Cheryl Harper's Blog, page 15
April 17, 2013
STUCK ON YOU: the book in all its bookiness!
I’m pretty sure I forgot to post this, probably because I was too busy staring obsessively. Stuck On You is in my hot hands! And IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! I love it so. I’m thinking about giving away a book or two next week (one of the KISS ME anthology and one of these lovlies?). Do you think people would be interested?
Be sure to visit next week. I’ve got some kookiness planned, some excerpts, and a sneak peek at the next book in the Rock’n'Rolla Hotel series, Can’t Help Falling in Love.
BLOG TOUR NEWS!
Starting next Monday, I’ve got stops, people. There will be chances to win there, too.
Monday, April 22: Ex Libris
Tuesday, April 23: Novel Reflections
AND I’m over at The Book Tart. This interview is epic, y’all.
Wednesday, April 24: Swept Away By Romance
Thursday, April 25: United By Books
Friday, April 26: Romanceaholic
March 12, 2013
The soundtrack
So I haven’t quite made it to the point where I can get photos and music and notes and all those things that help to build the story. But Elvis helps. I’ve lost track how many times I’ve listened to this song. Usually when I should have been writing.
Join me?
On Sale: KISS ME, the lovely paperback form
Today! Today! Today!
Get it T-O-D-A-Y!
Kiss Me: three great stories, one low price!
Here’s a link or three:
March 11, 2013
Typing “The End”
I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, but I set March 10 as the deadline to finish the first draft of Can’t Help Falling in Love. The day job blew up right on schedule, but I kept pushing and today I typed “The End” at about 58,000 words. I’m short but it’s the first draft.
(Yes, I have a graph. I need to see progress. This keeps me from rolling up into a ball of defeat around 15,000 words. And 20,000. And 25,000…you get the idea.)
This is not fit for public consumption. I write cleanly but there’s still so much story, so many details, and loose threads to tie into a neat bow.
Next up:
REVISION ROUND 1: FIXING IT
REVISION ROUND 2: HEATING IT ALL UP
REVISION ROUND 3: CLICHES, REPETITION, AND OH, YEAH…THIS IS BETTER
Then off to lovely editor where stuff gets real. And so much better.
Writing: it takes a village and about four drafts before the final first draft.
February 20, 2013
I think this may be the way it always goes.
The novella was easy. The first book was kinda hard to get rolling but now I look back on that one with the rosy glow of forgetfulness.
This second book…I thought it would be easy. I’d already done the hard part. The first chapter was written. I had the outline. I mean, you just write it at that point, right?
When I’ve heard or
read other writers talk about struggling, I’ve been sorta Grumpy Cat/”McKayla Maroney is not impressed” about it. And you should be too. Even here. They are lucky to do this. And I KNOW how lucky I am.
“Just write it” is probably true if you can ignore all the doubts and the voice that starts out quietly but gets louder as you go, the one that says the first one’s a fluke and one that shall not be repeated.
Oh, man…that’s not just me, is it?
The easiest way to ignore it for me? Go fast. LIke Ricky Bobby, I wanna go fast. So all weekend I was Wile E. Coyote chasing a fast Road Runner word count. Monday I ran out of road. And did a whistling free fall to splat. My day job was out of control and I was feeling pressed on all sides.
So then I had that feeling, the one that I vaguely recall from the first time around. I was pretty sure I was going to be a failure and should really look harder at alternate careers. Something like professional dog petter or Diet Coke connoisseur. And I searched for Hee Haw videos. Don’t judge. I was young (then). I watched what my parents did.
And I felt better. I think it was the dog. I only vaguely recalled the song. I had forgotten the corny jokes and the “not impressed” dog. It was like the universe (not really) saying “Bloodhounds shall lead the way.” And my book has one of those. My plan was to scrap everything, 20,000 words or so, and start over. Because…I was high on Hee Haw fumes.
It’s not every day you read a blog post with a phrase like that, is it?
Then I took a breath of fresh air. Re-read my new outline and the second chapter and decided…it’s not the worst thing ever written. I’m half way through what I’d come up with and not all is lost. I’m so happy something stopped me when I was frantically searching for my Firebird keys (AKA Delete). No? Don’t know that one? John Cusack? Jeremy Piven? Say Anything?
I think the moral to this story is…hug a writer today. His or her brainium is probably a wild place.
February 14, 2013
Valentine’s Day: from Zero to Hero
I really dislike Valentine’s Day. Always have. Spinterish McBitterpants here! When I worked in an office, I wanted flower a flower delivery. I listened to married friends humble brag over their husbands’ dinner plans. And I was pretty sure chocolates that someone else bought me out of either desire or duty would taste a zillion times better than what I could buy for myself.
