Kelly Jamieson's Blog, page 10

April Updates!

I have a new cover!
 

Isn’t this gorgeous?? I absolutely love it. He has the perfect expression for Cash.

I don’t have pre-order links yet, but you can add it on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31449135-screwed

Other news

MY WINNIPEG JETS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!

Some of you might not appreciate how f*cking important this! Since Jets 2.0 came back to Winnipeg, we’ve only made it to the playoffs once, and we lost in 4 (hard fought, physical) games. THIS WHOLE HOCKEY CRAZY CITY IS GOING TO GO NUTS!

Seriously.

I’m beside myself with excitement, while tempering that with some realism. *sigh* Whatever happens, I’m happy not only for me and all the other fans, I’m happy for the players. At the beginning of the season, Captain Blake Wheeler said something like “it has to be this year.” I know it’s been frustrating for him and others. So I’m thrilled for them to have this. They’ve worked hard for it. They deserve it. And we are all behind you and cheering for you to go all the way!!

 

Things I’m loving

Just recommended this oil to another author who also has not-curly, not-straight, frizzy hair. I swear by this stuff. My hair is so dry and frizzy, this turns it into normal-looking smooth hair.

 

Found this new concealer and it’s pretty awesome! I don’t know if anything will help the big bags under my eyes, but I like how natural this looks.

I hope spring weather is finding you!. We're having a slow spring, but oh well, summer will come!

 

A short statement about Riptide Publishing

I have one book with Riptide Publishing. In 2013 (2012?) Sarah Lyons approached me about Riptide's annual Christmas charity anthology. They were doing a ménage theme that year. Sarah expressed admiration for my ménage romances and invited me to contribute a story, which I did. I have met Sarah and others from Riptide Publishing numerous times at RT conventions, and participated in a panel discussion about LGBTQ romances that Sarah coordinated.

I will be requesting the rights to my book back, however it is contracted with them until November 2018.

I wish I had some brilliant, comforting words but right now all I can say is, I am so deeply saddened and disappointed about what I have learned today. To those who have been hurt by this, I'm so sorry and I stand with you.

Long Shot is now available!

Yay! Long Shot, Book 3 in my Last Shot series, is now out! I'm a little sad because it's the end of the series, but I'm excited for you to have Cade and Reese's story. (And lots of readers are falling in love with Jack, apparently!) For those who haven't read the first 2 books, no worries - they can all be read as a standalone, so feel free to start with this one!

I love a really good "grand gesture" from the character who screws up the most - and I think Cade nails it in this book. That's all I'm sayin'. 

 

I didn't do a February update here, for a really dumb reason. My internet was acting up the day I was trying to post and every time I tried to upload a picture, the site crashed and I lost everything. I finally gave up in complete frustration (yes there were several F bombs). So far, things seem okay so let's try this again!

The days are already getting longer - woohoo, it's still light out after 5:00 PM! Lots of people I know are off on hot holidays to Mexico or Cuba, but not me *sigh*. I had my trip "south" when I went to Chicago last month, LOL. But that's okay because I'm busy, busy writing. I'm that close to finishing Big Stick, Aces Hockey book 8, which will be out in October. And then...I'll be writing book 9, which is likely going to be the last in the Aces series.  But don't worry! I'll definitely be writing more hockey! Stay tuned for news about a new series.

Did you notice the new look for the blog and website?  Thanks to the awesome Lauren Layne and Anth at Last Word Designs for the refresh! I love how clean and simple it is!

 

I used to buy my favorite lip balm (and that's actually what it's called!) at Bath and Body Works, but they don't seem to carry it any more. So I went on line and googled Dr. Bigelow and found it! Yeah! I ordered a whole bunch, so I am well stocked for a while. I love this night balm because it's thick and it stays on all night, and it tastes DELICIOUS.

 

I'm still into these red wines that are aged in whiskey barrels. I've tried a few others now...this one's a Canadian wine from the Okanagan, which is also aged in whiskey barrels.

