|
|
SEPTEMBER COFW PUBLISHED AUTHOR NEWS Author promotion is a critical part of the publishing business. In addition to their publishing news, the following is a sampling of the many things COFW authors do to establish their author brand and get their names and books in front of readers. A YouTube video of the July Romance Writers of America conference's Literacy booksigning includes shots of COFWers Leanna Renee Hieber, Marcia James (okay her sleeve, tent card and stack of Tails of Love books), and Karin Shah. September 9th-12th, a number of COFWers attended the Lora Leigh Reader Appreciation Weekend (RAW) in Huntington, WV, including Jules Bennett, Lisa Cooke, and Donna MacMeans.
Nickie Asher submitted a short story, The Violinist, to Every Night Erotica and it was released on July 30th. Becky Barker's contemporary romance, Bridleton, was featured in a recent Cerridwen Press reader e-newsletter. The number of comments on her Seriously Reviewed page for Bridleton won her a month-long cover spot on their blog. The book was reviewed by Siren Book Reviews, which awarded it four Siren Stones, stating, "Bridleton was a short read, but definitely a good one. From the very beginning, the tension, sexual and non-sexual, between Andrea and Noah was hot. This is the story of a couple that had a prior relationship, and it ended. Noah saw Andrea in a much different light when she came home, and I enjoyed reading about how his thoughts towards her changed. This story has it all, heartbreak, making amends, coming home, finding peace, and most of all, falling in love. Becky Barker's Bridleton is a sweet, enjoyable book. Read it, and fall in love with the characters and Bridleton, just as I did." Jules Bennett's March Silhouette Desire romance, Seducing the Enemy's Daughter, was in the Top Ten Sexy Reads on the eHarlequin newsletter. Seducing the Enemy's Daughter was the Harlequin's "Friday Freebie" book on Sept. 10. In addition, one of Jule's books was also listed on the pull-out section of the August Silhouette Desire books. Jules will speak at the Sept. 18th COFW meeting on Deep POV and will have a surprise for those who bring pages to be anonymously critiqued. In addition, Jules will be blogging at the Silhouette Desire Authors Blog on the eHarlequin site on Sept. 16th. Mary Campisi's Carina Press contemporary romance, The Sweetest Deal, is releasing this month, and she has a sequel planned. In addition, her Wild Rose Press Regency historical, A Taste Of Seduction, is a March 2011 release. Dianne Castell's Savannah-set contemporary romance, Hot and Irresistible (Kensington), won the HOLT Award for best "Southern Theme" out of over 200 entries. The HOLT has been awarded annually since 1995 by the Virginia Romance Writers. What makes the HOLT unique is that it reflects the actual marketplace, since the judging panels are comprised only of avid romance readers vs. editors, agents or writers. Dianne guest-blogged on Access Romance in August. Paige Cuccaro's Harlequin Spice anthology, Naughty Bits 2 (which contains one of her novellas, written under her Alison Paige pen name) was in the Top Ten Sexy Reads on the eHarlequin newsletter. Gia Dawn and her husband were in the RT convention photos in the Sept. RT magazine. Carol Ann Erhardt's books, Hit And Run and Foxfire, are now both available in multiple formats for e-readers at Smashwords.com. Paulette Forshey signed a contract with Whispers Publishing for her paranormal novel, The Tarczal Alliance. Elaine Bergstrom (author of the "Austra" series) gave Paulette a cover quote for the book: "Refreshingly hot stuff and totally twisted at the end." Lori Foster's Nov. contemporary romance, Bewitched, a 2-in-1 book from HQN, was mentioned in the Sept. RT's "Publishers Previews" column. Denise Gwen's novel, Judge Not, will be released on Sept. 17the through The Wild Rose Press. Karen Harper developed a "Choose To Read Ohio" library program "toolkit" for her historical fiction novel, Mistress Shakespeare, which was one of the books chosen for the 2011 program by the State Library of Ohio and the Ohioana Library Association. (Choose To Read Ohio "spotlights Ohio authors and promotes reading across Ohio.") In addition to the book's blurb and cover, the toolkit includes an author bio and PR photo, author resources/URLs, and discussion questions about the book. The Readers Guide at the back of the NAL paperback edition of Mistress Shakespeare includes additional discussion questions. Karen's