In “Love Me Tender,” Julie plans to spend her day with John McClane and the Die Hard collection. When I wrote this, I had no conscious idea that the new Die Hard was releasing today. When I saw the television commercial, I didn’t put 2 and 2 or 5 and 2/14 or anything together. I don’t do math if I can help it. Then, some time this week, just like you’d expect…with the fanfare of “Ode to Joy” the realization crashed down on my head. My Valentine novella and my random “what would I do to completly ignore the most romantic day of the year (phlegm)?” were PERFECTLY ALIGNED.
Blow it up. Burn it down. A Good Day to Die Hard. Thank you, universe.
Except…I’m feeling a little warmer toward Valentine’s Day now. I mean, my break, people. I owe it to this hearted, pinked, and overchocolated day. My first book. My first editor. My first contract. Great new writer friends. My first blog tour. My first time to see my name on the cover. My first time to be included with some of my heros in any collection. My first time to see Eloisa James write about my story.
Now I’d just be an ungrateful hag to moan about the day. That probably won’t stop me, but this year I’m going to celebrate with a drink, popcorn, and a movie ticket. And I’m going to remember the KISS ME anthology as the best Valentine’s Day gift I ever got.
February 13, 2013
Stuck on You…THE COVER, people!
Back Cover Copy:
Take a chance on love in the limelight with Cheryl Harper’s fun and flirty new series set in the wacky Elvis-themed Rock’n'Rolla Hotel.
Big shot producer KT Masters never apologizes. Especially not to showgirl waitresses. But when he tears Laura Charles’s feathered costume and she gives him a piece of her mind, it sets him aflame. In fact, between Laura’s feisty temper and how damn good she looks in that little number, KT wouldn’t mind seeing a lot more of that costume . . . balled up next to his bed, that is.
Despite KT’s arrogant attitude, Laura can’t help but be drawn to him. And when he offers her the fling of a lifetime—a week spent in his gorgeous celebrity arms—she’s willing to play along . . . just so long as her heart stays out of it. But as things heat up between them, going back to the way things were isn’t so easy.
Could their passion be the real thing . . . or just a vacation from reality?
$2.99 for about 63,000 words…it’s a STEAL!
On-Sale: April 23, 2013
Barnes and Noble (c’mon, it’s good!)
Tagged: Rock'n'Rolla, Rock'n'Rolla Hote, Stuck On You
February 12, 2013
It Happened One Valentine’s Day (releases today!)
For a reminder of how I stumbled on this in the first place, click here. Otherwise, just know that this free collection of excerpts by authors like Eloisa James, Pamela Palmer, Rachel Gibson, and Lynsay Sands (FAN GIRL SQUEEEEE!) and, ahem…me, is available today. FOR FREE, people. Pick it up, check it out, find someone new!
Also, as a side note, my original stolen-from-Amazon image said “On” Valentine’s Day. This one says “One” so that’s probably a good example of why we wait to put covers up and out and around. But’s so hard to wait!
Here’s the Amazon copy (Click here to DOWNLOAD FOR FREE, people):
This February, much beloved, New York Times bestselling romance author Eloisa James presents an enchanting Valentine’s Day free e-book sampler, It Happened One Valentine’s Day. With excerpts from fourteen new and upcoming Avon and Avon Impulse novels and novellas, including Eloisa James’s not-yet-released Once Upon a Tower, It Happened One Valentine’s Day is a free treat for romance readers to enjoy in the most amorous month of the year!
It Happened One Valentine’s Day: An Avon Romance Valentine’s Day Sampler includes:
An Introduction from Eloisa James
Excerpts from:
Once Upon a Tower by Eloisa James
Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands
Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost
Bride by Moonlight by Liz Carlyle
“V is for Vampwoman” (from Vampires Gone Wild) by Kerrelyn Sparks
“A Forever Love” (from Vampires Gone Wild) by Pamela Palmer
The Trouble with Valentine’s Day by Rachel Gibson
True Love at Silver Creek Ranch by Emma Cane
“Love Me Tender” (from Kiss Me: An Avon Books Valentine Day Anthology) by Cheryl Harper (just in case you were looking for my name like I do. What? Not everyone does that? Weird.)
Saved by the Rancher by Jennifer Ryan
The Earl in My Bed by Sophie Jordan
What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston
Destiny’s Embrace by Beverly Jenkins
The Maclean Groom by Kathleen Harrington
February 11, 2013
Who, me? Just staring at the cover I can’t show you yet
Last wee
k was an exciting week (first blog tour!). And this week is exciting too (It Happened on Valentine’s Day and I’M IN IT), and I can’t settle. I ping from one thing to the next marvelling at every new thing. As I was checking the Avon site for my cover (again) for Stuck on You but not finding it (again), I snapped this photo because I honestly want to remember every single everything. If you’re looking for more good books, I mean, other than Kiss Me obviously, check out AvonImpulse.com (where we are totally sitting next to Jennifer Bernard and above Sarah MacLean. Dying, people. Never thought it would happen but it totally did.
