Liz and Molly won the drawing for a copy of my RT-nominated Best Regency-Era Historical Romance of 2011, Seducing the Governess. Congratulations, ladies!

The Jaunty Quills are pleased to welcome Harlequin associate editor, Emily Rodmell today.
Good morning. I’d like to thank Cindy Kirk for inviting me to visit with you all today. My name is Emily Rodmell, and I’m the associate editor for Harlequin’s inspirational romance imprint Love Inspired. That includes three separate lines: Love Inspired (contemporary inspirational romance of 55-60K words), Love Inspired Suspense (contemporary inspirational romantic suspense of 55-60K words) and Love Inspired Historical (historical inspirational romance of 70-75K words). I’ve worked with Love Inspired for almost seven years now and have had the privilege to acquire almost 20 new authors for the lines. I’m very passionate about these stories, and wanted to take a moment today to share with you both some of the great reading experiences that the lines offer as well as a great opportunity for writers.

Inspirational romance is basically romance that is targeted toward women of faith. It will have a great story, plot, conflict and characters. But it generally won’t have things like sex, cursing, drinking or anything else that would go against the values of a Christian woman or man (yes, we do have male readers!).  I’ve been thrilled to work on a ton of great stories that I think would appeal to any reader and love the variety of different themes and settings that I get to work with. We strive to make our stories relatable and not preachy. So if you’ve always thought that inspirational equals a sermon, think again. We do require an element of faith, but it can simply be your characters living a Christian life. There doesn’t have to be a conversion scene or a church scene.

I’ve become active on Twitter in the past year or so (@EmilyRodmell) and have challenged many of my followers who have never read inspirational to try one of our books. The responses I got almost all had one common thread: the readers (who ranged from super sexy paranormal fans to sweet non-inspirational romance fans) were surprised at how much they enjoyed the story. So I’d like to challenge you all to try a Love Inspired title as well. We have everything from Amish romance to heart pounding suspense to sexy outlaw heroes. Here are some books that I worked on this year that I would particularly recommend. If you try one, then definitely find me online (Twitter or here: http://community.harlequin.com/forums/love-inspired/editors-corner-chat-emily-rodmell ) and let me know what you thought, good or bad.

Amish: The Farmer Next Door or The Christmas Quilt both by Patricia Davids (You might be thinking “Amish romance? Is there such a thing?” But it’s actually one of the most popular genres out there these days.)
Sweet Romance: Longing for Home by Kathryn Springer (This book doesn’t come out until January, but it’s fabulous. You won’t be sorry if you put it on your wish list.)
Royal Intrigue: Princess in Peril by Rachelle McCalla (One of my favorite books of the year. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.)
Fast Paced Suspense: Holiday Hideout by Lynette Eason (It opens with the heroine saving the heroine and her infant from a bank robbery and doesn’t stop moving from there.)
Historical Outlaw Hero: The Reluctant Outlaw by Karen Kirst (If you think inspirational means goody two shoes characters, try this one. It might change your outlook.)
Strong Female Historical Heroine: Marrying Miss Marshal by Lacy Williams (A woman in a man’s job in the old West.)

And if you are an aspiring writer, there are some great opportunities for you in Love Inspired as well. All three lines are open to submissions from both published and unpublished authors. But Love Inspired Historical is especially looking for new voices. We’re open to any setting and time period up to World War II. I personally love to see new and different settings, strong heroes and heroines and stories that have an interesting twist that catches me by surprise. So I encourage you to give Love Inspired Historical a try. Unpublished authors should send a query letter and synopsis to me at 233 Broadway, Ste. 1001 New York, NY 10279, but have a full manuscript ready in case I love your concept and want to read it right away. Let’s think big, right?  Published authors can send a proposal (synopsis and 3 chapters) to the same address or have your agent email it to me.

To inspire you both as readers and writers, I’m happy to give away three of our books to commenters randomly chosen by Cindy. If you want to be included, leave a comment with your preferred genre (contemporary romance, romantic suspense or historical romance,) and I’ll send you one from your chosen line. I’d also love to hear your thoughts about inspirational romance in general. Does it intrigue you or turn you off? And I’m happy to answer any questions that you might have about writing inspirational romance.

