My SFNovelist colleague, David B. Coe, has a great post up at SFNovelists today, asking readers and writers what they most look for in book promotion.  David discusses the (long and impressive) list of things he’s doing to launch his next book, THIEFTAKER, which will be a new book, in a new series, published under a new name (D.B. Jackson).  He concludes by asking people to talk about what book promotion works best for them.

Here’s the post:  http://www.sfnovelists.com/2012/05/23/a-post-in-which-you-tell-me-about-self-promotion/

I am dying to read responses to this post.  (Yes, I am, and so is Morgan Keyes, who will be launching a new book, in a new series, under a new name, in August…)

So, if you have one minute, go read about what David is doing (and prepare to be impressed!)  And then jot down just your responses about book promotion — what works for you, what doesn’t work for you.  You can help out a whole lot of your author friends!

(The SFNovelist site does not require registration, but if this is your first time posting, your comment will be temporarily held for approval by a human.)

Many, many, many thanks!

Mindy, hoping many of you will hop over to SFNovelists, even just this once

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

Hello there!  I’m back, I’m reasonably caught up on social media, my sleeves are rolled up to write, and…

What’s that?  You didn’t even realize I was gone.

::Pout::

Last week, we decided to take a little staycation – mostly, taking advantage of local sites that we never make the time to go to.  Except, at the end of the week, we also went to Williamsburg, so we had a bit of a vacation as well…

We started out with a bit of museuming, and some streaming-movie marathoning, and some reading days.  We traipsed through the main collection at the National Gallery of Art (focusing on Impressionism and Dutch painting) — it was fun to see old favorites and to realize that some of the Dutch paintings aren’t by Rembrandt anymore (they’ve been reattributed to his workshop – and I once wrote a mystery about that…)

We also went to see the Jefferson Bible at the National Museum of American History.  They had a small exhibit set up around this fascinating book — a version of the Bible (in Greek, French, German, and English), where Jefferson cut and pasted other copies to create a New Testament that contained *no* reference to the supernatural.  (Jesus was a good man, a teacher, and he delivered sermons, but he didn’t raise Lazarus from the dead, and he never transformed loaves and fishes.  And, um, he died.  The end.)

And we went to a lecture at the Newseum – Brian Stelter, from the New York Times, talking quite eloquently about new media.  I was nowhere near as well-spoken (nor had I thought about issues so clearly) when I was 21 years old.  At the Newseum, we also saw a collection of “books of freedom” – first (and other noteworthy) editions collected and donated to the museum.  All of the books had the theme of “freedom” — there were editions of Common Sense, and Areopagitica, and a number of others that I’d never heard of before.  The exhibit was most noteworthy for the *excellent* computerized presentation, which let viewers page through the delicate texts online.

And, at the Newseum, I bought my new favorite T-shirt:  Will Write for Food.

On the viewing (and consequent knitting) front, we watched the BBC miniseries THE STATE WITHIN.  I very much enjoyed Jason Isaacs performance (alas, poor AWAKE – you were cursed by our liking the show!)  I was most amused, though, by the perspective that the British writers had of US politics — especially the power of the Virginia governor.

And then we went on our tour of American history — Fort McHenry (where Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem, well, the song that would become the national anthem in 1930…), and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, closely followed by our trip to Williamsburg, and a day each at Yorktown, Jamestown, and Shirley Plantation.  The theme of the trip, somewhat oddly, turned out to be the War of 1812.  I remembered little of it from my 4th grade history class, but it was a constant reference point along the way.  (OK, maybe it only seemed that way, because I knew more of the background of the other historical sites…)

For Yorktown and Jamestown, we only had time to go the National Park Service sites at each — that just means that we’ll have to make a return trip for the “living history” museums in those places.  Aw, shucks.

To cap off the wonderful week, we went to a Nationals baseball game.  They played the Orioles.  Nats won, and phenom pitcher Steven Strasburg (no, his tired arm is *not* a concern) hit his first career home run.  And the visiting fans were fun to have around (not the case with, ahem, some teams to our north…)

Fill in the gaps with sleeping in nearly every day, wonderful food, great conversation…  It’s sort of hard to get back into the swing of things!

