One Fortnight!

I must say, I do love that word! It sounds so much more intriguing than plain old 'two weeks', doesn't it?

However you say it, two weeks from today is Willow's launch, and I'm rounding the bend from the vom-feeling to excitement. I want to say a giant thank you to everyone here for putting up with me, and a huge HUG to all the wonderful people taking the time to read and post reviews.

So what's happening on launch day? Well, over 100 people have signed up for 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' fun! I like to think of it more as an online party than a blogfest. You can visit with the other guests if you like, but there's absolutely no pressure.

Even if you don't want to post on your blog, you can still take part on Facebook (tag me so I can enter you in the draw) or on Twitter, by using the tag #watchingwillowwatts and just saying who you'd be. I can't wait to see who people chose.

In other news, I have purchased a Marilyn wig and white dress... stay tuned for more! :)

Over at L Diane's Spunk on a Stick, Alex, Matt and I are discussing how to get blog comments. Drop by to say hi!

And finally, I want to do a giant shout-out for the lovely Laura of The Daily Dodo, who has finished the first draft of her first novel! You all know what a massive accomplishment the first one is; just knowing you can do it is half the battle. When I first met Laura back in April, she told me she didn't ever think she could write so many words on a regular basis. Just a few short months later, she's done it. Yay!

Mister Clean

It's Bank Holiday Monday here (what that means, I have no idea -- besides a holiday!). And it's the Notting Hill Carnival! Time for some jerk chicken, lots of people, booming bass, crazy costumes...

So, I recently took part in a survey for romantic authors on their ideal hero. I clicked my way through the questions, wondering what my fellow writers were choosing. Does height matter? Weight? Religious persuasion?

Well, as it turns out, there's one really important thing: personal hygiene. I had to laugh. Of course! Who can lose themselves in a romantic encounter when the hero in question smells like garlic, or reeks of last night's mackerel?

Ladies, what characteristics make up your ideal hero? And men, what's important in your perfect heroine? Any bad personal hygiene dating tales to share?

PS: I'm over at Christina Dos Santos' blog today! Pop by if you have the chance.

Bullshot! (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Guess what? It's Friday! It's been a great week -- Mr TR's birthday was yesterday so we hit the town to celebrate (I admit, I've a bit of a sore head); Willow got another nice review on Dot Scribbles; and I've joined the wonderful ladies over at the Naked Hero to write a weekly post! Yay!

Equally exciting, today I've got fellow RNA member Janice Horton here, talking about... drinks! And her latest novel of course. The perfect Friday post. Take it away, Janice.

The most common question I’m asked about my humorous romance novel Bagpipes & Bullshot - is what bullshot is! Well I’m here today to reveal that bullshot is not a typo or a clever play on words but a drink: it’s a bit like a Bloody Mary and is favoured by those who swig from a hipflask and shoot from a shotgun. To me the word ‘bullshot’ epitomises the Scottish country estate. To explain further, it reflects the jaunty humour and the theme of Bagpipes & Bullshot, which is set in Scotland. Innes, the hero of the tale, does indeed also play the bagpipes and quite beautifully too!

But back to the bullshot: to make this fabulous drink (you can call it a cocktail, if you like!) first take two mature bulls…. Erm, no, not really!

Bullshot Recipe

If you prefer it, you can use vodka, but the traditional Scottish version (and the one favoured by all the characters in Bagpipes & Bullshot) has whisky in it. However, if you are planning a trip across the grouse moors later or doing a bit of stalking on the hill, you’ll certainly need your thermos and the extra ingredient of hot beef stock with your bullshot. Mmmmm…warming.

First take a whisky tumbler – and put in it a bit of ice and a slice of lime. Then add a good measure of finest Scotch whisky. Fill to the top with tomato juice; add a good dashing of both Tabasco pepper sauce and Worcester sauce and if you’re feeling frisky add half a teaspoon of grated horseradish. Stir and enjoy! Mmmmm…delicious.

Bagpipes & Bullshot is available to download as an e-book on Amazon Kindle UK and Dot Com and in all other e-formats from Smashwords. Janice blogs here. Follow her on Twitter and her Facebook Author Page.

Eye in the Sky

Thanks, everyone, for weighing in on Monday's post! I debated posting it, but it certainly provided an interesting discussion and lots of wine for thought.

