Sunday, May 30, 2010

In the mood?

With CARRIED AWAY debuting Wednesday over at EC, I am in the mood for great books. And writing!
Debuting a new novel is always a treat. But when you love the cover (THE major marketing vehicle), it makes the life of an author easier.
After all, an author's main job is writing...and reading others' works. Time spent promoting is viable but wow, does it need to be useful and practical. Else you spend more time doing that than getting the real job done!
Currently, I am deep into writing 3 novels at the same time:
The first is the second of my erotic Regency series (The Stanhope Challenge) coming out over at Resplendence, LADY FEATHERSTONE's FERVENT AFFAIRE is a menage I am having a delicious time finishing.
The second I write is HAT TRICK, one of the COUGAR CHALLENGE series I was invited to join by those authors of yummy younger men stories. This too is a menage! (See a pattern???)
And the other I develop is part of my series with that talented author and good buddy of mine, Desiree Holt! We soon launch a series at EC that is ROMANTIC THRILLER!!! Yes. Color us unique! Not too many authors can pull off a thriller. WE HAVE 6 of them coming from EC. The first? UNTIL THE DAWN should be coming out in July or August! Stay tuned.
In the meantime?
Do enjoy the second in my IRRESISTIBLE FORCES series from EC, CARRIED AWAY.
Here security expert Grant Warwick goes to Venice for a meeting with a Dubai sheik to finalize a business deal to protect his new museum, only to find the love-'em-and-leave him woman he adored, Coco Dalton. She's apologetic, needy and still the cutest trick in bad shoe leather he has ever seen.
What's a guy to do when he cannot resist the lady with the big problem and the baddest dude out to get her?
Grant takes on the challenge, of course. Saving her pretty ass from her nemesis--and for himself is the Job One for this charming and tormented man.
Do treat yourself to CARRIED AWAY Wednesday, June 2.
www.jasminejade.com/ps-8399-50-carried-away.aspx
Caio, bella! Enjoy the trip to Venice, Paris, Jerusalem and Naples!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Welcome guest author Marianne Stephens



Talking to Students About Writing Careers

I spent part of April 30th at a local high school giving Career Day speeches. My job was to inform them what it’s like to be a writer and finally a published author.

These teenagers are our future readers and writers. They’ve embraced technology, and eagerly checked out my Sony and Kindle ebook readers. We also discussed iPads. I figure that in 20 years, ebook readers will be as popular as cell phones and can visualize text books in ebook form…no more excuses like “I left my book in school so couldn’t do my homework”.

They appeared interested in my two paranormal romance books…maybe more because they had paranormal elements. I went into detail about the time travel (Street of Dreams) book I wrote, and fielded questions about using your imagination while weaving some true elements into that particular story.

Of particular interest to them: how long it took to get published, how covers are done, and how an author gets paid. I discussed the years it took me to figure out how to improve my writing by writing book after book, joining writing groups, joining critique groups, and networking. Knowing the industry ins and outs is a necessity, too.

Covers. I showed the ones for my mainstream books (couldn’t discuss my second pen name or books since talking about erotic romance books is a “no-no” in high school (although I figure some of them could probably give me pointers for my sex scenes!). They were fascinated by the whole cover art process, and I even showed a cover flat for one book that’s still only available in ebook format.

MONEY. Yep. They wanted to know how much I made. I explained that all contracts are different, but that I made more money per ebook than print book. And, because of a confidentiality clause, I couldn’t disclose what I make…but gave some “ballpark” estimates.

I also gave them URLs for teen writing sites that could be helpful. Mentioned Preditors and Editors as a source to check before joining any site/entering any contest.

My second speech was right after lunch, so I had some very tired/sleepy students staring at me! I tried to hold their interest by sharing some of my promo items for them to look at and passed around my Sony and Kindle ebook readers. That woke them up very quickly!

If you’re an author and get a chance to talk to students, do it. I found it fun and enjoyed their questions!

Thanks for having me here today, Cerise!
http://www.mariannestephens.net
http://www.aprilash.net
http://romancebooksrus.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romancebooksrus
http://sevensexyscribes.blogspot.com

Newest Book: “Anything You Can Do”, available: http://www.breathlesspress.com
5 STAR Review, REVIEWER TOP PICK, by Diana Coyle, NOR
Top 18% Best Selling Romantic Comedy: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/category150_8.html

Thursday, May 13, 2010

New cover! New man! New romantic suspense!