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

One of the best things about writing is that I get to read.  Sometimes, I get to read ARCs (Advance Readers Copies) of books by my favorite authors.  Every once in a while, I get one of those ARCs that makes me jump up and down with excitement.  And once in a blue moon, I get an ARC by a favorite author that makes me jump up and down and then stay up all night, reading the book in one giant gulp.

That, dear reader, was my fate when I received an ARC of Garth Nix’s A Confusion of Princes.  The book is out in stores today, so you can join in the fun.

Here are the first two sentences:  “I have died three times, and three times been reborn, though I am not yet twenty in the old Earth years by which it is still the fashion to measure time.  This is the story of my three deaths, and my life between.”

OK.  How can you not read on, after that?!?

Confusion reminded me of the best of the space adventures that I loved as a kid.  It’s more sophisticated than the John Christopher books I adored, but it has that same sense of wonder, that same absolutely confident world-building.  The hero, thrice-dead Khemri, has some good traits and a lot of bad ones.  His unspoken assumptions permeate every sentence that he narrates, making us completely buy the world that he’s showing us.  Khemri’s changes in the novel make perfect sense given who he is and what he learns.

This is space opera at its YA best — I strongly recommend this book for readers of space opera, for readers of YA, for readers of good strong storytelling that sticks in the mind.

Buy links: Amazon   B&N

Mindy, so pleased to find good books to share

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

A recent article in Romance Writers Report discussed “under the bed” manuscripts (what I would call “trunked” manuscripts – as in, stored in a trunk).  The article pointed out that many authors are publishing their trunked works, using the wonders of Amazon, B&N, and other purveyors of ebooks to reach the audience that their treasured never-sold manuscripts had not yet found.

I have five trunked novels — two traditional fantasy, two category romance, and one mystery.  I’ve fiddled with one of the fantasy novels off and on over the years — it has some wonderful things going for it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s plot is irrevocably broken.  I looked at the category romances recently, and they’re not ready for prime time — they’ve got decent category bones, but they’re too full of adjectives and adverbs in virtually every sentence.  They’d take a *lot* of line editing to make decent.  As for the mystery – the best thing about it is its title.  Enough said.

That leaves the other fantasy novel.  The first fantasy novel that I ever wrote.  I have two versions of it — one that I circulated via an agent for years and a shorter-by-20% version that resulted from an editor who was interested but ultimately left her job before I could finish my revisions.

Last night, I took a peek, to see if there’s anything salvageable there.)  The long version was as broken as I’d feared it would be.  Like the category romances, it suffered from way too many adjectives and adverbs.  It also had huge pacing problems — the first chapter was an interminable council meeting, where no fewer than twelve (12!) nobles are introduced, all to let us know that hey, we have to go to war.

I almost didn’t read the trimmed version.  But I did.

And you know what?  It isn’t terrible.

It isn’t publishable – not now, not in its current state.  But if I reworked it a bit…  If I emphasized that aspect…  If I trimmed more of that one…

This wouldn’t be a quick edit — there’s both structural and line work to be done.  But the novel wasn’t terrible.

I’ve got plenty of work on my plate for the next couple of months.  But after that?  Who knows?

(And I have to say – I was astonished by how many of the sentences were still absolutely, completely, 100% familiar, 15 years after I last read them.  I really poured my heart and soul into this work once upon a time, fighting to make it the very best novel I could write.  That required a lot of revisions, word by painstaking word…)

Mindy, musing (which usually only happens when she reaches the final quarter of a work in progress…)

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

I’m over at Magical Words today, writing about how I disguise my inner introvert when I have to take her out in public:

http://www.magicalwords.net/mindy-klasky/incognito-introvert/

Stop by and comment (and share your own experiences as an introvert or extrovert or someone in between!)

Mindy, ducking back into writing…

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

After two days of poking and prodding and trying to come up with the perfect first sentence for PLEASANT VALLEY, I have it:  It’s not my fault.

Yeah.  It’s only four words.  But when Ashley said them to me, I suddenly understood exactly how to start this thing.

