Erin Richards's Blog, page 17
August 6, 2012
CHASING SHADOWS Now in Print!!!
Four long years after the eBook release of CHASING SHADOWS, it has now gone into print!
When I came home from my recent vacation, I stumbled upon the print version at Barnes & Noble online before its official release date. With a shiny new cover, no less. Imagine my surprise! My first thought was, "ummm...who stole my name and my book title?" It didn't become real until I got the final confirmation from my publisher and I saw it included on their print list. I'm beyond excitied, especially when the release of my second book is next week!
It's not unusual for an ebook-to-print version have 2 different covers for various reasons. I would have preferred one cover in all, but the new print cover is nice! What do you think?
Print Cover
eBook Cover
You can purchase the print edition at any brick & mortar store by special order, or online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
See my Website for details.
When I came home from my recent vacation, I stumbled upon the print version at Barnes & Noble online before its official release date. With a shiny new cover, no less. Imagine my surprise! My first thought was, "ummm...who stole my name and my book title?" It didn't become real until I got the final confirmation from my publisher and I saw it included on their print list. I'm beyond excitied, especially when the release of my second book is next week!
It's not unusual for an ebook-to-print version have 2 different covers for various reasons. I would have preferred one cover in all, but the new print cover is nice! What do you think?
Print Cover
eBook Cover
You can purchase the print edition at any brick & mortar store by special order, or online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
See my Website for details.
July 23, 2012
Cover Reveal Giveaway!
My fantasy romance novel, WICKED PARADISE, comes out August 13, 2012 from Crimson Romance. Here's the fabulous cover, once again!
One lucky person can win an eBook copy of WICKED PARADISE. All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter below. It's easy! What are you waiting for?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
One lucky person can win an eBook copy of WICKED PARADISE. All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter below. It's easy! What are you waiting for?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
July 22, 2012
Cover Reveal - Wicked Paradise!
My cover for WICKED PARADISE is now final and I can share it with the world! Crimson Romance did a fantastic job. I'm absolutely thrilled with it. I hope you are, too.
WICKED PARADISE is also available for pre-order at Amazon!!! Clickey here to order! It will soon be uploaded to Barnes & Noble, iTunes and other online retailers.
Here's the official "back cover" blurb:
Balanced between the future and the past lies a pre-utopian paradise that may be mankind’s last hope for survival. Yet the island hides a sinister secret…a fearsome demon from ancient Ireland is imprisoned there and it’s about to escape to the twenty-first century.
Desperate to save a future post-apocalyptic world from total destruction, sorcerers send the most powerful sorceress from medieval times, Morgan of the Druids, through time to an island prison to kill WindWraith, the long-imprisoned Fomorian demon.
After a deadly squall tosses Druid-assassin Ryan O’Rourke into the Pacific Ocean, he washes ashore on an unchartered island brimming with magic. Ryan’s determined to find a way to return to Earth’s wasteland to battle the resurrected Fomorians plaguing the dwindling human race. When he stumbles across the enchantress who tantalizes his dreams to the point of madness, his plans turn upside down. For she stirs in him a hunger that puts his life’s purpose at risk.
Morgan has no choice but to kill the Fomorian before it kills her. But Ryan has other plans for the demon . . . Now Morgan and Ryan must decide between love and duty in a perilous race against the evil that could destroy Earth.
WICKED PARADISE is also available for pre-order at Amazon!!! Clickey here to order! It will soon be uploaded to Barnes & Noble, iTunes and other online retailers.
Here's the official "back cover" blurb:
Balanced between the future and the past lies a pre-utopian paradise that may be mankind’s last hope for survival. Yet the island hides a sinister secret…a fearsome demon from ancient Ireland is imprisoned there and it’s about to escape to the twenty-first century.
Desperate to save a future post-apocalyptic world from total destruction, sorcerers send the most powerful sorceress from medieval times, Morgan of the Druids, through time to an island prison to kill WindWraith, the long-imprisoned Fomorian demon.
After a deadly squall tosses Druid-assassin Ryan O’Rourke into the Pacific Ocean, he washes ashore on an unchartered island brimming with magic. Ryan’s determined to find a way to return to Earth’s wasteland to battle the resurrected Fomorians plaguing the dwindling human race. When he stumbles across the enchantress who tantalizes his dreams to the point of madness, his plans turn upside down. For she stirs in him a hunger that puts his life’s purpose at risk.
Morgan has no choice but to kill the Fomorian before it kills her. But Ryan has other plans for the demon . . . Now Morgan and Ryan must decide between love and duty in a perilous race against the evil that could destroy Earth.
