Victoria James's Blog, page 8
January 12, 2013
The 3 Biggest Surprises…
since my book, THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY came out…
Before being published, I never really gave much thought to all the things that would happen ‘after’. Many aspects of my career have changed-and many have stayed the same. It’s been a huge learning curve-and I’ve learned quite a few lessons along the way. I thought I’d share the ‘biggest’ things…
3) Promo: I’m fortunate that with Entangled Publishing, I don’t have to worry about setting up blog tours and such. But let me tell you, the publicists that I was lucky enough to work with are super talented, hardworking women-which means lots and lots of blogs posts and promo on my end. It all went by so fast that I can barely remember who, where, what. Of course, my book was a holiday release, so juggling the extra demands of the holidays made it even trickier. And the thing with the promo stuff is that it’s all ‘on top’ of your other writing demands. During promo of BILLIONAIRE, I also had revisions for my next release…oh and did I mention that plague we all caught over here? OK, back to the topic at hand….
2) Reviews: As publication date grew near, I began getting crazy nervous and insecure about reviews. Like I had a crazy dream the night before my book release that I would wake up the next morning to 5, 1 STAR reviews. I was having serious anxiety…but as the days went on-no actually not that fast-as the weeks went on, I learned to ‘suck it up’ and just go with it. My book would not appeal to everyone, I had to accept that. As a reader I have my favourite books, and I have read books that I just didn’t connect with. It’s a little different from this side of things-because of course you want everyone to love the characters that you’ve created…but that doesn’t always happen. I am fortunate though, that BILLIONAIRE did receive some AWESOME reviews, even being named as one of the best books of 2012 for one reviewer.
And the biggest and BEST surprise in this journey…
3) Readers! Well, this has been by far the best surprise-all the readers that have contacted me and signed up for my newsletter and taking the time to reach out. I never dreamed I would receive emails from readers telling me how much they loved BILLIONAIRE, Hannah and Jackson. Honestly, every time an email popped into my inbox from a reader it made my day. I fell in love with Hannah and Jackson, and to know that other people have as well makes me so grateful. Readers who asked when my next book would be out, or told me that they laughed and cried with my book, that they were moved, even that I just became one of their favourite authors? Well, that just blew me away! Thank you to everyone who connected with me and sent me an email-I will cherish your kind words always.
Being a published author was scarier than I ever thought…but also a hell of a lot more rewarding and thrilling…Thank you for sharing this ride with me!
Now…off to write!
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January 6, 2013
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby-Best Book of 2012!!!
Happy New Year!
This year definitely started off a little differently than usual. Since we have little ones at home, we never go out anymore. DH and I usually celebrate New Year’s Eve by watching a new movie, sharing some takeout from a favourite restaurant, drinking wine, making a ‘goals’ list, and then toasting the New Year with champagne. This year? We sat on the couch, barely made it through a movie, and instead of takeout on the couch, a box of Kleenex sat between us and instead of wine, we shared a bottle of cough syrup. Champagne at midnight? Well, we would have had to been awake, but since we passed out at 10:00pm, that didn’t happen either! Goals? Stay alive. You see, DS brought home the flu a few weeks ago, which then turned into bronchitis for us…we are finally feeling better after a few rough weeks.
What a way get a boost…I found out that my book, THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY, made Stella’s list of Best Books of 2012!!!!!! This news made my day! Stella is a book blogger and reviewer, and she posted the most beautiful review on her site, Ex Libris. Her review actually brought tears to my eyes as I read it, because she truly understood my characters and writing.
What a wonderful start to the year! I will be back to post more often. Now, I have to dive back into the revisions I have due, for my book that’s out this March!
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THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY-BEST BOOK OF 2012!!!
Happy New Year!
This year definitely started off a little differently than usual. Since we have little ones at home, we never go out anymore. DH and I usually celebrate New Year’s Eve by watching a new movie, sharing some takeout from a favourite restaurant, drinking wine, making a ‘goals’ list, and then toasting the New Year with champagne. This year? We sat on the couch, barely made it through a movie, and instead of takeout on the couch, a box of Kleenex sat between us and instead of wine, we shared a bottle of cough syrup. Champagne at midnight? Well, we would have had to been awake, but since we passed out at 10:00pm, that didn’t happen either! Goals? Stay alive. You see, DS brought home the flu a few weeks ago, which then turned into bronchitis for us…we are finally feeling better after a few rough weeks.
What a way get a boost…I found out that my book, THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY, made Stella’s list of Best Books of 2012!!!!!! This news made my day! Stella is a book blogger and reviewer, and she posted the most beautiful review on her site, Ex Libris. Her review actually brought tears to my eyes as I read it, because she truly understood my characters and writing.
