The HEA Cafe

I was tempted to subtitle this “How dare you say my baby is ugly!” but held back. Reviews are the joy and bane of a published writer’s existence. Each morning I check my Google Alerts to see if someone’s said something new about The Bride and the Buccaneer, but I always click on the link with a certain amount of trepidation and a lump in my throat. Did the reviewer like my story? Did she find the characters entertaining? Am I going to want to bang my head on the keyboard?

I can say, with no false modesty, that my fears are generally unwarranted. I don’t always get an A+, but so far the reviewers seem to agree that they find my stories entertaining, my characters engaging, my dialogue snappy. Some even say they enjoy getting a little does of Florida history fed to them, which thrills my history wonk soul. You can read for yourself what the reviewers are saying at my website.

Are all reviewers created equal? No. I find a comment from a reader saying “I couldn’t go to sleep last night because I had to stay up to finish your wonderful book!” every bit as grand as the most detailed analysis of my craft. I will say though that for me as a writer some reviewers are worth paying particular attention to because they understand writing. Their comments will be on point, and can be helpful.

On the other hand, there are some popular reviewing sites where you wonder if the author of the review was having a bad day, or ever read historicals, or was actually reading the book you wrote. When I get one of those reviews, I let it bother me for about five minutes. Then I remember the reader who said, “I read your books when I was undergoing chemo, and it took me away from everything for a few hours. Thank you.”

And then it’s all right again, and I’m reassured my baby is every bit as pretty as I think it is.

RomConInc celebrates 14 Days of Love February 1 – 14!  Join romance lovers everywhere as RomConInc launched reader forums, Contemporary, Historical, and Fantasy/Futuristic & Paranormal (FF&P), with visits from special guest authors, fun topics to chat about, and gifts and goodies galore! 

All you need to do to participate is sign up for an account (www.romconinc.com). Anyone who leaves a comment during the special promotion will be entered to win a free Reader Registration to RomCon™ 2010!

Tuesday, February 2^nd, I’ll be hosting the contemporary forum on Favorite Love Songs and Romantic Movies. What’s your favorite romantic comedy? What song was playing during your first kiss?

Please come by and share your favorites at Tuesday’s contemporary forum. Remember to register for your account today so you’re ready to go. We’ll rekindle romantic moments from the past and have a blast discussing movies and songs that never fail to put us in the mood!

Contemporary Forum Guest Line-up:

Feb 1 –  Jenna Bayley-Burke

Feb 2 –  Misty Evans

Feb 3 –  Stephanie Tyler

Feb 4 –  Elisabeth Naughton

Feb 5 –  Marie Force

Feb 6 –  Gina Robinson

Feb 7 –  Dee Davis

Feb 8 –  Diana Holquist

Feb 9 –  TBD

Feb 10 – Susan Crandall

Feb 11 – Hope Tarr

Feb 12 – TBD

Feb 13 – TBD

Feb 14 – Louisa Edwards

Historical Forum Guest Line-up:

Feb 1 -  Deeanne Gist
Feb 2 -  Karen Ranney
Feb 3 -  Terri Brisbin
Feb 4 -  Margo Maguire
Feb 5 -  Kris Kennedy
Feb 6 -  Sally MacKenzie
Feb 7 -  TBD
Feb 8 -  Sabrina Jeffries
Feb 9 -  Lavinia Kent
Feb 10 – Elizabeth Amber
Feb 11 – Anthea Lawson
Feb 12 – Elaine Levine
Feb 13 – TBD
Feb 14 – Catherine Anderson

Check the website for updates on the FF&P lineup and the TBDs.

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day! If you’re in the mood for deliciously romantic read with heart-stopping danger and a HEA, check out my latest Super Agent Series print release, I’d Rather Be In Paris. After all, Paris is one of the most romantic places around! www.readmistyevans.com

The new year has begun. I sent my latest manuscript in Monday to NYC and now I begin again. On Saturday, I will attend my local Wisconsin RWA meeting and brainstorm ideas for a new Love Inspired romance.  I know the women who will be coming up with ideas. They are a fun and imaginative bunch so I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve made one resolution for the new year. I’m not going to let the crazy details of the writer’s life drive me NUTSO.

