So many things to tell you!
I have so much to share with you all — some of it very exciting news — and to remember it all I'm going to divide it up into categories, starting with...
Breaking Point
I got home to find a box of bound galleys, also known as ARCs, or advance review copies, on my porch. They don't have the sexy cover, but they do have the words. I won't get my author copies until a few weeks before the book's release. Some of these are for prizes, the rest go to reviewers.
The "Get Out of My TBR, Get Into My Bed" I-Team Reading Challenge seems to be moving along. Thanks to all of you who've signed up. I hope you're having fun with it.
There are two other events of which you should be aware.
The first is a contest that's running on Fresh Fiction. To introduce readers to the I-Team, I'm giving away Extreme Exposure and Hard Evidence in February, Unlawful Contact and Naked Edge in March and two copies of Breaking Point in April. To sign up, click here.
The second is the After the Epilogue Spoiler Chat. I held one of these after Naked Edge was released, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The event is only for people who've already read the story. It's my way of saying thank you to anyone wild enough about the I-Team to run out, get the book and read it right away. The chat will be held on May 20 at 7 p.m. Mountain Time in a chatroom on Chatzy.com. I'll post the URL immediately prior to the chat. It's your chance to ask me about the plot and to discuss the story with others who've already read it. There will be prizes. So mark your calender!
And now some news about...
MacKinnon's Rangers & Ride the Fire
Someone go get Kristie J, MelissaB and KarLynP...
First things first — The title of Connor's story is going to be Defiant. My editor and I had a long telephone call yesterday evening about the title, the plot (which I changed entirely from what she'd read in the synopsis), and the re-releases of Surrender, Untamed, and Ride the Fire.
Secondly, I've seen the art from the photo shoot for the series — they shot a gazillion photos in a gazillion poses in order to do it while they had all the props in hand — and I'm thrilled. It was only raw art, but they took great pains to be historically accurate and to depict the heroes as Scotsmen who grew up among Indians. They even had the model holding a long rifle and wearing a powder horn.
When the books were first released, they had the exact covers I didn't want with tipis and mountains that you don't even find in Colorado. And what was with that plaid across the model's bare chest? Was that a chastity plaid or something?
The wonderful people at Penguin, most especially my terrific editor, seem genuinely driven to please me with the covers — and to get them right. So that's exciting, too.
And, now for the news that Kristie J, MelissaB and KarLynP will want to read... Surrender, Untamed and Ride the Fire will be re-released with cut scenes restored. And — wait for it — Ride the Fire will absolutely, positively have its epilogue.
Balloons and cake for everyone!
The only downer is this: Connor's book will be the last book in the series. I won't be working on Lord William's story for some time, and only if Defiant does really well and I can talk someone into letting me write it. That's a bit hard for me, because I don't want to say good-bye to the French & Indian War setting or to my Rangers. I really wanted to write Lord William's book. We'll have to see how things go.
I will probably have to plan an extended vacation for after I finish Defiant, because finishing Ride the Fire and having to say good-bye to the Kenleigh/Blakewell clan had me in tears — for six weeks. You think I'm exaggerating. Ha!
That's a lot of news. I hope you got it all — and I hope it excites you almost as much as it excites me.
Now I have a million things to do!
Coming soon:
I-Team Trivia
Breaking Point trailer
P.S. The images above are all lovely creations of Jennifer Johnson. The Breaking Point cover (with an image of Natalie added to it) and the Ride the Fire image are available as downloadable wallpaper on my website under Fun Stuff & Extras, together with other images. Feel free to download and share!
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MelissaB
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Feb 03, 2011 01:12PM
Great news Pamela! I am very excited about Connor's book, love the title and can't wait to see the cover! I am disappointed about Joseph's book but I will look forward to maybe a new series? More historicals please!