Pardon me.  I’m off to write…

Mindy, already out the door

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

This morning, I woke up about an hour late — and only because Mark had come into the bedroom to get his iPad before heading downstairs.  I was annoyed that he was so noisy getting the silly thing — didn’t he realize that it was Sunday, and I could sleep in?

Except it wasn’t Sunday.  It was Monday.

And I couldn’t sleep in.  I needed to be out of the house in less than 40 minutes.

Suffice to say, I made it out of the house (and even managed to make lunch, empty the dishwasher, and pull together the things I needed while out of the house…)  But the entire day has felt a bit distant — swathed in cotton, if you will.

Which doesn’t bode well for my afternoon, wherein I plan to start writing the first chapter of PLEASANT VALLEY.

These are the times that caffeine is made for, no?

Mindy, sipping apricot-vanilla white tea as she types (and contemplating making the very warm, very purrful kitty move…)

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

I’m stringing together the outline for a new book, in a new genre (contemporary YA, with no paranormal element), temporarily called PLEASANT VALLEY, USA.  As with all books, this one cries out for some basic research, so that I can define the parameters of the story.

In the past week, I’ve researched the following items (in no particular order):

• Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Timeline of the Columbine shootings
• Process for procuring production rights of plays through Samuel French
• Acclaimed college baseball programs
  
• Pink slime
• Daily calendar of my local high school
• Composition of mustard gas
• Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
• Composition of chlorine gas
• Cheesy videos of invitations to prom
• Timeline of Hitler’s rise in Germany
• Gazetteer entries for towns and cities named Irondale
• About a million other details that aren’t coming to mind as I type this.

The vast majority of these dribs and drabs won’t make it into the final book, of course.  But each new website is helping me to figure out the parameters of my story, the nature of my characters, the style of their story.

I love research.  I love how reading one page sends me haring off after another.  I love how ideas circle back on each other, how I eventually find linkages that I never anticipated.  This is why I loved being a librarian, why I looked forward to my days on the reference desk.

I’m going to have fun writing this one.  If the FBI doesn’t stop by to arrest me, first…

Mindy, wondering just how many searches it takes to generate “official” interest

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

I’m over at SFNovelists today, writing about my decision to write a novella, after years of writing novels.  Check out my post!

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2012/05/01/call-me-a-rebel-or-my-life-as-a-novella-ist/

Mindy, wearing many hats!

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

Whew!  What a whirlwind weekend!  From the pre-retreat booksigning until my return home on Sunday afternoon, I spent the three-day weekend surrounded by friends (new and old), talking endlessly about writing, reading, romance, publishing, and all aspects of the book world.  The retreat was inspiring (you’ll see the results of some of my thoughts sooner, rather than later) and (for this introvert) exhausting.

In one quick list, here are a few highlights from the retreat:

• Robyn Carr’s publishing story — thirty years of writing before she became a #1 NYT Bestseller, and consistent appearances on the list since then,
• Elaine Spencer’s industry insights — this agent from the Knight Agency represents some friends of mine, but I’d never met her in person.  She consistently presented interesting, engaged views of the current, rapidly-changing publishing world,
• Valerie Gray’s insider perspective — this Mira Executive Editor discussed the way that she works with Robyn Carr, Carr’s agent, and the Mira imprint to build a hugely successful career.  (As a former Mira writer, I found it fascinating to hear about the career landmarks for growth — being offered an anthology slot, being offered a Christmas book, shooting for the 24th, then 3rd, then 1st slot on the NYT list…)
• Laura Reeth’s marketing advice — this publicist who works with Nora Roberts shared a recipe for success (and one for margaritas).  While the specific tools were not earthshaking (writing a bio, building a website, maintaining a blog), the emphasis on traditional resources (dress for success, branding, print communications) made me reflect.  A lot.

The high points of my retreat though, were actually off-campus.  I met Stephanie Dray for a rousing conversation over coffee and dessert and I came away — as I always do from my meetings with the divine Ms. Dray — with a new love for my job, and for my various writing projects.

