Dani Collins's Blog, page 63

RWA 2013 – RWA-WF Mini Conference

By some act of divine intervention, as I was preparing for conference I saw a post on Jane Porter’s Facebook Page about RWA’s Women’s Fiction Chapter offering a mini-conference at National.

Oh. My. Gawd. am I glad that I signed up. I wound up having a very busy conference with lots of places to be. Also–and I know this will shock you–but when you get twelve hundred women in one place, you tend to make a lot of conversation. Time flies when you’re talking writing and story and editors.

The mini conference was my savior. I had goals and most of them were met in that first day, freeing me of guilt for skipping workshops later in the conference.

The first session was a kind of state of the industry and what’s hot this year, featuring HelenKay Dimon, Christie Ridgway and Literary Agent, Laura Bradford. In short:

• Young Adult is still hot

• Small town contemporary is popular

• Darker contemporary is big (I later learned of Jackie Ashenden going to auction on a three-book deal for dark contemporaries with St. Martins)

• New Adult, light or dark, is a thing now

• Billionaire erotic romances are still hot–pun not intended

*Tortured heroes never go out of style*

They ran through a lot of what I already knew, basically saying today’s authors have a lot of choices. Actually, I’ll contradict one thing they said and sum up a recurring theme I saw in this conference that was first raised here:

They said everyone at last year’s conference agreed that it was a confusing time and predicted this year would be even more confusing. I disagree. It’s a great time to be an author. We have so many choices so yes, there is confusion while we all try to sift through what we each want and how best to get it, but it’s like everyone arrived in an airport hub—yeah, I’m still here. Everyone is rushing hither and thither. Some wind up delayed or even stepping on the wrong escalator but order is emerging from the chaos.

What does this ‘new order’ look like? Well, it looks like a lot of people leaping aboard  what appears to be cheap rapid transit to the destination. Many wind up in a very isolated place. There was a strong message throughout the conference on how to succeed as an indie author. I’ll sum up those particulars in a later post, but wow, there were so many workshops that talked about indie and indie and by the way, you can go indie. To the point that we noticed a lack of workshops on craft.

I think it was Christie Ridgeway who said she misses the days when everyone gathered to talk story because now it’s all about marketing. That’s what indie publishing and the internet in general has done: filled the market with so much choice that discoverability has become a problem. So there were a lot of tips throughout the conference on how to be visible and here’s my take-away on that:

Stick with Harlequin.

I know, easy for me to say when I’m there, right? It doesn’t change the fact that as a publisher it stands out with their ‘Booktiques’ (unless I’m misremembering what they called it.) Basically, the Harlequin brand has it’s own mini-shop on sites like Amazon and it’s own destination displays in retailers like B&N. I’ll rant about the pros and cons of indie later, but the fact is, there are a few indies with a name that stands out, but most are lost in a sea of sameness. When you say, “I’m a Harlequin Author,” everyone knows what you write and that logo helps people find your books.

I’ve totally digressed from the mini conference. Told you I’d be jumping around. This is as much as I wrote in the airport before the guy behind me began whistling tunelessly. Ask my husband how well that goes over when I’m trying to write.

The post RWA 2013 – RWA-WF Mini Conference appeared first on Dani Collins.

RWA 2013 – Overview

You’ll see that I started this post on my way home from Atlanta. My office is a sty, I’m behind at the day job, I haven’t finished unpacking, and I have a proposal due by end of the month which is really this weekend for me. So these blog posts will be hit and miss, but my intentions are good

~ * ~

Good morning. It’s Sunday, July 21, 6:44 am Atlanta time and I’m in the airport, on my way home from the RWA National conference. My nails are still too long for typing comfortably, but I’m hideously early for my flight. And, even though I don’t usually target my blog posts toward writers, I have a lot of writer followers and heck, it’s always fun to get a sneak peek at the romance writer’s inner world, right?

So I thought I’d offer up a play by play of my conference experience. I’ll start out chronologically, but knowing myself, I’ll wind up jumping around to get the full story told. Apparently I think in hyperlinks.

Tuesday, July 15 – Departure

Spokane is a fabulous airport and a comfortable drive so I flew out from there. Mercury was retrograde, but I had booked my travel when all systems were go, so I expected a few small delays, but not too many. I left the house and immediately noticed I’d stolen the garage door opener. Dirty trick, I know. And had I realized I’d be waiting at the border for thirty minutes, I probably would have turned around, but I was too excited.