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Awesome news, Pamela! I can't wait for "Breaking Point" and "Defiant"! *hugs*
I love you Pamela! DEFIANT! CONNOR! YESSS!k- can I ask something... will they accept ANOTHER series in the same setting or are they saying no to the whole colonial hist/rom thing?? I sure hope not because:: covering Jane Austen's ears:: I'm sick of regency England. :\
Hi, Melissa — I can't wait to see the cover either. I've only seen raw photos. I'll definitely be doing more historicals. I've only got one I-Team book left on contract after BREAKING POINT, but I have two more historicals to write after DEFIANT. Hi, Shawna — Thanks! :-)
Hi, Zeek — Aw, that's sweet! Thanks!
I think the setting is what the publisher wants to get away from. It's just not that popular. For some reason — and truly I don't know why — readers prefer England and Scotland. The periods that interest me in Europe include medieval, Dickensian (Victorian) and 18th century. So I may be writing one of those time periods, with medieval as my preference. Although I enjoyed Jane Austen in college, I won't ever write a Regency, so no worries there.
I love medievals and Scottish settings too. It's disappointing the publishers don't want more colonials, I know people like that your books are in a different setting.
I hear you. I really don't want to leave Colonial America. I think the frontier is such an exciting place to set stories, and I really have no interest in writing only about lords and ladies. For me, the fun in Colonial America is being able to mix it all up and defy conventions on all sides.Who knows? Maybe Connor's book will blow them away and they'll want more. I'm going to write it so that the door is left open...
I don't understand the way publishers think. They seriously underestimate the number of readers that are fed up with Regency England. I'm always looking for used books in other settings (medieval, western, Viking, ancient Rome/Egypt, you name it). I know I'm not the only one and publishers are completely missing the market.
I agree with MellyB & Agent Scully- I really crave the different settings but if I cant have them then I'd prefer a Scottish one. Medieval's good and ohh how fun would 18 century be?? Thinking Marie Antoinette and Martha Washington! (not together but thinking powdered wigs and mozart! haha!)
Hmmmm. Scottish Highlanders are kinda common now too. I'd love to see what Pamela can do with Vikings :-)
AgentScully wrote: "I don't understand the way publishers think. They seriously underestimate the number of readers that are fed up with Regency England. I'm always looking for used books in other settings (medieval, ..."Me too! I buy almost no new historical romances except for yours and a select few authors, meanwhile I buy tons of new paranormals, contemporaries and romantica - so they are losing my money. I have to look for older used historicals from the 1990's to get my westerns, medievals and exotic settings.
That's why I was so excited to find your historicals, I finally found an author who still wrote historicals that I loved with a different setting than regency England.
Hi, Agent Skully,I spent 10 years studying the ancient world as an undergrad archaeology student, and then as a graduate student. That's 10 years of Latin, two years of Greek, one year of Egyptian hieroglyphics, 10 years of history classes, art & architecture, archaeology, etc.
And I lived in Denmark very near several key Viking sites.
And guess what? I've never even *considered* setting a book in those time periods because I know no one is receptive to the idea.
As long as sales on Regency England surpass those on other time periods, that's what the publishing houses will keep printing. I have to find something that isn't Regency but is still in Europe. If I had to write Regency, I think I would quit writing. Fortunately, that's not the case.
I would love a Viking or Egyptian setting! But as we know I am in the minority :)But I will try any time period you write because I think you can do it justice.
Pamela,I would love to have studied archeology and Egyptology. Alas I stuck with math (the good news is it pays for my book habit now!)
Maybe a Rome setting would be acceptable to publishers with all the interest recently in the miniseries? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you :-)
Pamela wrote: "As long as sales on Regency England surpass those on other time periods, that's what the publishing houses will keep printing."That's a vicious circle. Sales on Regency England are bigger because there are more books set on that time period. I haven't gotten tired of that period (yet) so I'm one of those many readers who keep publishers thinking that's all we want to read, but I don't read only Regencies and I like other settings too.
