Introducing...

Our new son!

This last week has felt like riding a roller-coaster through a tornado. It has been crazy hectic but oh, so fun.  Sorry to everyone for not visiting your blogs or responding to comments. 

Last Tuesday evening we got the phone call. Friday we started driving (12 1/2 hour trip. Plus bathroom breaks). Sunday we picked him up. And Tuesday we finalized the adoption.  (This is not normal but the state we adopted him from has some pretty easy going adoption laws).  Now we are home and loving it.

Truck Boy is two years old and the sweetest, happiest kid you have ever met.  He is super friendly and will introduce himself to and hug every single person we see.

Mini Engineer and Pretty Girl are adjusting really well.  Tuesday is the first day of school then hopefully we can get into some sort of routine. I'm looking forward to writing time again. 

So, what's new with you?

Release day and give away!

Today is release day for Lori Benton's  THE PURSUIT OF TAMSEN LITTLEJOHN! 

 

   Isn't that a beautiful cover? I was lucky enough to be given an ARC (Okay, I begged like a fan girl, but it was worth it!) of the book and I can tell you the story is equally as good.  

Blurb:  In an act of brave defiance, Tamsen Littlejohn escapes the life her harsh stepfather has forced upon her. Forsaking security and an arranged marriage, she enlists frontiersman Jesse Bird to guide her to the Watauga settlement in western North Carolina. But shedding her old life doesn’t come without cost. As the two cross a vast mountain wilderness, Tamsen faces hardships that test the limits of her faith and endurance. 

Convinced that Tamsen has been kidnapped, wealthy suitor Ambrose Kincaid follows after her, in company with her equally determined stepfather. With trouble in pursuit, Tamsen and Jesse find themselves thrust into the conflict of a divided community of Overmountain settlers. The State of Franklin has been declared, but many remain loyal to North Carolina. With one life left behind and chaos on the horizon, Tamsen struggles to adapt to a life for which she was never prepared. But could this challenging frontier life be what her soul has longed for, what God has been leading her toward? As pursuit draws ever nearer, will her faith see her through the greatest danger of all—loving a man who has risked everything for her?

 Lori was gracious enough to answer some questions for me.

1. Let's start at the beginning, how did your love of words begin?  When did you know you wanted to be an author?

My love of words began when I was nine years old. I wrote my first story after my best friend announced one day that she had written a story. I guess it never occurred to me before then that I could write a story, though I already loved to read. It was simply too intriguing an idea not to give it a try. I did, and I was hooked.

When did I know I wanted to be an author? All through my teens I had the niggling urge to write a “serious grown-up” sort of story, and made a few false starts. But it wasn’t until my early twenties that I buckled down and got serious about pursuing novel-writing as anything like a career. Once I finished that first novel, I knew this was how I wanted to spend my days.

2. This is your second published book, did you find publishing it easier or harder than the first one?

A little of both. The editing process on this second book was far more difficult and stretching to me as a writer, which isn’t a bad thing. Just challenging. As far as the publishing process, it’s been easier because I’ve known much better what to expect.

3. Your main character, Tamsen, loved fabric and sewing. Do you sew? Does your personality influence your books or characters at all?

I can manage to sew on a button, but that’s the extent of my ability. For a woman happy in her jeans and 90s-era flannel hoodie, I was surprised to find myself writing about a character with a passion for clothing, both the wearing and the creating of them.

Does my personality influence my books and characters? How could it not? If you want to know a writer, read her books. There’s no hiding who I am on the pages. It finds it way there. That doesn’t mean every character I create is a carbon copy of me, obviously. How boring! Yet there is something of me in every character (even the antagonists; I create them too, after all).

Characters—mine anyway—often spring into being with personalities and interests that hold firm despite my efforts to shape them. I gave up trying with Tamsen Littlejohn, embraced that “girlie” aspect of her character, and soon saw how I could use her preoccupation with clothing to show the stages of her growth—her rejection of the cage she feels caught in, her shedding of her old life, her attempts at “trying on” various aspects of frontier life, until we see her constructing a set of clothes unlike any she’s ever imagined, for the sheer joy of creating. Which I can fully embrace and understand.