I mean I have no control over anything except what writers I associate with, what editors I submit to and what I write. I can’t control anything else!

So I’m going to ignore the frustrations of this crazeee bizness I decided to get myself into.

Wish me luck!

I was born in the middle of the 20th C. and sometimes I stop and marvel that I’m now living in the second decade of the 21st C.

Of course, it’s not perfect. I don’t have a robot to clean my dishes, and I’m still waiting on my jetpack and flying car, but there are plenty of aspects of life in 2KX that I find exciting. Too many to list, but one’s certainly connected to this blog and my writing world.

Ebooks. The latter part of 2009 saw a record surge in ebook sales and the sale of ereaders. The options out there are many and the buzz continues–Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook and soon, the much anticipated iTablet. Without ebooks and ereaders I would have far fewer readers than I do. While my books are available in print, much of my sales are electronic, and they’re worldwide. My readers can download all of my books in a few minutes, adjust the font size for comfortable reading, and store them on a device the size and weight of a paperback.

If you have not yet made the commitment to an ereader, now may be the time to consider it. There are plenty of price ranges and options for the various machines, and the blogging world can offer advice to make it easier to choose. The well-read blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has recently done analysis of the more popular models and continues to test drive ereaders and review them for the romance reading community.

Talk to people who are using ereaders. Get their advice and their feedback before making a decision. And as always in this age of quick turnaround on electronics, remember that yes, there will be a snazzier model out at some point after you make your purchase. Don’t let that hold you back. As a reader who’s gone over to the electronic side for much of her reading, I can assure you that it’s a great feeling to have a device in your purse that’s got 100+ books on it, so you never have that panic attack again over not having something to read while you wait in line.

Along with Mars and Mercury, my ambitious ego has gone retrograde. For the past two years, I’ve been swimming upstream like mad, pushing myself with word count goals, editing deadlines and every promotion under the sun. Since September 2008, I’ve published three novels and a novella in digital and print formats while dealing with debilitating back problems, the loss of my mother-in-law, my twins entering middle school, and a bathroom remodel. (While those last two things pale in comparison to the first two, they were nevertheless extremely stressful.) 

I spent most of 2009 flat on my back, either in bed, on the floor, or on the surgeon’s table. None of the procedures I had done worked. My cure has been a constant dose of physical therapy and clinical Pilates, patience and time.  I’m not a patient person. Before, when I suffered from health or other problems, I simply put my head down and bulldozed my way through it. This time, however, there was no bulldozing through the pain or immobility. Hubby bought me a laptop holder that allowed me to work from bed and I learned to value the days I could stand, walk or drive more than the word count I produced. 

Every year at this time, I pull out my journal, read the goals I set on January 1^st of the current year, and make new ones for the coming year. Usually I have a lot of goals, most of them professional. At the beginning of 2009, I knew it was going to be a year full of work, and it was. Looking ahead to 2010, however, my ego no longer feels that driving need to produce. Is it because I accomplished so much this year and my ego is happy, or is it because my back ordeal taught me the importance of taking one day at a time? 

The answer eludes me as I type this blog, but I’m happy to wait it out. Right now, I’m writing a new story in a new genre and loving the freedom it provides. I’m content to hibernate for awhile, not worrying about how many words I get down today or tomorrow, instead focusing on the crisp scenes, layered characters and making sure my theme resonates in every chapter. 

My back is healing, and while the old me would normally jump into everything I used to do (and basically overtax my back and stress management levels all over again), the new me is content to roll with the flow. A good day? I’ll write and bake and enjoy my kids. Bad day? I’ll watch Bravo and HGTV and Soapnet, read a good book, and crank my iPod. 

The New Year brings a new decade, a fresh start, and for me, a new attitude. My ego is content to stop swimming upstream and float for awhile. To hibernate, meditate, clear out the clutter and embrace health. I’m ready to take a break. 

How about you? Will you be swimming or floating in 2010? Either way, I wish you a happy and healthy 2010.