Jamie Wesley's Blog, page 3

Writer Wednesday: Inaugural Edition

Hey, you! Some of my author friends and I have decided to do a monthly Writer Wednesday blog post for a year in which we all participate in show or tell about a specific topic (See below for a full list of topics). In celebration of Kat Cantrell’s TWO books, From Ex to Eternity and From Fake to Forever, releasing this month that deal with weddings, this month we’re discussing our wedding days.

*needle on the record screech*

What’s that you say? “Jamie, you’ve never been married!” You are correct. I have not, but I do love pretty dresses, food and dancing, so whenever the topic of weddings comes up, that’s where my mind wanders. And I have lots of opinions on those topics.

Songs: If I ever get married, I want my wedding to be a big party. It’s a joyous occasion. Let’s have some fun!

Must-plays:
This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan 
Get The Party Started by Pink

Food: I love Italian food, so bring on the pasta and red sauce!

Dress: I’m a big fan of the show Say Yes to the Dress. I love looking at the pretty (and not-so-pretty) dresses and figuring out what types of dresses work for different body types. But I think the most important lesson I’ve learned watching the show is that there comes a point when you need to be quiet. If you’re the BFF/mom/sister/ etc. who comes with the bride to pick out a gown, it’s fine to give your opinion. Until she falls in love with a dress. At that point, it’s your responsibility to be encouraging and tell her she looks beautiful. Because it’s her wedding day, not yours. It’s her dress, and if she loves it, then that’s the one she should buy.

As for me, this is the style of dress that works for my body type. I love the mix of sweet and sexy. And the back is to die-for!

Kiana Dress from Maggie Sottero





















Kiana Dress from Maggie Sottero




















Kiana dress from Maggie Sottero. Click on the images for a larger view.

And there you have my dream wedding day! All that other stuff that comes with a wedding – flowers, favors, etc. I kinda don’t care about it.

So are there any lessons you learned planning/participating in/attending a wedding?

Want to see what my writer friends wrote for our first Writer Wednesday? Check them out here:

Tamra Baumann - Kat Cantrell - Priscilla Kissinger -  Lauren Christopher -Kay Hudson - Pamela Kopfler - Carol Post - Sharon Wray - Natalie Meg Evans - Jean Willett - Karen Fleming - Kristen Ethridge - Kathleen Bittner-Roth - Wendy LaCapra

Tiny Update

I posted this on Facebook, but I know everyone might not see it, so I thought I'd post it here, too. Here you go!

OK, I'm super bad about keeping this page (or in this case, my blog) updated. I apologize. BUT I did want to let y'all know that I turned in the sequel to TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD to my editor on Monday. One step closer to becoming a real, live book, so yay!

The working title is Slam Dunked By Love. Not sure that's going to stick, but it should give you a hint about what the book is about. :)

Now, I'm turning my attention to two other books I put on the back burner while I worked on SDBL. Stay tuned...

 

2015: This I Promise You

The question I LOVE getting from readers the most: When is your next book coming out?

The answer I HATE giving the most: I don’t know.

With that said, while I can’t give specific dates, I can promise that I will release more books in 2015. I’m hoping for five, but it might be four. We’ll see.

So what are the new books about?

I’m continuing the One-on-One Series. If you’ve read TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, you might remember Noelle’s best friend/producer, Caitlin. I’m writing Caitlin’s story as we speak, and I’m loving getting to know her better. And the hot athlete who rolls into her life messing up her carefully laid out plans. *rubs hands together in glee*
 To know me is to know that I love sports. But I also love pop culture. And that’s where my other series takes me. I love the entertainment industry and its zaniness. The first book is about a movie star who falls for the absolute last guy she expected to. I absolutely adore Fliss and Alex and can’t wait to share their story with you. *rubs hands faster*

When I have firm release dates, I will be sure to let you know. If you want to make sure you know when my next book releases, please sign up for my New Release Alert here! I only send it out when I have a new release. Shocking, I know. lol

So what else do I have planned for 2015? Travel. I really, really want to go to Spain. And St. Lucia. And Las Vegas. The day job might make more than one of these tough, but I’m gonna try.

