Michelle Styles's Blog, page 31
March 14, 2011
Authors for Japan
I'm participating in an auction to help raise money for the British Red Cross Tsunami Appeal -- Authors for Japan. A variety of items are on offer including a critique of a partial from me and a signed ARC of To Marry A Matchmaker (this is the one which comes out as a paperback in July 11). Hopefully some money can be raised and go to help the devasted region.
For many years until his death, my maternal grandfather lived in Japan and my step-grandmother still lives there. (She lives in Yokohama and apparently didn't feel a thing or realise what was going on until she watched the news!) So I have a great affection for the country. One of the big things when I was growing up was getting the Christmas presents from Japan. We used to have hide them from my grandmother but that is another story...But my goodness they were exciting! My sister knew all about Hello Kitty long before it ever appeared in the US and I had a big thing on the Japanese fairy tale books we were sent.
My cousin's wife is Japanese and does have relations in the affected area. Hopefully there will be a happy ending there. Prayers are always good.
And I know the Japanese people will come back strongly from this, but sometimes practical aid is needed.
For many years until his death, my maternal grandfather lived in Japan and my step-grandmother still lives there. (She lives in Yokohama and apparently didn't feel a thing or realise what was going on until she watched the news!) So I have a great affection for the country. One of the big things when I was growing up was getting the Christmas presents from Japan. We used to have hide them from my grandmother but that is another story...But my goodness they were exciting! My sister knew all about Hello Kitty long before it ever appeared in the US and I had a big thing on the Japanese fairy tale books we were sent.
My cousin's wife is Japanese and does have relations in the affected area. Hopefully there will be a happy ending there. Prayers are always good.
And I know the Japanese people will come back strongly from this, but sometimes practical aid is needed.
March 11, 2011
Beyond Her Book Bash and giveaway
I'm at Barbara Vey's 4th anniversary bash today! A signed copy of Breaking the Governess's Rules is up for grabs along with 6 e-readers and 68 other books from other historical and contemporary authors and assorted items. Please join in the fun and leave a comment.
My talk in Walker Library went well. A cozy group of dedicated Mills and Boon readers. One of the librarians also volunteers at the local theatre so they had costumes set up to illustrate my books. They had also done a display of my titles. All in all a very pleasant evening. (I do have photos and will get them up)
Monday night will see me in Amble with another Girls Night In. Then my speaking will be done for awhile.
My talk in Walker Library went well. A cozy group of dedicated Mills and Boon readers. One of the librarians also volunteers at the local theatre so they had costumes set up to illustrate my books. They had also done a display of my titles. All in all a very pleasant evening. (I do have photos and will get them up)
Monday night will see me in Amble with another Girls Night In. Then my speaking will be done for awhile.
March 8, 2011
Step up on reshaping and a writerly rule of thumb
First the rule of thumb: if your characters cry, the reader doesn't have to. The character is doing the work for the reader. If the character resists, the reader is more likely to cry and be emotionally connected. It makes perfect sense to me, but then I am ever likely to have my characters cry and I do try to remember not to as some readers find crying makes for water pots, but never knew the justification.
Have I said how much I love Characters & Viewpoints?
There is a lot packed into a little book.
This morning I moved up a level on the Jillian Michaels 6 week six pack abs dvd. I had thought that perhaps the dvd was more focused on strength and core than cardio. Umm no. Can I whisper -- plank moguls? Or jumping jack knifes? I am pleased I had 3 weeks at level 1. Even then I have learnt -- start with the beginner moves and work up. My heart rate was through the roof. This is cardio plus with a heavy emphasis on abs. I know I have already changed my shape with the first 3 weeks. I lost about an inch and a half from my waist.
I suspect it will continue. The workout is incredibly intense, insane but goodness me, I felt good after doing it. Sweat is good. Taking care of my body does not come easy. And every time, I carry a large bag of dog food (15 kg) I remember that I have lost more than that!
