I Could Use Your Vote!

Textbook Romance is up for "Read of the Month" at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews!

Voting is only open for a short time, so if you've read TR and you'd like to vote, I'd appreciate the support!

For the review TR got at Sizzling earlier this month, click HERE!

(Voting is on the sidebar of the blog.)

Reviews, Interviews and Other Fun Stuff

I'm teaching today, so this will be a brief one. I just wanted to gratefully acknowledge all the good PR I've had recently. It all sort of flew past while I was busy, and I didn't have time to blog about any of it. The tot and I had our flu shots on Friday, so I've been kind of busy whining and trying to force my numb and achy arm to type something. (And I did manage - wait for the NaNo Week 2 update tomorrow!)

Like Magic received two very good reviews recently. Author Siobhan Kinkade seems to have enjoyed it, and JERR gave it five stars and an "O" heat level. Sounds good to me! On Thursday, an awesome blog called The One Hundred Romances Project, which is on a mission to find 100 of the best romances published in 2011, decided my short V-Day was one of them - five stars, and a place on the 100 list, for which I am very honoured.

Right now, I am in possession of the shiny new ARC of Bubbly, for New Years, and I am dying to get someone to review it before the release on Dec 3 - that's the goal, anyway. On top of that, I have about 20 guest posts to write for appearances all through until January.

Today, I'm over at Book Wenches being interviewed, so take a look there if you have a moment.

Sorry for the rather promo-laden post, but I'm blogging on the fly today. Better get used to skimpy - other than the fantastic authors who have volunteered to make appearances, my blog has gone into NaNoWriMo mode. I wish I could promise I'll do better in December, but let's face it - that's megapromo season for a holiday writer. And, after NaNo, I may be dead - or at least pretty tired. But, we'll see, shall we?

Cheers, all!

NaNoWriMo Day 2: Updates and a Live Chat

Well, I have about 300 words so far. Cough.

Don't laugh - I teach on Mondays and Wednesdays, so my usual 1k isn't easy to get in the first couple of days of every week, especially with editing happening at the moment. I hope I can gather some extra steam over the Thurs-Sat stretch. However, I am willing to consider it might not be as easy to do 50k in 30 days while teaching 125 students and caring for a 3.5 year old as it was as a post-degree semi-unemployed mom to a 2.5 year old. Last year, I even managed to finish a few days early. That's not likely (at all) this year, but I'm digging in my heels.

Once revisions on the New Years story are finished (this weekend, no ifs, ands, or buts), I am ready to dive right in there!

I am not disclosing too many details about the NaNo 2011 story, but I think a few tibits might be in order. It is, naturally, a full length novel, a m/f contemporary romance the same as last year. Like last year, the full book will be longer than 50k, so I am using NaNo as just a boot in the tushy to get 50k down in the rough draft. This one involves an ex-children's entertainer turned dissipated playboy. That makes it sound like The Libertine meets The Wiggles, but I do promise there's no syphilis involved.

Anyway, we're off and running, even if it's been an excruciatingly slow start. I have my outline, character studies, break down, etc, done, so I just have to keep plugging away. I'll let you know how it goes.

~*~

In other news, Charity received a nice review recently, as did Like Magic, so I'm pretty happy there.

Also, please join the Decadent Publishing authors, including myself, at The Romance Studios for a live chat TONIGHT (9pm est) - I hear a few books will be given away during the trivia challenge, and the theme for tonight is holiday books! I am looking forward to it, and I promise I will endeavour to stay awake.

See you there, I hope!

There are Bad Days and then there are Really Bad Days

Yet, in all of them there's a little glimpse of okayness.

Monday, I had an awesome day - class went so well I almost floated home. I taught like a natural, the students were engaged, all was fine. Wednesday, however, I was so busy finishing marking and re-checking marks that I barely slept and had to cram in my lecture writing, planning on a light class... And then the lecture was eaten by my office computer before I could print it. And so was the Power Point slide presentation for class. Everything. I had to re-find the YouTube clips I had planned to show from memory, and just wing the lecture. Let's just say it was not a great day.

