 Monday, December 07, 2009 Holiday Specials and Book Releases  Greetings one and all! As I write this today, I'm looking out my window, enjoying this past weekend's snow fall here in New England. Most of it fell in my area Saturday evening, creating a lovely blanket of fluffy snow. Now it did need to be plowed and trucks were out doing their job throughout the night, it now feels like the Holiday Season is upon us. I love this time of year. The air is crisp, the excitement is up and those tried and true holiday specials I watched as a kid are on TV. I DVR'd Rudolph, even though I'd seen it dozens of times. But for my daughter, it's a hit. She even has some plushy stuffed toys from the 'Island of Misfit Toys'. It's also now broadcast in HD, so the picture was clear. The story is the same, but I started to wonder, what makes children and adults come back and watch every year. Of course it's the story, the idea of the awkward, red-nosed reindeer who doesn't quite fit in with the others. The misfit toys. The elf that doesn't want to make toys, but instead, would like to be a dentist. Even the Abominal Snowman is scary until it's revealed that he wants a job. There are countless other Holiday specials, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Year Without a Santa Clause, I could go on. Perhaps it's the time of year, the memories, or the marketing that draws in new fans of these specials that have been around since I was a kid. In some cases, they've went on the air before I was born. I'm not sure what years they first appeared but sometimes, like after How the Grinch Stole Christmas, television producers and writers will run a special on how the program/special came to be. They'll interview the actors that voiced a character, sang a song, or we'll hear music on the radio that we often associate with the story. I started to think how this might related to writing and books. Well, my answer was marketing. The Holiday Season is flooded with marketing. I can't go through a Saturday morning without seeing a dozen commercials for the latest toy. TV news anchors will run stories on the popular toy or popular gift items during the season. As a matter of fact, this morning on the CBS Early Show, Maggie Rodrigues interviewed an Early Show contributer from cnet about ebook readers. One thing I would have liked was that they referred to the readers as ebook readers, not just 'ebooks'. Ebooks are what we read on a Kindle, Sony, the upcoming Nook (which I hear is very difficult to get and needs to be pre-ordered) or any other electronic book reading device. However, I was excited about the segment, hoping to learn more about the devices. I did ask for a Kindle for Christmas this year and sure hope that I get it! What I didn't know was that there is a bigger Kindle that stores more information and supports .pdf format that could be useful for college students. That was interesting though a bit pricy for our family budget this year. What I'm going on about here is marketing, promotion, information and stories that bring our attention to products and programs during the Holidays. After the Holidays, there will still be marketing. We'll see commercials for 'After Holiday' sales. Stores will have barrels an crates of wrapping paper and a fraction of the cost. Grocery store ads will focus on the 'Big Games' of football, hoping to get people to purchase chips, dips, cheeses, sodas, chicken wings, beer and whatever munchie product goes best with college bowl games and the football playoffs and Superbowl. When February comes, jewelry stores will run ads for rings, necklaces and Valentine's Day gifts. It's all in the marketing, the presentation, the grab the consumers attention for this product. So how do authors do this? Frankly, I love to read. As a writer, I can't remember when I've not had a book on my coffee table. Some authors that I read now, I heard about through RWA or read a review in Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine or other promotional venue. Some authors I learned about through my publisher or wanting to learn more about the publisher. Some were simply by walking into a bookstore and checking out the books. Admittedly, a book cover will draw my attention first. I have my personal preferances to what draws me to look. A hot guy on the cover, yes, I'll look. If it's a Romantic Suspense (which I love, btw), if the cover is kinda scary, shady, hinting of what's inside, I will check out the book. I've found three or four excellent RS authors that I read whenever their books hit the shelves because of the cover. When it came to Paranormal Romance, I'd wanted to read something about vampires and werewolves. I went to the store specifically, did some research, found books that looked interesting, and was hooked on the genre. I especially enjoy series Paranormal Romances, and chose the books that I read because they were part of a series. I also read some blogs, joined Yahoo!Groups, especially after my first sale with EC/Cerridwen Press. I'd already belonged to some