Janice Horton's Blog, page 39
October 13, 2011
Links...
This week, I've got some fabulous shiny new links for you!
First up: Thanks to lovely columist friend Gilly Fraser, I'm mentioned in the November edition of DG Life (Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland) magazine - most regions of the UK have these wonderful newsy glossy coffee table style magazines and it's really exciting to be featured as a 'local' author - so do have a wee read by clicking here: DG Life Magazine
Next up: I was a guest on fellow loveahappyending author Mandy Baggot's blog this week - on what she calls Author Meet and Greet - which was great fun because Mandy asks the most amazingly different questions. If you want you find out what I answered click here: Mandy's Meet & Greet
Lastly: thanks to talented writer Pauline Barclay, I discovered there IS a way for a Kindle author to sign their e-books! Kindlegraph is a website that features thousands of books and thousands of authors. All you have to do to request a Kindlegraph from the site, is to sign in with your Twitter account, and provide either an email address or your Kindle e-address (there are 1-2-3 step instructions on how to do this). You will receive not only a signature and book cover, but a personal message from the author of your choice, and you don't even have to have bought a book yet (although you know you'll want to soon, right?) How e-fabulous is that...?
So, if perchance you would like ahem.... my special personal message to you... ahem. Click here: Janice Horton's Kindlegraph
Coming up: (((((tremble))))) The e-edits......... I'll keep you posted!
Janice xx
October 6, 2011
The story behind the story...
I can't tell you how good it feels to have a completed manuscript right now!
I did say completed - but I don't mean finished - as Reaching for the Stars has now been sent to my lovely editor Kit Domino for a story edit and, after revisions, it will go back to her for a copy edit before it is launched upon the world. This novel has been a labour of love and to write 'The End' was a major moment for me I can tell you!
I've been working on this novel whilst at the same time working on many other projects over the past few years, and this manuscript has been put on the back burner more times than I can count. So much so, that at one point, I never thought it would ever see the light of day. So I thought I'd share my writer's journey with you to this point and hope you will celebrate with me a couple of months time (mid-December launch date still to be announced) when Reaching for the Stars will be available on an e-reader near you!
This novel started off as an idea sparked by my fascination for the rock stars of the culinary world - celebrity chefs - and everything chef related. I also have an insatiable appetite for TV cookery shows, from Hell's Kitchen to Ready Steady Cook and everything in between.
So before I wrote a single word of this novel, I immersed myself in watching chef TV and reading chef biographies to find what drives a three starred kitchen and then I went on to interview some pretty hot chefs in person, both male and female, for research purposes.
Fabulous freelance chef Cathro Brook, who has travelled all over the world cooking for VIP's and celebrities, told me the most amazing stories, from gundogs getting onto the shooting party luncheon table to her oven gloves catching fire during a diplomatic dinner. I don't have a photo of the lovely Cathro - so if you are reading this Chef Brook please send me one!
Top chef Colin Masson shared his afternoon coffee breaks with me on several occasions, and told me lots of wonderful anecdotes about chefs, restaurants, and kitchens, giving me lots of ideas for my novel in progress.
Top Chef Colin Masson and Janice HortonChef Ian McAndrew, who has a gastronomic CV and cookbook backlist to make other chefs weep, was the youngest UK chef ever to have held a Michelin star. As the stars being 'reached for' in my book Reaching for the Stars are loosely based on the Michelin stars (I call them Golden Stars) Ian generously invited me to his the hotel to answer my research questions. He and his sous and commis also demonstrated what it takes to run an award winning kitchen in one of Scotland's best romantic and award winning hotels, the Blackaddie Hotel, Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway.
Award winning Chef Ian McAndrewInterestingly, on the same day that I visited the Blackaddie Hotel, I had an ITV camera crew in tow, who were interested in filming my novel research techniques for a news feature and the resulting short film can be seen here:
Click here to watch Janice's 'Reaching for the Stars' TV news feature Just before completing the manuscript for Reaching for the Stars, I commissioned the cover from professional designer JT Lindroos, whom I can recommend highly as he is so fantastic to work with. I already had the cover picture in mind, but JT proposed many and varied options on my theme before we fine tuned the final cover. These are some of the first stage design ideas followed by the finished version:
So that's all my exciting news for now - more on Reaching for the Stars soon - with an update on a launch date and the storyline.
Please do pop back over the next few days when I'll be adding a link to the Author Meet & Greet interview I did for fabulous author Lady Mandy Baggot's blog.
