Talli Roland's Blog, page 25

How to Say...

...a big enough thank you? I don't think I can put into words how thrilled, grateful and overwhelmed I am with all the wonderful support I received yesterday from bloggers, Tweeters and Facebookers. It was amazing, and it made my launch day another incredible experience.

I hope I've got around to everyone to say thank you, but if I've missed anyone, please know how much I appreciate your participation! Yesterday was a bit of blur, as I went from Twitter to Facebook to blogs when I could, and back again. I tried to make it through all the amazing 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be' entries last night, but I ended up collapsing in a heap on the sofa around 10:30 pm.

But what amazing blogs people posted! From Glynis Smy's hilarious video, to Gina Dickerson's fab Lady Gaga, to Jabba the Hut, astronauts, cartoon characters, artists, Buffy, Lenny's brave mongoose... wow! I learned so much about loads of fascinating characters. It was fantastic.And to have Pam Reader live tweeting as she read Willow -- so much fun!

And although my goal was mainly to spread the word about Willow, I'm pleased to report my novel cracked the top 100 of Amazon UK on release day and was number 2 on Movers & Shakers (and it's actually still at number 3 right now!). And all down to the people I've been luckily enough to meet here, on Facebook and through Twitter.

So, how to say a big enough thank you? Well, I really can't. But my heart is full. *wipes tear*

(Winners of the Amazon gift cert, ebook and Marilyn stuff will be announced Friday.)

Yay! It's Watching Willow Watts Launch Day!

I can't believe the day has finally come. After months of struggle, blood, sweat, and wine-soaked tears, launch day for my second novel, Watching Willow Watts, is here!

If you're so inclined, you can buy a copy of Willow on Amazon UK for £1.71, or on Amazon.com for $2.99. Paperback coming in November!

Right! Now that's out of the way, let's get started on the fun stuff. First up, my Marilyn Monroe vlog (cringe!). Since in the novel, Willow becomes an overnight sensation after a YouTube video of her Marilyn Monroe impression goes viral, it seemed only fitting I go on YouTube, too. I apologise in advance!





Have you survived? Hope so! Because today is the 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' web splash! Almost 150 bloggers have signed up to post about who they would be, if they could choose anyone. Pop by and visit other participants, if you have a chance. I can't wait to see who everyone has chosen!

So who would I be, if I could be anyone? I wouldn't be Marilyn, that's for sure. I would be Emily Carr. Now, chances are you haven't heard of her. I actually had to Google the name to make sure I had it correct. She's a Canadian landscape painter, born in the late 1800s. Back in the days before I'd heard of Cezanne and Monet and anything else, I remember staring at her paintings and thinking: wow. I loved the colours and the vibrancy.

Carr was also a writer, although I didn't know it at the time. I remember seeing a photo of her and her easel in the midst of the Canadian wilderness, and I thought: 'I want that'. That solitude; that absorption. That dedication to art and creation.

Defying the role of women at the time, Carr is a true Canadian icon. But more than that, she's a true creative.

So... the million dollar (pound!) question. Who would you be, if you could be anyone? And even if you're not posting, feel free to Tweet (with the tag #watchingwillowwatts) or Facebook (tag @Talli Roland) to be in with a chance to win prizes!

A million thank yous to everyone supporting me today. I can't say it enough -- it means the world to me.

One Thousand and One Thank Yous!

I already know it's going to be a great week. Why? Because my blog has now topped one thousand followers! I'd like to thank everyone over the past year and a half who has read, commented and supported me and my novels. It means the world to me.

*sniff sniff*

Okay, enough sap for a Monday! Today, I'm over at fellow RNA'er Nell Dixon's blog, talking again about why I don't talk about writing. (I seem to talk a LOT about not talking, though!) And I've spent the past hour or so recording my vlog, resplendent in my Marilyn wig and dress. Oh yes. Drop by Wednesday (launch day!) to see it and cringe.

And I'd be remiss, of course, if I didn't mention launch day and the 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' web splash this Wednesday! Even if you're busy that day and can't post, you can still tweet, FB or G+ it! Use the tag #watchingwillowwatts or tag me on FB and G+ (Talli Roland) so I know you've taken part, and you can be entered in the draw for priiiiiizes! Fingers crossed it all goes to plan!

Until then, I'd like to know: what funny piece of writing advice would you give to someone? 

Mine would be this: Never keep a full packet of Twizzlers within arm's reach of the laptop. The aftermath is not pretty.

Lush, Links, Love

One of our friendly bottles of wine, posing in the Jardins Luxembourg.
Phew. I'm back from Paris, where there was plenty of wine, bread, wine, cheese, wine... my liver is in recovery! Plenty o' fun was had by all, except perhaps by the men we forced to open our bottle of wine in the grocery store. Oh, the humiliation.

