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More on That Hot Read

by Jane · Comments Off on More on That Hot Read

I stayed up last night until nearly 2 am wolfing through Claiming The Courtesan and then backing up to reread Anna’s gorgeous prose. Her book is so much on my mind this morning and it’s because I haven’t read anything like this in years.

Anna’s characters are fantastic–both great and tragic, heroic and broken, proud and aching. Her characters do what I love best–hunger, hope, need. These characters aren’t the gorgeous shiny styled heroes and heroines we find in today’s sexy Regencies but a throw back to Laura Kinsale and Shane Abe’s earlier historicals. Maybe even further back. Think brooding Collen McCullough. No, think Bronte.

Anna writes with a skill that dazzles me, especially with this being her debut novel. If I were writing historicals todays this is what I would want to write. This is what I’ve longed to read. Fierce passion, heightened stakes, an all or nothing story.

If you don’t like dark, this one isn’t for you, but if the wounded Alpha hero appeals, or the Alpha beast in need of redemption enthralls you, you’ll love this book. I love this book.

Anna Campbell, I’m your life long fan!

Hot Read!

by Jane · Comments Off on Hot Read!

Having just returned from five days in Dallas for Romance Writers of America’s annual conference, I’ve heard a lot about books in the last few days.

I’ve talked writing, taught writing, presented to librarians, spoken with my agent and editors at length and came home with an earful of info and two suitcases of books. One book traveled home with me in first class, not in cargo though, and that was Australian author Anna Campbell’s amazing Claiming The Courtesan.

Claiming The Courtesan is brilliant–and I’m damn picky. I’m only on page 101 but I unreservedly love it and am enjoying it the way I enjoy JR Ward’s novels, JR Ward being my other big discovery this year.

Claiming The Courtesan generates a lot of heat–not just on the pages, and this Avon historical novel generates lots and lots of that–but among writers and readers as well. I love this book’s controversy. Original, daring books create controversy and Anna’s unique voice, a darker voice, is my favorite kind of voice.

What makes this novel so special? It’s completely unpc. There is no political correctness about it and as I read I smile to myself, thinking it’s sure to fire folks up the same way an intense Presents alpha hero fires up some readers. This book is sexy, erotic edged, risky. And it’s the debut novel for Anna as well. I’m so glad Avon bought this book, even grateful, as I’ve hungered for a darker historical again.

If you’re in the mood for new, if you love great writing, if you enjoy sensual and even scandalous you must read Claiming The Courtesan. I’m a fan of Anna Campbell’s. She writes hot, provocative, and intriguing characters and plot. Hurrah! The dark sexy historical has been reborn!

Back To Unpack

by Jane · Comments Off on Back To Unpack

We returned from Europe last night and today is laundry and bill and errand day to try to get on top of things before I leave Tuesday for the RWA National Conference, this year back in Dallas.

The trip was fantastic. London’s always brlliant but I confess, I loved Rome best. Venice is exotic but far too crowded, and numbed by tourism to the point of rudeness. My son Jake liked everyplace. My son Ty hated Rome, too hot, but didn’t want to leave Venice, and I was just happy to have the two weeks with the kids.

Happily I was able to check email now and then at internet cafes in London, Rome & Venice as Grand Central Publishing in the middle of putting together my Fall ’07 book tour for Odd Mom Out and doing the cover for Alpha Mom in August ’08 so I’m fairly on top of things business wise (although there is that nagging issue of writing the book that’s coming out in August 2008…).

Early reviews on Odd Mom Out continue to come in and this year Kirkus Review gave me a thumbs up which is very nice, especially as they destroyed Flirting last year. My publicists also are working very hard on PR and the book tour which means I’m far calmer now about Odd Mom Out’s release than I was a month ago.

I did love being away from my desk and computer and cell phone. It’s always a vacation when I can only check email once a day, or even better, once every two or three days. And the only phone we had on the trip was one my sister bought and brought and it was for emergencies only so there were no calls, other than the ones my boys made to their dad every night, which really is freedom.

The best part of an extended trip is the discovery that the world is so much bigger than our day to day concerns. And the next best thing is the reminder that while technology is good, it doesn’t necesssarily make our lives easier or better. It just keeps us busy.

Bon Voyage

by Jane · Comments Off on Bon Voyage

Okay, not climbing on a cruise ship but an airplane, yet Bon Voyage sounds festive and fun and I’m praying that’s what my boys first trip to Europe will be–fun.

