Posts Tagged ‘free stuff’

Free ebook of not wicked enough

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

I am giving away (gifting) 20 eBooks of Not Wicked Enough.

How to get one: leave a comment Per the rules below and agree to leave an HONEST review at your eBook vendor.

Rules: No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be 18 or older. I can only gift at US vendors who allow gifting of eBooks and who are selling Not Wicked Enough. (Updated add: the main vendors, Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble and Kobo all allow the purchase of an eBook as a gift. I, personally, do not know what other vendors do, but if your choice allows gifting of eBooks, you’ll be fine!)

Leave your comment by midnight pacific February 16, 2012

Go.

Share

Carolyn Gets Out And About

Monday, February 6th, 2012

I wrote about doorknobs and flaming pencils at this post at Heroes & Heartbreakers.  Check it out and, hey, leave a comment so I don’t feel like a douf.

Over here at Free Book Friday there are 5 copies of Not Wicked Enough up for grabs. You have until Friday to get in the running!

Another giveway at The Girlfriend’s Bookclub, where I compile a handy list of paper vs. plastic: That’s paper books vs. Digital books…

10 copies up for grabs at Heroes & Heartbreakers! <-- Updated Link!!

 

There will be more release celebration stuff so stay tuned!

 

Share

Carolyn’s December Extravaganza! Win Stuff. And Stuff.

Friday, December 4th, 2009

It’s the holidays and I’m in a giving mood.

So, here’s what I’m giving out today.

Three (3) copies of Veronica Wolff’s Lord of the Highlands. Signed. Did I mention they’re signed by the author herself?

What’s the book about you ask? Well, I decided to interview the book to find out.

Yours Truly: Hi and welcome to my blog. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to find out what you’re about. Can you describe yourself?

Lord of the Highlands: Thanks so much for having the three of us here. //riffling of pages//

YT: Pick a representative to speak, OK, it’s hard to understand you when you all talk at once.

LotH: Only time and a woman’s love can liberate him.

YT: Oh, that sounds good. Say, what do you look like?

LotH: Cover of Lord of The Highlands by Veronica Wolff

YT: Wow. You’re kind of hot. Is that sword heavy?

LotH #1: Yes. Did you know Veronica Wolff’s Scotsmen are pure temptation — USA Today bestselling author Sandra Hill. ?

LotH #2: He was her one true love. He just lived in another century.

YT: Just like Alexander Skarsgard is my One True Love. Only he doesn’t live in another century. He lives in Los Angeles, which is worse.

LotH #3: An online dating service may have pronounced Felicity "unmatchable" but she’s determined– and destined– to find her perfect mate. All it takes is a mystical deck of Tarot cards to put her dreams to the test.??

YT: I think that dating service was wrong about– oh. You mean the heroine of the story? OK. Hmm. So what happened with the Tarot cards?

LotH #1: Light a candle. Choose a card. And old Scotland is only a wish away. . .

YT: OK, just a sec. schwippppp. Is vanilla scented OK?

LotH 1,2 and 3: pages riffling

YT: Well hold on. I don’t like that card. Wait. Right. Got one. The Knight of Pentacles. Ooh, armor. Now what?

LotH #1: Scarred by betrayal, Will Rollo lives to defend the monarchy against traitors. . . and he rides alone.

YT: Hey, just like the Knight of Pentalces!

LotH #1: The last thing he needs to contend with is a love-struck woman. So when Felicity appears, spirited by magic, Rollo’s determined to crush all tender feelings for her. But as passion binds them in a dark era, where witchcraft is punishable by death, Rollo must make a daring choice: send Felicity back to her own time, or endanger both their lives.

YT: I have a really great idea. I’m going over to random.org and getting a number between 1 and 324. When I get back, you guys tell me the first sentence of that page.

LotH 1-3: silence

YT: 190.

LotH #2: Chapter 23.

YT: OK. Two sentences.

LotH #3: The feel of the minister’s hand repulsed her.

YT: Ooh. A bad guy! Let’s do that again!

LotH #3: Very loud page riffling

LotH #2: A man alone is no man.

LotH #1: Thank you for having us in your lovely home even though the inside of your bag is very dark. And your desk is very dusty. We are looking for new homes now. Can you help us?