4. How much research do you do for your historical novels? What is the oddest thing you've ever researched?

A tremendous amount, and it never stops. It’s become a way of life for me. The oddest thing I’ve ever researched? Some might think it odd that I’ve researched the history of undergarments, or the way 18^th century scholars at Oxford were required to curl their hair, or how to tan hides using an animal’s brains, or the erratic spelling and capitalizing of 1700s penmanship, or how a woman could manage to get trapped in her stays. None of it seems odd to me. Learning how our 18^th century ancestors lived is endlessly fascinating.

5. The cover is gorgeous! Did you have any input? How did you feel when you saw it for the first time?

I’m very pleased with the cover for The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn. It’s beautiful. I’m thankful that my cover designer, Kristopher Orr, is willing to discuss this aspect of the book with me. In this case I was given a choice of three models for Tamsen. While all three women were lovely, one of them so strongly embodied not only Tamsen’s physical appearance, but her inner person—her vulnerability, strength, and sweetness—that there was no other choice for me. She’s the Tamsen who appears on the cover.

Seeing a cover for the first time is always, for me, a bit of shock to the system. I’ve carried around potential covers in my head for months before that moment, my own hopes, ideas for what I think it should look like. When I see the cover for the first time there are a lot of happy feelings because my cover designer does beautiful work. At the same time, all those possible covers in my mind die a little death. After a while I cease to remember them, as I fall in love with the cover that is.

When you've finished this book, go ahead and pick up her first book BURNING SKY which is also brilliantly done.  

We do have a copy of THE PURSUIT OF TAMSEN LITTLEJOHN to give away to one lucky person.  It would be awesome if you wanted to add her books on Goodreads, or leave reviews somewhere, buy her books or give a shout out about the book or contest on your social media but I hate making people jump through hoops (probably from years of filling out adoption papers) So, the only thing you need to do to enter is leave a comment on my blog sometime before Friday the 18th. That's it. I'll announce the winner next week. But if you want to do those other things too, feel free. Sorry, but this is limited to postal addresses in the United States. 

If you want to find out more, here are some links. 

Lori's website here.  Facebook page here.  Her pinterest book boards, which are really amazing are here.  Amazon here.  And, if you want to read the first two chapters free, you can find them here.  Enjoy!

Book Birthday!

Today is a great day!  Why, you may ask?  It's the release day of Julia King's FELICITE FOUND!
Happy book birthday Felicite!

Here's the beautiful cover,

And here's a sneak peak.

“A rush of sweet warmth flooded Félicité for having remembered something about her past. The heaviness in her mind and heart seeped free from her as though it pushed itself from all of her pores. She knew that eventually everything—her memories and knowledge—would come back.

She ached for Pierre and Hélène to know her name. As fast as her legs could carry her, she sped into the living room. Pierre was sound asleep, chest rising and falling in a rhythm that followed his thunderous snores. He was so loud she found it difficult to remember why she had come to see him. However, she couldn’t bear to wake him.

She observed that the light shining through the gap of the curtains came from only the moon. It must be the middle of the night. It was difficult for her to believe that she had slept all day and into the night.

Gazing at Pierre, she noted how handsome he was even in his thunderous slumber. She wanted to touch his skin and the rough stubble of hair growth on his face. His hand that fell from the couch beckoned her to him. She resisted the urge to take it into hers, feel it, relish its rough texture, and press it to her face. Again, she felt as if she had known him for a long time.

Should she wake him to hear his welcoming, deep and vibrating voice?

No, she thought as her euphoria faded. All that was left was a lump in her throat.

Her happy news would have to wait until morning. With one last look at the most kind- natured and loving person in the world, she shuffled her feet back to bed. However, before she fell asleep, she distinctly heard her father’s voice in the room telling her, “Félicité, my daughter, I love you. I love you so much.”

She bounded out of bed like an animal pouncing on its prey and flipped the light switch. Scanning the room, she saw no one in there. She was alone.

