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Friday, September 25, 2009A Better Time For Books??
2008 numbers are in from Bowker, which reports that although production of news and revised titles fell 3%, on-demand and shorter run books grew by 132%, which is good news for writers in the e-realm. Along with the news from Bowker are earnings reports for the first quarter of 2009 from Barnes & Noble (4% decrease is sales), Books-A-Million (2% sales increase) and Borders (12% decrease in sales). Although this isn't great news, it's interesting to note that Barnes & Noble had originally predicted that sales would be down as much as 10%.
Am I sounding too much like a typical reporter? Yeah, I thought so, too, but it's hard to not sound like a reporter when you're reporting statistics!
Overall, I'd say that these numbers are just another hint that books (romance, sci-fi and literature) are still selling, which is great news for all of us authors, both the published and the unpublished. As I was looking up the numbers, I realized something - I haven't stopped buying books at all. Not even a little bit of a decrease, despite all of the sky-is-falling warnings about the economy and the state of things globally.
And that made me wonder - have any of you stopped buying books? Or is that one 'extra' that you feel is a good investment?
Posted By: Kristina Knight @ 4:26:45 PMTop
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Friday, September 18, 2009More On Alphas - Bad Boys, Swashbucklers and Charmers - Oh, My!
Hey everyone! I'm back with more on Alphas. Yes, I'm a day-ish late...a late summer flu/cold has sidelined me the past couple of days. But I'm back - still coughing, still medicating and still with no voice. But I'm coherant enough to blog - at least I hope so.
Why have I coupled these three Alphas - which are not exactly interchangeable - into one post? Because, to me, Bad Boys, Swashbucklers and Charmers have a few things in common...and an Alpha Bad Boy can also be a Charmer and a Swashbuckler (think Matthew McConoughy in Fool's Gold or Sahara). First, though, what is a Bad Boy, a Swashbuckler and a Charmer?
A Bad Boy, according to Tami Cowden, is a rebel. He's tough, street smart and just a little bit volatile about his 'badness'. Maybe he had a rough upbringing, maybe he led a privileged life but is misunderstood. Maybe. Maybe. He's also charismatic and has a charming side once he meets Ms. Right.
Next, the Swashbuckler. He likes danger (as does the Bad Boy), he's always up for an adventure and is a daredevil. All traits that our Bad Boys can have in the right situations. Think Indiana Jones or Jack from Romancing the Stone (you knew I couldn't leave Romancing the Stone out, didn't you?).
Finally, the Charmer. This hero is fun, smooth and not given to too much responsibility (see our Bad Boy in this?). He likes his uncommitted life right up to the moment that Ms. Right walks in his door. He's charasmatic (like the Bad Boy) he likes adventure (like the Swashbuckler) but would probably rather bungee jump for fun rather than jump off a cliff to escape the bad guys.
The key to these three archetypes, which aren't interchangeable but can feed off of one another, is to fully develop them. As with all Alphas. A Bad Boy can't be a 'rebel without a clue'; he needs to have reasons for wanting to rebel or for not wanting to work within the constraints of society. Our Swashbuckler can be an adrenaline junkie, but what really drives him is his code. Whether he wants to put antiquities in a museum for all to see or is trying to make his fortune, he has reasons for jumping into the fray. And our Charmer isn't just trying to get into Ms. Right's pants - although he likes her pants! He wants more from life, but isn't ready to fully commit - or admit - that there might be more than his playboy ways.
Next time, more on Alphas - including Warriors, Best Friends, Lost Souls and Professors!
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009Remembering Alpha Male Patrick Swayze
I was going to delay the beginning of my blog series on Alpha Male Romance Heros this week after hearing about the death of Patrick Swayze. Why? Because I'd planned to use his roles in films such as Red Dawn, The Outsiders, Roadhouse and even Ghost as examples of the Alpha Male - Chief 
persona exemplified in our novels. So I was going to hold off and not start the series. And then I thought about it some more and decided to plunge on. Because remembering the roles in which Patrick touched our lives is a good way to remember the man, too.
The screen legend wasn't so much a Hollywood insider as he was a guy doing his job - a job he loved. Patrick never seemed to let his fame go to his head. Sure he was a sex-god in the 1980's and he had killer roles throughout the 90's as well, but his most important role seemed to me to be the role of husband and lover to his wife. His face lit up every time she was mentioned. He held her hand as if his life depended up on it on every red carpet and when he spoke of her you could see love for her shining from his eyes. That is what the kind of love every romance reader is hoping to find - in real life and in the pages of her books. So I decided to push on and start the Alpha Male Series with today's installment: Patrick Swayze - The Chief.
In Romance novels, The Chief is the in-charge guy. He's the CEO, the prince, the Navy SEAL Lieutenant. The man expected to lead everyone, to solve all problems and to make everything right again. The problem? The Chief steps on toes, isn't open to discussion and feels that his way is the right way - get on board or get off.
