Heartless Cover Reveal

I finally finished the cover for Heartless, the front cover at least. It will take a bit more work to perfect the back and spine. Now it's time for the big 

 

 ...which you already know about it if you follow me on facebook or my Heartless blog. 

That said, here's the cover for the New Revised Edition of Heartless: 

 

So what do you think? Took me forever to get this one just right, and I truly understand now why writers who also create covers will hire someone else to do their own covers. 

For any of you who are wondering, yes, this is a "clean" romance, meaning the sexual situations are left [mostly] to the imagination. One day I'll write that blog post on what I consider a "clean" romance to be. Until then...

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Evanescence ~ Taking Over Me

~General Updates~ InD'Tale, Heartless, RNC

InD'Tale...

The new issue of InD'Tale Magazine hit inboxes early yesterday. In it you will find:

• in-depth interviews with authors J.R. Rain and Sylvia Day; 
• columns by romance cover model Jimmy Thomas and author/reviewer Tammy Grant; 
• a new short story; 
• articles relating to books and publishing; 
• and don't forget all those lovely reviews. 

You can also enjoy Part 2 of my own bi-monthly offering, my serial Regency romance, The 11th Commandment. In this installment we witness the reading of the will and learn what Katherine's husband left to her...if anything. And this part is from our hero's POV.

If you missed Part 1 you can still get it right from InD'Tale's website. In the upper left column of the site, where you see this issue's cover, simply select "previous" instead of "Current Issue." You'll be able to download the July/August issue where you can find Part 1 of my serial romance.

Heartless...

Heartless was supposed to be re-released today. It won't be. For details check out the latest post on my Heartless blog: The Heartless Duke.

Romance Novel Center...

The beginning of this month I finally took the plunge and joined Jimmy Thomas's social network, Romance Novel Center (RNC). It was easy and painless and considering it's a network geared toward readers and writers of romance, it was about time I did so. If any of you are on there, please send me a friend request. You can find me HERE.

I think that's it for now. Until next time.... 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Staind ~ Believe

Page Views and You

Strangely, over the past two weeks this blog's page views have increased by approximately 600%. I have no idea why but thank you, each and every one of you, who clicked over to read a post or two. 

My top ten viewed posts are varied, though the top four posts since the blog's inception are Regency Wednesday offerings: Lady's Maid, Riding Habit, Debtor's Prison, and The Cravat. 

Despite this increase in page views, the number of blog followers has held steady. Again, not sure why. Is it possible there are this many who pop by, stick around for a moment, and then leave, never to return? Of course, there's the possibility that some bookmark a blog or subscribe by email instead of connecting through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. 

Oh...it just occurred to me that it could be a blogspot error. Is that possible? (And before you ask, yes, I have it set up to ignore my own views.) Have any of you seen a remarkable increase in your blog's page views? 

Whatever the reason for this increase, it's exciting. I appreciate your support more than you can know. And if any of you are willing to take a moment to comment on how you found this blog, I'd really appreciate that too. 

 ☺ ☻ 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Staind ~ Everything Changes

Not Just Romance

I'm known as a romance writer, primarily Regency romance. My short stories, however, venture into other genres as well. Most of my short fiction is free. Here's a list of all the non-romance shorts I've written.

Please note: the formatting probably looks "off" if you're viewing this post through one of my several feeds (i.e., Goodreads). To see it the way I meant for it to look, please click over to the blogger end. 

All links open in a new tab or window, depending on your browser settings. 

◄The Fold was my 1st flash fiction piece, written for a contest. It came in 51st-ish out of 250-some entries, by popular vote. 

Stalker ► was a writing exercise. You know the type, "start with this word, write a certain length of time, etc." I posted it here on this blog and on my site. 

◄Sunset was more fun than I should probably admit (after you read it, you'll understand why that concerns me). It was a switch for me on many levels: it's not romance, it's first person, and it's present tense.

The Dragon's Birth ►is a straight-up fantasy short story that's around 5000 words. It's a prequel of sorts for a fantasy novel I wrote that may or may not see the publishing light. This short is $0.99 everywhere eBooks are sold. There's an excerpt on my website HERE.

My two short stories in the UNLOCKED anthology are non-romance as well. Assassin's Keeper is Regency fiction and Survival is dark fantasy. Click the titles to read a short excerpt of each. UNLOCKED can be downloaded free from www.unlockedproject.com.

For those of you already familiar with Sable from Assassin's Keeper, there are two other stories out in web-world that feature her, both part of a longer work, both on the Clever Fiction website: Crossing the Channel and Unwilling Protector...though I suppose all the shorts about Sable could be considered dark romance, but it's only romance in the loosest interpretation of the term.

There's also Chosen, a mild horror-ish type of story that I wrote for a prompt over on Clever Fiction. I don't have a cover for that yet.

So enjoy my even darker side. Didn't realize I had an even darker side, did you? OK, so maybe you did. I've never been particularly secretive about it, have I?

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Rihanna ~ Disturbia

~Blog Poll~ E-book Pricing: Where's the Sweet Spot?

This is a topic that I've seen discussed in multiple forums, usually in a general sense. Since I write romance I want to know what romance readers/writers think. 

What are you willing to pay for a romance eBook? What price makes you click away and look for something else? Do you feel eBooks should be free since there's no printing involved? 