Great news!! Well, mostly. Sad about the publishers not liking the Colonial historical setting, but I get it. However, your books have the hot Scottish hero's which draws fans to those Scottish books in the first place. I do think publishers are finally starting to venture outside of regency Europe, but their moneymakers are no doubt the Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas type historicals. And to be honest, I am so glad you don't want to write that genre.
I totally vote for medieval! I think you would ROCK in that genre. Your writing voice, hot heroes and high-adrenaline story telling would work great.
I can't wait to see the new covers on the re-releases. I *love* the original cover for RTF. And now it will get an epilogue?! Way cool! How many kid's are Nicholas and Bethie going to have??!
Hi, Melissa — One of my most-favorite-ever books is Sinhue, the Egyptian by Mika Waltari. I read it in Danish (the author is Finnish) and still have that copy. I LOVED it. Incredible historical fiction. I've never thought about setting a romance there. I did consider Cycladic/Minoan civilizations for a time and, obviously, Roma. Hi, Agent Skully — It was a really interesting course of study. The cool thing is that archaeology demands so many cross-disciplinary classes that you learn a lot about a lot of things. I loved it! But I can't do math to save my life. And thank you for the crossed fingers.
Dina, you're so right! I don't know how to change it except for success with other settings. And I'm trying with that. The fact that I've written six colonials as a new-ish author is very unusual.
Hi, KarLyn — Medieval is where my instincts go, as well, although my favorite English-language author is Charles Dickens. I love how gritty his books are, showing not just the lords and ladies but the common people, whose lives are much more interesting to me.As for RTF, I imagine Nicholas and Bethie will have several children. If I were Bethie, I wouldn't be able to keep myself off him, pill or no pill. LOL! I haven't written it yet, and obviously, I'll have to reread the book again -- not an easy thing for me. That book took more out of me than anything else I've written.
Pamela wrote: "If I were Bethie, I wouldn't be able to keep myself off him, pill or no pill. LOL! ..."Oh heck yes, I envision lots of
So if you are discussing writing a different genre, what is the future for the I-Team? Will Holly the entertainment reporter get a story some day?
Yes, lots of kids. ;-)I'm not sure what's in store for the I-Team. I've got one more I-Team book on contract. After that, I'm not sure where things will go. As for whose story it is... I can't say that either, because when I first sold the series to Penguin my editor told me flat-out she didn't want a story for Holly. I've been saving Holly for last in hopes she'd changed her mind. We'll see.
I'd be happy to keep writing them or perhaps do a spin-off, in which one or more of the I-Team guys (or perhaps a couple, like Sophie and Marc) opens his own security company or something and then hires other super-hot men to work with him. But I'm reluctant to do a "secret special-ops team" story and would instead prefer to find fresh RS soil to till.
One idea I had was for a forensic nursing team. They deal with the living and not-yet-dead victims of violent crime, collecting evidence from living bodies, i.e., rape victims, domestic violence victims, murder victims still on life support, etc. I think there'd be a lot of drama and nurse/cop/investigator/FBI-ish action in that.
And then I have a paranormal-ish idea. I can't seem to get rid of it, so I might end up writing it. No, no vampires, were-critters or other supernatural beings.
Good luck Pamela! Whatever you decide to write, I will read it!
I love you for saying that, Melissa! Thanks!
Wahoo! Looking forward to Defiant! Regency is not my thing either. I think whatever you choose to write will be awesome. While I love all your books my favorites are your historicals. You have a special gift to make any setting and time interesting. I would have to say that the middle Ages is my favorite time especially anything with Knights Templars. I also like the time of Rome and Gladiators. Francine Rivers did a trilogy called "Mark of the Lion" that was based in ancient Rome that I thought was absolutely awesome, apparently others agree on Amazon with 324 reviews with a solid 5 stars. It wasn't a romance but it was fiction. I am stating that because I feel there is a market for ancient Rome. Maybe that could be your niche to retell history in different parts of the world, 5 books in Rome, 5 books in Scotland, 5 books in medieval England and so on.