Love, Janice xx
September 29, 2011
Friendly Faces...
Melanie, Pauline & MandyThree lovely friends have awarded me the Friendly Blogger Award this week and the rules are to pass the award on to ten other friendly bloggers. Thank you to:Melanie Robertson KingPauline BarclayMandy Baggot
So below are my chosen friendly ones - please accept my thanks for your lovely friendships by copying and pasting this fabulous award to your own blogs and passing it on to ten other friendly ones - okay, so I've taken the liberty of awarding more than ten and the list may be added to over the weekend!
Linn B HaltonRosemary GemmellKate WalkerKit DominoKenneth RosenbergRea SinfieldLou GrahamSarah TaylorKim The BookwormGilly FraserChris LongmuirBill KirtonSharon GoodwinHywela LynSue WatsonSue JohnsonDorothy BushSue UdenTalli Roland
Angela Barton
Can I also draw your attention to Pauline Barclay's fantastic blog 'Scribbles' as she is featuring the 'first sentences' of books you'll want to read more of in all her blog posts over the next few months (what a fabulous idea!) and if you are an author and would like Pauline to feature your book - do pop along, follow her blog - and ask her. Simples!
First up is the first sentence of Chapter One - Bagpipes & Bullshot!
P.S. I'll be popping back over the weekend to report on writing progress.
September 22, 2011
The Final Chapter...
I'm currently writing the final chapter of my next book 'Reaching for the Stars' - with a deadline of 30th September - and I still don't know how it's all going to end!
Any ideas? All and any suggestions gratefully received - go on - do help out this poor exhausted author and leave a comment. The funnier the better as I'm in need of humour right now!
This week I introduced 'Team Horton' - my fabulous team of five Associate Readers who support me via the loveahappyending website.
Meet Kim, Melanie, Rea, Louise & Sarah.
And, please do pop over to my friend Gilly's new blog. Gilly is a very interesting journalist and romance writer and this week she is talking about her monthly column in glossy DG Life magazine and the subject of e-book marketing - in which she gives yours truly a wee toot.
'Reclaim the Romance'
Then, do come back next Friday when - if I've survived my writeathon - I'll let you know if I completed my storyline and made my deadline!
September 15, 2011
Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover?
Please let me introduce to you my very first guest blogger who is a fabulous author and also a dear friend, Kenneth Rosenberg.
Thanks so much to Janice for letting me guest post on her blog this week! I thought I'd talk about something that she and I have in common as "indie" authors, and that is cover design. Or more specifically, title, cover, blurb, marketing and everything else that independent authors have to take care of all on their own!
Followers on this blog know about Janice's recent cover re-design and branding effort. She's done a terrific job tying together her cover for Bagpipes and Bullshot with her forthcoming Reaching for the Stars, as well as this blog.
For a traditionally published author, this is the type of thing that a publishing company would normally take care of, but not so for us indies! We have to figure this stuff out all on our own.
When I came out with my first novel No Cure for the Broken Hearted at the beginning of this year, I came up with the title, wrote the blurb and designed the cover. I was happy with the outcome, though I still didn't know what to expect when it finally went live.
I tried to temper my expectations. Would I sell a few hundred copies? A few thousand? I had no idea. Maybe I'd earn enough money to buy myself a cup of coffee every day? It ends up, the book took off almost from the start and managed around 25,000 copies sold in the first six months.
When my next book came out last month, I tried to temper my expectations again, though this time it wasn't so easy. Even if I only sold half as many copies as the first, it would be a great success. I came up with the title Sweet Ophelia and the Tinseltown Blues. I thought it reflected the off-beat style of the book; a story of love and redemption set in Hollywood. I designed a cover with a face representing the character Ophelia. The book went live and… crickets.
In the entire first week that my book was on sale, I only had one sale on Amazon UK, and that was to Janice! (Thanks, BTW). In the next three weeks, I managed about one sale per week. Sales on Amazon U.S. were only slightly better.
So what went wrong? Was it the title? The cover? The blurb? The sample? It was hard to say for sure. Perhaps the book just isn't connecting with readers, but I feel pretty good about it myself. There's nothing I can or would change about the book at this point.
And so I've spent the last few weeks trying to come up with a new title and cover. This is one of the great things about independent publishing. Maybe I don't have a big publishing company behind me, test marketing covers and titles and doing promotions, but on the flip side, I can make changes to this sort of thing at will.
