Textbook Romance now available in PRINT!

Last Christmas, Decadent Publishing became the first company to publish one of my adult novellas in paper, along with several other authors, in a holiday anthology. That was thrilling, and I am so proud to have that on my shelf.

But, as of today, I now have a novel all of my own in paperback, and I am over the moon!

Please know I mean no slight against ebooks when I say this is a dream come true. When I was a child and began writing my "books," I naturally dreamed of them being in paper form. Things have come a long way since then. (Frankly, though, I knew right away when watching Star Trek: TNG and admiring their little electronic reading devices that that was where literature would wind up, so I'm not surprised by the popularity of the Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc.) I am always pleased when one of my works becomes available to readers with ereading devices, of course. But, somewhere deep inside, a little 12 year old me is jumping up and down right now.

I now have a paperback novel! Like, for reals! Like, one I can send my Mum! (I am really happy, so please pardon the gushing.) I also couldn't be prouder that it is this novel, Textbook Romance, a book I am pleased to present. Aside from my first novel, Strings Attached, this one is closest to my heart.

Take a look at the NEW print edition page right here! I'm pretty sure it will be available on Amazon and B&N, as well, soon, and should also be available at any bookstore that does special orders.

Thank you, Pink Petal Books! You've made a dream come true for me.

HEA Forever?

Ah, the HEA - "happily ever after." According to the Romance Writers of America, this is a cornerstone of romance. They define a romance novel by its:

"...emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

When most people, including myself, refer to "romance novel," this is part of the idea. No matter what happens, you know there will be an HEA at the end. There's a certain R&R aspect to knowing how a book will end, and that it will end happily. This is part of why romances are such a good pastime for busy people. One can settle into it like a warm bath, and embrace the familiarity of it all.

But where, then, do we place non-HEA romance? Is there such a thing? I believe there is. I've read a number of books that I consider romances, yet which don't end happily. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? How many lovers has Nicholas Sparks killed off? Yes, I believe they exist. I know they do. Granted, people who want HEA might not like these romances as much, but I don't think that negates them as romances; they're just a different sort. In film studies, they are often called "melodramas," to distinguish them from "romantic comedies." "Romantic lit," maybe, instead of "genre romance", for our purposes?

Needless to say, I have nothing against HEA, and certainly nothing against traditional romance novels, as anyone who's familiar with this blog knows. Heck, all my books so far have been HEA or at least Happy For Now. (Oh no! Did I just **SPOILER** my entire opus there?)

However, I'm now working on a few projects where I don't know if they will end happily, especially in terms of any relationships therein. I can't guarantee the required HEA with those books, so I've already come to terms with the fact that I will be publishing them as non-romances, even though some of them have romantic aspects or even love stories. Romantic elements, yes. But the HEAs are iffy at best, if HEA allows only for coupling, and not for character development and triumph over adversity. (I.e., if "getting your man" is the only form of happy ending, it's not likely going to happen here.)

Will readers feel ripped off if they perceive me as a "romance writer," and I don't deliver? This is a worry I have, but I'm moving past it. I've decided not to split myself off into a new pen name for these books. I might shift/update some of my "image", but I will be keeping this name for these works. They will still be My Books, and they feel as much a part of me as my romances. I'm disinclined to exile them. Nor can I just shelve everything non-romance, because that wouldn't be satisfying for me.

It's time to test run the whole "brand the writer, not the books" theory of author marketing, I guess. I believe readers are savvy enough to handle this, and I'm okay if my "romance purity" cred slips because of these expansions.

This month, however, my distance from "romance" seems to have grown, somewhat against my will.

The HEA issue has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks due to some new rulings by RWA. As far as I know, RWA has long held that the HEA is definitive of romance as a genre. However, it did have an awards category for works containing a "strong romantic element," which basically means they aren't "traditional romances," but do have enough romance in them to be applicable to their awards and their common readership. Recently, RWA announced that this category would be gone as of 2014. Then, according to reports, they took the further move to clarify that those writers who do not write what they consider to be "real romance" (including HEA) are only eligible for associate membership, at most, leaving them either paying for membership without voting rights, or, well, leaving altogether.

