Julie Regency Romance

Audible has done for audio books what Kindle Unlimited has done for ebooks. So when my publisher asked if I wanted my first book published with them to be made into an audio book I liked the idea. There would be a cost involved, however. Not an insignificant cost either. Having a cosmopolitan family I tend to measure cost against the price of a plane ticket. I could go and visit some family for that price. If I read the book myself, the publisher continued, it halved the cost. Wow. I had never considered recording a book myself. That's not true. I had thought about reading Harry Potter and recording it so that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren could hear my actual voice reading them a story. But I had never considered doing it professionally. Throughout our marriage my husband has suggested that I exploit my voice for radio ads or voice-overs. I was born and raised in England and even after over 30 years in the US I have retained most of my accent. The rough edges of my L...

     Okay, confession time. How many of you choose a book just because you like the cover? Well, apparently a vast majority! A book's cover is the author's sales pitch to the reader. It must grab the potential buyer's attention and outshine the millions of other covers out there. No pressure!      I am also learning that there are many, subtle indicators, to readers of particular genres, about what they can expect to find inside a book. If your cover promises something that the reader does not actually find within its pages, you can lose a reader. The opposite is true too. If your cover does not suggest 'PG 13' rated content within, but the book contains it, you can offend your reader. Wow, it's a minefield!      Research of other covers in your particular genre is a very important place to begin.      I self-published my first book and created the cover myself. I was new to the industry and had no training. That was probabl...

I've written about the imposter syndrome before - the nagging feeling that you are not a REAL author. The cure for me was the day, a couple of weeks ago, that my publisher wrote confirming that they would publish my second manuscript. I was so elated! Now I believe that I'm a REAL author and I no longer feel like a fake.       The title that I gave the book, 'The Unlucky Governess ', may not end up being THE title when it goes to publication but it is a book about an upper class girl who is left unexpectedly destitute and the only way to keep herself out of the poor house is to get work as a governess. It does not go well.      Dickens always put a 'too-good-to-be-true' character in his works; Little Dorrit, Mr. Jarndyce, Joe Gargery, Lizzie Hexam. I love these characters. I believe that there are still people in the world who are good, through and through, like them. I also love these types of characters in books who give the reader relief from the hars...

Just over a year ago we bought a fixer-upper. It had been ravaged by at least three renters and you had to be able to envision its potential to want to buy it. Fortunately, most of the work has been cosmetic but we have invested a lot of sweat equity to begin bringing it back to its former glory. Every wall needed to be painted. Every wall. We began slowly, a room at a time - you know, the old 'you can eat a whole elephant one bite at a time' proverb. But then it came time to do the two story entrance and staircases (one going down to the basement). Frankly, I thought this might be a job for the professionals but my husband insisted that we could do it and that it would probably save us several thousand dollars. I've decided there is a reason the word painting begins with 'pain'. P.A.I.N. The only thing that has kept me going is the fact that the money we are saving will pay for my writer's conference registration fee and an educational cruise I want to go on....

Though I write Regency Romance (and children's historical fiction), my very favorite genre to read is the "Whodunnit", the classic murder mysteries of Agatha Christie fame. It was her books, in fact, that made me into a reader as a child. These mild mysteries, that have had a following since Ms. Christie's days, seem to have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity of late under the genre name of Cozy Mysteries. The thought came to me a few months ago, "Since you like them so much you should try writing one!" So I am. I have created a dynamic duo, to borrow a phrase, who snoop out clues and help the local Bobbies. They are rich, beautiful and from the upper classes - because for some reason that's often how we like our heroines to be. This book will not reflect the politically correct culture of our day, but will try to capture the essence of life in the 1920's, while solving a crime. I think it will be a lot of fun!

I'm back from traveling to Europe and about to leave town again so I thought it was time to add a post to my blog. Since the release of my book I have been invited to share my thoughts at three book clubs with another planned for after Christmas and it is so much fun! I am loving the interaction with people who have read my book. We have had some great discussions about prejudices, adoption, nasty relatives and the writing process. In life, when we step out of our comfort zone and try new things it can go one of two ways; success or failure. But for me there has been additional path: it has been an unexpected delight to experience positive, unintended consequences such as meeting my readers. Little did I think when I was tapping away on my computer two years ago that the publication of my book would lead me to meet so many new friends. Comforts zones are safe places, which is why we like them, and not every new venture will end in success or great unintended consequences, but s...

