Release Day = Graduation + First Day of School

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. Heiress Without a Cause has been quietly available on Barnes and Noble all last week, but today is the official launch. It's like the first day of school, my birthday (before the stupid terrorists ruined it forever), and graduation all rolled into one. In many ways, it's like a graduation -- the culmination of a lot of work over several years, ending in one lovely day full of celebrating and laughter and merriment. Some of my friends are taking me out tonight, which will be a great way to end the day, and I've gotten some wonderful emails and tweets and comments from all over the world. So today is truly a day to celebrate and reflect on everything that's happened over the last few years (preferably with some champagne and possibly a mani/pedi).

But in other ways, it's more like the first day of school. Will the other kids (readers) like me? Am I wearing the right clothes? Am I smart enough to handle the work? What's that smell in the cafeteria? (I've been shamefully neglecting my kitchen this weekend...). While all the work of getting my book out in the world has culminated in this, the next phase of work -- connecting with readers, writing to deadlines, mastering the art of juggling writing and promo -- is just beginning.

Still, it's an exciting day, and I'm going to enjoy it. Thank you for celebrating with me, and I'm so glad you're here as I kick off the next phase. If you want to stay updated when the book launches everywhere, or if you want to be invited to signings/events/launch parties, please sign up for my mailing list.

And really, if my outfit is a wreck, promise you'll tell me?

HEIRESS WITHOUT A CAUSE Selected as a Nook First Pick

I've kept my lips zipped about my latest news for awhile, but it's time to share -- my debut novel, HEIRESS WITHOUT A CAUSE, was chosen as a Nook First pick! The people over at Barnes and Noble want to get my book out to their readers, and I am thrilled to reach the awesomely ravenous Nook romance community. HEIRESS will be available exclusively on the Nook for one month after its release. If you have a Nook, you can read HEIRESS as soon as it launches, on January 23, 2012 (cue champagne and fireworks). If you don't have a Nook and can't wait for some fun, lovely drama between a spinster-slash-actress and the duke who loves her, you can download the free Nook app for iPhone, iPad, Android, or PC/Mac. HEIRESS will release everywhere else, including in paperback, on February 23, 2012.

Happy reading! I can't wait to share Madeleine and Ferguson with you.

Coming in January - My First Two Books!

I am utterly thrilled to announce that I am publishing my first two books on January 26, 2012! Heiress Without a Cause and Scotsmen Prefer Blondes are the first two books in my Muses of Mayfair series, featuring a secret club for ladies with scandalous artistic ambitions. Heiress was a 2011 Golden Heart finalist in the Regency category, and Scotsmen won the Golden Heart in 2009. You can read more about both books below. I shall write another post in a few days about why I am self publishing and why I'm excited by the opportunities available online (note: it involves control, but doesn't involve any sort of screed against 'legacy' publishers). But today is for celebrating, not for cold details of the publishing business. Please join me in the celebration - leave a comment, and I will drink some virtual champagne with you (only virtual, since I've had enough real champagne this week to float an armada or sink an admiral - take your pick). And if you want to stay updated on release schedules, contests, signings, etc. (and get sneak peeks at new content!), please join my mailing list.

Thank you for celebrating with me, and I can't wait to take the next step in my career with your support!

-------------------------------------------

HEIRESS WITHOUT A CAUSE - Muses of Mayfair #1 - coming January 2012

One title to change his life...

A disgraced son with a dark reputation, William “Ferguson” Avenel is content to live in exile – until his father dies in the scandal of the Season. With rumors of insanity swirling around them, his sisters desperately need a chaperone. Ferguson thinks he’s found the most proper woman in England – and he won’t ruin her, even if he desperately wants the passionate woman trapped beneath a spinster’s cap.

One chance to break the rules...

Lady Madeleine Vaillant can’t face her blighted future without making one glorious memory for herself. In disguise, on a London stage, she finds all the adoration she never felt from the ton. But when she’s nearly recognized, she will do anything to hide her identity – even setting up her actress persona as Ferguson’s mistress. She’ll take the pleasure he offers, but Madeleine won’t lose her heart in the bargain.

One season to fall in love...

Every stolen kiss could lead to discovery, and Ferguson’s old enemies are determined to ruin them both. But as their dangerous passion ignites their hearts and threatens their futures, how can an heiress who dreams of freedom deny the duke who demands her love?

