Archive for 2007

Warm Up Your Winter

December 7, 2007 | Promotion

with exciting excerpts and contests at the ETERNAL PRESS December Launch Party today.

Zip on over to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EternalPressReaders/ and join the fun!

Happy Writing,
Sloane

Gazing into the Crystal Ball

December 6, 2007 | Interviews

ST: This is our last day with the lovely Linda Sole, a marvelous author you’ll definitely want to read. Here’s her latest covers to refresh your memory.

ST: Hi, Linda. Tell us, what does the future hold for you?
LS: Just to keep writing for as long as the books are published and enjoyed. I once hoped to get to the top of mainstream, but that didn’t quite happen. I am popular at Mills & Boon and I am doing well so I think that is where I shall stay. I’m not sure about ebooks. I’ve had fun with them, but how far I want to go is something I haven’t yet decided. I would like to spend more time in Spain this next summer.

ST: If you had one wish that would be granted, what would it be?
LS: It would be that both my husband and I keep healthy.

ST: Good wish and I hope so too. What’s in the works for the future?
LS: Oh, I have loads of books coming through the pipeline with all my publishers. I am writing a trilogy for Severn House and may then do another crime book. I’ve already talked about the next contract with M&B, though I am in the middle of a five-book contract with them at the moment. I have several ebooks coming through soon. Love Is Not Enough is an Anne Herries coming from Severn House in January. And I had books coming out all next year from M&B.

ST: Thanks, Linda, for spending so much time with us. It’s been a great week and I’ve enjoyed learning more about you. The very best to you in the future and keep us posted on your future releases.
LS: Thank you for having me, Sloane. This was a great interview to do and I’ve enjoyed answering the questions.

ST: Have a great week-end everyone. I’ll be back Monday. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

Author, Author Tell Us More

December 5, 2007 | Interviews

ST: Good Morning, World! We’re enjoying a snowstorm, just in time for the holidays. Here’s the cover for another of Linda’s books, Justice is Served.

ST: Hi Linda, and welcome back. Please describe your writing space.
LS: Oh dear, do you really want to know? My study is an upstairs bedroom. It overlooks a small wood where squirrels and birds play. However…there are books everywhere. I am gradually sinking under the weight. Thank goodness for ebooks! I have two computers and two desks set at right angles. The top is covered so that I hardly have room to put anything – must get some of this sorted! There are piles of manuscripts all over the floor and loads of files with things I can never find when I need them. Chaos would be a good way of describing its present state. I shall tidy up soon…promise!

ST: Do you find writing to be fulfilling? If so, in what way?
LS: Yes, very much so. I love the English language and sometimes I like the words to flow almost like poetry. If I can write something that makes me cry so much the better. It has become very important to me. I am not sure what I would have done with my time had I not discovered this wonderful gift I have been given.

ST: What’s your favorite part of writing?
LS: I think the moment I know a book is good. In the middle it is so hard to get it just right and sometimes I think what the hell am I doing? It can be frustrating and tiring and you feel like chucking the whole thing – but then comes that perfect moment when you know it is good. It may need a few tweaks here and there, but you know you’ve achieved what you want. The next best thing is seeing the book in print and getting the cheque!

ST: What do you absolutely hate about being an author?
LS: Rejection slips, especially the routine ones. Don’t they know how hard we work?

ST: In your opinion what’s the most important thing for a new writer to learn?
LS: That you have to listen to your editor when one takes the time to tell you something. You may hate what they say, but they are usually right. If they think something is wrong it is. You can change it in your own way, but take notice of their advice. A good editor is worth his or her weight in gold!

ST: Your website is cool. I recommend everyone cruise over to www.lindasole.co.uk and check it out. Or just click here. How did you decide on the content and design?
LS: I have someone who does it for me. The one we have now has evolved over several years, things added as I come up with them. We are planning a change and I’ve seen the first outline. I wish I could do it myself because I would change it all the time, but I’m not that good with computer stuff yet. However, my blog is my own.