Before I forget...its off topic but I need you know this.....I really, really, REALLY appreciate that you have a large word count in your books. I realize this is no easy task but it is one of the reasons that I love your books and sometimes when I pick up a romance book in the bookstore with a 40 point font I cringe, memorize the author (so I dont buy their ebook) and place it back on the shelf. Thanks!
Hi, Kim — I can't seem to write short stories. That was a problem with my first publisher. They wanted shorter books and twice my books were cut as the max size shrank. But that's not a problem with Penguin. Thank goodness!!!I feel that the story is as long as the story is, and I don't want to shirk on any aspect of telling the tale. :-)
I have thought of switching one day to straight historical fiction, but romance would be hard to leave. With SPARTACUS: Sand and Blood and GLADIATOR and 300 maybe the time is coming when stories set in the ancient world would find a market.
Roman Britain interests me. Oh, I have a backlog of story ideas for that time period. :-)
Wow! That is a LOT of AWESOME news!Ride the fire was my first novel from you and I freaking LOVED it so much that I have been pimping it out for anyone who wants a good, hot historical ;)
So glad to know that it would be coming out with its much needed epilogue! So YAY!!
And about Holly from I-Team, we can all team up and "urge" your editor to give it a go? I mean she sounds like such an interesting character who would definitely make the pages of her story come alive! Would so love to see her story.
And can't wait for Breaking Point. The review Dhestiny wrote has made me even more eager (if I ever could be more eager) but still cant wait for May.
And please tell me the e-book version would be out with the print? Otherwise I am dead!!
Balls. I'm totally jonesing for a Wentworth book.The only regencies I buy anymore have Carla Kelly's name on them, so you can count me as another reader burnt out on balls, gowns and titles. I've been all over American historicals lately, so I'm totally bummed your publisher's cockblocking on the Colonial era front.
Congratulations on all the happy news. That's quite the cover on Breaking Point.
Great news, Pamela, congrats. I dearly want Wentworth's story, and wouldn't complain one bit if we got Joseph's story too. So, it looks like we're all going to have to be pimping the MacKinnons this year. Create enough addicts that your pub will be begging you to write Wentworth. :)
Hi, MDV Book Reviewer — I didn't realize RTF was your first book. I'm glad it lured you in. That book may well be the most love of all the books I've written, and it breaks so many rules. The heroine is pregnant with another man's baby. She's not a virgin. It's violent. The hero isn't always nice. They don't have "real" sex until late in the story...I'm looking forward to rereading it and writing that epilogue.
I will explore things with Holly with my editor after this book is done and see what happens. She may have changed her mind.
As for BREAKING POINT, I don't know if it will be out on Kindle on the same day or not. I hope so for your sake. Can't have you dying on us, can I?
Hi, Ridley — I'm so glad someone besides me loves Lord William. And by the end of Connor's book, I'm almost willing to offer a money-back guarantee that a lot of people will love him — and will want his story.His story — and Joseph's — will get written one of these days. And thank you. (Nice use of the word "cockblock," too.)
Hi, Beanbag — Another vote for Lord William. Believe me, I will do all I can. But, yes, pimping the MacKinnon's won't hurt. Publishing is a business, in the end, and what matters are the numbers.Excerpts for Connor's book start in June... I'm going to keep him all to myself till then. (I'm greedy that way.)
(Nice use of the word "cockblock," too.)Someone's gotta keep this shit classy.
At the moment on Amazon, the Kindle version is not available for pre-order. Oh well! I will just have to pre-order the paperback and wince a bit at the shipping price. But it will all be worth it! ^_^
I'll e-mail my editor and find out what's up... I'm always the last to know. :-)
The Kindle versions are often not available for pre-order until closer to release day. I'm not sure why, but that's held true for a lot of books I've been looking forward to. :)
Oh I love the Rangers! So excited for Connor's story!
