Liz Everly's Blog, page 122
June 7, 2014
How to Rock Goodreads: Advice from Ami Greko
by Madeline Iva
I have been interested in Goodreads since hearing Alma Katzu mention it at Virginia Festival of the Book last March. Katzu is not only a successful author, she was also a member of a government think tank on social media and really knows her stuff.
During our Publishing Alchemy panel she said that 1 in 7 people on the entire planet are using Facebook. It’s incredibly hard to be seen/noticed in all that noise if you’re a romance author. Twitter, meanwhile, is getting to be just as bad. What’s an author to do?
Goodreads is a social media space packed with your audience and not so much noise. At the Romance Festival today, Ami Greko, a book marketing strategist from Goodreads gave authors some great words of advice about finding a home with Goodreads and how to strategize using Goodreads as a valuable marketing tool. I’ve sifted out her words of wisdom from her #Romance14 twitter chat and present it here to you.
3 Tips from Ami Greko, @ami_with_an_i
#1: Readers want to know what books inspired you, what do you read on vacation, etc. Add the books you to your shelf.
#2 Our giveaways tool lets you share your book in a non-sales-y way. Do a giveaway 3-4 mo before pub to generate reviews.
#3 Use GR to curate a group of fans excited about your books. Cover reveals, 1st chapter reveals, etc are big with us.
So once you’re sharing your love of books on Goodreads and you’re doing giveaways, cover reveals, etc. then what?
1 thing I wish all authors would do: add link to GR on their author website. So easy to do & encourages reviews.
Great example of an author who used GR well: @SarahAddisonAll with her new book Lost Lake.
used GR to cover reveal & keep fans updated. See reveal here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/4727051 …
Definitely think of our giveaways for building up pre-pub buzz and getting reviews to populate your GR page.
Ami then went on to indicate that not only new authors can use Goodreads. Ami gave some examples of well established authors to gain inspiration from:
Authors who do an awesome job on Goodreads include @bellaandre, @BarbaraFreethy, and @mstiefvater, just name a few
Kim Harrison (@burningbunnies) is also a GR author badass. Ran v popular re-read of her Hollows Series to promo new book
What what? What the hell is a re-read? I didn’t know – but I soon figured it out. Hmp. Sounds pretty cool:
Link to Kim Harrison re-read group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/115190 …
At one point during her time on Twitter, I asked Ami: Do you recommend authors join reading groups that are in the same genre author writes in?
She replied back:
I adore this Q and am dedicating the song playing right now, Crazy In Love, to you ;)
(She’s referring to the Romance Festival play list– great songs you could listen to while hanging out on Twitter, etc– so cool!)
Then in a set of follow up twitter posts she shared:
Groups are a great way to connect with readers on GR. They are a terrible way to try to SELL your book on GR
Joining a group to read books with other readers or share reviews will connect you to lots of ppl, and then…
…they will find your book from yr killer author profile, blog posts, etc. No need to sell in groups, make friends
(Thanks, Ami! ; > )
She also added:
If you don’t find a GR group in the genre that you write in or want to talk about, you should start one…
At the end she posted:
I see we are wrapping up! Def email me w/further questions (agreko AT goodreads) & connect w/me on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/127893-ami …
Do you have any questions you’d ask Ami if you had a chance?
Romance Festival LIVE: 2pm report
Big push to the finish! Here’s a round up of events for the end of day one at the first online ROMANCE FESTIVAL.
Don’t forget to drop by tomorrow as well when Lady Smut will post every hour to guide you through #Romance14. We’ll include:
What just happened at the romance festival & what we thought about it
What’s coming next
Where you can find it online
WHAT JUST HAPPENED:
12 pm ON TWITTER advice and tips for new authors . Q&A with Orna Ross, author and founder of Alliance of Independent Authors. Go to #Romance14 to ask @ornaross questions you have about self-publishing.
12 pm ON FACEBOOK Find out about Kobo and Kobo Writing Life Kobo Q&A with Mark Lefebrve . Visit the Romance Festival Facebook page at 12 pm to take part in the live chat.
1 pm ON TWITTER Getting the best out of Goodreads with Ami Greko, Book Marketing Strategist, Goodreads. Go to #Romance14 on Twitter and use the handle @ami_with_an_i to ask your questions. [This is where we'll be.]
HERE’S WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Madeline Iva: I checked out Ami Greko from Goodreads…and it was SO GOOD. I’m going to post at 3pm about the tips she offered up as well as examples of some big romance authors who are really scoring with Goodreads fans.