In short, if you don't write romance-focused fiction, with a HEA romance between main characters as your "A Plot", you are not a romance writer, and are therefore ineligible. Oh well, it's their org, and their rules, so it's fair enough.

All it is means to me is that I guess I will never be a member of RWA now.

There have been several reasons why I've been reluctant to part with the money it takes to join RWA, so this is just the "case closed" seal. Other issues I've had included the absence of a convenient local chapter (one of the main things many RWA members love about membership), their stance on ebooks (though I gather that's changing) and non-advance paying publishers, and on erotica, and their often problematic views on LGTBQ fiction (I don't write LGTBQ fiction at present, but I stand with them on issues of equity). The likelihood I would ever attend their annual national shindig is basically nil, as well. It's always seemed to me that it's really an organization for traditional publishing, with agents and advances, and regular category romance through Big Publishers. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you want and where you are heading, but it's not me or my career, and I get plenty of contact with other writers through different means, particularly social media and forums. Why pay steadily increasing dues if I'm not sure it's right for me?

Honestly, I simply resist paying and joining groups unless I feel an affinity with them, and I've not felt affinity with RWA. Now the HEA thing just makes that possibility even more remote. I'm not heartbroken, though RWA was one of those benchmarks I held in mind when I first pictured myself as a romance writer. I've just come to face reality and change, that's all.

So, long story short - with my previous books, you will get an HEA (or HFN, "happily for now"), and I love that. With some of my future books, you might still get an HEA/HFN, when I return to romances. In the meantime, there will be some books that trip out of the genre, and might not be HEA or even HFN.

What was Marge Simpson's line? "It's an ending. That's enough."

And I'm okay with that. I hope you will be, too.

This is not "Goodbye to Romance." It's just a big Hello to other things, as well. But, I do believe it is goodbye to RWA, which I never really said hello to to begin with.

There's Something Special About Paperbacks (and Other News)

I want to be a paperback writer.

I know what you're thinking. We're in the New Age of reading, and eBooks are the way to go, right? That's fair enough. EBooks have opened a lot of doors for a lot of writers, myself included. But I can't help but confess that paperbacks are why I got into this business. I longed to see my name on a spine or two. Last Christmas, I sort of got my wish when Unwrapping Scrooge was included in a paperback anthology from Decadent Publishing. It was thrilling to finally sign something with a real pen. I admit, I felt Accomplished.

Right now, I am looking down the road at two paperbacks - the release of Textbook Romance in paper from Pink Petal Books in September 2012, and the paperback/eBook bundle of my Rebel Ink Press holiday shorts in October 2012. Currently, I am considering cover concepts for the RIP anthology and mulling over titles.

I'm excited.

While I'm not decided on whether I will send my RIP collection to my Mum (they're rather graphic, and, though she's no prude, I am a chicken), I can't wait to send her a copy of Textbook Romance. Sadly Strings Attached never made it to print, so this will be the first novel I've had that I can mail to her.

So, that's my big whirl at present. My teaching term ended with June, and I've been resting up and cleaning/organizing with much of my vacation hours so far, but also preparing for these releases. Soon, I will start looking for promo ops for them, and gearing up the release festivities.

Some musings on the wanderings of muses.

Since I'm among friends, I have to say that I feel these books have some importance to them. I mean, as in Importance to My Life Story kind of importance. Recently, I have been struggling with some Questions. Where am I going? What am I really doing in this business? Some of my answers have been dismal. Many times, I thought to quit. I still do, some days. But, I know something's about to change. Things can't stay this way forever, and these books feel like a milestone.

Over the past year, I've started working on several "Top Secret" projects. No, I'm not bringing down any governments. I've been working outside romance, and outside erotic romance. I've been working on a few different things, including my academic book, and some stories with bittersweet endings, and some with horrifyingly dark corners, ones without romance, a personal story, and one in particular that has consumed much of my thoughts for some time.

Why don't I talk about them here? I guess because it's awkward to discuss "leaving" romance with people who know primarily as defined by my romance.

I have not, and will never, stop loving romance as a reader. I'm not likely to permanently stop writing romance, either. (I have no less than seven romances of various lengths in draft, semi-complete, outline and/or treatment stage, so I do expect to return, eventually.) But, right now, I need to get these other stories off my chest. I need to see if I can do something successful. Something a bit outside my comfort zone.