Now to get back to my wip and to get ready to give the first of my library talks this afternoon. It is wonderful that International Women's Day is being supported by Daniel Craig...It is the 100th celebration of the day.
Have I said how much I love Characters & Viewpoints?
There is a lot packed into a little book.
This morning I moved up a level on the Jillian Michaels 6 week six pack abs dvd. I had thought that perhaps the dvd was more focused on strength and core than cardio. Umm no. Can I whisper -- plank moguls? Or jumping jack knifes? I am pleased I had 3 weeks at level 1. Even then I have learnt -- start with the beginner moves and work up. My heart rate was through the roof. This is cardio plus with a heavy emphasis on abs. I know I have already changed my shape with the first 3 weeks. I lost about an inch and a half from my waist.
I suspect it will continue. The workout is incredibly intense, insane but goodness me, I felt good after doing it. Sweat is good. Taking care of my body does not come easy. And every time, I carry a large bag of dog food (15 kg) I remember that I have lost more than that!
Now to get back to my wip and to get ready to give the first of my library talks this afternoon. It is wonderful that International Women's Day is being supported by Daniel Craig...It is the 100th celebration of the day.
March 7, 2011
Hearts, Flowers and Power: The Romance Genre and Women
I am giving two library talks for International Women's Day. The theme of the day is enpowerment through education so I am going to talk about how the romance genre empowers women. I am also going to discuss my writing and how I do it.
They are on 8 March 2-4 Denton Burn Library and 10 March 6-8 Walker Library.
You can find out more info here.
They are on 8 March 2-4 Denton Burn Library and 10 March 6-8 Walker Library.
You can find out more info here.
March 5, 2011
Breaking the Governess's Rules published
Breaking the Governess's Rules was officially published yesterday. So it means it should be in Tesco, Asda, WH Smith and all the other places that Mills & Boon are sold in the UK. It is also available from Amazon.co.uk and The Book Depository. It is also on all the ebook formats offered in the UK, including kindle.At the RNA Northumberland meeting yesterday, romantic comedy novelist Abigail Bosanko kindly showed me Breakingthe Governess's Rules on her kindle. She had preordered it and as if by magic, it was on her kindle when she woke up on 1 March. As I don't have one (yet), it was lovely to see. Apparently a new feature will be actual page numbers rather than percent read. But for anyone who struggles with font size, I can see how an e-reader could be a real boon. Abigail adores hers and waxed lyrical.
Luckily she also adored Breaking the Governess's Rules. I always worry. Like Donna Alward, she wants Nella Blandish to have her own story. I was treated to reasons why and who should be looking after Nella when the time came for Nella to have her season. This is what happens when you have authors as friends.
Does anyone else feel this way about Nella? Should I write her story?
I should mention that there is Sophie to come in To Marry A Matchmaker...and I am actually fond of a certain secondary in my current wip.
Oh and there is an excerpt up at Unusual Historicals and I will be there on Sunday with two copies of Breaking the Governess's Rules to giveaway. It is leave a comment
March 3, 2011
Back from uni visiting
Yesterday was my last university visit with my daughter. University of Birmingham this time. She needed to visit them all to get a deeper understanding of how the courses differed and what was on offer.
The campus is lovely. The sun shone. We arrived early and so I insisted on visiting one of the museums on campus -- The Barber Institute of Fine Art. Normally university museums yeild something interesting and this was no exception. For a small museum, the collection contains some remarkable works. My favourite was an Elizabeth LeBrun protrait. My daughter's favourite was a Renior. They had had Van Gogh, Degas, Picasso, Money, Manet, Turner, Giansborough, Courbet etc. I also loved the protrait of Lady Martha Constance Hattie Onions Barber. who was the driving force behind the Institute.
It is now up to my daughter to decide where she wants to go and which course will be the best for her. Sometimes you have to go with your gut. And my gut might be different from my daughter's. Tis hard to be a parent.
