As many of you who follow this blog or read mine during this time of year, November is a very strange month for me — filled with the very best AND worst of things.

The bad things? My dad died on Thanksgiving in 1976. I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in November. I broke my back (for the second time!) in November. The good things? My third son was born in November. My first book was published in November. I was cured of cancer in November.

It’s a real up-and-down time of year for me. But, with Thanksgiving right in the middle of it, I do find myself trying to focus on the good things and to take time to be thankful for them.  And this year is no different so I thought I’d share a couple of them with you:

1) I’m thankful for my health — I just hit my five-year-cancer-free date so WOOOOHOOOO!

2) I’m thankful for all those writers who continue to inspire me and whose work keeps me happily reading for hours and hours.

3) I’m thankful for my writing colleagues who cheer me on when I need it, support me when I’m down and point me in different directions when I need to turn or move. I’m thankful for their creativity and their constant friendship.

4) I’m thankful that I’ve had the chance to share my stories and my characters with readers.

5) I’m thankful for my readers who give me their time and attention and let me know how my stories have affected them.

and 6) I’m thankful that I found the Jaunty Quills, or that they found me, and invited me to be part of this wonderful community!

As you gather with family or friends this week to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, what will you be thankful for? Share it with me. . . .

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!   

Terri

   Terri is also thankful for those people who have won blog or chat prizes and have waited patiently to receive them — she hopes everything will be on its way in the next couple of weeks! In the meantime, she’s also working on her next Harlequin Historical novel (a return to the MacLerie Clan and the Highlands of Scotland!) which will be part of a 2012-13 trilogy. Visit her website for more info about her and her latest releases!

I attended the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference last weekend and had a wonderful time. Inevitably, published authors chat about what’s going on in the publishing industry and talk comes around to effective methods of promoting ourselves and our work/books to readers and potential readers (AKA you!).  Over the last couple of years social media like Facebook and Twitter have been increasingly growing and authors are being told to be there and to have a presence so that we can meet and ‘friend’ readers, fans and potential readers. Some publishers even give tutorials about how to use these social media for those authors among us who just are not comfortable being in the public eye and at interacting with the public at the fast pace of the internet.

   Interestingly, a tidbit of information shared in one of the discussions was that social media and an author’s presence there does not bring about sales of books.

Apparently, posting and following and tweeting doesn’t seem to sell books or cause readers to run out and buy them — for other than the very biggest of the big-name authors. The rest of us get lost in the mix. Although readers like to chat with us on FB and Twitter, and follow us through our days and share our posts and photos with others of their friends, they don’t go out and buy our books due to seeing us there.

As a reader and a fan,  it was interesting to me. I do follow some of my favorite authors, but those are authors whose books are already on my auto-buy list. I don’t read anything on FB that makes me buy those authors, I follow them because I already enjoy them and their work. But surely, not all readers do this too? LOL!

So……that brings me to my question of the day — do you follow authors you already enjoy or do you begin to try new authors through their FB or Twitter postings? Do an author’s posts make you try out their work? Or are the authors you follow your auto-buys? Let me know what you think and I’ll pick two posters and give them each a $10 giftcard to Amazon or iTunes for sharing!

   Terri is working hard to get her time travel romances (previously published by Berkley/Jove’s Time Passages line) ready for republishing. She hopes to have them re-released in the next few months with the first one, A LOVE THROUGH TIME, coming out in early November! Visit her website for more info about those and about her upcoming new releases! 

Well, maybe not the ODDEST but I just love it when romance novels turn up unexpectedly!

   I was watching the movie RED and loved it when Bruce Willis’ character clearly was reading the romance novels his love interest was reading so he could talk with her about them! LOVED IT – even if they were a fictional version of Harlequins.

   And I remember the opening of KATE AND LEOPOLD with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman — when Kate’s secretary is reading and weeping over a romance novel ! I think that it was one by Christine Feehan – though completely different from the one she described to Kate. And though Kate needed her to do something, she insisted on finishing the last few pages before she could. A true romance reader!

And then, who could forget the wonderfully, campy episode of HIGHLANDER with Adrian Paul, when one of the wives of another Immortal decides to get revenge on him by writing stories based on Duncan MacLeod’s amorous adventures! DRAMATIC LICENSE featured a glamorous romance author doing readings of her work in huge bookstores and having glamorous launch parties thrown by her publisher. For a long time, I thought that must be how a romance author’s life really was! LOL! The fictitious romance novel in the episode was called The Blade of the MacLeod….

