Lucy March's Blog, page 2

A Free Book for you – on my Birthday!

Well, those of you who were with me for the Year And Change experiment know that today is my 41st birthday. I have to say, it’s not as much of a shock as 40. 40 felt old because it was the end of the thirties, but to be honest… my thirties were a very mixed bag. Lots of good, and lots of awful. Now, at 41, I feel on the young side of my forties, and that’s kind of awesome.

So, to celebrate, I’m giving away, for FREE on Kindle (and remember, if you don’t have Kindle, there are apps you can download to your phone or computer) A Little Ray of Sunshine, which is my favorite of the Lani Diane Rich books.

I know you’re not supposed to pick a favorite of your books any more than you’re supposed to pick a favorite of your kids, but A Little Ray of Sunshine is the book where I felt I really got that tough combination of really funny and really emotional, and I love that mix. Like salty-sweet. It still makes me laugh when I read it, and it still makes me cry, and I’ve always been sad that not enough people have discovered it.

A couple of weeks ago, we gave away my first book Time Off for Good Behavior free on Kindle, and gave away 16,500 copies! Which to me, was amazing. I know, they were free, so it’s not like I’m rolling in it, but I love these books, and I thought they were dead. In traditional publishing, you’ve got six weeks, and that’s it. For years, these books have been moldering where no one would ever find them, and now I can breathe new life, which I find exciting. So for my birthday, I’m giving myself a present – new readers for A Little Ray of Sunshine.

Last time, we gave away 16,500 books and hit #11 on the Kindle Free list. This time, I’m hoping for more. So get your copy, please (it’s free until 3am EST Saturday morning, the 9th) and please share the news on your blog, on your Facebook page, on Twitter. It would be a fabulous birthday present to hit #1, and I believe we can do it. As of this morning, with hardly anyone knowing about it, it’s already #2391. Based on last time, we can make that jump to the top 100 pretty quickly, and then keep it going to get to #1.

Thanks so much, for everything. And have a great day!

Time Off for Good Behavior – Free!

News! I have my RITA award-winning debut novel (written as Lani Diane Rich) up for free on Amazon for the next 36 hours! And check out that cover!

Time Off For Good Behavior

Ex And The Single Girl

Writewell Academy

When Lucy isn’t being Lucy — reclining in luxurious pyjamas with a glass of wine at her elbow, crafting wonderful stories of magic and romance — then she’s being Lani Diane Rich, author of funny women’s fiction. She offers podcasts, editorial services and classes at StoryWonk.com — and now, Lani and bestselling author Jenny Crusie have joined forces and opened the Writewell Academy, an online school for writers.

The Writewell Academy is an online school for writers. Under the tutelage of bestselling authors Jenny Crusie and Lani Diane Rich, you’ll learn the skills and craft you need to make your writing shine.

This short sample video introduces you to the Writewell Academy program. It gives a brief overview of the classes, let’s you experience the lecture format to make sure that Lani and Jenny’s voice don’t give you seizures. For more information, visit WritewellAcademy.com!

The Comeback Kiss

Maybe Baby

Maybe Baby!

Hey, all. Guess what? My first romantic comedy written as Lani Diane Rich is available now on B&N and Amazon – Maybe Baby!

Dana Wiley is having a very, very bad day.

It starts when she realizes she never should have let her deep-seated fear of marriage cause her to leave the love of her life, Nick Maybe, at the altar. Then, she discovers that her old nemesis, Melanie Biggs, is after her winery. To save her business, she's forced to go to Manhattan to ask her eccentric mother, Babs Wiley McGregor, for help. When she gets there, she discovers that Nick moonlights for Babs, doing odd favors for her rich friends. Now Dana can't turn around without bumping into him.

Or kissing him. Old habits die hard.

Then Babs is kidnapped, and a rare, valuable, stinky and flightless green parrot is the ransom. Now Dana must work with Nick to find the bird and save her mother, dealing with bumbling kidnappers, a rapscallion bird thief, the buxom Melanie who's bent on taking more than the winery, and a strangely ominous wildlife conservation representative. All the while fighting her desperate love for the one man she knows she can't ever have again…

… unless, just maybe, she can.

Now, I know not everyone uses B&N or Amazon… if you need something to run on your Not-Nook-or-Kindle, e-mail me at lucy@lucymarch.com, and I'll do what I can to get you something that will work for you.

In the meantime, thanks so much, and look for the announcement of my next Lani Diane Rich re-release, The Comeback Kiss.

Maybe Baby!

Hey, all. Guess what? My first romantic comedy written as Lani Diane Rich is available now on B&N and Amazon – Maybe Baby!

Dana Wiley is having a very, very bad day.

It starts when she realizes she never should have let her deep-seated fear of marriage cause her to leave the love of her life, Nick Maybe, at the altar. Then, she discovers that her old nemesis, Melanie Biggs, is after her winery. To save her business, she’s forced to go to Manhattan to ask her eccentric mother, Babs Wiley McGregor, for help. When she gets there, she discovers that Nick moonlights for Babs, doing odd favors for her rich friends. Now Dana can’t turn around without bumping into him.

Or kissing him. Old habits die hard.

Then Babs is kidnapped, and a rare, valuable, stinky and flightless green parrot is the ransom. Now Dana must work with Nick to find the bird and save her mother, dealing with bumbling kidnappers, a rapscallion bird thief, the buxom Melanie who’s bent on taking more than the winery, and a strangely ominous wildlife conservation representative. All the while fighting her desperate love for the one man she knows she can’t ever have again…

… unless, just maybe, she can.

Now, I know not everyone uses B&N or Amazon… if you need something to run on your Not-Nook-or-Kindle, e-mail me at lucy@lucymarch.com, and I’ll do what I can to get you something that will work for you.

In the meantime, thanks so much, and look for the announcement of my next Lani Diane Rich re-release, The Comeback Kiss.

Zzzzzz

Here's a thing I do: When I need something and I don't feel I should need it, I decide that there's something wrong with me.

The other day, Crusie and I were out running around. It got to about two in the afternoon, and I started yawning.

"I always get tired every day, about this time," I said. "Right at 2pm."

"Yeah, for me it hits at three," Jenny said.

"I know. I must need more protein or something." Yawn. "The Spanish have it right. Siesta. That's where it's at."

Turns out, the Spanish do have it right, and I don't need more protein. What I need is a nap.

From MindBodyGreen.com, an infographic (I know this is a trend, but I'm kind of loving it) that explains why napping is so important. Some included information:

Most mammals sleep during the day; humans have fought their natural patterns to sleep in one long shift. One of our natural periods of sleepiness: 1-3 pm.
Siesta cultures have a lower rate of coronary heart disease; one study showed that napping 3x a week reduced that risk in the sample population by 37%.
The Siesta, while named by the Spanish, actually has Islamic origins.
Napping improves alertness and can help you fall asleep faster at night, and sleep through better.

So, it turns out there's nothing wrong with me. My body was trying to tell me that I needed something, and I ignored it. Someday, I will learn.

In the meantime, I'm instituting Siesta around here.