But the biggest eye-opener of the weekend was the booksiging at Turn The Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland.  I was fortunate enough to be invited back to this year’s event (having signed there for the first time last year.)  Turn The Page is (as the famous story goes), owned by Nora Roberts’s husband.  It is located cross the street from the BoonsBoro Inn, owned by Ms. Roberts herself.  The signing was one of the seven that take place there each year — Nora invites fourteen authors to join her each time.  The event draws hundreds of readers, who line up hours in advance.  The signing is beautifully orchestrated by store staff, who sell hundreds of books before the signing starts, but also allow authors to hand-sell books during the course of the signing.

As before, I was overwhelmed by the reader response — attendees came from as far away as Montana and Arizona.  One woman was there with her husband — he had planned the trip to celebrate a major wedding anniversary.  Several readers juggled small children, or wrestled with walkers or wheelchairs.  Many had cameras, to document a virtual pilgrimage.

I realized, as I watched the whirlwind of activities, that Nora Roberts has done more than publish 200 books.  She has done more than put forward the face of a professional businesswoman to replace the timeworn image of a caftan-and-yappy-dog-writer-of-romance-novels.  She has done more than please millions and millions of readers (including, most amusingly to me, my then-94-year-old grandfather!)

Nora Roberts practically supports the town of Boonsboro.  Her seven-times-a-year signings infuse the historic town with cash.  The pizza joint on the corner (yes, featured in the most recent Roberts series).  The bakery across the street (*my* personal destination of choice – for the lemon-frosted ginger cookies!)  The farmer’s market, the gas station, the couple of dozen small businesses that get flooded with customers like life in a tidepool…

(Of course, those businesses and all their employees work hard.  I don’t mean to belittle what they do.)

Truly, booksigning day in Boonsboro is a wonder to behold.  And it’s all because of the work ethic of one woman who has figured out they key to the hearts and minds of millions of romance readers.

So, I’m back from my Maryland safari.  I’m settling down to get some writing done.  (And some support-work too, all the behind the scenes stuff that keeps us authors busy from dawn to dusk…)

And you?  What wonders did you discover this weekend?

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

Just a quick reminder:  TODAY, at 11:30 a.m., I’ll be signing books at Turn the Page Bookstore, 18 N. Main St., Boonsboro, MD 21713.

This event is the kickoff to the Washington Romance Writers’ annual retreat.  You don’t need to be a member of WRW to attend the booksigning.  (For those not in the know — Turn the Page is the bookstore owned by Nora Roberts’s husband.  It’s located practically across the street from the inn that Nora owns, and it’s one of the main businesses in historic Boonsboro.  The town bakery would be worth the trip, even if there weren’t such wonderful book-related places in Boonsboro!)

Lots of other authors will be at the signing, including:  Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Robyn Carr, Elizabeth Boyle, Cathy Maxwell, Amanda Brice, Leigh Duncan, Alma Katzu, Lavinia Kent, Alethea Kontis, Kieran Kramer, Allison Leotta, Pamela Palmer, Hope Ramsay, Alix Rickloff, and Christine Trent.

Mindy, hoping to see you there!

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

Yesterday, I mused about the production of O’Neill’s Strange Interlude that I saw over the weekend.  The production must have affected me more than I thought, because I find that I still have things to say about it.

As I mentioned, the play was written in 1923 and produced in 1928.  The action in the play starts somewhat after Armistice Day (the main character has had time to have a nervous breakdown and to begin recovering.)  The play then moves forward in time, some 2o-odd years.  Therefore, Strange Interlude is, in some ways, genre fiction — near-future science fiction.  (Except for the fact that it’s not particularly pre-occupied with science…)

O’Neill accomplishes his future writing by keeping things general.  When he wants to show a wealthy couple, he places them in a lavish Park Avenue apartment (betting that the luxe address of the 1920s would continue to be so through the end of the 30′s.)  He displays “privilege” by placing his characters at a regatta, without naming specific schools who are rowing.

Of course, O’Neill misses some things.  He does not hint at the Great Depression, which would have had a serious impact on his wealthy characters.  He cannot be aware of the rise of German nationalism, which might well have had echoes in a play about Freudian analysis, the lasting effect of World War I, etc.