July 8, 2012
Free Romance Writing Webinar - My Personal Recommendation
Hosted by Crimson Romance
When: July 10, 3:00 PM ET
Register: Crimson Romance or directly at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/813461089
Webinar Title: On Romance Writing: Getting to the Heart of Creating a Romance Novel
Website Description: Romance readers are romance writers. Deep in the heart of every person who loves a good romance novel is the desire to write one of her own. But the process of writing a novel can seem daunting, not to mention the steps to get published. Is there a formula to the plot of a romance novel? How long should it be? How do I submit my manuscript to a publisher? Okay, so I’m published, but now what? These questions and more will be answered by a panel of experts: romance writers themselves. Join Leigh Michaels, author of "On Writing Romance"; Jennifer Lawler, Imprint Manager of Crimson Romance; Kristina Knight, author of "What a Texas Girl Wants"; and Karen Sue Burns, author of "In Hot Pursuit", for a free webinar that will discuss writing and publishing a successful romance novel from start to finish.
Leigh Michaels teaches the romance writing courses at Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and she has written over 80 romance novels for Harlequin and Sourcebooks. I took her Level 1 Romance Writing and her Level 2 Advanced Romance Writing courses at Gotham, using my first novel CHASING SHADOWS (formerly known as “Dream Chasers”) as my class project. As I started the class, I had a rough first draft written of 120K words, which I needed to whip into shape and cut down to proper romance novel length. I had convoluted subplots of subplots, had started in the wrong place, and so many other problems. After reading romances for so long, I really didn’t know how to write one. But the classes were invaluable and put me on a clear path. Leigh was instrumental in helping me shape CHASING SHADOWS into a publishable manuscript, which I went on to sell to Ellora’s Cave (Blush imprint). Further, I used the knowledge gained in the course and in Leigh’s book, “On Writing Romance,” to write and ultimately sell my novel WICKED PARADISE to Crimson Romance.
I highly recommend this webinar to budding romance novelists. You can’t get a better panel of experts to guide you through the steps of writing a romance novel from first word on the page to publication.
When: July 10, 3:00 PM ET
Register: Crimson Romance or directly at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/813461089
Webinar Title: On Romance Writing: Getting to the Heart of Creating a Romance Novel
Website Description: Romance readers are romance writers. Deep in the heart of every person who loves a good romance novel is the desire to write one of her own. But the process of writing a novel can seem daunting, not to mention the steps to get published. Is there a formula to the plot of a romance novel? How long should it be? How do I submit my manuscript to a publisher? Okay, so I’m published, but now what? These questions and more will be answered by a panel of experts: romance writers themselves. Join Leigh Michaels, author of "On Writing Romance"; Jennifer Lawler, Imprint Manager of Crimson Romance; Kristina Knight, author of "What a Texas Girl Wants"; and Karen Sue Burns, author of "In Hot Pursuit", for a free webinar that will discuss writing and publishing a successful romance novel from start to finish.
Leigh Michaels teaches the romance writing courses at Gotham Writers’ Workshop, and she has written over 80 romance novels for Harlequin and Sourcebooks. I took her Level 1 Romance Writing and her Level 2 Advanced Romance Writing courses at Gotham, using my first novel CHASING SHADOWS (formerly known as “Dream Chasers”) as my class project. As I started the class, I had a rough first draft written of 120K words, which I needed to whip into shape and cut down to proper romance novel length. I had convoluted subplots of subplots, had started in the wrong place, and so many other problems. After reading romances for so long, I really didn’t know how to write one. But the classes were invaluable and put me on a clear path. Leigh was instrumental in helping me shape CHASING SHADOWS into a publishable manuscript, which I went on to sell to Ellora’s Cave (Blush imprint). Further, I used the knowledge gained in the course and in Leigh’s book, “On Writing Romance,” to write and ultimately sell my novel WICKED PARADISE to Crimson Romance.
I highly recommend this webinar to budding romance novelists. You can’t get a better panel of experts to guide you through the steps of writing a romance novel from first word on the page to publication.
