Jennifer Becton's Blog, page 50

Omega and Alpha: Ending the Beginning

http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2... and found on Darrell Pursiful's FB page

Today ends the beginning of my publishing career.

For the past twelve years (It's twelve, not thirteen. I finally looked it up.), I have worked a small press in Georgia as an editorial flunky. When I decided to accept the challenge to self-publish Charlotte Collins in September 2010, I never expected it to lead to a complete career change, but it did.

I am now earning enough money on my self-published books–Charlotte Collins, Absolute Liability, and Caroline Bingley–to quit my day job, and today is my last day.

I am thankful for what I learned at Smyth & Helwys and for the wonderful people I met there. What I learned at dear old S&H has served me well in my new career. I loved working on the Uniform series, but I feel very lucky to be able to write for a living and am ready to take that risk.

To go with that momentous change, I found out last weekend that my horse's boarding facility is closing at the end of the month. That may not sound like a big deal, but in the midst of my work transition, launching Caroline Bingley, and finishing the first draft of Death Benefits, I had to find a suitable home for a 1,000-pound flight animal. That ain't easy.

But at the end of the month, Darcy (my horse) will be moving to a lovely new barn, and she'll be seven miles closer to me!

So big changes all around, but I'm excited about the future and thankful for being able to live my dreams, both literary and equestrian.

Here's to ending the beginning, and beginning again!

And the Winner Is…

The winner of the Marilyn Brant Prize Pack is….

Wait for iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!

Congratulations to:

And don't forget to check out Marilyn's sinfully delicious blog post here and also go grab her books on Amazon and BN. And a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Writing Fear Free: Alter the Pattern for Comedy

Kimberly Williams-Paisley, John Larroquette, and Scott Cohen as Virginia, Tony, and Wolf.

I've already written a post about changing up predictable patterns in your writing, but yesterday I found another great example of doing so for comedic purposes.

The movie is The 10th Kingdom, a Disney miniseries from 2000, and it is corny and delightful. Two modern-day people are swept into an alternate universe where all fairy tales are true, but happily ever after is threatened by an evil queen who escapes from prison. The heroes are aided by Wolf, who was released from prison by the queen and who has somewhat divided loyalty but a good heart.

The three face many of the predictable fairy-tale situations: wish-granting beans, poisoned apples, games of trickery played by dubious characters, and for the most part, these play out in the normal pattern. (I'll give you this magical ax if you can guess my name. If not, I'll chop your friend's head off. They play the game and win.) So an insane test leads to panic and ultimately victory.

Finally, near the end of the movie, Tony, played by John Larroquette, has had enough of the tests and here's what happens: http://youtu.be/LGo31JR-iTI (Sorry I can't embed it.)

After hours of watching the same pattern, this struck me as a moment of comic glory.

How does this apply to your writing? Well, if you see that you are developing a pattern, like taking your hero through a series of tests, one way to shake things up or insert a moment of levity is to completely obliterate it. Set it up but then throw it out the window…or through the door that leads to a horrible death. If that scene shows us anything, it's that sometimes we accept crazy scenarios for no good reason. As Tony asks, "What does that achieve?"

If you are trying to write comedy, this is a great technique.

 

Indie Jane Reviews Caroline Bingley!

The fine ladies at Indie Jane condescended to review Caroline Bingley, and Nancy Kelley's review was posted this morning! I'm so excited that I had to post a link here too.

Thank You for Your Purchases

Thank you to everyone who purchased books during the 24-hour super secret ebook sale!

I apologize that it wasn't a perfect buying experience, but I only realized the email glitch at the last moment. I will be switching software for creating my full shop.

If you did not receive your order, email me and I will send you the book directly.

Super Secret Ebook Sale

It's time!

Super Secret Ebook Sale

Please note: Due to a plugin glitch that I just became aware of, I may be required to send each download email manually. That means it may take some time for the download email to arrive, especially if you order in the middle of the night. Never fear! Becton Literary Shop will ensure that you receive the books you purchase. If you have a problem, email me here. (When I build my final store, I'll be using different software.)

Super Secret Ebook Sale Begins at Midnight

Announcing the Super Secret Ebook Sale!

Starts Friday at 12:01 AM EST

24 Hours Only!

 As a thank you to my blog readers, Twitter followers, and Facebook friends, I am offering my two new ebooks–Caroline Bingley and The Personages of Pride & Prejudice Collection–at a discounted price for one day only before their official launches on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

You will be able to download directly from this website with the security and ease of Paypal!

All ebooks sold through the Becton Literary Shop are DRM free, and in each download, you will receive a zip file that contains three formats: .mobi (Kindle and Kindle apps), .epub (Nook, Apple iPad/iBooks, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others), and .pdf (suitable for computer reading or printing). That means you can read them no matter what ereader or app you have now or any time in the future.

So come back tonight and get Caroline Bingley or the entire Personages of Pride & Prejudice Collection before they're available to the general public.

Oh, and there will be a few silly surprises up for grabs too….

Marilyn Brant Skids in Sideways

Please welcome Marilyn Brant to Skidding in Sideways. I had the good fortune to meet Marilyn through the Jane Austen blogosphere, and she was kind enough to come here bearing prizes and ice cream recipes. So if you love ice cream, Jane Austen, or romantic comedies, please check out Marilyn's books. So without further ado, welcome, Marilyn!

First of all, I wanted to say a big thank you to Jennifer for having me here today. It was so kind of her to invite me over!

