Red Woman Blogging

Rambling about romance and life, reminiscing on books and travel, ranting over those evil little devils called commas, and revealing an occasional truth. Or two.

Blogging places

November 30, 2009 – 11:06 am

So I’m a little bit excited. Can you tell? The Satin Sash is practically being put out in stores as we speak and if I don’t get all this thrilling energy out of my system, I’m going to burst!

So in a part celebration, part blog tour, part parade, here are all the places Red will be blogging this month of December.

November 30th – Sizzling Pens

December 1st – Brande of Book Junkies

December 2nd – Silhouette Desire Authors blog

December 4th – The Romance Readers Connection

December 7th – The Smutketeers

December 10th – With Leah

December 15th – TRS Blue

Hope you’ll visit! There’ll be fun and prizes in store.

By Red •• Posted in Contests, Publishing & Promoting •• Comments (2)

Ten things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving . . .

November 25, 2009 – 5:06 pm

This Thanksgiving I’m feeling the love, and I want to share it!! What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

Here are the ten things I’m most grateful for this year.

1. Family

Every year, they’re my number one spot! I swear I thank my stars every day for giving me my Mr. Red and our two little darling devils. I’m thankful for my mom and dad and brothers and sisters. And I’m thankful for my three delightful dogs. They are part of the family, you know!

2. Friends

This includes my old friends who played Barbie with me and my new friends, who I can’t do without!

3. Editors and agents

I love them, I really do. My agent is so savvy I keep wondering what I’d do without her, and don’t get me started on my editors.

4. The Satin Sash, my first single title, hitting the shelves

Of course you saw that coming, didn’t you? And why wouldn’t I be thankful for that? I still can’t believe it, it’s such a coup!

5. Twilight

Yeah, I’m a fan. I absolutely love Edward and Bella and am gearing up to visit the theater this weekend with my daughter (also a die-hard fan, as you can imagine).

6. Hershey’s Cookies and Cream Bar

Seriously, this is an addiction I have. I always crave Hershey’s Cookies and Cream bar. I must give thanks!

7. Great kisses, great sex

Please keep going, Mr. Red, you make my world go round!!

8. My Ipod

Okay, this is one of the best inventions ever. I can go listening for hours and hours without having to switch cassettes, CD’s, or do anything but enjoy. I love music, so I love my Ipod. Sigh!

9. Rain

There was a severe drought in Texas this past summer, and my quiet, lovely neighborhood came under water restriction. For three months in a row, the sun blazed hotter than hot and the earth was screaming for some rain. Now we’ve got it, so yay for rain!

10. Health

In the space of 18 months, I’ve been diagnosed with two immune disorders, and neither of these two are a picnic, let me say! It’s hard, hard work to get better when you’re sick, but this means that when you’re well you cherish every second of the day. So yes, I’m thankful for health, for myself and those around me.

What about you – what are YOU thankful for?

By Red •• Posted in Everything Else •• Comments (6)

Novelists Inc interviews Charles Griemsman, my new Desire editor . . .

November 18, 2009 – 5:03 pm

My wonderful new Silhouette Desire editor, Charles Griemsman, was interviewed at Novelists Inc. today.

I swear if he weren’t already my editor, I’d be plotting ways to get my stories on his desk. He has a fantastic eye and I’m absolutely thrilled with the magic he wields on my stories.

Click here to read his interview and find out more!

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (10)

Blogging at Desire

November 12, 2009 – 2:21 pm

Join me!

I’ll be blogging at the Silhouette Desire Authors Blog on Friday November 13th.

And to celebrate my first day blogging among those incredibly talented ladies, I’ll be giving away two very cool prizes to one random commenter.

Have you seen Harlequin’s wonderful vintage stationary? I’ve got two very awesome treats for there. Don’t miss it!

Click here to visit!

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (1)

Promoting your heart out

November 11, 2009 – 9:30 am

So you spent a year buried in the writing cave. You poured your heart into the story. You delivered it on time.

And you feel damned proud that you finished that baby and that it’s actually quite good!

But now, the date approaches.

Your baby is coming out into the world.

And you realize that, well, a lot of other babies are coming out, too. How are you going to make yours stand out? How will you make certain people stop and take notice? You didn’t spend all this time and effort to have your story sitting on a shelf, you want someone to take it home with them!

But how?

Blogging helps, true, and so does Twitter, and Facebook, and My Space. But everyone seems to use these same tools to promote nowadays, too.

In this tight market, what is an author to do to help the publisher sell some books?

I have friends who believe the book should sell itself. I have other friends who’ve hired a professional publicist to help create ‘buzz’ around their books.

Me? Here’s what I’ve done so far – and I of course welcome any suggestions!

1) RT magazine ad (though I’m thinking group ads may give you more bang for your buck)

2) Scheduled blog interviews

3) Sent THE SATIN SASH out to reviewers

4) Planning a new contest for after the book launch

5) Booked several ad spaces on online sites like TRS, NightOwl romance, RT bookreviews.

I feel like I’m missing a magic ingredient and am not sure which one. More pepper? More chili? More salt? Butter, perhaps? Anyone?

Maybe I just need to sit back, relax, and just write the next danged story.

By Red •• Posted in Publishing & Promoting •• Comments (3)

Carina Press – Harlequin’s new epub

November 10, 2009 – 8:43 am

So have you heard ?

Harlequin Enterprises has joined the e bandwagon and has opened a new epub.

Carina Press, led by a group of incredible ladies which include Angela James – Samhain’s former Executive Editor - is looking for great stories in all kinds of genres. They plan to open to the public in Spring 2010 and are already lining up their offerings.

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (4)

Joy in the mail today . . .

November 6, 2009 – 7:56 pm

Today I got a package.

I don’t always get packages, and when I do, I expect them. But lately I’ve been buried in the writing cave, fretting about upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the last thing I expected was to receive a package from one of my publishers.

Said package contained a note from Tracy my editor saying, ‘Congratulations!’

And there, THERE, you guys, was this:

satinsash

Tangible, wonderful evidence of all I’ve done the past year.

God, it feels AMAZING to hold it!

And to think in three weeks it will be out in bookstores. Gawd.

I hope someone buys it, other than my mother.

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (13)

Dark heroes and their tortured pasts…

November 1, 2009 – 11:27 am

Halloween got me thinking about the dark stuff. Dark souls. Dark pasts. Dark men.

So what is it about a dark hero and his tortured past that does me in?

I can name my very favorite in a nanosecond: The Phantom of the Opera. Oh, my goodness, but how could Christine ever resist that man’s seduction?

Me?

Trade the PHANTOM, THE Phantom, THE PHANTOM, for an insipid, whiny little Raoul? Never!

gerryphantom

What about you guys – do you have any favorite dark heroes from books, movies, fairytales?

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (2)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

October 31, 2009 – 5:31 pm

May something dark, dangerous, and delicious find you . . .

Or may you find IT!

edward

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (0)

MEN OF DANGER – cover

October 29, 2009 – 4:23 pm

I just got the cover for MEN OF DANGER and I am in danger of losing my breath, my speech, and my heart all in one fell swoop!

MEN OF DANGER

By Red •• Posted in Writing Life •• Comments (4)