 

I haven't bought any shoes for a while, but I keep pinning pics on Pinterest - I love these ones!

 

 

                                                                                         

January Updates!

Wow it’s half way through January already! Christmas is a distant memory. I don’t know about where you are, but we are living through a deep freeze here. It sounds like a lot of people are having unusually cold weather this year - apparently iguanas are falling out of trees in Florida because they’re frozen!

I just came back from a few days in Chicago, where people were complaining about the cold too. (Actually so was I, but I felt like a wimp when I got home and it was even colder.) The first day I was there was beautiful, it was actually raining a bit and there was NO SNOW which was not what I wanted to see. But I have now experienced Chicago in the winter. Michigan Avenue is beautiful at night with all the little white lights in the trees. Here's a pic of the river...

 

 

I also went to a hockey game at the United Center, which was super cool! My Winnipeg Jets were playing the Blackhawks. Sadly it wasn’t the greatest game, and we lost 2-1, but it was still a great experience (and we’re still ahead of Chicago in the standings!) Some differences between an NHL game in Chicago and in Winnipeg:

-          While announcing the opening lineup, they misspelled and mispronounced Shawn Matthias’ name (it’s not Matthais)

-          Everyone cheered and clapped through the American national anthem so you couldn’t even hear it. That seemed odd.

-          After Chicago scores, everyone sings Chelsea Dagger. I have to admit, it’s a damn good goal song and I approve of this tradition, however our Jets goal song Gonna Celebrate is good, but not really singable…

-          The girls in the Chicago Ice Crew wear little short skirts. I knew about this, but again it’s different than Winnipeg where the girls in the Ice Crew wear the same pants and jackets as the guys. Also, the girls in skirts skate around in a half-hearted way, scraping lethargically at the ice with their shovel.

Biggest difference:

-          There are a lot of Stanley Cup banners hanging from the rafters!

 

I went to the game with fellow hockey romance author Kate Meader. She did a fantastic recap of our evening on Facebook. It was so much fun hanging out with her!

I also did some setting research and a little shopping so it was a fabulous trip. Now I’m home and need to get caught up and back to writing!

Only one month until release of Long Shot, the last book in my Last Shot series! Woop!

 

Things I’m loving this month

 

 

Loving this wine! It's aged in oak whisky barrels and it tastes amazing. Here's how their website describes it: Double Barrel Shiraz has a full and generous palate with a beguiling mix of sweet red fruits and dark chocolate indicative of its origins as Barossa Shiraz; Subtle toasty vanillin.

My wonderful assistant Stacey Price sent me this for Christmas - she knows what I like! 

 

My new purse I bought in Chicago!

 Stay warm, everyone! Good time to curl up with a good romance!

 

Happy new year!!

 

 

The end of one year and the beginning of another one is always a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. I’m not one for resolutions, and planning for a whole year makes me break out in hives, but I do think having some hopes and goals for the coming year is important. And of course we can learn from the past.

Some of you may know that 2017 was a difficult year for me personally. It affected my writing and I wasn’t as productive as I’d like to be. Which actually means that next year will be impacted and I’ll only have 4 books out in 2018. I’ve been accustomed to being on a 5-6 book/year schedule, so this will be different for me.

I think 2017 was also difficult for many other authors and creative people. The politics in the US had a dramatic effect on me and other authors. I’m not even American! But I care about all the readers and friends there I’ve made over the years. I also hear from many authors that it was a challenging year in terms of sales…many have noted sharp downturns. There are many possible factors but I’ve heard that a successful author doesn’t just need talent, she needs persistence. I’ve had rejections and ups and downs over a nearly 10 year publishing career, so I AM PERSISTING!