So, I just thought I’d ask all of you — where else have romance novels turned up that made you smile? In which movie or tv show? Or mentioned in other types of books?

    When not catching up on movies missed, Terri is busy working on some new projects and a few old ones, too, as she prepares her first four romances for re-release in digit formats. Watch here on the Jaunty Quills and on Terri’s website for updates on the progress!  And, Terri will be signing her latest releases at the upcoming NJRW conference on Saturday, October 22 between 4:00 and 5:30pm. She hopes you’ll stop in and say hello!

Back at Christmastime, I posted a blog (somewhere!) about the really funny holiday tv commercials. . . I gave Target two thumbs up for their holiday efforts, especially the music in them! Very snappy — and they made the music available for free, too.

So, they’ve really applied their efforts to this season — the Back to School Season — and given Staples a run for their advertising money this summer.

That’s a high standard to beat, too, because every August I run in to hear and see the most wonderful commercial for the most wonderful time of the year:

Staples – classic!

And the updated version –

Staples – updated

And they even go around the world –

Staples Back to School – UK

Or how about this one — featuring one of the stars of GLEE?

Staples – Glee theme

And listen to the music in the background to learn the identity of this not-so-typical dad:

Staples – surprise   (He lives in my area-southern NJ!)

As August approached, I waited to see what the new seasonal commercials would be, but I was a bit detached since my youngest is now in college and the excitement of school supply lists that are needed immediately is over.  And Target came through in a big way — my two favorite ones:

Target – Glitter       The way that teacher says ‘glitter, so much glitter’ gave me the creeps!

And my new favorite that has me singing about denim and Shaun White hoodies:

Target – Denim

Did any of them make you laugh? Is this a happy-happy-joy-joy time of the year in your household or are you sad to see the school year begin? How did opening day(s) go for you? Post a comment and I’ll pick two winners — one will get a Target gift card and one will get a Staples gift card (and a book to each, of course!)

Oh! An extra prize to the person who can tell me who the heck Shaun White is and why I should wear his hoodies? LOL!

      Terri is home and writing again and will have some exciting news in October about her time-travel romances and a new Harlequin series, too! Stop back or stop over at her website to keep up-to-date on her books, events and news. . .

Yes, it appears that romance readers really do give lots of their attention to romance novel covers — even now with digital only releases, the cover remains one of the most important pieces of the marketing puzzle.

So, when I was invited to speak at the Monmouth Museum in NJ tonight and they have an exhibit featuring local artist’ James Avati’s classic cover art from the 50s and 60s, I thought I would talk about romance novel covers. In researching for the presentation, I found some really old covers, some new ones, some good ones and some. . . not-so-good (or ones that don’t hit their mark).

Now let’s step in the time machine and go back, way back to some early romance novel covers –

Ahhhh – The Flame and The Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss — considered the FIRST modern romance novel by most and it was quite hot for its time. The cover includes both imagery and people but it’s not too suggestive – though the tagline under Kathleen’s name is rather provocative!

This Johanna Lindsey title (one of my favorites) is actually Fabio’s first romance cover! Featuring both the classic clinch and the classic heaving bosoms, it is a classic! (BTW – I’ve been told that the heaving bosom covers were originally designed to. . ahem. . . tempt the all-male sales forces who sold these to all-male distributors!! Could it be true?)

And who could forget these step-backs of Fabio? This first one was quite scandalous and a sign that covers were finally being designed to appeal to the true romance reader – the women! Did you get any of these?

Man of My Dreams?           Surrender My Love?               The Conqueror?

Moving forward, we see that women also like men in uniforms from these more recent covers — all kinds of uniforms!

Of course the main focus of the cover is to tell the reader about the type of story they will get — to set up an expectation for readers. These recent covers give some indication of their type and tone, don’t you think?

Urban Fantasy? Paranormal Romance? Funny Contemporary? And of course what discussion of romance covers would be complete without a big-sword-carrying-Highland-warrior cover, right?

Some covers have errors or don’t really hit their target audience or tone. My favorite is the famous Christina Dodd cover. I’d just read the book when I met her for the first time at the first RT convention I attended — while ‘just’ a reader. She was on the elevator carrying a very-large version of the cover under her arm. Since there was nothing she could do about it — she used it as a promotional tool and it worked. As Suzanne Brockmann did when her buffest, sexiest hero’s book showed him looking like the Pillsbury dough boy! Take a look at both of them:

So – what is your favorite type of cover? Do you like clinches, half-naked men, cartoon-characters or stepbacks? Do you expect the cover to match the story? What is wrong with the Christina Dodd cover anyway? Post a comment and I’ll choose two people to get a signed book and a wee Disney souvenir. (And yes, I am still waaaay behind in sending out prizes but you will get them! LOL!)

