Feb 2, 2011 | Books |
I'm so excited to share the North American cover of Prince Voronov's Virgin with you! This book will be available June 7, 2011 — you'll notice a different title for the NA market: Behind the Palace Walls. Same book, fancy new title. 😉
I *totally* love this cover! What about you?
This book, as Prince Voronov's Virgin, has spent 5 weeks on the Mills & Boon bestseller list in the UK! Three of those weeks were at #1. I hope my North American readers will love it as much as my British readers seem to.
Jan 31, 2011 | Blogging
Today, dear friends, I'm at Tote Bags ‘n' Blogs, talking about foreign translations and the variety of covers I've gotten for the same book!
Jan 29, 2011 | Blogging, General, Revising, Writing |
Clearly, I have gotten very, very bad at writing blog posts. I used to really enjoy doing it! It was my outlet, my way to blather on about whatever was on my mind. This blog, long before I published, was alternately a “writer's journey” blog, a travel blog, and a “she talks way too much about inane every day crap” kind of blog.
I've realized that I miss blogging regularly, but I also have to acknowledge to myself that I get pretty stretched thin sometimes. I also tend to feel that if I'm blogging, I'm supposed to be inspiring or profound or whatever. I think that comes from having gone on this pretty amazing journey from unpublished to published, and feeling like I'm supposed to help others feel inspired or motivated where I can.
But I got an email from someone recently who thanked me for the posts I've done on this blog (she even went and read the old ones, which I found amazing!) because they showed her my progression as a writer. So, that's the answer really. That's why I'm supposed to blog more frequently. It's about progression and getting to know each other. I'll blather senselessly, sometimes it'll be really good take-that-to-the-bank info, but mostly it'll be whatever is on my mind at the time.
And if you get something out of it, great. If you don't, I hope you won't be too upset with me. 🙂
Today's blathering is about revisions and editors and the relief you feel when your editor explains the revision letter to you. Because I got a revision letter earlier this week, and I was confused. I always expect them, of course, because nothing is perfect when you first turn it in unless you're Nora maybe.
But this time the revisions seemed more extensive than they have for the last few books, and I was stumped. What did I do wrong? How did I get it so messed up? Was this a total rewrite?
My editor could sense the crisis brewing and helpfully called to chat. That's when she realized I was about to meltdown and I realized that she hadn't said the first thing about rewriting the whole book. No, what I'd done was short-changed some of the emotional stuff for the sake of plot. (But you're a pantser, I hear you cry! Yes, it's true, but I can let the plot get in the way as I make stuff up. Which is what I did.)
I have a bodyguard book, which is apparently a classic Presents trope. I did not realize that actually. But I'd gotten a bit caught up with the mechanics of the bodyguarding and the heroine's job (it's a cool job, believe me, and one my hero has to protect her for) and it seems as if I'd let those things get in the way of true emotional connection. I didn't think I'd done that, because there is emotion on the page — but it's not deep enough.
So my task now is to go back in and pull out the elements that are overshadowing the characters, and then to turn up the emotion to boil. I'm really looking forward to it — and so relieved it's not a total rewrite. I may be a pantser, but I usually get a pretty good story arc by the end that doesn't require major shifting. Thankfully, this isn't a major shift, but it's still work.
The lesson here, if you're looking for one, is something I've said before: your words aren't static. You have to be willing to change them. And it's not the words so much as the story. Spending hours and hours taking out all the ‘was' words, or getting rid of ‘was' + ‘ing' constructions, is insane. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking STORY.
If you have any questions about what that is, go read this amazing post by Epic Black Car.
That is all. 😉
Except for this: right now, The Prince's Royal Concubine is really cheap at Amazon! $2.17 on Kindle and $2.28 in paperback. No idea how long that will last, so go check it out if you want a copy!
Jan 14, 2011 | Contests, Winners
Dear friends, it's been three weeks since I held the contest for a $10 gift card and a signed backlist book. Tracey won, but I've yet to hear from her. I'm giving her one more week, exactly a month from when I announced the winner, and then I'm choosing a new winner. So Tracey, if you're out there, email me your details at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com. I'd love to mail you your prize!
Jan 13, 2011 | General, Issues, Life, Rants |
I know who you are because you are because you seem to pop up in entertainment news and celebrity gossip quite a lot. I also know that you are a very, very tanned person. So when I read in an article recently that you would never have plastic surgery because you are afraid of needles and anesthetic, I had to shake my head sadly.
Here's the thing, my dear. You are young, in your 20s I think, and so all that tanned skin is quite supple and tight right now. But you just wait. When you hit 35, 40 if you're lucky, you may start to think differently about surgery. Because tanned skin is damaged skin. The only way the skin can react to UV damage is to brown. As brown as you are, that's a whole lot of damage to those delicate cells. It's going to sag, trust me. I've seen it in my tanned friends who looked awesome at 20, and then looked like they were over 50 when they were barely 40.
Your skin is going to sag when the collagen fibers stop doing the job of holding it up, and you may be looking at plastic surgery in a whole new light then.
On the other hand, there's another danger of which you seem either blissfully unaware or you think it won't or can't happen to you. Skin cancer. Tanning beds concentrate the UV light, and more and more younger people are presenting with skin cancers these days. You are dark skinned and have dark eyes and dark hair, but that's not a guarantee, especially the more you subject your skin to intense UV light. It's not just the tanning beds, of course. Sun exposure does the same thing.
And if you do get skin cancer, guess what? Surgery. If you get the worst kind there is, melanoma, the surgeon will need to take margins. You will probably be knocked out for this surgery, though not always. There are definitely needles involved.
Either way, Snooki dear, I think surgery is in your future. I'm sorry you're afraid of needles and anesthetic, but I think you need to realize that if you continue the way you're going, surgery will become a distinct possibility at some point. The damage is already done, considering how brown you are, but I do hope you will think twice about so much tanning. Taking care of your skin now could lessen the impact of the damage. Besides, with your money, can't you afford a really great spray tan?