WHAT’S GOING ON RIGHT NOW:
2pm on FACEBOOK: What I’ve learned in my first year being published All authors welcome to share their stories – Brigid Coady hosting. Visit the Romance Festival Facebook page at 2pm to take part in the live chat
2:30 pm on FACEBOOK: Writing as a Career Author and journalist Tess Stimson. Visit the Romance Festival Facebook page at 2:30pm to take part in the live chat.
3pm on GOOGLE + HANGOUT A chat with Cindy Gallop, CEO of Make Love, Not Porn
Cindy is a hugely successful business woman and has made it her mission to encourage more realistic representations of sex in the media. She has some very strong views and has asked that if you are offended by sexually explicit language do not attend this hangout. Take part in an interactive Q&A tune in here at 3pm.
3pm on TWITTER Tips on working with a literary agent Twitter Q&A with Carole Blake of Blake Friedmann. Mention @caroleagent and use #Romance14 to ask your questions.
3pm on TWITTER Tips on getting your book reviewed Q&A with Cathy Rentzenbrink (Director of Quick Reads, Associate Editor at The Bookseller and We Love this Book. Mention @CathyReadsBooks and use #Romance14 to ask your questions.
Want to know more about Romance Festival and get your own schedule of events? You can register for free HERE. Or stick with LadySmut today and tomorrow to find out what’s going on. :)
Harper Impulse Author Profile: Vonnie Davis
By Liz Everly
As a part of the today’s online Romance Festival, the Lady Smut bloggers are interviewing some of Harper Impulse’s authors. If’ you’ve not been to the festival yet, check out the Twitter feed on our side panel, @romance festival #romance14; the Facebook page here, and the blog here.
In the mean time, we’ve come up with five questions for each of our author guests, with ONE specific question geared to each writer.
Here’s a bit about Vonnie Davis, taken from her website.
Vonnie Davis is an award-winning, international author who writes contemporary, historical and paranormal romance, often with strong elements of suspense. She likens herself to a croissant: warm, crusty, wrinkled, a tad flaky—and best served with strong coffee. (We love her already!)
Here’s Vonnie and her answers to our questions:
Q: If you were a drink, what kind of drink would you be? And why?
A: Mimosas. Three-fourths champagne and one-fourth OJ. My son makes them for us when we go to visit for a few days. He’s a great cook and makes a huge breakfast so his wife can sleep in Sunday mornings.
Q: Who do you read who makes you laugh or cry? Or both?
A: Lisa Olech and Mackenzie Crowne make me laugh. Sarah Grimm makes me cry. AJ Nuest has been known to do both.
Q: This is stolen from the HarperImpulse author bio form—but please tell us about your worse date ever. Don’t spare us the gruesome details.
A:I’d been divorced for ten years when a bottle of wine and I decided to join an online dating service. Believe me when I say I was shocked when that hellacious hang-over wore off and I realized I’d plastered my info online for every nut to find. And find me, they did. One man seemed nice. He was the manager of a small stage theatre about two hours away. I checked out the theatre and saw his head shot, read his bio. So, over time, we began IMing each other. He asked if I’d like to come to a Sunday matinee. So we made plans for me to meet him there.
I walked in and told the two ticket ladies, I was to meet Charles. “Oh, you must be Vonnie.” They gave me the once over, all atwitter, and paged him. Out of the double doors, at the side, ambled this huge man. Now when I say huge, I mean his stomach hung below his knees and he walked with two canes. I smiled as I mumbled a complaint to God…You think this is funny, don’t you? I’ve been hoping for someone to accept my few extra pounds and what do you send me? Charles politely escorted me to our seats. Our “special” seats because two normal seats had been converted into one for him. I sat in mine first and he wiggled into his double seat. He was so wide, his one arm covered both of my breasts. I felt like I was being suffocated by a marshmallow. The play was a comedy, but with my chest constricted as it was, I couldn’t laugh. I could barely inhale.
After the play, he took me backstage to introduce me to the leading couple. We decided to go out for dinner. When I got in his car, the front seat was back extra far and I wondered how his short legs would reach the pedals. That’s when I glanced down and saw huge blocks of wood taped to both the gas and brake pedals. I think I’ll stop there. It was our first and last date.
Q: What brought you to Harper Impulse – what was happening when you “got the call” that they wanted your book?
A: My agent “shopped out” my Christmas novella, Santa Wore Leathers. I’d already gotten one contract offer and was pleased with the mid-sized publisher. My agent told me to wait a couple weeks to decide. A few days later, she called me with news that Harper Impulse had offered and I was ecstatic. What was I doing at the time? Writing, of course.
Q: Where do you dig deepest in your writing – what’s the theme in your book that you feel the most passionate about?