ST: Why do you think a website is important for authors?
LS: The Internet plays a big part in modern life. I believe that most authors could benefit from a website and I am sure most have them. I know that my HMB royalties have gone up considerably these past three years. Part of that is because of the Romance Prize I won, part is because the books are getting better, and part of it is I believe down to the fact that I do more promoting on the Internet. The biggest part of that is my website. The hits to my site have doubled in the past year. I think that must be down to promoting.

ST: Please tell us about your review/interview site and how you select your candidates.
LS: Red Roses For Authors/Reviews. I began this when I came to ebooks and realized how important reviews are to ebook authors. Mills & Boon books sell if they are on the shelves, but ebooks need to be out there on the Internet. I saw how thrilled some authors were to get a review and I read the plaintive emails from some that didn’t get any. I think all authors deserve to be reviewed. We can only do a few, but we often choose new authors. We do review authors who already have a name, but many of the ones we feature will not have been reviewed before and for many it will be their first book. Red Roses For Authors/Reviews never gives a bad review. If we do find one we can’t give a positive review for we just put it to one side. We are there to help authors not to hurt them! We are small but one day I hope more reviewers will join us and then we can do more. Our first Christmas Awards are up and the nominated authors are a mixture of paperback and ebooks. Here’s the site http://redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com.

ST: It really is a good site with fair reviews. Please check it out. How’s tomorrow looking for you to spend some time with us, Linda?
LS: I’ll be here bright and early for your time!

ST: Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

The Write Side of Life

December 4, 2007 | Interviews

ST: We’re back with Linda Sole. Here is her marvelous 4 ANGEL REVIEW from Fallen Angel Reviews;

Daddy Loves Belinda by Anne Sole is a great suspense story. From the beginning, the reader is routing for Georgie to find the clues to solve the multiple mysteries that seem to be coming at her all at once. Ms. Sole doesn’t give the reader much chance to rest before the next incident occurs to unbalance Georgie and set her on to another path. And while all the mysteries are occurring, Georgie must also decide if she wants a relationship with Fernando who is from a different world than Georgie’s or Steve who has been her best friend for years. I was so caught up with the story I read right through my dinner!

Reviewed by: Stephanie B.

ST: Congratulations, Linda!
LS: Thank you. I must say I am quite pleased.

ST: What’s a normal day like for you?
LS: I get up and have breakfast and then walk up to the village shop and buy papers, milk, post letters and parcels to readers who enter my competitions. I then start writing or do some promoting. Mid morning I have coffee with my husband. I break for lunch, which we eat together and I return to the computer to finish the work I’m doing. I usually come down an hour or so later and we talk, watch the TV together or sometimes go for a walk. In the evening I pop up and answer email that has come in since lunch and then we have tea, just something light. We don’t bother with going out much at night, because we prefer to relax at home. When I’m not working we go shopping in the mornings. Once a week we go to the sea and sometimes have lunch out, sometimes it is fish and chips, which we both love. In Spain we go out much more, but even there I do some writing.

ST: What a wonderful schedule. Are you stringent on your schedule?
LS: I make time for writing each day, even if it is only a few pages. If I can’t work at the computer for some reason I do a bit by hand and then copy up the next day. Writing is important to me and I am lucky enough to have help with housework, of which I do very little these days. Every now and then I have a blitz, but mostly someone else does the hovering and puts washing in the machine.

ST: Are there any quirks you have or do before or while you’re writing?
LS: No, I am not someone who needs motivating, or very rarely. If I do get stuck with a particular piece of the story I write by hand, because it is slower and I can let it come as it likes rather than sit staring at a blank screen. Fortunately, this does not happen often. In fact if I had more time to spare I could write even more.