And I want to read 50 books this year. Really, I’d like to shoot for 60, but this writing thing takes a lot of my time. And I want to diversify my reading. I read A LOT of contemporary romance, because I love it, but honestly, when I think about it, that’s not the only (sub)genre I enjoy. I’d like to finish the Harry Potter series (yes, I realize I’m close to 20 years behind the times – lol). I’ve read the first 3 and enjoyed them.

So that’s it. I’m keeping it pretty simple, so I don’t look at this post at the end of the year and have massive amount of guilt pour down on me if I don’t meet all of my goals. Do you have any resolutions you want to share?

COLOR OF LOVE BLOG HOP

Hi, you! Thanks for stopping by my blog for my entry in the Color of Love Blog Hop. I’m Jamie Wesley, and I write contemporary romance.

There are some amazing prizes to be had by visiting each of the blog stops and entering the Rafflecopter drawing.

Grand prizes:

1st prize $50 Amazon GC + 7 ebooks

2nd prize $25 Amazon GC + 7 ebooks

3rd prize $15 Amazon GC + 7 ebooks

4th prize $10 Amazon GC + 6 ebooks

5th prize $5 Amazon GC + 6 ebooks

I’ll be giving away a copy of TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD to someone who comments below.

What do I love about multicultural romance novels?

A lot of times, the world isn’t always a joyous place. Bad stuff happens. But romances remind me that there is joy and love to be found in this world. Multicultural romances remind me that people who look like me can and do find their happily ever after. We love, fear, hope, anticipate, and aspire just like everyone else. I love seeing those hopes and dreams explored in multicultural romances. I love going along for the ride when two people meet the one and fall in love, especially if that’s the last thing they want to do.  

Tate, the hero in my book TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, certainly isn’t looking for love because he doesn’t believe it exists. Noelle, the heroine, isn’t sure she deserves love, but she knows for a fact that she won’t find it with Tate. I had so much fun proving them both wrong.

To enter to win a copy of TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, let me how you feel about opposites attracting – is that a disaster waiting to happen or a chance to bring out the best in each other?

In a moment of restlessness, Tate Grayson sold his multimillion-dollar company and spun his love of sports into a radio talk show. Life, and love, is too short to take seriously—a fact he enjoys rubbing in uptight radio host Noelle Butler’s face.

After the death of her parents, a tragedy she blamed on herself, Noelle vowed to live a controlled, focused life. Now a psychologist, she channels her need for connection into her radio show. But when the arrogant sportscaster next door tells listeners men shouldn’t get married, she’s all too happy to yank the silver spoon out of his overprivileged mouth.

Their heated on-air arguments are a hit, but when the station director forces them to do a joint show for two weeks, Tate and Noelle object. They can’t stand each other, despite the attraction sizzling beneath every interaction. But if they can’t pull the struggling radio station back from the brink, they’ll lose their jobs. Or worse, their hearts.

DEAL ALERT: TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD is on sale for $0.99 through December 6!!

Links: Amazon · Barnes & Noble · iBooks · Kobo · Google Play

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Some Thoughts on "Beyond the Lights"

I find the way people use the word “nerd” really interesting. Usually, people are talking about people who like comic books, sci-fi/fantasy, gadgets, and have tastes the larger society doesn’t share. Considering comic book movies and movies like Lord of the Rings are consistently the top moneymakers at the box office, I have to wonder how much of an outlier people who love them really are.

Anyway, my definition of “nerd” is a little broader. I think of a nerd as someone who has a really intense interest in something, whatever it is, and basically becomes an expert at it. I consider myself to be a sports nerd. I’m also a pop culture nerd. I find the machinations of the entertainment industry endlessly fascinating. Why do certain TV shows, musicians, songs, etc. hit big with the public? How does that happen and what does the success of that TV show, musician, song say about us as a society? See, told you. Total nerd here.   

I have a point. I promise. When I get super-excited about something, whether that’s a TV show, author, movie, musical artist, whatever I basically become so nerdy about it. My latest obsession is Beyond the Lights.