We’ll board our British Airways flight in the next hour plus and sometime around 10 am UK time we touch down. My sister Kathy and her daughter are meeting us in London for a two week single mom and kid adventure in England and Italy. The cities were picked by my boys: London, Rome and Venice. They wanted more but I hate checking in and out of hotels too fast.

I haven’t been excited until now. Maybe I’m still not really excited but that should come. There has been so much stuff happening, so much going on with the boys’ dad and my writing and life itself that I wasn’t sure we could pull this trip off. Even a day ago I wasn’t sure it’d happen but the clouds parted and the sun emerged and Seattle today is gorgeous and we’re dashing to the airport now.

I’ll try to check in from the road, but it’ll be from internet cafes as I won’t take a computer. This is family time. Mom time. Kid time.

About time.

Those Crazy Odd Mom Arcs

by Jane · Comments Off on Those Crazy Odd Mom Arcs

Odd Mom Out won’t even hit the store shelves until September 27th but everyone seems to have a copy already! How is it possible for those advanced reading copies (arcs) to have traveled as far, and as fast as they have?

Well, I’ll tell you.

eBay.

Yep, thanks to eBay and half.com and all those other auction places folks can sell anything, including arcs, which is actually illegal but that doesn’t seem to slow the sales any. One (small) online bookseller had the Odd Mom Out arc priced at $18.99 plus shipping. I wrote that seller and protested. Fine, sell the arc if you must be illegal, but don’t gouge the consumer!

When Odd Mom Out is released late September it’ll be twelve bucks or so, and yes, I’ll earn a little bit which helps me pay my bills so I can keep a house and my kids warm and fed, and yes, my publishers make a bit and all the others involved can pay their bills, too. But the business isn’t just about making money, it’s about making readers happy. It’s about getting fun stories into the right readers hands.

And who are the right readers? Well, that’s you.

If you want to be one of those reading the book early, I’m giving away a copy on my B-Board in the next week. Patricia in Florida won a copy of Odd Mom Out from my Mother’s Day contest. Now I have another contest on my B-Board (www.janeporter.com/board) that ends Tuesday with the winner announced Wednesday, the prize being an arc of Odd Mom. Why am I giving away free copies?

Publicity and buzz. Hopefully if a reader really likes a new book she’l tell her friends and they’ll (hopefully) buy or check it out from the library and I’ll hit the New York Times. (Okay, dreaming here but why not? If I can have nightmares of being chased by a scary man with a butcher knife why can’t I dream something happy and fizzy???).

I’m pleased to tell you the buzz for Odd Mom Out is good so far. Really good. Now, none of the big literary guns have reviewed the book yet and that’s fine with me. My readers and friends have been reading it and giving me their reviews and it’s a two thumbs up, and those are the reviews that mean the most to me. If you loved Flirting with Forty, and you liked Odd Mom Out even better…than I did my job. And I did it good.

And that’s what I take to heart.

I can’t lie. It’d be awesome to take something to the bank as well, but those numbers will have to wait for September.

BEA

by Jane · Comments Off on BEA

Readers have emailed me to ask about BEA in New York last week, wondering why I haven’t posted a blog about that when I’ve added some photos from the trip. The truth is, I haven’t blogged about BEA because it was so dang cool I can’t really believe all that good will was focused on Odd Mom Out and me.

Grand Central Publishing (Warner Books new name) did an incredible job promoting Odd Mom Out. They gave away 1,500 copies during the weekend and I did booth signings and a table signing on Saturday. Sure I got kicked out of the booth when the big names like Nicholas Sparks or James Patterson did their signing, but I can’t complain. I needed to move or I would have been trampled by the hundreds of fans lining up to get a free autographed book. And that’s part of the charm of BEA. Free books. Hundreds of free books. Maybe thousands. And the booksellers and librarians come through and grab them up, packing as much into their bags and suitcases as they can manage.

At the Grand Central Party Thursday night held at Grand Central Station, I met Amy Sedaris and Nicholas Sparks and nearly touched Stephen Colbert. The next day at the BEA booth I signed a copy of Odd Mom Out for Jodi Picoult and beamed at her until she moved away. I had dinner with UK chick lit/women’s fiction author Carole Matthews, Stacey Ballis, and Sarah M. Chatted with folks from the Today show, USA Today paper, St. Petersburg Times, B&N.com, and subright buyers from all over the world.

And as interesting as all these outside folks were, it was the Hachette/Grand Central Publishing team that made me feel the most valuable. The corporate brass were terrific. They made sure I knew I was wanted and that they were so pleased with Flirting with Forty’s success, and looked forward to the release of Odd Mom Out. Everyone from David Young, HSBC’s new CEO, to Emi Battaglia and Les Pockell, the Associate Publishers, to Jennifer Romanello, the Directory of Publicity to Mike Heuer in Sales took time to say we’re glad you’re here, we’re glad you’re with us, and we’re behind you.

