New Short Details

Thanks to some Facebook feedback, the new short I am writing for the Rebel Ink anthology will be on St Patrick's Day - and, naturally, it's set in Ireland.

So, announcing Cormack's Luck, my new erotic-romance holiday short.

Here's the new blurb:

American writer Katie Cormack inherited more than a cottage from her wild Irish father. She also got his wit, his stories and his family’s secret burden. Hiding away in the Irish countryside she’d always dreamed of, she communes with the fairies and beasts of her fantasy and folklore. When a local doctor comes down on her for filling his young son’s head with “nonsense”, Katie must show them both that not even St Patrick himself could drive all the dragons out of their imaginations. In the process, she might be able to reverse a wrong that has been hanging over the Cormacks for five generations, one that has brought them altogether for the season of renewal.

Busy writing, and with life. I'm hoping to have the short written, done, and sent off by next week, and it's chugging along. It took me a while to research this one, so the writing is slower than normal. It might be a tight squeeze, but I remain hopeful.

Have a great weekend, all!

Paperback Update, and a Feedback Request! (Pretty Please?)

I'm pleased to announce that my new paperback anthology has been made official, and we're aiming, last I heard, for a September release (I had earlier misread the 9/12 as meaning October, but I was clearly loopy that day). The stories, my five 2011 stories from Rebel Ink plus a new sixth story, will also be released in ebook bundle!

I can now officially announce the title of the anthology.... Drum roll, please!

All I Want: The Anne Holly-Day Collection.

Ta da!

(Okay, that title makes me snicker, I admit it. I'm a goof; whadaya gonna do?)

The "working blurb":

What happens when a young violin prodigy sets his sights on the jock next door, a flighty witch thaws out a corporate stiff, or an uptown girl falls for a bartender? How about when a city slicker roughs it with a cowboy, a free spirited Spaniard seduces his calm and collected professor, or a fantasy writer teaches a no-nonsense doctor to see the magic around him?

Attraction, friction, and enough sparks to heat up the coldest winter!

Opposites attract under the spell of six different holidays in this collection of contemporary erotic romance stories from author Anne Holly, covering Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day.

Each story reflects the glow and lore of the holiday that inspired it, but the collection is bound together by a single thread – the joy of taking the plunge into sizzling romance.

Yeah, I know, it's got rhetorical questions in it, and many people have already told me I shouldn't have rhetorical questions in my blurb. Yes, that's one of several things I shall be banging my head against as I re-write it.

I'll be refining the blurb over the coming week or two to make it stronger. I'm flipping through Amazon pages like mad, trying to troll for ideas, and haunting my usual tips-for-writers websites. I will continue to hone this blurb into a razor-sharp marketing powerhouse. *ahem*

However, if you follow this blog, you might know this is not my favourite part of writing.

So, if you have any feedback/suggestions/comments whatsoever, I'd be obliged.

I Now Have a Blurb!

As you may already know, I detest the word blurb. A little too bodily-function sounding for my liking. However, I do love having them finalized, so here we go...

My brand new blurb for Textbook Romance!

Chase after love? As a single mother, Professor Liberty Sullivan knows better. Between her flighty mother and a disastrous history with men, she's pretty much soured on the whole concept of romance. Personal freedom and self-reliance are her new guiding mantras. Raising her son and being a career star are the most important things now.

Then she meets Seth.

An ex-cop who’s making a new life for himself and his daughter, Seth Webster has every reason to play it safe. Then he meets Liberty. Prickly about love, following some crazy anti-romance curriculum, she still makes Seth's heart pound. And a lifetime of cop instinct tells him he's about to teach Liberty that this romance will be anything but by the book.

Many thanks to my very friendly and helpful editor Julie. Here's hoping for a cover soon, as well, and we're expecting MS edits to begin shortly!

Eee! I love watching a new book come together.

Summaries, Taglines and Blurbs, Oh My!

I hate writing "blurbs" (I even hate that word), and taglines are deceptively easy looking, but end up being a pain in the arse. How do you write a few lines (or as few as 12 words) to encompass the whole of the work - and be attractive enough to make people examine your book closer?

Now, I have started the habit of making the blurb and the tagline right after I've written the book/story (sometimes during or even before), and fine-tuning it during editing. Because if you wait to do it months later - it's a pain in the butt to recapture that spirit.

Sometimes, doing blurbs and taglines feels embarrassing. You hear the movie-trailer-voice-guy in your head, and it seems so cheesy. If that happens, you might be taking the thing a little too far.

For taglines (important for ads and quick-mentions), you need something catchy, but clear and concise, and something that will key into the main conflicts/themes.

For Strings Attached, I decided on this tagline:

Josie has always brought home strays. Only, this time the stray is an unwilling Australian.

The line is short, and, for romance readers, it has several big hints to the plot: Do-gooder woman and grouchy Australian (and Australian men are always sexy, even if grouchy) who resists her. It has a light-hearted, fuzzy feel to it. It also refers to home, a key theme in the book, and to stray dogs, which is a major symbol. It also eludes to the lonely rootlessness of Theo (the Australian), establishes Josie as the main character (being the one named), and informs the reader the book takes place on her turf. And, I hope, it gives the potential reader an interest in knowing more.

It also ties in to the "back cover" blurb for the book:

“You want to heal me, like one of your stray dogs...” 

When Canadian rancher Josie Sergeant gets a call from her brother announcing his impetuous decision to marry, she has her reservations. But, when her brother’s would-be brother-in-law swoops in from Australia to stop the wedding, Josie has no choice but to defend the family. 

Theo Sabich is bull-headed and dangerously sexy, but also damaged beyond repair… or so he thinks. He enjoys getting on Josie’s nerves, but when he finds her getting under his skin he must decide - face his demons and grab this last chance for happiness or bury himself in his lonely Outback ranch once and for all. 

Under the northern lights, their attraction ignites beyond their control, and Josie finds that a one-time “no strings attached” release of passion is easier said than done when love is hanging by a thread. 

But how will they bridge the difference between two worlds, let alone conquer the wounds of the past and find the courage to live again?

So, I guess I'm learning how to do them, but that doesn't make me like them any more than I did. However, doing blurbs and taglines, and summaries/synopsis, is just something you will always have to do as long as you publish - especially if you're self-publishing or with a small press. There are many forums out there where you can get advice from other writers on your blurbs, which can save you the costs of seeking professional help, but whichever way you go, it pays to have solid ways to explain your book to potential readers, publishers and reviewers.

Good luck!