Meet Grant Warwick!
A man I adore!
When Coco asks him, as they sit in a fancy 5 -star restaurant overlooking the Lagoon in Venice, why he shaved his head, he says, "I was getting grey."
Know what she says????
"Where?"
He vows to take her on the crisp white linen tablecloth as all the ritsy diners look on. THEN, he will damn well show her...where.
But you need to read CARRIED AWAY, the 2nd in my IRRESISTIBLE FORCES series from EC, to know what he really does.
Coming June 2! From http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8399-50-carried-away.aspx

Friday, May 7, 2010

Popularity of Regencies and my new one coming 6.29.10

As I polish the first in a Regency series of romanticas, I marvel at the enduring popularity of that period in romance and erotica.
Is it the graciousness of the period? Yes, yes, despite the Napoleonic wars and their end. Is it the elegance of the homes, the carriages, the launch of waltzes? The emphasis on manners without the stuffiness of the later Victorian moralities? Is it the delight of a society growing and prospering? Is it the timeless popularity of Jane Austen blazing that fabulous trail for all of us to follow?
Perhaps, all, eh?
A student of English history, I get a charge out of writing these. A different set of challenges for an author to address. A set of conflicts for a couple that strike vibrant chords in the hearts of contemporary readers.
Do you like Regencies?
If so, what type? The traditional, no sex, lots of tension, manners and posturing? The sensuals? Or the eroticas?
And do look for my quintet of THE STANHOPE CHALLENGE, due to begin June 29 at Resplendence, http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/ with LORD STANHOPE's IMPROPER PROPOSAL. A primer on ancient Chinese love techniques, anyone?
The second--a FREE READ--my only one to date and a loooong one, I might add, will debut shortly thereafter. This one stars the only female sibling in the STANHOPE clan, Clarice in her tempting dilemma, LADY RAMSEY'S RIBALD CHOICES.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

2 RELEASES IN JUNE!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! Yes, the Pointer Sisters and I are singin' it, sister!
JUNE 2 my second romantic suspense CARRIED AWAY in my EC series, Irresistible Forces, comes out!
Love Venice? Paris? Want to take a trip with me to the West Bank? (YEP, I have been there, bella!) Then to Naples? Why? We are on the trail of a secret group stalking my heroine. You need to come read it! A luscious love affair with a hunky guy who is heart-broken that his lady love left him three years ago, CARRIED AWAY is one of those stories I did not want to end! Grant Warwick is a man I could take to bed with me. Every night!
But my second release in June, LORD STANHOPE'S IMPROPER PROPOSAL, is my first Regency of a quintet over at www.resplendencepublishing.com . This is out June 29.
HOPE you will not miss either! Return here for a taste of cherries, too!
And I promise to post the covers asap!

Monday, May 3, 2010

What I like about contemporaries

Contemporary romances are dying?
Who said that?
A shift from the usual cry that historicals are dead, I am intrigued why some might think this, aside from the fact that sales for some authors may be currently down.
Perhaps the same plot lines are showing up? The same conflicts?
But what I would bet is that the same voices are showing up on the page.
And voice is what makes an author stand out from the crowd.
A sexy Texas western deserves a western voice. A sophisticated romp or a romantic suspense deserves the educated voice and wit that should go with it.
Fail to give the reader the expected parallel of voice to locale or premise or subject matter, and I'd say you have lost the punch you could have imparted.
It would be like reading a medieval with contemporary language and sentence structure. Now certainly, no one is currently writing Norman French to give verisimillitude to a medieval, but the jargon, the terminology and the flow of the voice certainly would help, no?
So my take on the reputed "death" of any sub-genre is to examine what is being published--what I'm currently writing, too--and ask the musical question, does it read as it should?
A song has a rhythm. A novel has a voice.
Have you read contemporary fiction lately that really evoked the characters or setting?
Let's hear about them! We need to celebrate them!
P.S. Those cowboys I wanted to post yesterday? My photography skills are The Pits. Sorry. Viewing scrumptious cowboys through barbed wire does not thrill. WISH it could! I got more shots of cows--let that read longhorns--than necessary!
I put up here one guy who is nameless, but not unknown, I think, to many viewers. Sigh.