A: I’m passionate about women learning their inner strengths. If I can impart one thing in my stories, it’s that women are damn strong, even if we’ve suffered abuse. There is still that strength deep down inside. What am I digging deepest into my writing about? Deeper emotion. I can write humor, but I also want to write stories that make the reader reach for a tissue. Being a writer is a continual process of growth—at least for me.
Q: Your Firemen’s Wild Heat series releases in October. We know the appeal of these hot guys who place their lives on the line to rescue people. But what pulls you in as writer? Is it the danger? The passion? Why did you set your series in Florida?
A: I think a wise and optimistic writer designs a novella, hoping it will turn into a kick-off for a series. I was blessed that Charlotte, my editor, saw the potential for more stories, too, from the fire and marine rescue men I’d mentioned in the novella. And that she was agreeable to the future stories being full-length books. Why fire and marine rescue personnel? There’s such hero potential there, don’t you think? I mean what’s not to love about a man who will save both a human and a kitten, all in a day’s work? I love the combination of brute strength and gentleness and find it very sexy. Plus, most of my heroes are ex-military or ex-government agents, which adds an extra layer to their personalities. Why Florida? We’d spent a month at a condo along the Gulf of Mexico, in picturesque Indian Rocks Beach, just south of Clearwater. We drove the area a lot and walked the beaches. I fell in love with the area and use several actual places in the stories.
Check out more of Vonnie here: http://www.vonniedavis.com/.
Romance Festival LIVE: 12pm Report
….Aaaaaand we’re back!
Lady Smut is here to guide you through Romance Festival ’14 the first online romance festival. Drop by Lady Smut every hour to find HarperImpulse author Q&A’s as well as:
What just happened at the romance festival & what we thought about it
What’s coming next
Where you can find it online
WHAT JUST HAPPENED:
10 am Creating great covers on FACEBOOK
Q&A with Fixabook.
10 am Digital #ScriptDoctor Hour on TWITTER
People asked editors about their manuscripts and got tips .
11 am Women’s fiction on TWITTER
Go to TWITTER and follow #ScriptDoctor. Ask the editor about your manuscripts and get their tips. With Kimberley Young (HarperFiction) & Sally Williamson (MIRA)
11 am Agent spotlight with Madeline Milburn on FACEBOOK
Madeleine Milburn will be taking your questions live on the Facebook page at 11am. Visit the Romance Festival Facebook page at 11am to take part in the live chat.
11am Google Hangout with Barbara Freethy & Belle Andre
HERE’S WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Madeline Iva: Barbara Freethy & Belle Andre were great! As working writers they focus on creating content first and do so with consistency. They’re on a writing retreat now with seven other women. They start their day early and work til late at night. As amazingly successful self-published authors (7.5 million books sold between them) they each basically run their indie writing careers as multi-million dollar publishing companies. Belle is going to publish with Harlequin–she got a contract that grants them English print rights alone. Barbara is still waiting for that contract that’s print only. They’ve both learned to hire people for a wage and if possible never give away royalties–especially for their digital rights.
Kiersten Hallie Krum: I’ve heard similar philosophies before about self-publishing. long hours. rigid schedule. writing comes first because you cant do anything if you dont have product. It’s interesting that business comes at night for them since presumably most people they’d be communicating with would be done with their day that night, but maybe it’s about setting things up for their morning and internal business needs. I’m not surprised to hear they dont want to share royalties with an agent. Why should they? They’ve already done all the work themselves. I inadvertantly had drinks with Liliana Hart at RWA last year and she had 10 books already done when she started to self published. She’d rolled them out every month or every other month and steadily built readership and sales. But she already had the product available so could create and then meet demand relatively quickly. Think that works in w/Andre and Freethy about how writing comes first. The more product you have to move, the more successfully you can create and fulfill demand, which ultimately drives sales. For Hart, in 2 to 3 years, her family went from harsh financial times to her employing her husband and living the good life. So it can work…it just requires A LOT
Liz Everly: I checked out the facebook event on women’s fiction covers. I liked some of what he said about how he reads the book to create the covers, I don’t think all the cover designers do–and I think you can tell when they don’t. When I brought up one of my pet peeves–when the cover is historically inaccurate in costumes or landmarks or such here is what Mark Ecob said : “Liz is right I think. A successful cover should get that essence across successfully, but if it is a book that needs a cover to be historically right, it’s on the designer to make sure it does that. For me personally, I think it’s a rookie mistake when hair colours are wrong or clothing is blatantly not the period, but consumers should allow for some wiggle room – sometimes publishers demand great detail but don’t arm designers with the budget to give it to them.”