Thursday, panicking about writing the midterm up in time to meet the deadline for the printers, I wasn't allowed a moment's peace to work. Unexpected intrusion by the landlord, major hassle trying to track down computer-graded exam sheets instructions on the uni website (where no dept is ever called what it actually is any more), and a call from a scammer trying to strong arm me into letting them have remote access to my computer.

Today, I managed to get my exam in, and a lot of other stuff done, and was starting to feel pretty good... until I found a rejection letter in my email for a book of mine. Yes, these things happen, especially when you are trying to get into the bigger companies. I understand that, and am cool with it. It happens. But, when seen in the whole tapestry of crapulent luck I've been having this week, it just makes me laugh at the extreme overkill of this whole "cursed week" thing.

Recently, I've been kind of thinking of rolling back my writing and publishing, due to real life and day job and general fatigue. This seems like a good time to consider that, since I will soon be finished all my current contracts, and have no releases, subs or anything else looming. I might finish the current WIP, just for completeness sake, but a good rest for a couple months or years seems like not such a bad idea. From publishing, that is; likely not from writing. I've got decades left, I hope, to publish, so things will come as they may.

I'm okay with that, too.

However, today I also got a rather favourable review on Like Magic, so, as I said, the week hasn't been all bad.

Anyway, have a great weekend!

Good for the Goose got a Good Review!

Just wanted to share this new review from this month's issue of JERR, page 21:

Good for the Goose is a short story coming in at just 35 pages, but reads like a full sized book. The character development for such a short is extremely well done. I completely got to know Natasha and felt much of what she felt. Ms. Holly has done a great job in telling Natasha’s story and how she transends her despair and grabs at love when she gets the chance. Raphael is a HOT little piece of tail that struts his stuff for Natasha, making him hard for her to resist. The sex in this story was sizzling HOT and fairly well written. The love scenes did seem a little bit stiff, during the actual sex the passion seemed lacking, but still all in all I enjoyed this short story by Ms. Holly and will definitely look for more books from this author. I recommend Good for the Goose for anyone looking for a quick HOT read.

Four stars - not too shabby!

And I like that they gave me good feedback on a weakspot, so I can work on it. They still liked it, though, so that's a WIN, I think!

"Classic Contemporary Romance": New Review of Strings Attached

I got the most lovely review of Strings Attached from The Romance Reviews yesterday.

It's a TRR Top Pick!

I was sitting in the university library, finishing up my course reserve requests, when I decided to take a break and check my email - and there it was! I was so thrilled that I was horrified to find myself alone in a quiet, public place. I did do a little "squee" under my breath, though.

A bit of what they write:

STRINGS ATTACHED snags the readers' attention from the start. Well written with beautifully descriptive scenes and witty dialogue, Ms. Holly spins a tale of hope, redemption and love... Ms Holly's skillful unveiling of the deeper emotional motivations of her main characters had this reader in tears - the good kind that promises hope and happy endings. 

A classic contemporary romance, STRINGS ATTACHED delivers a solid story. Josie and Theo's romance is well worth the read... Theirs is the kind of romance that makes you want to know what happens after "The End"!

I admit, my favourite part might just be the "classic contemporary romance." I like it so much, in fact, it is now a masthead on the book's official website.

Emotional stories, dealing with modern issues and relationships, often dramatic and funny, and always touching. This... it's all I ever wanted to do. Real, old fashioned contemporary romances, the sort I grew up reading.

I couldn't have asked for a nicer compliment!

What's Up in Anne's World?

