April 19, 2012

What, me? Preorder?

Well,  I don’t do it all the time, but here I am, asking you to preorder the paperback of Escape, which goes on sale Tuesday.  So let’s take a minute to discuss the pros and cons of preordering.

Pro.  You don’t risk forgetting; the book is on your doorstep the day it goes on sale.

Con.  If forgetting is a problem, you may preorder the same book twice; I’ve actually done that.

Pro.  You can be in the literary forefront, the first of your friends to read a book.

Con.  If you end up hating it, the letdown is worse.

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March 14, 2012

Why do I blog?

Let me make one thing clear.  I don’t blog to express a political opinion.  As a novelist, my taking a stand on anything political or religious is disastrous.  When I talked here last week about civil discourse, it was to vent not about what we say but how we say it.

So there you go – one reason why I blog.  I blog to vent about something, be it civil discourse, airport security, or plastic bags.

But there are other reasons.  I mean, it’s not like I’m sitting around with nothing to do.  I have to put blogging on my calendar, or else it gets lost in the shuffle of the daily writing, in this case, of Sweet Salt Air.

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January 19, 2012

My racy past

Type my name into Amazon, then sort by publication date, and you’ll find books of mine that you’ve never heard of.  Take First, Best and Only.  Originally published in 1986, a first-ever hardcover edition is coming in March.  I didn’t know this until I checked the Amazon list myself, which is often the only way I can find out when my early books are being reissued.  Once I sell pub rights to a publisher (as I did First, Best and Only to Harlequin), they don’t have to ask my permission.  They don’t even have to let me know.

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September 20, 2011

Survival guide for a writer in a book group

My book group met last night to discuss THE PARIS WIFE, which is a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage.  When I read this book last April, I was intrigued by the marriage, but even more, as a writer, by the ups and downs of Hemingway as he struggled to be published.  I was one of those who had pushed this book when we chose our 2011-2012 list last June, and the discussion was terrific, validating the choice.

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September 16, 2011

Naming the baby

A book title either hits me, or it doesn’t.  When it doesn’t, I defer to my publisher.  After all, a title is a marketing tool, and they’re the marketing experts.  Of my last five books, from FAMILY TREE to the present, the only one I came up with myself was ESCAPE, but that was a no-brainer.  ESCAPE was about … escape!  From the first, that was the only title I could see on the cover.

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September 13, 2011

My book is a GO!

Good news.  My editor called this morning to say that everyone at SMP loves my proposal.  There are a few questions, basically things for me to keep in mind as I write, but now that I have a green light, I can start.

I’m psyched!

And suddenly nervous.  Drafting a proposal is one thing.  As real as my characters are, they’re still hypothetical.  Suddenly now, they’re etched in blood.

Well, not really.  But you know what I mean.

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September 7, 2011

How to write a book proposal that sells

Early this morning, I emailed the formal proposal for my new book to New York. It was sixteen pages of single-spaced description, starting with a single painstakingly-written sentence. That first sentence has to hook my editor or she’ll never read the rest. I mean, you guys read the first page or two of a book before buying. If you don’t like what’s right there at the beginning, you pass on the whole thing. Right? Well, pitching a book isn’t all that different.

Here’s the sentence I sent:

A woman has a secret that may save the life of her best friend’s husband – or destroy him.

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