Like I said, I don’t usually make resolutions, but last year on January 1 I resolved to write in a journal every night before bed—and it could only be positive things. When I had a shitty day at the day job, or problems in my personal life, or I got a bad review on one of my books…I couldn’t write about that. It had to be positive. I admit…some days that was really hard. But there’s always something to be positive about...something to be grateful for…I have a house. A car. A job. Great kids. My dog. I am blessed and lucky in so many ways. Sometimes I’d start to write… “I only wrote 500 words today”…and I’d strike the “only” and write “I wrote 500 words today”. Or  “I went for a run but it was hard” — I’d change to “I went for a run”. It has made such a difference in my life. I’m going to continue to do this and I recommend it to anyone who struggles with stress, anxiety, self-doubt and even sleep issues.

 

Looking forward — I’m going to try to be more strategic in my business planning. I feel like marketing and promotion is all a crap shoot and I’m just shooting fish in a barrel any time I try something! But I’m going to try.

I hope that with only 4 releases I have more time to focus on writing and I’ll get ahead of things for 2019.

In the world… I predict 2018 will be the year of women.

This past year, men have fucked up a lot of things in the world. I’ve been fascinated with US politics since Donald Trump got elected and over the last months, I’ve observed that the people who are coming to the rescue are women. The journalists I follow who give me the best information -- Rachel Maddow, Sarah Kendzior, Natasha Bertrand. There’ve been some strong female politicians. There have been women who’ve all come forward with their stories of sexual harassment and assault by men in power, in the entertainment industry, in politics, in journalism.

The men who obsessed over Hillary Clinton’s emails, who gave Donald Trump more air time and coverage and who trashed Hillary— at least a dozen of those men have now lost their jobs because of sexual harassment.

The female voters, especially women of color, who made huge differences in Virginia and Alabama elections. The women who got elected in those elections. The women who are running for office now.

And romance writers – we can make a difference.

There are still so many misconceptions about what romance is. People think romance isn’t feminist because it shows women can’t be happy without a man, or all romance heroines are submissive doormats (waiting to be thrown over the back of a horse and ridden off with – ha!). Romance isn’t taken seriously by so many people.

Readers STILL sometimes react badly to strong heroines who go after what they want. I’ll never forget an early review for Major Misconduct – Lovey is fun and outgoing and confident and she goes after the man she’s attracted to – and a reader called her “uber slutty”. WHAT?? Others called her TSTL even though she was starting her own business and doing well at it. Heroes, on the other hand, will be forgiven for almost anything—but heroines, nope, one mistake, one bad decision, one strong assertive moment makes her a bitch, stupid, unlikeable or a slut.

I grew up in the 70s and I remember the slut shaming. Romance novels then reflected that, with rape fantasies and forced seduction—because it wasn’t okay for women to WANT sex. Let’s get past that. Let’s get past that internalized misogyny. Women should not be so hard on each other! These days, romance novels reflect strong women with agency, with goals and hopes and dreams who fall in love along their journey.

As I mentioned, I’ve had personal difficulties this past year, and being a romance writer helped me in ways I never would have anticipated. Now I recognize gas lighting. And I ask myself, if I was writing this story, how would my heroine behave? She’d be strong. She’d be optimistic that things will work out, but she wouldn’t just sit back and wait for things to work out, she’d take charge of her own life and fight for what she needs. So I am doing that.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the team of people who work with me -- my agent, editors, marketing and PR people, my assistant, cover artists, blurb writers, formatters...and most especially my readers. I love to write romance and I'm so grateful to everyone who helps me and to everyone who buys my books!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

December updates!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays however you may celebrate!

The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, the turkey is thawing! I think I'm ready! As usual, I've probably forgotten something, but there are still a couple of days if I have. I'm now off from the day job until January 2, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in, lots of food, family and friends, and hopefully lots of writing time!

I'm filling the house with this scent...because I have an artificial tree...this smells AMAZING...

 

And here's my tree...

 

I'm on Spotify now, so I can share some favorite music! This album is still my favorite Christmas album, even though it's a children's album. My kids went to French immersion school and we played this all the time when they were little...and I still love it!