ST: Who or what encouraged you to write?
LS: No one at the beginning. I think most people thought I would give up or the books wouldn’t be published. When my husband realized I was serious he encouraged me and does so all the time these days. There was an editor at Mills & Boon in England who helped me learn my trade and to be professional. She was my agent when I went mainstream. We are still in touch even though I don’t use an agent now.

ST: Where do you get the ideas for your novels?
LS: I sometimes feel stirred by beautiful music, which start me thinking, but these ideas lay dormant for a long time and sometimes come out when I’m not even thinking about writing. My usual way is just to think it is time I did another Regency and then I sit down and doodle a bit with ideas until the synopsis comes. This always changes as I write, because I write by the seat of my pants as they say. I just think of a heroine in a certain situation and then throw lots of obstacles in her way. However, the book never comes to life until I write the first scene for the hero. I almost always go back to the beginning and start with the hero once I have him alive and kicking.

ST: How do you research your books?
LS: I normally use books rather than the Internet. I have found that they are sound and sometimes the Internet isn’t. On occasion you can’t find what you want anywhere else but I am wary of relying on the net too much. With the Regency setting I have years of reading stored in my head so I just research historical dates and facts to make sure. I also watch factual programs on the BBC when I can, because they are good and usually very accurate. Pictures of the period are also good.

ST: Who is your support group?
LS: My editors are always good to me. I can email them or phone if I need to and they usually pick up any sill mistakes I make so that I can correct them before the books go to print. My husband is my rock. He is always there for me. I have writing friends I email a lot. I had one wonderful friend I used to talk to on the phone all the time, but unfortunately she had a stroke a year ago. I miss her a lot and her lovely books.

ST: I’m sorry to hear about her and wish her a speedy recovery. Will you be with us tomorrow?
LS: Definitely!

ST: Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

Need some Sole to Warm you?

December 3, 2007 | Interviews

ST: Good morning everyone. This week we have multi-published Linda Sole with us.

ST: Hi, Linda, welcome and thank you for taking the time to chat with us.
LS: It’s nice to be here! Thank you for the chance.

ST: Tell us about yourself.
LS: I am English, happily married and a dedicated writer. I spend more time than I should at my computer, deserting my poor husband. One of these days I shall slow down, but that is easier said than done. When I do get time to relax, I like to walk, eat out, preferably at a table overlooking the sea, and I enjoy swimming. I love animals and birds and I’m nutty about squirrels!

ST: Your latest novel is out. Let’s show everyone your gorgeous cover.
LS: My latest ebook is Daddy Loves Belinda/Anne Sole/Dark Eden Press, which is a mystery romance. My latest Linda Sole hardback is a crime story/ Justice Is Served/Severn House publishers and my latest Anne Herries is a trilogy about three sisters. Marianne & the Marquis, Married By Christmas and Marrying Captain Jack. These are Regency romances. But the book that I should like to Feature today is the Daddy Loves Belinda/Anne Sole/Dark Eden Press. Here’s the cover;

ST: I like the cover. It looks to be an exciting read. Please tell us about it.
LS: This is a story about Georgie, who is a journalist writing hard, hit you in the face stories, but when she is caught up in a real life drama that brings her grief she is determined to get to the bottom of things. She has no idea of how dangerous that will be or of the secrets she will uncover from the past.

ST: How did you come up with the story line?
LS: I always think this is the most difficult question to answer, because for me writing just comes. I decide what I want to write about, let it ferment in my mind for a while and off we go, sometimes like a steam train for the first draft.

ST: And where and can we buy ?
LS: The ebook Daddy Loves Belinda/ Anne Sole/ is available from Dark Eden Press . My Linda Sole titles are available from Amazon or Severn House. My Anne Herries books are available from bookstores in England for short periods but mainly from Amazon and sometimes the Harlequin website.