So, yes, these past four or five weeks, I admit the daily blog thing hasn't been happening. This term, I am teaching two courses, with a total of 160 students, so my time is tight - mixed with my actual writing, my son, my academic and freelance writing, several flus/colds, and general life stuff. Blogging seemed to be a low-maintenance victim to the need to sleep occasionally. I have some hope of things evening out now that a few projects have been beaten into submission, but there's always another project, right?

I very briefly considered getting out of blogging altogether - and, indeed, out of writing fiction for publication, since it (along with the required hours of promotion and networking) seemed to be a full time job in itself, which would make it my third full time gig.

However, I am still around. Actually, I have been fairly productive, just perhaps not in ways that are readily visible at the moment.

So, I would like to share with you some nice news - I have another release coming very soon; a Valentine's Day erotic-romance short, with heavy doses of comedy, called V-Day, which will be released by Wicked Nights on February 11! The cover looks pretty great (see above), and I have to give lots of kudos to the brave folks at Wicked for accepting a book that is... well... Non-traditional is one way to describe it. You'll see when you read it. It's not your common erotic-romance.

V-Day is told through the eyes of a lovesick young man, Daniel, who spends his life in pursuit of musical excellence, hemmed in by his nutty family, who could all use a bit of a break from each other. V-Day is the story of a Valentine's Day weekend he will never, ever forget, where he becomes decidedly un-Daniellike. And it all starts with an impromptu performance of one of my favourite pieces, Beethoven's Romance No 2 in F Major.

Even if I do say so myself, that scene is particularly sweet.

In other news, my novel, Strings Attached (Wild Horse Press) is still planned for release in May 2011, which is fast approaching, at long last - edits and such will continue, and I really hope you like it. Soon, I hope to have another full length ready to submit. And, with V-Day, I am continuing on my planned five story holiday themed series for Wicked, and am already formulating something really grand for St Patrick's Day.

I am also gearing up for some major website revamping over the next little while in anticipation of promoting my full length, so I will be sharing some news about that as the next month or so rolls along.

I also got a few good reviews recently, which really made my day, and I look forward to getting my work out there a bit more, and will really try to do some more guest blogging very soon. Unwrapping Scrooge (Decadent Publishing) got three cups from Coffee Time Romance, and reviewer Patrizia Murray at Manic Readers gave Good for the Goose 4.5 stars out of 5, calling the sexual buildup "mesmerizing" (which I think may be the nicest compliment my writing ever received). These were great boosts for me, and weighed positively in my decision to stay in the ring a bit longer.

As long as people are enjoying my writing, I am glad to keep doing it.

Anyway, so that is what's up around here. My son and I are starting to defeat the random colds and flus, and things are getting back on track. I am so grateful to all the authors who have visited the blog and kept it alive during my radio silence, and I hope you enjoyed meeting some writers, and continue to discover some new favourites through their posts on this blog.

I hope all is well out there, and please stay tuned for more from me as the weeks progress - including new excerpts, trailers and news!

Hugs and kisses,
Anne

A Little Good News

Good for the Goose just got a strong review from Tyhada's Place!

http://tyhadas-place.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-good-for-goose-by-anne-holly.html?zx=8c4c282f6948eb6a

Unwrapping Scrooge Review!

Unwrapping Scrooge was quite affectionately reviewed on the romance/erotica review blog, Tyhada's Bookshelf! The reviewer noted she was looking forward to reading more of my work, and I hope she does! (My first official review! YAY!)

Review can be read here!

***

If you would like a review copy of any of my works (on PDF), please contact me!

Unwrapping Scrooge Reviewed on Must Love Books

A big thank you to Ashlynn Monroe for giving a shout out about how much she enjoyed Unwrapping Scrooge (under its old title) on the BlogTalkRadio show Must Love Books. Ashlynn's guest tonight was publisher-author Stacey Thompson-Geer, owner of Wicked Nights!

I am so thrilled Ashlynn liked the book so much! It's such a kick to hear from readers, be they writers themselves or not, and I hope everyone will let me know how they like my stuff.

You can hear the show here.