   Terri is recuperating from her vacation to Disney World and working hard on her requested revisions so she can move onto the next project! After surviving tropical heat and showers, she is now also recovering from her fit of the vapors at the earthquake that shook her in southern NJ yesterday. It’s always an exciting day in south Jersey – LOL! Visit her website for more info about Terri and her books and upcoming events!

Are you a risk-taker or a safe-walker? Do you try new things, push yourself, push your boundaries?

In spite of being thought of as a bold woman by many who know me, I tend to color within the lines. I don’t like change very much although I love to encourage it in other people and situations. I like to know how to do things and to keep doing them rather than finding new things to do.  I tend to lag behind when it comes to learning new things — but once I decide to try it out, I’m a fast learner. In reading, I like to read mostly historical romances and don’t veer much from those.

That being said, I think I’m changing a bit — on purpose — this year. I’m hitting one of those ‘five-years’ post health crisis marks and I’ve decide it’s time to operate outside my comfort zone. I’m beginning in a small way and working towards bigger things…or maybe it’s the other way around?

  As I’ve met with readers and chatted about my newest release, MISTRESS OF THE STORM, I’ve been hearing: “This isn’t the usual Terri Brisbin historical romance!”.  . . to which I reply – “nope, it isn’t!” With the encouragement of my first editor at Kensington, the memorable Kate Duffy, I pushed myself into the darker regions of romance, with non-customary heroes and heroines who were not perfect, cookie-cutter or usual for me. These men and women were fallible and failures,  gifted and cursed and not always what romance readers expected to read. But, I did not write this trilogy to take the east way out, which is what Kate feared I would do. She loved that the books would be a departure from my comfort zone and a way to tell a more complex, edgy story.

Earlier this year, I began working on an idea for a new project — something similar to what I’ve been writing (historical setting), but in some ways very, very different. Although I’ve included paranormal elements in books I’ve written before, this new project IS paranormal! And it’s a series of very connected stories that will each be based on what comes before — the story of a quest, involving four different couples, paranormal powers, a really excellent bad guy (or gal or one of each!) and a journey that will be dangerous and perhaps even deadly to all those involved.  Out of my comfort zone, out of my knowledge bank (aka lots of researching) and out of my scope of practice (new worlds to build…and maybe destroy)!

And I am excited and enthusiastic about it! There are lots of new ideas, new characters, new settings, new history and much more for me to work on and  each day I wake up with scenes and voices in my head.

So, maybe moving outside my comfort zone is a good thing?

Rock-n-roller coaster at WDW!

Soon, the fam and I are doing the Disney World thing. I am so looking forward to the familiar, the rides and attractions I like the most and the ones I’ve missed on recent trips. And I’ve decided to TRY to step outside my comfort zone there, too, and try something new.  There’s been one ride there that I haven’t ridden before. One that my kids always go on without me even though I’m usually a roller coaster rider. Although I’ve gone on the Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and even the dreaded Expedition Everest, I have avoided one . . . the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios.   (I’m really hoping that this is just an interpretation of the ride!!)

I decided that: 1) it won’t kill me, 2) it will scare me half-to-death, 3) I may enjoy it, 4) I may lose my voice screaming like a girl, 5) my kids WILL make fun of me no matter what, and 6) it won’t kill me. Based on those possibilities, I’m going for it. Waaaaay outside my comfortable area, but something I’m willing to try.

I’ll let you know if I carry through and if I survive!

How about you? A risk-taker or safe-walker? In life or in your reading habits? Do you like to try out new things, new authors, new romances? Or do you stick to the tried-and-true — in your comfort zone?  Please post a comment and I’ll pick two people to get a copy of  a ‘different’ book I’ve read along with a WDW treat! Warning: the WDW trip isn’t here yet so I won’t be sending out these prizes until the beginning of September…but it will be worth it! LOL!

   Terri is still celebrating the release of MISTRESS OF THE STORM, the final book in her STORM series, and A STORM OF LOVE, a digital rerelease of a novella about how it all began. She’ll be making appearances and also presenting a talk about romance book covers in August. Stop by her website for more info, times and places.

I don’t know where you live, but here in southern NJ we’ve been having a record-breaking heat wave for over a week. Temps have been in the high 90s and even 100+ degrees for two days, but the worst of it has been the heat index on those days. Because of high dew points (Please check the Weather Channel for info on dew points but just believe me that it’s the reason for how uncomfortable it felt.) it was hard to go outside at all. Or breathe sometimes.