All the flying went fine, but I hadn’t really processed the time change. I knew I was getting in late, near midnight, but I had read that the Marta—Atlanta’s rapid transit—would take me right into the hotel. So I bravely got myself onto it, even figuring out how to buy a round trip on the Breeze card.

The only hitch was, when I got off at my stop, I was the only person on the platform. I was in the bowels of the subway, it was hot and, well, you know what they smell like especially in a humid climate. For the first few seconds I just walked back and forth listening to my own hollow footsteps thinking, You dumb hick. What have you done?

But I got myself up a level and a pair of women directed me to street level and finally I was among people and a friendly man in a Marta uniform told me to turn left and right and left and I’d be at my hotel.

Longest walk of my life. Especially when a very friendly gal offered to escort me and explained that she needed nine fifty for the homeless shelter. I gave it to her, of course I did, and I hate myself a little bit because I’m sure it was going to drugs, not food. Sadly, that’s me. I want to believe people are telling the truth.

Anyway, between the empty subway, the heartbreaking conversation, and the moral decision that I’m still questioning, I wound up kind of off center by the time I got into my room.

Oh, and it turns out the Marta doesn’t run early enough for this flight so my roommate and I had to hire a car this morning and leave both our return trip Breeze cards for housekeeping. Another rookie move.

Fortunately, the rest of the conference went so well I want to come back again and again so I’m pretty sure I’ll get better at figuring out the best travel tricks.

~ * ~

Stay tuned for more conference coverage. I’m also trying to fix the link to the More Than A Convenient Marriage? page.

 

The post RWA 2013 – Overview appeared first on Dani Collins.

#SampleSunday – Workshop

I wasn’t going to post anything today. I’m kind of swamped with a million things, but I had the nicest note from a friend who will miss my workshop in Atlanta with Cathryn Parry.

We’re still polishing pieces of it, but I know some of my followers are fellow writers–we’re the worst for beating ourselves up when we don’t attain a goal, especially if that goal is a publishing contract. And plenty of us get down on ourselves for things we can’t control, like real life events that take us away from an otherwise steady path toward success. So for anyone else missing the workshop, I thought I’d post what I told my friend.

The workshop is called, The Joy Of Writing, With Or Without A Contract.

Our workshop is all about how we have to remember that the writing side is the source of joy and the publishing can make you crazy *if you let it*.

You are and always have been a writer, even if you went on hiatus. The publishers are there (sort of, lol), the readers are definitely still there. They haven’t gone anywhere and will love your stories whenever the universe chooses to help you share them.

A chunk of time passed, that’s all that happened. You still have lots of opportunity to get that contract and you’re actually way ahead of many writers because you have industry knowledge and know what you want.

Let go of your old expectations. Embrace the fact you’re able to concentrate on writing (and yes, publishing!) once again and set new goals for yourself that only look forward.

Apply at will to any circumstance in your life that hasn’t worked out precisely as you’d expected.

The post #SampleSunday – Workshop appeared first on Dani Collins.

RWA 2013 Atlanta GA

I can’t wait for this conference! I’ll be signing books at the Literacy Fundraiser 5:30-7:30 on Wednesday, July 17th and again at the Harlequin signing 9:30-11:15 on Friday, July 19th. Please come see me if you’re attending.

The post RWA 2013 Atlanta GA appeared first on Dani Collins.

Recap and What’s Next

I just did the math–’cause I have time for that–and July 3rd was the mid-point of the year. Whew! It flew right by and now I’m looking at what’s coming for the rest of the year.

To recap (and yes, brag a bit), No Longer Forbidden? bookends (bwa-ha-ha) my year by coming out in the UK in January and it will be part of a 2 for 1 in December here in North America.

The Healer came out in March and I haven’t seen any reviews online. If you know of any, please point me toward them.

This month, Proof Of Their Sin came out. I’ve figured out that promo works best if you build it before the actual release date, but technically I’m still promoting it. More on that when I get to What’s Next.

In the first half of the year, I also signed a contract for two erotic romances–more on that when the details become available–and Shared Whispers went from being a fun indie-project to a signed contract with Champagne. I had my fourth Harlequin Presents accepted and just got some feedback on a partial for the fifth.

The first half of 2013 has been non-stop!

What’s Next:

I’m so very excited to be attending RWA National next week. As said, I’m still promoting Proof Of Their Sin and I’ll be doing two signings with it, one at the literacy fundraiser, the other as part of Harlequin’s author signing. I’m also giving a workshop with my super, uber, goddess-pal Cathryn Parry. And yes, there might be a few other incredibly cool perks coming my way like the Harlequin Party, the Presents Lunch, breakfast with the MODAS gals and a drink with my editor from my first three books, Megan.

