Coming Attractions for April

Posted By Kate

It's April Fool's Day in the Lair! But we're not fooling around! We've got an absolutely fabulous line-up for you this month and you won't want to miss out on one single moment of fun, prizes and general raucous behavior! Here are some of the highlights:

On April 2, Lair favourite, the fabulous Kate Walker, returns for another fun-filled visit to celebrate the release of her latest book, The Proud Wife, and to share some really great news about one of her 2010 releases.

On April 3, Diana Orgain visits us for the first time to chat about the latest book in her Maternal Instincts mystery series, Formula for Murder. As a busy mother of three, she's got some great tips for aspiring writers who can't find the time to write.

April 4 finds Kay Thomas back in the Lair, along with her newest Bulletproof book, Bulletproof Hearts, from Harlequin Intrigue.

On April 6th, Jules Bennett will return to the lair to talk about her April Harlequin Desire release, Her Innocence, His Conquest.

And on April 7, Cheryl Ann Smith talks to Donna about her journey to publication and shares an excerpt from her debut historical, School for Brides. RT Bookreviews says Smith “makes a dazzling entrance to the romance community with a charming, sexy, innovative tale that sparks the imagination.”

Don't miss the fun on April 8! Joan hosts the wonderful Kristan Higgins AND the hero and heroine of her new Harlequin release My One and Only as they play 20 questions.

On April 12, Jeanne interviews Maureen Batita from the popular blog, Romance Writers Revenge. She'll discuss her ebook, The Kraken's Mirror. Yo ho, yo ho!

And on April 19, Dianna Love will join us in the lair to talk about keeping dreams alive, and why she's sponsoring a national art contest based on the book, Blood Trinity.

On April 21, Patricia Rice returns to chat with Nancy about her first direct-to-electronic release, Evil Genius.

On April 25, our favorite witch, Jennifer Lyon, visits to talk about her two new books in the electrifying Wing Slayer Hunter series, Night Magic and Sinful Magic.

Kathleen O'Reilly returns to the Lair on April 26 to chat with Bandita Nancy about her new Blaze, Just Surrender.

There will be a night of scandal and mayhem in the lair when the paparazzi crash the ball celebrating the launch of Midnight's Wild Passion, Anna Campbell’s latest historical romance from Avon. Mark your calendars for hijinks and giveaways on Wednesday, 27th April! You can read the blurb and an excerpt here: http://www.annacampbell.info/wildpassion.html.

And Anna's holding a Midnight Madness contest on her website to celebrate the release of her latest historical romance MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION on Tuesday, 26th April. All you have to do is read the excerpt from MWP on her Books page http://www.annacampbell.info/wildpassion.html and tell her what color Ranelaw’s hair is. Email your answer to anna@annacampbell.info The contest closes 30th April 2011. For more details, please visit http://www.annacampbell.info/contest.html.

One more April happening: The RT Book Lovers Convention comes to Los Angeles April 6-10. Are you going? What are you wearing? Tell us everything! And even if you're not going, we can pretend. What fabulous fantasy costume would you wear to the Fairy Ball?

Never trust a man...

…who frosts his hair. That’s right, I said FROSTS. Not highlights his hair…not colors his hair…FROSTS.

Don’t even give me your best rationalization for this absurd undertaking. Any man who frosts his hair isn’t to be trusted…under any circumstance. Contradictory I know…to my previous assertions regarding not judging books by covers. Contrary I know…coming from a man who wears bracelets and girl shoes. Shut up. I have my opinions and if I want yours, I'll give it to you. Or you can just start your own damn blog.

And while I’m on the subject, let’s not let the issue of hair coloring get by us. WTF? I mean really. Come on Wayne, give it up. That hair color looks about as natural as your plastic surgery.

And good ole Strom was the poster child for hair plugs and orange hair dye. Tang I believe, was his color of choice. And dig the bow tie. "Ok den Miss Maggie...y'all have a nice time heeyuh in Washin'tun now."  (It's hard to write a tangy Strom Thurmond dotage accent)

I have nothing to say here. Nothing.