And for a writer that spends much of her life at a desk on the West coast, far from the wheels of publishing, this was so very reassuring.

I write for a great house. I work with great people. And most importantly, I think I finally realized that I’m not alone in this publishing venture. Yes, I write the books, and yes, I worry about them, but so do dozens of other people, people who are equally passionate about giving readers great books.

The Trainer

by Jane · Comments Off on The Trainer

In an attempt to deal with me, and my own head, I’ve signed up with a small, private gym that only offers personal training. It’s very expensive and no one has ever hurt me this much in 55 minutes before. I’ve been going three times a week–which means I very nearly sold my younger son to pay for the twenty session package–and although I’ve dropped a couple pounds I don’t know if I’m any more mentally sound.

I don’t know if I will ever be more mentally sound.

I hope to God this is just hormones, some crazy rollercoaster that’s mercilessly jerking me up, down, all around, but what if it’s not? What if this is really just me?

The personal training is kicking my butt though. It’s intense and demanding and by the time I stagger out I’m no longer emotional. Just flat out exhausted. I tell myself that’s good. I tell myself anything that isn’t a) sad b) anxious c) stressed is good. But honestly, I’m not even sure what good means. Is ‘good’ peaceful, calm, or simply uneventful? Is good great?

I know there are things I wish I could change. I wish my boyfriend wasn’t so far away. I wish my kids’ dad was healthy. I wish I had a secret admirer who died (cruel, but there it is) and left me a million dollars.

I wish. I wish. And the more I wish the more intense the desire for serenity.

When I’m not writing, I’m reading and the reading includes new self-help books. I swear, I can support the local B&N alone with my taste for self-improvement books. I look at my shelf with the newest self-help titles and they include:

1) Never Good Enough: How To Use Perfectionism To Your Advantage Without Letting It Ruin Your Life

2) Goodbye Good Girl: Letting Go of The Rules & Taking Back Your Self

3) The Girls’ Guide to Power and Success

4) The Feminine Mistake

5) The Five Love Languages: How To Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate

6) Eccentrics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness

7) When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

8) The Secret Psychology of How We Fall In Love

9) Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession With Cosemtic Surgery

10) Women Who Run With Wolves

Okay, a nice little line up of non-fiction reading and something to cover every emotional issue: perfectionism, narcissism, abandonment issues, attachment issues. Wow. Just thinking about it all makes me want to do what I did yesterday, crawl into bed and take a nap in the middle of the day.

Did the nap help? No. But it did give me a rest before I had to go to the gym. And if you think I’m hard on myself, you should meet my trainer.

Cab Man

by Jane · Comments Off on Cab Man

Waiting for the cab that should arrive in the next 12 minutes to whisk me to SeaTac where I’ll jump on an American Airlines flight for NY.

I’m going to BEA this year and I’m finally starting to feel a bit of excitement. I’ve wanted to attend BEA for the past several years–its such a huge publishing event (THE event people say)–and this year with it in NY I get to see lots of my East Coast writer friends and folks from my publishing house.

But I haven’t been happy excited, just stressed until a minute ago when I sat down with my coffee, signed off my email, and prepared to sign off my computer for the next five days. It’s just always so nerve wracking before I leave that it’s hard to feel pleasure in trips and new things until I’m actually on the plane, squisheed between people who don’t share the armrests and sitting directly behind someone who lowers their seat as far as it can go–and leaves it there for the next 5 and a half hours.

But enough of the pleasures of flying. That’s a treat in and of itself. My schedule goes something like this–tonight after landing drinks with 5 Spot author Caprice Crane. Tomorrow coffee with my agent, lunch with my agent and editor, afternoon a zip by Expecting Models modeling agency to meet Liza, the founder of the agency, in person. Then a dash back to hotel where I’ll change and meet Megan Crane, another 5 Spot author and friend, for a drink before dinner with author Michelle Rowen and Megan before we head to the Grand Central Publishing party. And that’s Thursday.

Friday is more tame. BEA stuff in morning, Friday afternoon taping a brief appearance for Naomi Judd’s cable show on the Hallmark Channel, and then drinks with Carole Matthew, Sarah M, and more. Should be very fun. I’ve never met any of these authors in person but have read their books so it’s cool.

Saturday I sign at BEA, meet with my publicist, have lunch with author Nancy Warren and then Saturday night I’m attending the Harlequin party.

And then there’s Sunday…and the flight home.