Because the train journey was SO long, I did a lot of writing yesterday. It will be a small matter of typing up the spider scrawl and bleeding on the page. Deepening the emotions. It will get there.
The campus is lovely. The sun shone. We arrived early and so I insisted on visiting one of the museums on campus -- The Barber Institute of Fine Art. Normally university museums yeild something interesting and this was no exception. For a small museum, the collection contains some remarkable works. My favourite was an Elizabeth LeBrun protrait. My daughter's favourite was a Renior. They had had Van Gogh, Degas, Picasso, Money, Manet, Turner, Giansborough, Courbet etc. I also loved the protrait of Lady Martha Constance Hattie Onions Barber. who was the driving force behind the Institute.
It is now up to my daughter to decide where she wants to go and which course will be the best for her. Sometimes you have to go with your gut. And my gut might be different from my daughter's. Tis hard to be a parent.
Because the train journey was SO long, I did a lot of writing yesterday. It will be a small matter of typing up the spider scrawl and bleeding on the page. Deepening the emotions. It will get there.
March 1, 2011
My Viking trilogy published in French
I was very pleased to discover that Harlequin France are publishing all 3 of my Vikings in the next three months. The first one Captive du Viking is out this month and the others follow. They can either be order through the French Harlequin website or via Amazon. They have included a bonus book by Juliet Landon with the first book. I spent many years learning French in high school and at university so it always makes my day when one of my books is published in that language.
Captive du Viking
Captive et viking, Michelle Styles
793 après J.-C., Scandinavie. Plutôt mourir que se soumettre à l'emprise de Haakon Haroldson, le chef arrogant des barbares qui ont saccagé son existence ! Si Annis a dû renoncer à sa liberté lorsque Haakon a fait d'elle sa prisonnière, elle n'ira pas jusqu'à lui abandonner sa dignité : jamais elle ne sera son esclave ! Mais alors que, dans un élan de désespoir, elle envisage une impossible tentative d'évasion, le ténébreux Viking lui propose un marché qu'elle n'attendait pas : si elle accepte de devenir sa maîtresse, il l'affranchira de sa condition de captive pour l'élever au rang de concubine. Une offre scandaleuse... qui laisse Annis face à son destin.
À propos de l'auteur :
Intéressée par l'Histoire depuis son plus jeune âge, Michelles Styles nous fait découvrir sa passion grâce à des récits qui mêlent avec art véracité historique et souffle romanesque. Captive du viking est son quatrième roman publié dans la collection Les Historiques.
Captive du VikingCaptive et viking, Michelle Styles
793 après J.-C., Scandinavie. Plutôt mourir que se soumettre à l'emprise de Haakon Haroldson, le chef arrogant des barbares qui ont saccagé son existence ! Si Annis a dû renoncer à sa liberté lorsque Haakon a fait d'elle sa prisonnière, elle n'ira pas jusqu'à lui abandonner sa dignité : jamais elle ne sera son esclave ! Mais alors que, dans un élan de désespoir, elle envisage une impossible tentative d'évasion, le ténébreux Viking lui propose un marché qu'elle n'attendait pas : si elle accepte de devenir sa maîtresse, il l'affranchira de sa condition de captive pour l'élever au rang de concubine. Une offre scandaleuse... qui laisse Annis face à son destin.
À propos de l'auteur :
Intéressée par l'Histoire depuis son plus jeune âge, Michelles Styles nous fait découvrir sa passion grâce à des récits qui mêlent avec art véracité historique et souffle romanesque. Captive du viking est son quatrième roman publié dans la collection Les Historiques.
February 28, 2011
Update on reshaping
After about 2 weeks of doing the Jillian Michaels 6 Weeks Six Pack Flat Abs Fast, I can report that the reshaping continues. I was able to tighten my belt another notch yesterday. Considering two weeks after I started the Shred, I couldn't even reach the first notch, I take it as a huge positive.
