Bad Press or Good Press?

My debut novel Unladylike Pursuits was recently reviewed by www.bookreviewcafe.com, and while I suppose I should be disappointed with both the review and the ranking (3 cups), I just can’t bring myself to feel that way. I’ve copied the entire review below…judge for yourself.

“This book is about a girl named Emily who lives in a world where women are raised to be proper ladies and marry men who are wealthy, so they can live in luxury. Emily doesn’t believe in this concept and starts to live her own life without any regrets.
The book is long-winded with description and slow. It reminded me of the Jane Austin novel Pride and Prejudice. The only thing I liked about the novel is that it stood up for women's rights.
Bottom Line: This book is slow. If you like Jane Austin novels, you will like this one.”

As far as I’m concerned, being lumped in with Jane Austen on any level is just fine with me. That the reviewer happened to compare my novel to one of the classics (my own personal favorite) is icing on the cake.

Oprah! Escape to Romance!

I recently joined the ranks of self-published authors and in so doing, took on not only the tasks of publishing, but of marketing and promotion for my novel as well. Several friends and family members have joked that all I needed to do was have my novel get picked into "Oprah's Book Club". I assured everyone that my light-hearted, humorous historical romance was not the type of book Oprah was looking for.
And then I wondered...has Oprah ever selected a book that didn't have deeper themes and darker emotions? Has she ever picked a pure romance? Has she ever even read a romance, and did she enjoy it?
Despite the huge fan base for romance novels of all sorts, the genre has been denigrated by critics and readers alike, plenty of which, I am certain, have never read even a single romance novel. I would suggest to Oprah that she open a discussion on the topic of escapist enjoyment to be found in romance novels. There is a romance novel for anyone and everyone searching for one. My brother has read (and enjoyed them). My husband has read my own romance novel through several stages of revision and raved about it each and every time. Supportive family members and friends all bought my book as soon as it was released, and even those who do not normally read romance novels all told me how much they had enjoyed it.

Why the stigma? What is so wrong with a happy ending or even a giggle? Can’t a book just be admired, loved, applauded because it lured you in, put a smile on your face, and kept you enthralled through 400 pages? Life is serious enough without insisting that all worthy reading materials be serious-minded too.

Come on, Oprah. Relax, lighten-up, live a little through a romance.

P.S. I, of course, would be happy to appear on the show as an author of romance living the American Dream.

Warehousing

Probably the least attractive feature of self-publishing. True, the decision to go it alone does have some distinct advantages, but having to store, invoice, package, and ship cartons of books is not one of them. The daily workout notwithstanding, I wasn’t really prepared for some of the issues I’d need to be dealing with. When books arrived from the printer, it was necessary to unpack and inspect ALL of them to check for printer problems and cover imperfections. Then they all needed to be repacked and stored until shipment. Whenever an order comes in, unless the order is for a full carton quantity, books need to be removed from the shipping boxes and packed in smaller ones to fill the order. And—heaven forbid—if there should be any returns, those all need to be inspected for damage in shipping, and then they need to get repackaged up and restocked.

Here in Texas the humidity and a little native creature called a silverfish can wreak havoc on paper products, books falling firmly into that category. Silverfish actually like the swelteringly hot and humid Texas weather, and paper is a delicacy, so I need to be extra careful. I’m in the process of re-inspecting my books for any signs that they’ve been the basis of a silverfish meal or have begun wilting in the heat, and so far, I’m in luck. There has been no damage to the books. But to avoid any future problems, I’m moving the books to a climate-controlled location with better bug control.

And while I’m hoping for full-carton quantity orders and no returns, I thank heaven for the genius who invented the handled packing tape tool.

Thank you, Thank you

I'd like to send a big thank you out to romance author Ellen Fisher, who took a chance on my book and then said nice things about it, not only on her own blog, but on someone else's as well.

Thanks for keeping an open mind, Ellen...and for sharing your thoughts.
Your new cover looks great!

Alyssa

Precious Little Time to Spare...Even for Musical Numbers

I have things to say and ideas to get busy with, but I HAVE HAD NO TIME! In between vacationing, taking an online class, dealing with the business side of self-publishing, and getting my oldest off to kindergarten, my writing has lapsed. I was, however, able to get some good brainstorming done in the dark, during the long road trip between Houston and Dallas. Now if I could just find the time to write those ideas down before I lose them…

That’s part of the difficulty of being an author…thinking of a great character, a hilarious scene, a perfect moment or an “out-with-a-bang” finish and not being able to use it. You can’t write everything, and not all of it works together so you can’t just stir it all together like a pot of gumbo and have all those terrific components work for you. You have to pick and choose, and then you have to buckle down with an idea and write it to the end. I love it when an idea comes to me, and I think “that’d be a great start to a book”. Trouble is, I need a middle and an ending to, and as mentioned above, I don’t even have the time right now to write the ideas down. But soon, I’m hoping, soon.

Right now I’m reading, digesting, absorbing, and processing the unbelievable font of information that is there for the taking on writer blogs, writer loops, newsletters, interviews, and through other sources. You can never run out of ideas, either for stories, how to best write them, or how to promote them. The writers I have met online and in person via signings and my local RWA are the most generous and giving people you could ever hope to meet. In the ultracompetitive world of publishing, you’d think the opposite. But it’s true. So go out and meet one, buy their books, and listen to their stories. Your life will be richer for all of it.

On another, totally unrelated side note, what ever happened to musical numbers in the movies? I love, love, love them both in modern movies and vintage, but they seem to slipping into nonexistence. And it’s pretty hard to put one into a book. Unless it’s an audio book….or unless someone were to innovate a book with an adapter and a little microchip, letting you plug your reading material into an iPod and have it pull the right sing-alongs or background music down at precisely the right moment. Still, without the dancing that’s not exactly a musical number, but it’s an intriguing possibility nonetheless. Until then, I recommend you check out The Backyardigans on Nickelodeon. It’s a show for pre-schoolers, but the songs and dance moves are great, and for now, it’s a great fix.

Chick Chocolate

I was watching The Food Network last Friday night when they replayed a Treats of the Trade special that originally aired in October 2004. The product that caught my eye was Chick Chocolate. Much like Chick-lit, this product was conceptualized with today’s modern woman in mind. Just as a mass-market paperback is too short and stocky to be tucked smoothly into a fashionable handbag, and too much of a struggle to hold open with one hand when you've got a Starbucks to-go cup in your other, a regular-issue chocolate bar is simply too much. And you certainly don’t want it melting all over your reading material and much-too-expensive but oh-so-fabulous bag…so what can you do?

Try Chick Chocolate! It’s a culinary invention packaged, marketed, proportioned, and created just for chicks who like to splurge a little on life’s greatest pleasures: pretty, tasty, and sinful.
Offered up in three varieties:

Strong Chick (calcium-fortified with ~50% RDA), Personality Profile: Fit and healthy leader with can-do attitude – approaches life on her own terms.
Nutty Chick (packed with protein-rich, good-fat almonds), Personality Profile: Eccentric, offbeat and lively friend to everyone – loves to have fun and is the life of the party.
Extreme Chick (made with 55% cacao dark chocolate and cacao nibs to exploit the healthful antioxidant benefits of chocolate), Personality Profile: Fearlessly bold adventurer – will try anything once. Wants the best of everything.

Each box contains three individually wrapped pieces of Chick Chocolate (1 oz) to share, savor, or save for later. What’s better than a decadent, stylish, healthful treat? Except maybe a hip, humorous, fabulous read. It's your life...have them both together!