Now back to frosting. This frosting apparatus and the frosting process is part and parcel of my viscerally negative reaction to hair frosting. It goes back to the eighties when I was living in Charlotte, North Carolina. There was a particular summer that was one of my best post-undergrad summers—ever. Living large with a couple of my KA buddies and hitting The Cellar every weekend, we manifested every behaviour typical of twenty-something year old trad boys. And then...and then...there was a woman.

A moving van pulled up one Saturday morning. We were getting a new neighbor. A moment later a car pulled in behind the moving van and from it emerged a little hottie. A hottie in madras and a sorority jersey and a Tennessee accent. A recent graduate from the University of Tennessee, she was a manufacturers rep for some health and beauty products distributor. For the next six months we were oversupplied with soap and shampoo and other beauty treatments. It was free...we took it. Butcept the hair frosting kits.

But I digress. Surprise there…I know. When my little Tennessee gal stepped out of her car I said loud enough for her to hear it… “thank you Jesus” …but I knew better. I knew better than to thank Jesus for such things. But I did anyway.

Surely she needed assistance moving in and as luck would have it, my roomies were elsewhere so it was only little ole me. So little ole me commenced commencing and move in she/we did. Providence Road Sundries seemed like a logical place to decamp post moving that day and so we went. Let the woo-fest begin.

It was a torrid supernova of a summer. I would come home from work on Friday and, like most afternoons, don my running gear for a five miler. Butcept Miss Tennessee would intercept me and I was easily coaxed out of my run. I remember telling my fratty brothers as I dashed out the door, to wait on me till I returned from my run and I’d go with them for beers. I didn’t return for three days. I’ve always been a slender fella but at one point during this summer of love, one of my cohorts allowed that I looked like a needed i.v. fluids. I was caught-up in the tentacles of neighborly circumstance. What was I gonna do? 

So what does all of this have to do with hair frosting you ask? Hell I don’t know. One afternoon Miss Tennessee rings our little shack. “Can you come over and help me with my hair?” to which I replied “Does ten pounds of flour make a big-ass biscuit?” Remember now, I’ve been conditioned to believe that traversing one hundred and fifty feet and knocking on a door provided me three days worth of distraction. But this visit was different. I walked through her door and let out an audible. My little stunner had a plastic skull cap on her lovely noggin and strands of hair…baby doll plug style…were popping out from various portals. “Here, take this knitting needle and hook some hair through each hole” she said. 

To say that it was some off-putting...scary looking sh_t is an understatement. Scarier when she started scooching the frosting cream all over the exposed hirsutendrils. The experience was Frankensteinish. She declared that "after a fresh frosting, I'll be easier to find in the dark." We cooled things thereafter and one of my roomies stepped in…and actually dated Miss Frosty for the next couple of years. Ladies please...don't let your man see you like this. Ever. You might say..."but Eudell loves me...loves me for ME ... just the way I am."  Ladies, there are some things that regardless of his love for you, Eudell need not see.

So…frost-on, fellas. But realize that we are on to your game. We know the process...you little bathing cap wearing donkey. We are on to your chemically mediated endeavor and please, don’t for a moment try to explain your tendencies. You are not to be trusted. Frosty.

Onward. Non-frosted.

ADG, II

Colleen Gleason Launches New Vampire Series

I'm happy to be hosting Colleen Gleason today to celebrate the release of The Vampire Voss, the first in her new vampire series. Not only have Colleen and I been friends since we both finaled in the Golden Heart in 2003, but I'm a big fan of her work as well.

For those of us who are fans of your Gardella Vampire Chronicles, tell us how your new vampire series, the Regency Draculia, differs.

Both series are set during Regency-era England, with the Gardellas around 1819-1820 and the new series during the Napoleonic War—specifically in 1804.

The biggest differences are in the vampire mythology and also in the structure of the series. The Gardellas are really more of a historical urban fantasy series, following the life—and loves—of one heroine, Victoria Gardella. The books are really all about her as a sort of superhero (a vampire hunter) in a historical time period. There are no “good” vampires in the Gardellas, they aren’t ever the protagonists or heroes/heroines. The vampires are all evil, and meant to be slain.

