Jessica Scott's Blog, page 26

What Do You Look for In A Review Hop

There’s been a ton of controversy around bloggers, reviewers and authors this year. Honestly, there have been several episodes that make me want to just push away from the keyboard and hide because the level of vitriol has gotten out of control and crossed several ethical lines.

People often try to separate themselves into either author or reader. Honestly, I’m both. Just because I’m an author doesn’t mean I’m not still a reader first and foremost. So what I look for in a review is honesty. Did you like the book. Why or why not. What worked for you. Was the book badly written. I’ll buy a DNF review if the book looks like something I’d enjoy so long as the review doesn’t say the writing sucked. I don’t like personal attacks and too much snark makes me cringe unless its deliberately meant as tongue in cheek. So there you have it. Pretty simple, right?

Tell me, what do you look for in a review? What’s the one thing guaranteed to make you pick up a book and try it out?

I’ll pick 2 winners today to receive a digital eARC of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU.

From the back cover:

Jessica Scott returns with an all-new contemporary eBook original romance, following last fall’s release of her sizzling debut novel Because of You.

He plays by the rules, she’s not afraid to break them. Now these two strong-willed army captains will prove that opposites attract . . .

A by-the-book captain with a West Point background, Captain Evan Loehr refuses to mix business with pleasure—except for an unguarded instance years ago when he succumbed to the deep sensuality of redheaded beauty Claire Montoya. From that moment on, though, Evan has been at odds with her, through two deployments to Iraq and back again. But when he is asked to train a team prepping for combat alongside Claire, battle-worn Evan is in for the fight of his life.

Strong, gutsy, and loyal, Captain Claire Montoya has worked hard to earn the rank on her chest. In Evan, Claire sees a rigid officer who puts the rules before everything else—including his people. When the mission forces them together, Claire soon discovers that there is more to Evan than meets the eye.

He’s more than the rank on his chest; he’s a man with dark secrets and deep longings. For all their differences, Evan and Claire share two crucial passions: their country and each other.

You can order UNTIL THERE WAS YOU at these ebookstores or wherever ebooks are sold!

B & N | Amazon | Powell’s

Legitimate Rape

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time to stop behaving. It is time to stop letting rich old men teach the next generation of husbands and fathers and brothers and sisters and wives that there is such a thing as legitimate rape and that well, if he or she didn’t fight back, it’s not really rape.

I recognize that there are women out there who make up false rape claims. To pretend otherwise is to be disengenious. HOWEVER, the system must work for ALL or it will work for none. Put aside what ever you think you know about rape. Put aside the judgement for the slut in the high heels who was asking for it or for the abused teenager who mistakes male sexual attention for love. Put aside all the judgement and hatred and self righteous religious condemnation and for one fraction of a moment, put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Let’s put aside the political vitriol. Put aside left or right or Republican or Democrat and let’s talk about human decency. Can you honestly call yourself a good person if you can look into the eyes of someone who has just been raped and question well, was it really rape or something you might have changed your mind about afterwards.

I read a police report that was about a sexual assault on a child. The police officer, a GROWN MAN, asked a 14 year old girl if she’d really wanted it or if she just changed her mind later.

Guess that’s not legitimate rape. Because a 14 year old girl is such a whore that well, she changed her mind afterwards. SHE CAN”T CONSENT. SHE”S A CHILD. What is wrong with us that GROWN MEN and WOMEN think this?

I’m tired of a society that overly sexualizes our daughters. I’m tired of a society that teaches young men that jocks fuck the cheerleaders. I’m tired of a society that teaches boys that it’s okay to take what they want because she really wanted it. How can we look at ourselves every single day and say this is the kind of world that we live in?

I don’t give a damn what political party you are. I give a damn who you are when the situation calls for a little compassion. I shouldn’t have to stand in front of my formation every Friday and tell people that drunk sex is not safe sex. I shouldn’t have to tell my 18 year old privates not to get drunk with strangers because some scumbag will take her into the bathroom and fuck her while she’s out of it. But she wanted it because only whores go out drinking in bars.


What the hell is wrong with us that we’re so focused on judgement and condemnation? And I’m including myself in this boat because there are things I judge and judge harshly. But maybe, just maybe, we should all take a step off the ledge and figure out what makes our society better. A society that judges harshly with no forgiveness. Or a society that says here little brother or sister, let me help you.

