Interesting. I noticed the sky in this cover almost matches the picture I have on this site that I took as the sun came up on my drive to Tallahassee a couple of months ago. How cool is that?
Posted by: Author | November 11, 2010
How About Some Cover Love??
Posted in Books | Tags: cover, Siren Book Strand, Solo Honeymoon
Posted by: Author | November 11, 2010
Freak Out
So, on Nov 10, I was in court, doing my day job and checking email in between hearings and just loving life. I was guest blogging on Writers Who Kill Blogspot and checking for comments on that periodically. I was smug and content. Had planned a blog tour for late Dec/early Jan to tout my new release, Solo Honeymoon. Had gotten an email late last week that my cover would be to me in the next couple of weeks and I was planning to order my promo items once I got the cover. Smug and stupid. Plans? Plans Schmans.
Imagine my shock when I hit the send/receive button and see an email from the editor of Solo Honeymoon which was entitled “For Final Approval- Solo Honeymoon”- thinking it was additional edits, I begin to read it. It was instructions about the final edits for approval, the need for choosing an excerpt, the cover will be to me soon and then, BOOM! it went on to say, “your release day is November 23, 2010.”
Knock me down- thank God I was in my chair. The next attorney came up to appear before me. I must have been pale because he said, “are you all right?”
Me: “No. Just got some news.”
Him: “Bad?”
Me: “No. Just a shock. You know I’m a writer?”
Him: “Yeah.”
Me: “They moved up my release date.”
Him: “Another bankruptcy law book?”
Me: “No, a romance novel. Under a pen name.”
Him: “Oh. You know I learned all I know about bankruptcy from the book you wrote. I was hoping for another one. What’s your pen name?”
Me (with a grin): “You want to learn about romance?”
Him: Blank look.
HAHA and I never did tell him my pen name!
Anyway, I’ve been in freak out zone all day since then. Can’t concentrate to work on my NaNoWriMo book and have left that hero half naked with a topless woman in his arms. Poor Sebastian. Or not.
Posted in Writing | Tags: editor, edits, NaNoWriMo, Obsession, release date, Siren Book Strand, Solo Honeymoon
Posted by: Author | November 10, 2010
Not So Wordless Wednesday
I’m guest blogging today here: http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/ Come by and visit me there as I give away a shoe charm to celebrate my upcoming release with SirenBookStrand Publishing. The story is called Solo Honeymoon and there is a knife involved.
Posted in Books, Wordless Wednesday | Tags: knife, Solo Honeymoon, wordless Wednesday, Writers who kill
Posted by: Author | November 9, 2010
My Friend, Sayde Grace
Has awesome news on her blog and she even gives me a little credit for it. She’s so funny- it is a great story and all I did was tell her where to submit it when she was ready to give up. SirenBookStrand editors must have loved it as she got the news in three days! Way to go Sayde! Check out her story here: http://romancewithakick.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/news/
Sayde and Jillian at 2010 RWA in Orlando
Posted in Random thoughts, Writing | Tags: Sayde Grace, Siren Book Strand
Posted by: Author | November 8, 2010
New Head Shot
Had some head shots made and this one was the hand’s down favorite. I even like it a bit and I hate all pictures of me so that’s saying something. Rhonda Fowler made this photo. She’s an award winning photographer.
Posted in Random thoughts
Posted by: Author | November 7, 2010
Changing Names
Yesterday was the monthly meeting of my RWA chapter. After much discussion, it was decided that I needed to rename my heroine. In my book, Solo Honeymoon, my heroine was initially named Tess. I struggled and struggled with the story until I changed her name to Emma. Once she had the “right” name, her character finally came out and I was able to rock on with the story. Several of us in the chapter that car pooled to the meeting decided I should try that tactic with Capri, the heroine in my current WIP, Obsession.