I took a different tack with the Regency Draculia. These books are definite vampire romances, with a spotlighted hero and heroine in each book and a happy ending for them at the end of each story. There are over-arching subplots and romances—a la Suzanne Brockmann and Eloisa James—but each book does end happily for the main couple.

The mythology of my Draculia vampires is much different from that of the Gardellas as well, for in these books, there are vampires that run the gamut from being totally evil to being vampires with a conscience. The vampires in these books have basically sold their souls to Lucifer, and they are living their immortal lives with this knowledge—and with all of its benefits and repercussions.

One of the things that make my vampires different is that each of them has an Asthenia--a specific weakness.

Like the vampires of legend who recoil at the sight of silver, and who are weakened by its presence, each of my vampires have a similar “Achilles Heel”—in this case, I call it their Asthenia. And for each Dracule, it’s something different. For one, it could be sapphires. For another, it could be an oak tree. For another, it could be grass or horses or rosemary.

After writing the Gardella series, you began writing post-apocalyptic stories as Joss Ware. What brought you back to vampires?

I love to write historical novels (in fact, the Joss Ware series almost feels historical in some ways, due to the lack of infrastructure and limited technology in that world), and when it was suggested that I try my hand at a true vampire romance novel, set in the Regency, I jumped on it. I love that time period, and I’ve come to love my vampires too. ;-) After writing five books with all-evil vampires, it was a fun and interesting challenge to twist my brain a different way and to write about sexy, dark, compelling vampires.

Why do you think vampire stories continue to ride a wave of popularity?

I think there are several reasons, one of which is the aspect of escape. We—or many of us—read for escape, and what better place to escape than to a place where we know it’s not real...and where things are often much darker than they are in our own world.

Another thing, however, that I think makes vampires popular is the environment in which they live: darkness, sensuality, forbiddenness (is that a word?)...all of that makes these characters intriguing and compelling. And there’s the sexual aspect—the penetration, the need, the angst and the reality of what is it like to live forever? Those are all fascinating, titillating aspects of vampire lore, and each author approaches them in a different way.

As a reader, which authors of vampire stories do you enjoy most?

Some of my favorites are Lara Adrian and Jeaniene Frost, but I confess that I don’t read very much in the way of paranormal romances...simply because I write them.

I am a huge Buffy fan, however. ;-)

Tell us a bit about the characters in The Vampire Voss, the first in your new series.

Voss, the Viscount Dewhurst, has been a vampire for a hundred and fifty years. He agreed to sell his soul to Lucifer, and now he has everything he’s ever wanted: immortality, scads of money, imperturbable power, and all the women he can handle. If a man were to live forever with all the power and pleasure and money he ever wanted, I believe he would be just like Voss: Selfish, hedonistic, and, at some point, bored with it all.

Everything is going along just fine—if not becoming a little routine after more than a century of pure hedonism with no negative consequences—until he meets Angelica Woodmore…who is the first woman he finds himself unable to enthrall and seduce.

Angelica is one of three sisters (the eldest of whom is featured in the second book in the series, The Vampire Dimitri) who has a bit of the “Sight”, courtesy of their half-Gypsy grandmother. She becomes a pawn in a struggle between two factions of vampires (if I may....the “good” vampires versus the “bad” vampires).

Because of who he is, Voss is studiously neutral in this struggle—playing both sides—because he wants to use Angelica’s powers for his own protection. And Angelica is terrified of vampires.

So...you can see where this is going. ;-)

And then add in all of the aspects we love about Regency romance: the balls, the dance cards, the manners and repartee, the powerful, rakish viscounts and the bored, brooding earls...and you’ve got a good feel for the series.

Also, there are two more books in the series, coming in early May and early June: In The Vampire Dimitri, we meet a tortured, brooding vampire who has come to strongly regret his bargain with Lucifer and who is trying, in vain, to break that bond. Too bad the woman he falls for is fascinated by his Draculean bent. And in The Vampire Narcise, we meet a damaged female vampire who believes that love isn’t for immortals—because nothing can last forever, especially for someone whose soul is not their own.

Thanks so much for having me here! I’m going to give away a copy of the second book in the series, The Vampire Dimitri, to a commenter today.