We see this clearly through Patrick's roles in Roadhouse, Red Dawn and The Outsiders. We also see it in Ghost, although in a slightly different way. In Ghost, Patrick's Chief is dead and that has caused him to see the light, so to speak. It takes him a while to get there, though. Remember the subway scene? He can't kick the can until he admits to himself that he's powerless. This is a huge step because this is what causes him to really see the hurt and anguish he's caused to Molly. It takes him the entire movie, though, to really admit to her how much he loves her, how much he cares for her and how much he regrets the actions of the past.
This is what we must be careful to show when writing The Chief. He will never be the mushy, gushy, tell all his problems kind of guy. Even after the heroine melts the ice surrounding his heart and helps him with his baggage, he'll still present a solid, cold exterior to the world at large. As writers we need to walk the line, though, showing his baggage and issues throughout the book, the reasons for said baggage and the ways he is choosing to correct or change his life to lead a more full life in the future.
Tomorrow, more on Alpha Males - including Bad Boys and Swashbucklers!
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Thursday, August 27, 2009An Industry Update
Snagged from Publisher's Lunch ... I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you're not already subscribed to them do it now. A ton of great information available at your fingertips!
The Key
"nice deal" $1 - $49,000, "very nice deal" $50,000 - $99,000, "good deal" $100,000 - $250,000, "significant deal" $251,000 - $499,000, "major deal" $500,000 and up
FICTION
Women's/Romance
RWA Golden Heart winner Darynda Jones' FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT and two subsequent novels featuring a heroine who is a private investigator and has a side job as a grim reaper, to Jennifer Enderlin at St. Martin's, in a pre-empt, by Alexandra Machinist at Linda Chester (NA).
General/Other
Lynn Shepherd's MURDER AT MANSFIELD PARK, a mischievous and clever reimagining of the Austen classic, to Hope Dellon at St. Martin's, by Ben Mason at Conville & Walsh (NA). UK/Commonwealth rights to Simon Petherick at Beautiful Books.
ben@convilleandwalsh.com
PEN-nominated author of UNDISCOVERED GYRL Allison Burnett's DEATH BY SUNSHINE, concluding his B.K. Troop trilogy with this story of a flamboyant, aging New York City bon vivant who visits Los Angeles for the first time and finds himself embroiled in a murder case, to Don Weise at Alyson Books, for publication in Fall 2010, by Eric Myers at The Spieler Agency (World English).
Children's: Young Adult
Kerstin Gier's RUBY RED trilogy, in which a 16-year old discovers her family's time-travel gene when she mysteriously lands in the last century, to Laura Godwin at Holt Children's, by Alex Webb at Rights People, on behalf of Arena Verlag (NA).
alexwebb@rightspeople.com
Film
Winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Lawrence Hill's THE BOOK OF NEGROES, to producers Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo, who will also direct, by Ellen Levine of Trident Media Group in association with Jody Hotchkiss of Hotchkiss & Associates.
Tish Cohen's INSIDE OUT GIRL, optioned to writing/producing team Steven Pearl and Allison Burnett, by Kassie Evashevski at UTA, on behalf of Daniel Lazar at Writers House.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009This is Why I Love My Industry!
I love writing romance. I love reading romance. I love the escapist quality (although I find that in all genres, really), I love the settings, I love the love-conquers-all theme. I'm just feeling the love, I suppose.
That was really brought home to me over the weekend when I attended a book signing at The Book Exchange in Port Clinton, a nearby town. Attending (amongst others) were Tori Carrington, Mandy M. Roth and Shiloh Walker. It was a fun event - the authors were approachable, they chatted and took pictures and were just generally having fun. With readers, with book store employees, with one another. I sampled Tony's baklava (ooooh, bahhhhhkalavaaaaaa), learned that Mandy lives very close to me and that Shiloh was recovering from a week at a couple of amusement parks. It was a fun atmosphere, and isn't that what a book signing (or any appearance) should be? Yeah, I think so, too!
A couple weeks ago I was at another book signing - literary authors and a few non-fiction authors thrown in. Totally. Different. Atmosphere. And, I was ashamed to be an aspiring author because of the actions of a few authors there. They were horrible to their fans. Flat out mean, judgmental and argumentative with people who bought their books. Were the fans out of line? I don't think so. The 'offensive' comment from one fan was (seriously), "I love this series. Are you planning to write any more?" And the author may as well have taken the poor guy to the woodshed. He yelled - seriously, yelled! - that whether he chose to continue with the series or not was his choice and no 'ignorant reader' was going to force him to do anything. Uh, overreact much?
Which brings me to my point. Romance authors are approachable. They're normal people with fun senses of humor who are lucky enough to do something they love and get paid for it. I'm proud to be an aspiring romance author. I'm proud to be a writer and I'm so glad that the men and women (at least those I've met) already published in the genre are approachable, friendly and generally nice to the people who cut their paychecks - the fans. Let us all remember that the fans of romance are the people who keep us in pens, ink and paper!
Posted By: Kristina Knight @ 9:06:35 PMTop
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