What Bubble

I’ve been noticing a certain trend in the publishing articles I’ve been reading lately. There’s a lot of talk about the epublishing bubble. A recent article at the Guardian suggests that authors on Facebook and Twitter are wasting their time because there is no correlation between sales and say twitter followers.

The article goes on to say that people don’t want to be sold to, they want to be treated like a real person. So authors who get on Facebook and Twitter and only talk about their books aren’t achieving the desired effect anyway.

But what if there is something to the Guardian’s article. What if all the twitter and facebook in the world doesn’t equal a single sale. Is the author wasting their time?

I say no. And here’s why.

I was talking with an agent friend of mine who remarked about how Twitter has broken up some of the cliques that have been present at RWA in the past. Now as a relative RWA newbie (I’ve been to 3 conferences) I have no point of reference. But I can tell you that Twitter has paid huge dividends for me as far as making conversation. I (hope) I was able to have relatively competent and coherent conversations at RWA about publishing and the industry because I paid attention to the latest news in the publishing world.


So while that did not necessarily translate into sales, I definitely got something out of my time on Twitter.

But when we maybe we’re not talking about the social networks and the amount of time people spend on it. Maybe we’re talking about what makes books take off and why this book sparks and that one doesn’t. Why *did* 50 Shades of Grey go viral when others did not. Why is the USA Today chart burning up with books that were NOT produced by New York.

One editor I spoke to at RWA suggested that people no longer care about quality. That the glut of badly written books has simply lowered expectations. If readers no longer care, why should New York?

Maybe the rush to chase the tail of the dragon, that magic formula if you will, should not be about why this goes viral or that goes viral. Maybe the e publishing phenomenon is about trying to beat the Walmart of the Internet. No one has a better pulse on what readers are BUYING than Amazon. Not Facebook, not BN. Amazon.

And yet, a book hitting the Amazon bestseller list may not crack any lists any other place. Why not?

Maybe the way that publishing beats WalMart and beats the race to the bottom of cheap crap is by publishing quality. Maybe they can speed up their processes a little bit.

Or maybe the buyer of the $.99 erotica novel is NOT the market for the $7.99 paperback. Maybe, instead of trying to out Walmart Walmart, publishing needs to think outside the box. Look at what is working for epublished authors. Figure out how to get books to market faster. Figure out how to engage – really engage – with readers.

Maybe there is a social bubble and maybe there isn’t. But publishers and authors need to figure out how to build relationships. Because at the end of the day, THAT is the only reason to be on these networks. If you’re not there for that reason, people will know. Maybe that’s why we tweet about our cats. Or in my case, our hamsters.

My Interview with Jane Cowan at ABC’s One Plus One

Here’s my interview with Jane Cowan at ABC’s One Plus One.

Things That Happen During Sex You Won’t Read in Romance Novels

I love romance novels. I love that the sex is always mind-blowing, the woman always comes first and the man is always genuinely concerned with her pleasure, unless of course, he’s overcome with desire and just – to quote Sarah from SBTB.com – pounding away like a poundy thingy. And even then, our stalwart heroine is going to like it.

So I was sitting around, working on a romance novel about a married couple who is trying to find that spark again (Laura & Trent’s book in case you were wondering) and I got to thinking about married sex. The kind of sex that Jeff Foxworthy jokes about when he says I know the combination to my wife’s safe.

So because I’m probably going to use some of this in a book someday (maybe sooner than later if my editor doesn’t kill me first) here’s a list of things that you’ll probably never read in a romance novel.

- she’s kissing her way down his happy trail…only to get some of the happy trail stuck in her teeth

- leg cramps from too much pounding away like a poundy thingy

- who are you and why does my ass hurt

- queefing (I have no idea how to actually spell that and neither does my spellcheck apparently)

- honey, I’m going to come fast

- don’t come yet

- take that out of my ass

- you want to put what where?

- yes, i’ll blow your whistle but have you showered recently? as in today?

- what is that smell?

- what’s that? the cat. it’s staring at us. judging quietly.

- that isn’t your finger is it? nope. Where’s the dog?

- did you take the trash out?