A few quick things! If you'd like to win an ebook copy of Willow, you can enter at Chick Lit Club or Chick Lit Reviews.

This week, I've also been lucky enough to be a guest over at Christa's wonderful blog. Drop by to say hi and for the chance to win a copy of The Hating Game! And over at The Naked Hero, I'm stripping off a Frenchman. Go on, take a peek. You know you want to! :)

A massive thanks to everyone taking the time to read, review, sign up for my launch... I really appreciate it! And as you know, well, next week is going to be an exciting one for me. So I'm going to gather my energy and say have a fantastic weekend.

See you Monday!

Introducing: TalliMarilynstein

I'm not actually here. I'm in... *pause for dramatic effect*... PARIS! Yes, my friends, as you read this, I will be stuffing myself silly with every croissant and macaron (not macaroon) I come across, skipping merrily down the cobblestones streets with a little red beret perched jauntily on my head. Hm, I think that's all the stereotypes I can work in for now.

So I'll keep this short, with a small reminder (not like you need it, with the way I've bleated on) that Willow's launch party is one week from today. Still loads of time to sign up to post on 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...'. Now's your chance to be whoever you want.

And to celebrate the one-week milestone... I give you a brand new creature, TalliMarilynstein! Yes, I've been having loads of fun playing around with my Marilyn wig and dress for an upcoming vlog (shudder) -- it's hours of entertainment, I tell you. Why Marilyn? In the novel, Willow's Marilyn Monroe impression gets spotted on YouTube and catapults her to insta-fame. The only problem? She's so not Marilyn material (kind of like me)!

Holy hair!
I'm trying for a cheeky look but it's not really working...Well, at least I had fun! :) A bit too much, quite possibly...

I *Do* Read Other Things...

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.

I talk a lot about how much I love chick lit, but I didn't spring from the womb as a fully formed chick lit reader. (Surprising, I know.) In fact, it wasn't until my late twenties and after I'd moved to London that the chick-lit bug really bit. I remember wandering into bookshops and being surrounded by lovely pretty covers... sigh!

But as much as I enjoy chick lit, that doesn't mean it's the only thing I read. Growing up, I loved science fiction by Monica Hughes and historicals by Janet Lunn. As an English Literature student, I read -- and enjoyed -- almost everything from every era (a big BLAH to Restoration comedies, though. Not my kinda humour.).

Now, I have a particular fondness for non-fiction. I'm currently reading and loving an ARC of Backpacked by Catherine Ryan Howard, I've got Karen Walker's Following the Whispers on my list, and I enjoyed Ann Best's In The Mirror .

This year, I've also read and enjoyed Alex Cavanaugh's science fiction novel  CassaStar , Stephen Tremp's action-packed book Breaththrough , Karen Jones Gowen's House of Diamonds and Jessica Bells' literary fiction, String Bridge .

So, yes. I love chick lit. But I do read other things!

How about you? Do you stick with one genre, or are you open to most anything?

Live It, Love It

Today I feel like a chicken who's been injected full of caffeine then had its heard cut off! My best friend from Canada arrives this weekend, and while we have a fun week planned of wine, wine and PARIS, I've got about five zillion items to cross off my to-do list. Spending an hour yesterday playing with my new Marilyn get-up (oh, yes) was not exactly time well spent, either.

A few links to share with you before I pass you over to today guest blogger, the wonderful Shirley Wells! First off, I was on Oh! My favourite donut-loving, writer friend India Drummond's Ordinary Angels is available again on Amazon! Yay!

And now... over to Shirley!

Thank you, Talli, for inviting me to your utterly gorgeous home. I'll try not to drop crumbs or spill anything while I'm here.

For those of you who don't know me, let me say that Talli and I are practically identical. We both write. Talli writes wickedly humorous books and I write mysteries, but it's close enough. We both love wine. Talli gets mistaken for super-model Agyness Deyn and … well, I'm working on that.

What else is there to know about me? Well, I'm an internet addict. I'm still not sure how that happened, but thanks to Facebook and Twitter, I can give you daily weather updates for Florida, Lanzarote, Arizona or just about any place you could want.

Am I jealous of these exotic locations? Well, yes. And no.

I was born in the Cotswolds, but I've lived in Cyprus where I wrote several holiday romances, and in Orkney where I continued writing romance. I still remember my horror when Mr W's job changed. He was promoted and we needed to move to the north of England. "No," I cried. "It's nothing but whippets, flat caps, and racing pigeons. It's always raining. And it's all grimy old mill towns. There's a reason people say it's grim up north, you know."

Despite my pleas, I had to move north. And I love it. It has a beauty all its own. I live out in the countryside, amid the rolling Pennine Hills. Instead of walking along picturesque beaches, I take the dogs across bleak, windswept moors.

