their author chat on July 30th, and I'll be speaking at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in Bellevue, WA August 6th. Details are on the Upcoming Events page of my website.

And here, just because it's interesting, is a picture from the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, where City of Ash is set:

(this is from the corner of 1st and Cherry. Thanks to the University of Washington digital archives for this photo)

Enjoy!

City of Ash Out Tomorrow!!

City of Ash is scheduled to hit the shelves tomorrow--coincidentally, 122 years almost to the day (June 6, 1889) of the Great Seattle Fire, in which the book is set.  Some great reviews have been coming in, and here are the links:

A starred review from Publishers Weekly

One from Kirkus, which compares the book to Deadwood, one of my favorite shows of all time

The Star Tribune, Seattle Times, and Romance Reader at Heart

Library Journal says: "Sharp writing, [a] believable and detailed historical setting, and strong female characters, and Booklist says it's "evocative of Seattle's rough history and early society ... fun to read."

So my cup runneth over...

I'll be signing at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park tomorrow, June 7, at 7p.m., Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo June 8th at 6:30, Village Books in Bellingham on June 9th at 7 pm, and Seattle Mystery Bookshop on June 17th at noon. Details are at my website a Upcoming Events. www.meganchance.com

Hope to see some of you there!

Vacation redux

Well, I'm back from Hawaii now, after 8 days of work, relaxation and fun. I saw four sea turtles, no sharks, and not very many fish (they were hiding in the reef from the storm that arrived just before I did), lovely sunsets, gorgeous moonrises. The light is so different there that I woke with the dawn every morning, to the music of chickens, a million bugs, frogs, lizards and birds (what a concert! I wish I could share it with you), and a man who welcomed every morning playing the recorder. Very zen, actually, and a nice way to wake up. Then it was swimming to the reef and back, a few hours of work, and the best part ... finishing everything I needed to do for the day by twelve and spending the rest of it on the beach and in the sun with Kristin Hannah, Jill Barnett, and Jill Marie Landis. Sincerely one of the best times I've had since I can remember. 

I'll have more pictures later, as I came back to a million things that had to be done right away and haven't had time yet to upload pictures. But here are a few for now:


(Me and Kristin)


(Me, Jill Marie Landis, Jill Barnett, and Kristin Hannah)


(Kristin, Jill Barnett, and me at sunset)

Now I'm back in Washington State, with plenty of rain, wearing a long sleeved shirt and pants over a sunburn (quite a disconcerting feeling, I'm here to tell you). I'll post more pictures soon. Aloha!