 

https://open.spotify.com/album/5GBsKS2KToeFYKA100Dpnu

DANCING IN THE RAIN is one of Denise's top picks for the year at Shh Mom's Reading!

 

And don't forget...if you haven't already read them...I have THREE Christmas stories...

All I Want for Christmas

Three of Hearts

Off Limits

For a little holiday romance reading...enjoy!

All the best of the season to you and your families!

 

November updates!

Thanks to everyone who bought Slap Shot! I’m always so grateful when people buy and read my books. The next Aces book won’t be out for a while (July!) so don’t forget about me and my hockey guys! But I’ll have a couple of other books out in the meantime…

Long Shot - the last book of the Last Shot series - out in February

Screwed - out in May

Don’t forget about my Pinterest board for Aces hockey for some visual inspiration…and some hints at upcoming characters…

If you haven’t already got it, Breakaway is still free everywhere! Great chance to start my Aces Hockey series!

 

Amazon

iBooks

Nook

Kobo

Google

 

Reader questions of the month!

Speaking of Breakaway…

A few readers have asked about the loose ends in the story…wondering about an epilogue.

Well, Breakaway is book 1 in my Heller Brothers hockey, and the loose ends are all tied up if you keep reading the series…you’ll read more about Jase and Remi and Jase’s baby…also Heller brothers Tag and Logan. The series ends with Matt’s book, Offside, where you get a little look at the future and an epic epilogue that ties up the whole series. I made myself cry with that one. :-)

I’ve also had a few emails about my Brew Crew series:

Will there be another book in the Brew Crew series? Why isn't there an epilogue in the first two books?

When I started this series, my plan was to write 3 books. At that time, they were published with Samhain Publishing. Sales had been declining sharply and I was hesitant to write even book 2 in the series, but I’d committed to that one. Before I could write book 3, Samhain went out of business. I got the rights back and re-released books 1 and 2, and I could still write book 3, but I’ve signed contracts with another publisher that limit when I can publish other books. I’m pretty much booked up with them until March 2019. It could still happen, but it looks really hard to fit it into my schedule.

As far as an epilogue goes---I’d hoped to give that peek at the future for Levi and Sloane, and Bailey and Mason, in book 3 —  but the question gave me the idea of writing an “epilogue” that I could share with readers…so if I can find time to squeeze that in, I definitely will!

Here are a few new things I'm involved in:Racy Reads Party Room

This is a fabulous new Facebook group I’m part of — lots of amazing authors interacting daily with readers, awesome giveaways, parties and takeovers, news about releases and sales, and lots of fun!
 

 And have you heard of Book + Main?

This is brand new and I haven’t even got a good feel for it yet, but sounds like it has awesome potential as a way of discovering new authors and books. (I’m a reader too and always looking for new reads!). I’m trying it out, so come follow me and let’s find new books together!

 

 

I bought these new shoes...aren't they adorable? 

 

Wine - a really delicious ZInfandel

 

Lip gloss - I'm so pleased with this find! The colour (Maple) is nice and natural for me, and it has lots of pigment and is shiny, but lasts long like a lipstick.

Playlist - I'm loving Your Favourite Coffeehouse!

 

 

SLAP SHOT is now available!

I'm exited for this release because so many readers have been asking about Max (Hallsy) and his HEA!. It's finally here!

Fun fact: This is the first book I've ever written that is entirely in the hero's point of view. I was nervous attempting something different, but I've always enjoyed writing male point of view scenes, and I think it turned out well. Reviewers are agreeing:

"I was overjoyed to discover that this author writes fantastic male POV…an emotional read, an incredibly sexy story, angsty at times, heartwarming at others... all in all, a really solid story. I really liked it!"    ~ Angie and Jessica’s Dreamy Reads

 

 

 

 

 

September updates!