Near future SF is a dangerous business.  We can read Orwell’s 1984 (written in 1948) and be amused by the various “misses”.  Clark’s 2001 has come and gone, of course.

What near future SF do you think has been successful?  What is laughable, in retrospect?

Mindy, perhaps through musing about Strange Interlude…

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

Last weekend, we attended a production of Eugene O’Neill’s play Strange Interlude at the Shakespeare Theatre.  The play is relatively early O’Neill – it was finished in 1923 and first produced in 1928.  It tells the story of a woman, Nina, who loses her fighter-pilot fiance two days before the World War I armistice and who spends the rest of her life trying to recapture the perceived perfection of her life with the dead man.

As written, the play runs 5 hours; it was originally performed with an intermission dinner break.  The production I saw was cut to 3 hours 20 minutes (plus two intermissions.)  The play is structured somewhat oddly — there are 9 “scenes” (rather than acts), corresponding to the nine months of human gestation.

But the most noteworthy aspect of Strange Interlude is its narrative form:  Each actor speaks his or her lines (as in a normal play), and each actor also speaks his or her thoughts.  In this performance there was no visual or aural distinction between what was dialog and what was thought; for the most part, though, that was made clear.

The effect was … interesting.  So much of what we perceive as acting is the conveyance of emotio; we’re accustomed to studying an actor’s face, body language, and tone to decipher how his/her character feels about something.  In this play, the actor states those underlying emotions explicitly:  “I hate him.  I think he’s fake and phony.  Hello there, how are you today?”

At times, the effect is comic.  (The strongest laugh line in the play was one character saying/thinking, “What am I doing here?” — a sentiment apparently echoed by a lot of the audience.)

But at times, the effect is enervating.  We hear someone think about something, then say that something.  A number of the lines feel doubled up, repeated unnecessarily.

And yet, I find myself intrigued by the form.  I wonder how it would work in a short story — we often already provide some of the interior monologue, but to reproduce all of it like that…  I’d never try it for more than a short story — essentially this is a gimmick, and most gimmicks get boring after a short time.  (At 3 hours, 20 minutes, the play was too long, by at least half an hour.  I can’t imagine how I would have felt about the 5 hour version!)

So — we arrive, at last, at a question:  What novels or short stories have you read that experiment with form?  And do you think those experiments were successful?

Mindy, musing.  Or maybe just procrastinating, because it’s time to start outlining a new novel…

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

As a writer, I would love to see my books in as many countries as possible.  There’s a certain thrill in seeing foreign languages on the cover, along with my name.  There’s a definite curiosity in seeing cover art, figuring out what works in one country, as opposed to another.

With my fantasy novels, I have fought long and hard to keep the rights for foreign distribution.  Publishers in certain countries (e.g., Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand) pay as much or more for distribution as U.S. publishers pay.  Publishers in other countries might not deliver huge advances, but any extra money is “found” money.

The publisher of my “fun” and “passion” novels (all of the Jane Madison Series, the As You Wish Series, and my Special Editions) was Harlequin.  Harlequin was not willing to forgo foreign distribution; they insisted that they have rights to translate and sell my works worldwide.  That insistence was not a deal-breaker, in part because Harlequin has a huge, worldwide distribution system.

Under my contract with Harlequin, they are required to send me two copies of each book published abroad.  Alas, that doesn’t always happen (there are at least two books that I did not receive).  Nevertheless, I often receive “care packages” from Harlequin, with unexpected foreign editions.

The most recent of these arrived late last week.  It was The Daddy Dance, published by Mills & Boon, with English-language text.  I did not realize, though, until I added the edition to my website, that the book was actually published for the Indian market!  So, now Mindy Klasky books are available in Germany, France, the U.K., and India (along with the U.S. and Canada…)  I can’t wait to see the next package that arrives!  (The complete list is available here:  http://www.mindyklasky.com/index.php/books/printable-list-of-all-novels/

(I have a writer-friend, Stephanie Dray, who has a tradition each time she sells foreign rights on one of her books:  she dines out at a restaurant that serves food from that country.  I think this is a grand tradition, and I think that Indian food just might be on the bill of fare soon…)

Mindy, amused

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

On April 27, 2012 at 11:30 a.m., I’ll be signing books at Turn the Page Bookstore, 18 N. Main St., Boonsboro, MD 21713.