All I will say is that I’ve seen the movie more than once (and I never go to the movies). I was excited about this movie because it starred a black couple (which is all too rare in Hollywood), it was a romance (Hello! Romance author here!), and it explored the music industry (Hello! Pop culture nerd here!). It also had mostly positive reviews.

However, I was disappointed Sunday to learn that it only made $6.5 million at the box office in its opening weekend. No bueno.  

Anyway, yesterday, I did a Google search for “Beyond the Lights.” To be perfectly honest, I don’t remember why exactly other than my general need to know everything about the movie. I ran across a few articles exploring why the movie didn’t do well. Some of the reasons included the lack of star power, the movie opened at the wrong time of year, and the lack of publicity. I’m sure those are all valid points. I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.  

Anyway, after reading the articles, I committed a cardinal sin and read the comments. And man, did I get an education. Some people said they didn’t see it because it was a ripoff of The Bodyguard. Except it’s not. Kaz, the male lead, isn’t protecting Noni from a crazed fan. He’s her boyfriend.*

Another complaint? People assumed it was a “typical, cheesy love story.” I admit, as a romance writer, this assertion made me grind my teeth. Let’s think about this for a second. Of all the movies Hollywood produces on annual basis, how many of them are truly centered on the love story? Very, very few. More importantly, I would like to point out that it’s hella hard to write a script that mainly relies on characters rather than explosions or crass humor or mutilated bodies and still manages to be compelling. I always find it weird that people look down on romance even though they date and fall in love. So it’s okay in your personal life, but not in a movie or book? Okay.

But the complaint that really hurt my heart centered on race. And not because the actors were black and not white, but rather that they weren’t black enough. Or at least Gugu wasn’t. Some commenters said they didn’t want to see a(nother) lightskinned/biracial woman falling in love with a dark-skinned man. This reaction surprised me because that’s not how I look at things. Even though Gugu is half-black, she’s not any lighter skinned than my 100% black cousin. Gugu is black to me. I’ll claim you as long as you want to be claimed. And Gugu does want to be claimed. I’ve watched and read her interviews (because I’m a nerd). As black people, we face so much adversity. Do we really need to do it to ourselves by deciding who is and who isn’t black enough?

Would I like to see more movies starring darker-skinned black women? Yes. I’m sure dark-skinned actresses would like that, too, but I don’t see the point in automatically dismissing a movie because it doesn’t.

In any case, being biracial added another layer to Noni’s conflict with her white mom. Would the story still have been good without it? Sure, but the conflict was a realistic touch that enriched the movie.    

What makes the skin tone line of thinking even more interesting is that I watched an interview (nerd alert!) with the writer, Gina Prince-Bythewood, who said studios wanted her to make Kaz white.  Maybe that would have made the naysayers happy because I have to assume they’d okay with a half-black woman falling in love with a white man since black men are off-limits.     

I’m not saying that everyone should want to see Beyond the Lights. Every movie ain’t for everybody. I don’t watch horror movies and I certainly am not the intended audience for Dumb and Dumber. I get that some people do need the explosions or flying elves to enjoy a movie. And that’s okay. Some people love intense, nonstop action, and you’re not going to find that in Beyond the Lights.  

I just wish more people would have given it a chance. I guess that’s my point with this post. It’s a really good movie.

And I’ll go watch it again. You should, too. :)

 

 

*There is a scene where Kaz “protects” Noni for a day, but that came about because she wanted to hang out with him, not because she was in any danger.

Kindle Giveaway Winners Announced!

First of all, thank you to everyone who followed me on my mini-blog tour and entered the contest! I had a lot of fun.

Now, on to the winners! Congrats to Elizabeth for winning the Kindle and Roselle for winning the 3 August Entangled: Lovestruck titles! They have been notified!

Until next time...

xoxo,

Jamie

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I've been published for 11 days (but who's counting, right?)

On Monday, August 11, 2014, my long-held dream came true. I became a published author. Today, it’s August 22, so I’ve been published for 11 days. What’s it been like?

Amazing. Surreal. Nerve-wracking. Fantastic.

Yep, that about sums it up.

I barely got any sleep Sunday night. I’m pretty sure I woke up every 30 minutes. And then it was Monday morning, and my book was live!