He had this to say about the differences in UK and American designs:
“That’s an interesting one in cover design generally, I work on both sides of the pond but not regularly enough to offer an expert opinion in women’s fiction I’m afraid. I think any publisher gets a feel for what’s out there, and positions the cover design accordingly. More often nowadays, authors are being branding with houses in London and New York and beyond working together – Donna Tartt, J.K Rowling etc. Little Brown and Penguin are doing some excellent multi-territory design.:
And this:
“Designers globally have access to the same online image resources, but we all come with our own ‘local’ experience. A designer brought up and working in the US will have a different natural response to something i work on. Literary covers, traditionally the higher end of the design spectrum, tend to straddle the two markets more successfully than commercial, genre design. Jon Gray and Jamie Keenan are great designers working on covers that do that. Gone Girl is an excellent example that bucks the trend…”
WHAT’S GOING ON RIGHT NOW:
12 pm ON TWITTER advice and tips for new authors . Q&A with Orna Ross, author and founder of Alliance of Independent Authors. Go to #Romance14 to ask @ornaross questions you have about self-publishing.
12 pm ON FACEBOOK Find out about Kobo and Kobo Writing Life Kobo Q&A with Mark Lefebrve . Visit the Romance Festival Facebook page at 12 pm to take part in the live chat.
1 pm ON TWITTER Getting the best out of Goodreads with Ami Greko, Book Marketing Strategist, Goodreads. Go to #Romance14 on Twitter and use the handle @ami_with_an_i to ask your questions. [This is where we'll be.]
Want to know more about Romance Festival and get your own schedule of events? You can register for free HERE. Or stick with LadySmut today and tomorrow to find out what’s going on. :)
Harper Impulse Author Profile: Sue Fortin
By Liz Everly
As a part of this weekend’s online Romance Festival, the Lady Smut bloggers are interviewing some of Harper Impulse’s authors. If’ you’ve not been to the festival yet, check out the Twitter feed on our side panel, @romance festival #romance14; the Facebook page here, and the blog here.
In this post, we’re interviewing Sue Fortin, whose latest Harper Impulse book is “Closing in.”
From Sue Fortin’s blog: “Lover of cake, Dragonflies and France. Hater of calories, maths and snakes. I was born in Hertfordshire but had a nomadic childhood, moving often with my family, and for a time I did actually think my name was ‘The New Girl’. However, having lived in West Sussex all my adult life, it does feel like home and, these days, I know what my name is! I am married with four children, all of whom patiently give me time to write but, when not behind the keyboard, I like to spend my time with them, enjoying both the coast and the South Downs, between which we are nestled.”
Q: If you were a drink, what kind of drink would you be? And why?
A: If I was a drink, I’d be a cocktail because we are all multi-layered. There is always more to a person that what’s just on the surface, dig deep, get to know a person, take your time with them and all their dimensions gradually reveal themselves.
Q: Who do you read who makes you laugh or cry? Or both?
A: To make me laugh, always Chris Manby, she’s very funny and it appeals to my sense of humour. To make me cry, something by Jojo Moyes or David Nicholls, can really tug at the heart strings.
Q: This is stolen from the Harper Impulse author bio form—but please tell us about your worse date ever. Don’t spare us the gruesome details.
A: Believe it or not, I haven’t got much in the way of worst date stories but I distinctly remember a first kiss with a boy when I was about 15 years old. It was a complete kissing disaster from the word go. Both tipping out heads to the same side at the same time, then trying to switch, only to find the other had done the exact same thing. So after a bit of head bopping, reminiscent of Status Quo and Rocking All Over the World, we only narrowly avoiding a nose clash before finally locking lips. This is where we discovered the next obstacle. Teeth. Scraping of front teeth is something I can only liken to chalk on a blackboard – the sound is enough to set your teeth on edge without teeth to teeth contact. Then it all went horribly wrong when he decided now was a good time to bring the tongue into play. It was at this point I beat a full retreat, mumbling something about needing to finish my maths homework. Anyone who knows me, is fully aware this was a drastic diversion measure. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that a second date never happened.
Q: What brought you to Harper Impulse – what was happening when you “got the call” that they wanted your book?
A: I heard about Harper Impulse through social media and when I looked into it more, I really liked their ethos and they had a sense of normality about them, they seemed to be able to connect with their audience and authors.
I didn’t actually get a ‘call’ as Charlotte Ledger’s phone wasn’t working, so she sent me an email instead. I was sitting at home with just my dog for company. I did a few laps of happy dancing around the kitchen before hugging my dog enthusiastically, whilst telling her how I had a book deal. Funnily enough, she was underwhelmed by the whole thing so I had to wait for my daughter to come home before I could share the news with someone. My daughter’s reaction was rather more appropriate – she’s pretty good at happy dancing too.
Q: Where do you dig deepest in your writing – what’s the theme in your book that you feel the most passionate about?