ST: How did you and your publisher come together?
LS: I started writing as Linda Sole in the late eighties and wrote for several mainstream publishers like Century and St. Martins Press in USA. Then I sent a book to Severn House and I have been with them for mainstream ever since. I first wrote for Harlequin Mills & Boon in 1979 and I had twelve books published. I moved to mainstream in 1988 but in the mid nineties I began sending to Mills & Boon again, and since then have published in the region of forty books altogether with them. The ebooks are a new thing. I sent my first to Triskelion on impulse because I wanted to publish some books that were not likely to make it into paperback, and since then I’ve sold about eight or nine books to ebook publishers, which are gradually coming through.

ST: What made you decide to be a writer?
LS: I was always making up stories in my head as a child. It was inevitable that one day they would go down on paper. I was blessed or cursed with a vivid imagination!

ST: How long have you been writing?
LS: My first book was published with Robert Hale in 1979. I suppose I had been trying for a couple of years before that.

ST: How many books have you written?
LS: I have about eighty books published, but since I’ve written quite a few that haven’t been published that figure could be considerably higher.

ST: Which is your favorite and why?
LS: That is very difficult to say, because I have done such different stories. My most successful book was Lovers & Sinners/Linda Sole/Century. I earned a lot of money from that one. However, I love some of my Mills & Boon Romances. A Damnable Rogue/Anne Herries won the RNA Romance Prize in 2004, but I think perhaps my favourites are always the ones that I have just finished. At least until the next time. I loved the first book I had published. The Witch Child/Lynn Granville/Robert Hale but it probably isn’t to the same standard as today’s books.

ST: You also write under the name Anne Herries. Why?
LS: Herries came from the Rogue Herries by Walpole that I loved as a young girl. And Anne has always been my favorite name. I use a lot of different names so that all my publishers have their own and there is no conflict of interest.

ST: Does it ever get confusing for you?
LS: Not at all. My various personnas are quite individualized.

ST: Thanks, Linda, for your time. Are you available in the morning?
LS: Certainly, but remember your morning is my afternoon. LOL

ST: Until tomorrow…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

Delve into the Wylde side of life

November 30, 2007 | Promotion

Tomorrow there will be at least 15 authors attending and holding
contests throughout the day and many will be giving away at least two
books or more! As the authors are from all over the world, the fun
starts around midnight EST and will continue for the entire day. Be
sure to join us right here on Beth’s Group!

Treat yourself to tantalizing excerpts from the books by Anne Sole and
MC Halliday, Savannah Chase, Sloane Taylor, Jen Black, Jess Dee and
Tess Mackall. Guests dropping by will include Jade Twilight, Jude
Mason, Giselle Renarde, LA Day, Darcy Campbell, Trish Wilson, Ava Rose
Johnson and Adriana Kraft.

A guaranteed fun filled day…pop in and out, ask questions of the
authors! We’ll have new and recent releases and what’s coming soon!

I’ll be giving away copies of FRANCINE ON FIRE and FRENCH Tart.

Sloane

Mark Your Calendars!

November 29, 2007 | Promotion

I’m making it to the big time!

November 26, 2007 | Life is Good

My good buddy Gabrina Garza informed me FRANCINE ON FIRE is now for sale on Amazon. Now how cool is that!

The book is being sold through Amazon’s Kindle Store. I haven’t a clue what a Kindle is, so if anyone knows please drop me a line.

Happy Writing!
Sloane

WISHING YOU ALL

November 21, 2007 | Holidays

A very HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Enjoy your families and all the things that are important to you.

All my best,
Sloane

We’re back!

November 16, 2007 | Family

Orlando was wonderful. The weather was great and Studs has decided it’s the place for us when we retire.

We all had a great time even though the four middle adults tried to kill us with all the activity they planned each day. We spent full days at Universal and Disney, and didn’t miss a thing, before we wined and dined around the city.

The four little kids had a ball. They were up for anything at least twice. However, If I hear It’s a Small World one more time I swear I’m going to strangle myself. lol

Today I’m over at The Romance Studio blogging. Check it out and feel free to leave feedback.

See you next week. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane