Stephanie Faris's Blog, page 52

Guest Post: Elizabeth Seckman on Romance

Today I'm excited to host my great blogging friend Elizabeth Seckman, who is celebrating the launch of her latest book:



Elizabeth is a true romantic. I love her view on things. She writes strong, spunky characters and truly romantic heroes. I love her writing and can't wait to read Defying Reason! Here's her take on the romance genre:

-----------------------------------

Hi Stephanie! Thanks for having me over.

People often ask me if I think my books (though written for the NA/Adult reader) are suitable for their teen daughter. And I, coming from my vast stores of wisdom, answer...it depends.

If you're the kind of parent who is offended by mild profanity and sexual situations, then no.These books are not meant for your child.

But, if your teen has ever watched MTV, then yes. As a matter of fact, I highly recommend them to counter the MTV culture where our girls are being conditioned to equate romance with booty calls and one night stands. Our media took the intimacy out of the intimate relationship, and I contend it started with the attack on happily-ever-after.

They decided love stories and fairy tales were sexist. That love was nothing better than a four-letter word, and the happy ending a hoax. Then they made Prince Charming the villain, thus elevating the Big Bad Wolf. The Wolf, I'm sure, was happy to be the new hot item. He didn't have to respect the ladies he snacked on. All he had to do was be a Wolf.

We flipped the fairy tale on its ear, and I contend we set it right. We need to bring back the romance. We need to teach our girls to demand respect, love, and loyalty from relationships...and let them know it's all right to seek out the princes.

Or when the call of the wild wolf is too much to ignore, we make it clear- the only way to collar that hungry carnivore is to make him heel. No gal ever raised a guy's standards by lowering here. The best way to get respect is to demand it.

So, I say- let's put the love back in the tail tale!



The Blurb:
Jo Leigh Harper comes from a long line of trouble-making, white trash stock.Tanner Coulter comes from a longer line of wealth-creating, blue blood stock.Jo graduated college top of her class, moving toward a future full of possibilities.Tanner dropped out of college, trading a law degree for drinking games and one night stands.
A family crisis throws the rich party boy and the poor genius girl together. The attraction is immediate, though neither one is a heart-in-the-sand-drawing believer in true love. But as the summer sun heats up along the shores of the Outer Banks, so does the connection between them. Maybe, just maybe, they can win at love by defying reason.
 Author Bio:

Elizabeth is a multi-published author of books for people who are believers in happily-ever- after, true love, and stories with a bit of fun and twists with their plots. The mother of four young men, she tackles laundry daily and is the keeper of the kitchen. She lives along the shores of the Ohio River in West Virginia, but dreams daily of the beach. 

Facebook/ Blog/ Website/ Buy Link

Why I Think Tom Cruise is Not Human

He never ages.



He divorces his wives once they reach the age of 33.



He chooses his wives by interviewing candidates.



He told his first wife he had to remain celibate to "maintain the purity of his instrument." He also had no (non-adopted) children with his first two wives and left Nicole Kidman while she was pregnant. She miscarried soon after.




Some blame Scientology. (What is UP with that religion anyway? Did they ever find the leader's missing wife that prompted Leah Remini to file a missing persons report? If not...HELLO? A woman's missing!!!)



Some say Tom Cruise is hiding a John Travolta-ish secret...


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(By the way, it's 2014. If you're a celebrity and you're gay, nobody cares. Quit auditioning wives and just be yourself.)

I think there's a more otherworldly explanation. Something even Scientology might embrace. I think Tom Cruise isn't human. Is he a robot?



Maybe an alien?



Think about it. It would explain his Oprah meltdown, right?




And why the one "biological child" he has looks a lot like Katie. Notsomuch like him.



It makes sense, right?

Email Can Take You Down

At one time, if we wanted to gossip about people, we gathered our friends together and had a good-ole gabfest.



Today when we gossip, there's often a paper trail. Or at least an electronic trail.



We think if we text or email or instant message our secrets to our closest friends, they'll never tell anyone. What we don't realize is they don't have to tell anyone. As we learned from the recent Sony hackings, the things you send go through servers that could, at any point, be infiltrated.

(Not to mention the fact that your friend's phone could easily end up in someone else's hands...)



Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal had a bad, bad December when emails she'd written about top celebrities were leaked by hackers. She called Angelina Jolie a "minimally-talented spoiled brat" and made racist comments about the President of the United States. All comments sent through email to a colleague. Now the world knows every word she wrote.



I'm sure we've all sent emails, texts, or instant messages to someone about someone. I'm sure we assumed they'd never be read. But even if a group of hackers doesn't infiltrate a bunch of servers and leak them, how sure are you that the information you put in writing will never be seen by the person you're writing about?



Remember, Amy Pascal was pretty sure...and now she's no longer with Sony Pictures.

Hey, That's Not the Dawson's Creek Theme!

Services like Netflix and Hulu have given us the ability to binge watch shows dating back as far as 60 years ago. There's something comforting about re-watching a show you haven't seen since you were in middle school...high school...college...



