The HEA Cafe

Author Archive

My newest Florida set, Regency era romance is now available in print and ebook editions.

You can read excerpts at my website, and it makes a lovely way to escape and unwind after a hectic holiday season.

Happy holidays!

Darlene

I’m sitting here in front of a roaring fire on a yucky December day, a dozing dachshund snuggled at my side. If she was in her preferred spot, my lap, you wouldn’t be reading this right now because there’s no room for dog and laptop, and the dog usually wins.

I’m trying to mellow out, but it’s difficult because OMG I HAVE A BOOK COMING OUT THIS WEEK!!!

Yes, that’s exactly what it feels like. I don’t know if someone like Nora Roberts or Stephen King gets the same kind of rush every time they know one of their babies is going out into the big, bad world, but for me as a romance author there’s no feeling quite like it.

On December 6 the ebook edition of The Bride and the Buccaneer will be available at Amber Quill Press. There’s a link at my website. In addition, there will soon be a paper edition, a Kindle edition, and sales of the ebook at Fictionwise, BN.com and other sites. The Bride and the Buccaneer was a fun novel for me to research and write, and I’m thrilled it’s ready for publication.

What’s it about, you ask? Here’s a blurb:

“Lucky Jack” Burrell’s quest for revenge against Sophia Deford will have to wait until he discharges a debt. He has to help her find the fabled pirate treasure Garvey’s Gold. Then he can wring her dainty neck.
Sophia has no intention of sharing anything with anyone. She will have all of Garvey’s Gold, no matter how much Jack’s lean-muscled body makes her want to get to know him just a little bit better before she gets rid of him.
As the two adversaries squabble their way across Territorial Florida following the clues on their treasure map, they know that before they’re through they’re either going to kiss each other, kill each other, or both…

People ask me why I write when so many days I’d be just as effective banging my head on the keyboard until blood flows. The answer is because of the rush, the emotional lift that comes from hearing from people who bought my book and liked it.

Next month I’ll have something more concrete on the writing process, but for December’s HEA you’ll have to forgive me if all I want to do is sit here and bask in the firelight, and think about my book going out into the big wide world.

There are many things an author can control in her book. How long it is (more or less), whether there’s a HEA ending (of course!), what color hair her hero and heroine have.

One thing beyond her control? Cover art.

I hear readers say, “Why does such a wonderful book have a cover like that?” I think people not involved in the industry think the art department and publishers actually listen to what authors suggest! That’s seldom the case.

I’ve been fortunate in that my covers have all been outstanding, though not always what I envisioned. For example, Pirate’s Price featured a red rose, and my second book, Smuggler’s Bride, had orange blossoms as a theme. So when the publisher asked me what I wanted for Smuggler’s Bride, I said, “Why not put orange blossoms on the cover, keeping with the flowers motif?”

What I got was an orange blossom–an orange rose. It’s a lovely orange rose, and I like the cover a lot, but something got lost in the translation there. Incidentally, my third book, Captain Sinister’s Lady, was done by the same artist and this time had a passionately purple rose.

I wondered where the artist would go with my upcoming release, The Bride and the Buccaneer. I dutifully filled out the author form, describing the hero and heroine, the setting, the year, and some of the themes. I got back an absolutely lovely cover, which you can see here. It’s not at all what I envisioned, but that’s why I’m the author and not the artist. It’s the artist’s job to know what will sell books. It’s my job to write said books.

When I look at my cover it says “Romance! Pirates! Bride!” That’s selling my story even before the cover’s opened. I’m optimistic that when the book is released in December, it will appeal to readers who won’t even know how good the story is (and it is good), but will be attracted first by the cover.

So if you see a good book with a horrific cover, have a moment’s pity for the author. And if you’re attracted to a book by its cover, have a kind thought for the artist, whose job it is to attract you to the books like bees are attracted to roses. Even the orange ones.

I’ve been published in ebook form since 2001. I can’t read my original works because they were sold on a format that’s no longer supported by my computer, floppy disks. I did, of course, keep paper backups of my work but that’s a different article–the need for back-up.

Today I want to talk about moving into the 21st century of ereading. I finally broke down and bought a dedicated ereader, the Sony PRS 300, their new “Pocket Reader”. Three things led me to this point: 1. the price came down to a place that was more affordable for an ereader, $199. 2. Some of my favorite authors were releasing novellas and back list works only as ebooks. 3. I’ve been doing more ebook reading at my notebook and not finding it especially comfortable.

The feedback I’ve been getting from my own readers shows a rising curve of ebook sales, and I’m now an ebook consumer as well. My little Pocket is the same size as a mass market paperback, though thinner. It can hold 350 books. I automatically slip it into my purse each day, and don’t worry that I’m leaving the house without something to read. Most importantly, the next time I go on a trip I’ll have more room in my carry-on because it won’t be full of books.

I’m still buying books in paper, but now I’m restricting it to hardcovers and paper copies of books I know I’m likely to want to keep. Much of what I’ve been buying gets recycled to the library book sale as soon as I’m done with it, and while the library will lose a bit with this purchase, it’s certainly better for the trees and the environment.

If you’ve been thinking of getting an ebook reader, this may be the right time. More models are scheduled for release later in 2010, and there’s still talk of an Apple Tablet that may make Mac users happy. My wish now is that publishers would figure out a good pricing scheme for ebooks. Some of them are releasing ebooks for twice the cost of mass market paperbacks, which makes no sense to me at all and I refuse to buy them that way. Eventually, however, I believe the market will drive them to a standard, reasonable pricing scheme.

In the meantime, I’m still getting used to my little device, but I think I’m going to like it. Maybe I’ll report back in six months on how this new love affair is progressing.

I tweeted earlier that I was going to shower to figure out what I’d be blogging today. Yes, Twitter can be that lame. But it worked. While I was showering I realized I could blog about…showering.

I’ll spare you the damp details of my shower. It’s not about my fabulous remodeled bathroom with its two shower heads, it’s about why showering boosts your creativity. Yes, being clean and smelling sweet is wonderful, even when you’re the only one in your house staring at your screen and keyboard, but it’s not about that either. It’s about how boring, repetitive tasks can free up your mind.

I hear this all the time from other writers–”I get my best ideas in the shower.” Think about it: You’re in a box without anything exciting catching your eye. You probably wash yourself using the same pattern of movements almost every day. This repetitive mindless activity may be just what your muse needs to wake up and give you that plot breakthrough you’ve needed. It’s happened to me more times than I can count. I used to think I needed a waterproof board and crayon with me to write things down, but fortunately that hasn’t been necessary. I do, however, keep a notepad and pen in my bathroom drawer, just in case.

The other place where my muse comes awake is on my daily dog walk. I very purposefully do not take a phone or music player with me. Sure, it’s more boring that way, but that’s the point–the very boring nature of the task opens up parts of my mind that aren’t coming into play when I’m focusing on my driving or listening to a phone conversation.

However, there are times when music can do the trick. Ask any writer what she listens to while writing and you’ll get a range of responses about the playlist. For me, it’s epic movie soundtracks: Braveheart, Rob Roy, Gladiator, Lord of the Rings and of course, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean scores. When that music kicks in, it’s a signal to my brain that it’s time to write and I’m much more focused without being distracted.

So, if you’re doing something different but it works for you, what is it? I’m always looking for new ways to wake up my muse, and one of you may have just the thing that’s needed!