I always enjoy the Novelist Inc. blog, and the most recent post is one by Pati Nagle about Five Should Haves on a Website. It’s a great post and well worth reading.
One of the things Pati mentions is an author photo on the home page of a website. She says readers feel more connected if they can see a photo of you, and this might lead to them remembering your name when they’re browsing for books in a store.
I don’t have a photo on my home page because I wanted to focus on my books. I might post photos on my blog and I have my picture in the photo section, but for me, a website should be about the books. Yes, I agree, a website needs a personality, but I don’t believe I need my face to be part of that personality.
In the past, I’ve heard of agents and publishers rejecting older authors because their faces/age/sex isn’t marketable. I don’t know if this is an urban legend or not, but it’s a sad fact of life that models and most people who feature in ads to sell products are young and glamorous. Does this extend to authors? I don’t know.
I wondered what everyone else thought. Obviously there’s no right or wrong answer, merely opinions. What do you think? Author photos – yes or no? Does knowing what an author looks like affect your buying decision?
First of all, Amy Ruttan is featuring both Leticia’s Lovers and Hardy Candy at her blog.
I’m visiting Sally Painter at the Romance Examiner. I mention writing and my Middlemarch series. Here’s the link to the interview.
I’m also over at RR@H Novel Thoughts and Book Talk where I’m chatting about Middlemarch, Leticia’s Lovers and giving away a download from my EC backlist.
It’s release day at Ellora’s Cave, and Leticia’s Lovers is finally out. Yes, it’s true. After what seems like a long wait, it’s finally here. Amy W – are you listening???
Today I share my release date with friend and blogging buddy, Amy Ruttan. You’ve probably heard more than enough about my book, so I sent Amy a mini interview and pleaded for answers, at very short notice, I might add. Champ that she is, Amy came through. I present to you: Hard Candy by Amy Ruttan.
HARD CANDY by Amy Ruttan
A golden ticket to a hedonistic club, that’s the marketing idea Lenore Byrne offers her newest client Pallator Sinclair as a way to promote his Innocent Pleasures Candy Company. Candy that is for adults only. Landing this account will make her career and it doesn’t hurt that her client is damn sexy.
Pallator has been up and down Madison Avenue, but no one gets his vision for his company. That is, until he meets Lenore. He offers her the chance of a lifetime, a tour of the hedonistic club. It’s an offer she can’t refuse, but can she turn down his other offer? To completely let herself go with the sinful man she hardly knows.
Well, I saw the call for submission on the EC website, and I got thinking about candy, and of one of my favorite books as a child, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was trying to think how I could make candy erotic. I’m not one for placing food in various spots in the body etc., I had read a post on Redlines and Deadlines from the editors about the various kinds of food “stuffing” they had seen. So I wanted to write a story where there was candy involved, but make it for adults only. The story then just fell into place, I made the candy the reason my hero and heroine got together. He owns an Adult brand of candy and she’s in advertising.
2. Describe your hero for us and then wrap up your description with one word that describes him best.
His name is Pallator Sinclair, his mother is from Brazil, and his father is from England. His mother’s family has lived in Brazil for a long time. They know things about the rain forests other don’t, though he doesn’t know the specific tribe his mother’s family descended from. He’s sexy, darker skin, shoulder length black hair, dark eyes and a sexy Portuguese accent. He’s intelligent, was schooled at some very fine post secondary institutions and very open with his sexuality. He’s a savvy business man. He knows what he wants and goes for it. One word that describes him, I would say confident. Pallator Sinclair is confident.
3. Do you tell people you write erotic romance? Why or why not?
It depends. I certainly don’t tell the other mothers at my daughter’s school. They know I write romance, they know I have books in e-book format, but they don’t know my pen name and I don’t tell them. I would if they honestly asked, but I’m trying to keep my identity secret around my daughter’s friends. I would hate to have my career affect my children since they are both so young. Others, oh yeah, I proudly let them know I write it. I’m not ashamed by that fact. I like what I write, I love writing the sexual tension. I like HOT books, so writing erotic was a natural transition for me.
My entire family knows, my parents, my in-laws (though they aren’t impressed), my friends all know. My former co-workers knew and my DH’s co-workers know what I write. My husband’s co-workers think he’s the luckiest man alive … it’s our private joke. And most people who were at Nationals this past year, I am sure, know I write erotic romance since I stumbled out of the Passionate Ink Party with a vibrator or two in my hands. LOL.