A publishing company would have a print run, and ads running, and hard copies out to reviewers. Once a title was set, that would be it. Writers like Janice and myself can make changes to these things almost instantly. We can see what works and what doesn't, and move ahead accordingly.
So far I've been throwing around ideas and bouncing them off of friends and family, but now I thought I'd throw it out to readers here to see what people think. Should I give it some more time with the current cover and title? Or change it ASAP? Any ideas for new titles?
I look forward to your comments, and remember, honesty is the best policy!
Kenneth Rosenberg's BlogKenneth's books on Amazon UKKenneth's books on Amazon.com
Thanks so much to Janice for letting me guest post on her blog this week! I thought I'd talk about something that she and I have in common as "indie" authors, and that is cover design. Or more specifically, title, cover, blurb, marketing and everything else that independent authors have to take care of all on their own!
Followers on this blog know about Janice's recent cover re-design and branding effort. She's done a terrific job tying together her cover for Bagpipes and Bullshot with her forthcoming Reaching for the Stars, as well as this blog.
For a traditionally published author, this is the type of thing that a publishing company would normally take care of, but not so for us indies! We have to figure this stuff out all on our own.
When I came out with my first novel No Cure for the Broken Hearted at the beginning of this year, I came up with the title, wrote the blurb and designed the cover. I was happy with the outcome, though I still didn't know what to expect when it finally went live.
I tried to temper my expectations. Would I sell a few hundred copies? A few thousand? I had no idea. Maybe I'd earn enough money to buy myself a cup of coffee every day? It ends up, the book took off almost from the start and managed around 25,000 copies sold in the first six months.
When my next book came out last month, I tried to temper my expectations again, though this time it wasn't so easy. Even if I only sold half as many copies as the first, it would be a great success. I came up with the title Sweet Ophelia and the Tinseltown Blues. I thought it reflected the off-beat style of the book; a story of love and redemption set in Hollywood. I designed a cover with a face representing the character Ophelia. The book went live and… crickets.
In the entire first week that my book was on sale, I only had one sale on Amazon UK, and that was to Janice! (Thanks, BTW). In the next three weeks, I managed about one sale per week. Sales on Amazon U.S. were only slightly better.
So what went wrong? Was it the title? The cover? The blurb? The sample? It was hard to say for sure. Perhaps the book just isn't connecting with readers, but I feel pretty good about it myself. There's nothing I can or would change about the book at this point.
And so I've spent the last few weeks trying to come up with a new title and cover. This is one of the great things about independent publishing. Maybe I don't have a big publishing company behind me, test marketing covers and titles and doing promotions, but on the flip side, I can make changes to this sort of thing at will.
A publishing company would have a print run, and ads running, and hard copies out to reviewers. Once a title was set, that would be it. Writers like Janice and myself can make changes to these things almost instantly. We can see what works and what doesn't, and move ahead accordingly.
So far I've been throwing around ideas and bouncing them off of friends and family, but now I thought I'd throw it out to readers here to see what people think. Should I give it some more time with the current cover and title? Or change it ASAP? Any ideas for new titles?
I look forward to your comments, and remember, honesty is the best policy!
Kenneth Rosenberg's BlogKenneth's books on Amazon UKKenneth's books on Amazon.com
September 13, 2011
If I could be anyone, I'd be....
Elizabeth Taylor
In keeping with Talli Roland's launch day dress up to celebrate her new book Watching Willow Watts - and Talli looks totally Marilylicious as Monroe - I've decided I want to be the great screen actress Elizabeth Taylor for the day.
I wanted to be Elizabeth when as a pony-crazy child, I saw her in the fabulous movie National Velvet. Then I wanted to be her again when she sizzled on the silver screen as Cleopatra and met the gorgeous Richard Burton, whom she later married, twice!
Apparently, when Richard first saw Elizabeth in 1952, he said of her: "She was unquestionably gorgeous. I can think of no other word to describe a combination of plentitude, frugality, abundance, tightness. She was lavish. She was a dark unyielding largesse. She was, in short, too bloody much...."
Wow!!
Today is the official launch day of Watching Willow Watts and Talli has lots of fun and links and pwizzes to be won on her blog today. Yay!So this is the link to Talli's Blog
To treat yourself to a copy of Talli's new book right now:Amazon UK or Amazon.com
In keeping with Talli Roland's launch day dress up to celebrate her new book Watching Willow Watts - and Talli looks totally Marilylicious as Monroe - I've decided I want to be the great screen actress Elizabeth Taylor for the day.