A: I dig deepest when I’m under pressure for time and when I’m trying to convey the feelings and emotions of my characters at a crucial turning point in the novel. I really want my reader to feel what my character is feeling, to totally understand their reasoning.
The theme in ‘Closing In’ is one of control. Control in all its forms, whether we are doing the controlling or fighting against imposed control. Control can be a positive as well as a negative.
Q: I LOVE the premise of your book–sounds very suspenseful. I love to play with that line in my own work–you know, who is really the guilty one? What’s really going on here? (Especially in domestic situation.) Very murky! What is it about that kind of plot that intrigues you?
A: What really intrigues me or hooks me with that sort of plot is that, used in the right way, anyone can be guilty or innocent. I like to throw in elements of doubt as to who is telling the truth or who is doing certain things.
My current WIP explores the actions people take in, what they believe, are another’s best interest. Those actions may not necessarily be acceptable to others but to the person carrying them out, there is no alternative.
Thanks for stopping by, Sue!
For more of Sue, check her out here: http://suefortin.wordpress.com/
Romance Festival: Live!
The Lady Smut crew is busy hobnobbing over at the HarperImpulse Romance Festival! Be there or be square.
Follow the events LIVE on Twitter right over there —>
Or drop by the Romance Festival blog or the Facebook page.
CHECK IT OUT:
LADY SMUT CREW FEATURED!
June 6, 2014
Sneak Peak: Promised to the Highlander by Kate Robbins
We’ll all be crazy busy this weekend with the Romance Festival, sponsored by our new publisher HarperImpulse (and counting down the days to our sexy paranormal anthology Dark Desires). Look for surprises and news as well as lots of fun chat and a few prizes.
But first I have a sneak peak into Kate Robbins‘ latest release from Tirgearr Publishing in the Highland Chiefs series:
Here’s the blurb:
Nessia Stephenson’s world was safe until a threat from a neighbouring clan forces her to accept a betrothal to a man whose family can offer her the protection she needs. The real threat lies in her intense attraction to the man who arranged the match—the clan’s chief and her intended’s brother, Fergus MacKay.
When powerful warlord Fergus MacKay arranges a marriage for his younger brother, William, he has no idea the price will be his own heart. Fergus is captivated by the wildly beautiful Nessia, a woman he can never have.
When the feud between the MacKay and Sutherland clans escalates, Nessia, William, and Fergus all must make sacrifices for their future. Longing and loss, honour and duty. How can love triumph under such desperate circumstances?
Intrigued? How about an excerpt? Well, here you go –
William paced while Fergus leaned back in his chair with his long legs stretched out and his arms crossed over his chest. Stephenson was late, not by much, but enough to make William fidget and Fergus take notice. Their three younger siblings, Freya who was in her sixteenth year, John who was fourteen, and eleven-year-old Stephen, waited as well, all in various states of impatience.
The great hall was large and welcoming with dark wooden beams framing the ceiling and walls. Fergus had counted the eighteen beams along the length of the room about a hundred times. William had worn a permanent path on the wide plank floor in front of the red sandstone hearth beneath the many MacKay hunting trophies. Young John sighed again.
“You know, for a man who isn’t eager to meet his future wife, you’ve got quite a set of nerves there lad,” Fergus said to William.
William straightened his linen shirt and smoothed his tunic as he glared at Fergus. Yet, the comment was absorbed and William ceased his pacing to sit on a chair near the fire. Fergus watched his brother adjust his belt again. The young man wore his usual dress, but had taken greater pains today to perfect his appearance. Fergus glanced down at his linen shirt and leather sleeveless tunic. William’s long hair was tied at his nape while Fergus’s was left hanging loose. Fergus recalled having to take extra pains upon his betrothal. Thankfully, those days had passed and he needn’t overly worry anymore. A young lass would surely find William’s neat, respectable appearance appealing. He hoped so, but before he could dwell on it further a servant entered, announcing the arrival of Thomas Stephenson, his daughter Nessia and several of their clansmen.
William sprang to his feet and crossed the floor in a few quick strides to greet them. He continued to fidget as Fergus sauntered up from behind.
“Thomas! Welcome. We thought we’d have to send out a search party soon.” Fergus led the stout man into the great hall.
“Aye, the road was a bit rough with a wagon in tow.” The man’s brow was streaked with sweat and he looked weary from his travels.
“We’ve had a lot of rains this harvest, there’s no doubting that.” In truth he would have gone searching himself had another hour passed. Earlier that day he’d heard more rumours about Ronan Sutherland. Apparently, the lad had agreed to his father’s suggestion and would commence his campaign in the coming days.