There's just one problem with watching these shows when you were around to see them the first time. You realize after a few episodes that there's something really, really off about the music.

"I don't remember the music on Melrose Place being this bad." (Actual words I thought to myself just last week.)



A little research tells you there's a reason these shows have horrid music. When these shows aired the first time, the networks paid big bucks for the rights to some of the hottest songs on the radio at the time. Fast forward to the day they're putting together the DVD and, guess what? Nobody wants to pony up a million bucks or whatever for the rights to the original Dawson's Creek theme song.



Yes, you read that right. The Paula Cole song that everyone who was alive in 1998 still firmly associates with that show has now been switched from the above song to this:



When the show was streaming on Netflix (it's gone now), that opening theme bugged the mess out of me with every single episode. It was just all kinds of wrong. Interestingly, though, when the opening credits were shot, the producers planned to use Alanis Morissette's Hand in My Pocket, but apparently the rights were a little too pricey. Just a bit of trivia for you! Run Like Mad was recorded to replace it but at the last minute, they switched it with the Paula Cole song. The decades-long theme song drama is detailed in this 2012 article.

Fans were also apparently outraged that Dawson's Creek also replaced another landmark song. Does anyone remember the scene where Kiss the Rain was played? The music has been replaced on the DVD, but the original scene was on YouTube.



One of the worst cases of music replacement I've seen is on MTV's The Real World, which streams on Hulu Plus. I rewatched the first few seasons for nostalgia sake and...wow. You don't even know what the original music was. You just know it couldn't possibly have been as bad as what you're hearing!



Although can anything be worse than watching the scene where Brenda breaks up with Dylan on Beverly Hills 90210 without hearing this song? Yes, they replaced R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion. This scene (song included) was the summer of 1991 for anyone who was reasonably young at that time!



Do you ever binge watch TV shows from your childhood? Have you ever noticed the music was different?

This World Bites Blog Tour

Today I'm participating in Loni Townsend's This World Bites blog tour. She joins us with a helpful guest blog titled "Am I Funny?"




Am I funny?

by Loni Townsend

Thank you for having me on your blog, Stephanie! 

The thing I love best about Stephanie's blog is that she always delivers pertinent topics with a dose of humor. So many times, I visit her blog and crack up laughing. She'll find music videos that are over the top or memes that express sentiments with wonderful class. 

It seems like she's funny without effort.

While writing This World Bites, I constantly asked myself, "Am I funny?" I know I've read things by other people that are intended to be funny, but when I read it, I didn't laugh. Did I just not get it? Or was it a bad delivery? The written word has no inflection to help interpretation. 

Humor is subjective, and not everyone appreciates my twisted take on it. 

I debated over marking This World Bites as humor. What if people didn't think it was funny? Would it ruin my ratings if I marked it as humor and no one laughed?

I decided to trust my critique partners and beta readers. They laughed. So that must mean I'm funny, right?

Do you write humor? Do you ever fear that you're not funny? Have you come across any humor pieces that aren't as funny as they should've been?

Blurb:

It's her first day on a new world and Cera's already found trouble. Michael, her guardian, has been bitten by a zombie and will soon join the undead ranks.

Everyone tells her there's no cure, but Cera isn't one to be deterred. She's willing to face off with zombie hordes, demon slavers, and black market informants if it means she'll find a cure for Michael. But she's not the only one hunting for something.

Something is hunting her.

Bio:



Loni Townsend




Wife. Mother. Writer. Ninja. Squirrel.

By day, she writes code. By predawn darkness, she writes fantasies. All other times, she writes in her head.

People call her peculiar with a twisted sense of fashion, but don't let those understatements fool you. Her behavior is perfectly normal for a squirrel disguised as a human. That's part of being a ninja--blending in.

She makes her home in Idaho with her sadistically clever yet often thwarted husband, two frighteningly brilliant children, and three sneaky little shibas.

Find her on her blog or social media.

Contact info:

Blog | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Congratulations to the winners of my giveaway. They are:


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How to Get More Blog Readers and Other Advice

Have you ever wondered how to get more blog readers? Whether guest blogging is a good idea? How I managed to get 900+ followers? Check out Write with Fey where I answer all those questions and more!




Last chance to enter my Valentine's Day giveaway. The Rafflecopter ends Sunday at midnight:






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IWSG: Writers Don't Tell You Everything

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's the day to post about your insecurities. Add your name to the list to join in!



I had another post planned for this month, but a post from essayist and novelist Ann Bauer derailed my plans. The post was titled “Sponsored” by my husband: Why it’s a problem that writers never talk about where their money comes from. It immediately began making the Twitter rounds.

Bauer makes some excellent points. We all pretty much know that most novelists aren't millionaires. We do assume, however, that truly successful writers have more money than they know what to do with. It's what we all aspire to, right?



But as Bauer's post points out, many successful novelists fall well short of a working income. It takes me back to a comment someone made when I first started out. I posted on a forum that I just wanted to make enough to quit my job. 