Thanks, Amy, and all the best with your newest release!
My latest release LETICIA’S LOVERS is out tomorrow. It’s part of my Middlemarch Mates series about a feline shapeshifter community in the South Island of New Zealand. I love both reading and writing feline shapeshifters. There’s something about a cat that’s graceful, mysterious and beautiful at the same time. I like them because they’re independent, confident and have a touch of arrogance about them.
In celebration of feline shifters: Thirteen Feline Shifter stories.
1. Nalini Singh’s Psy series. Nalini’s both a friend and a wonderful writer. The first book in her series is called SLAVE TO SENSATION. It’s a great read and very different and original from other paranormal stories available. My favorite in the series is CARESSED BY ICE. (mostly leopard but not all)
2. MERCURY’S WAR by Lora Leigh, one of the Breeds series. I really enjoyed this one. (lion)
13. LETICIA’S LOVERS by Shelley Munro – out today from Ellora’s Cave (leopard/lion)
Do you like feline shifters? If so what do you enjoy about them? Is there a different paranormal creature that floats your boat? And if you prefer contemporary romance, that’s fine. Tell me what you’re reading because contemporary romance is my second favorite thing to read.
I’ve noticed pens are a very popular promotional item with both readers and writers. I certainly like to replenish my pen supply when I go to a conference. Of course, like many promotional items, pens don’t make me want to run out and purchase the relevant author’s book. I haven’t personally ordered pens for myself (mainly because I haven’t found a reasonably priced source in New Zealand) but I look upon pens as an additional tool to help gain name recognition amongst the buying public.
Pens are a good promo item because they’re relatively cheap. Everyone likes pens and uses them on a daily basis, no matter a person’s age, sex or locality. They’re a universal item and appeal to everyone. That’s a big plus.
Pens come in all shapes, sizes and colors. These days you can often purchase pens to match books – a specific color or design. For example: you can buy pens with puppies, in a leopard print, a sea theme or even a holiday theme. If you have a book with a builder hero, how about a builder’s pencil? If you have a book with a magical theme, how about a pencil that changes color with the heat of your hand? The possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination.
As I’ve just mentioned as well as pens you can order pencils, coloring pencils, Sharpies or highlighter pens to fit your needs. Writers LOVE highlighter pens or this writer does. Most pens I pick up have black ink. I’m not sure why that is but I have a decided preference for blue ink. Most people won’t care but I’m a blue girl all the way!
Jane Porter is an author who does lots of promotions with pens. I have several of her pens.
What Do You Put On a Pen?
Maria Zannini has an excellent post about author signatures at her blog. The taglines you put in your author signatures are great for pens as well. The thing is to keep the info to two, maybe three or four lines maximum. Too much information is confusing and the writing is too small. You should definitely include your name and website and either a tagline or a book title on your pen.
Here’s a few examples from pens I have:
Jane Porter’s pen has three lines of writing.
Line 1 – Jane Porter
Line 2 – (slightly smaller) Harlequin Presents
Line 3 – janeporter.com
Terri Brisbin’s pen has four lines of writing.
Line 1 – Looking for love?
Line 2 – Find it in a Romance by
Line 3 – (large writing) Terri Brisbin
Line 4 – www.terribrisbin.com
Tielle St. Clare’s highlighter has three lines of writing
Line 1 – Exotic & Erotic – Books by
Line 2 – (larger writing) Tielle St. Clare
Line 3 – www.ellorascave.com
Pens are good promo at conferences. They’re excellent for goodie bags. Give them out to friends and family, your hairdresser, vet or librarian. Leave them in restaurants after you’ve signed the check. Add them to Christmas or birthday presents because everyone likes pens!
There are lots of places to purchase pens, especially if you live in the US. The best way is to ask other authors for recommendations. Here are a few websites for you to start with:
Vista Print does do pens as well, but they’re quite expensive compared to some of the alternatives.
Do you like pens for promotional items? Do you favor a particular pen style more than others? Have you purchased pens for promo items? Which company did you use and what was your experience during the ordering process? Do you have any other ideas of places to use your promo pens once you’ve purchased them?