Most readers have heard the industry buzz: that self publishing via ebook is a popular option not only for unpublished writers, but even New York Times best-selling authors.  Earlier this year, popular thriller author Barry Eisler turned down a two-book, $500,000 deal with St. Martin’s Press to pursue independent-publishing options.  Connie Brockway, multi-award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author, also decided to self-publish rather than continue with a traditional, New York based publishing house.

There are many reasons for authors to make this decision: unfavorable contract offers; the chance to make a lot more money, especially if they have an established fan base; the creative freedom to write what they want to write, rather than what fits neatly into a publisher’s sometimes limiting guidelines.  For authors with backlist books that are out of print, it’s a chance to reissue those novels to a fresh audience and hopefully gain new fans for current books in the process.

I’m not a bestselling author by any stretch of the imagination.  However, I, too, have chosen to walk the path of self-publishing.  Six of my medieval historical romances had been released in paperback by 2010, and I was under contract to write a seventh book for my former publisher when they decided to quit printing mass market paperbacks.  Thanks to my agent, I got the rights back to all of my books.  She’s currently marketing new writing projects for me, because I would love to sell to another traditional publishing house, but in the meantime, I’m reissuing my previous novels in ebook format.

Dance of Desire and My Lady’s Treasure, both award-winners, are available now on Kindle and Nook for $2.99.  I also released a short, sexy medieval novella Bound by His Kiss, never published before, for 99 cents.  In the coming months, I plan to release my four-book Knight’s Series.  With luck, the first novel, A Knight’s Vengeance, will be available in December.

I’ve learned a lot through getting my first books up on Kindle and Nook.  Formatting the manuscript is very time consuming.  While some people have had success taking a Word Document and uploading it, I haven’t been that lucky.  So, for me, it means copying my whole manuscript, pasting it into Notepad (which erases all special formatting like italics) and then copying and pasting the text into a fresh document.  Then, I go through it page by page to add the italics back in, delete any odd spacing, and insert page breaks.

Then, there’s uploading the finished file to Kindle and Nook.  Thank goodness my tech-savvy husband has known how to fix the odd glitches that have popped up and has successfully uploaded my books for me.  What would I do without him?

It has been exciting, though, to see my books have a “new life. “  My novels now have gorgeous new covers that are more to my taste and more suited (I think) to my stories.  My books are available again for readers, perhaps even a new audience of people who would never have picked up my books in paperback.  I’ve joined a wonderful group called Backlist eBooks, where I’ve met other published novelists, many of them award-winning bestsellers, who have self-published and are very gracious about sharing tips on marketing and promotional opportunities.  And I’m earning income from my books again—not a fortune, but enough to make the endeavor worthwhile.  I’m very glad I decided to join the self-publishing trend.  Still, I doubt it’s enough to convince my teenage daughter daughter I’m “trendy.”  

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For blurbs and more details about my ebooks, please visit my website.

My books on Amazon |  My books on Nook

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Do you buy ebooks?  Have you bought a backlist/previously released title that’s now available as an ebook?  What do you think of the rise in popularity of self-published books?  I’m eager to hear what you, dear readers, think of this development in the publishing industry.

Thanksgiving is two short weeks away. Have you started thinking about your menu? We usually keep things pretty traditional at Chez Thompson –  Turkey, dressing, sweet and mashed potatoes, green beans and my favorite part of the meal – cranberry orange relish made from scratch. No canned cranberry gel, for us, thank you.

To get us in the spirit of the season, I thought it might be nice to do a Jaunty Quills recipe swap. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Please post the recipe below.

Here’s mine:

Cranberry Orange Relish

1 pound fresh cranberries, picked over and washed

1 1/3 cups sugar (adjust to taste)

½ cup water

½ cup orange juice

2 tsp grated orange rind

Grand Marnier to taste (optional, but it gives a very nice kick)

½ cup blanched almonds, slivered (optional)

1. Combine all the ingredients (except the almonds and Grand Marnier) in a saucepan and cook until the cranberries pop open (about 7 minutes)
2. Skim the foam from the surface and stir in the Grand Marnier. Just before serving, stir in the almonds if desired.

