Book News #1

Lauren Christopher signed a two-book deal with Montlake Romance for Laws of Attraction. A young woman having a quarter-century crisis goes on an island "mancation," only to meet up with a Clark-Kent-nerd-type marine microbiologist who is nowhere near her type, and together they stumble upon a strange epidemic of beached island sea lions and learn all too much about true "chemistry" and animal attraction.

Hello! editor Rosie Nixon signed a two-book deal with Harlequin for The Stylist, a novel being described as The Devil Wears Prada meets The Oscars. Expected publication in February 2016.

HelloGiggles blogger Kerry Winfrey's novel, Homecoming, will be published by The Studio. It is described as OCD Love Story meets Mean Girls. A self-described "optimistic" agoraphobic forms a plan to be crowned homecoming queen in a story entwined with loss, first love, and the realization of what home really means.

Stacy Wise's novel, Beyond the Stars, will be published by Entangled Embrace. A young woman reluctantly takes a job as a personal assistant to a hot young actor who turns out to be much different than his celebrity persona.

Kathleen Smith's Fangirl Therapy will be published by Perigee in 2016. It is described as the nonfiction counterpart to Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. An inspirational guide with real takeaways for fangirls to make their quirks work for them and not against them.

Holly Martin signed a four-book deal with Bookouture. Her next novel is set to be published this summer, followed this fall by the first in a new White Cliff Bay series that follows the lives of several characters living in a small fictional seaside town.

Catherine Lowell's debut, The Madwoman Upstairs, will be published by Touchstone. The last remaining descendant of the Bronte family finds herself at Oxford in search of her mysterious family inheritance, and along the way, she discovers much more than she could have imagined about her family and love.

Meg Rosoff's debut, Duck Zoo, set to be published in spring 2016 by Bloomsbury. A romantic comedy set in NYC about a man and his dogs.

Film rights for Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, the story of two sisters and the impossible choices they face during WWII, sold to TriStar Productions, Inc., with Elizabeth Cantillon as producer.

Jen McLaughlin (writing as Diane Alberts) signed a two-book deal with Entangled for Beauty and the Boss. A corporate shark with a cold exterior and beastly manners keeps everyone from getting too close until his fake fiancée hatches a plan to help him keep his inheritance and winds up warming his heart.

Karen Stivali's Four Days to Forever will be published by Bloomsbury Spark this fall. A man is sure of one thing---he's in love with his best friend and wants her in his life as much more than a friend. With the clock ticking on the job offer of a lifetime and the past haunting them, he has one long weekend to convince her their love is real and turn four days into forever.

Do you have book news to share?

Contact US to be included in the next installment of Book News. 

Coming in June: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella's first YA novel, Finding Audrey, will be available this summer! She revealed the cover today via social media (including her new Instagram account!) and shared an excerpt via USA Today. 

Expected publication date: June 9, 2015

 

Description of Finding Audrey:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic series comes a terrific blend of comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in a contemporary YA novel sure to inspire and entertain.

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

***

Will you follow Sophie to YA Lit or do you prefer her Chick Lit? What do you think of the cover? Leave a comment below! And click the heart if you're excited to read Finding Audrey!

Be Nice to Book Bloggers

This year, I will celebrate my 5th anniversary as a book blogger. In the nearly half a decade that I have been sharing my love of books and helping authors promote their books, I have encountered some really wonderful people and made friends around the world. But there's something that has always bothered me. As an author myself, I know how grueling the marketing/publicity push is before and after a novel is published. I know authors want to share their stories with the world and make money, too. I get it. Unfortunately, amid the stress of promoting a novel, authors sometimes forget their manners. No one is perfect. We all have bad days. But I want to remind authors to always be nice to book bloggers. Book bloggers blog because they love books, not because they make a lot of money from it (if any money at all). They run their blogs with a passion for books and a desire to connect with other people who have the same interests. 

Keep these tips in mind when interacting with book bloggers:

1) If you email a book blogger with a review request and the blogger is not able to accommodate your request, thank the blogger anyway for considering your request. That blogger may be able to review your next novel, so you always want to be professional and stay on good terms, even if the blogger is too busy now.

2) If you email a book blogger with a review request and the blogger agrees to review your novel, ask what format the blogger prefers (if it isn't already stated on the blog) and send your book as soon as possible. Remember to thank the blogger for agreeing to read and review your novel. If you both agree on a review date (for a tour or otherwise), then it is okay to send a polite reminder a few days before the scheduled date. 