Two lovely little bits of news to share with you: Chick Lit Love and The Alliterative Allomorph have both reviewed Willow. Yay! And almost 100 bloggers have now signed up for the Willow launch on 14th September. Thanks loads to everyone. There's still plenty of time to get your name down if you'd like to take part.

One of the things I struggled with while writing Willow is believability. Crazy things do happen in real life, and sometimes, reality can be much stranger than fiction. In fiction, though, we've all heard that things must happen for a reason.

In my novel, a YouTube viewer mistakes an image in a tourism video for Marilyn Monroe's ghost, and a village is suddenly overwhelmed as Marilyn fans flock to pay homage to where the icon was spotted. In the book, I worked in reasons for how such a thing occurs. But in real life, there aren't always explanations for strange internet phenomenons.

Take the video below, for example, which I first saw on the BBC! How on earth has this made the news in England, miles away from the actual occurrence? *shakes head*

There's nowt as queer as folk, as Willow's dad says. Happy Wednesday!

Publishing is a Business

Happy Monday, everyone! It's a lovely day here in London and my insomnia has somewhat subsided. And Willow got a lovely book blogger review over the weekend, so I'm thrilled with that. All in all, the week is off to a flying start.

An interesting debate has cropped up over on Clarissa Draper's fantastic blog recently. Clarissa asked if she should do a giveaway offering an Amazon gift-card, or if she should use that money to buy and review fellow authors' books. Most commenters thought she should buy and review, but there were a few interested threads I want to pull out.

One of them was that if you want to review a book, the author should send it for free. This is true for ARCs (which, by the way, completely depend on the publisher, not to mention limitations on how many you can distribute). If I ask someone to review my novel, I'd never expect them to buy it, and neither I nor my publisher have any issues sending out free ARCs.

But once the book is available and unsolicited review requests come in, should an author be responsible for sending out free copies of said book for review? Where should an author draw the line?

If I look at my own situation, I receive ten free copies of the final version of my paperback book. (I can usually get more if I request them, for special purposes.) These ten copies go quickly when spread amongst family members and close friends. If I was to send out a paperback for review, I'd need to: a) pay for the book myself; and b) pay for postage. My book costs £7.99 and I receive just under a pound for each in royalties, so that would leave me at a loss. I don't make enough to support my wine habit as it is! :)

I can't see my publisher too keen to send my book out to anyone (I'm talking apart from book bloggers and media) who promises a review, either. Publishing is a business. The goal is to sell books, not give them away. If I didn't sell, both myself and the publisher would go bankrupt.

Another point made in the comments section on Clarissa's blog was that if people help you promote your book in the blogosphere, you should be prepared to do quite sizeable giveaways. Whoa. Giveaways are great if you have the resources to pay for lots of postage, gift certificates, etc. Most of us are writers -- poor by definition. But that's not my main qualm. I don't help people by buying their book and doing reviews because I want something in return, nor do I expect something. For my blogsplash last year, I deliberately avoided offering prizes in return for help. To me (and this is just me), it smacked a little of desperation. I didn't want to have to trade something in return for people's assistance, you know? I wanted people to help because they wanted to help me. And if they didn't (or couldn't) fair enough.

I do my best to help and support other authors because I understand that publishing is a business, and our success and livelihood ultimately boils down to -- whether we like it or not -- sales.

What do you think?

(EDIT 1: I want to make it clear that I do think ARCs should be free, and I'm in no way opposed to giveaways -- quite the contrary! :) What has got me slightly ranty is the expectation, I guess, of something free in exchange.)

(EDIT 2: I'm not talking about book bloggers or media who review books.)

I Am Not a Girl

Happy Friday! I'm delighted to report I've had no more rat-biting-kitten dreams, but the insomnia does seem to have sunk in its teeth a little further. I've been awake since 3 a.m., wheeeeeeeeee!

Ahem. So, I'm delighted to welcome Aussie author M.J. Hearle to my blog, who very obviously is not a girl. Read on for more.... over to you, MJ!

Firstly, thank you so much to the lovely Talli for letting me borrow her blog for the day. I promise to return it promptly and in the same condition it was given (those scratches were there beforehand...honestly!)