Yahoo!Groups because it's the method my RWA chaptes use to share information and news. My critique group functions primarily online, as we are scattered about the U.S. and abroad. But there are so many groups, blogs, social networks, I'd like to know what other authors and readers look for in those venues that grabs your attention. I admit, I am on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, all great means of networking. BTW, please feel free to join any and all of the social networking sites. I'll post the urls at the bottom of this post. I also recently created a Yahoo!Group that will allow other authors to promote their books and releases and give me a venue to create a newsletter and interaction with readers. I love chats but sometimes they are hectic. What do you think? I'd genuinely like to know. For the Yahoo!Group, I'm also going to look into posting short interviews with authors and readers alike. This would give an opportunity for authors to learn a little about readers that love their books. Likewise, it would allow readers to learn a little about authors whose books they love. If you're a reader or author and would like to participate in the interviews, let me know. I'll get you on my schedule, send some questions and have it posted on my Yahoo!Group. Here's the url to follow for my Yahoo!Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FrancesStocktonRomance/ If you're interested in following me on Twitter:http://twitter.com/FrancesStockton Yes, I know that's a lot of links! But I sure hope you'll consider joining them, following me or more so, think about the Yahoo!Group. There are many out there, this I'm aware of, but as an author of primarily ebooks into print, promotion is key. I've heard it said that people remember something best after seeing it at least three times. Promotion, being visible, running stories, programs or information has worked for tried and true programs and best selling authors. Writing is the fun part, I love it. Love to create characters, have them fall in love and live happily ever after. If it weren't fun, I wouldn't do it. When I got 'the call' about Seductive Persuasion, I was thrilled. When Rhiannon's Pride released a few months ago, very proud. Now that Book 3 of the Panthera series, Sea Captain's Ghost is now available from Cerridwen Press, I am amazed, excited, and happy for two characters that I truly loved upon the conception of the story. Now I'm writing something a little different but will be returning to the world of the Panthera soon. To learn more about Books 1, 2, and 3 of the Panthera series visit http://www.francesstockton.com/ or join my Yahoo!Group and social networks. In honor of the Holidays, I'm giving away a giftcard of your choice, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble or restaurant near you. Join the Yahoo! Group or post a comment right here in answer to my question about author promotion earlier in this post, and your name will be added to the drawing. Since it's the Holidays and everyone's busy this time of year, this contest will be open until January 2, 2010. Thank you for reading and Happy Holidays to all, Frances Stockton 
Friday, December 04, 2009 Although we will be in Southern California and a yule log won't be necessary, who could resist the happy intentions of a Christmas party? Wishing you the very best for this holiday season. Sarah Richmond
Monday, November 30, 2009 I decided to post a picture of me in my "fairy" costume when I was eight or nine years old but it will not upload. It's a very old picture as the subject is now. Enough said. I have moved into a retirement community and discovered a gold mine of stories from individual residents that beg to be told. If I go about it nicely, I hope to collect the stories and post them on my blog with their names. I told a little tale on my last blog. I shall add another to stir the pot of your imagination. I married during the war. My husband was serving in the Royal Air Force and training in Canada with the Commonwealth Air Training Scheme. My husband graduated at the top his class as a Navigator and was commissioned a Pilot Officer. Bill was retained in Canada as an instructor and was posted back to Britain in May 1944. As a Royal Air Force dependent I was allowed to travel to Britain during war time. I still have my passport from 1944 issued by the Dominion of Canada. Being young and knowing for sure I wasn't going to die anytime soon, I set sail from Halifax in late August 1944 with other RAF dependents, some with small children. We boarded the Ariguani, one of Fyffe's banana boats, minus bananas, on a bright sunny day and we became part of a small convoy of thirty ships heading out to sea. Within a day or so we entered a thick fog. Fog horns blew. Whistles blew. For days and days, we sailed into the fog until suddenly we cleared it and, like a miracle, we had joined up with the second largest convoy ever to cross the Atlantic. Line after line of ships as far as eye could see. We headed the third line but positions on the lines changed daily. We sailed on, zig- zagging across the north Atlantic. After two weeks at sea our convoy separated and my part headed past Northern Ireland heading for Liverpool. At 5:30 am, an explosion lifted me right out of my bunk. I dressed in warm clothes, grabbed my life jacket and headed for the saloon, our gathering place. White dressed stewards calmed us after more explosions rocked our little ship (7800 tons) We were not allowed out on deck. When the explosions stopped the stewards told us they were caused by "the navy boys practicing dropping depth charges." Of course, we believed them. When we arrived in Liverypool, we heard that five ships had been torpedoed, including the ship sailing directly behind the Ariguani. Enough of that story. What happened next? I'm not telling until I hear from you. Tto give you an incentive to join my blog, I will give away a copy of my historical romance, A Very Difficult Man, to the second person who leaves a comment and an e-mail address. I see this blog as a place for stories and also a place for seniors to rant and rave, should they care to. I shall save my rant for another time. Anita www.anitabirt.com
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 For this year, I've been having trouble finding things to be thankful for this year. My husband and eldest son will shortly be out of jobs as their company was bought out by one who is cutting nearly 300 positions in our small town. My son-in-law lost his job. My mother-in-law has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's which is causing my husband (only child) and myself no end of stress. My brother called last night to inform me that the pain he's been having in his shoulder for the last few months is due to cracked vertebrae in his neck and he's now looking at surgery. My last two manuscripts have yet to find a home. And I've been fighting bronchitis for the last two weeks. Great, yes? No. BUT.... I also know I do have things to be grateful for, and I am. I have a wonderful husband who supports my dreams and does what he can to help me reach them. I have four wonderful kids and two incredible grandkids who are the lights of my life. I have a warm house and friends and food to eat. Yes, I'm coughing my lungs out, but I have a good doctor and medication to help. I have books with my name on them and an editor who is wonderful to work with. There is more, but that's enough for now. So I leave you with this... every day in our lives, we face challenges and problems. It is how we face those challenges that shows who and what we are. To bring this around to writing... as writers, we must challenge our characters. We must throw everything at them, and see how they react. Hopefully, with honor, if they are our heroes and heroines. Or even villains, because every good villain should have a shred of good in him somewhere. :) So to all of you, if you are celebrating the day tomorrow, have a great day. And even if you aren't, make it a day to be grateful for.
Sunday, November 15, 2009  I'm the sort of person who enters a contest then promptly forgets about entering until prizes, etc., are announced. So I was VERY happy to get an email saying my CP book, Endurance, was a finalist in the Eppie contest (for electronically published novels). This is one of my very favorite books of all the 13 books I have published for several reasons:
Labels: Endurance, Eppie contest, J L Wilson
The deadly dull rewrites  You gotta rewrite. I've just fully faced that fact, to the point I was ready to throw out my computer. I can't say it any better than Ed Mc Bain does. "The only true creative aspect of novel writing is the first draft.That's when it's coming straight from your head and your heart, a direct tapping into your unconscious. The rest is donkey work. It is, hoever, donkey work that must be done...you must rewrite." I juat finished the most serious rewriting I've ever done. Can't tell you how bad it was. For the first time my wonderful editor has taken objection to almost everything in the book. What made perfect sense to me was compltetly illogical to her. After the initial shock of her unexpected reaction, I buckled down. A trifle indignantly at first, but gradually realizing she was right. As usual. Le me tell you I've never labored so at fixing a ms. It's done and accepted and is the thirteenth book I've written. Any symbolism there? Don't wanna think about that. I always spend a lot of time on checking of lazy words such is was, had, got. Have a whole list of those I'm meticulous about. But this rewrite wasn't poor grammar, it was me! Here's the cover for the book, which comes out next June. The hero, Jason, is a mage and the next book, already submitted, is about his twin Jono. Jono is behaving much better, thanks be to all the Druids and Mages. In the cover scene, Jason has gone outside to avoid the temptation of seducing Aislinn, and a thunderstorm drives her out to seek him. Naturally a love scene follows which pleased me. These two were hard to get together.