February 8, 2013
Excerpt: Stuck on You, the next book in the Rock’n'Rolla Hotel series
An excerpt? Oh, yes, I do happen to have one. Right here. Laura shows up in “Love Me Tender” in the Kiss Me anthology, but here, she’s about to experience the full magic of the Rock’n'Rolla Hotel (Back cover copy here, on-sale April 23, 2013).
Chapter 1
The cluster of Chers at the corner table was making Laura Charles nervous. They were clearly hungry. Very, very hungry. Their predatory eyes were trained on the kitchen and their wigs rippled in some nonexistent breeze.
Laura leaned against the counter and shot a surreptitious look at the table in the mirror over the bar. She couldn’t look for too long. The Las Vegas Strip-worthy lights surrounding the mirrors would burn a hole into her brain with too much exposure. Everything about the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel was a nod to Elvis, and Viva Las Vegas, the lobby bar and restaurant, was no different. While the hotel lobby channeled Graceland’s Jungle Room with lush greenery and dark woods, Viva Las Vegas was more sequined showgirls and bright white lights. The tropical greenery here provided welcome shade from the bar’s overwhelming glow.
“Sal, can I get an update on the entrees for table twenty?” Laura leaned forward to add, “It looks like the Chers are fixing to turn back time on my rear if you don’t get me something quick.”
She tried to stealthily tug the neckline of her uniform up. Since Vegas was the theme, the wait staff dressed like they’d be forming a kickline at any minute. The short, skintight dresses could have been a lot worse. Everything Laura had was covered but she wished she had a quarter for every time she inched the sequined halter up or smoothed the bottom down. And the hot pink satin drew attention. More than the color or the cut, the three huge feathers attached right over her rear had taken some getting used to.
When there was no answer from the kitchen, Laura said, “Ha! Get it? Turn back time? Chers?”
Sal didn’t seem to appreciate her joke as he wiped a pristine white towel across his forehead and slid three plates through the pass. “Always the same, these folks. Don’t eat for three months before they come, so worried their gall-dang costumes won’t fit, and when they get here, they’re starved. And mean.”
Laura slid the plates on a small tray. “Thanks, Sal. Let’s just hope they’re good tippers.”
He muttered, “Don’t count on it.”
Sal was never a ray of sunshine. In the four months she’d worked here, she’d seen him smile twice. He and Marcy, the waitress who had taught Laura everything she knew about waiting tables, had done their best to prepare her for the bar’s Almost Famous competition. An April Fool’s Day tradition, the celebrity look-alike talent show had always been popular but this year the stakes were even higher. A travel show was going to tape the whole thing and somehow they’d roped in real, Hollywood judges. She had less than a week to adjust to sliding a burger and fries in front of Elton John while Michael Jackson looked on. The best thing about waiting tables at Viva Las Vegas was that every day was a new challenge. It was also the worst thing.
As Laura approached the Cher table, she had no idea who’d ordered what. The Chers were nearly identical, although one had a rounder face and more…generous measurements. Laura thought she might also be a woman. The other two were harder to guess.
“All right. I’ve got a burger.” Laura held up the plate and waited for a reaction. When the tallest of the three finally huffed out a breath, she slid the plate in front of her.
The round Cher said, “And I had the pasta.”
Grateful for the help, Laura flashed her a smile and slid the remaining two plates on the table. She grabbed her tilting headdress and slid it back as she asked, “What else can I get you?”
None of them spoke, just flashed darkly mysterious eyes her direction in a clear dismissal. Laura picked up her tray and carefully schooled her face into pleasant vacancy. She’d made the mistake of rolling her eyes in the early days, completely forgetting the mirrors and lights of ten thousand suns lining the bar. That customer had only been calmed with a free dessert and a solemn, if completely insincere, apology.
She quickly and efficiently checked on all her tables and then darted back to the dressing area to dump her headdress and heels. They were part of the official uniform but nobody managed the plumed headdress for long. Laura was the only one who abandoned heels at the first opportunity; but ballet flats were more comfortable, entirely more her. Without the extra few inches from heels, the three feathers tacked on right over her butt would drag the ground. Being shorter than average meant lots of her clothes dragged the ground. That was a sacrifice she was willing to make even if she did occasionally sweep up old French fries. Her tips would be better in stilettos but her toes might secede from the union of her foot after a six-hour shift.
