Update: A Noble Arrangement (Book 1 of the Douglas Clan Series)

I am so excited to share an excerpt of my next project. I am currently working on A Noble Arrangement (working title - I'm still undecided on this one), which is book one of the Douglas Clan series. Each of these books will be stand-alone, but will feature recurring characters. I've got book two swirling around in my head right now! : )

For an excerpt of A Noble Arrangement, visit my Goodreads page here.

This series presents a new challenge to me: it is the most historically involved writing I've done to date. The Black Douglases, and their feud with King James II (aka Fiery Face for the large, red birthmark on his cheek) actually existed and are well-documented in history. I'm finding that structuring a fiction story around actual, historical figures presents a difficult, yet rewarding, challenge. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Thoughts? First impressions? I'd love to hear from you!

Cheers for now,
Veronica.

The Heroes We Love

I picked up Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas from the library, and in about 1.75 days I was done. Dishes went unwashed, laundry unfolded and kitty litter boxes unscooped as I giggled and sighed, page after page, over the best kind of falling in love.

Or, at least I thought it was the best kind of falling in love.

Imagine my utter astonishment when I came across a two-star review on Goodreads for this novel (click here to read full review). This reader did not like the hero and how he fell head-over-heels in love with a heroine who, for matters of self-preservation, denied her own true feelings for him.

I was aghast. I was agog. My jaw hit the floor! She didn’t like this book?!

Now, in no way am I saying this reviewer was wrong. We readers are all entitled to our own opinions about the books we read. It just so happens that this reader cannot stand a hero who chases after the heroine. She makes that very clear. And I have nothing against that. Good for her for knowing her mind.

This review, however, was a startling reminder that ... we don’t all like the same things. Believe it or not, our tastes in hero/relationships are as diverse as we are from each other.

One tends to forget that once in a while.

For me, I absolutely love an alpha-male hero who falls inexplicably, head-over-heels in love with the heroine. Especially if she’s not your typical, extraordinarily beautiful type. There is something so giggle-inducing about an ordinary girl who cannot for the life of her figure out why this out-of-her-league man has become so besotted with her. But he is. And he's not ashamed of it.

My favourite romance novel is Perfect by Judith McNaught. In it, hardened, cynical playboy movie star Zach Benedict falls in love with pretty-but-not-modelesque, small-town teacher Julie Matheson. And he falls hard! Seriously, my copy needs to be replaced, I’ve read it so many times.

And now that I think about it, this is similar to the scenario I wrote in my Highland Loyalties series. Jane is by no means the most beautiful girl to ever matriculate out of England. But handsome Highland warrior Robbie MacGillivray falls unquestioningly in love with her. There is no "does he/doesn’t he" when it comes to his love for Jane. He does. Absolutely he does!

I applaud this reviewer of Smooth Talking Stranger for speaking her mind, and of course I respect her right to feel differently than I do. This was just a startling reminder that we don’t all like the same things.

So I put the question out there: what type of hero do you love the best? Do you prefer your hero, or your heroine to do the chasing? Or is there another scenario you best like to read about? And what are your favourite books which best illustrate this?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Author Interview with Romance Lives Forever

Hello all,

A quick post to let everyone know that my latest author interview with Romance Lives Forever, blog of fellow romance author Kayelle Allen, has been posted.

Check me out here for details on how to win a free kindle copy of my latest novel, Legend of the Mist.

Cheers,
V.

Adding Detail to Historical Romance

Last night I finished writing a guest post which (hopefully) will appear in December on 4covert2overt - A Day in the Spotlight. The piece was about putting detail into your historical romance novels and making sure that a) you’ve got enough in there, and b) it’s accurate.

I won’t rehash the article, but after it was done I decided I want to say a bit more on the subject. What prompted me to write the post was a reader review on Amazon for Legend of the Mist (my latest novel, for those of you that don’t know). In it, the reader said: “the author took quite a bit of information from the ancient times and made it relevant for me.”

I’m thrilled to hear stuff like that, because obviously that is the most challenging part of historical romance: making it believable and relevant. I’ve had comments and reviews like this before, where the authenticity of my historical detail is praised.  I’ve even had someone remark that they thought I was an expert in the genre.

No, I’m not sounding my own horn, I actually have a point. And here it is …

I’m not an expert. Not even close.

What you see in my novels is the result of a combination of critical thinking and a lot of Googling. And here’s the other thing … it’s not a difficult skill to master; anyone can do it.

Take, as an example, Legend of the Mist. In it, the brochs of ancient Scotland are a key feature. I describe not only what they were used for, but also how they were constructed in enough detail that they are easy to visualize.

But believe it or not, up until February, 2013 when I read Monica McCarty’s The Chief (in which a broch was featured) I had no real concept of what a broch was. All I knew was that it was an ancient stone structure that had fallen out of use by the time of Robert the Bruce. What that structure was for and what it looked like I had no idea.

It could just as easily have been a commode as a castle for all I knew!

To find out, I Googled “what is a broch,” and (besides the occasional image tagged with a misspell of “brooch”) I got enough information to describe one. Only then did I decide to add it to my story. If I hadn’t read The Chief there would probably be no broch in Legend of the Mist.