To enter to win, either ask me a relevant question about the series or writing, etc., and/or tell me...if you were a Dracule, what would your Asthenia be?
~~~
Thanks, Colleen. Can't wait to start this new series. You know how anxious I was to get my hands on each new Gardella book.

So, get to commenting, folks. :) There's a great new book up for grabs.

Windmill Jousting...at the L.L. Bean Blucher Moc

I don’t want to give up on L.L. Bean but I feel like my decision to pull the trigger on a pair of Blucher Mocs was a bit Quixotic.

Windmill jousting at seventy bucks is for me, essentially a low risk endeavour. Besides, it gives me something to complain about. Toad needs a contrarian successor and I might as well step up and shoulder the mantle. The Quixote image above you ask? I'm gonna do a story someday on William Nicholson and his brother-in-law James Pryde, aka The Beggerstaff Brothers. Be patient.

Why do these have to be L.L. Bean Signature? Why can’t these be the only version they offer? What’s with...Signature?

Why do they sell this pair on the regular side of their shop yet the aforementioned are somehow special? Special for the same price...

I wore a pair like these in college. Back when L.L. Bean offered one version...and they were made in the States. Even the Signature ones are now made out of state.

And these seem to possess formidable newness. How in the world can I knock some of the new off of these babies? Beer and pee would be unintentional new-knocking solvents if I still lived in the KA house. I don't drink beer anymore but word on the street is that sometime in the next ten years, I'll pee more frequently. Shut up.

Surely, if I was that concerned with the loss of homegrown quality goods, I could pop the dough for a pair of Maine’s finest hand-sewn mocs from Quoddy. But at a couple hundred dollars a throw…a well-worth throw I’d bet…I’ll simply buy Bean and lament.

L.L. Bean Signature. For me that’s simply code for “L.L. Bean the way it was…L.L. Bean the way it should be…” With my code as context, every Bean shodding shown above is Signature.

Signatory to a better time…a time when the good ole USA didn’t have to borrow forty cents of every dollar spent by the government. Stop me. Stop me now before I begin to sound like a damn Tea Party Maitre’d.  Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. 

Signatory to a time when sequential orders for the iconic L.L. Bean Camp Moc manifested a consistently styled shoe with an identical fit. I’ve had five pairs of these over the last thirty years…in three different sizes…with three different vamps.

So here’s to what’s left of L.L. Bean. Onward…with one foot in 1979 and the other…right here…right now. Present. And jousting.

ADG, II

Misa Ramirez Visits the Lair!

posted by Jo Robertson

Today we're fortunate to have writer Misa Ramirez, aka Melissa Bourbon, return to the Lair.

Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas. She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams. She is the marketing director at Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox with Turquoise Morning Press.

Please give Misa a hearty welcome.

Lucille Ball famously said, “If you need something done, ask a busy person.” I embody that quote and all that it means.

Let me start with this background info: I’m a wife. I’m a mother of 5 kids, aged 8-18. I teach online classes. I teach at a local university. I’m on the board of my kids’ elementary school’s PTA. I’m creating the yearbook for that school. Just me, no help (how did that happen, anyway?). I run Books on the House (http://booksonthehouse.com/) I co-founded The Naked Hero (http://thenakedhero.com/) I co-founded The Writer’s Guide to ePublishing (http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/) I write. I’m the Marketing Director for Entangled Publishing. I’m sure there’s more, I just can’t think of it right now.

The bottom line? Writing is my passion. I am a former middle school and high school teacher, and, as I said, I still teach online with Savvy Authors, RWA, and at Southern Methodist University’s Cape Creative Writing program. Teaching, I think, is in my blood and always will be. But slowly, my passion for writing has taken over a huge part of my life. It’s what I do. It’s become a large part of my self-identity, and I love every bit of it. Mostly, I love the actual process of writing.

A Deadly Curse, my newest romantic suspense, is based on the Mexican legend of la Llorona. I love this book. A reader recently called it “chilling” and another said, “This is a creepy book, in the very best sense of the word...a fast-paced story with a surprise twist at the end that I, at least, didn't see coming. Highly recommended!”

Here's the blurb on A Deadly Curse:

Most people think the Spanish legend of la Llorona, a woman who killed her children to be with the man she loved, is just a story. High school teacher, Johanna Rios, knows the truth. A descendant of la Llorona’s one surviving child, Joanna’s mother fell victim to the curse, drowning as she tried to kill Johanna and her sister Carmen. When one of Johanna’s former students, dressed in a white peasant dress like the crying woman herself, turns up drowned in the San Julio River, Johanna’s world turns upside down.

The curse is back.

Single father Ray Vargas is filled with guilt. His daughter’s friend, a former student from the high school where he’s principal, is dead and he could have prevented it. When Johanna Rios, one of his teachers, reveals her obsession with la Llorona and thinks three more people will die, each one representing a different version of the crying woman’s story, he will do whatever it takes to stop the killings from happening.

But with danger closing in and his own daughter at risk, Ray must join forces with Johanna to confront the legend, the curse, and the man behind the killings.

http://www.amazon.com/A-Deadly-Curse-ebook/dp/B004N62762

Read an Excerpt at http://misaramirez.com/misas-books/a-deadly-curse/excerpt-a-deadly-curse/

The second book, A Deadly Sacrifice (chupacabras, ranchers, and a curandera, oh my!) will be out in April. I also have a new cozy mystery series with NAL. Pleating for Mercy debuts August 2nd.

And I’m thrilled beyond belief that my Lola Cruz mystery series will continue--release date at the end of 2011. Woot!

My writing fills my life. So why, then, did I take on the position of Marketing Director for Entangled Publishing, a boutique publisher filling the space between traditional publishing and self/indie/mass quantity ePublishers? Because in the process of writing and promoting my own books, marketing has become an offshoot passion, something I’m good at, and something I want to help other authors with.

Finding a piece of the publishing industry that I really believe in has been a huge thrill, and I believe in Entangled Publishing, what they stand for, and how they do business. Throwing your book out there and crossing your fingers that it sprouts wings and flies is all well and good. It happens to a few fortunate people. It does not happen to most of us. We have to create our opportunities.

This realization led me to create Books on the House, a site bringing books and readers together under one roof. Every week, readers give away copies of their books...for free. It also led me to co-author (with Tonya Kappes [http://tonyakappes.com/]) The Tricked-out Toolbox: Promotion and Marketing Tools Every Writer Needs

https://www.createspace.com/357956

This book is a practical guide to promotion and writing and chock full of ideas, tips, and resources to make the most of your time, energy, and marketing dollars. Because of these two endeavors, I was well-primed to take on the role of Marketing Director for Entangled. Entangled has a phenomenal management and editorial team, and the marketing department, led by me, is just one of the many elements which sets us apart. We are a boutique agency, part of which means we have a very strong focus on building relationships between the publicists and the authors they represent, leveraging each authors’ strengths, and gaining maximum exposure for each and every book.

There’s no silver bullet to success. Mostly it’s hard work. And that’s on top of the hard work required when writing a book. Even with a stellar marketing department behind you (and I’m here to tell you that most publishers do not devote the time, energy, or money to promote each of its authors/books), it’s up to each author to do what he or she can to build a career and garner sales. In the day and age of e-books, independent digital publishers, bricks and mortar stores closing left and right (it was announced recently that Borders is closing 28 more stores), and the changing face of publishing, marketing and promotion have never been more important.

Getting your book in front of readers is paramount, but how do you do that? Here are some intentional things you can do to market and promote your books (these are covered in detail in The Tricked-out Toolbox): • understand your PR personality • build an action plan • set goals • set a budget • brand yourself • have a professional and effective website • blog, grog, or otherwise having an online presence • understand theme and audience • participate in online groups, loops, and social networking • think about swag, book trailers, and other promo materials • network • set up opt-in mailing lists • use ethical bribes (or bartering) • have a press kit • advertise • set up blog tours • use contests and giveaways • decide if book signings are for you • create a sell sheet.