Secondly, I’m going to take this opportunity to make a startling confession – I am not a girl. Yes, I know my first novel, Winter’s Shadow is a Paranormal Romance, a genre typically dominated by female writers. Yes, the story is told almost entirely from the perspective of a teenage girl and it’s true M. J. could stand for Mary Jane, (it was in fact the intention of my publisher to obscure my gender) but I would like to state for the record that I am absolutely, positively not a girl.

Michael James Hearle is a man...or a thirty-one year old boy, depending on who you speak to.

Being a man, and concerned with such manly things such as football and cars, one might think it was difficult writing a novel from the perspective of a teenage girl.

One would be right.

Unfortunately, the story that had popped into my head, the story that was making it difficult to sleep at night, demanded to be told in a seventeen-year-old girl’s voice. A girl named Winter Adams. Somehow I had to find that voice, but what did I know about teenage girls? Sure, I’d been through high school with a bunch of them, but I didn’t understand them then and age certainly hasn’t improved my understanding of these mysterious creatures. So, I decided to take a different tact.

I didn’t know anything about sensitive teenage girls, but I did know a fair bit about sensitive teenage boys – I would write Winter as though she was a boy. Winter became me – or a version of me, with alternate plumbing. Once, I’d finished the book I gave it to the three most significant women in my life – my mum, girlfriend and sister – to see if I’d succeeded or if I’d completely missed the mark. The feedback from all three was that Winter felt pretty authentic, however some of the finer details in my characterisation needed tweaking. Here’s a few of the notes I received:

• Middle-aged women in the fifties might have gone to bed wearing facemasks and cucumbers over their eyes, but seventeen year old girls generally don’t. They also don’t get to bed with rollers in their hair.

• Girls don’t just sit around talking about boys and shoes. They can discuss other topics such a music, movies, television, and politics. They probably wouldn’t discuss who won the football on friday night.

• Not all girls love Sex in the City (though most do) and even if they do, it’s doubtful they would refer to themselves as a ‘Samantha’, ‘Carrie’ etc.

• A seventeen year-old girl would probably find Justin Bieber just as lame as a thirty-one year old man.

• Jane Austen isn’t the only author teenage girls read.

• Girls don’t refer to themselves as ‘chicks’.

Tired of the same old glittery vampire and shirtless werewolf stuff, I crafted an entirely new supernatural mythology for Winter’s Shadow. I invented a whole other world, new creatures, new rules, and while coming up with a fresh take on a well worn genre was pretty tricky, I can honestly say it wasn’t half as hard as writing a believable teenage girl.

It’s no coincidence that my next book will be about a thirty-one year old man who likes watching television and eating nachos.

Winter’s Shadow

Blake Duchamp…

He’s all that Winter Adams can think of. Ever since their fateful meeting at Pilgrim’s Lament. Ever since he looked at her with those emerald eyes. Ever since he saved her life.

But Blake isn’t all that he seems. There is a strangeness about him, something dark and otherworldly. Something dangerous. In his attic is a secret he would kill to defend, but Winter seems to have a special ability to make him forget his duty. And he is her only protection against the gathering darkness.

The only problem is, to protect Winter, Blake must risk exposing her to an even greater danger.

Himself.

Well-Behaved Women... Or Not

It's Wednesday! I've hardly slept at all! Yes, my friends, I spent the night trying to snooze on the sofa. And when I did finally manage to drift off, I dreamt a rat bit my pet kitten and it died in my arms. Pleasant, I know.

As I've mentioned once or twice (har!), the launch for Willow is coming up Sept 14th. Yay! I'd gathered quotes by Marilyn Monroe to put at the start of every chapter, to echo the action. Sadly, due to legal reasons, they had to be removed. But never fear, because from now until launch-day, I'm going to post them on my Facebook author page. I'm quite possibly a little over-excited about this plan, but I did love those quotes. Chapter 1's quote was this:

Well behaved women rarely make history.

--Marilyn Monroe

I know many of you are busy with WriteOnCon, so today I'm going to post a link to a video by the wonderful author Beth Revis on not giving up. Head over and have a watch -- it's very inspirational.

And have a great Wednesday!

Tweet Right!