Personally, I won't pay more than $5 and I am more likely to pay that for a historical romance than any other genre. Money's always tight around here, though, so it's unlikely I'll even pay that much unless it's for an author I already adore. I definitely think eBooks should be priced considerably lower than their print counterparts. 

What are your thoughts? What is the perfect price for a romance eBook? $4.99? Less than that? Free? Please take a moment to vote in my little blog poll (top right in the sidebar on the blogspot end of my blog) or comment here. 

To my readers/followers outside the US, I apologize for the USD specificity of the poll. I welcome your comments on the subject of eBook pricing. ☺

Edited 8/21/2012, 10:27am to add: 

I just saw this interesting article, shared by a friend on facebook...

Big Publishers, High Prices Dominate E-Book Best-Sellers (Forbes.com)

What do you think?

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Daughtry ~ Breakdown

On the Topic of Blog Updates

I hate when I get so distracted that I end up having to do an update type of blog post instead of a normal one. Oh well. There's no help for it sometimes, as life often gets in the way. 

On the Heartless front: 

I've just posted my progress report on my Heartless blog. Click over to find out where I am in this endeavor. (The link will open in a new tab or window, depending on your browser settings.) In addition, I've announced the official release date for Heartless, the new revised edition. Watch for it to hit the virtual shelves August 31. 

On the writing front: 

I've been working on my prison hulk story, the serial for InD'Tale Magazine, and My Lady Coward. Coward will have to take a backseat until I get Heartless back out there, though. The 11th Commandment, on the other hand, will go forth as planned, since readers of InD'Tale will want to know what happens next. I'm curious about that myself. If you'd like to get in on this Regency serial, click on over to InD'Tale and subscribe. Subscriptions are free. If you subscribe now, you'll get access to the July/August issue which includes part 1 of The 11th Commandment. 

☺

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Savage Garden ~ Universe

Time is ticking away...

There are only a couple days left to subscribe if you want in on Lady Katherine's adventures in Regency Society. Go to www.indtale.com and subscribe FREE. Subscriptions will only be free for a limited time so take advantage while you can. ☺

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Lee Ann Womack ~ Something Worth Leaving Behind

New Serial Romance

So the news is out! My new serial romance, The 11th Commandment, will be published exclusively in InD'tale Magazine. And here's the cover I created to go with it: 

Lovely, yes? This cover was a wonderful thing to work on while neck-deep in writing this serial. Yes, I'm still writing it, but Part I is done and set to appear in the upcoming issue of the magazine. Part II is well on its way.

Now, you'd probably like a bit of a blurb for this serial, right? I don't blame you. ☺ How does this sound:

Lady Katherine never learned the fine art of hiding one's indiscretions. Thus her one mistake became Society's biggest scandal. Can she overcome the shame and learn to love again? 

I'm told the cliffhanger at the end of Part I leaves the reader salivating for more. I hope this is the case since that's the whole point of a serial. 

If you want to follow Katherine's adventures in love, make sure you subscribe to InD'tale Magazine BEFORE the July issue's release. You won't want to miss a single installment! 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Creed ~ Beautiful

An ACTUAL Page View Milestone

I just broke 20,000 views on this blog (or so blogger informs me).


WOO-HOO! 


So here it is again, my lovely readers. The giant THANK YOU. ☺

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Santana feat Rob Thomas ~ Smooth

♥Romance Opinions ♥ Romance: Selling Point or Turn Off?

Several months ago I asked a question on facebook that got me thinking (as if I wasn't already thinking to have asked the Q in the first place). Here is my exact post: 

"{I'm gonna ask this here, since my friends list is made up of all types of friends, not just people who know me for my writing.} Hubby says I'm doing myself a disservice by calling my books romances. What do you think? Do you immediately lose interest when the term "romance" (in reference to a book) is mentioned? Why or why not?"

The responses I got were varied and interesting ... and perhaps something I already knew. However, they still made me think. 

For example, one person mentioned that 80% of book sales are romances. True, and when looked at that way, it's hard to think calling my books romances would be a disservice. 

However, more than one (women, mind you) mentioned that they avoid the romance sections in stores and libraries. Whether it was the assumption the books contain graphic sex or unrealistic plots, the reaction was the same: Complete avoidance. 

One admitted that if we weren't published with the same company, she never would have picked up one of my books. But she did and loved them because "they are SO much more than romance." 

Which is exactly why my husband says I'm doing myself a disservice. In addition, he says calling them romances misleads romance fans into expecting a typical romance and they may not like finding out otherwise.

When I asked the question again, later, a discussion ensued in regard to the definition of historical fiction (HF) vs. literary fiction (LF). It was determined then that my books do not qualify as HF since HF typically focuses around a specific historical event or person. LF seems to be more character-driven, in-depth, psychological offerings. It appears that, in the broadest sense, my books are literary fiction with a historical setting.

I seem to have stumbled into my own genre. And that makes marketing a nearly impossible task. Books are required to be listed as something in all the retail stores. I figured "clean historical romance" or "clean Regency romance" best describes my books even though not everyone agrees with the "clean" assessment...but that's another post entirely. ☺

What are your thoughts on this subject? Is the word "romance" a turn off? Why or why not? 

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Faye Wong ~ Eyes On Me