Fergus sensed William stiffen beside him as Thomas began the introductions.
“Fergus, William, this is my brother Neville and these three are my sons, Colin, Robert, and Camden my youngest. And this is my daughter, Nessia.”
Fergus acknowledged each man in turn. When the introduction came to the girl and his gaze fell on her, his breath caught in his throat. With black hair and bright blue eyes, she stood proudly before him with her chin lifted and all the regal confidence of a noblewoman. She displayed no fear or reservation at all, something which was unusual in most men he met, but was more so in a woman. The gentler sex usually cowered before him—not this lass.
Fergus stared at her, his heart drumming hard inside his chest. His guts clenched as if he’d been punched. He had to force himself from moving toward her to touch her hair, which looked like spun silk, for surely it could not be real.
Fergus remembered his brother then, and tore his gaze from her to find William’s eyes wide and his jaw slacked. An unexpected pang ran through him. When he turned back it was to find her still staring at him, seemingly unabashed for staring openly at a man. A bold one, then. Fergus drew his brows together. What did she want?
Ebook available at these links.
Kate Robbins writes historical romance novels out of pure escapism and a love for all things Scottish, not to mention a life-long enjoyment of reading romance. Kate loves the research process and delving into secondary sources in order to blend authentic historical fact into her stories. She has travelled to Scotland twice and visited the sites described in her Highland Chiefs series. Her Highland Chiefs series is set in the early fifteenth century during the reign of James Stewart, first of his name. Kate is the pen name of Debbie Robbins who lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada with her man-beast and two man-cubs.
Don’t forget to sign up to follow Lady Smut: we’ll show you whats under that kilt!
June 5, 2014
From Reformed Club Girl to Mistress of Paranormal Romance: Q&A with Elisabeth Staab
by Madeline Iva
Elisabeth’s latest book–book # 3–in her Chronicle of Yavn Series.
Hello kittens! Today we get to roll around in the world of paranormal smutty fun with Elisabeth Staab. She has written some contemporary romance, but I primarily wanted to talk to her about her paranormal series the CHRONICLE OF YAVN. The third book in the series HUNTER BY NIGHT released on Tuesday…
MADELINE IVA: Elisabeth, tell us the nitty gritty about what you write….
ELISABETH STAAB: Hi, and thanks so much for having me on Lady Smut today! I write adult contemporary romance, and everyone’s old-school fave, vampires! My upcoming June 3rd release, HUNTER BY NIGHT, is about an anti-human vampire who falls for a human woman. I’ve been following them throughout my CHRONICLES OF YAVN trilogy so I’m excited for them to finally have their HEA!
MADELINE IVA: Anti-human, eh? I don’t know why the humanity-haters are always the best vampires…Meanwhile, your bio says you once ate dinner in jail. Okay, I gotta ask, what’s the story there?
ELISABETH STAAB: I took a “citizens police academy” course to learn more about local law enforcement. One of the weeks of the course involved touring an adult detention center and eating dinner there. It was prepared by the inmates, and quite tasty. It wasn’t vegetarian, which is my preference, but you don’t get to be picky in jail.
MADELINE IVA: Hear that vegetarians? Do crime and you may have to gag down mystery meat for years. Now that we’ve scared straight the carrot nibblers out there — how did such an innocent looking gal like you come to write such hot stuff?
ELISABETH STAAB: Ha! I hear that I look like a school librarian a lot. Maybe it’s the glasses, or the fact that I’m “vertically challenged.” Still, I think sensuality is a beautiful thing, and I like to celebrate and express that beauty.
The books I read when I started reading romance were pretty salty and explicit, so I went right along in that same vein. The first time I typed the word “cock” when I was writing KING OF DARKNESS, I hesitated, and then I was all “Wait a minute, I say it out loud all the time!”
I’ve read sweet romance that was engaging too, but I think feeling comfortable with one’s sexuality is so empowering, especially for women, and the erotic romances I read and fell in love with helped me in that way, so I like to write romance with heat (so long as the heat moves the plot along) because it’s sexy, and sex can—should—be a beautiful, empowering thing in my opinion.
This is the FIRST book in Elisabeth’s Chronicle of Yavn Series.
MADELINE IVA: YES! Oh, and I saw on your website that you were reviewed by a blog called Dahrk Portal. Do they tahlk like theese Dahlink? (anyone remember Ava Gabor?) Or ihs iht ahn homahge to J.R.Ward? Or is it a typo in your blog post? (Please let it be an homage to J.R. Ward, phlease, phlease.)
ELISABETH STAAB: I’m pretty sure it was an homage to J.R. Ward, but either would be really cool. I did a character interview with Thad and Isabel, the hero and heroine from KING OF DARKNESS. Jillian, one of the bloggers from Dahrk Portal, re-posted the interview at Read-Love-Blog.