- cat hair on his tongue while he’s going down…there

What are some other things that you’ll never read in a romance novel.

Sekret TV Interview Teaser

So a few weeks ago, I started talking a little bit about a TV interview I was asked to take part in. I was really nervous about this because well, I needed PAO approval for something like this and well, it’s TV. I’m not exactly known for thinking first, speaking later. I was sure I’d put my foot in my mouth.

But after much coordination and a heck of a lot of fun, I was able to crash at my fairy godmother’s place in Washington and the interview was on. It was a serious stroke of luck that I happened to be heading back east at the end of July.

I had a wonderful time with Jane and Louie (who is able to take amazing pictures on a cell phone). The interview isn’t live yet, but it will be available tomorrow. It was a ton of fun! You can definitely tell when someone is a good interviewer or not because Jane made it so easy.

Anyway, here’s the link to One Plus One. I’ll update this post once the episode is live.

New Excerpt from UNTIL THERE WAS YOU

An hour later, Evan closed the door to his room, wishing he could appreciate the understated luxury. High-vaulted ceilings made the room feel bigger than it was. The wide bay windows disappointed him—a gnarled old oak blocked his view of the mountains. Dead branches swayed gently in the evening wind. Snow coated the grey bark, creeping down the branches and dripping into the white mound below.

For a moment he was thrown back into a field soaked with blood, to another oak tree twisted with smoking metal and dusted with ash.

He wished he could blame the trembling disquiet inside him on Claire’s distracting presence, but he couldn’t. He’d be lying to himself if he tried. Giving himself a shake, he yanked the curtains closed. He needed to get another room. One where the trees didn’t spark such painful memories.

It wouldn’t help. The room wasn’t the problem.

It was this place—too many memories and not nearly enough sleep collided with a single resurrected ghost. Turning his back on the window, he walked into the bathroom. It felt tiny compared to the high ceilings of the main room, but it beat the hell out of the tin trailers he’d called home on his last deployment to Iraq. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, then ran his wet fingers through his hair. Hell, he was just happy to have running water.

Still, he couldn’t rein in the emotions churning in his gut. Panic? No, not by a long shot. But the feeling was so foreign and unsettling, he didn’t know what to call it. He felt . . . like the boy he’d been once upon a time. Like the kid who’d stood in his parents’ living room and listened to his mother’s heartbreaking sobs.

He stretched his arms over his head, easing the tendons and focusing on what he could control. The tight pull of muscles across his damaged shoulder forced him back to the present.

Just weeks before they’d been scheduled to come home from the latest deployment—and wasn’t that always the way?—their brigade tactical operations cell had been blown up and a freak piece of shrapnel had sliced across his upper back. Four months later, the wound had healed, leaving a jagged scar. It still ached if he didn’t take care of it.

Taking over a brigade readiness exercise with less than two weeks’ notice was going to limit his ability to take care of it. But what the hell. The entire Iraq war was run on less planning and even less preparedness.

He’d survived burning command posts, blown-up trucks, and complex attacks by an enemy they were supposed to easily subdue. His entire experience from West Point through Armor Officer Basic Course to his four tours in Iraq had instilled in him one thing: purpose. Training had readied him for the fog of battle. He knew how to react to sniper fire and how to hit the deck when the whir of a rocket blew up overhead. From the moment he’d turned seventeen, his life had had a direction. A purpose. To lead soldiers. And he was good at it. That wasn’t arrogance, it was fact. But nothing had prepared him for the single act of coming home.

He was not used to feeling so unmoored and off balance. Having Claire here didn’t help matters, either. But he was a professional and he wasn’t going to let Claire distract him from the reason they were here: to prepare the soldiers of Golf Forward Support Company to face that same war, that same chaos.

It was a no-fail mission, and Evan Loehr did not fail.

PREORDER TODAY!

B & N | Amazon | Powell’siBookstore

Dear Fluffy

Fluffy, it’s time we had a little talk. Every three days or so, my children come frantically screaming into the bathroom, upset that once again, you are missing.

Or, I get texts from my neighbor’s daughter, who is traumatized at the thought of finding your furry little corpse or worse, finding you in a pile of dog poop.

Do you not realize that there are 6 carnivores all vying to be the first to have Fluffy Tar Tar?