YT: Yes, I can.

Dear blog readers, please leave a comment about what you like about Scotland or would probably like if you were there. Or make something up. Three of you will win a signed copy of this book. Leave me a way to contact you or check back soon to see if you won.

ETA: This post is now closed to comments since a winner has been declared!

Share

Interview with Meljean Brook — Plus a Contest!

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Photo of Author Meljean BrookWoot!! Meljean Brook is here! In case you don’t know, Meljean’s book Demon Forged hit bookstores the same day as Indiscreet. What you may also not know is that there is a character in Indiscreet whose last name, by a huge, amazing coincidence, has the last time Brook. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Hah. I was desperate for a name for this guy, and there was Meljean’s book. . . Brook. That name is teh awesome! said I. So I stole her name. It’s in my book now. Forever.

Meljean writes the awesome Guardian series, and if you like paranormal I really do urge you to read her books if you haven’t already started. I love this series. I really really do.

Read on to the end of this post to find out how you can, if you’re really clever, get yourself in a position to win a signed copy of Indiscreet AND Demon Forged.

Demon Forged, by the way, was a Romantic Times Top Pick, so you know it’s good. (Hoo boy is it!)
Cover of Demon Forged by Meljean Brook

Carolyn Interrogates Meljean

1. Thinking back to yourself at, say, five years old, were there any clues then that you’d end up writing novels? If so, what were they? When did you know you had the writing bug?

At five, definitely not. By sixth grade, though, I was reading constantly and making up my own stories. Most of them remained in my head, though I scribbled out ideas and scenes. By eighth grade, I was practicing my pseudonym autograph all over my notebook covers (it looks almost exactly the same as it does today.)

For a long time, though, it wasn’t something I seriously pursued. I wrote all of the time, but I didn’t think of it in terms of: I’m going to be published and make a living this way. I just really enjoyed writing, and I especially enjoyed writing the kinds of things that I loved reading. After a while, though, and a few trips through other (sensible) career choices, I decided: I’m going to try to do this. And then I got a little unexpected help in that area, and actually did it.

2. Regarding your fan fiction, can you talk a little bit about how, why, when and how long you were writing it?

As I mentioned above, I’d been fiddling with stories for a long time. I’d already noticed that I had a tendency to include romance and fantasy elements in my work, but I didn’t really finish anything. I’d have great ideas that just petered out along the way. For a long time, this didn’t bother me, because I was just having fun … but then it started irritating me more and more. I wanted to write a romance (not as a career yet, but just to write it) but I knew I needed to finish it. But something just wasn’t clicking.

And at the same time, I was in college, and the writing was kind of a side-thing. So were comic books, and reading fanfiction. And it just happened that I read a fanfic that inspired me, and I became obsessed with a certain couple — Batman and Wonder Woman — and so I wrote a chapter in a fanfic romance. Then another. And I said to myself: This is it. This is where we find out if you can finish a novel-length story. It took me a couple of months, but I did … and I loved not just the story, but the process. So I wrote another fic, and another, for about two years.

But I realized I wasn’t satisfied with writing these characters anymore, because I’d begun writing mostly alternate universe fics (where the characters are different versions of Batman and Wonder Woman — alternate timelines, different worlds, etc). I still had a lot of BM/WW stories to tell, but I wanted to start writing my own characters. I also decided that I was going to finish the story, and submit it, and work toward being published. So I began altering and expanding on of the alternate universe fanfics, and that eventually morphed into the Guardian series.

And in what might have been the luckiest moment of my life, my fanfic caught the eye of my editor, who was a BM/WW fan. She asked if I had anything original to submit at the time I was working on what would become Demon Angel. That story wasn’t strong enough yet for a contract, but she offered me a spot in the Hot Spell anthology.

3. Your style of story telling reminds me of some of the Epic Fantasy writers, whose complex characterizations unfold with such incredible richness. Is this a deliberate choice or is it just the way it works for you?

It’s both, I think. The simple answer is that it’s just the way it works for me — it’s the way my style and my voice just are. But it’s also a choice as I’m writing. I love to peel away the layers, I love characters with complexity, who aren’t easily defined. I love digging into them, and hurting them, and making them laugh and love. Plus, this is romance, and love is rarely simple — so I do my best to show every side of a character, so that I am convinced (and hopefully the reader is, too) that the love is deep, and true, and will truly last an eternity.