I have started mixing it up with her Banish Fat Boost Metabolism which is pure cardio. Again Jillian is her usual motivating self. I suspect that No More Trouble Zones is mostly strengthening -- this might be a treat to myself later in the year. 6 weeks 6 Pack is mainly focused on abs. 6 week 6 pack takes 40 minutes whereas Banish Fat takes 50 minutes. I ended up dripping sweat after each. It is all about doing more each time. The post workout high is something to be savoured.
Since I started really thinking about mindless eating, and making sure that I sat down and had protien with each meal/snack, my weight has been decreasing. I am now seven pounds lighter than when I started the Jillian Michaels regime. That makes 32 lbs lighter than this summer. I still have more to go before I get within my Healthy Weight BMI but am now well within the Overweight rather than the Obese section. Small victories are worth celebrating. It is about me taking charge and responsibility for my body.
If my journey inspires anyone, I would recommend starting with the 30 Day Shred (beginner, level 1). It does not matter about your past, or how fit you were in... name the year, it matters about today and making positive starts. I am always happy to provide support. Let me know how you are doing.
If you haven't discovered The Healthy Writer blog -- it is also a useful place to lurk. I know Trish Milburn's posts on the Biggest Loser inspired me to buy The Shred as I knew about Jillian Michaels from her.
Accountability and keeping myself on track are part of the reason why I keep posting about my reshaping process.
With positives, I gained insight into my current wip at the weekend and think I have FINALLY figured out my hero's conflict and how the heroine is going to help him to grow. Always a positive. It is all about BLEEDING on the bloody page but this one is a weepie. Hopefully it will have people reaching for the handkerchiefs.
I have started mixing it up with her Banish Fat Boost Metabolism which is pure cardio. Again Jillian is her usual motivating self. I suspect that No More Trouble Zones is mostly strengthening -- this might be a treat to myself later in the year. 6 weeks 6 Pack is mainly focused on abs. 6 week 6 pack takes 40 minutes whereas Banish Fat takes 50 minutes. I ended up dripping sweat after each. It is all about doing more each time. The post workout high is something to be savoured.
Since I started really thinking about mindless eating, and making sure that I sat down and had protien with each meal/snack, my weight has been decreasing. I am now seven pounds lighter than when I started the Jillian Michaels regime. That makes 32 lbs lighter than this summer. I still have more to go before I get within my Healthy Weight BMI but am now well within the Overweight rather than the Obese section. Small victories are worth celebrating. It is about me taking charge and responsibility for my body.
If my journey inspires anyone, I would recommend starting with the 30 Day Shred (beginner, level 1). It does not matter about your past, or how fit you were in... name the year, it matters about today and making positive starts. I am always happy to provide support. Let me know how you are doing.
If you haven't discovered The Healthy Writer blog -- it is also a useful place to lurk. I know Trish Milburn's posts on the Biggest Loser inspired me to buy The Shred as I knew about Jillian Michaels from her.
Accountability and keeping myself on track are part of the reason why I keep posting about my reshaping process.
With positives, I gained insight into my current wip at the weekend and think I have FINALLY figured out my hero's conflict and how the heroine is going to help him to grow. Always a positive. It is all about BLEEDING on the bloody page but this one is a weepie. Hopefully it will have people reaching for the handkerchiefs.
February 24, 2011
Ebook uptake
One of the big questions that has plagued the publishing industry is how large is the ebook market? Will it consume the print market? Will it make bookstores unprofitable?
For example, since the early 1980s, people have predicted the death of the cheque book. The market size for the cheques (ie number of cheques written) is certainly smaller BUT it still exists. The fact that banks still produce cheques means that some company somewhere is making money printing the cheques.
When markets are in flux, lots of things happen. Winners and losers. People can be seduced by great rates of growth without really considering market size. This happened during the early days of the Internet when certain Internet start up ventures were given huge valuations. Bubbles and mania ensued. Some (such as Amazon) have gone on to great things, others have folded.