I have never understood couples who cannot come up with a name for their babies before the birth. I'm not judging, I am just comparing it with my own experience. The minute I know I'm pregnant I am thinking of names, testing how they sound, making sure the name cannot be mutated into something horrible on the third grade playground. And let's not forget the initials. One friend's daughter named her child and the initials were BMW - so they nicknamed her Beamer! Cute. I actually love the thrill of finding the perfect name, one that sits in my brain and brings complete and utter satisfaction. I am a traditionalist. I choose my names from the 'approved list'. That is the list I deem to be approved names. With the name chosen, the baby takes on an identity even before birth. It is the same with new characters. I relish the search for the perfect name. Of course, in Regency England there was an approved list of names. Parents were expected to use traditional name...

I am not an extensive planner when I write. Ironically, in real life I am a conscientious planner. So when I first began to write seriously, and attended some lectures and conferences, I thought that I must be the type of writer that planned the whole book down to the last detail because that was the type of person I was.     After one lecture, I gathered a deck of 3x5 cards and wrote chapter numbers on each card and then wrote scenes on separate cards for each chapter. It was a disaster!  It was so artificial and boxed me into a writing cell of sorts. Thankfully, I realized pretty quickly that this was not a method that was for me ( though it is for many writers ) and threw the cards away. This liberated me to write with creative abandon and it was amazing to witness the story pour itself onto the page. I was often surprised and excited by how events developed, since I didn't know beforehand how things would work out. This is described in the writing world as being a 'p...

I am a small fish in a rather large pond. Name recognition is one of the goals of any new author as we struggle to compete with the big names. This is where reviews are so helpful. Do you buy anything anymore without looking at the reviews? I don't. If you read a book by any author and love or like it, give the author a virtual hug by writing a review on Amazon and Goodreads. If star reviews are silver, written reviews are gold! It doesn't have to be long or wordy, just a short blurb to encourage others to read it.

It has been a week since my book was released! People have been so nice! I have been walking on cloud nine all week. I'd like to thank all the people who encouraged me and helped me. About 18 months ago I happened to be at a place to hear Brandon Mull talk about breaking into publishing 'Fablehaven'. I got up the courage to go and speak to him about it after. He was so encouraging and supportive and told me not to give up. He was soooo nice! He gave me the boost I needed to go for it, along with my friends and family. So dreams can come true.

My book is out on Kindle already and the hard copy book will be out June 12. I thought it would be fun to run a contest for free signed books. Post pictures (your face does not have to be in the picture) on my FB author page of you reading the book in exotic places you might travel to (yes, your local public pool is considered eligible). The most intriguing will win a signed copy of my book. Deadline will be August 10th, 2018. Happy reading!

Present day authors are marketers too. It is just the nature of the industry today. I took a class about 'Writing to Market' at the writers conference. The presenter had fascinating procedures for writing to maximize revenues. She backed up her presentation with data. Write what people want to read as shown by analytics. She earns a decent salary from her writing and it is growing each year. I felt her energy and was excited but after the class I realized that that is not the way I want to write. I will probably use some of her techniques in the future but I'm never going to write five books a year and I don't want to write to someone else's formula. It works well for her but would not work well for me. And that's okay.

I just read about an author who is the mother of 10 and wrote 13 books in one year! Whaat! So now I feel like a slacker! One book a year seems like a dereliction of duty. I can't begin to imagine how she does that and start to panic but then the rational side of me says, "Wait a minute, you are not her and it is not a competition." Phew, thanks for walking me back from that cliff! I think there is a saying that says 'Comparison is the thief of joy.' If there isn't there should be. The pace I write at works for me and writing is still a joy. If I wrote at that pace it would become a drudgery for me as it would keep me from doing other things I love to do. Like watching my son beat his personal best in the high jump. Perhaps for you one book a year is more than you can handle. Set your own pace and don't compare yourself to others.

My book The Secret of Haversham House goes to print tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited! ( ok not as excited as my grandson when we tell him it's time to eat but close!) There are so many facets to being an author in this day and age; writing is only a part of it. I have just applied for my author page at BookBub and Goodreads. 5 minutes ago I didn't even know that was a thing! It is a baptism by fire and threatens to overwhelm me at times as I try to stay up to date on current marketing strategies. The eating the elephant analogy is one I try to keep front and center. One bite at a time.