I wanted to be Elizabeth when as a pony-crazy child, I saw her in the fabulous movie National Velvet. Then I wanted to be her again when she sizzled on the silver screen as Cleopatra and met the gorgeous Richard Burton, whom she later married, twice!
Apparently, when Richard first saw Elizabeth in 1952, he said of her: "She was unquestionably gorgeous. I can think of no other word to describe a combination of plentitude, frugality, abundance, tightness. She was lavish. She was a dark unyielding largesse. She was, in short, too bloody much...."
Wow!!
Today is the official launch day of Watching Willow Watts and Talli has lots of fun and links and pwizzes to be won on her blog today. Yay!So this is the link to Talli's Blog
To treat yourself to a copy of Talli's new book right now:Amazon UK or Amazon.com
September 12, 2011
Just to say thank you...
To everyone who took part in my Author Roast & Toast on Friday and Saturday.
Who would have guessed that having an on-line party could be as much fun as having a real one or that virtual drunken revelry could last much longer than normal drunken revelry?
My Highland Gathering party to celebrate my humorous romance novel Bagpipes & Bullshot kicked off at 10am on Friday morning and by 6pm that evening, I had been sitting at my laptop for most of the day, typing, giggling, and having a fantastic time.
When the sun went over the literal yard-arm as well as the virtual one here in Scotland, believe me, I was ready for a very real glass of bullshot and was happily singing 'The bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond' for real too!
As early evening became late evening and there were something approaching two hundred comments on the blog, my wonderful Author Roast & Toast hostesses and I declared the whole event to have been amazing fun and a tremendous success, and I thought about collapsing on the sofa next to my dear husband (who had tried hard to understand the concept of a virtual party but failed).
But I had forgotten one very important and crucial thing to do with the world being round and not flat - and that was of timing and time difference. You see, as I saw the sun go down and the moon come up, for my dear friends across the pond and beyond, the opposite was true - and they were all raring to go and very keen indeed to join the virtual party.
So party on, I said, and by gosh we did - all around the world and back again!
Do pop over to my friend Gilly's new blog if you have a moment. She's a very interesting journalist and romance writer and this week she is talking about her monthly column in glossy DG Life magazine and about the subject of e-book marketing - in which she gives me a wee toot.
On Wednesday this week I'll be taking part in Talli's Roland's "If I could be anyone, I'd be..." blog hop extravaganza. So do pop back to see which celebrity I'm going to choose to be. It'll be great fun!
On Friday I have very special guest, Kenneth Rosenberg, talking about the launch of his brand new novel to Amazon Kindle in the wake of his Number 1 Bestseller 'No Cure For The Broken Hearted'. Not to be missed!
Love, Janice
September 4, 2011
A Highland Gathering..!
The date for your diary is this Friday - the 9th September 2011.
I'm being Roasted and Toasted and cordially invite you to come along!
For those of you unfamiliar with the spectacle that is the Author Roast & Toast, let me just say that it's lots of wonderfully silly interactive entertainment and you interact by leaving comments and playing along in what is a virtual role-play party situation. It's great fun!
To toast my humorous romance in a Scottish setting novel, Bagpipes & Bullshot, the theme of my Author Roast & Toast is one of a Highland Gathering. The fabulous virtual setting for the party is a Scottish Castle and the virtual food will also be on a Scottish theme. Plus there will be a bagpipe cake and lots of virtual whisky cocktails and bullshot to wash it all down with!
Please do join me, Sharon, Mary, Lin, Patsy, and the handsome waiter, Oliver, (who has trained in some of the best culinary schools in Europe and will look fabulous in a kilt) this Friday as the party sizzles. Dress code: Tartan.
Click this link to attend The Author Roast & Toast on Friday 9th September
I'm being Roasted and Toasted and cordially invite you to come along!
For those of you unfamiliar with the spectacle that is the Author Roast & Toast, let me just say that it's lots of wonderfully silly interactive entertainment and you interact by leaving comments and playing along in what is a virtual role-play party situation. It's great fun!
To toast my humorous romance in a Scottish setting novel, Bagpipes & Bullshot, the theme of my Author Roast & Toast is one of a Highland Gathering. The fabulous virtual setting for the party is a Scottish Castle and the virtual food will also be on a Scottish theme. Plus there will be a bagpipe cake and lots of virtual whisky cocktails and bullshot to wash it all down with!