Whew! That seems overwhelming, doesn’t it? It doesn’t have to be. Starting with goal setting is key. Once you know your strengths and what you hope to achieve, you can set about building your action plan. Once you have a solid action plan, you can begin to put that plan into effect. Start with what you know you can do and work within your comfort zone. As you’re able, stretch yourself by tackling a task outside that safe place. No matter where you are in your publishing journey, it’s never too early to start creating a brand and promoting yourself. What are you doing now to fill your promotion and marketing toolbox?

You can find Misa online at: http://www.misaramirez.com/ http://www.thenakedhero.com/ http://www.thetrickedouttoolbox.com/

Find Misa's newest release at the following: http://www.amazon.com/A-Deadly-Curse-ebook/dp/B004N62762 http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Deadly-Curse/Misa-Ramirez/e/2940012080295

I love the cover on Misa's book Pleating for Mercy. Here's a question for our readers: What makes you pick up a book.... the cover? The title? Author blurbs? And how do you feel about indie-pubbed books verses traditional NY pubbed books? Are you willing to take a chance on an indie-pubbed book?

Bandita Booty!

By Anna Sugden

Sorry it's taken so long to get the winner posted for Julie James' visit. Blame the nasty sinus infection that's laid me low *grrr*.

Anyway, without further ado, the random number generator has done its thing and selected ...

Donna S!!

Congratulations, Donna. Please send your snail mail details to me at anna@annasugden.com and I'll ensure Julie gets A Lot Like Love out to you asap.

Rita Finalists Booty

Thanks to all our wonderful friends who are Rita finalists this year! We appreciate you taking time to stop by and celebrate with us.

And another YAY to our Golden Heart finalists VA and Nancy!!!

We had a lovely prize package of several books from our Rita finalists, so Aunty fired up ye olde Random Number Generator and...

CONGRATS TO: JANE!

Please send your snail mail addy to our hackey hudjson email so we can pass it along and you can receive your booty/books.

Thanks again to everyone who helped us celebrate.

A Belgian Alternative

There’s probably nothing in my shodding lineup that I enjoy more than Belgians.  I like everything about these practically impractical oddities only from Gotham.

And I’m a purist, usually looking upon interlopers and poseurs with scorn. Be authentic, be real, be unapologetic and please, have a little swagger when you wear such things.  

Like I’ve said before, you gotta let the Belgians know who's boss or they’ll own you. You’ll look like a fraidy-scaredy-cat walking down the street if your little bow-tied babies sense fear.

The ersatz Belgian attempt captured above isn't worth revealing its source. They are sloppy and smarmy looking. Eurotrash and disco come to mind.

Belgians are destined to degrade quickly. It begins the moment you walk out of the store with them. That’s why you need a half-dozen pairs of the faggy slips. Made by villagers in Belgium and then assembled in a small factory by the good folks pictured above. Lore has it that the uppers are stitched by little old ladies at home and then “turned” at the factory before having the soles attached. Sorta explains why special orders take about a zillion damn years.

I’ve even take great pleasure in leading first timers to Mecca.

And yes, the breaking-in and rubber shrouding process is part of the mystique.

The hard-soled Belgians, leastways to me, always looked a bit too inflexible and they felt that way when I tried them on years ago.

Luca Rubinacci had a few interesting alternatives when I stopped in to see him in London last year. But at several hundred pounds a pair, I decided to leave them right there.

Then I spotted these over at A Suitable Wardrobe. They seemed just interesting enough for me to inquire. And wouldn't you know, Will stocks SouthernRedneckWhiteBoy sizes.

I’ll just say unequivocally that Will has hit a home run with these babies. Colors in black, green and brown suede are just different enough from the Gotham originals to justify me popping for a pair.

I was worried that the supple flimsiness of legacy Belgians would be lost in this leather soled translation. The thin sole on the Willgians offer some stability while allowing the ahhh feeling of barely there slippers to freely preen. Willgians. Yep. That’s what they are.

Nice attention to detail and proportion. An Italian transcription of a Belgian standard. Shut up.

 Scroll on over to A Suitable Wardrobe and grab yourself a pair of Willgians. And yes, I paid the full freight for these babies. People don’t pay me to pimp their products on my blog. These were my gift for the month long project that I just finished.

Oh, and my little Yogini LFG almost flipped over them.

Onward. Well shod in Willgians.

Namaste...ADG II