When a heavy mist falls, it can get quite spooky on those hills and instead of working out the storyline for my next romance, I began to think "Hey, this would make a great place to hide a body" or, more often, "What was that noise?". Instead of the happy-ever-afters I'd been writing for years, my mind was turning more and more to crime.

In 2006, I wrote my first crime novel and my eighth has just been accepted. So although I turn a particularly unattractive shade of green when I see white sandy beaches and hear of 30 degree temperatures, I know that moving to Lancashire was the best thing I ever did.

What about you? Do you love where you live?

Thank you again for having me, Talli. (And don't worry, the whippets are house-trained.)

Having had several hundred short stories, ten serials and ten novels published, Shirley Wells is finally getting the hang of this writing lark. Her latest Dylan Scott mystery, DEAD SILENT, is available from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all good e-retailers. Connect with Shirley via her website, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.

One Fortnight!

I must say, I do love that word! It sounds so much more intriguing than plain old 'two weeks', doesn't it?

However you say it, two weeks from today is Willow's launch, and I'm rounding the bend from the vom-feeling to excitement. I want to say a giant thank you to everyone here for putting up with me, and a huge HUG to all the wonderful people taking the time to read and post reviews.

So what's happening on launch day? Well, over 100 people have signed up for 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' fun! I like to think of it more as an online party than a blogfest. You can visit with the other guests if you like, but there's absolutely no pressure.

Even if you don't want to post on your blog, you can still take part on Facebook (tag me so I can enter you in the draw) or on Twitter, by using the tag #watchingwillowwatts and just saying who you'd be. I can't wait to see who people chose.

In other news, I have purchased a Marilyn wig and white dress... stay tuned for more! :)

Over at L Diane's Spunk on a Stick, Alex, Matt and I are discussing how to get blog comments. Drop by to say hi!

And finally, I want to do a giant shout-out for the lovely Laura of The Daily Dodo, who has finished the first draft of her first novel! You all know what a massive accomplishment the first one is; just knowing you can do it is half the battle. When I first met Laura back in April, she told me she didn't ever think she could write so many words on a regular basis. Just a few short months later, she's done it. Yay!

Mister Clean

It's Bank Holiday Monday here (what that means, I have no idea -- besides a holiday!). And it's the Notting Hill Carnival! Time for some jerk chicken, lots of people, booming bass, crazy costumes...

So, I recently took part in a survey for romantic authors on their ideal hero. I clicked my way through the questions, wondering what my fellow writers were choosing. Does height matter? Weight? Religious persuasion?

Well, as it turns out, there's one really important thing: personal hygiene. I had to laugh. Of course! Who can lose themselves in a romantic encounter when the hero in question smells like garlic, or reeks of last night's mackerel?

Ladies, what characteristics make up your ideal hero? And men, what's important in your perfect heroine? Any bad personal hygiene dating tales to share?

PS: I'm over at Christina Dos Santos' blog today! Pop by if you have the chance.

Bullshot! (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Guess what? It's Friday! It's been a great week -- Mr TR's birthday was yesterday so we hit the town to celebrate (I admit, I've a bit of a sore head); Willow got another nice review on Dot Scribbles; and I've joined the wonderful ladies over at the Naked Hero to write a weekly post! Yay!

Equally exciting, today I've got fellow RNA member Janice Horton here, talking about... drinks! And her latest novel of course. The perfect Friday post. Take it away, Janice.

The most common question I'm asked about my humorous romance novel Bagpipes & Bullshot - is what bullshot is! Well I'm here today to reveal that bullshot is not a typo or a clever play on words but a drink: it's a bit like a Bloody Mary and is favoured by those who swig from a hipflask and shoot from a shotgun. To me the word 'bullshot' epitomises the Scottish country estate. To explain further, it reflects the jaunty humour and the theme of Bagpipes & Bullshot, which is set in Scotland. Innes, the hero of the tale, does indeed also play the bagpipes and quite beautifully too!

But back to the bullshot: to make this fabulous drink (you can call it a cocktail, if you like!) first take two mature bulls…. Erm, no, not really!

Bullshot Recipe

If you prefer it, you can use vodka, but the traditional Scottish version (and the one favoured by all the characters in Bagpipes & Bullshot) has whisky in it. However, if you are planning a trip across the grouse moors later or doing a bit of stalking on the hill, you'll certainly need your thermos and the extra ingredient of hot beef stock with your bullshot. Mmmmm…warming.

First take a whisky tumbler – and put in it a bit of ice and a slice of lime. Then add a good measure of finest Scotch whisky. Fill to the top with tomato juice; add a good dashing of both Tabasco pepper sauce and Worcester sauce and if you're feeling frisky add half a teaspoon of grated horseradish. Stir and enjoy! Mmmmm…delicious.

Bagpipes & Bullshot is available to download as an e-book on Amazon Kindle UK and Dot Com and in all other e-formats from Smashwords. Janice blogs here. Follow her on Twitter and her Facebook Author Page.