L.C. Giroux's Blog, page 7

It's up everywhere!

Well, the end of the world was a lot quieter than I expected it to be. Actually, I didn't ever think the world was ending, I still have 25 years to go on a thirty year mortgage and Christmas presents to wrap so there was no way I was getting out of that.

Back in the real world, or may just the one I prefer, book seven of the Lover and Other Strangers series is up everywhere now.

This is Steve and Audi's story. If you read Skater's Girl you know how this one starts, hot sex in the back of a limo between a Best man and a 'Maid' of honor. Those terms were almost never farther off. This one starts out hot but burns sweet, mostly… This is an opposites attract story but sometimes things aren't quite as different as they seem.

"...And Keep Her" by L.C. Giroux on Ganxy

Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop!

Yes, Really. Think of this one as a chance to pick up something nice for yourself. I’m dead serious about this actually. I learned pretty early on to always find some present for myself for both Christmas and my Birthday. It sounds horribly selfish but I grew up with my parents running a gift shop on our property. Every year they would close up around 4:00pm on Christmas Eve so that we could start our Christmas celebrations. I was the oldest at twelve and my brother was the youngest at six. Inevitably there would be a knock on the door at around 8:00pm and some panicked guy on the other side desperate to get a present for his wife. The best story was that they were putting the presents under the tree and she realized all he had gotten her was a vacuum cleaner. She kicked him out and told him not to come back till he had a real gift for her. This was the 70’s so pre-internet instant gift cards and the stores still closed at a semi reasonable hour. Lesson learned? Husbands may mean well but that doesn’t mean they have a clue as to what to get you.

Getting yourself a present is also about managing expectations. If you have bought something for yourself that you know you want then isn’t it easier to smile when you get yet another sweater (actually I kind of like sweaters, Cashmere V-necks, slouchy, Gap has some good ones) But it doesn’t have to be expensive. So pick up some e-books guilt free, maybe some music to listen to while you read, a pair of reasonably priced, good headphones (RHA Over the ear headphones on Amazon, Fantastic and less than $20!) Anyway here is the link to the page of all the participants.  http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/

Oh, and to get you in the mood for that last Christmas push, Leave a comment below with your email address and what format you like your ebooks in and I will be gifting copies of my brand new, not even released yet story. It will be available everywhere by the end of the month but you guys can get an advance copy. To comment, Click on the funny little swirly symbol down there and you will get taken to my Tumblr post. Sorry, still working out the bugs in this new system!

Boring or the joys of pneumonia

So I was sidelined with pneumonia (always loved that word along with pneumatic) How did that P get there and why do we still allow it to hang around? 

Anyway, for the last two weeks my entire family has sounded like a bunch of dogs with bad Kennel Cough. Ironically, that was our fear, Wisconsin’s Whooping cough rate is 10 times the national average, and there is a national epidemic. Whooping cough protection seems to rely on herd immunity even more than other vaccines. Oh, Kennel and Whooping are both Pertussis. Sorry, my old life creeping into my new one. 

Anyway, the pneumonia, we didn’t have pertussis just something else that ended up worse before it got better. Resulting in two weeks down the rabbit hole, cancelled parties that were supposed to be at my house, a canceled trip that was supposed to be for the DH’s birthday and well, general destruction of my neat little patterns. 

The upside is that I have learned lots of new things. One is that I can blog on Tumblr and send it to my regular blog. I can actually schedule posts now! Woohoo (still easier to write that than to do it without coughing) I’ve started taking classes in blogging, videos (one of my New Year resolutions -Vlogging! And how to learn. I’ve started making an immersive site for my Lovers and Other Strangers series that even my media jaded twelve year old thinks is pretty neat. 

So I guess what I really learned was that I am an optimist, which makes sense since I write romance but always makes me look around to see if it is really me I’m pointing at when I say that.

Ready for another one?

Yes, really. Another one, This is a more, intimate, blog hop just among friends. Several of us BBB authors have books that have just recently launched. And hey, it isn't like you aren't going to be shopping the web. We decided we wanted our theme to be about Inspiration.

Check out the things that inspire the other authors too!

