January 28, 2008

Saturday night, my family and I became a Hallmark card.

Our lake is finally frozen from end to end, and the ice is smooth as glass. We gathered up our skates, all five of us–Music Man, me, and the three munchkins, and skated for about two hours.

It was snowing with big fluffy flakes, the moon and stars were shining down on us, and the reflection of their light on the snow made it quite easy to see. 

I only fell once.

And then we all came inside and had dinner and watched Home Improvement and had popcorn.

Yes, we've been getting the DVDs from Netflix–and it's the perfect show for family viewing. I'd forgotten how good it was–especially those first few seasons.

So, if you were going to have a Hallmark Card Saturday, what would you do?

January 26, 2008

One of the things that keeps coming up about my books is: why they're in the romance section of the bookstore, or why they have "Paranormal Romance" on the spine.

And it's a valid question, and a good thing to nosh over. So shall we nosh? It's Saturday morning…I don't have anything else to do.

The thing is, a publisher has to decide how to position any book that they publish, and therefore have to decide what market to concentrate on for the book. My books are definitely genre fiction–which means they wouldn't really fit well in the General Fiction/Literature section of the market/bookstore.

Yet, my books aren't technically romances, since, in a romance, a happily-ever-after (HEA) is guaranteed. Or, at least, a "happy for now" ending. As those of you who've read my books know, Victoria hasn't yet found her HEA. (But she will. I promise. Book Five.)

Nor are my books true fantasy, for there is a lot of a romantic element in them, and the focus is on Victoria as opposed to an epic world with many characters.

So my publisher had to make a choice which market to position them for, since the books could fall into either category. And it was decided to target the romance market because, first of all, it's huge, with lots of sub-genres.

And secondly, because the publishing industry has been seeing more and more cross-over between the fantasy/urban fantasy market and the romance market (eg, Laurell K Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, etc.).

And that's why the books have "Paranormal Romance" on the spine, and are usually found in the romance section.

But Chris (who won an ARC of Dusk and just reviewed it) over at Stuff As Dreams Are Made On makes the point that many fantasy readers would  probably love my books because the romance isn't so heavy–but he's never read a romance before, so he's not sure. (heh) Bookfool joins in the conversation–feel free to join them.

Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings has also helped to spread the word to fantasy readers about my books. *smooches*

Even my friend Jackie Kessler pointed out this phenomenon in her post last year at SF Novelists. She encourages people to look beyond the section that they normally visit in the bookstore to see what else might catch their attention–and I've found myself doing that more and more.

I remember being uninterested in reading a futuristic series, thinking there was no way I was going to like Jetsons-type books, so I missed out on JD Robb's In Death series for years.

Big. Mistake. Those books are some of my favorites now, and they're so well done on so many levels…yet I'd never have picked up a futuristic murder mystery series if it hadn't been written by Nora Roberts.

My bad.

I can't tell you how many people have emailed/told me that "I don't read romance/horror/vampire/historical novels, but I loved yours!" That just makes my day, knowing that someone stepped outside their boundaries and picked up–and enjoyed–my books.

It's all word of mouth and expanding horizons.

So, do me a favor…tell your friend who reads fantasy novels, but not romances, about my books.

Or tell your co-worker who never reads historical books about the Gardellas.

Or tell your grandmother, who doesn't like vampire books that these aren't really horror novels.

Help them expand their horizons! And maybe you'll expand yours.

And tell me about a book or series that you've read outside of your "normal" boundaries. Share!!

January 24, 2008

Okay, I'm a hot-blooded American girl and I love to ogle Daniel Craig as much as any of us….but when I can't understand–let alone remember–the name of his new action flick, there's a problem.

Quantum of Solace?

I had to look it up three times before I remembered it. And I'm still having problems. WTF? It sounds like a frigging Steven Hawking movie, or something European with subtitles…not a Bond flick. Puh-leeeese. 

Ah well…here's some prettiness to take away the sting.

And, oh! I'm hearing of The Bleeding Dusk sightings out and about. Already!

If you see it, I'd love to hear about where and when….but if you can stand it, can you wait to buy it until release week? Feb 5-11? Pretty please?

Those first-week sales are uber-important to us lowly new authors. 

Of course, if you really can't stand to wait…go for it!

January 23, 2008

Okay, so ya'll saw the previous post I did on Mr. Cruise and his pro-Scientology video.

Well, check out this one. You will lose it. I promise.

January 22, 2008

Thanks to Ren, who kindly emailed me the directions for making my own ringtones, I have updated my phone with much prettier ones.

I even changed the one for Music Man from "Brave Sir Robin" to the best part of the Veronica Mars theme– "come on little sugar, bring it on, bring it on yeah…." (that's *so* him).

Got the "Sex & the City" (or is it Sex IN the City? I can never remember. Doh.) theme for my three closest friends.

I put the Buffy theme for my default ringtone (someone call me!). 

And an old Elvis Costello song "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love & Understanding" for a different group of friends.

And my agent has an updated, much better version of the James Bond Theme. (Although I was considering giving her "Secret Agent Man"…)

Sigh. I feel much better now. (And see how much time I've wasted!)

Speaking of Sex In/And/On (heh) the City…anyone going to see the movie in May? Here's the trailer. 

Looks boring to me. But then again, Chris Noth is in it. And I have a thing for him. Probably because my Music Man looks just like him…ten years ago.