Monday, November 09, 2009  Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be here today, mainly because I have a huge announcement. Book 3 in the Panthera series, Sea Captain's Ghost, not only has a release date, it's coming out SOON! So soon, in fact, that it'll be released the week before Thanksgiving. That's right, Adriano and Jocelyn's story releases November 19, 2009. In honor of the release, I'm hosting a List Mom Day at Cerridwenchat's Yahoo! Group, featuring excerpts, blurbs, and a contest. I hope you'll join me on Tuesday November 17, 2009. It'll be a relaxing day, so bring your coffee, questions, comments and more. Stop in throughout the day if you're working, check in later in the evening and scroll through the posts. Before then, let me tell you a little about Sea Captain's Ghost. I say "a little" because I don't want to give too much away too soon. But I can tell you that Sea Captain's Ghost features Captain Don Adriano de Montoya, a spanish privateer who's dedicated his life to protecting Spanish shipping and shipping lanes from piracy. Here's a sneak peak: 1715 – Atlantic Ocean and Early Georgian England Her ship overtaken by English pirates, Jocelyn Kincaid is rescued by Captain Don Adriano de Montoya. Initially afraid of the man sailors call El Fantasma, she discovers he is not the ghost some have portrayed him to be. He claims to be part of a mythical race and her mate! Fascinated, she’s brokenhearted when he makes plans to sail her home to Boston. Haunted by the memory of his murdered family, Adriano has sworn to protect Spanish shipping from piracy. Unexpectedly finding his mate onboard an enemy’s ship, he saves her life. Despite their attraction, he keeps his distance until he learns a secret about Jocelyn that changes everything. If you'd like to learn more, come join me on Tuesday November 17, 2009, along with other Cerridwen Press authors, and be sure to comment. And, of course, don't forget, Sea Captain's Ghost releases November 19, 2009, just in time for Thanksgiving! So now that I've given my big news, I have a question. I know it's early, but have you started your Holiday shopping yet? Believe it or not, I have! Every year it seems like as soon as Halloween ends, the shopping begins. But this year I've put something special on my list. I've given my husband hints, left notes, even information. Can you guess, well, an ebook reader! What I'd like to know from readers and authors alike is which reader you like/prefer, why you like it, and whether it's easy to use. I'm very interested in the Nook, I have to admit, but there are a variety of devices out there. Let me know what you think and I'll put your name into a drawing for a Barnes and Noble giftcard just in time for the Holiday Season. You can comment here or send an email to romance@francesstockton.com. I'll be checking in throughout the day, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts, either about Sea Captain's Ghost or ebook readers. Also, if you haven't read Seductive Persuasion or Rhiannon's Pride, Books 1 and 2 in the Panthera series, both are currently available! Here are links to reviews for both. Check them out! http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/seductivepersuasionstockton.htm http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=10743 Until then, have an excellent Monday and enjoy the fall season. Frances Stockton
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 Social science majors, and anthropology majors in particular, will tell you that few classes pass by without a mention of Levi-Strauss' works. Cultural anthro wasn't my focus, but I read his work nonetheless (because honestly, you can't take an anthro class without reading Levi-Strauss), and it's only in retrospect that you can truly understand how broad the man's scope was in looking at human society and culture. (I could swear I remember some comment he made about baseball, but could I find it? Of course not.) From the piece from The New York Times: "His legacy is imposing. Mythologiques, his four-volume work about the structure of native mythology in the Americas, attempts nothing less than an interpretation of the world of culture and custom, shaped by analysis of several hundred myths of little-known tribes and traditions. The volumes — The Raw and the Cooked, From Honey to Ashes, The Origin of Table Manners and The Naked Man, published from 1964 to 1971 — challenge the reader with their complex interweaving of theme and detail. "In his analysis of myth and culture, Levi-Strauss might contrast imagery of monkeys and jaguars; consider the differences in meaning of roasted and boiled food (cannibals, he suggested, tended to boil their friends and roast their enemies); and establish connections between weird mythological tales and ornate laws of marriage and kinship." I always found the differentiation between why one cannibal boils and why one roasts to be illuminating and inspiring. It makes you see the world differently, doesn't it? That's why it's good to be an anthro major, kids, especially if you want to be a writer: You get to explore the world in a whole new way. Eilis Flynn ECHOES OF PASSION, on sale now Labels: anthropology, Baseball, Claude Levi-Strauss
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