Fabio Bueno @ http://www.fabiobueno.com

Debra Burroughs @ http://www.DebraBurroughsBooks.com

Tamara Ward @ http://authortamaraward.blogspot.com

Stacy Green @ http://stacygreenauthor.com/

Stacey Joy Netzel @ http://staceyjoynetzel.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanks-for-great-books-blog-hopfall.html

Janice Lane Palko @ http://www.thewritinglane.blogspot.com

PJ Sharon @ http://www.pjsharonyawriter.blogspot.com

Lily Silver @ http://romancinghistorylove.blogspot.com/

Well, I write Steamy Contemporary romance. Okay, I'll tell you the truth my husband inspires me. A little piece of him ends up in every hero whether I want it to or not. I can say that because I know he doesn't read my blog! LOL!

My kind of Black Friday Shopping!

Just bought a bunch of Jimmy Thomas images for covers of my books for 2013! That is my kind of shopping, seriously hot half naked men, on sale no less! No, you can't get a peek till I finish the books.

It's Black Friday! So are you hiding in your house too?

As a shopper, I avoid Black Friday at all costs. Cyber Monday is a whole other story! Maybe it was because I worked in retail for years, I even grew up in my parent's gift shop chain. After experiences like that, being on the shopping end is well, dull. As a retailer, getting yourself psyched up for Black Friday is a little like getting psyched up for the Superbowl but without the eye black (usually) I loved Black Friday as a sales person. It was frenetic and the time flew by. People were for the most part happy and the season hadn't dragged on at that point. The problem with starting the Christmas sales season before Halloween is that by this point you are already out of money and down to the hardest to shop for people on your list. So here's how I'd like to help. Leave a comment below and I will pick one lucky person to get my entire catalog of novels and short stories in the digital format of their choice. Now Mom doesn't have to sneak read her romance novels!

Whew!

November is always slightly crazy around here but this one is off the charts! You too? I'm writing a 50K novel for National Novel Writing Month aka Nanowrimo. This is Steve and Audi's story, even writing it I'm loving these two! Then there is the promotional stuff. The Autumn's Harvest Blog hop is up first from the 9th to the 12th. Then the Black Friday one. Then (yes, seriously!) the Beach Book Blast Launch Party is the 25th and 26th. But let's face it all anyone really cares about is: THE FOOD!

If you have read any of my books you know I'm a foodie. As in Thanksgiving is a highlight of the year and that is true even if it is just my small family. This year we are going in a slightly different direction than the usual roast bird and sides. Gwyneth Paltrow's GooP newsletter had recipes for Turkey leg Osso Bucco style and Parmesan Polenta which got me thinking. Always dangerous! I'll use my polenta recipe but Turkey so tender it falls off the bone - to die for! Not to mention I have the best recipe for Pecan Pie (and now you can too!) I'll probably add roasted brussel sprouts. The Husband is in charge of wine and usually knocks it out of the park (Hint: Go with a red! really!) At that point, we just eat ourselves senseless and then go for a walk (or take a nap).  

It's up!

The latest entry to the Lovers and Other Strangers Series is on most of the retailers -iTunes and a Createspace POD are coming soon.

"Skater's Girl (Lovers and Other Strangers Book Six)" by L.C. Giroux on Ganxy

Did you miss me?

I didn't disappear. Okay it looked like I did, but really it was just a simple case of my hard-drive biting the big one. If you have ever had it happen then you understand. If not, then I can only liken it to watching your house burn down after everyone is out safe. Luckily there is a world class data recovery company right in town and they were amazing -as in they will get a huge thank you in the next book. Seriously people -even if you think you just have crap on there back up to a cloud or at least an external hard-drive. I spent that first night waking up every half hour remembering yet another thing I hadn't backed up and was now potentially gone forever. 

As they used to say, In Other News, Skater's Girl is now at the editor for polishing and should be back soon. I'm still working on the cover but I expect it will be up for sale around the 3rd week of the month.

Go check out what is next! It will blow your mind!

Boss Lady

So I have spent the last few mornings on the business side of being an author. I have also been investigating online Learning Management Systems so I can take the Mechanics of E-Publishing course I teach online. You didn't think I just sat around eating bon-bons and dreaming up my next hero did you? Okay, I do some of that too but I end up spending a lot more time on the business side of things than I'd like to.

I usually use this space to talk to readers and I am now. There has been a lot of press lately giving Indie Authors a bad rep. See, I have never bought a review. I have 4 and 5 stars reviews on Amazon and the other channels and I didn't pay for any of them. I have offered readers that have liked some of my books advance copies of my latest and they have been kind enough to review them on different sites. I don't call up my Mom and get her to review my latest. First off, she is a total luddite who can barely figure out email -trust me, posting a review on Amazon is way beyond her. So no, I don't have my family post reviews. Anything you see there is an honest review from a real reader.