-------------------------------------------

SCOTSMEN PREFER BLONDES - Muses of Mayfair #2 - coming January 2012

She never wanted marriage...

When a friend is forced to consider a marriage of convenience, Lady Amelia Staunton is determined to rescue her. But her plans trap her in an illicit seduction, and Amelia must marry him herself. Malcolm’s all-consuming kisses and devilish humor might make up for her lost freedom, but she believes he will force her to abandon the Gothic romances she yearns to write. Since she can’t escape him, she must distract him from her secret...

He isn’t looking for love...

A powerful autocrat with a well-hidden rebellious streak, Malcolm MacCabe doesn’t need another beautiful mistress – he needs an obedient wife. Obedience is not one of Amelia’s virtues. But he’s too enthralled by her wit and passion to let her go – even if it means risking the political reputation he is building to save his clan.

Their hearts can’t survive the scandal...

Despite their intentions, every wicked embrace binds them together. But as their conflicting desires combust into insatiable hunger and unavoidable ruin, they must decide whether to pursue their personal destinies alone – or fight for the love that could destroy them both.

NaNoWriMo = NoNoNoNo

Actually, NaNoWriMo is going okay, provided that you define success in terms of what you've learned rather than what you've produced. I've blogged all about it on the Ruby Slippered Sister blog (the group blog for my fellow Golden Heart finalists).

In general, my writing is going really well right now; I'm feeling inspired and excited by Madeleine and Ferguson's story, and I'm looking forward to just getting on with it already. Unfortunately, I went through a bit of a slump in September and October; part of it is my natural despair over another birthday + the shortening days + the cooler weather, but most of it was because I didn't see the way forward with my second book. Now I do, and even if November is generally a bleak month until the saving grace of Thanksgiving, I'm in a much better mood.

What you won't see, however, is completely regular blogging here. There are only so many hours in the day, and given that I'm not published and only my mother reads this, there seems to be little point. Once the book sells, I'll blog more frequently; until then, please check back and get excited when something new appears :)

In Which Reality Has Fully Returned

So, as you may be able to guess from the fact that my last true blog post was over two months ago, it was perhaps a bit premature of me to claim that reality was coming back 'slowly.' In fact, I have essentially been beaten over the head with a big fat stick of reality ever since Nationals. I've switched apartments, attended two out-of-town weddings, planned an 800-person conference for the cursed day job, and tried desperately to maintain the eight hours of sleep a night that I need to feel like a functional human being. But, the biggest focus has been on getting back into my writing. I adore the characters that I am currently working with (Madeleine and Ferguson, tentatively titled ONE NIGHT TO SCANDAL). But perhaps because I adore them so much, I feel honor-bound to write them the best book possible; and so while my first book was much more of a seat-of-the-pants ordeal, I'm attempting to be more of a plotter with this book. I started out without a strong roadmap and wrote around 40,000 words, but over the past couple of weeks I've taken a step back, outlined what I had, and brainstormed virtually every angle of what will come in the last half of the book. This will of course necessitate rewrites of what I already have, but since it was a first draft, that's to be expected.

Allow me to embrace my inner technology dork (while I may be a Regency writer, I have a fascination with shiny electronics) and recommend Scrivener if you are a writer using a Mac. I downloaded it a week or two ago, and it has revolutionized my writing process. It has this cool corkboard feature that you can use to essentially write out brief synopses of every scene, categorize them by whether they're done, partially drafted, or not written, and then move the 'index cards' around if you want to reshuffle the order of scenes. Best of all, moving the index card on the corkboard automatically moves the actual written scene to the right place in the manuscript. Score! For me, this is huge -- since I can visualize the progress I've made, the balance of scenes in the female POV vs. the male POV, and what's left to accomplish, I have a much clearer understanding of where I will take this work.

Okay, technology dork moment over. The gist of this post is that I'm back in the game, looking forward to finishing the first draft of Madeleine and Ferguson by the end of November, and hoping to get back into the blogosphere just a bit more than I have been. If you are anyone other than my mother and you're still reading, thank you! (and Mom, you're of course always welcome :)

[also, for the purposes of those ridiculous FTC regulations around recommendations on blogs - I bought and paid for Scrivener myself, so this is an unbiased review]