Hi all! I'm popping in on a Tuesday before tomorrow's regular post to celebrate the launch of Nicola Morgan's Tweet Right. But before I get to that, I want to say thank you for all the lovely comments and messages of support on yesterday's post. Time and again, I'm reminded what a great community of people I have around me. Thank you!

Right. *wipes tear* Now, I'm a massive fan of Twitter. I've met loads of people on there -- many I've met in 'real life' and now count as firm friends -- and I think it's an invaluable tool for writers. But it can be hard to get stuck into, non?

In her infinite Crabbit wisdom, the wonderful Nicola Morgan of Help! I Need a Publisher has written an easy to understand, practical guide to Twitter.

Nicola says:

Okay, cards on the table: I am a big fan of Twitter. I’m self-employed and Twitter is wonderful for us: individuals, often working alone, using our own initiative, free to manage our own time, setting our own rules. But it’s just as useful if you’re not self-employed and you just want to make new friends and contacts, and acquire new knowledge about your fields of interest.

Get your e-copy of TweetRight here. And if you're not on Twitter... why not? :)

See you tomorrow!

I've Got That Vomit Feeling

Happy Monday! Thank you loads for all the wonderful comments on Phillipa's post. If you'd like to keep up to date on her news, you can sign up for her newsletter on her website.

Right! Onto the vom.

Watching Willow Watts is now winging its way toward reviewers, and I gotta tell you, there's nothing worse than sending your baby out into the world. Sure, I've slaved away and done everything in my power to make it the best it can be, but deep down inside a little voice lurks, whispering it's horrible, terrible, and everyone will discover you're a fraud who can't write worth beans (cupcakes?). The month before your novel comes out is something I'd only wish upon an evil London looter, because it's a tense, angst-filled, nightmare-ridden time where I question over and over why the hell I'm doing this.

Of course you come out the other side when you realise you're doing this because you love writing, because you do actually want people to read what you've done, and there's nothing better than creating a world and characters who exist there.

But until then... vom.

And on that note, if you'd like to read the first chapter of Willow, you can do so here! :) And a little reminder that you can still sign up for the online launch party on 14th September, if you so desire. I promise it will be puke free.

It’s a book, Jim, but not as we know it...

I'm thrilled to welcome author Phillipa Ashley to my blog today! She's a fellow member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, super nice, and a brilliant writer. Her first novel was even made into a TV movie starring Kristin Chenoweth!

Phillipa's post made me laugh out loud several times -- never have truer words been spoken. Take it away, Phillipa!

When is a book a ‘real’ book?

If you’re writing your first novel, I’d argue that your book becomes ‘real’ when the first draft is complete. The reason being that if you’ve finished a first draft, you’ve already achieved something significant. You’ve spent months at the keyboard, you’ve made sure your plot is not a series of events but actions with consequences, ruthlessly eliminated your clichés and turned your cardboard cut-outs into flesh and blood people.

When you’ve ‘finished’ it?

So you’ve written The End, even though you know it’s not the end at all, but the beginning of the next phase of your book, where even more slog, angst and hurdles await. Still, after the first draft, you can pat yourself on the back and book that fortnight in the Maldives or more likely, open a bottle of Tesco’s Finest Cava and rest up for the next, even tougher, phase.

Eventually, after several months of thinking and rewriting, you will get to a point where The End really does mean your book is finished. You’ll realise that, while your ms is far from perfect, it can never be perfect and tinkering further will be counter-productive. It’s time to get feedback from a critique service, or send it off to agents or a publisher.

When you’ve sent it out into the world?

You may also feel the need to tell friends, relatives and random people on the bus about your book. Perhaps you’re looking for validation, support and applause. But do they believe it’s a proper book? Well, quite often the answer is 'no'!

From the non-writer's pov, your book will probably not be considered a ‘proper’ one unless it is published. If it’s not, you may as well claim to have landed on the Moon. It won’t matter how brilliant, funny, touching and insightful your work is, or that you’ve spent years researching it and agonising over every word. Unless it’s been published, many outsiders switch off as soon as you mutter ‘well, not yet but...”.

When you get a deal?

Let’s be optimistic and say you get a publishing deal. Maybe with a big publisher, more likely with a smaller, independent press. You are ecstatic – and validated!