Names were bandied about- some were quite ridiculous (and fun) and some were really good choices. I finally decided on three possibilities: India, Kathryn or Joanna. By the time I got dropped off, I had chosen India and even told Elizabeth that was my choice. I live 2.5 miles from the Publix where we meet to carpool. By the time I got home, it came to me that the heroine’s name is Joanna. Now, I have no idea if that’s true but I’ll see as I continue to write. I’ll see if the flow gets better. So, far as of this evening, she has loosened up a bit. She’s less unlikeable. I mean, I was really starting to think she was an unlikeable person, but I’m already seeing a softer side of her. That’s promising.
I’m also grateful for our chauffeur, Shannon. He’s the spouse of our member/friend, Jamie. He gave me some great info to use with the trauma my hero sustained in his time as a green beret. The info Shannon shared will help me make this story more authentic.
We ate a late lunch at Panera Bread and I got all of 97 words written on our NaNo “sprint.” Not much sprinting there for me. But I did get research done by chatting with Shannon about being deployed to a militarized zone- that counts for something, right?
Don’t forget to visit me here today: http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com/ They’re doing new author spotlights on the weekends and I’m the author du jour.
Posted in Writing | Tags: GCCRWA, NaNoWriMo, Obsession, Panera Bread, Solo Honeymoon, WIP
Posted by: Author | November 6, 2010
NaNoWriMo
I”m working on my NaNoWriMo story and it is kicking my butt. I have my hero down cold- his back story and his angst are fully formed in my head. The heroine is another story- she seems to be very elusive. I think part of the problem may be her name. Her name is Capri and I keep typing Carpi or Capril. She must be mad at me for this and therefore is refusing to share much back story with me. All I know is she has a history with a bloke named Nigel and she’s been in Majorca to recover from her broken heart.
Sebastian, the hero, has just accused her of being a person that leaves when the going gets tough. He just met her, how does he know that and I don’t?
Here’s my inspiration picture of him: (except Sebastian has a scar on his face).
Join me tomorrow (November 7) as I’m featured on the Desert Breeze Publishing blog as one of their new authors. http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com/ They will be publishing my last year’s NaNoWriMo story, Redemption for the Devil, in July.
Posted in Writing | Tags: Desert Breeze Publishing, Idris Elba, NaNoWriMo, Obsession
Posted by: Author | November 5, 2010
Friday Fact- November 5, 2010- Envelope
Today’s Friday fact is very short. I’ve been down with a migraine and have zero energy. Had to break out the phenergran this time. That stuff helps stop the vomiting but it kicks my butt and makes my head mush so I still am loopy from it. Sorry, I’ll do better next week.
I thought this tidbit was interesting – as you know, all things British intrigue me.
The first envelopes with gummed flaps were produced in 1844. In Great Britain, they were not immediately popular because it was thought to be a serious insult to send a person’s saliva to someone else.
I love that.
Posted in Friday Facts | Tags: envelopes, Firiday Fact, Great Britain
Posted by: Author | November 3, 2010
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
Posted by: Author | November 2, 2010
Made a Decision
I’ve decided that I’m going to concentrate my career as a writer with the e-market. It seems that my voice is better for that market than the big houses. And that’s fine by me. I still have a couple of agent submissions out there but I’m going to go ahead and submit to e-pubs the two stories I thought were my best chance at a New York house.
The funny thing is, I have been a bit successful with both short stories under my real name and 2 novels sold to e-pubs but when I get the rejection that seems to be unkind, it hurts like hell. Got one from a NY editor today and she said that she liked the setting and was intrigued by the heroine’s emotional journey but she wasn’t engaged by my writing style. That was fine- I could live with that as we all know writing is subjective.
BUT then she added that the plot was a bit cliche. WHAT?? How many of you have read a book with a surfer girl as the heroine? One where she is taken into custody and accused of a serious crime in a foreign country? AND No, this was in no way like Bridget Jones Part II- I can’t figure out the cliche- At a loss, but I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that I’ll never measure up to NY standards.
I’m over it. NY, that is.
Posted in Writing | Tags: Surfer Bride
Jillian Chantal 