I sought refuge in my office — which is on the lower level of my house, about 5′ below ground and about 10 degrees cooler than upstairs. I lowered the blinds and shades on my windows and hunkered down, drinking lots of iced tea and not doing anything that caused sweating…or more sweating!

I know that the heat wave affected most of the US, so I know I was not alone in suffering through it. And many areas had serious problems – like loss of power and even deaths, so I was lucky.  And I had a couple of days off from work, so it made it easier for me to hide out and try to wait out the worst of it.  So, I resorted to my old-favorites — books and tv.

In between working on my writing commitments (aka revision), I managed to read a couple of books (Lara Adrian’s DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT and Amanda Quick’s QUICKSILVER) and I caught up a bit on recorded tv shows like TORCHWOOD and LEVERAGE and old episodes of FIRELY).  And I wrote.

I confess — I did spend one afternoon outside — in a pool, sipping something cool while celebrating my hubby’s birthday…. it was the only way to survive out there!

The funny thing was, I went back to look at some old blogs and discovered that just six months ago, we were complaining about the cold and right after that, the snow storms!  And, I dealt with that bad weather pretty much the same way I am dealing with it now — reading, writing and tv! I am a creature of habit, aren’t I?!

And how about you? When weather challenges you, how do you handle it? Gotta a pool for the summer and tickets to someplace warm in the winter? Do you escape for real or escape into stories to avoid the harsh realities?  Post a note, a bit of advice or comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a small prize from someplace warm –in summer or in winter — WDW! And a book in case you like to read in times of heat wave or cold spells.

***** The winners from my blog on July 13th are: Chelsea B and Donna Ann. Please drop me a note at terri@terribrisbin.com and I’ll get your prizes out to you! *******

Terri will be writing and reading and getting a special surprise for readers ready over the next few weeks. She’ll share the news as soon as she is able with everyone!  Visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com  for lots more info about her books, her events and her fun news! 

     Each year for the last twelve or so years, my summer has been defined by the RWA Conference. It’s always in July, usually the last week of the month, and I know that once the 4th of July holiday passes, it’s time to hunker down and get meetings and meals and workshops scheduled.  By the time I get home from the conference, August is underway and I can see the end of summer and beginning of the school year approaching. It’s almost comforting in a way to know the flow of my summers.

But this year, it’s all confused! The conference was held a month earlier (hotel renovations) and also a day earlier in the week, too. So events always on Thursday were on Wednesday this year…leading me to miss several things I like to attend. And I know I was not the only one…. I did all that conference planning in May and June and now the 4th of July has passed and . . . .

I am lost!

How do I make it through the rest of the summer?

Well, honestly, I do have some things to do. . . and lots of things I don’t have to worry over now, too. I could write. . . well, I WILL write since I have two projects I need to work on and get into my editors or my agent.

Stories are beginning to swirl in my mind and I need to put words to them and get them down so they begin to make sense. Characters are beginning to speak to me — one actually opened my front door and walked in today, though he or she is not speaking directly to me yet. Scenery, medieval Scotland for the most part, is beginning to scroll across my vision at the oddest times. Celtic symbols are appearing in my dreams.

I guess it’s time to write!

But, I think I’ll also read all the books I put aside when last on my deadline binge of writing, and I think I’ll clean my office, and I think I’ll catch up on all the recorded TV shows I have saved, and I think I’ll. . . .

Ok, nevermind on the cleaning the office thing, but the rest sounds good! And if I really put my mind to it, maybe I’ll make my way down to the shore, the REAL Jersey shore, and spend a day on the beach, wearing my darkest sunglasses and doing what all writers do. . . people-watch! Oh yeah!

So, in this lull between now and the end of summer, what will you be doing? Traveling? Catching up on chores or reading? Prep for school or family things? Is summer all R&R for you or is it just as busy as every other season of the year?  Since I collected more than a few books at the RWA conference, I’ll send out a couple to each of two people who post a comment and I’ll include a book of mine, too!

  Terri is celebrating the release of the final book in her STORM series – MISTRESS OF THE STORM – and the rerelease in digital formats of the connected novella – A STORM OF LOVE. Stop by her website for more info about her upcoming books and events @ www.terribrisbin.com

I know that most readers (and even some unpublished writers) believe that being a published author is glamorous and fun and a dream-come-true. . . and it is, most of the time.  Most of the time I’m writing and blogging and interacting with readers and other writers, this is what I look like >>>>> Yes, as glamorous and pink as Dame Barbara, with little (is that dog pink too?!) dog in tow, secretary and bon-bons at the ready. I conduct myself with confidence and a sense of joie de vivre that puts people at ease and encourages conversation and laughter. Yeppers, that’s me most of the time…..