Here is where you can find it on Goodreads.
Amazon.com (e-book & paperback)

And Create Space

We'll be celebrating all week so join us at these blogs.

Monday, August 12: Sara Bowers - http://spbowers.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 13: Elise Fallson - http://elisefallson.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 14: Jolene Perry - http://jolenesbeenwriting.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 15: Nick Wilford - http://nickwilford.blogspot.com/

Friday, August 16: Rebekah Callor Grow  - http://www.rkgtheauthor.com

Sign up on the rafflecopter below and you may be the lucky winner of one of her books.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Congrats to Julia and Good luck to everyone entering the giveaway! I know it will be a great read.

Extra, Extra

The awesome Julia King is releasing her book FELICITE FOUND this month.  Here's the banner.  Isn't it pretty?

If you want to find out more about the book check back here on the twelfth when we celebrate its release.



There are a few blog posts I wanted to share links to.  First, Peggy had a post on how to make characters sympathetic.  I thought there was some great advice there.  Next Tyner has a post about the facade we wear as writers.  I got this link from Jeff but it's 'Ten Words You've Probably Been Using Wrong'.  Last, here is a post about the epidemic of plagiarism.  Hope there's something that tickles your fancy.

A DANGEROUS FICTION

Happy release day to Barbara Rogan’s new book A DANGEROUS FICTION!

  

 Jo Donovan always manages to come out on top. From the backwoods of Appalachia, she forged a hard path to life among the literati in New York City. At thirty-five, she’s the widow of the renowned author Hugo Donovan and the owner of one of the best literary agencies in town. Jo is living the life she dreamed of but it’s all about to fall apart.

When a would-be client turns stalker, Jo is more angry than shaken until her clients come under attack. Meanwhile, a biography of Hugo Donovan is in the works and the author’s digging threatens to destroy the foundations of Jo’s carefully constructed life. As the web of suspicion grows wider and her stalker ups the ante, she’s persuaded by her client and friend—FBI profiler-turned-bestselling-thriller writer—to go to the police. There Jo finds herself face-to-face with an old flame: the handsome Tommy Cullen, now NYPD detective.

 

 Barbara Rogan is the author of eight novels and coauthor of several nonfiction books. Her latest novel,  A DANGEROUS FICTION, a mystery set in the publishing world, has just come out with  Viking Books.  She has also worked extensively in publishing, starting out an editor at Fawcett, then as founder and director of the Barbara Rogan Literary Agency. She has taught fiction writing at Hofstra University and SUNY Farmingdale, and currently teaches for Writers Digest University and in her own online school, Next Level Workshops.  A frequent lecturer on both the business and craft of writing, she writes a popular blog, In Cold Ink, and teaches seminars and master classes at writers’ conferences.

  

Your latest book takes place in the publishing word, a world you’re very familiar with, was writing about something so familiar easier or more difficult than other settings?  

It was so much easier I sometimes worried I was getting lazy. Having been an editor in a large New York publishing house and then a literary agent for many years, I know the industry from the inside. I’m also quite fond of it, which I imagine comes across in the book. It was great fun. I traveled widely, drank too much champagne and consumed too many publishing lunches. The people I worked with—publishers, agents, and authors, many of them brilliant, all of them book-lovers—were at the heart of that experience; and returning to that world was one of the great pleasures of writing A DANGEROUS FICTION.

How much research is associated with your books? 

Quite a bit; almost as much research as procrastination. My previous books  dealt with topics as diverse as chaos physics, jazz, Shaker furniture, adobe houses, high-level embezzlement, homicide investigation and open-heart surgery, none of which were areas of particular expertise until I started writing about them.

I usually start with reading tons of books and articles. I try to find experts willing to work with me; and then I go out and see things for myself. A few pages in A DANGEROUS FICTION concerns the training of protection dogs: that was fun research. I once spent three weeks in an inner-city ER, trailing doctors and nurses. I’ve met with retired spies, homicide detectives, jazz musicians, physicists, reporters, carpenters, heart surgeons, and nuclear physicists, all of whom were incredibly generous with their time and expertise. It’s a fallacy to think that fiction writers just “make it all up.” Fiction always needs to sound plausible, or readers won’t believe; and sounding plausible requires learning enough so that experts in the  various fields, reading the book, will nod their heads, not scratch them.