This event is the kickoff to the Washington Romance Writers’ annual retreat.  You don’t need to be a member of WRW to attend the booksigning.  (For those not in the know — Turn the Page is the bookstore owned by Nora Roberts’s husband.  It’s located practically across the street from the inn that Nora owns, and it’s one of the main businesses in historic Boonsboro.  The town bakery would be worth the trip, even if there weren’t such wonderful book-related places in Boonsboro!)

Lots of other authors will be at the signing, including:  Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Robyn Carr, Elizabeth Boyle, Cathy Maxwell, Amanda Brice, Leigh Duncan, Alma Katzu, Lavinia Kent, Alethea Kontis, Kieran Kramer, Allison Leotta, Pamela Palmer, Hope Ramsay, Alix Rickloff, and Christine Trent.

Mindy, hoping to see you there!

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

So, just about a month after my last bookshelf post, another glimpse at what I’ve been reading…

• The Dark Enquiry, by Deanna Raybourn.  I adore the voice in these novels, and the London setting worked better for me than the Indian locale of the last book.  Raybourn has done a great job of keeping the tension between her romantic hero and heroine, long after they’ve admitted that they love each other.  I thought that I had the mystery of this book worked out from the first chapter, and I was partially right, but I loved every page getting to the end.
  
• A Confusion of Princes, by Garth Nix.  I scored an ARC of this book, and I loved it – but I’ll tell you more about it closer to its release date of May 15.
• Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis.  Fun, fun, fun – Regency-era fantasy for middle-grade readers with wonderful characters, excellent writing, and a moral that works.
• Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes.  In a parallel time-stream, criminals are bonded to animals who reflect their law-breaking past.  Um, I was terrified to read this novel, because I thought it would resonate too much with my own Darkbeast, coming out in August.  I had no reason to fear – the stories are as different as two humans-with-animals stories could be.  Beukes tells hers with a kaleidoscope of media (IMDB listing, anyone?) — I wasn’t always sure what all the slang meant, but I was thoroughly immersed in this book!
• Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest.  I’ve traveled where this novel takes place, including Underground Seattle, so I was really looking forward to this read.  Priest told an interesting story very well, but I’m afraid that I have to confess that steampunk is just not my thing.  ::hangs head in shame and hands over F&SF badge::
• Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger.  I was one of the big fan’s of Time Traveler’s Wife, and I’ve had this newer novel sitting on the to-be-read shelf for far too long.  I adored the way the characters were drawn, and I was enchanted by the way I had no idea how the story was going to wrap up, when I was right in the middle of it.
• The Wind-Up Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi.  I’ve had this novel on the to-be-read shelf for a while; it made a number of “year’s best” lists when it came out, including in mainstream press.  It was the first “hard” reading I’d done in quite some time, and it was a challenge for me to shift gears into this post-apocalyptic view of Thailand.  For the first several chapters, I just let the foreignness wash over me; gradually, I sorted out the characters, their slang, and their various plot goals.  The ending has stuck with me in the few days since I finished reading — I’m tempted to re-read this one from the beginning, to see what I missed the first time through.
• Hearts in Darkness, by Laura Kaye.  I’d heard Laura read from this novella when I attended the Baltimore Book Festival, so I knew a little bit about the story.  The first half takes place in an elevator that has lost power; the author does an incredible job describing her characters without relying on visual cues.  The characters were interesting and complex (especially the hero); however, I wanted just a bit more conflict.
• Matchmakers 2.0, by Debora Geary.  Another in my study of novellas.  This one had fun characters and a great chick-lit feel.  My only complaint was that the conflict was resolved too easily.
• Winning the Wallflower, by Eloisa James.  First in my study of romance novellas — a *wonderful* story, perfectly scaled to its size.  There was conflict that grew organically from the characters, fun tricks to deliver background information, and witty dialog to satisfy even my critical eye!
• RITA Contest #8 – RITA books must be kept secret.
• RITA Contest #7 – RITA books must be kept secret, but this one was particularly problematic.  I agonized over my scoring for several days, because the sub-genre is inherently unappealing to me, but I ultimately decided that the book failed as a *romance*, not merely as that sub-genre.  Sigh…
• RITA Contest #6 – RITA books must be kept secret.
• RITA Contest #5 – RITA books must be kept secret, but this was one *superb*, and I’ll eagerly seek out other books by the author!
• RITA Contest #4 – RITA books must be kept secret.
• RITA Contest #3 – RITA books must be kept secret.
• RITA Contest #2 – RITA books must be kept secret, but this one was good enough that I’ll be seeking out the author’s backlist.
• RITA Contest #1 – RITA books must be kept secret.  This one was neither here nor there, pretty average for its sub-genre.
• Blood Red Road, by Moira Young.  I had heard that this book was difficult because the story is told in dialect.  That didn’t get in the way of my reading at all – I inhaled this story that is a cross between The Hunger Games and Hansel and Gretel and a number of other stories.  My only quibble was that the narrator states that she is 18, but she felt younger to me.
• Cleopatra’s Moon, by Vicky Alvear Schechter.  Part of my Rome odyssey, .  This book covers the same territory as Stephanie Dray’s Lily of the Nile, but it takes a different approach.  In some ways, the Schechter book is more complicated — she uses the Latinized versions of names (Marcus Antonius, instead of Mark Antony), and her characters feel more formal and stylized.  In other ways, the story is simpler than Dray’s — the characters’ motivations are more straight-forward.  Schechter is writing more explicitly for a YA audience.  There’s a very nice twist at the end, though, with one character’s motivation that I completely did not expect.
• The Next Best Thing, by Kristan Higgins.  I’m a tough sell when it comes to humor — I tend not to laugh at most jokes in most books.  That said, there were several times when I literally laughed out loud while reading this novel.  It’s not going to change anyone’s life, but it’s good fun in the strongest descendant-of-chicklit tradition (and I mean that in the best of all possible ways.)

