Kate Rothwell's Blog, page 14

SBD and Promo

Let's get this done now: an early SBD... thumbs up for a Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer. The book has a nice portrait of turn-of-the-20th-century Seattle and I like spending time with the hero, Professor Bradshaw. He's ever so slightly persnicketty and fastidious but, it turns out, for good reason. Golly, he's a sweet guy.



The only part I didn't love was the romancey bits, which is kind of funny, since, you know. Romance writer.



I even enjoyed the electrical engineering bits though I most resemble the clodhopping cop who can't follow the lectures. As soon as I hit send on this blog entry, I'm on the hunt for the next in the series.



No wait, I can't. I have a Billy Boyle book that's about to expire. Eek. 



Next up on the agenda....



I have some presents for you. This is the promo part, but really, don't roll your eyes. I'm talking GIFTS! and the strings are very lightly attached, practically invisible.



What do I have? AUDIOBOOKS at AUDIBLE.COM! The Gentleman and the Rogue and Someone to Cherish are audiobooks, and I can let a couple of you lucky people have coupons to get FREE COPIES.



You just have to email me at katerothwell at gmail.com. That's easy! After that comes the whole applying a coupon to the purchase thing, a process that stymied me, but never mind that.



Also, Bonnie and I have a book coming out July 9, and if you want a review copy of The Gentleman's Keeper, let me know. I still have a couple I can give out. Did you see? It was, a starred Publisher's Weekly book!  See? See????

Devon and Dee (The Gentleman and the Rogue) fill this expertly
written gay Victorian romance with emotional tension. ....... Well paced with realistic characters,
this deep story is a must-read for fans of gay historicals. (July)

If you didn't see that review or a reference to that review, then you haven't been anywhere near me online or in real life recently. Because I've mentioned that review once or twice or a thousand times.



Yo. Write to me and let me know if you want a recording or a book. Thank you.

new story time...need ideas?

Here, get a fish fish bowl, put a bunch of ideas in it. Pull them out for a story. Or, if you don't want to bother with pieces of paper, use the internet.



Some sites shown with the results from a push of a generator button. 



http://shortstoryideas.herb.me.uk/random.htm



Umbrella, vanity, run.









This is a slice-of-life tale. The story is about a policeman who must
work with a quiet clerk. It takes place in a galaxy-spanning imperium.
Archaeology versus respecting native cultures plays a major role in
this story.



 http://writers-den.pantomimepony.co.uk/writers-plot-ideas.php


  An unprofessional feminist and a prospector get together - after they
witness a murder - to regain their reputation. Events are straightened
out by a new witness.



that site has some fun things like "plot twist"

 The cleaner ruins the brother.



 http://rangen.co.uk/writing/plotgen.php  gives us some action adventure

Stuck enduring the daily grind, the main character's life is turned
upside down when a stranger enters their life with an intriguing
proposal that could cost them their money.







http://www.archetypewriting.com/muse/generators/plot.htm

 The story starts when your protagonist
walks out on a partner. Another character is
a marksman

who
is from the past.






Here are some more generators (Although some don't seem to work any more)

woe is scrivener

I've come to a point in a book that makes me realize that no matter how much I enjoy spending time with these characters, there's no actual story in this story. The internal conflict is low grade; the external confusing. So I figure I'd load everyone onto a bus and take them out for a drive.



The bus, in this case, is one of those Miraculous Organizing Writing Programs. And so far, I've lost touch with the characters and I feel old and completely separated from anything resembling a spark of imagination. Also I can't figure out how to switch between windows without a lot of cursing and thumping.



To make matters worse for myself--because that's what I'm here for--I took a break and wandered around the internet looking at reviews of my stuff (and there aren't many and no one likes my books and why do I bother? This tastes so bad and the portions are too small.)



So yeah, pretty much business as usual.



Here, let me step out of the self-pity closet and smack down the moths of anxiety and maybe shake off the dust of doubt.  (My closets are a mess.) . . . and ummmm lay out the fresh garments of . ...



Screw it. I think I'll start writing something new. Bonnie and I finished writing a book last week and I'm still at loose ends. 



And let me take another step back and away from the stuffy closet by reading someone else's book.



Hey, that brings up something something sad. I read a Carla Kelly that I didn't like very much and that shook me. Too much plot and it was sort of silly. Even the usual charming banter didn't save it for me.



But here's something nice. As I wrote "woe is scrivener" I could clearly hear my friend Rosemary's voice. She's been dead for a long time, gone enough years that she's fading. Recalling something vivid is rare enough to be a gift.

 

How I got today's gift: Rosemary had a cat called Cassandra and when I asked her where the name came from, she told me the story of Cassandra and how that Trojan lady went around the place moaning woe to Trojans! woe to Troy! The cat Cassandra wailed plaintively too. Rosemary had a lovely British accent and a great laugh and just writing the title here brought back that story and her voice and laugh to me for a moment. I hereby declare that brief memory of her more real than my metaphorical/allegorical badly-kept closet. 

The Tail of the Dog, the fundraising story

You can read the book free here my blog or at goodreads (or eventually at the new m/m romance website)



But if you want to give money to a worthy cause (and I don't just mean to pay off  my kid who did the cover for me) 

 You can buy a copy at Amazon

OR

You can buy a copy at Barnes and Noble. 

for less than a dollar! 





Once I've paid the kid and Amazon has taken its chunk, all of the profits from sales for the next half year will go to a rescue I've seen in action.



If you're one of my facebook friends, you've probably noticed the pictures I occasionally post: adoption pleas for pups who're about to be euthanized ** Nearly every time the dogs are listed, we get to type "ADOPTED!" on those links, and it's often thanks to these guys, showing up at the zero hour for the City of Hartford animal shelter.

From their webpage:

Ruff Start Happy Tails is dedicated to the rescue and placement of
homeless animals, many of whom are rescued at the very last moment from
euthanasia at shelters. We provide a safe haven to all those who find
their way to us through a variety of circumstances.

Ruff Start Happy Tails does not have a shelter and relies solely
on a network of foster homes and volunteers. We receive no public
funding and count on the generosity of others to help defray our costs,
which include vet bills and other medical expenses.

So when you buy a copy of the short story, you not only get a book described as "cute!" and "sweet!" and "hey where's the hot sex? there's no hot sex!" by a bunch of people,  you support a worthy cause and you get an adorbs picture of a dog ... that doesn't look anything like the dog in the original picture. (Story adjusted to fit new pup.)



Last year, I did this same sort of fundraising thing for AIDS/Lifecycle with my short story for the goodreads group, and I ended up donating $200.



Let's give Ruff Start Happy Tails even more! 



_______


**those "Save the Pups!" pictures have lost me a number of facebook followers, including my oldest who couldn't take the pressure. But the sharing thing is good! It gets those dogs adopted!

what do we have to offer our listeners today?

I have a short thing coming out this week and then a full book out in July and a couple of audiobooks any day now and . .  when I think of all these things with my name on them I think PROMO-OH-NO.



I've read several books' worth of articles and listened to hours of talks and the only thing they all seem to agree about is promo, yeah, got to do it. Get it done, they say, and I agree (the difference between us is they provide happy, heartening cheers, plus a lot of spreadsheets and handouts).



So consider this an advance warning about the tweets, the facebook pushes, the google plus buzzing, the articles here and elsewhere. I wish I could do a NPR thing -- if I manage to sell 10K copies of a book, I promise to shorten my promo period. Give me your money now AND you get this book AND maybe this coffee mug** AND we all get me to shut up.



So I can be bribed. Anyone want 10K copies of an ebook? Sorry, I can't do anything about the other 900,000,000 authors with books/recordings/short stories out this month though.





**how about one of the old NPR or NPTV mugs we got from fundraisers in the past? I have at least a couple around here some place. The writing is worn off and they're chipped but that just makes them feel more home-like. Shabby chic!

A free ebook!

For the next 24 hours or so, you can get this Kate Rothwell title free.

 




4.5 stars! from RT Magazine

This is a sweet, funny and emotional tale. This modern take on
Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster, has wonderful, fully developed
characters... This incredible story will appeal to adult as well as
young readers. --Romantic Times



Thank You, Mrs. M. is a wonderful read...This is a poignant and enjoyable read. --Night Owl Reviews



This is not just Daddy Long Legs
gender-reversed and updated for shock value, but a thoughtful and
really interesting re-imagining of how the story might play out in
today's world.





There are light homages to the original, which
add a bit of extra glow to the romance if you're a fan, but what really
made the story for me were the differences. It turns out the unknown
philanthropist, here dubbed by our narrator Ben as "Mrs. Moneybags," has
private, very unexpected motivations for helping orphaned Ben through
college. And it was appropriate that Ben, who's described as very smart
and thinking outside the box, catches on to what those are. --willaful

This is a book I keep pushing on the public, even after the public refuses to pay attention. I feel like a mother shoving a spoon loaded with pudding at a child who refuses to open its mouth  ("not even for a delicious free try, sweetie?" coos Mom).



I'm not sure why I'm reluctant to let some books go into that deep, dark oblivion and others I wave goodbye to without much regret. Adios Fugitive Heart for instance. Most of the time when I shamelessly shove and re-shove books at people, it's because the books in quetion are like other stories I've written--the same genre. I've never written another one like this one and I doubt I ever will.



So yeah, I'm not sure why either, except.....Free at Amazon for another 24 hours! Get your copy. ("Open wide, dear. Just a teeny taste.")

checking my watch to see if another one is on amazon yet.

The end of a glom is always sad. I gulped down every last book in the My Immortals series as if my life depended on reading those things.



Now I have to wait and wait for Carolyn Jewel to write another. Life is not fair.

No.

The new Kindle fan fiction thing? No, no, no. I say this not because I have any personal problem with fan fiction. Kind of the opposite. I don't write it and I don't read it (much) but I do know this:  fan fic is a thing done with love. Make it commercial and it loses the one thing that makes it mildly admirable. It turns from a tribute into a money-grubbing effort. I know the original authors might be on board with it--heck, I would be if anyone wanted to do it with my stuff. But the spirit of the effort changes.



Too airy-fairy a reason to object in a world of sales.



Hey, people are already saying they do not pay for something labeled fan-fiction. I don't see how the project can succeed, but then again, I said that about vampires about five years ago. Prescient, I am not. 

New Cover!!!

I like this cover a lot--nice lay-out, great font, interesting glowering guy.



Except the gloomy guy doesn't look like any of my characters to me.



Turns out I'm a real PITA when it comes to covers. I think there has only been one time when I looked at a cover and thought, yo, that's him! That's exactly right.  And now that cover is no longer on the book. (The Gentleman and the Rogue's original cover had Jem on it)



Give me a few days and I love most of my covers, although I still shudder when I see some of them.



I whined, "that doesn't look like Peter." The editor said, "He's Colin."



Really? I would never guess he's Colin.



You'll have to read the story to decide if he's Colin, Peter or maybe Mark. I can't recall when it's coming out, so I'll check on that and get back to you, blog.



This story is still called Goofus and Gallant in my head, but even at the very start, I knew that wouldn't work as a title.

no ... more.... forrrrrms

Bonnie and I are taking back the rights to our books, slowly, which means we have to reload them, which means we have to have accounts. Setting those things up makes me think maybe the publishers might be earning that percentage after all.



One of the things we need is a website. At least two venues demand that we fill in that space on their form. Little red asterisk means "nuh uh, bitch, you will list a site." So I made one here at blogspot. That was easy peasy!



Later on, once the big bucks roll in, we'll probably do a real site. The fake, bloggy one took less time than waiting for the help desk on Barnes and Noble to answer the phone. In fact, creating that beauty is what I did while I waited for B&N (which has nice enough hold music--guitars. Ally bank needs to look into new music. Ditto godaddy).