Sarina Bowen's Blog, page 32
January 25, 2019
OMG. Stop what you're doing and listen to Zachary Webber narrate this love note!
This lovely note has been up for a year. But Genevieve Louis (of the Aural Fixation group on Facebook) politely asked the narration team of Virginia Rose and Zachary Webber if they’d read it. And…and…it’s SO CUTE.
I’m officially dead.
Of course there’s more where that came from! You can get more of Nate being amazing in the audio book.
Thank you Virginia and Zachary. And happy birthday to Genevieve!
January 24, 2019
January 22, 2019
Overnight Sensation is here!
Thank you for all your support, readers! I’m so pumped up to bring you Castro & Heidi Jo’s story! I hope the world is ready for this bit of craziness. Elle Kennedy promises me that Heidi Jo is the funniest heroine I’ve ever written. The car was scene… Yeah. And the Zamboni thing. Just wait.
I should mention that the audio book is published today, too! Jason Clarke and Savannah Peachwood did a terrific job.
You can find your copy at:
Paperback | Audio | Amazon | Apple | Kobo | Nook | GoogleJanuary 18, 2019
Audio Excerpt! Be the first to hear Overnight Sensation!
Overnight Sensation is getting a simultaneous release in audio!
You can get your copy Aight here on Audible. In the meantime, you can hear the first part right now on the Story Bites Podcast! Listen in any of these locations: Website | iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | Google .
Narrated by Jason Clarke and Savannah Peachwood, this book is over ten hours of hot and funny goodness! Just wait until you get to the Zamboni scene…
Join Tanya and I on the podcast to preview the audio. We’ll see you there!
January 16, 2019
Deleting one third of a book isn't easy...
Regrets. I have a few…
I was cooking along on a book for Silas Kelly (the backup goalie for the Brooklyn Bruisers.)
Or was I?
The deeper I got into this book, the less I liked the story. It was too angsty for the series. And—worse—it didn’t let Silas be Silas. There was too much baggage.
So I did the difficult thing. I deleted everything. The whole book. I opened a fresh file and started again, with a different plot for these characters.
The humbling thing is that I assumed that my story craft had moved past this. I thought I was experienced, and knew what I was doing.
Not so much! But that’s okay. A dose of humility never hurt me. And after taking a day off to mourn, I found that the new version was so much better.
The bad news is you won’t be getting Silas for a while. I lost almost a month’s worth of work. But when you do see him, he’ll be his very best!
January 11, 2019
An Audio Book with 12 Narrators!
This week on the Story Bites Podcast
We’re previewing a super cool project from Lauren Blakely! The excerpt features none other than: Sebastian York, Andi Arndt and Erin Mallon. Can you believe it? All that audio firepower in a podcast episode. Get yours at: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | Google.
Or listen right here:
January 8, 2019
Heroes and Heroines in Recovery
For years I noticed that alcoholism is a common theme in romance, and in all fiction. But nine times out of ten, the alcoholic or addicted character is the antagonist. She’s the awful mom or the deadbeat dad. Or the violet ex.
To be fair, alcoholism is often an antagonist in real people’s lives. All clichés come from a place of truth. And there’s a reason that making “direct amends” is Step 9 in traditional twelve step programs.
But many who are struggling with addiction will make great strides and live beautiful lives. And the romance genre is for everyone, right? Diversity in romance can mean many things.
These past few years I’ve had a particular interest in characters in recovery. I began with Jude’s opioid addiction in Steadfast (True North #2.) It was one of the heavier research challenges I’ve taken. That book came out in 2016, but every day Jude is waving at me from the newspaper headlines. That story is still whispering in my ear. (Jude’s Suboxone prescription is getting a lot of positive media attention lately, too.)
But then I surprised myself by giving May Shipley a drinking problem in that same series. Thus Speakeasy (True North #5) is also an addiction story—but completely different in tone and weight. May’s alcoholism doesn’t define her, even if it gives her story grist.
When I write characters with diverse challenges, my first goal is always storytelling. I don’t feel qualified to educate on the subject, and I never set out to school readers. And yet, while addiction is not the sunniest topic, it absolutely gives the character a unique perspective. And that’s pure gold for storytelling. Give me a character with a unique challenge and a sideways view of the world, and I’ll give you a hero/heroine you haven’t read before.
The upshot is that I’m tuned in to addicted main characters now. There aren’t too many. (Or maybe I’ve missed them!) The ones I’ve mentioned here have two things in common.
The addiction story isn’t glamorized, or used for shock value.
There’s no “love heals” solution to the addiction. (That’s cheating!) Recovery—like writing good endings—is hard work.
So here’s three that I love! Roan Parrish does a great job with exploring the recovering character’s life choices in Riven. He’s in a rut because his musical career was so tied to his drug habit. And he doesn’t see how to have one without the other. It’s a great read.