"Most writers will never be able to quit our day jobs," she wrote in a personal email to me. "Sorry."



At the time, I thought it was an odd assumption for her to make. She had no idea what my situation was. I could have been making poverty-level wages as a state employee (I pretty much was!). I could be satisfied living on next-to-nothing. I could have been married to a super billionaire. Okay, on that last one, I probably would have been able to quit my job without a writing contract, but you get the point!



In her article, Bauer mentions authors who inherit fortunes, marry spouses who support them, and work full-time jobs to support their careers, even while they're assumed to have "made it" as novelists.



Most published novelists I know have full-time jobs. Those who don't are moms, married to husbands with reliable incomes. Some, like me, make an income writing or editing to pay the bills.

Should writers disclose the truth about their incomes, as Bauer suggested? Or is it better for us to assume that anyone who hits the bestseller list is set for life?

What are you feeling insecure about this month? Sign up for IWSG and let everyone know!

Have you entered my Valentine's Day giveaway yet? It includes this prize pack for tween girls (or yourself!):






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Buying Your Way onto the Bestseller List

While promoting my first book, I heard a story about an author who bought his way onto the bestseller list. Apparently he had enough disposable income to buy a bazillion copies of his book at once, shooting his novel's numbers way up.



The story made me think. I always said that if I won the lottery, I'd continue to write. I would also have continued to pursue traditional publication because that was my original dream.



But as I work hard to promote my current book, I notice that someone with money has a decided advantage in book promotion. A wealthy person could, for instance, hire a top-notch publicist to give his or her book the best chance possible.



With enough money, you could pour big bucks into fun promotional products and mail them to every bookstore in the world. You could take out an ad in the biggest trade publication or put up a billboard in Time Square.



You could even try to get it green-lighted in Hollywood. Although money won't necessarily get you far in the land of dreams. Money also won't guarantee the public will like your book, even if you managed to catch the interest of a publisher. Money can, however, introduce your book to a large number of readers who might not have known about it otherwise. Will that lead them to buy it? Read it? Tell others about it?

But say you won the lottery and could afford to push your book to the top of the charts. What would it mean? Chances are, not much if people didn't seek it out on their own.

What would you do if you won more money than you could ever spend? Would you stop working? Authors--if you had more money than you could ever spend, would you buy up enough copies of your book to make the bestseller list?

Have you entered my Valentine's Day giveaway yet? You can win this prize pack for the tween girl in your life (or yourself!).






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The Cephalopod Coffehouse: Best Books of January

It's the last Friday of the month, which means it's time to reveal the best books of January. It's part of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse:



I only read three books and a short story this month, which is good, considering I averaged 15,000 words a week of writing for my clients. And yes, that's a lot of writing!

The first book jumped out at me from Twitter. The author followed me and, when I was following back, I saw some of her book titles in her introductions. I clicked over to her site and loved every single book cover. I chose to jump in with this one first:



If you like my books, you'll also like My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours. I think a sign of a good book is when you finish it and think, "I wish I'd thought of that idea. What a great book!" I'm in love with Kristina Springer's writing, so I'll be back for more, for sure!

You'll recognize the cover for the second book. We all fell in love with it during her cover reveal last fall.



Quanie's writing wowed me. Her characters are full, three-dimensional people who you feel like you know. (Or maybe you just feel you want to know them!) But best of all--the story is truly riveting. From page one, you can't wait to see what happens next.

The third book was actually a short story, which was awesome because I could read it all the way through. That was exactly what I did. This story was not only compelling, but it's a very important story touching on a very sensitive subject. Plus, it's only $.99! Download it now.  You won't regret it, I promise.




The fourth book was Face Time by SJ Pajonas.



This ended up on my Goodreads to-read list because of one of you. I'm not sure which blogger featured it, but I love technology, so it jumped right out at me. It's a very realistic portrayal of a long-distance romance in an age where we can speak to people on the other side of the world using Face Time. The characters were relatable, the story sucked me right in, and I recommend it to any technogeek-reader like me!

Have you entered my Valentine's Day giveaway yet? It includes this prize pack for tween girls (or yourself!):






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I'm Doing a Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Today is my husband's 50th birthday, so yay! Here we are at the Biltmore Estate last February:


In celebration of his birthday, I'm kicking off a cool new giveaway. My book, 25 Roses, has a Valentine's Day theme. And guess what? Tween girls are really, really hard to buy for on Valentine's Day.

So I'm making it easy for you! I'm giving away this package of three gifts for tween girls. Or you can keep them for yourself.



This pack includes an autographed copy of 25 Roses, a chocolate rose like the ones in the book, a $25 Amazon gift card, and a gift bag. If you're an international entrant, I can't promise the pack will arrive in time for Valentine's Day, so keep that in mind when entering.

The giveaway ends at 12 a.m. February 9th and it will be in the mail that day. Here's the Rafflecopter:



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