Mira romantic suspense, Dark Road Home, was mentioned in the Sept. RT's "Paperback RoundUp" column. Susan Gee Heino's latest Regency, Damsel in Disguise, was reviewed in the Sept. issue of RT, which praised, "Heino fulfills the promise of her debut with a new novel showcasing her talent for crafting engaging characters and giving them a fast-paced story to inhabit. The delicious sexual tension only heightens readers' enjoyment." Damsel in Disguise was mentioned in Berkley's August reader e-newsletter, which also included a "Dear Reader" letter from Susan. Elysa Hendricks was a guest on Linda Mooney's Blog Talk Radio Show, Other Worlds of Romance, on July 26th. She read from her latest release, Star Raiders. Leanna Renee Hieber won two RWA Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal (F, F & P) online chapter's Prism awards -- in the "Fantasy" and "Best First Book" categories -- for The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, the first book her "Strangely Beautiful" Gothic Victorian fantasy series. Leanne was named the 2010 RWA NYC Author of the Year. Marcia James sold a Christmas novella, Heating Up the Holidays, to Liquid Silver Books. She was in a photo (taken by blogger Barbara Vey) on the Publishers Weekly Beyond the Book blog. The photo included several Ellora's Cave (EC) authors and staff from the recent RWA conference's EC author party. A photo of Marcia at the RWA conference's literacy booksigning was posted on author Silver James' blog. Marcia's August "James Gang" website interview of author Jamieson Wolf was mentioned on his blog and A Books Blog. And Marcia's August author promotion online workshop was mentioned on Janice's Library blog. Laurie Kingery is a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual Carol awards (formerly called the Book of the Year) in the "Short Historicals" category for The Outlaw's Lady. This is the ACFW's equivalent of the RWA Rita awards. The winners will be announced at the Sept. 17 - 20 ACFW conference in Indianapolis, which Laurie will attend. Rosemary Laurey's Kensington Brava anthology, Immortal Bad Boys, was mentioned in the Sept. RT's "Paperback RoundUp" column. Marilyn Jaye Lewis's novel, Freak Parade, received two more nice reviews. The Adventures of LitBoy blog praised, "For me, the overarching theme of Marilyn Jaye Lewis' latest novel is redemption. A veteran author of erotica, Lewis has a masterful command of the highly-charged erotic scene, as well as less than erotic sex scenes that describe in blistering detail the human potential for self-degradation. And then there are the other nine-tenths of the novel, which include workplace scenes, best-friend scenes, falling-in-love scenes, and much more, in which Lewis' acute sense of characterization and unerring ear for dialog pay dividends. Lewis' characters are memorable, their struggles are believable, and their interactions held my interest until the very end. In fact, Lewis' novel was tough to put down -- I read all of Freak Parade in two prolonged sittings." In Search of the Wild and Wondrous blog stated, "In Freak Parade, Marilyn Jaye Lewis takes the reader on an exciting romp... As in her other books, Lewis is a master at creating achingly intense scenes of erotic abandon in which pain and pleasure collide in an alchemical quest for the philosopher's stone of unbounded ecstasy. But there are many other reasons to read and enjoy this novel. It is a complex, literary novel, and yet one that is a real page-turner in the best sense. Lewis knows how to create compelling minor characters without wasting the reader's time with descriptive prose that is too elaborate. Her dialogue is focused and believable, and it fairly sparkles off the page as one reads it. Perhaps best of all, her portrayal of the downtown Manhattan demimonde reveals her knowledge of and love for one of the most exciting periods in the history of the city, and it will appeal to everyone who was there or who wishes they had been there." Marilyn will be the guest blogger on Sept. 11th at the Beyond Romance blog (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/?zx=9cc50242544c7ab6). And on Sept. 25th, she'll be a guest speaker at Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter's writers' group in Mansfield, OH, discussing writing outside one's comfort zone and -- more importantly -- about how best to handle it when your writing falls outside the comfort zones of other people. Janie Mason's