Tag: Romance Writers of America

Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels #2)

Book Review by K.M. Saint James

Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels #2) Is it possible to find love in historical times? Romance author, Lisa Kelpas certainly seems to write this truth. Marrying Winterborne, The Ravenels, book 2, ranks at the top of my favorite historical love stories. Lisa Kleypas sets up the perfect opposing protagonists when hard-hearted business tycoon, Rhys Winterborne sets out to seduce and then win the notoriously shy, Helen Ravenel. This romantic historical story is guaranteed to make readers cheer for both sides. More than reforming a rake: this tale is about redeeming a man who has lived a necessary hard life, who makes no apologies for his tough attitude, and who secretly adores the sweetest of women, Helen […]

3-2-1 Book Launch

Harm's Way NOW Available book cover

Book releases have changed over the past ten years or so. What was once the primary responsibility of the publisher’s marketing team has morphed into the author’s responsibility. What was once covered with editors/agents emails and flyers to brick-n-mortar shops is now vibrantly alive through social media. To keep myself on track, I’ve compiled a list of what-to-do’s for my upcoming book launch. Am I arrogant enough to think I’ve covered it all? Nope, not even close. Marketing gets to be fun . . . perhaps, not all the time. But as creative types, it makes sense to tap into those inherent skills. Visit with establish authors for last minute insight. Complete final editing & […]

Reading . . . there isn’t much that’s more important.

In January I kicked off my reading challenge. I pledged to read 52 books by the end of the year, or one book per week. Life happens and stuff gets in the way, so the point is that if you can sneak two books in one week because you may have an emergency that keeps you from reading one week, then that’s simply good planning. However, the goal is to keep reading, consistently and constantly. Why? Because Literacy should be a basic right for all of us. We shouldn’t be ruled by emails, computer games, cable/satellite, or even cleaning the toilet. One of the things that sets us as a superior species is our ability […]

ABC news is following my lead . . .

Okay, if any of you caught the 5:30 news tonight — you know the one time slot where all the pharmaceutical companies advertise? Don’t understand? See my previous post on Why? Why? Why? — then you heard about the frightening epidemic of adult illiteracy. According to ABC sources, 7 million Americans are considered functionally illiterate and 30 million Americans CANNOT read a simple sentence. Here in America, we’re supposed to be ‘not-one-of-the-third-world countries, and yet 30 million of our fellow country men and women can’t read well enough to fill out a job application, a medical consent form, can’t research any subject on the Internet or at their public library, can’t vote . . . […]

Urban Fantasy News

Fellow Wild Rose Press author, Karen Duvall, just attended the Pacific NW Writers Association conference in Seattle and posted on her blog . . . “The buzz word for the weekend (conference) was URBAN FANTASY!!! All I can say is: What the hell took everyone so long? I’ve been loving it for years, long before it was tagged with a subgenre. So it’s thrilling to see that it’s being embraced like this by the publishing community. Yo, my writer friends, they want it. Bad. If you write it, this is one hot commodity. Polish your prose and get it out there. And make sure it’s set in the city. No kidding.” Thanks, Karen, for the […]

Conference Gears Up

Getting started, okay so maybe we’ve been here awhile. With over 1900 conference attendees, there are a few bags to stuff. New friend, Jennifer stuffing conference bags. Another new friend (new to RWA as well) Julie, and dear friend Sherry stuffing bags. So that’s a bunch of bags, and this picture only reflects a small fraction of the completed bags. New fabric and silk-screening scents permeated the room once we finished. A sea of green and black met the eye. Conference goers should make quite a statement sporting around these totes. Ooh, and what good books are they stuffed with? Gotta get to conference and find out. I’m headed off to my national conference (Romance […]