I'm not going to write anything that will shame me, or betray the ethics, optimism and light I hold dear and have always tried to bring out in my romance works, so have no fears. I'm still Anne Holly - just one trying on some new shoes for a bit.

I would love for you all to join me as I brave the new frontiers, and I will be sharing more about this in the coming months, as I break in those new shoes.

And have no fear - I have a romance all outlined for NaNoWriMo this year! With luck, at least two of those aforementioned projects will be in the can by then, at least in draft form, now that I have a bit of a break from teaching.

One last note before I end this ramble: Some New News.

The Editors at Rebel Ink Press and I have tentatively agreed to include a new story in the collection, which will be exclusive to that bundle/paperback!

Reached by Facebook consensus, the holiday I am tackling is St Patrick's Day, and, like the other stories, it features a miss-matched couple flung together over thew course of a holiday. Also like the other ones, it will be a slight homage to some of the romance subgenres I have loved over the years. This one plays with "single dad," "small town" and "travel romance" tropes, especially those made great by the HQ SuperRomance lines - only, you know, erotic. I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of it!

I'm rusty at it, I find. I hadn't expected to be back writing sizzle and snogging so quickly. But, it's also kind of fun, and I look forward to seeing what becomes of it.

And, for the paperback I've dreamed of for so long, it's totally worth it!

Strings Attached for only $3 at Coffee Time Romance: Sale Ends This Weekend!

How do you relate to a man who doesn’t want you to?

Josie Sergeant has learned one thing by carving out her living from the wilds of the Canadian north: perseverance, optimism and the willingness to do what has to be done can overcome even the harshest of obstacles. Life has taught Theo Sabich, a fellow rancher from Australia, that optimism is a fool’s hope.

When their beloved siblings’ impetuous marriage plans pit Josie and Theo against one another to defend their families, they find more than they bargain for. And when they start seeing each other as more than enemies, they face their greatest challenge – finding the courage to reach out for happiness.

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

Just a little reminder for those of you wishing to save a few bucks on my new full length contemporary romance, Strings Attached, Coffee Time Romance has it as a July sales item, and I believe the sale ends this weekend.

Available in PDF and other formats, it is convertible to Kindle via Caliber. 

Question for You: What Are Your Fav Romance Epubs?

Hi folks!

With Draft 3 of the new novel off to readers, and Draft 4 to follow when I get that feedback, I am currently researching epublishers for the submission phase of the book's strategy for world domination. I have a list of suspects, and am going through them one by one.

So, my question to you this week: What are a few of your favourite romance epubs? Which have you worked with? Which do you buy from? 

Please, comment below, and share some great finds!

eBook Innovation: Disaster Thriller. Short story. German and two English versions in one eBook.

Author solves problem of language choices for eBook readers.

With eBooks crossing international English language borders, Declan Conner has come up with a novel way of overcoming the problem that creates much heated discussion on e-Reader forums.

Declan recently published 12 separate short stories to include both American and UK and Commonwealth translations in one eBook with internal links for the readers to make the choice.

To take this a stage further he has now published one of the stories with three-language choice to include a German translation. The End, or a New Dawn ( Das Ende, oder ein neuer Anfang.)

Declan Conner has released The End, or a New Dawn as an eBook and made it available in all e-Reader formats. Internal links will enable the reader to navigate the story and to make their own choice of language.

His disaster thriller The End, or a New Dawn reached the finals of a competition judged by Harper Collins editors and authors. The story is included in Lunch Break Thrillers, his UK bestselling short story compilation. Inspired by some of the notions in the bestselling book, Chariot of the Gods, by Erich von Daniken, the story is proving to be controversial in that the fictional scenario put forward extends the argument between creationists and evolutionists. At the same time, Declan uses known scientific facts to produce a scary prediction of a future climate disaster of biblical proportion.

Declan is excited about the project and plans to publish his twelve short stories in the same translated format over the next 12 months. He hopes that the eBook will prove popular, not only with readers of the genre, but also for students of German or English as a second language.

In addition to including three version of the story in German, UK and American English, Declan has provided hyperlinks to the articles that inspired the story. These links are intended to provide to ring of validity to his fictional scenario and to enhance the reading experience.

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