And then we come to the real writing worktime — my deadline binge o’ writing times. During the last weeks of my deadline, I hibernate. I disappear into my writing cave and email dwindles, FB posts dwindle, and, HOW CAN IT BE!, even my Gerard Butler watching dwindles, as the characters in my head claim supremacy and begin to force their stories through my brain, down my arms, into my hands and out onto the computer…..in a mindless rush of words. And it’s not pretty!  So, we come to this morning when I was supposed to post my Jaunty Quills blog and instead found myself like this>>>> Overtired. . . overwrought. . . all written-out with no energy to do much at all.

Yes, the sad truth is that I used to be able to party hardy with the best of them. All-nighters? No problem! Dancing, imbibing all night long? No problem! At 20 years old, all that was fun stuff and I would get up the next morning and go right back to it…or to work…or to school. But now, at 55, it’s a different story and as I said, it’s not pretty to watch.

So, rather than force you all to watch this pathetic example of why I should learn to write in a nicely-paced, orderly fashion and not let myself get to this point, I’m going to ask you all to give me your suggestions for your best method of recuperating and restoring yourself after a . . . difficult. .  time — what do you do? I have a pile of books to read now that mine is done, but even those are not calling to me yet…. Do you read? Sleep? Sit on the beach? Sip something cold with an umbrella in it?  Your help would be greatly appreciated. . . and I’ll take notes for the next time this unfortunate situation happens…LOL!

Terri

Terri is also preparing for: 1)the release NEXT WEEK of her newest Kensington Brava story – MISTRESS OF THE STORM!, 2) the re-release in DIGITAL of the novella that begins it all – A STORM OF LOVE, and 3) the RWA Conference in NYC!!  If you’re in the Big Apple on Tuesday, June 28th (RELEASE DAY!!! YAY!!!), stop in at the huge Literacy Signing at the Marriott Marquis — more than 500 authors (and TERRI!) will be signing books for the benefit of literacy projects across the country and in NYC. Visit her website for the deets. . . .

As a writer I learned that there was one credible way to become a published author — write, write, write, submit, submit, pray, pray, get an offer/get an agent (could be reversed), get a contract, be paid, book is published, get paid more, do it all again! And most writers I know followed that pattern and some got published while others didn’t. Lather, rinse, repeat brings us to today and the major changes coming in the publishing industry.

Self-publishing has been around for centuries, but generally it’s been considered by some to be the black sheep of the publishing family because of many reasons. All those reasons seem to be fading away…and many authors, including some former bestselling authors have decide it’s the way to go. . . and are proceeding to re-release out-of-print books as well as producing original content, too. Countless books are being released through small or e- or print publishers everyday and the discussion is going on about the role of ‘gatekeepers’ for the reading world.

In traditional publishing, an agent and then an editor/publisher serve as gatekeepers — those who ensure that work of a certain level of quality gets into the marketplace and is available to readers. Now, hundreds of thousands of books are being published and released through mostly digital markets, like Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Sony, iBooks and Smashwords creating a maze of overwhelming choices for readers. And removing the power and the importance (some say) of those gatekeepers….letting readers chose the books they read from either traditional publishers or self-publishing ventures. Letting them chose between established authors with new or previously-released work or an unpublished or self-published author.

I remember when I started reading romance novels back in the early 90s – I quickly realized that I liked reading books by authors published by certain publishers. I liked their stories, characters, tone, and style so I looked for their books each months before deciding which to buy. But that system may not work as publishing changes.

So I want to know how readers find good books to read from among the hundreds of books coming out each month. Do you have some authors who are ‘auto-buys’? Do you try out new authors – and when do you chose them? Does the price affect your choice? Are you more willing to try out unknowns on your e-device or do you stay with the ‘tried-and-true’? Do you use online or print reviews to help you decide?

Post a comment and help me learn more about readers’ opinions on this issue and two people with  receive a copy of one of my books (depending on ability). Thanks!

Terri is busily writing her next Harlequin Historicals and getting ready for some huge good times coming up in June. The RWA conference will be held there and it opens with the Literacy signing. 400 of your favorite romance authors there (it’s open to to the public.) And she’s getting ready for the release of the final book in her Brava STORM series at the end of the month! Visit her website for more info!