Do you know care about the trauma your death will have on this family?

Why must you continue to escape. First it was the door on the old cage. Then it was learning to unscrew the top of your hamster balls. Then it was unscrewing the latches on your cage. This latest stunt defies imagination. I am baffled at how you managed to life the ENTIRE cage to escape.

Fluffy, I like you. But sooner or later, your luck will run out. Ms Megan is old. Hamster Au Gratin is on her bucket list. Fudge the Fierce would like nothing more than to pin you to the ground and eat you like a scallop.

Fluffy, I’m begging you, please stop escaping. Please stop trying to send my children to therapy for the rest of their lives or worse, me to the pet store to find a replacement Fluffy that will fool no one. Hammy was the first replacement Fluffy and she’s the nicest, calmest, nonescapingest hamster on the planet.

Fluffy, for the love of all that’s holy, please stop.

Sincerely

Me

Leader of the hamster intervention

A Blog about Copyedits

I love copyedits. Ever since I discovered this fun thing called The StyleSheet, I love copyedits. The style sheet is the spellings used throughout your manuscript of words that are, well, less than common. So to celebrate my turning in of UNTIL THERE WAS YOU yesterday, I’m posting the style sheet used during the copy edits. I figured it would give everyone a chuckle if nothing else!

Until There Was You – Spellings

ACR (Armored Cavalry Regiment)

air-conditioning

airlift

a.k.a. (also known as)

Antichrist

babysitting

backseat

badass

BlackBerry

blonde (noun)

bloodletting

boatload

bootstraps

breakdown

buildup

bullshit

CamelBak

castoff

clusterfuck

coffeepot

comeback

court-martial

coworker

crisscross

daredevil

deadpan

downrange

downtime

dryly

email

eyeing

façade

firefight

floodlights

GI

giveaway

gunmetal

handbasket

handcuff

harebrained

headlong

headphones

headrest

heartbreaking

hightail

ICU (intensive care unit)

ID (identification)

Kevlar

leftover

lightweight

longtime

lopsided

LT (lieutenant)

makeup

mock-up

NCO (noncommissioned officer)

override

postcoital

PowerPoint

pre-combat

President (U.S.)

PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder)

pushpin

readout

redo

résumé

Rip It

sandbox

sergeants major

Shock and Awe

simunition

snowstorm

superhero

superpower

tablecloth

tai chi

Third ID (Third Infantry Division)

timeline

TOC (tactical operations center)

trade-off

Triangle of Death (Iraq)

T-shirt

turnoff

uptight

Velcro

waistband

workout

From the back cover:

UNTIL THERE WAS YOU

Jessica Scott returns with an all-new contemporary eBook original romance, following last fall’s release of her sizzling debut novel Because of You.

He plays by the rules, she’s not afraid to break them. Now these two strong-willed army captains will prove that opposites attract . . .

A by-the-book captain with a West Point background, Captain Evan Loehr refuses to mix business with pleasure—except for an unguarded instance years ago when he succumbed to the deep sensuality of redheaded beauty Claire Montoya. From that moment on, though, Evan has been at odds with her, through two deployments to Iraq and back again. But when he is asked to train a team prepping for combat alongside Claire, battle-worn Evan is in for the fight of his life.

Strong, gutsy, and loyal, Captain Claire Montoya has worked hard to earn the rank on her chest. In Evan, Claire sees a rigid officer who puts the rules before everything else—including his people. When the mission forces them together, Claire soon discovers that there is more to Evan than meets the eye.

He’s more than the rank on his chest; he’s a man with dark secrets and deep longings. For all their differences, Evan and Claire share two crucial passions: their country and each other.

PREORDER YOUR TODAY!

B & N | Amazon | Powell’siBookstore

Jess’ Big Adventure: First Book Signing

So if you live in the California-type area (somewhere near a place with a big mouse aka Disneyland) join me and a couple hundred other authors for the RWA Literacy Signing at the Anaheim Convention Center Weds 25 July from 1700-2000. All proceeds go to charity and it’s a chance to stock up on some of your favorite authors!

Here’s a link to the pdf for the signing to find all of your favorite authors.

And in case you were wondering where I’d be hanging out, I’m at table 204:

Hope to see you there!