I announced it on Twitter, and the response was more than I could have ever dreamed. Friends were congratulating me and retweeting my announcements and liking and sharing my Facebook posts. To that I say THANK YOU x million times! I started to list names, then I stopped because I know I will miss somebody. Please know that I saw all the support and I was and still am humbled and grateful.

I built up the courage to announce my accomplishment to friends and family who had no clue what I’d been up to for the past five years. That was a big moment for me. I don’t like talking about myself, and I was never sure how to insert the “Hey, I wrote a book and it’s going to be published” thing into conversation. I’ve had the “Why didn’t you tell me?” conversation more than once. I’ve had to assure people it wasn’t personal at all. It was all me and my natural shyness and awkwardness. It’s much easier for me to talk about writing with other writers who are going through the same things I’m going through.

And despite my reticence to talk about myself, the support from family and friends has been amazing. Lots of questions on how you get a book published have been asked and congratulations have been offered. Some even bought the book. Yay!

I didn’t tell any of my coworkers, but I knew as soon as I announced it, they would have something to say. And I was right! I took Monday and Tuesday off from work so I could concentrate on the book launch and when I walked into work Wednesday, this was waiting for me. Isn’t that so cool? And there were donuts because I LOVE donuts.

I started using Amazon in the late 90s when I was a college student. In the fifteen years since, I’ve NEVER been on Amazon as much combined as I have been in the past 11 days. Refresh, refresh, refresh! Refresh one more time to see what my ranking is. I wake up in the middle of the night to check. It’s a sickness. I’ve gotten a little better, but not much. I’ve been very fortunate. My ranking for TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD surpassed my modest goal on release day, so everything after that has been gravy (except I don’t like gravy, but you know  what I mean).

Promo. Aww, promo. It’s hard to know if you’re doing too much or too little. I ran some ads. I participated in two Facebook parties. Never done that before, but they were both a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing more in the future.  I hope I didn’t annoy my Twitter peeps with my announcements. I tried not to, but ya know, it is what it is. I want to say a public thank you to Roni Loren, Kat Latham, Terri Osburn, Christina Jones, Lorenda Christensen, my fellow Firebirds, the Just Contemporary blog, and the Ramblings from This Chick blog for hosting me on their sites.   

And also many, many thanks to my release day partner Marissa Clarke and my editor Gwen Hayes for holding my hand and giving pep talks as needed. No matter what’s going on or how good you’re doing, it’s hard not to compare yourself to others, and I have to constantly remind myself that I’ve been in the game for less than two weeks. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

To everyone behind the scenes at my publisher, Entangled – none of this would have been possible without you and your support.

To everyone who has left a review – thank you!

To anyone who took a chance on a new author and bought my book – thank you from the bottom of my heart! I adore Tate and Noelle, and I hope you feel the same. If you haven't bought it yet, but want to remedy that situation, the book is only $2.99. Click here for all your book-buying options. #shameless1

And because it is a marathon, I’m hard at work at meeting the next mile-marker. As soon as I have news to share, I’ll let you know. I can’t wait to start the craziness all over again. If you want to know when my next book comes out, scroll up and look to your left and sign up for my new release alert! #shameless2

Xoxo,

Jamie

P.S. Oh, oh! I almost forgot. My Kindle giveaway is still going on. Here are all the places you can enter if you haven’t already.

- Firebirds Blog

- Author Roni Loren's Blog

- Author Kat Latham's Blog

- Author Christina Jones' Blog

- Author Terri Osborn's Blog

- Ramblings from This Chick

 

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD is here!!

Today is the day I've dreamed of for years - the publication of my first novel, TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD! It probably comes as no surprise that I'm ecstatic!

Want to read the first chapter? Here ya go!

If you'd like to buy yourself a copy, here are some buy links:

Amazon ·  Amazon Canada · Amazon UK · Barnes & Noble · iBooks · Kobo · Google Play · All Romance · Books-A-Million

But wait! There's more!!

To celebrate, I'm giving away a Kindle! To enter the giveaway and learn more about TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, please visit the stops on my mini-blog tour. 

I'll activate the links as they go live.