I have loved ice cream for as long as I can remember. Having grown up in America's Dairyland (let's hear you all shout, "Wisconsin!!"), I had the opportunity to eat LOTS of ice cream as a kid. We lived in close proximity to the UW-Madison, and there's a well-known place on campus called Babcock Hall where they make really fresh, really creamy and, sometimes, really unusual flavors of ice cream. They have "Berry Alvarez," which is a combination of berry ice cream with swirls of blueberry, plus raspberry and strawberry bits, and "Union Utopia," which is vanilla ice cream with swirls of peanut butter, caramel and fudge, and my very favorite, "Orange Custard Chocolate Chip," which is creamy orange-flavored custard packed with chips.

And we also were within easy driving distance of a Bridgeman's Ice Cream Shoppe that served more traditional flavors, but they were all delicious. I especially loved their "Cinnamon." Even more fascinating to me was their famous Lollapalooza Ice Cream Sundae — eight scoops of different ice cream with whipped cream, a banana, nuts, various sauces and cherries! I was never allowed to order it as a kid (sigh), but one time, when I was in 2nd grade, my adventurous aunt went there with us and she did order it… Not only that, she ate the WHOLE thing by herself! As a seven-year-old, I was awestruck. In many ways, I still am…

So, my delight in all things ice cream goes back decades, and when I began writing my romantic comedies, On Any Given Sundae (June 2011) and Double Dipping (out now!), my goal was to share some of that love with readers. On Any Given Sundae is about a shy dessert cookbook writer and the high-school football star — turned successful restaurant owner — that she always had a crush on, and how the two of them end up running an ice cream parlor for the summer. Double Dipping, however, my newest release, delves even deeper into the ice cream world. I actually did some serioius research on ice-cream-making for this novel (no joke!), including reading a book on the history of Ben & Jerry's, since that was the kind of premium, creatively named ice-cream I was looking to replicate in this story.

Double Dipping is a book about a dedicated second-grade teacher who fights the school's new financial director in order to reinstate a much-beloved autumn festival. But there are secrets, ambition, attraction and meddling family members complicating matters in their little corner of Wisconsin — a town where the motto is "Sundaes Save Souls," where doctors prescribe "two scoops" instead of aspirin and where homemade ice cream is plentiful, thanks to a chemist in town called Mr. Koolemar. His brand of "Kool Kreme Ice Kreamations" were tremendously fun to create on paper, and there are a couple that I'd love to try to make in my kitchen!

A few of my favorite fictional flavors from the book are: "So-Ho-Ho Supreme," which is New York cherry melded with wintergreen and peppermint, "Tangy Citrus-Pumpkin Mélange," which is a blend of cool pineapple, orange, grapefruit and lemon flavors with the warmth of sweet roasted pumpkin and the recipe (a real one!) that starts each chapter, one step at a time, "Chunky Cherry-Chocolate Jubilee," which has candied cherries, milk chocolate chips and shaved dark chocolate. I made up a score of other flavors, too, like Bananarama Creme Pie, Chocolate Chip Peanut Brittle Bonanza, Coconut Carob Ripple, Runaway Mint Paradiso and Strawberry Whiplash.

I found online a recipe that I imagine would fit right in with Mr. Koolemar's stash, and I wanted to share it with you. I think it's the perfect blend of summer refreshment + fall flavors: "Pumpkin Ice Cream in Chocolate-Dipped Cones"! Check out the Better Homes & Gardens page for it here: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/recipes/pumpkin-ice-cream-540785/ YUM!

Okay, so now it's your turn! What is your favorite ice cream flavor — or flavors?? Have you ever tasted a really creative combination? I have a prize for one random commenter — gifts from my women's fiction stories: an According to Jane tote bag (that's my Austen-inspired book where a woman gets dating advice from the ghost of JA), a Friday Mornings at Nine t-shirt and a luggage tag for my upcoming novel A Summer in Europe. Open internationally.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Jennifer here. In addition to commenting on this blog post and answering Marilyn's question (I suspect she's actually looking for new flavors to feed her addiction!), I'm offering some other ways you can enter to win her awesome prize pack. One entry each. Please leave a comment for each of the following ways you enter:

Follow Marilyn's blog


Follow Marilyn on Twitter
Tweet the following message. (You can tweet this once a day and will get one entry per tweet.)

Love romantic comedies and ice cream? Enter to win a @marilynbrant prize pack! http://bectonliterary.com/?p=1655 #doubledipping

The Fine Print

This giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:59 EST, at which time one (1) winner will be randomly selected.  Open internationally. Prizes graciously provided by Marilyn Brant.

Col. Fitzwilliam and Maria Lucas?

Sketch by Emily C. A. Snyder: http://emilycasnyder.blogspot.com/

Nope, I didn't write their story, but Emily C. A. Snyder did! And look! She also draws. I cannot draw, so I just steal pretty things and give artists credit.

I am honored to find that Emily has dedicated this sketch to me. Thank you, Emily. I'm truly touched, and I also look forward to reading Presumption when it comes out in 2012. You have a standing invitation to share it here at Skidding in Sideways when it's released.

Now, hurry and finish it!

Also, head over to Indie Jane to read about another Col. Fitzwilliam novel by Kaydee Kildow, which is also forthcoming!

The Secret to Self-Pubbing Success

I'm blogging at Yamina Today about the secrets to self-publishing success. Please swing by and say hi!

Ps. Spoiler alert: there is no secret.