I can give another example from my first novel, Bride of Dunloch. In it, I had to figure out how Jane would have boiled water alone in the woods to care for a wounded enemy warrior named Robbie. And, of course, the first image that popped into my head was a cast iron cauldron hanging over a fire on a tripod.

This is where critical thinking came in handy. I had to ask: how realistic would that have been? Did peasants use tripods? What about hunters and nomads? It’s unlikely that tiny, feminine Jane would have snuck a heavy tripod from Dunloch castle out into the woods in the middle of the night.

It was then that I realized I would need another way for her to boil water.

So I looked it up by Googling “how did people cook in ancient times?” And not long after I found the specifics of stone boiling, where stones heated by fire were dropped in pots of water to create a boil.

There’s no secret to knowing that kind of detail. It’s nothing more than knowing when to ask the questions.

This is an easy skill to acquire if you are a writer of historical fiction. What I do, anyone can do. When you’re in the writing stage the internet should be your best friend. Assess your manuscript with a critical eye and determine where detail is required (hint: lots of places – the more the better). Then look the detail up to ensure it’s accurate. This is what will make your historical novel stand out and resonate with authenticity.

Remember: your readers are investing a lot of time and effort in you and your historical romance. What better way to show them you appreciate it by investing time in the detail that they want to see?

Kindle Freebie Boom on the Decline ... So What? Get Over It!

I came across a post today called Do Free Day eBook Promotions Still Work? As the title suggests it talked about why Kindle’s KDP Select free promotion option doesn’t work as well as it used to. Indie authors aren't seeing the same number of free downloads that they used to, and the after sales aren't what they hoped for. 

I just put out a post two days ago, and wasn't going to do another one so soon, but this article got me thinking.

Scratch that, it got me fuming.

To start, there was nothing wrong with the article itself. On the contrary, it was well-written and insightful. The author, Marla A Madison, lists several key reasons why Kindle freebie days aren’t boosting sales like they used to. The three I consider most important are:

1.         the competition for eBook sales has increased exponentially over the past few years

2.         freebie promo sites have increased and are now overwhelming readers with choices

3.         readers’ kindles have become saturated with freebie downloads, further overwhelming their choices

If this blog post is correct – and I suspect it is – then there is a growing frustration among indie authors that they are getting less and less recognition for the same amount of work …

Seriously? Wah, wah, wah!

You know what? Any indie author who is banking on Kindle freebie days to make them a barrelful of money needs to revisit his or her priorities. Success is not an overnight thing for the majority of us. It can’t be gained by resorting to promotional gimmicks. It is a long and continuing struggle. It is our writing, our story-telling ability and our connection with our readers that will build our following.

Any indie who disagrees with that is in the wrong business.

Readers aren’t stupid. They don’t just blindly follow us because we're in the top spot on our free promo days. That doesn't mean anything. 

Readers are deeply passionate about the books they choose to love and the authors they choose to trust. However cleverly we market ourselves, however diligent we are with getting the word out, at the end of the day our books that sell themselves, not the marketing options we choose for them.

So, okay, the glory days of the Kindle freebie promo are on the out. Deal with it. It is what it is. If you’re passionate about writing then you’ll watch it go by with an “oh well.” And then you’ll go right back to writing. Because your career is not dependent upon some marketing gimmick. It’s founded on solid, passionate, dedicated writing.

To all those authors out there who write for the love of writing: keep at it. It’s your writing that defines your career, not how well your kindle freebie days catapult you into the spotlight. You will build a following of readers slowly and steady if you do. These readers are the ones that will stick with you book after book because they appreciate your talent, and trust you to give them the emotional satisfaction they demand from the books they read.

To all other indie authors who can’t accept that … quit. You’re probably in it for the wrong reasons anyway.

Badly Behaving Authors - An Indie's Two Cents

Since taking to Twitter over the last several months, I’ve seen a lot of blog posts on what is, collectively, known as Badly Behaving Authors (BBA from here on). There are different uses for the term, but I’m referring particularly to authors who respond to negative reviews and social media criticism. I wasn’t going to write a blog post on this, mainly because I didn’t want it to seem like I was complaining. But after seeing this topic enough, the urge to put in my two cents is just too overwhelming.

I debated whether or not to name names. Of course I don’t want to start partaking of this BBA phenomenon myself by calling out offenders. But at the same time, if I stick to vagueries, the point of what I’m talking about might be missed. For that reason I’ve decided to give a link to one key example. (A disclaimer: I do not condone the one or two personal remarks this blogger makes about the author in question. Just saying …)

To view link to PocketFullofBooks blog, click here.

One of the most important lessons about self-publishing that I’ve taken to heart is “don’t respond to negative reviews and criticism.” By this I don’t mean, “rise above,” or “turn the other cheek,” I really mean “don’t respond.” Why? Two reasons:

1. Most importantly, readers have a right to share their opinions and feelings about whatever they read. Someone doesn’t like my book? They have every right to voice that opinion loud and clear, wherever and whenever they want. If I don’t like it, I probably shouldn’t have written a book and put it out there for people to read in the first place. Goodreads and Amazon especially are reader communities, established to help readers recommend and engage in discussions about books. As a writer it is not my place to engage in discussions about my own work. Period.