I shall post photos upon my return, I promise!

As for the rest of the year, I have two books to turn in by the end of the year for sure, plus  a third that is a rumour which hasn’t gone to contract yet. (I know what you’re thinking and no, I didn’t start the rumour myself.)

More Than A Convenient Marriage? will come out in December, so I’ll have blog tours and giveaways for that. I don’t know the release date on the first erotica, but I’m trying to mentally prepare a promotion plan in case it comes out between now and the end of the year. Oh, and I have two articles to write for the RWR, which is the trade publication for Romance Writers of America.

I’m working on a Career Plan. One aspect is deciding which books I’d like to finish when. I’m also looking at conferences, trying to figure out which ones I could use as an excuse to see really cool places. Sadly, I haven’t found any in Tuscany. I may resort to hosting one there myself.

For the most part, my Career Plan is to work my butt off for the next three years. Coincidentally, my youngest will graduate high school three years from now so yeah, all bets will be off. Well, not all bets. You can bet I’ll be writing and, fingers crossed, publishing.

Then I have all those little tasks like updating my website, buying a new printer and monitor, starting a Street Team and cleaning my desk(!)

Some of you may wonder why I never talk about my personal life. I don’t have one, lol!

Actually, my writing is my personal life. I have a ‘real’ job and I like it, but I don’t talk about where I work because they don’t pay me to promote their products with my own. I have a very loving (and long-suffering) husband who has yet to accept my friend request on Facebook. He doesn’t want to be online so I don’t drag him here. My kids are very understanding of Mom’s writing, but it impacts them enough without my using them as subjects for stories. Although, they have amazing senses of humour so it’s fairly criminal that I only get eye-rolls if I beg, “Can I tweet that?”

We don’t have a dog, I hate our cat, we don’t live on a lake but I look at it from our kitchen window. We don’t boat, but I like to beach. I enjoy golf and gardening, but they’ve fallen by the wayside as the publishing commitments have crept in. I’m a libra, I’d prefer to be vegetarian, and I am not a natural blond.

See, I’m not that interesting anyway. Might as well just talk about the books. And if you don’t hear much from me on even that in the next while, you’ll know why.

 

The post Recap and What’s Next appeared first on Dani Collins.

Thursday Thirteen – Things To Love About America

I wrote a lengthy love letter to my own country for Canada Day, and I’ve been neglecting my Thursday Thirteen posts, so this week seemed like a great opportunity to send some love to our neighbour to the south. Especially because I often crinkle my brow at this very close cousin who sometimes seems very foreign when it comes to certain opposite-end-of-the-spectrum issues like universal health care.

So without further ado, here are 13 things I love about America.

Obama and Mrs. Wait, my admiration isn’t just political. We can set that aside for a second while I simply compare your current leader to ours. And I don’t mean any disrespect to Harper and Mrs. Perfectly lovely Canadian folk with our trademarked understated personality whereas the Obamas have an incredibly dynamic presence that just makes me sigh with envy. Oh, if only Canada were as cool as America.
Gay marriage. Okay, Canada has had it for several years, but I’m still applauding America for working the democratic process they are so (rightly) proud of.
Diversity. Canada is a huge country and yes we have the Rockies and the North and the Maritimes, but we don’t have the Grand Canyon or the humid South. I’m slowly wrapping my head around the fact that each state runs itself like a country with an individual culture to go with it. (Howdy, Texas.) That’s pretty cool.
Patriotism. No one can doubt an American’s allegiance. They pledge it to the flag every day at school. Canada could learn from this example.
Their flag. Back when I was in high school, my family took a driving holiday to visit friends in California. Their son of about eight pulled out an encyclopedia (yes, I’m that old) and found the American flag. He proceeded to educate me on the meaning of the stars and strips and red, white, and blue. Until then, I had no idea there was so much story behind the flag. Then he turned to the Canadian flag and said, “What does yours mean?” Um…. Yeah. (Just to be clear, I LOVE our flag, but admit it. The story behind it isn’t quite as sexy. Wait, I just got this off Wikipedia. “The number of points on the leaf has no significance; the number and arrangement of the points were chosen after wind tunnel tests showed the current design to be the least blurry of the various designs when tested under high wind conditions.” Mmm, way better.)
Hollywood. I love movies. That’s all.
Innovation. I’m a Mac girl and love all things Apple, but I’ll give snaps to Gates and all the rest for getting us to the point where I’m typing this missive into an electronic medium for consumption around the world.
U.S. Postal Service. Okay, I know it’s old school but sometimes you still have to send parcels and mail is the most cost effective way. And yes, even Target said they can’t keep their prices as low in Canada because we’re a big country with a small population and it’s expensive to move anything here, but seriously, USPS kicks butt on Canada Post every day in terms of pricing and speed.
Disneyworld. I’m not that person who falls into manufactured culture, I’m really not. I hate amusement parks, I hate crowds, I never loved Mickey Mouse or Goofy in the first place. I preferred Bugs Bunny and only watched Disney on Sunday night because it was some of the only specific programming for children here in Canada. But Disneyworld is awesome.
They let us come over. Face it, not all countries are as welcoming to anyone as the US is to Canadians. They let us come over, work in their movies, and yeah, even help ourselves to whatever is in the fridge. They be good neighbours.
Cheerleaders. Where else could you get a scholarship for being supportive? That’s seriously awesome, don’t you think? Of course my favourite was always Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri, but all those kids with genuine acrobatic talent are pretty cool, too.
Netflix. I already mentioned that I love movies, I just wish the Canadian Netflix would get its act together and offer what the American version does.
They got our back. Maybe we have spats over lumber tariffs or they have a beef with our beef, but you know what our answer is if anyone ever asks us, “You and whose army?”