Can’t wait to see what’s on your table. Bon Appetite!

UNTIL THERE WAS YOU is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller! Kristan sends big thanks to all the readers who bought the book!

When my first book came out, well, even before that–probably when I began my journey into the world of writing and publishing, I had an idea of what REAL authors did in their lives. I’m sure it’s close to what anyone outside the world of publishing thinks….

The glamorous author rises in the morning to a freshly-steeped cup of tea and fresh croissant, made by her cook, and takes a few hours to read her piles of fan letters (hey, this was before everyone did email!), freshen her appearance into something glamorous, sort through her personal things and then she would approach her typewriter, word processor, secretary, etc. to begin creating the wonderful stories she writes.

An hour or so later, she would break for lunch (something glamorous made by her cook – and cleaned up by the housekeeper/maid/someone other than herself) before returning calls to her publicist, hardworking agent and her adoring publisher. In the afternoon, she would go shopping, to the spa, hair/nail stylist, work with her personal trainer, etc. before returning to write a bit more before calling it a day–creatively speaking.

In the evening, a car would arrive and whisk her off to some glamorous dinner before she attended a sumptuous event or theater or signing attended by throngs of adoring fans who would clamor for her autograph. After that, she would be driven home (which had been cleaned by someone else) and go to bed, resting after such an exhausting day. . . .

Are you laughing yet? Yeah, I believed in the fairytale and thought that every author with published books MUST live that way. . . and I kind of wanted it, too.

And then my first book was published and I learned the truth — especially about women authors — very, very, very few of us ever live that glamorous life! Instead, we do what most all women do — we ADD writing and being published into our already-full lives. We ADD the hours at the keyboard, the hours of self-promotion, the hours of editing and revising, the hours of researching and all of it into schedules filled with outside-or-inside-the-house jobs, family, husbands, partners, children, extend family obligations, other commitments and on and on.

We multi-task endlessly. Each day is far from glamorous.

BUT. . .

I wouldn’t change it for the world!

And every so often, I get to do something that definitely was part of my idea of glamorous-author-life. Like going on a Levy bus tour of New England and having people arrange everything. Or signing at BEA (Book Expo America in NYC).  Or being interviewed for a newspaper or magazine article. Or meeting fans — maybe not throngs but each one is great!

Or, like coming to the Isle of Palms, staying in a sumptuous beach house and surrounding myself with writers doing writerly stuff.

No one to take care of — other than myself. No one to ask me to run to the store. . . or do laundry. . . or make copies. . . or anything. I may not have the personal assistant yet. . . or the private secretary or cook, but sitting here, watching the sun move across the sky and the waves roll gently onto shore, I can pretend those things! LOL!

  Of course, the biggest thrill for an author is seeing her books on sale and I guess I’ve been thinking back to that first book — A LOVE THROUGH TIME — which was released THIS WEEK in 1998. Coincidentally, I’ve republished it in digital formats just this past week! So now, 13 years later, it’s available to a new audience of readers — something every author dreams about.

So, what’s the one thing you would do if you were living the glamorous life? what would be your guilty pleasure — if you could afford it? Travel? Help around the house? Weekly massages?  Add a comment here and I’ll pick out someone to receive something special…!

Terri is thrilled to see her first time travel and historical romances coming back ‘on the shelves’ for a whole new audience of readers. A LOVE THROUGH TIME was released in digital formats on November 1 and the second of the MacKendimen trilogy ONCE FORBIDDEN will be released soon! Visit Terri’s website for more info about all her books and upcoming events — of the glamorous and un-glamorous type!

The winner of Katy Madison’s giveaway is catslady.    Congrats!   Catslady, please contact Katy with your full name and mailing address.

Thanks again to Katy Madison for blogging with us, and thanks to all who commented.

Robyn DeHart’s TREASURE ME has been nominated for an RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Historical Romantic Adventure!