This post will mostly be about my recent trip, but I also want to remind you that BREAKAWAY is FREE right now everywhere! If you haven’t read my first hockey series, Heller Brothers Hockey, now’s a great time to start!

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Books-A-Million| GooglePlay | Smashwords

As you may know from social media, I just got back from a trip to London, England with my daughter. We had a fantastic time. We did lots of touristy things, lots of shopping, lots of eating and drinking. One of my favorite things about traveling is wandering and stumbling upon cute little streets or buildings or restaurants, and that happened a few times. I also got to meet in person with one of my readers from my Sweet Heat Reader Group, and with fellow author RJ Scott. We had lunch one day and it was awesome to meet them in person! As well, I had a family lunch on Saturday with my uncle, three of my cousins and one cousin’s wife and three kids. We don’t get to see each other often, needless to say, so it was fantastic to get together with them.

The British people are so wonderful. They are so polite — I think they say “sorry” as much as we Canadians do. Like the day I was sitting on a bench on the Underground platform…I stuck my feet straight out in front of me to look at my shoes and a man nearly walked into them. And HE said, “Sorry, ma’am.” (I believe in translation that means, watch what you’re doing with your feet you stupid bitch.)

We also loved the British sense of humor. Maybe it’s the accent, but everything they say sounds funny.

The British are also brave. Just before we left on our trip, an explosion happened in the Underground. People asked us if we were still going. Well, Londoners have no choice. They have to deal with that every day. And so we said we weren’t going to let it stop us either. We rode the Tube many times every day. We walked across Westminster Bridge. And we thought of the people who were killed or injured in senseless tragedies.

Here are a few pictures from my trip.

Tower Bridge from Tower of London

Tower Bridge

White Tower

St. Paul's Cathedral

Afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason

Changing of the Guard

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

Carnaby Street

And of course I bought shoes...  :-)

August updates!

Wow, it's over half way through August already!

I'm just finishing up two weeks of vacation from the day job, which means I've been writing my little heart out for the last two weeks! I finished one book and started another - yay! Also got caught up with some writing business.

I've been cleaning up my newsletter list, so if you're subscribed you may hear from me about whether you want to continue to receive my emails. I understand if you don't -- everyone's inundated with emails these days, and you can always keep up with me here, or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

I've also been working on getting some of my former Samhain books back up for sale in print format. I'm happy to say that you can now get these books in print:

Rule of Three, Rhythm of Three and Reward of Three - Rhythm and Reward were never before available in print!

Jilted

With Strings Attached

How to Love

Slammed

Limited Time Offer

No Obligation Required

And I'm working on the rest! It's a big job, but it's nice to have that option available for readers.

And I did take a day off to go to the beach!

I love the beach. :-) 

I'm getting ready for a trip to London, England next month (Sept 17-24). I'm hoping to arrange to meet up with a couple of author and reader friends, so if you'd like to join us, drop me a line (my email is info@kellyjamieson.com or connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. I would love to sign books or give you swag!

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Last month, Cross Check was released and I'm so thrilled with the great reviews it's gotten. I've been asked a number of times about a third Bayard Hockey book. Here's the honest answer - I did plan this to be a 3 book series. Book 3 was supposed to be about Grady and I know what his story is. But my publisher isn't terribly interested in another new adult romance. The market has changed for new adult stories. I *could* write it and self publish it, but they are correct that the market seems to have shifted, as my Bayard Hockey books haven't sold as well as others. For me it's a business decision - while I'd love to tell that story, I really have to focus my writing time on books that I think will sell better. But maybe I'll find a different way to tell that story!

SUMMER LOVE

I discovered this product earlier this summer and it's my new favorite thing! It's not a self tanner, as it washes off, it just gives a hint of color and shine -- great for arms and legs!

Next release...

isn't until October - gah! That's SLAP SHOT, which is the next Aces Hockey story - Max Hall's book!

ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SUMMER!