Pamela wrote: "...I have thought of switching one day to straight historical fiction, but romance would be hard to leave. With SPARTACUS: Sand and Blood and GLADIATOR and 300 maybe the time is coming when stories set in the ancient world would find a market.Roman Britain interests me. Oh, I have a backlog of story ideas for that time period. :-)"
Please don't leave romance Pamela! I can't stand when my favorite writers leave romance to write straight thrillers or *gag* women's fiction :-(
Roman Britain would be awesome. One of my favorite old bodice rippers was set in 1st century AD Bath.
AgentScully wrote: "Pamela wrote: "...I have thought of switching one day to straight historical fiction, but romance would be hard to leave. With SPARTACUS: Sand and Blood and GLADIATOR and 300 maybe the time is comi..."AgentScully, are you by chance talking about Enslaved?
Yes Jenny! Have you read it?There used to be so much more variety in settings pre-2000 I think.
My best friend came across it at a sale and bought it for a penny and gave it to me saying it was one of her all-time faves. I thought it was great and hot, hot, HOT! Though I read my fair share of Regency romance, I love finding romances in other settings. Early America is one of my faves, and why I like Pamela so much :)
Pamela wrote: "I'll e-mail my editor and find out what's up... I'm always the last to know. :-)"Thank you!! ^_^
Pamela,Thanks to MelissaB I recently read your historical novels. I blew through them like nobody's business. I just passed along the Blakewell/Kenleigh series to a friend of mine yesterday.
I am so looking forward to Connor's story. I can't wait to read it. I am one of those on the fence about Wentworth. You have such a wonderful way of writing a story I'm sure I will love Wentworth at the end of Connor's story if you say I will. :)
I am already on the lookout for your I-Team series.
I do hope you can continue with historicals. They were my first love in romance and your writing brings everything to life for me. I second the large page count you have in your books.
An epilogue for Nicholas and Bethie is exciting news! Their story was wonderful. I liked how things were different in their story from other romances. Very well done.
Thank you, Lynsey, for giving my books a try. (And another thank you to MelissaB, who has done for SURRENDER what KarLynP did for RIDE THE FIRE.)I'm so glad you've enjoyed them!
When I was in sixth grade, an archaeological exhibit came to my school in Boulder, Colo., and I got to touch ancient pot shards. You could SEE the fingerprints of the person who'd made the pot cooked into the pottery. It gave me a profound sense of connection with the past and is why I majored in archaeology in college.
In my stories I try very hard to recreate the details of daily life. A single word can mean so much to a scene or a single description. I want to be there, and I want so very much to put you all in the middle of it, too, so that we can *feel* what it must have been like.
Thanks for letting me know that I succeed at that sometimes. :-)
I am looking forward to your new books. I just finished reading Ride the Fire and Untamed this month. I look forward to Defiant. The Viking series idea sounds very interesting. I have Danish ancestry and a history degree but have studied nothing about the Vikings. I would like to learn more. A great historical novel would be a fun way to learn. This weekend a cousin said we have black Dane background in our family that has something to do with Spanish mercenaries who moved to Denmark in the 1600s. My curiosity is growing.
You're welcome, Pamela! You do succeed and I can't wait to read another success of yours! =)
I heard back from my editor today, and BREAKING POINT is slated to be released on Kindle the same day that it is released in print.So you have no reason to die, MDV Book Reviewer! :-)
Thanks, Lynsey! I'll do my very best not to disappoint you. :-)
Pamela wrote: "Thanks, Lynsey! I'll do my very best not to disappoint you. :-)"I'm sure you won't!
Pamela wrote: "I heard back from my editor today, and BREAKING POINT is slated to be released on Kindle the same day that it is released in print.So you have no reason to die, MDV Book Reviewer! :-)"
Oh thank you!!!!!!!! :))
I am doing my version of happy dance at work here!!
You don't know just HOW happy this news makes me!! *hugs*
Off the beaten path again....I never thought to look for books based on the publisher. Thanks for the idea. Seems I like animal books.....penguin and zebra. LOL
Haha! I hadn't thought of that, Kim. The book zoo. :-)