2. Even if a review is obviously malicious or unfair (a competing author or a factually inaccurate criticism), responding to it does the author no good. As an example, I refer you again to the link above which clearly demonstrates the fallout of this ill-advised engagement. At the end of it all, it was the author who lost out; she only succeeded in making herself look really, really unprofessional.

The thing with indie authors is that so many of us are new not just to the industry, but to the business of writing, marketing and promoting our own books - and it is a business! We do not have a team of experienced individuals to advise us along the way. Because of this inexperience and lack of mentorship, we might tend to be a bit more sensitive than established, traditionally published authors who have been dealing with the constant flux of praise and censure for decades.

Does that excuse BBA? No, absolutely not. The other thing is that, because of lack of experience, indie authors may tend to continue behaving like the regular, ordinary people they are in their daily lives. Regular, ordinary people snipe at each other. They speak their minds. And they stand up for themselves and the things they believe in.

Unfortunately, if you’re an author, indie or not, being a regular, ordinary person is not a luxury you can afford. At least you can’t afford to show that part of yourself to the world if you want to encourage readership (unless you're making a platform of it). The face we present to our readers is sometimes more important than the books we present to them. Ask yourself: have you ever been put off reading certain books as a matter of principle because of a BBA?

I can’t speak for the entire indie community, but I sure know I’m invested in my career as a professional writer. It is disheartening to see that the BBA-ness of a handful of authors is often perceived as a condition of the entire indie community - of which I am inextricably a part. I am very cautious about what I say online, what I reTweet, what I promote, etc. And when it comes to not-so-glowing reviews, well, I’ve maintained from the get-go that I respect the right of my readers to express their opinions about my work. If they have something to say, good or bad, I appreciate and want to hear it.

Am I alone out there? Are you an indie author who has an opinion either for or against what I’ve said? What about readers? How do you feel about BBAs responding to your reviews?

Why I am NOT doing NaNoWriMo

November. National novel writing month. The challenge: finish a book, or at least 50,000 words in a month. That’s about 1,600 words a day.

Started in 1999 in the San Francisco Bay area by freelance writer Chris Baty (yup, totally Wiki’d that one), the idea behind NaNoWriMo is to get people writing. No matter how bad the end result, at least you’ve got a first draft. You can go back and edit later if you want.

It’s a great idea, I’ll openly admit to that. If you’re scared of starting a novel because you don’t think you’ll be any good, the NaNoWriMo challenge celebrates quantity, not quality. A backwards notion? Not for writers it’s not. Quantity over quality is often the first hurdle we scribblers face.

By the way, if you think NaNoWriMo is for you, check it out here.

Me? I’m not going to do it. As great a challenge as it is, it’s not for everybody. NaNoWriMo doesn’t fit my writing or life style. With the recent release of my latest novel, Legend of the Mist, much of my time has to be dedicated to getting the word out any way that I can. On top of that, I can’t commit to writing every day (though I would absolutely drool at the opportunity to do nothing but) simply because my lifestyle is too hectic. Only a select few, relatively speaking, are able to set aside dedicated writing time each day.

If those were the only reasons, though, I still might considering jumping on the NaNoWriMo band wagon. But there is also the matter of my writing style.

I am very much a revise-and-edit-in-chunks kind of girl. I will spend a day madly hammering away at the keys and producing anywhere from 500 to 3,000 words in one sitting. But I can’t move on to the next chunk without editing first. I need to know that what I’ve hastily spewed onto the page makes sense. I need to make sure that I haven’t introduced any characters that won’t serve the story’s purpose later on, etc. etc.

Also, for me, switching between editing and writing keeps each task fresh. When I’m getting sick of revising, I’ll switch to uninhibited babbling. When that becomes tiresome, I’ll settle into some slower-paced editing.

Writing blog Creative Writing and the Crimson League seems to agree with my position: NaNoWriMo is not for everyone. They’ve written an article called Authors and National Novel Writing Month: 4 Good Reasons NOT To DoNaNoWriMo. Check the full article out for more detail, but below are their four points, and I think they are good ones. They suggest you should rethink NaNoWriMo if:

1. you will judge yourself if your draft is horrible

2. you will judge yourself if you don’t reach 50,000 words in November

3. you feel pressured to join in by everyone else who is doing it

4. you want to compete against other people or feel superior when you win and they don’t.

Okay, for me, number 3 would be the only point I can identify with, but it’s enough of a reason. As I said, NaNoWriMo is not for everyone. I know it’s not for me, and I would be bowing to online peer pressure if I decided to join.

To all of you out there who think NaNoWriMo is for you, I wish you the best of luck. It is a great way to get the writing bug going if you don’t already suffer from it (if you are a writer, then you know what I mean by suffer). But if you don’t think the challenge is quite your cup of tea, I’d say don’t feel bad.

Those are my thoughts, but what are yours? Will you be joining in the NaNoWriMo challenge? Why? How does it fit your writing style or creative ambitions? If not, why not? I’d love to hear your opinions.