July 1, 2012
Perseverance and “The Call”
Technically, “The Call” wasn’t a call, but an email! Nor was it my first offer. My first Call was in 2007 when I received an email offer to publish CHASING SHADOWS by the top eBook publisher of that time, when eBooks were in their infancy. CHASING SHADOWS was my first polished-for-publication novel, and you can imagine my excitement. It spurred me on to continue writing (after a particularly bad dry spell as I ended a chapter in my personal life) and to develop a career in writing. I had drafts of 2 novels to finish and a third one in process. But things didn’t go as planned…
“The Call” for WICKED PARADISE (my third novel) was just as exciting if not more so than the first one in 2007. It felt like my first. Why, you ask? Because I was at my wits end. Plus, I was ending a stressful and hectic 9-month period in my personal life (no, I didn’t pop out a baby!), and I desperately wanted my life, especially my writing life, to return to normal once again. Had I sat on my laurels waiting for an agent or publisher offer to fall in my lap? Heck, no. It had been four years since CHASING SHADOWS was released in April 2008, and over three years of looking for an agent on not one, but three books (which included two versions of one novel and three versions of WICKED PARADISE). I had a few close calls and 2 almost agent offers. Nothing panned out.
My agent search story is not unique. Agents have so few “slots” to fill for new authors. One popular agent receives over 35,000 query letters a year and only signs on a handful of new authors. Competition is tough. I recognized that. But I watched many of my peers get agent offers and book deals, and I kept wondering (yeah, okay, agonizing over) when my time would come. Even though I felt like giving up many times, I refused to let it beat me down. I had been published once, and I’d get there again.
The one thing that kept me going was the characters and worlds in my head. They refused to be ignored. Writing is in my blood. I knew I would find a home for one or all of my books. It was just a matter of time (or the proper alignment of the stars, sun, and moon!). I honed my craft with each book and each revision. I kept at it.
Flash forward to Fall of 2011. I decided it was time to query digital publishers with WICKED PARADISE. Although, I never lost sight of one day holding a print version of one of my books in my hand, digital books were here to stay. I’ve been reading eBooks since 2002 on various devices, and I crossed the divide this year where I actually prefer reading electronically to print.
Earlier this year, I heard about Crimson Romance, a new digital romance imprint of Adams Media, launching in June. They planned to digitize their releases first with print-on-demand to follow! I’d heard of Adams Media and its parent company F+W Media, Inc. (who owns Writers Digest), and both are well-respected, stable companies. I read in an interview with Jennifer Lawler, Crimson’s managing editor, that they wanted romances in the 50,000-word range, give or take. My bubble burst. WICKED PARADISE was 91,000 words. I was sure it was too long for them, so I put thoughts of submitting to Crimson aside. But I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I liked the idea of getting in on the ground floor, watching the imprint flourish with great romance books.
One evening, I was visiting my favorite online writing forum and someone mentioned that she had submitted a longer work to Crimson, a novel in the upper 80K range. She suggested I give it a whirl. What’s the worst that could happen? I get rejected (rejections bounce off my skin now)? Or they ask me to cut 20-30K words? So I shot out a query letter to the managing/acquiring editor, still thinking I didn’t have a chance. Lo and behold, the next day, I received an email from Jennifer requesting to read the full manuscript! I immediately sent the full out by email and put it out of my mind. I had too much on my plate to obsess over it, anyway. Plus, been there, done that. I didn’t want to get too excited.
Five weeks later on May 7, I received an email reply from Jennifer. It had that paperclip attachment icon next to the subject line. I stared at it without opening the email, wondering what she was sending me with her rejection. At the same time, my heart began to race. I opened the email and read that she’d love to add WICKED PARADISE to Crimson’s lineup!!! The contract was attached. I had to read the email 3 times before it sunk in. An offer? Did I just get an offer? Thank goodness I was home. I screeched. I did a little jig. I clapped. My drought had ended.
I accepted the offer by email, still not believing it was true. One day later, I signed and returned the contract. Then it was a done deal.
Last week, I finished my first round of edits and WICKED PARADISE remains at 91,000 words. Crimson Romance releases it to the world on August 13.
People in this business always say, “keep writing, your time will come.” I believe it now.
“The Call” for WICKED PARADISE (my third novel) was just as exciting if not more so than the first one in 2007. It felt like my first. Why, you ask? Because I was at my wits end. Plus, I was ending a stressful and hectic 9-month period in my personal life (no, I didn’t pop out a baby!), and I desperately wanted my life, especially my writing life, to return to normal once again. Had I sat on my laurels waiting for an agent or publisher offer to fall in my lap? Heck, no. It had been four years since CHASING SHADOWS was released in April 2008, and over three years of looking for an agent on not one, but three books (which included two versions of one novel and three versions of WICKED PARADISE). I had a few close calls and 2 almost agent offers. Nothing panned out.
My agent search story is not unique. Agents have so few “slots” to fill for new authors. One popular agent receives over 35,000 query letters a year and only signs on a handful of new authors. Competition is tough. I recognized that. But I watched many of my peers get agent offers and book deals, and I kept wondering (yeah, okay, agonizing over) when my time would come. Even though I felt like giving up many times, I refused to let it beat me down. I had been published once, and I’d get there again.
The one thing that kept me going was the characters and worlds in my head. They refused to be ignored. Writing is in my blood. I knew I would find a home for one or all of my books. It was just a matter of time (or the proper alignment of the stars, sun, and moon!). I honed my craft with each book and each revision. I kept at it.
Flash forward to Fall of 2011. I decided it was time to query digital publishers with WICKED PARADISE. Although, I never lost sight of one day holding a print version of one of my books in my hand, digital books were here to stay. I’ve been reading eBooks since 2002 on various devices, and I crossed the divide this year where I actually prefer reading electronically to print.
Earlier this year, I heard about Crimson Romance, a new digital romance imprint of Adams Media, launching in June. They planned to digitize their releases first with print-on-demand to follow! I’d heard of Adams Media and its parent company F+W Media, Inc. (who owns Writers Digest), and both are well-respected, stable companies. I read in an interview with Jennifer Lawler, Crimson’s managing editor, that they wanted romances in the 50,000-word range, give or take. My bubble burst. WICKED PARADISE was 91,000 words. I was sure it was too long for them, so I put thoughts of submitting to Crimson aside. But I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I liked the idea of getting in on the ground floor, watching the imprint flourish with great romance books.
One evening, I was visiting my favorite online writing forum and someone mentioned that she had submitted a longer work to Crimson, a novel in the upper 80K range. She suggested I give it a whirl. What’s the worst that could happen? I get rejected (rejections bounce off my skin now)? Or they ask me to cut 20-30K words? So I shot out a query letter to the managing/acquiring editor, still thinking I didn’t have a chance. Lo and behold, the next day, I received an email from Jennifer requesting to read the full manuscript! I immediately sent the full out by email and put it out of my mind. I had too much on my plate to obsess over it, anyway. Plus, been there, done that. I didn’t want to get too excited.
Five weeks later on May 7, I received an email reply from Jennifer. It had that paperclip attachment icon next to the subject line. I stared at it without opening the email, wondering what she was sending me with her rejection. At the same time, my heart began to race. I opened the email and read that she’d love to add WICKED PARADISE to Crimson’s lineup!!! The contract was attached. I had to read the email 3 times before it sunk in. An offer? Did I just get an offer? Thank goodness I was home. I screeched. I did a little jig. I clapped. My drought had ended.
I accepted the offer by email, still not believing it was true. One day later, I signed and returned the contract. Then it was a done deal.
Last week, I finished my first round of edits and WICKED PARADISE remains at 91,000 words. Crimson Romance releases it to the world on August 13.
People in this business always say, “keep writing, your time will come.” I believe it now.
June 27, 2012
Enter to Win a Kindle Fire!
Enter Crimson Romance's contest for your chance to win a Kindle Fire loaded with all 25 of their June romance books! Good luck! Crimson Romance Contest
June 4, 2012
Crimson Romance Launches!!
Please join the official launch of Crimson Romance. Twenty-five amazing books and authors. There's paranormal, romantic suspense, historical, contemporary and spicy romance. A little something for everyone! Check out Crimson's new website and get to know the launch authors, download a book or 25!!!
Congrats to all the Crimson launch authors! Hoping for an amazing day and great sales.
Congrats to all the Crimson launch authors! Hoping for an amazing day and great sales.
May 25, 2012
Decoration Day
Memorial Day, an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May, honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer. Read more from the source: http://www.history.com/topics/memorial-day-history
Have a great weekend!
Have a great weekend!
May 17, 2012
The Wait is Over...Sold!
I've teased this news enough...I'm officially announcing that I signed with Crimson Romance (an imprint of F+W Media) to publish my fantasy romance novel, Wicked Paradise!!!
More on The Call (email) and my journey to this point later!
More on The Call (email) and my journey to this point later!
May 12, 2012
Update...and a Tease
Well, the time sink of life-altering things has wound down...just a few more weeks of busyness and I can devote more time to all things writing. Just saying...buying a house sucks the life and time out of you. Especially when it's a short-sale, and after 3 other deals fell through. I think I can write a book on the whole fiasco and process. Wait...I really could write a book about it...or a few blog posts at least. Suffice it to say...I now know more about honey bee swarms than I ever wanted to know. That's just the icing on the cake of bizarre. LOL!
Now to leave you with a little tease...I will have news to report soon. Writing. Related. News. Awesome news, in fact!
Happy Mother's Day!!
Now to leave you with a little tease...I will have news to report soon. Writing. Related. News. Awesome news, in fact!
Happy Mother's Day!!