3) Always check a blog for its policies before contacting the blogger. This saves time for both of you. If you are unclear on the policies for reviews/interviews/guest posts/etc and want to send an inquiry, that's fine, but never ask about something that is already clearly stated on the blog. That's frustrating for a blogger and may result in your email being deleted because you can't follow directions. 

4) If you email a book blogger and you do not receive a response, move on. Book bloggers get a lot of emails every day, and they can't always respond for various reasons (not interested in your book because it's outside the genres they cover, not accepting any new books to promote, etc.). Don't take it personally. And don't continue to email them with the intention of pestering a response out of them. That's annoying and won't be beneficial for anyone. 

This next tip is VERY important. Perhaps the most important of all. Pay close attention.

5) If a blogger posts a review of your novel, ALWAYS THANK THE BLOGGER. I repeat, ALWAYS THANK THE BLOGGER. No matter what the review says, your response is always, "Thank you for reading and reviewing my novel." If you don't like the review, you aren't obligated to tweet or Facebook about it or draw any extra attention to it, but you do need to say thank you to the blogger directly. Reading and reviewing a novel takes a lot of time and effort, and you need to acknowledge that and send your gratitude. Remember that any publicity is good publicity. (See my post on Chick Lit Plus about why negative feedback can actually be good.) If you are happy with the review, then definitely post about it on all your social media accounts. That's a great way to show your appreciation to the blogger.

6) Do your research! Before contacting a book blogger, find out what genres the blogger reads and promotes. Scroll through the blog to see what kinds of posts the blogger writes so that you appear knowledgeable about the content when you approach the blogger. The opposite of what you're trying to accomplish occurs when you send an email telling the blogger you're a huge fan and then say things that make it clear you've never read even one post. Don't offend the blogger. That won't get you anywhere. It's always best to be honest.

Here's another really important one!

7) Always find out the blogger's name and greet the blogger by name in your email! I can't tell you how many times I've received an email that starts with "Dear Blogger." If you want a blogger to take the time to help you, then you need to take the time to learn the name of who you're contacting. I've also gotten emails that start with just, "Dear" and then a space and then a comma like the author was too lazy to fill in a name. Don't do that. It's unprofessional and offensive, and it will get your email instantly deleted by most bloggers. Other generic mass emails start with "Hello!" or "Greetings!" and aren't great either but not quite as bad as "Dear Blogger" or just "Dear." Personalizing the email is always best. 

8) If you don't have the time to research blogs and contact bloggers properly, then hire a publicist or a blog tour organizer to contact bloggers on your behalf. But even if you do that, you still need to thank all the bloggers who feature you and your book on their blogs. It doesn't take long to say, "Thank you."

Thank you and please are two little keys that open the door to politeness.   

Book Review: Twin Piques by Tracie Banister

In Twin Piques, identical twins Sloane and Willa Tobin couldn’t be more different. Their personalities, the way they dress, their careers, the way they view the world and what’s important to them are always at odds. Sloane is a workaholic forensic accountant striving for a big promotion and always puts her career before her love life. Willa is a quirky pet psychic who longs for true love when she isn’t interpreting the thoughts and feelings of animals to their clueless owners. Sloane is logical, focused, determined, and unfeeling while Willa is easily distracted, emotional, slightly delusional, and overly trusting to a fault.

I can really relate to Sloane and Willa in different ways. I’m a hopeless romantic like Willa, but I can also be incredibly cynical like Sloane. I actually found myself favoring Sloane much more and rooting for her, and rolling my eyes and shaking my head at Willa. Sloane’s domineering personality is quite refreshing, especially in chick lit. Too often in this genre the heroine is the bumbling, weak character to start out and then discovers who she is and how to assert herself throughout the novel. In a way, that is Willa. But what’s great is that Sloane is a narrator as well, and varying by chapter, we get to see both of their perspectives and read the story from their very different points of view. Sloane is a very strong character from the start, and I'm drawn to her because of that. I’ve read Willa before, and she’s too familiar. I’ve even written a similar character to Willa (Marlo in my novel, True Love Way. I think Willa and Marlo would be best friends!). We need more heroines like Sloane in chick lit. But that’s not to say that I don’t like Willa. I do. I just found myself getting bored with her and reading quickly through her chapters so I could get to Sloane’s chapters. Another issue for me is that I don’t really like Willa’s love interest. He is too perfect or maybe Willa’s extreme enthusiasm for him and optimism cloud his faults and real personality. As a result, I feel like I don't know him that well. I don’t connect to him, so it's hard to invest in their romance. I have a stronger connection to both of Sloane’s guys.