pre-Civil War-era romance, Risks and Secrets, finaled in the historical category of the COFW Ignite the Flame (ITF) contest. ITF is open to any writer unpublished in book-length fiction (40,000 word or more). The previous Janie Mason (aka Jane Conner) releases have been short novellas. Erin McCarthy's third "Fast Track" contemporary romance, Hot Finish, was mentioned in Berkley's August reader e-newsletter. Erin's novel, Mouth to Mouth, was on a Sept. RT reading list of "romances whose characters face physical or mental challenges." And Erin's Kensington Brava anthology, The Beast Within, was part of a full-page ad in the Sept. RT. The review in that same issue gave The Beast Within 4 Stars, stating, This well-written, entertaining anthology has werewolves, zombies and wizards -- something for everyone! Things start out strong with stories by McCarthy and D'Arc. All feature happy endings for the evil-fighting couples." Anne Rainey's Samhain erotic romance, What She Wants, was Long and Short Reviews' "Book of the Week". The site awarded the book 4.5 cherries, writing, "The sex scenes are steamy. I had to check my screen to make sure it hadn't melted. Yeah, these were scenes I went back and read over again to savor. If you want a book that sizzles and makes you think, then you need to read What She Wants. It's sure to make your keeper shelf, because it's on mine." Patricia Sargeant's 2011 release, Fast Break, is the first book in her NBA contemporary romance trilogy written under her Regina Hart pen name. Recently, Recorded Books purchased the audio rights for Fast Break. Also, New York Times bestselling author Francis Ray mentioned Patricia's April 2010 contemporary romance, Heated Rivalry, during her presentation to 300 librarians at the Peoria Public Library in Illinois. Deborah Simmons's novel, Silent Heart, was on a Sept. RT reading list of "romances whose characters face physical or mental challenges." Linnea Sinclair's novel, Hope's Folly, came in second place in the RWA F, F & P chapter's Prism awards in the "Futuristic" category. Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter was a finalist in author Lori Wilde's "Drive 'Em Wilde" contest. J.C. Wilder's Ellora's Cave short story, Cajun Blue, (written under her Dominique Adair pen name), was reviewed by Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews. Cajun Blue received 4 Cherries, and the reviewer wrote, "...I enjoyed Cajun Blue and...the story is fantastic. Dominique Adair is a wonderful writer who knows exactly how to kick up the heat and fuel sexual tension. The pace never relents, and you'll soar through the pages as Elle and Blue gave in to their D/s tendencies while they open the door to more fulfilling possibilities. Fans of the BDSM genre that enjoy their erotica hot will love Cajun Blue." Marcia James' short story, Love Unleashed, was part of All Romance eBooks' American Heart Association fundraiser in February 2010. Her sexy Christmas novella, Heating Up the Holidays, will be out in December. Marcia offers her 290+ page file of author promotion options to any RWAer who requests it. Just email her through the "Contact Me" page on her Web site www.MarciaJames.net.
A QUICK GUIDE to Book Promotional OppoRTunities for Authors at COFW 1) To be included on the monthly new releases column in COFW newsletter, Write from the HeaRT, (all our member books: print book, e-book or small press books) -- A call for book details will come from the COFW-PAN liaison once a month, the 10th, on the COFW-PAN loop. Deadline is the 20th of each month. This information will then be shared with the web-mistress and also read at the monthly meeting. 2) Upcoming Releases Book News PDF -- Print books information for our book buyers and booksellers at our Yahoo loop 3-4 months out. We invite book buyers and sellers to subscribe to the e-newsletter at: COFWbooknews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com The only loop mail is the PDF. The call for Upcoming Releases will come on the COFW-PAN loop the first of every other month. Deadline by the fifteenth. 3) Every six months, promo printed postcards of our member's newest releases. Contact Patricia Sargeant-Matthews for details at sargtaz@yahoo.com. A call will come from Patricia on the COFW-PAN loop. 4) Our Fall Readers and Writers conference book signing. Contact Toni Leland at tonileland@romancingthehorse.com |
|
home | about | conference | workshop | contest | calendar/meetings | membership |