4. How the heck did you come up with the idea of someone who looks in a mirror and sees Hell instead of his face? (Colin from Demon Angel) And a blacksmith/metalworker heroine (Irena in Demon Forged) explain that one, too.

For Colin, it was a combination of playing off of the classic "vampires can’t see themselves in a mirror" myth, and me trying to think of the absolute worst thing that I could do to him. He’s incredibly vain, so not seeing his reflection might have been enough — but throwing in a curse and making him uncertain about whether the hell that he sees is a reflection of his soul (until he discovers the truth and learns that he’s just seeing another realm)? Ah, the pain. It’s delicious. And it adds another dimension to his vanity, one that makes his character a little more sympathetic, and ties into the plot of the books. It was just one of those ideas that started out very small (me, wondering whether I should let vampires see their reflection) and just worked on several levels.

Irena’s character began in a similar way: just a tiny idea that grew into something bigger. In Demon Night, I introduced her, but didn’t even mention her by name. She creates a little metal piano for Charlie (which was more about Charlie at that point than Irena), and Charlie describes her as, "a hard-edged female." And that was it.

But I knew I wanted to use this character, I knew she was going to be important in the series (I knew I was going to need a female character who fills the role that Irena eventually takes in Demon Forged) so I began developing her backstory. Once I did, the pieces just fell into place, and much like Colin’s curse, her Gift played into both her character and the plot on several levels. I ended up making her into exactly what I needed from that one tiny line in Demon Night.

5. Since we’re on the subject of Demon Forged, can you talk a little bit about the ideas and characters of the book? Have you had them bumping around in your head for a while?

To answer the second question first: Yes and no. In this series, I have a general outline of Where I Am Going and What Needs To Happen On The Way, but I don’t have a habit of introducing or creating future heroes and heroines before I need them (with a few exceptions, like Michael). So I am usually about two books ahead when I begin deciding who is going to do what, and how they are going to do it. My process of creating Irena is a good example — I’ve known from the beginning that I need someone to [avoiding spoilers] do what she does at the end of Demon Forged. I had a vague idea of what kind of a character could do it. And so I’ll begin to shape the character as I go along, and I might begin to define and refine that shape in the books that come before hers — so in that sense, they are in my head for a while, but not from the beginning of the series. Irena wasn’t in my head at all as a character when I was writing Demon Angel, for example; there was just a Female Who Fulfills This Role Eventually blank to fill in.

And I think Irena filled that blank spectacularly. She’s one of my favorites so far — a sixteen-hundred-year-old former Roman slave turned Guardian, who has a Gift to manipulate metal, who is rough around the edges and blunt to a fault.

Then there’s Alejandro, who is essentially her opposite: subtle, quiet, and with an aristocratic background. No, actually — "opposite" is probably the wrong word. He’s her complement. What she isn’t, he is, and so although this makes for some wonderful tension and friction, they fit together wonderfully.

6. If you had a bazillion dollars, what would you get me? What would you buy your daughter?

I’d scour the world for a man who looks like Michael, pay for his wings to be surgically implanted, and then airlift him to your doorstep. Or, you know, just a drink at RWA, because I think that would be awesome to hang out.

I’d probably buy a bunch of plane tickets for my daughter, so that we could travel together. But she’d rather receive a pink unicorn doll or, "a dress with rainbows and stars and hearts on it, and rainbow socks, and sparkly heart shoes, and a ribbon with rainbow colors."

7. You write the most amazing, strong heroines. Please explain how you go about creating your heroines. The more detail the better because I need tips.

Pffft. I’ve read your heroines. You don’t need tips.

But it’s basically just starting with an idea, even a stereotype — a heroine who is a demon, a geek, a recovering alcoholic, a Victorian-type of lady — and then piling on the layers. I think that when the book is finished, it probably reads like I’ve been peeling away layers, but it’s really just a matter of piling them on as I go and then digging into them.

So for Irena, I had my basic idea, and then I had to make a decision which adds kind of a shallow layer: She’s angry.

Then I have to ask: Why is she angry?

And the answer might be as simple as: Because a demon hurt her.

But then it’s: But why did that affect her so deeply?

And that’s where I get to the fun stuff with my characters. It’s not just knowing what happened to them, because everyone has crappy things happen — but some things, we can shrug off more easily than others. So it’s figuring out why it matters so much. What did that demon touch inside her that all of the demons she fought and killed before didn’t?

When I hit that, it informs so much in the story: her character, of course, but also how she interacts with other characters, how she views the world, what issues she has to overcome or address when she falls in love, how and who she trusts … and so even though I have plot points that I have to hit in this series, that I would have made happen no matter what character ended up being the heroine in that book, the way that the character approaches that plot point is so personal, it feels organic rather than just: Okay, this is where Some Random Female Fights A Dragon. At that point, it’s not just about getting my series from point F to point G — it’s about Irena winning, and how she wins, and what it means to her.

At least that’s how I hope it works.

8. Just why do you love Wonder Woman so much?

I can’t deny that some of it is nostalgia. I loved Wonder Woman in Superfriends and I loved Lynda Carter’s show, and so the character holds a special place in my little-girl heart.

But I know it’s more than that. Part of it is that I’ve always been drawn to female superheroes and strong female characters on TV — Charlie’s Angels, the Bionic Woman, Firestar in the Spider-Man cartoon, Diana in V (even more than Julie, the heroine of the series), just to start. Why am I drawn to them? I couldn’t say. But I do know that Wonder Woman seemed to represent the best and the strongest of them all.

So I think it’s fair to say that for a long time, it was just that she represented something. It wasn’t the character herself. But then I began reading comic books, and found more there to love. The idea that she will fight, but first she’ll try to find a way to solve problems without violence. That she’s not about making people better, but about people making themselves better … whatever "better" means. Which, when written down, sounds really corny — but I also think it’s something that resonates with me. I’m like Mulder, I guess: I want to believe. Not believe that Wonder Woman is real, but that whatever she represents can be.

Then again, maybe it’s no more corny that believing that romantic love can be a powerful, transformative, wonderful, complicated, and GOOD thing, and writing a series of books exploring that idea.

But it’s not just feelings and ideas — she’s had some kickass stories, too. There’s a great series on livejournal that talks about them: When Wondy Was Awesome (http://bluefall.insanejournal.com/13190.html#cutid1) by bluefall. I don’t agree with everything bluefall has to say about the character and her adventures, but I do a lot of it.

9. Complete this sentence: Michael belongs to Carolyn because . . . If you can’t explain (or won’t because it’s just so obvious) then can you tell us about how his character evolves through the series? Any hints about what happens to him and when his book is coming up?

Michael belongs to Carolyn because … I’m afraid of being hurt if I say he doesn’t.

Ha, I love questions about Michael, because I just can’t answer a lot of them. Michael is a difficult character to write because he’s SO old, and he’s so powerful, and he’s seen so much … and yet I have to imagine all of that and what it would be like. So as much as I love his character, I also recognize that he’s kind of unknowable … and that I’m going to have to make him knowable in order for his romance to work. So, to that end, I’m completely destroying him (so that I can show what he’s made of when I put him back together.)

…and that’s all I can say about that.

His book has always been planned as the last book, and I’ve known who his heroine is since Demon Angel. His book should be the eighth full-length book, which is only three away: first is Demon Blood, then another untitled Guardian book which will feature a h/h from Demon Blood, and then Michael’s book.

10. What else are you working on? I understand you have a Steampunk book coming out.

The steampunk series is something that has been germinating since I first submitted my Demon Angel manuscript to my editor. If she didn’t like that, I was going to write a steampunk proposal. So that’s been in the back of my mind for years now, and so last year, the chance came up to propose it again. I pitched it as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen meets The Pirates of the Caribbean, called it the Iron Seas series, and my editor gave me the go-ahead.

The pitch isn’t accurate, although the basic elements are there: There are pirates, and there’s an alternate Victorian atmosphere with clockwork and steam-based technology. There’s also giant squid, nanotech, zombies, dirigibles, and some sexy, sexy times.

And I love writing it. I don’t have a release date yet for the first novel, The Iron Duke, but the first novella will be coming out in August 2010, in the anthology BURNING UP, with Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, and Virginia Kantra. Huge, huge fun.

The Contest Low Down

For a chance to win a signed copy of Meljean’s Demon Forged, all you have to do is leave a comment. If you want to add in something about why Michael belongs to me, that would make me feel happy, but not affect the chances of your being the winner, who will be randomly chosen on Friday, October 23. If you don’t leave me a way to contact me, then check back here Friday or Saturday to see if you won.

For a chance to win a signed copy of Indiscreet, head on over to Meljean’s blog. I’m over there today where I’m sure she’s being super nice to me.

Share

Guest Post by Patti O’Shea – With Book Give Away!

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Today, I’m thrilled to have the fabulous Patti O’Shea here to talk about her new novel Edge of Dawn, the subject of deleted scenes (I’m interested in your thoughts on this subject, too) and, yay! giving away a copy of the first book in her Gineal series, In the Midnight Hour. This is a great series, so if you haven’t read it yet, here’s your chance!

Let us both know your thoughts in the comments.

Also, if you don’t leave a way to contact you via your comment profile or leaving an email address, then please commit to checking back on or before Monday, July 6 to see if you’re the winner of Patti’s book.

Take it away, Patti!

Cover of Edge of Dawn by Patti O'SheaBefore I get started, I want to announce that to celebrate the June 30th release of EDGE OF DAWN, I’m giving away a copy of IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, the first book in my Light Warriors series. A winner will be randomly drawn from all those who leave a comment.

I was having a hard time coming up with blog topics, so I put the question out on Twitter: What would you like to see an author talk about? Among the responses was the suggestion that I discuss scenes that were deleted from EDGE OF DAWN. Cool, I thought! It’s like DVD extras, but for my book!

There were two scenes that immediately came to mind, but for this blog to make sense, I need to explain. I write paranormal action/adventure romance and my current series is about a society of magic users and more specifically the troubleshooters whose job it is to fight demons and other evil beings. The Gineal remain hidden from humans, but work to keep us safe just the same. Logan, the hero in EDGE OF DAWN, is one of these troubleshooters and he’s assigned to protect a woman, Shona, who doesn’t know she has suppressed magical abilities. His bosses want it to stay that way, too.

But back to the two deleted scenes. The first was the original opening where Logan is at a Sunday barbecue at his parents’ house, and during dinner, he gets a call-out to fight a dark-force creature. I had this scene partially written, but abandoned it because 1) it was boring. Sure, I enjoyed watching Logan’s interaction with his brother, sisters, and parents, but no one else was going to share my fascination. 2) the call-out part of the scene was repetitive for people who’d read the other Light Warrior books. Maybe most wouldn’t remember, but some readers would and I knew I was repeating myself. I hate to do that.

The second scene that isn’t in the book was never written, but I had it playing in my head for most of the period in which I was writing the book. I imagined it would come later in the story, when Logan was emotionally committed to Shona even if he wasn’t aware of it yet. I saw him bringing Shona home to meet his family and their interaction with her. I saw how protective he was of her, but his family was welcoming. And they were curious because Logan had never brought any other woman home.

Again, it was more family dynamic stuff, but I think I could have made that aspect of the scene work. Why did I opt not to write it? There were a few reasons. The biggest was the timing in the book–it just never fit in anywhere. The other reasons were logistical. Logan is supposed to keep the fact he can do magic a secret from Shona, so he can’t use his transit spell to bring them from Seattle to Chicago in a matter of seconds and a plane ride means more than just one Sunday dinner. Having them spend a weekend in Illinois would bring the suspense to a screeching halt. It would be like yelling “time out” in the middle of the book.

You might have guessed from reading this post that I’m really into the relationship between my characters. I’m always fascinated by the male/female pull between my hero and heroine, but in EDGE OF DAWN, I also found myself held rapt by Logan’s family and how they all related to each other–which is probably why I wanted to write so many scenes exploring this. But it was Logan’s ties to his twin, Kel, that grabbed me hardest and wouldn’t let go.

Logan only has a few scenes with Kel and only mentions him a couple of times, but wow, I was hooked fast. There was love, and worry, and frustration, and teamwork, and all this other good stuff. These two are close, but much to Logan’s frustration, Kel is trying to put distance between them and he doesn’t know why. It seemed natural that when I finished Logan’s story, I started Kel’s. And this was fascinating, too–I was able to see the family dynamics from a different perspective. Fun for me!

BTW, just so you know, I did sneak in a family barbecue scene, but put it in the epilogue where it doesn’t slow down the pace of the story.

So let me ask y’all a question. Keeping in mind that most authors (okay, I mean me) cut scenes because they don’t work, do you like to see those deleted scenes on their websites? Are there any other things you particularly like to see on writers’ sites about a book or its characters?

Share

Ooh, Contests and Interviews!

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

I’m interviewed at Morbid Romantic where you can also enter a contest to win a copy of My Forbidden Desire.

Participating Sites:

Share

Quick Catch Up on The Blogging Silence

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

My editor sent on the Revisions for Indiscreet and I am in the middle of them now, head down, fixing as fast as I can. Oh, and I injured my hand and for three days was in an exquisite amount of pain and having a lot of trouble just typing…

It’s been ugly folks.

In fun news, don’t forget to leave your comment in the post below so you can maybe win a free book! See post for details. You have until 4/10/2009. Go. Enter.

In other fun news, since my birthday is this month, I am going to cook up some fun stuff for us to do to celebrate my big day. Stay tuned. Fun stuff!!!

Speaking of cooking, my son has to make aioli for his French class. We followed the Joy of Cooking recipe yesterday and didn’t even get defeated mayonnaise which, apparently, is what happens to losers who can’t make aoili. We got soup.

It was a really really embarrassing cooking failure. Today we tried again. I took the liberty of stopping at Trader Joe’s on the way home to buy aioli (mustard) as the Death Star Aioli Back up Plan. It’s what Darth Vader would have done. Right? Cause he was like evil and stuff.

Soccer Boy and I agreed failure was not an option, as passing off Trader Joe’s Aoili mustard as something home made was… well…. cheating. But still. I just couldn’t see facing the humiliation of sending him to French class with a mason jar of failed aioli soup.

We started off correcting the known mistakes from yesterday. I had good olive oil, brand new. We need a freaking pair of pliers to get the damn olive oil open! Then I started freaking and made my son look up tips for fixing failed aioli on his iPhone which led us to a couple of recipes that contained better instructions than Joy of Cooking and well…

voila!

The aioli came out fantastique!

I am so proud.

Off to revise.

Share

Interview with Brenda Janowitz

Monday, January 5th, 2009

There’s a book give away with this one, so read on for instructions for a chance to win a copy of Brenda’s book, Jack With a Twist.

Brenda Janowitz

Photo of author Brenda Janowitz A native New Yorker, Brenda Janowitz has had a flair for all things dramatic since she played the title role in her third grade production of Really Rosie. When asked by her grandmother if the experience made her want to be an actress when she grew up, Brenda responded, "An actress? No. A writer, maybe."

Brenda attended Cornell University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Service Studies, with a Concentration in Race and Discrimination. After graduating from Cornell, she attended Hofstra Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review and won the Law Review Writing Competition. Upon graduation from Hofstra, she went to work for the law firm Kaye Scholer, LLP, where she was an associate in the Intellectual Property group, handling cases in the areas of trademark, anti-trust, internet, and false advertising. Brenda later left Kaye Scholer to pursue a federal clerkship with the Honorable Marilyn Dolan Go, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

Since her clerkship, Brenda has worked as a career counselor at two New York City law schools, where she published a number of articles on career related issues in publications such as the National Law Journal and the New York Law Journal. She currently lives in New York with her husband.

Brenda is the author of JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don’t teach you in law school) and SCOT ON THE ROCKS (How I survived my ex-boyfriend’s wedding with my dignity ever so slightly intact), as well as the short story BASED ON A TRUE STORY. You can learn more about Brenda at www.brendajanowitz.com and check out her blog at www.brendajanowitz.blogspot.com.

About JACK WITH A TWIST

Cover of Jack With a Twist by Brenda Janowitz
Planning a wedding can be a trying experience. . .

A little prewedding anxiety is normal for every bride, and Manhattan attorney Brooke Miller isn’t worried. She’s got the loving support of the world’s greatest guy, so planning her nuptials should be a piece of cake.

But that was yesterday.