MADELINE IVA: I love wizards! Your PRINCE OF POWER book has a wizard in it…and a heroine named Tyra. Was the name inspired by Tyra Banks?
ELISABETH STAAB: You know, I’ve had characters who were tricky to name and characters who sort of named themselves, and Tyra was one of those, so I guess you’d have to ask her. But I think she was named by her mother, who abandoned her as a baby.
MADELINE IVA:I know this may be a complicated question buuuuut: Why does the wizard want to/have to kill Tyra? What kind of wizards are your wizards and are there any particular rules to obey when it comes to writing about wizards and vampires together?
ELISABETH STAAB: As for the wizards, mine are evil. Soulless, vile, and parasitic. They feed off of the vampires, and steal their supernatural powers by means of blood sacrifice. So in the world of the CHRONICLES OF YAVN, the wizards and the vampire do not mix except, typically, in battle. Only there was one wizard—Anton—who wasn’t entirely soulless as it turned out, and he was supposed to kill a vampire but fell in love with Tyra instead. The war between the two species did in fact make things very tricky in writing PRINCE OF POWER.
This is the second book
MADELINE IVA: Am I right in thinking you have two heroines who’d like to party and prowl the nightlife vs. being more brooding and vampire-y at home? Is this you, the mommy of toddlers, having an alternative life in your books?
ELISABETH STAAB: Haha. I suppose so. I love music, and I was a club girl and a progressive house DJ back in the day. It’s fun to revisit that through my characters. Lord knows I’m too tired for clubbing these days… *sigh*
MADELINE IVA: I too have written a contemporary romance but have turned since then to paranormal…do you see yourself writing both in the future—or just one genre?
ELISABETH STAAB: To a large degree, I write what I feel pulled to write. Not that almost everything isn’t more fun with a werewolf thrown in, but sometimes the story does make sense without all the howling at the moon.
MADELINE IVA: How does your vampire world work? One vampire is weak-ish when compared to the others—why? One hero has been drinking vampire blood but then suddenly he’s having some kind of a bad reaction…Why?
ELISABETH STAAB: Hmm. How to answer this one without giving too much away? Lee, the hero of Hunter by Night, is actually one of the strongest and most powerful of his kind. He revels in the superiority of vampires, drinks only vampire blood, and the one thing he has to his lonely, alpha-male name is his ability to protect others. The more vampire blood he drinks, the more powerful he becomes…Until that doesn’t work anymore.
Sounds like something I’d enjoy reading—Okay readers, click on any of the book covers to buy Elisabeth’s books, or check them all out at Amazon HERE. You can also connect with her on the world wide web by following the links below. Elisabeth writes about a Prince of Power, but we’re the Sultans of Smut–please follow our blog. :)
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June 3, 2014
Curse Of The Nitwit Heroine
This week at Lady Smut we’re gearing up for the fantastic HarperImpulse digital romance festival happening this weekend. It’ll be a great way to connect with readers and fellow authors and as we virtually come together to chat about romance. It’s ironic, therefore, that while I’m looking forward to connecting with all these savvy readers and writers, I happen to be reading a romance containing one of my least favorite things – a nitwit heroine.
We all do things kind of nitwit-ish. A couple of days ago I went to the grocery store when I was starving. Big mistake! It explains how my freezer ended up full of vanilla chocolate chip. But the nitwit heroine does more than impulsively buy too much ice cream. She screws up her relationship with the hero, prolongs a problem that could be solved in a couple of sentences, or behaves in a way that makes women as a whole appear to have heads full of straw. She’s oft been referred to as the TSTL heroine – Too Stupid To Live. Gaaah!!
Compounding my frustration with the nitwit heroine is this: I see the behavior time and again in romances and not nearly as often in other fiction genres. Thrillers, crime, mystery, scifi, YA, detective … the heroines there may fall for the wrong guy, or make foolish decisions, or act impulsively, but what they don’t do is act like idiots. Not to the point where you, the reader, want to alternately cringe or throw the book against the wall.
One of my main problem with the nitwit heroine is that it’s tough to cheer for her. Not because I myself am above being a nitwit. No siree Bob. And hey, we’ve all had our moments. But the thing is, when we’re reading romances and inserting ourselves in place of the heroine, it’s her cool qualities we want to connect with. After all, it’s fun to be the really pretty girl who has a guy – or guys! – tripping over his own feet simply to adore us. Who has a glamorous job, lives in a hip neighborhood. Or maybe we want to be the heroine who singlehandedly runs the ranch and has the local rodeo champ want to ride more than a bucking bronco. These heroines will make mistakes, and poor choices, and have missteps along the way of falling in love, and that’s all OK. Mistakes we can deal with. We’ve all made them. But being an idiot? Pass.