Ah! Cab is here. Time to go. And fingers crossed I’ll actually get to use my armrest on the plane today!

Not Exactly

by Jane · Comments Off on Not Exactly

I’m tempted to remove my blog from yesterday. The one where I called myself a Hoor. And why would I take it down? Well, a hoor is a bit harsh for my internet activity. I don’t visit adult sites. I don’t send dirty emails. I don’t behave unseemingly. I just like reaching out to and hanging out with my friends in cyberspace. Its fun. It fills the hours when I’m bored or lonely. And it makes the world feel smaller. More accessible.

However, the internet is bad when one (i.e. me) uses it as a substitute for seeing real life friends. It’s bad when posting comments on people’s pages is considered socializing.

What I’ve realized in the last week is that I don’t get out enough to be with people. People in the flesh. I don’t hug real people enough and I don’t sit with them for coffee or lunch enough. I don’t go on walks or listen to their bad days–in person–enough. My contact is email, net, and as a last choice, phone, as I’m not really a phone person (my boyfriend would disagree but that’s because I can’t put a web cam on him…yet).

I don’t know if its being a mom, a woman, or just being my age but I need to spend more quality time with the people I love and stop chasing after what’s not real. I need to be more in my body and less in my head. Because I live in my head a lot. I make up stories, I write them down, and I sit by myself for hours and listen to my thoughts. I guess that’s fine because I get checks in the mail for these isolating behaviors but every now and then I want the real thing.

I want to see my friends faces when they smile. I want to tell my friend in person that I’m sorry she’s moving back to California. I want to go sit near my friend’s bed as she recovers from hardcore surgery. I want to have coffee with my friend as she tells me life is crap and it’s all downhill from here and I want to be there because I know what the life-is-crap day feels like. I’ve had those days. We’ve all had them. And they’re so much better when we’re not alone with our thoughts. They’re so much better when we’ve got someone in person caring.

This weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, I’m staying home, traveling no where other than to my friends houses and hopefully they will also travel here, to mine.

I’m taking time to be there in person. I’m climbing out of my head, away from my desk, apart my stories. I’m not going crazy because I’ve a book out in the Fall. I’m going crazy because it’s so hard for me to admit that I need people.

So to all my people. I need you. And I love you.

Even if I don’t pick up the phone and resort to email.

Internet Addict

by Jane · Comments Off on Internet Addict

I know there are recovery groups for everything. I’m looking for help for an internet addiction. The internet makes me manic. I can’t get off email and MySpace. Worse, I believe I’ve become a MySpace whore. Or Hoor if you want to be polite.

I never intended on becoming a Hoor of the internet. I thought I’d use it for business and basic communication and be done with it. But the closer I get to a new book being published, the more I panic. What if no one buys it? What if its crap? What if I get another Kirkus Review that calls me the worst writer on the fact of the planet (or something to that effect)?

Hedging my bets I’m taking a two prong approach to handle the quiet, but mounting, hysteria:

1) Try to make new friends on MySpace

2) Call those that are already my close friends and ask them point blank if they’ll remain my friend even if my career tanks in October.

I don’t know that either approach is working. Yes, I now have 502 MySpace friends but let’s face it, 90% are authors and 90% of those aren’t going to buy my books. And for the friends that I’ve called and asked if they’ll remain my friend even if I have to return to teaching during the day and then at night start working as a waitress (or in Nordstroms lingerie), well, they’re not going to tell me point blank that they’ll drop me. They’ll just drop me.

So what’s a girl to do? Buy friends?

Maybe if I hired five hundred friends I’d have some peace…

Hmmm, that sounds wrong. Hoorish again.

All right. I give up. I’m doing a reality check here. Working on both the ego and fragile self-esteem. Things happen. Can’t control everything. Can’t even seem to control me.

But here and now I propose some changes: No more internet trawling late at night trying to find compatible reader friends at My Space. No more calls to friends asking for a disaster down payment. Life ain’t about security. Even if we are pushed to buy insurance for everything.

With that said, if anyone, should want to befriend me at MySpace, please do. Leave me a comment. I love it. Makes me feel loved. And besides, I seem to spend more time at MySpace than writing my newest book which means you might only have MySpace emails to read from me instead of books if I don’t start cracking the whip.

PS. Karen K, my dear editor, I’m not saying that being a MySpace Hoor is good thing. Far from it.

PPS If anyone has a Twelve Step Program for Internet Addiction, do send my way. I’m going to need help. Even if it’s wrong, I’ve rather enjoyed being a MySpace Hoor. (Karen K, that last comment wasn’t meant for you.)

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