Nickleback and other musings....

I went to the Nickleback concert the other night. What an awesome, rockin', concert!
The first band, Hinder, I'd never heard of, but they were pretty good. Chevelle came next, did an excellent set, then Hoobastank. Finally, the main event - Nickleback. Cool special effects, seamless, smooth production. Chad sang most of the tunes I wanted to hear, except Next Contestant. This was one of the best shows I've been to in a long time, rude people aside.

Speaking of rude people - There was this woman two rows up from us who appeared wasted and kept standing on her seat, effectively blocking the people behind her and us and the people behind us from seeing the stage. Several people tried asking her to sit down and each time she refused, growing more and more nasty. When we asked her she told us to "Make her". And other things. The people behind us went to security, but nothing happened. So we went to security too. They finally came and got her and took her out. She did come back about half an hour later, and didn't stand on the seat anymore. How clueless is that?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the loooong Labor Day weekend. The heat finally broke here in Texas (for awhile anyway) and we got a bit of rain. I'm starting my next book (not Pack - sorry!) which is a Silhouette Intimate Moments that will be out in October of 2007 (I know, it DOES seem a long way away!) I've done a synopsis for another Pack book and my agent is reviewing that now. I'm hoping to go to contract for two more Nocturnes and one moer Intimate Moments (I just love those books!)

That's it for now. Talk to you later!

Guest Blogger Susan Gable

Hey, here's a great (and timely) article by a fellow writer, Susan Gable.

Save a Writer, Buy a New Book!
By Susan Gable

The recent demise of yet another Harlequin line, this time the kick-butt heroine line Bombshell, got me to thinking, which, as anyone who knows me will tell you is always a dangerous thing. I heard from a number of readers who were surprised by the closing, because they had friends who just "lovedthat line! "I've also heard things like this: "I can't believe they closed that line. I loved that line. I read those books every month at my library."

Before I go any farther with this discussion, I have to offer up adisclaimer. I love libraries. Especially as a child with a voracious appetite for story, I borrowed armloads of books from my local library. Ilove bargains, too. I shop like men hunt or play sports. It's a victorywhen I score a bargain. (New black cocktail dress, originally $79, markeddown to only $16. SCORE!) Used books are great bargains. Swapping books,another great bargain. The new websites on-line, where you can "rent" abook, in a system similar to NetFlix, are also an interesting bargain. Goodgrief, even the airports these days have a program where you can buy a book,read it, then sell it back to them. What a bargain.

But did you realize that those bargains could be putting your favorite lineor your favorite author out of business?It's a difficult, touchy subject for authors to discuss. We don't want to appear anti-used books ('cause we're not -- not entirely, anyway), or make readers think we're money-grubbers, always harping on them to buy our books. We all know (believe me, we KNOW - most writers don't make anywhere close to as much money as people think we do) how tight money can be sometimes,especially with the rising costs of gas and heating fuel, and food, and taxes, and, well, you know. Everything.

We've been known ourselves to sometimes borrow and trade books, or buy used.Or go to the library. But publishing these days is a strictly-by-the-numbers business, which meansif the numbers don't live up to the publisher's expectations, a writer cankiss her slot/line/future contracts good-bye." Where's SoAndSo's latest book? How come she hasn't published another story in that series that I love so much?" If you find yourself asking that question, it could be that your favorite, SoAndSo, got cut loose because the numbers of that last book in the series didn't do as well as the one before that.

How did you get your hands on that last book? Did you buy it new,contributing to the continuation of the series, or did you bargain read it? Bargain reads don't count towards our numbers. Writers, especially those of us at the "lower echelons" of the publishing world, need our readers more than ever. Without you, there would be no point in what we do. (Well, okay, there's a certain satisfaction in telling yourself a story, but it's the audience that makes it truly special. It's a shared dream.) But now, because of the numbers, we need your support even more.Our careers, our lines, even our publishers, live and die by the numbers. So please, where and when you can, save a writer. Buy a new book. We'll all thank you for it. And that way, you'll have more choices of books in the future.

Summer

Hi all ! Once again, I've been away from this blog awhile (too long), but I was busy finishing my next Pack novel for Silhouette Nocturne. I have CRY OF THE WOLF coming out in January 2007 and HEART OF THE WOLF in March 2007. So I've been a busy writer.

I also just got back from the Romance Writers of America National Convention in Atlanta, GA. Though I spent a LOT of time in my hotel room writing, finishing up HEART, the convention was great! Very upbeat, very positive. The Literacy Autographing broke all records, something like $67,000 made. Thanks to all of you who stopped by to see my stuffed wolf and to buy my books - great fun! And the Nocturne ARC signing was powerful - though I wasn't signing, the three authors were mobbed. I heard they went through 100 books in 15 minutes! I saw Leslie Wainger and Tara Gaven, plus Patience Smith (who heads up Intimate Moments, the other line I write for!)

I also got to spend a lot of time with my marvelous agent Lucienne Diver. I made new friends (Hi Stephanie Doyle, who writes for Bombshell and Jennifer Skully who writes for HQN - waving madly.) I also got to reconnect with old friends like Delores Fossent (Intrigue) and Rita Herron, Winnie Griggs, Connie Cox, Beth Corneilson, and many, many more.

When I got back, I felt inspired and energized, as well as exhausted .

Above is a picture of Beth, Lucienne, my darling husband Lonnie, and myself at the Harlequin party. A good time was had by all!!