You rock, America.

The post Thursday Thirteen – Things To Love About America appeared first on Dani Collins.

Still Blogging Along

I’ve finished writing all the blog posts for my Proof Of Their Sin tour, but they’re still posting and if you haven’t won a copy of the book yet, you can drop by and enter at  Caribbean Accent Book Reviews. I know summer has finally arrived here, but who can resist a visit to the Caribbean?

I’ll also be at Secrets Of Seven Scribes on July 3rd, talking about the challenge of getting the right words on the page. I’d love it if you came to say hello.

Finally, on July 12th I’ll be at LoveRomancesAndMore with an author interview so come learn all my darkest secrets.

After that I’m attending RWA’s National Conference. I’ll be sure to blog about that on my return and will hopefully start posting excerpts for #SampleSunday again soon.

The post Still Blogging Along appeared first on Dani Collins.

Happy Canada Day

Best laid plans of mice and writers…

I was thrilled, thrilled I tell you, when I learned that Proof Of Their Sin would be released on July 1st, Canada Day. There were so many nice connections to tie in the book with the day. The heroine, Lauren, is Canadian. She lives on her grandmother’s maple syrup estate in Quebec. My hero, Paolo, is an international banker and do you know who is taking over the Bank Of England? Yeah, Mark Carney. A Canadian. I’m so shameless, I’ll even invoke Chris Hadfield, because my characters’ love story is out of this world.

But live and learn. Proof Of Their Sin actually became available online in early June. By the middle of the month it was shipping from Amazon and sitting on shelves in the lower mainland. It hit the stores in my town on the 25th.

What then, do I have left to say on Canada Day?

Well, thought I, I should be thankful my book came out early. (I should be grateful it came out at all!) And I am.

Which leads me to think that maybe a nice post on why I’m thankful I was born and raised in Canada would be my best course of action. Here goes:

I get to write romance novels. What I’m saying is, I went to school where I learned to read and write. Not all children, especially girls, have that opportunity. Ask Malala Yousefzai. Also, not all women in this world are allowed to express their views freely. Some aren’t allowed outside without a male guardian or to have control over their own bodies. I can say what I want verbally, in print, and with my vote.
I can also register my preferences and desires financially because I have a job. I keep my work life separate from my writing life for a number of reasons, a huge one being that they don’t pay me to promote their products on my blog, but it’s a good job where I am paid fairly. I work civilized hours and will be enjoying my nation’s holiday with a full day’s pay. 
I am enormously lucky and grateful that I and my husband and kids are healthy, but when one of us is not 100%, we can visit the doctor and the only cost is time. Much is made about the cost of healthcare in Canada and the quality of service and maybe it’s not perfect, but try to touch it and you will see us march on Ottawa with our pitchforks. I’m hugely proud to be from a country that offers universal healthcare.
I’m also proud of our water. I not only look at a gorgeous lake from my kitchen window, but I can turn on a tap at my sink and clean, potable water comes out! We take that for granted in this country, but it is a luxury beyond measure.
Speaking of luxuries, let’s talk about Cannabis Day. I won’t say I’m proud, more like resigned, to have Canada and the area where I live known for its potheads. I don’t personally indulge, but I am resigned to the fact that many do and prohibition doesn’t stop them. For that reason, I heartily support legalizing marijuana and taxing the stuffing out of it, just like booze and cigarettes. Seems to me it would not only free up but fund the police to spend their time more wisely. Just my opinion and one that seems to be shared by those who celebrate Cannabis Day on Canada Day. I just wish that those who ‘protest’ marijuana prohibition by sparking up would take an attitude of gratitude when they do it. The defiance annoys me because they obviously don’t appreciate the fact that they could and would be shot in some countries for such flagrant rebellion. Just saying.
Further to expressing personal beliefs, I love that I can say I’m an atheist and not fear for my life. I love that the Mayor of Calgary is Muslim and do you know what he’s doing? Advocating for all Calgarians to the best of his ability. I know there are a lot of ways we could improve on being inclusive–let’s start with the aboriginal population–but we’ve come a long way where other countries haven’t. Gay marriage, anyone?
Further to that, let’s talk about our culture of kindness. Sorry if we say ‘Sorry’ too often, and good luck at a four way stop (no you go, no you go), but isn’t that better than  stomping on each other to get to the top? I won’t apologize for that.
Did I mention Mark Carney and the fact that Canada stayed afloat during the financial crisis? Turns out that government interference with banking controls is actually a good thing.
I especially love that we can laugh at ourselves. I think this is the result of a few things, an important one being the lack of reason for sobriety. I vividly remember reading Hiroshima in high school and getting to the part where the children were discouraged from laughing after the bomb. The horror was that  profound. We don’t have such an event in our history (thankfully!) Instead, we are products of sparsely populated towns and farm communities that suffer long winters. Until American cable came along, we had a dearth of outside entertainment and had to rely on ourselves. Plus, our country has always been the slightly oversized, but younger cousin to powerhouse countries like Britain and the US. Kids in that position learn to disarm with self-deprecation. Watch out, though. We’re approaching the midpoint of our second century, which is like adolescence. Prepare for biting sarcasm, perhaps a bit of drug experimentation (I forgot to mention the needle exchange/harm reduction unit) and yeah, maybe an unplanned pregnancy. (I don’t even know what that means. It’s just a Canadian being silly for the sake of a laugh.)
I love that we’re humble in our pride. Sure our beer commercials make us out to be all that and a bag of chips, but they’re beer commercials. That’s what we do, brag while making a bit of a fool of ourselves. Because we’re a society that believes in equality so we have to balance the We’re Awesome with We’re Also Human.

Thank you, Canada. I love you.

The post Happy Canada Day appeared first on Dani Collins.

Proof Of Their Sin Giveaway Winners

I had a busy weekend with family in town for my daughter’s high school graduation. She and her boyfriend looked spectacular and made us so proud. This is why I’ve been dragging my feet with announcing my giveaways and I appreciate your patience.

The Goodreads Giveaway was a rousing success with approximately 600 entries. I don’t have permission to post the winner’s names, but their initials were: JH, AL, and VM. The books have been sent.

Fiona won the copy off my post at RomanceNovelNews. She was kind enough to take electronic as she’s overseas.

Nora won the copy at RomanceJunkies and a reader going by the handle of bn100 won the copy from iHeartPresents.

I’m waiting for confirmation from Paloma on the winner of the RomanceBeckons copy, but Lani definitely won the copy from HarlequinJunkie.

Feeling bummed that you’re not on this list? Do not despair, dear Reader! You still have several chances to win:

June 26, LoveRomancePassion – I honestly can’t recall if I offered a giveaway, but I’ll tell ya what. Comment there that you read this blog and want to be entered and I’ll draw names there. Promise.

July 1, CaribbeanAccentBookReviews – I still have to write this blog and will definitely offer a giveaway so please drop by and comment for a chance to win.

July 3, WritingSecretsOfSevenScribes – Yep, still gotta write that one, too, but I’ve made notes and will have a giveaway. Just drop by and say hi

July 12, LovesRomanceAndMore – This will be an Author Focus interview, but I’ll offer a giveaway. Please come say hello.

And remember, I draw from my newsletter subscriber list so scroll to the bottom of the page and sign up. You’ll be entered in all future draws for a copy of my most current book.

The post Proof Of Their Sin Giveaway Winners appeared first on Dani Collins.

The Graduate

I have Giveaway names to announce and blog links to post, but today is all about The Graduate in my house. Such a wonderful life marker and given that I’ve been holed up in this writing room A Lot lately, I’m now unplugging to spend the weekend with family.

Please enjoy this link to my daughter’s Drama Final Exam, which is not only an awesome retelling of a classic tale, but a lesson in perseverance.

Have a great weekend.

 

The post The Graduate appeared first on Dani Collins.