The rise of Internet bookbuying has had a profound effect on bricks and mortar stores. The economies of scale come into play. What other things drive people to bookstores? Bordedom during lunch? Hours to kill while waiting for children to complete activities? Nobody really knows what is going on and people's predictions keep being blown out of the water.
One of the best places to learn about such things (if you are interested) is Mike Shatzkin's blog. He did a great blog the other day about ebooks tipping points as well as one about the trouble with the industry saying that you *buy* an ebook (you don't, you are licensed to use one -- a problem IF the ebook provider suddenly goes under but that is a whole other concern). The ebook tipping point blog had my jaw on the floor. I knew they were expecting huge growth rates, but Sourcebooks (a small independent publisher who has recently gone into the romance genre in a big way) had 35% of its incoming dollars in January 11 from ebooks. The slides showing the growth are incredible. The BIG question is does this growth continue or was it an uptick because of Christmas presents. Ebook readers surpassed sales expectations at Christmas. Will people keep using them? And will others buy them at the same rate? How will that effect margins etc? Are more people moving towards buying all their books (print and electronic) online? Is browsing in a bookstore a dying activity? Or merely confined to certain places?
I am very grateful that my publisher Harlequin is ahead of the curve and determined to remain there.
The one thing that will not change is that ebooks like print books merely deliver the content. Authors create the content and ultimately that comes down to the author's imagination.
For example, since the early 1980s, people have predicted the death of the cheque book. The market size for the cheques (ie number of cheques written) is certainly smaller BUT it still exists. The fact that banks still produce cheques means that some company somewhere is making money printing the cheques.
When markets are in flux, lots of things happen. Winners and losers. People can be seduced by great rates of growth without really considering market size. This happened during the early days of the Internet when certain Internet start up ventures were given huge valuations. Bubbles and mania ensued. Some (such as Amazon) have gone on to great things, others have folded.
The rise of Internet bookbuying has had a profound effect on bricks and mortar stores. The economies of scale come into play. What other things drive people to bookstores? Bordedom during lunch? Hours to kill while waiting for children to complete activities? Nobody really knows what is going on and people's predictions keep being blown out of the water.
One of the best places to learn about such things (if you are interested) is Mike Shatzkin's blog. He did a great blog the other day about ebooks tipping points as well as one about the trouble with the industry saying that you *buy* an ebook (you don't, you are licensed to use one -- a problem IF the ebook provider suddenly goes under but that is a whole other concern). The ebook tipping point blog had my jaw on the floor. I knew they were expecting huge growth rates, but Sourcebooks (a small independent publisher who has recently gone into the romance genre in a big way) had 35% of its incoming dollars in January 11 from ebooks. The slides showing the growth are incredible. The BIG question is does this growth continue or was it an uptick because of Christmas presents. Ebook readers surpassed sales expectations at Christmas. Will people keep using them? And will others buy them at the same rate? How will that effect margins etc? Are more people moving towards buying all their books (print and electronic) online? Is browsing in a bookstore a dying activity? Or merely confined to certain places?
I am very grateful that my publisher Harlequin is ahead of the curve and determined to remain there.
The one thing that will not change is that ebooks like print books merely deliver the content. Authors create the content and ultimately that comes down to the author's imagination.
February 22, 2011
The editorial cat didn't like my post
Heathcliff decided my post on creating vivid detail was not worth it and deleted it. Suffice it to say -- vivid specific detail works better than vague and general. Little details bring the world into focus.Thankfully he did not delete my wip where I am adding more specific detail as my editor pointed out places where I had forgotten to.
My exercising goes well and I find I really enjoy doing the workouts. The latest Jillian Michaels I have -- 6 weeks six pack abs is harder than the Shred and I can see definite improvement. It is the SWEAT portion of my reshape.
Heathcliff is now sitting on my forearms as I type so I think he wants attention. Or possibly feeding.