My special guest today is JK Coi who I met online a while ago. I enjoy visiting her blog and meeting her many guests, and then there’s her books…
JK writes a series about a very sexy group of Immortal warriors. Let’s go to the movies first before we chat with JK, and don’t forget, if you have any questions for JK ask them in the comments section.
Hi! First off, I want to thank Shelley for having me as a guest today. She’s got the best blog and even better shifter alpha heroes! (You’re very welcome, and thank you. Compliments are always welcome! – Shell)
I’m celebrating the release of the third book in my Immortal Series, Dark Immortal, and I’m very excited about it. It took me by surprise, you see. I hadn’t intended to write this book at all when I first started down this particular road.
When I started writing the series, I had a very clear picture of the characters and the roles they were going to play. Rhys is the hero of book one. He’s the eldest Immortal and a bit of a recluse. He didn’t take to this leadership thing so easily and he didn’t quite know how to deal with a sharp, determined woman like Amy who turned his life upside down from the first moment he saw her. Then there was Baron, a smartass, smartmouthed, ex-military sharpshooter who was all set to embrace his new life as an Immortal…that is until his past came back to haunt him in the form of the irresistible and forbidden Maxine. Ah…and then it was supposed to be Gideon’s turn. A man of science, he’d had his life planned out so perfectly. He wasn’t supposed to be dragged into a demon war, and he definitely wasn’t supposed to fail so miserably at it—now he can barely live with the consequences.
Just as I was finishing up Baron’s story and getting ready to start Gideon’s, one of the other Immortals stepped forward, not content to stay in his “supporting role”.
Alric. In the first two books, he is strong, centered, happy.
But his past was revealed to me; the torture, the darkness, the rage. After living so close to madness for so long, I needed to know how he had gotten past it to become the man he is now—and of course, the answer was Diana. She was his light.
So what would happen if that light were taken away? If darkness were to envelop him once more?
The story just had to be written.
J.K. Coi writes dark and edgy paranormal romance, where love is all consuming, the stakes are always high, and the immortals are to die for…
Book 3 of the Immortal Series, Dark Immortal, is available now…
Five years of happiness, erased in one vicious act of violence.
Diana freed Alric from his prison and the insanity of his own mind, offering him the kind of love only a fool would deny. Now she lies broken and comatose from a vampire attack, locked deep inside herself where he cannot reach her.
Awakening in a strange bed, Diana has no memory of how she got there. The huge, muscled man leaning over her is straight out of nightmares full of blood and pain. Married to him? It can’t be true…even if her body craves his touch, and the anguish in his eyes shatters something deep inside her.
Alric has no intention of giving up on the woman who never stopped fighting for him. His one hope is that time will heal her mind. But with a demon god poised to tip the balance of power, time is not on their side…
Don’t forget to pepper JK with questions. If you’d like to know anything about her books or writing process feel free to ask in the comments section.
I’m busy with edits at the moment and have worked all weekend on writing. It’s keeping me out of trouble, that’s for sure! I have edits on two manuscripts. One down, and I’m thirty pages into the second.
Tomorrow I have a special guest. JK Coi is visiting and talking about her latest release. I hope you’ll pop by to visit.
Despite being busy I still have a book on the go. I’ve just finished Only Pleasure by Lora Leigh. This one wasn’t one of my favorites of hers, and I actually found myself skimming. Next off the pile is Body Language by Suzanne Brockmann.
If you’re in the Northern hemisphere, enjoy the rest of your weekend. Southern hemisphere – welcome to Monday!
Barbara Vey at Publishers Weekly has a recent post about authors, actors and the like called Does It Matter If They’re Nice? while Samhain editor Tera Kleinfelter has a post about professionalism.
We all know how to behave in public or online, or we should. Writing is our job or business and as a writer we need to promote ourselves in a positive light. We’re all human and sometimes, the smile might slip. Sometimes we have a bad day.
I have a confession. I’m a fairly easy going person, but there are a couple of authors whose books I would never purchase or read because they made a really bad impression on me when I met them. Quite frankly, they were rude. I’ve heard others make the same comment about authors, actors and singers.
If an author is rude to you at a conference or booksigning, or they behave badly online, does this create a bad impression with you or do you give them the benefit of doubt and give them a second chance? Does rudeness stop you buying their book, music or watching their movies?