Today, Brooke’s landed her first big case and has just discovered that the opposing attorney is none other than her fiancé, Jack. But that’s okay. These two professionals aren’t going to let a little courtroom sparring get their legal briefs in a bunch. . . Right? Wrong! Now Jack’s pulling every dirty trick in the law books, and Brooke’s starting to suspect that maybe he isn’t the man she thought he was. Warring with her fianc at work and at home, Brooke realizes that she’ll have to choose between the case of her life, or actually having a life.

The Interview

Tell me a little bit about the book

JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they dont teach you in law school) is the story of Manhattan attorney Brooke Miller, who plans the wedding of her dreams, all while litigating the biggest case of her career. . . . which just so happens to be against her perfect fiancé. Hilarity ensues. Really. Marian Keyes called it "a funny, sweet romance" and Carole Matthews said it was "[a]nother fun-filled page-turner from Brenda." Ironically, I wrote JACK before even getting engaged myself!

If your protagonist were to wake up one day with a super power, what would that super power be?

Brooke would definitely want to read the minds of men. After all of the heartbreak shes been through, shed absolutely want to know

Would your villain (or antagonist) prefer to be Emperor Ming The Merciless or Darth Vader? Why?

My villain is a Southern Belle who really would have no clue who either of those guys are! But more importantly, she doesnt really think shes a villain at allshe thinks shes just one of the girls. Little does she know that everyone hates her. . . . Shes just the classic misunderstood bad guy (or girl, as the case may be).

But since Im a huge Star Wars lover, can I say that I, myself, would prefer to be Darth?! I live in New York City, so I often find myself wearing all black.

If you were in charge of casting the movie adaptation of your book, who gets the call?

What a fun question! Id love Drew Barrymore for Brooke, and Fran Drescher as her mom. For Jack, I could see a lot of my Hollywood crushes playing the part: Adam Sandler, Jack Black, or Paul Rudd would be perfect. (Yes, I like me a funny guy.)

Do you have a sample chapter posted?

I love free stuff, so I am all about the sample chapters! Ive got sample chapters of both of my novels here: http://www.brendajanowitz.com/excerpts.html.

Speaking of Free Stuff!

All you have to do for a chance to win a copy of Brenda’s book is leave a comment by Monday, January 12. If you post anonymously, you’re going to have to either leave an email (a format of something AT domain.com is fine and should defeat email harvesters, though I can’t promise that) or remember to check back by Tuesday January 13 to see if you’re the winner.

Share

Thoughts on Freebies

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Today I was at a Microsoft product launch in San Francisco. I now have some idea of what SQL Server 2008 has to offer (a lot it seems) and some expensive software; Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 — latest release candidate (kind of like an ARC), and Windows Vista SP1. All free.

Why give away very, very expensive software? (SQL Server is typically $10-19,000, depending on how you license it. Can be cheaper, but not a wise choice in the Enterprise.) Well, because the kind of people who go to such events are typically the very people who will show their comrades in geekdom the cool stuff they can do. And they will tell their friends they have Vista. Probably a very good investment. It will lead to more sales down the road.

So, writers do have giveaways. But do they do enough, and do they (we) give away the right stuff? I have all these ARCs. Should I be giving them away to readers or reviewers?

All righty, I’m tired because I had to go to SFO and back today. But, then, I was right down the street from the Marriot where RWA will be, and I can tell you, it’s going to be totally awesome there. I remember in NYC, downtown Manhattan was SHUT DOWN over the weekend. DEAD. This will not be the case in San Francisco. That city is hopping with fun stuff to do within easy walking distance.

I managed to get Xia back to 69K even thought I deleted a lot tonight.

off to bed.

Who wants an ARC and what are you willing to do for one? Email me. Or leave a comment.

Share

Time’s A Wasting!

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006


The Shards of Crimson release date is fast approaching. If you haven’t entered the contest to win ALL the stuff you see in this picture, you’re running out of time.
So what is this cool stuff? No insulting the photographer please. I admit my shortcomings. The picture on my website is bigger in case you want to go there to see more not to mention enter right away! including, cool, awesome tattoos (the two flowery looking things on the white cards, those are the tattoos) The mug, the stakes. Gosh, my photo doesn’t do the prizes justice at all.

So, as I say to my son, stop dawdling! Enter to Win!

Share