Monday, August 11
- Firebirds Blog
- Author Roni Loren's Blog

Tuesday, August 12
- Author Kat Latham's Blog

Wednesday, August 13
- Author Terri Osborn's Blog

Thursday, August 14
- Author Christina Jones' Blog

Friday, August 15
- Just Contemporary Romance

Saturday, August 16
- Ramblings from This Chick

I'll also be doing giveaways at the Entangled: Lovestruck's Facebook party Wednesday night at 5:30 CST. Here's the link if you'd like to go! I hope to see you there!

Thank you for your support!

xoxo,
Jamie

 

I'm Giving Books Away!!

Last week was awesome! I spent it at the Romance Writers of America annual conference. I love going because I get a chance to see friends I only see once per year and get to be with 2000 people who GET me! It's wonderful.

But there is always a downside to all the revelry. Prepare yourself to sign in sympathy. I love books, and they give them away for free at RWA, and I can't help myself , so I take them because I love books so much. And then I buy more books throughout the year (because, you know, I love books).

So yeah, I own a TON of books. Like a ridiculous amount of books. I know, I know. What a problem to have. I hear you sighing in sympathy through my computer.

But here's the deal. As much as I would love to, I can't read them all. I just don't have the time (which really, truly does bum me out. I would never, ever give my books away if I didn't know it was for the greater good). And it's really not practical to keep ALL the books I own, no matter how much I would prefer to.

*deep sigh* SOOO, I'm giving some away. And YOU could be the lucky recipient of the ENTIRE lot. I've gone through my collection (hyperventilating the whole way) and culled a few that I (think I) can part with. 

What are they?

1. THE BEST MEDICINE by Tracy Brogan (signed by author)

2. FLIGHT RISK by Nicole Helm (signed by author)

3. THE REASON IS YOU by Sharla Lovelace (signed by author)

4. IT HAPPENED ONE WEDDING by Julie James (unsigned)

5. IMMORTAL CHAMPION by Lisa Hendrix (signed by author to me)

6. PRIVATE LESSONS by Donna Hill (unsigned)

7. TO TEMPT A WILDE by Kimberly Kaye Terry (unsigned)

8. TEMPTED BY THE HIGHLAND WARRIOR by Michelle Willingham (signed by author)

9. TAKING HIM by Jackie Ashenden (signed by author)

10. THE HOLIDAY INN by Phyllis Bourne, Farrah Rochon, and Stefanie Worth (signed by Phyllis and Farrah)

So what do you need to do in order to enter?

Leave a blog comment below telling me which book you're most looking forward to reading and fill out the Rafflecopter widget below to earn even more entries. Pretty easy, I think.

I'll announce the winner on the blog the day after the sweepstakes ends! Good luck!

Jamie's 10-BOOK giveaway

COVER REVEAL: TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD

Look, look what I got!

Ever since I signed my contract last year, this is what I've been looking forward to the most - the moment I got my cover. 

Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?! I freaking LOVE it (which, between you and me, is kind of a relief because I am the biggest cover snob ever).  

I love how she's grabbing his shirt. I love his bulging bicep. It so closely mimics a scene in my book, I (almost) can't stand it! I love how the yellow pops. I never would have thought to use yellow, but it's perfect and I am now convinced that every book cover should use yellow. 

Have I mentioned how much I love it?! I keep staring at it and grinning like a fool. What do you think?

Here's the blurb:

In a moment of restlessness, Tate Grayson sold his multimillion-dollar company and spun his love of sports into a radio talk show. Life, and love, is too short to take seriously—a fact he enjoys rubbing in uptight radio host Noelle Butler’s face.

After the death of her parents, a tragedy she blamed on herself, Noelle vowed to live a controlled, focused life. Now a psychologist, she channels her need for connection into her radio show. But when the arrogant sportscaster next door tells listeners men shouldn’t get married, she’s all too happy to yank the silver spoon out of his overprivileged mouth.

Their heated on-air arguments are a hit, but when the station director forces them to do a joint show for two weeks, Tate and Noelle object. They can’t stand each other, despite the attraction sizzling beneath every interaction. But if they can’t pull the struggling radio station back from the brink, they’ll lose their jobs. Or worse, their hearts.

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD releases in August.