What a wonderful start to the year! I will be back to post more often. Now, I have to dive back into the revisions I have due, for my book that’s out this March!
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December 28, 2012
The Naughty New Year Blog Hop!!
Win a Kindle Fire!
The Naughty New Year Blog Hop
Win a Kindle Fire!
Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting! This year ended with so much positive energy and so many things that I’m grateful for. My first book, THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY was released and has been doing so well!!! And the ultimate news came just before Christmas, and it’s that my father is now cancer-free. We had a fabulous holiday, and celebrated with family.
I hope this year left you with many blessings as well!
I have an e-book copy of THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY to give away to one lucky commenter!
I’d love to hear what you’re grateful for this last year! Just leave a comment!
Remember to click on the blog hop banner to visit nine other blogs and you’ll be in the draw for the Kindle.
Happy hopping!
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December 23, 2012
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Wishing all of you a peaceful, happy holiday. I hope you’re surrounded by people you love, and take a few moments to embrace the joy of the season.
This year, I’m celebrating my first Christmas as a published author-as well as the best possible news of all: my father is now cancer-free!!!!
I hope you all have blessings and wishes that have been fulfilled this last year.
Thank you for reading, sharing, and celebrating with me!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Victoria
xo
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December 6, 2012
Entangled Under the Mistletoe Hop!!!
Don’t forget to check out what the other authors participating in the hop are giving away!
ENTER TO WIN a $20.00 Starbucks Gift Card!!
GOOD LUCK & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Tags:Christmas,Entangled,entangled under the mistletoe blog hop,holidays,The Billionaire's Christmas Baby
December 5, 2012
24 Days and In Love with Romance!
Yup, today is super busy and filled with lots of awesome giveaways…
I’m over at the In Love with Romance blog where I’m chatting about what inspired me to write THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY. There’s also a giveaway, so be sure to stop by!
AND…
The generous and super-talented, Kate Evangelista is hosting me on her blog as part of her 24 Days of Blog Posts and Giveaways. Be sure to check out her blog-the entire month is filled with authors and contests. Not to be missed!
Hope to see you there! Victoria xo
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December 4, 2012
So Cool-Literary Escapism & A Giveaway!!!
I’m at the Literary Escapism Blog and there’s a short story I’ve written-about Jackson Pierce (THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY) and what would happen if he went Black Friday shopping! Those of you who’ve read the book know that this guy doesn’t ‘do’ shopping, LOL. It was a fun, short piece to write and gave me a chance to visit with my handsome friend, Jackson 
What else is cool about the blog? There’s a giveaway!!! Yup, I’m giving away a copy of THE BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS BABY, so be sure to get over there and enter!!!
Have a great day, everyone! 
Tags:Black Friday,Giveaway,Jackson Pierce,Literary Escapism
November 30, 2012
What was I thinking?
A few months ago we received a post card advertising a raw-food-organic-juice cleanse. This seemed like quite the interesting idea. Note the word “seemed.” Anyway, I didn’t throw out the card, I just tucked it away, not really expecting to take it out again anytime soon. Then DH mentioned it last week…and I said casually, “yeah, sounds interesting.”
He ordered it. It arrived this week. So the instructions said to drink one juice every 2-2.5 hours. There were six bottles of juice per day. No food. Just the juice. Fine. Alarm bells only going off mildly at this point. Then, I get to the section in the instructions that say-NO COFFEE. What???? I cannot function without caffeine. Come on. I think I even did a blog post a while back about a new coffee maker. Coffee is a very important part of my life!!! I did manage to give it up for two pregnancies, but after that last baby was born, I vowed never again to be without coffee!!
Day One: The juice didn’t taste so bad. The green one was a little um…nauseating, but I was a trooper. But the caffeine withdrawal headache? Let’s just say, it was powerful. I can’t even remember that day clearly. But we got through it, and didn’t eat a thing.
Day Two: I almost threw up that green drink. I had to plug my nose so I didn’t have to smell it. The caffeine withdrawal headache was thankfully gone-but so was all our energy. We actually fell asleep on the sofa as the kids ran around the room. We almost caved and ate dinner. Almost. I went to bed gagging on the last juice of the night.
Day Three (today): I had to pour half the green juice down the sink. My stomach is churning. BUT, I did have a cup of coffee-and manage to write almost 2k in 1hr in my new WIP. So, see I really do need coffee to write! It’s part of the job. Oh, we’ve also decided we are eating a giant dinner tonight!!! Technically we’re not supposed to eat until tomorrow. But hey, I think we gave it a fair shot!
So, would I recommend a 3-day juicing cleanse? Maybe if your life is pretty calm, and you can sleep extra hours and not have to look after children. Maybe.
Tomorrow morning I’m drinking a massive cup of coffee and plan on enjoying every last drop!
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