You used to be an agent, Do you have an agent to represent you or do you handle it yourself?  What advantages are there to having an agent?

 I have a literary agent, the wonderful Gail Hochman of Brandt and Hochman. I wouldn’t represent myself even if I were still an agent, because you can’t tout your own work the way you can a client’s. Having an agent is necessary if you want to get your work read by the right editors in the major publishing houses. Most of them don’t take unagented submissions. A good agent is an essential part of the team that goes into publishing any book. Their job starts with selling the book to a publisher, but doesn’t end there. The agent looks after the writer’s interests in every phase of the publishing process, acts as an intermediary to get information and settle any issues that arise, gives career guidance, and educates the client about the realities of the publishing world. Many of them act as the first editor of the book, in order to go out with the strongest possible work. They also handle subsidiary rights, including translation, film and serial rights. A solitary author has far less clout in the world of big publishing than an agent with a strong list.

You recently had some books re-released in ebook form.  Did you do that yourself or did your publisher do it? Can you tell us about them? 

This was really a banner year for me. Five of my books were re-released this year, and I’m thrilled that readers who discover me through A DANGEROUS FICTION will have other books available to them.

The three most recent titles, HINDSIGHT, SUSPICION, and ROWING IN EDEN, were reissued by their original publisher, Simon & Schuster, in ebook and paperback editions. Rights to two earlier novels, CAFÉ NEVO and SAVING GRACE, had reverted, and for a while I considered reissuing them myself as ebooks; but the prospect of self-publishing was daunting in terms of time and learning curve. Also, after working with top professionals, I had too much respect for what they do to think I could duplicate all that work myself. So I got in touch with Richard Curtis, venerable literary agent and founder of E-Reads, the oldest ebook publisher in the country. We’d been colleagues back when I was an agent, and Richard, who knew my books, offered to reissue them in his imprint…which he did. For me, it’s a dream come true to have six books in print at the same time.

I’m a slow writer.  I know each writer has to go at their own pace but about how long does it take you to write a book?  Does it vary book to book, or is it fairly standard?

It varies according to how much research is required and other factors. But I’m quite slow, too. Most of my books have taken two years to write and revise; one took as long as five years.

 Do you have a favorite character that you’ve written?  Favorite character that someone else has written?

 Jo Donovan, the protagonist of A DANGEROUS FICTION, is my favorite, as evidenced by the fact that she’s the first character I’ve ever felt drawn to write a series about. She’s the smartest character I’ve ever created, but also the most flawed.  Her virtues are ones I admire—she’s tough, resourceful, and loyal—but her flaws are what make her interesting to me. She sees either very clearly or not at all; she’s an expert in every sort of fiction except the kind she tells herself.

As for other writers’ characters, there are many who’ve become part of my life. But if I had to pick a favorite, I’d say Huck Finn. Love that kid.

Can you tell us about the classes you teach?

With pleasure. After teaching writing at Hofstra Unversity, SUNY and online for Writers Digest, I started my own online school of writing, the Next Level Workshop. I teach several intensive workshops a year for fiction writers who are serious about mastering the craft, including “One Good Scene,” based on the premise that all the skills writers need to write fiction can be learned by focusing on the creation of one good scene;  and “Revising Fiction,” my most advanced workshop, for writers who have completed a draft of their novel and want help bringing it to the next level. I keep the classes very small, and I only teach a few each year, so there’s usually a waiting list. I don’t advertise. The best way to get in, for writers who are interested, is to contact me via my website (www.nextlevelworkshop.com) and ask to be on my workshop emailing list.

Barbara is not only a wonderful, giving person, she is an amazing writer. I can't wait to read this latest offering and I hope you all join me in giving her a big congrats on her new book.  I know it will be the kind of book you can't put down.