A couple of years ago, I discovered a BBC mini-series from the late ‘90s called Berkeley Square on Netflix. The series was sort of a primetime soap about 3 or 4 nannies who were employed by the wealthy families in – of course – Berkeley Square, circa 1900. One of the characters was a young man – Jason O’Mara – cute, nice accent, very talented. We saw him again in another British series called Monarch of the Glen. This one was set in Scotland and I noticed he was beginning to mature (you know, that’s when they start to get really good ).

When the fall TV season began, I decided to check out the new series Terra Nova. And what do you know – same guy, Jason O’Mara – in the lead, playing an American, Jim Shannon, who went back willingly to prehistoric times. Without giving too much away, he risks everything to go back in time with his wife, Elizabeth, and their kids. She’s a physician, and her skills are in demand back in the prehistoric community. He was not invited to go, but he sort of blasts his way into the past along with them. Because of his own skills, he quickly becomes accepted – and needed - there.

The Terra Nova storylines so far haven’t been super strong but the one thing that really works for me are the characters, especially Jim’s respect and love for Elizabeth. That comes across loud and clear in every episode. He is crazy about her and it shows. He’s proud of her skills, and he’s protective though he doesn’t hover. He’s very alpha when it’s required, but a total beta husband/dad when there are no threats.

So, as I’m thinking about this character, I realize that the heroes in my own books are usually alpha with enough beta characteristics to keep them from being too obnoxious. I want them to be powerful, confident, agile, and smart. I also want them to be sensitive, but only when they have to be. That’s how I wrote Captain Gavin Briggs, the hero of my next book, Brazen (coming out soon – 11/29). Briggs lets himself be coerced into helping Christina Fairhaven find and deal with a blackmailer, but – while he respects her as he falls for her – he doesn’t allow her to get into any real danger. He takes care of her without hovering, and realizes she is the woman for him.

If you’d like to read about the first meeting between Captain Briggs and Christina Fairhaven - Click here. And if you’ll tell me what makes a great Romance hero, I’ll choose two commenters at random to receive a copy of Seducing the Governess, my last book, the story of Christina’s long lost sister.

PS — Jason O’Mara is the actor who will play Joe Morelli in the Stephanie Plum movie that’s coming out next summer. He looks like the perfect Morelli to me!

Thanks to Jaunty Quills for inviting me to guest blog!

If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have told you I don’t write fairy tales. I am a self-described hardcore realist. I like to develop true to life characters who deal with their problems in authentic ways. Besides that, modern fairy tales have been Disneyfied and sanitized. I prefer when the woodcutter has to kill Little Red Riding Hood’s wolf with an ax. I enjoy it much more when the first two little pigs get eaten instead of running to the third’s and sheltering in his solid brick house. I like the Hansel and Gretel who shove the witch into the oven and cook her as she intended to do to them.

Watching characters struggle to achieve their happily ever after is more fun. I want to know that they have faced adversity and conquered wolves and monsters to grow strong enough to weather future challenges. I don’t like a prince swooping in to rescue a girl and solve all her problems with a magical kiss, because it is never that simple, nor does that type of ending satisfy.

But then I got a review saying my latest story is a Cinderfella story. As I got to thinking about it, I realized it was true. My hero Jack has big dreams and no way of getting there, until fate strikes, not with a pumpkin carriage or mice that turn into livered footmen, nor a fairy godmother with a wand, but with a combination of events that seem like the worst possible things that could happen to him.

He forged ahead determined to get back on track in spite of the boulders cast in his path. And if he could convince Caroline to go along with him, so much the better. Certainly the way he got to his Happily Ever After was not how he expected or wanted it to happen. But I do write romance, so he was bound to get there. However, it was a stretch to believe a working class man could become the prince Caroline needed to help her defeat the wicked villain. And if ever a heroine needed rescuing, Caroline did. But I also wanted her to grow strong enough to stand up for herself. She also had to learn to fight the monsters, while opening herself up to Jack. In the end they both had to trust that love would win out and believe in each other. So I guess I do write fairy tales in a dark and twisted sort of way.

So how do you like your fairy tales? Dark and Twisted, or Light and Fluffy? One commenter will win a copy ALL ABOUT SEDUCTION, my gothic historical romance from Avon.