Please do join me, Sharon, Mary, Lin, Patsy, and the handsome waiter, Oliver, (who has trained in some of the best culinary schools in Europe and will look fabulous in a kilt) this Friday as the party sizzles. Dress code: Tartan.
Click this link to attend The Author Roast & Toast on Friday 9th September
August 22, 2011
The Big Reveal
I simply couldn't wait to show off my new covers for Bagpipes & Bullshot and my forthcoming novel, Reaching for the Stars, so here they are!
I'm delighted with them - and think of them as innovative - and even a little bit risqué. They are bright and eye-catching and GOLD and RED and don't think there is anything quite like them on Amazon Kindle at the moment - so that also makes them brave and unique!
The designer of these fabulous covers is an amazingly talented and professional guy called JT Lindross, who I can't recommend highly enough to anyone wanting a book cover to be designed and produced for them. I think he did a fantastic job!
Well, I'm uploading the new designs to Amazon Kindle and Smashwords as you read this and will report back on responses as soon as, erm, I've got anything to report!
In the meantime I'd really like your thoughts and impressions - so please do leave a comment.
On Friday, I'm a guest on Talli Roland's blog - that's Friday 26th August - so please do come along as I'll be mixing bullshot and revealing the secret Scottish recipe! Gosh - all this revealing is far too exciting - I think I might need to lie down.....
Click here to link to Talli Rolland's Blog
The first week in September, I'll be re-designing this blog to suit the new Red & Gold branding - so please do keep popping back to see where I'm up to with that!
I'm delighted with them - and think of them as innovative - and even a little bit risqué. They are bright and eye-catching and GOLD and RED and don't think there is anything quite like them on Amazon Kindle at the moment - so that also makes them brave and unique!
The designer of these fabulous covers is an amazingly talented and professional guy called JT Lindross, who I can't recommend highly enough to anyone wanting a book cover to be designed and produced for them. I think he did a fantastic job!
Well, I'm uploading the new designs to Amazon Kindle and Smashwords as you read this and will report back on responses as soon as, erm, I've got anything to report!
In the meantime I'd really like your thoughts and impressions - so please do leave a comment.
On Friday, I'm a guest on Talli Roland's blog - that's Friday 26th August - so please do come along as I'll be mixing bullshot and revealing the secret Scottish recipe! Gosh - all this revealing is far too exciting - I think I might need to lie down.....
Click here to link to Talli Rolland's Blog
The first week in September, I'll be re-designing this blog to suit the new Red & Gold branding - so please do keep popping back to see where I'm up to with that!
August 20, 2011
Not one but two great reviews...!
This week Bagpipes & Bullshot has received not one but two great reviews!
Lou Graham -on her book review blog says: "This really is RomCom at it's best in a rural setting."
You can read the full review here
Then, a lovely lady called Dorothy Bush from Canada, who won a copy of Bagpipes & Bullshot in the loveahappyending.com Launch Day Giveaway, posted this 5* review on Amazon:
"I won Bagpipes and Bullshot in a launch contest and what a great win it was. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I don't normally read romantic comedy, but this is a great light read... sure to please both romance readers and those who like humour. The premise is fresh; who would think to pair a Scottish Laird (Innes Buchanan) and a Texas cow-girl (Orley McKenna)? The result of this unlikely pairing is a fun and adventurous romp through Texas and Scotland. We all know life doesn't run smoothly and Janice Horton has used that fact of life in this story. Being a Laird has its responsibilities, owning ancestral lands and an ancient home takes money which isn't easily earned and then this Laird meets a woman that turns him upside down. One of the obstacles in the way of this romance is a certain young lady who had her sights set on that very same Laird. But said lady (who isn't one - by the way - in any sense of the word) doesn't take this American girl's intrusion lightly. There is plenty of drama and manipulation through-out, lots of tongue-in-cheek humour as well as some laugh-out-loud parts. And on a personal note, I wondered about the bullshot - now I know :) Thanks Janice Horton for a great escape read."
If you haven't yet read Bagpipes & Bullshot you can download it now for just 97p or $1.34.Note: this special price is for a limited time only.
Buy from Amazon.co.ukBuy from Amazon.comBuy from Smashwords
No Kindle - No problemYou can download a free Kindle App from Amazon and read Bagpipes & Bullshot on your PC, Laptop, Mac, Ipod, Ipod, or other mobile digital device.
Want to read more reviews...?Click Here