Note to authors: The book’s description needs to appeal to readers and intrigue them enough to buy your book without giving major plot points away. I’m sure I’m guilty of this, but if I write another book, I’ll be more mindful of it. There’s very little mystery in the description of Twin Piques. The description gives too much away and everything “hinted” at in the description happens. There are a few unexpected moments throughout the story, but they all lead to what’s put forth in the official synopsis. There is a big surprise at the end that I didn't see coming, so I have to acknowledge that, but I would have liked more twists and turns. The over-sharing in the synopsis reminds me of what the Hallmark Channel does. They air a lot of original romantic comedies and romance movies, and in the commercials, they often show the final scene of the couple kissing. A few weeks ago, I sat down to watch Surprised by Love and right before it began, they showed the final kissing scene in a what’s-coming-up-next promo. Throughout the movie, I was hoping that scene would happen halfway through or anywhere else but the end, but sure enough, it was the very last scene before the credits. Don’t do that to me! I know the couple is going to fall in love and live happily ever after in romantic comedies and chick lit. That’s the way it works. But don’t give it all away upfront. Don’t set up who will be with who or show me how it will happen before I even start reading or watching. There’s comfort in predictability, but too much of it is a turn off.

Anyway,  I love the bond between Sloane and Willa. Even though they’re so different, I believed in their strong connection right from the beginning, and it stays solid throughout the book. They always have each other’s backs. Overall, despite some typical chick lit tropes and a middle that drags a bit, Twin Piques is a great read. Tracie Banister’s writing is on point and extremely impressive, especially in Sloane’s chapters. I like that the intimate scenes are sexy, but not described in too much detail just for shock value. There’s enough on the page and enough left to the imagination. Just the right balance. The ending of the book is unique and hilarious and pretty much perfect. I love how it all comes together.  

****

4 stars

Twin Piques by Tracie Banister

It's the official release day of Twin Piques by Tracie Banister! Don't you love the cover? It's one of my favorite covers. It's so eye-catching and gorgeous. Well done to the designer, Lyndsey Lewellen! I'm really excited about this book because I love Tracie's writing style. Her previous book, In Need of Therapy, is fantastic! I haven't read her debut novel, Blame It on the Fame, but it's definitely on my to-read list. Tracie's writing in In Need of Therapy is really sharp, witty, and clever. I started reading Twin Piques a few days ago (I'm reviewing it a week from today, so stay tuned!), and I can already say the same about the writing in her new book. I'm enjoying it so far! Tracie is definitely an author to watch in Chick Lit. She self-publishes her novels, and I'm guessing that's by choice because it's hard to believe an agent and major publisher haven't discovered her and signed her by now. 

Here's the synopsis of Twin Piques: Forensic accountant Sloane Tobin and kooky pet psychic Willa may have the same face, but that’s the only thing these identical twins have in common. 

How she can read the hearts and minds of animals has always been a mystery to Willa, and her rotten luck with men is equally baffling. Although she’s been looking for “The One” for what feels like forever (A teenage marriage to a French mime and dating a guy named Spider seemed like good ideas at the time!), optimistic Willa refuses to give up on love. When she meets Brody, the handsome rose expert hired to save her grandmother’s garden, she’s instantly smitten, but why does he keep sending her mixed signals? Does he return her feelings, or is their attraction all in her fanciful head? 

Unlike her twin, Sloane has zero interest in romance. Her passion is her job, where she uses her gift for numbers to take down slimy embezzlers and asset-hiding spouses. When she’s assigned two high profile cases, Sloane feels confident the promotion she’s been angling for is within her grasp. But will her plan to climb the corporate ladder be thwarted by difficult clients, her co-worker-with-benefits, or – most surprisingly of all – her own sister? And how’s she supposed to stay focused on the drama at work when her childhood friend, Gav, moves in next door and the spark between them becomes impossible to ignore? 

To get what they both want, can Willa and Sloane band together and rely on each other’s strengths? Or will their differences drive them apart once and for all?

An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her work was first seen on the stage of her elementary school, where her 4th grade class performed an original holiday play that she penned. (Like all good divas-in-the-making, she also starred in and tried to direct the production.) Tracie’s dreams of authorial success were put on the backburner when she reached adulthood and discovered that she needed a "real" job in order to pay her bills. Her career as personal assistant to a local entrepreneur lasted for 12 years. When it ended, she decided to follow her bliss and dedicate herself to writing full-time. Twin Piques is her third Chick Lit release. The pet psychic character in this novel was inspired by Tracie’s rascally rescue dogs. She’d love to know what goes on in their heads!

For more information, please visit Tracie's blog and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.