I’m still worrying away at that to-be-read shelf.  Of course, conference season is starting up, so I’m likely to start losing the battle again soon…

Mindy, trying to decide on the next read…

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

As noted earlier, I have added a number of my articles about the writing process to my website.  These articles were originally written for the Romance Writers of America’s monthly magazine, Romance Writers Report.  This week, I’ll highlight the articles that formed my “Contract Primer”.  The titles of the articles are pretty self-explanatory:

Term and Territorial Rights

Electronic Rights

Subsidiary Rights

Red Flags

I hope that you find some useful guidance there!

Mindy, pleased to be sharing

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.

And now I can share the news (which was released in my newsletter yesterday):  Capitol Magic, a novella featuring Jane Madison (from Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft) and Sarah Anderson (from Fright Court) is now available!  Here’s everything you need to know:

Jane Madison is searching for a job that will fulfill her, enabling her to combine her peerless librarian skills with her witchcraft. Sarah Anderson, clerk of court for the District of Columbia Night Court, is just beginning to figure out what she can do as a sphinx, an ancient protector of vampires. Magic flies when Jane and Sarah team up to protect a rare collection of books. Along the way, both women need to balance personal goals, professional careers, and their often-unwieldy love lives!

This novella combines the beloved world of the Jane Madison Series with the excitement of the stand-alone novel, Fright Court. Where else can a reader find a novella of witchcraft, vampires, and cupcakes?  (Capitol Magic also contains sneak peek chapters from other Mindy Klasky novels.)  Serena Ung created the spiffy cover.

Capitol Magic is available as an ebook (Amazon Kindle | B & N Nook).  Currently, there is no print edition.

You can read the first chapter on my website.

I am thrilled that Capitol Magic is already a Kindle bestseller.  In my dream of dreams, it will hit top 20 some time this week!  I thank you, in advance, for spreading the word and making that happen!

Mindy, bouncing up and down while typing

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If so, you’re going to learn something within the next 24 hours — news that I’ll share with newsletter recipients before anyone else!

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What have you got to lose?

Mindy, eager to share the good news!

Mirrored from Mindy Klasky, Author.