I have been participating in book clubs for over 25 years so the question from my editor should not have been a surprise. But it was! The voice in my head said, "Only really good books would put book club questions in the back. Don't flatter yourself that even one person will want to read your book let alone a whole group wanting to discuss it in a book club!" So I told that old voice to beat it and wrote some questions. It was fun. I wrote nonsense until something stuck and then I went to get ready for bed and while I brushed my teeth I jotted down the new ideas for questions that flooded my brain and then I slept on it. The next day I edited what I had written the night before and added some of the new ideas I had and in the end I had 12 questions! For some reason, this made it all the more real. My book is really going to get published!

I have written about this before but it's worth mentioning again. I feel like a fraud. And it's not just me. A niece recently shared a NY Times article  (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/your-money/learning-to-deal-with-the-impostor-syndrome.html?_r=0) about this very topic and according to researchers, pretty much everybody feels this way at some point. They call it the 'Imposter Syndrome'. Famous writers have experienced it, a renowned marketing expert and even US presidents. The key is learning how to deal with this feeling. We can acknowledge it and cower, allowing it to stand in front of us like a club bouncer, denying us from moving forward, or we can recognize it, tell it, "You don't scare me!" ( even though it scares our pants off ) and push past it. It makes me wonder how many people with amazing potential have been frightened off by it. How many wonderful creations, thrilling inventions or new strategies have never seen the light of day becaus...

The first draft of my work in progress is done and now I am onto the deep edit. I got what I wanted to say down and now I need to pretty it up, so to speak. This part of my writing process is grueling. This is when I get down in the dirt and wrestle with the words. This is when I exploit my thesaurus app. I use it so much I feel like I should contribute to their site! I circle all the times I use the same word in a chapter and then make lists of synonyms to see which word works better with which phrase. It is not a task for the faint-hearted. There are times when I find a word so perfectly suited for the sentence that I want to throw my fist in the air. There are other times when the perfect word is just out of reach. Imagining doing this without a thesaurus makes my brain hurt so this is a heartfelt tribute to the genius who decided that a book of synonyms was just what the world needed. Thank you!

How many of you were surprised to find that a modern writer must be their own marketing guru? I bet you didn't get into writing because you loved the idea of marketing yourself and your book! This was an unwelcome lesson for me and I am very thankful that my computer savvy husband is taking on this role with me. Publishing has changed so much since the advent of the internet and publishers now expect you to do your own marketing and if you are going to self publish, well, who else is going to do it for you? This can be terrifying. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pintrest. Authors can no longer ignore the world of social media if they want to succeed. If you have buried your head in the sand to avoid this brave new world, now is the time to poke your head out. If you are young, then it is all second nature to you but for those of us who remember when all phones were attached to walls it can be intimidating and overwhelming. But take heart. If you have teenagers let this be an opportu...

I have been going to writing classes, groups and conventions for about four years now and I have come to the conclusion that I do not fit in a box. I don't fit the writer profile. I don't do it how you are supposed to do it. This has led to some feelings of being a fraud ( which, after some research, I have learned is a common feeling among authors ). I sit in classes and hear writing jargon that is as foreign to me as Russian and I think, "I am the only person here that has no clue what that means." It hits me in the gut like a cowbell and makes me ashamed that I am not fluent in the language of 'proper' writers. Sound familiar? I think many of us feel the same but we are too embarrassed to admit it and so we never know that there are other people in the room feeling the exact same way. It is true that I have progressed in learning the language of 'writers' over the last four years but I am still at the toddler level. Certainly not fluent. But I ha...

A new year is a great second chance. Life is full of them. A new month, a new week, a new day. Do we take advantage of them? If we don't meet our writing goals today there is always tomorrow. Someone said the only time we really fail is when we give up. There are as many ways to write as there are people. We all bring something different to the writing table. We all have different strengths and skills and experiences. But we probably all feel like giving up from time to time. So a new year is a natural break in the action, a chance to decide if writing is what we really WANT to do. I have been surprised by how much I enjoy the flow of words from my brain to the computer. It gives me pleasure to see the plot unfold and the characters develop, often in ways I had not previously planned. And that is enough. To keep getting up and keep trying. If it does that for you, then it's enough. Use this New Year's Day to set some writing goals and if you don't meet them, use your...