In the book I’m reading, it’s the woman’s airheaded, cringe-worthy behavior that’s my biggest beef. She’s booked herself on a cruise to find her forever baby daddy. So any guy who raises an interested eyebrow her way is immediately pelted with questions about his level of commitment and how many kids he wants. Um, yeah. How about a cup of coffee first? See if maybe you actually have something in common to work with? And if you’re that set on only meeting men with baby potential, do you really think a cruise is the place to start?
Granted, she’s not the dumbest heroine I’ve ever come across and is certainly not TSTL. But why does she have to be even a little brainless? I don’t want to connect with her. And on a macro level, I’m frustrated that this kind of representation continues to be found in the romance genre. Give me a courageous, savvy, exciting, beautiful heroine who makes mistakes from time to time but who is admired and has a big heart and who always gets the cool dude in the end. Now that’s my kind of heroine.
We’re talking heroines and much more more at this weekend’s digital Romance Festival 2014, so be sure to sign up. And while you’re at it, follow us at Lady Smut, where we’re bringing you smart posts every day of the week.
June 2, 2014
Blog to Book and Book Expo America
By Liz Everly
I was thrilled to attend Kensington’s BEA party again this year. It was wonderful to see some of the people the behind the scenes who work so hard for the books I write. And you never know what other writer you’ll get a chance to met—and that always a good thing. This year, among others, I met the fabulous New York Times bestselling author, Rebecca Zanetti, author of the Dark Protector Series from Kensington, the Sin Brother Series from Grand Central, and The Maverick Montana Series from Entangled. (Yep, three series, with three different publishers. A-mazing.)
The next day, as I wandered around the Javitts Center where Book Expo was held, several booths stood out. Ellora’s Cave had a huge presence, with all of its cheesecake cavemen, who actually made me blush as Isabelle Drake (Ellora’s Cave author) and I were trying to have a conversation and they distracted me. Quite.
Harlequin had a huge booth, of course, and I stopped by and scooped up two signed books. I’ll check these books out and get back to you about them. Full confession: I’ve never read a Harlequin book. But I will read these: “A Not–So-Innocent Seduction” by Joyce Maynard and “My Secret Fantasies” by Joanne Rock. Both seem right up my alley. Grin.
I ran into bestselling mystery author Tonya Kappes and bestselling romance author Nancy Naigle, who had a fabulous booth full of colorful giveaways.
Tonya Kappes and Nancy Naigle.
Tonya has just sold her self-published series to HarperCollins—we were pleased to realize that we will be stable mates, after years of knowing one another online. HarperCollins, of course, had a huge booth.
The crowded entrance to HarperCollins vast booth.
I talked a little with several of the authors there who were all interested in Lady Smut and the fact that we are publishing an anthology. They all wanted to know: How did that happen? Even though we are not the first blog to have an anthology published, it’s certainly not the norm for most group blogs.
Lady Smut is unique among blogs. I can say that here, can’t I? We are not a review blog, though we offer them from time to time. We are not all about promoting our work, either. I mean we do promote our work, but we are more than that. We truly try to stay on-message and deliver fun, incisive commentary. All of the LS bloggers bring to the table years of writing experience, blogging experience, and a variety of different publishing backgrounds. But more than that, we all love to write. It’s what brings us here. So it suits our blog and our brand to offer our writing in as many formats as we can, and more than that, the writing is why we are here.
So, one day, Madeline and I were talking about stories we wanted to write. I had this idea for a vampire story that kept gnawing at me. She had an idea for s sexsomniac story. I said to Madeline, “We should do an anthology” and she said “Great idea. How do we do that?”
We put it to the other bloggers. We came up with a paranormal theme, and asked who had the time and who was interested. All were interested, but some didn’t have the time. Four of us went forward with the idea. (Myself, Madeline, Elizabeth, and Margery). We are hoping that the others will join us as we move forward. Since I have tons of experience putting together book proposals, I was elected to pull it together; Madeline helped. And I was pleased that my agent, Sharon Bowers, decided to represent us.
Within a few months, several publishers expressed interest and two offers were made. We decided on Harper Impulse because they very actively engaged with readers and writers online, which we all feel is very important—more , now than ever before. We also love their covers, their website, their vibe—not the least of which we love being part of HarperCollins.
Speaking of Harper Impulse, you know by now that there will be an online romance festival this coming weekend. I’m looking forward to catching as much of it as I can. It’s going to be great. I LOVE the fact that I can stay home and be a part of it, don’t you? Hope to “see” you there.