Er... no. Because out there in the big wide world, many people won’t consider your book is a ‘proper’ one, unless it’s published by a ‘real’ publisher – i.e. one they’ve heard of, usually Penguin, possibly Hodder (schoolday memories) or Bloomsbury (Harry Potter.)

When you see your book in print?

Despite the Rise of the Kindle, for many people, e-books still don’t count. As an example, I’ll share a conversation I had with my hair colourist last week (whaddaya mean, I’m not a natural brunette?).

Me: “Want to see my shiny new Kindle?”

Hair colourist: “A Kindle? I’d never have thought you’d have one of those. I thought you loved books.”

Me: “I do love books but a Kindle is simply another means of delivering stories to readers, the way iPods have replaced records and CDs. And my books are in print too...”

Colourist: “What a shame. That just shows what the world’s coming to. I’ll leave you to set for half an hour.”

When it’s in the shops or won an award?

For some people a book isn’t proper unless it’s in The Shops. Not just Waterstones and Tesco and Asda, but every little shop on every street they will ever drift into. And it needs to be in all the shops, in perpetuity, for it to really count.

For a few, a book’s not proper unless it’s won an award, and that has to be a big award sponsored by a coffee company, a mobile phone provider or Richard & Judy.

For a sizeable chunk of the population, your book won’t be real because it has a pink sparkly cover or butterflies or a couple snogging. It may not be a proper book unless a main character dies at the end when you least expect them to, causing you to weep for a week and throw the book against the wall. Or it’s not real unless a dozen people are killed in ingenious and horrible ways or the book is set in 13^th century Outer Mongolia or an alternate universe where everyone is a yeti with telepathic powers and fangs.

Or it may not be a proper book because you, the author, are in fact, still alive.

So, if you’ve written a book, and you’re still worrying about whether it’s a proper book, I’ll let you into a secret. It is.

Phillipa Ashley writes sexy, fun, romantic women’s fiction and is the author of five novels, published as print and e-books by Little Black Dress, Sourcebooks and Samhain.

Her latest book, Fever Cure, is available from all good online stores including amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. The paperback will be in The Shops in the USA and available online worldwide in early 2012.

London Love

Thanks loads for the fantastic response to my Watching Willow Watts Party! I'm thrilled so many of you have signed up to come have a ball. Yay!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the London riots. Horrific pictures and tales have been streaming in from across the city. Monday night -- the height of the violence -- was my and Mr TR's second anniversary. I've harped on about our London love story so I won't wax poetic here, but needless to say this city played an integral role in our relationship. As we headed out to the theatre and dinner on Monday, we had no idea of the violence that was about to erupt, just ten minutes away from where we live.

I don't want to talk about any of the horrible things that happened in the city. I do want to show you some fantastic images of London on our wedding night. So... here's to London and love!

The National Theatre, all lit up.

London Bridge, done up in pink.

The City, London's financial heart.

The Millennium Bridge.

London Eye.

London Eye, from the river.

Watching Willow Watts Launch!

Yay! I'm excited to announce that my next novel, Watching Willow Watts, will be available on Kindle and other ebook platforms in September. The official launch day is Wednesday, September 14th!

So how do I plan to welcome Willow to the world? Lots of people have asked me if I'm going to do another web splash a la Hating Game. Well... no. I think that kind of thing is only effective once. I'm super-appreciative of how much you all helped me the first time around, and this time, I want to do something fun.

So on September 14th, I'm organising an online 'If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...' party! Now is your chance to make your superhero, film-star, or Rock God fantasies come true (okay, maybe not all your fantasies...). It's sort of like a blogfest, but with a party atmosphere. Why the theme? In my novel, Willow decides to take on the identity of Marilyn Monroe, almost losing herself in the process.

There's no need to actually dress up -- all you need to do is post a photo of your chosen one (dead or alive) along with an explanation why you've picked that person. If you're on Twitter or Facebook, just post 'If I could be anyone, I'd be X' as your status, along with the hash-tag #watchingwillow on Twitter (or tag me on FB so I know you've taken part).

If you'd like to sign up, just fill out the form below or respond in the comments. On launch day, I'll post the links of other partying bloggers so you can pop around and meet everyone if you like -- no obligation, though! All partiers will be entered into a draw to win Marilyn Monroe paraphernalia, a copy of Watching Willow Watts and a £10 Amazon gift certificate!