The Emmy Abrahamson book, “How to Fall In Love With a Man Who Lives In a Bush,” is actually semi-autobiographical. This is an author I met on a business trip to Berlin. She met her alcoholic husband when he was living in a park in Vienna. Fascinating love story! It’s been translated into a gazillion languages.
And I loved the way that Lisa Kleypas handled alcoholism in Again the Magic. Well, fine, I loved everything about this book. There are actually two romances in it. The secondary story is for Livia and Gideon. Gideon is absolutely an alcoholic when the book opens. And ultimately Livia shows him that they can’t be together unless he can find his way out of the bottle. Kleypas doesn’t use modern addiction or recovery language (because that wouldn’t make sense) yet she still delivers a credible story of an addict who does the hard work of recovery.
Click on any cover to see the Amazon listing.
January 4, 2019
My Little Sticker Habit
Happy New Year!
File this under things that make me ridiculously happy. Every day that I write at least 1200 words I put a sticker on my calendar page. It’s a simple thing, but it brings me a great feeling of accomplishment.
Sad truth: it took me way too long to understand how powerful habits are. The habit of checking my email first thing in the morning sounds small, but last year that one thing was blowing up my writing time. I’d become distracted by some small business matter. Then I’d look up and three hours would have passed.
So I’ve gotten smarter. I try to get my sticker before noon. I have two good friends who also enjoy this little habit. We text “sticker!” to each other when we’ve achieved it. Today I was second. That little spark of accountability is just as crucial to this project as my Etsy sticker order.
Bring it, 2019. I’m going to cover you with stickers.
December 31, 2018
Some Good Stuff I Read in 2018
Another year draws to a close. And I must say that I have been pretty bad at recommending books this year. So. Bad. But here are some things I enjoyed, in no particular order. You can click on any book for more info.
In Contemporary RomanceConfession: I don’t read much contemporary romance. I find that it’s not helpful to read in the same genre that I’m writing.
Suzanne Brockmann never lets me down! Here’s a fierce heroine and a sexy romance which says some smart things about the #metoo era.
This is super fun, super cute and features one of my weaknesses: a single dad. Oh, and he’s a former teen rocker. #sigh. I love him.
The Chase by Elle Kennedy was totally worth the wait! I loved it. Even if she did make me read it in chunks, with dayyyyyyys of waiting between chapters! So mean! I can’t wait to do it all again with The Risk in February!
This is a love triangle, which isn’t usually my thing. But I guess it can be, and this is excellent! Very angsty but great.
This excellent romance came out…four years after the last one. Or five? There was a big gap. But this author is worth waiting for, and I really enjoyed it. And don’t miss the first one either: One & Only. It’s fabulous.
Wowzers! So that’s what the fuss was about! Great writing. Twisty story. My doors were blown off.
This was a great, angsty series! Completely addictive.
In Darker Stuff
Although darker isn’t really my thing, when i happen to find one that suits me I get so excited! These caught my eye and made for some gleefully scary moments.
This is suspencey and romancey and hard to categorize! But it’s just so addictive. Be warned—book 1 will not be enough.
If amnesia tropes are your catnip, give this a try! It’s well done and such a page-turner.
I’d been meaning to read this forever! I love Shirley Jackson. And I’d forgotten how funny she is even when writing about the dark stuff. So masterful!
CD Reiss’s Edge series is…seriously edgy. See what I did there? Dark and sexy and just wholly original!
In Women’s Fiction
Another favorite category of mine…that I didn’t read much of in 2018.
This isn’t an easy read, because it goes deeply into body issues and self worth. But it’s so well done! Get the tissues…
This was just as well written as last summer’s Elin Hildebrand blockbuster, and I hung on every word.
And my new love: Historical!
I’ve discovered that I can’t read contemporary romance while I’m trying to draft contemporary romance. And since I’m always trying to draft contemporary romance, it’s a problem!
But my goodness do I enjoy a historical romance! This year I read almost all of Lisa Kleypas’s back list. She is magnificent, and Hello Stranger is my favorite!
Eloisa James is also fantastic! I love the Wildes so much. Can’t wait to read more!
December 28, 2018
New Year, New Exciting News!
I’m excited to share some news with you guys - I’m participating in the Romance Read of the Month Club next year - keep scrolling for details!
So what is the Romance Read of the Month Club? It’s a club with no membership cost that gives it’s members a *FREE* eBook each month - just for being a member! All you have to do to sign up is click the link at the bottom of this post and enter your email. Every second Friday of each month you’ll receive an email with a download link for your book. All books are full length, and standalone stories - so no additional purchases are required to enjoy the story. Anyone can join, and not only are the eBooks are available to anyone worldwide - they can also be read on any device. Get books from:
★ Jennifer L. Armentrout ★ Marie Force ★ Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward ★
★ Julia Kent ★ Lucy Kevin (aka Bella Andre)★ Jennifer Probst ★
★ Katy Regnery ★ Julie Richman ★ Carrie Ann Ryan ★
★ Lauren Smith ★ Samantha Young ★ and me! ★
Sounds good right? Sign up below - and make sure to share with your friends!