On a secondary note, I'm looking for early reviewers for Willow. If you fancy an ARC, let me know in the comments, too.

As always, your help and support mean the world to me. I know how busy everyone is and how many demands you have on your time, and I really appreciate everything!

On a final note (I know, you're probably sick of me by now!), I'm over at Angie Paxton's blog later today, talking about my publishing journey. Pop by if you get the chance. :)

Medeia Sharif and Bestest. Ramadan. Ever.

Happy Friday! You may have noticed I didn't post on Wednesday. Bad me! I meant to, but it was thirty degrees in London, I was scoffing free cider by the river, and somehow afternoon turned into evening. By the time our West End theatre show let out, well, I wasn't in any fit state to be let loose onto the blogosphere!

Anyway. I'm here now. And I'm pleased to be hosting Medeia Sharif, author of Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. Since it's now Ramadan and I've been watching my step-daughter deal with fasting, it's a timely post!

Here's Almira Abdul, the main character:

My Holiday Wish List
By Almira Abdul

Not eating from sunrise to sunset is hard, so I made this list of things I’d like for the holy month.

1) Lipgloss: When I fast, my breath might stink. There’s no food or water to swish out all those nasty germs in my mouth. Breath mints would be considered cheating, and I don’t want to use

mouthwash because I might accidentally swallow some. So I’ll put on some lipgloss, especially

when Peter’s around. My favorite scent is strawberry.

2) Hot boy(s): I’ll be distracted from thoughts of food if I have someone good-looking to focus on. Sorry Mom and Dad, and I’m not getting rid of the screensavers of my favorite Hollywood men.

3) A bestest friend who understands what I’m going through: My “good” friend Maria does her best to tempt me with her stupid Twinkies, but my bestest friend Lisa stands by my side. She knows I’m fasting for an important religious reason and she’s proud that I’m doing this! And I hope she’ll continue to support me, because behind her back I’m sort of doing something that might tick her off.

4) Earplugs: I don’t have these, but I seriously should get some. Grandpa yacks in my ear about

how I cheated during last Ramadan. Yes, I snuck in some chocolate wafers. He caught me red-handed since I didn’t wipe all the crumbs off my mouth. I was a bad person and weak-willed, but I’m doing really well this Ramadan. He needs to get over himself.

5) Good religious thoughts: Sometimes I feel guilty about thinking about boys and kissing them, and how I’m dropping a few pounds since I can’t eat during the daylight hours (loving the new body), but I do think about religious stuff and doing the right thing and getting into heaven.

I hope this helps you understand what I’m going through. My IM name is AlmiraRules if you’d like to contact me.

Book Description:

During Ramadan, we’re not allowed to eat from sunrise to sunset, for a whole month. My family does this every year, even though I’ve been to a mosque exactly twice in my fifteen years. My exercise-obsessed mom—whose hotness skipped a generation, sadly—says I could stand to lose a few. But is torture really an acceptable method? I think not.
Things wouldn’t be so bad if I had a boyfriend, but my oppressive parents forbid me to date. This is just cruel and wrong. Especially since Peter, a cute and crushable artist, might be my soul mate. Figures my bestest friend Lisa likes him, too.

To top it off, there’s a new Muslim girl in school who struts around in super-short skirts, comma

nding every boy’s attention—including Peter’s. How can I get him to notice me? And will I ever feel like a typical American girl?

About the author:

Medeia Sharif is a high school English teacher residing in Miami Beach. Her young adult debut novel BESTEST. RAMADAN. EVER. was released July 2011. You can find out more about her by

visitinghttp://www.sharifwrites.com/ and http://www.twitter.com/sharifwrites.

Thank you, Medeia! Happy weekend, all.

On the Roof!

Every once in awhile, a weekend comes along that reminds me how much I love London. This past weekend was exactly that! I've yammered on before about how much I love the Southbank. With the Vintage Festival happening and temperatures reaching 25C (heatwave by London standards), Mr TR, step-daughter and I hopped in the car and went over to the river.

Rooftop garden, on top of the Royal Festival Hall.

Pimms!

Looking down to the Thames on a perfect summer evening.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too. Anyone get up to anything fun?