I love the name Fresh Fiction and think it’s a truly inspired marketing choice. So isn’t it funny that often, the book that’s being released to readers (in my case, TAKE ME TWO TIMES–sequel to TAKE ME IF YOU CAN)–is not the one that’s fresh in an author’s mind because we work so far ahead. You see, I’m currently struggling with the revisions on the, uh, threequel, which is called TAKE ME FOR A RIDE and will be out in November. So when people ask me what TAKE ME TWO TIMES is about, sometimes I begin telling them about the wrong set of characters. Forgive me! The TAKE ME series is about an international agency that recovers stolen art. And TAKE ME TWO TIMES is the story of Gwen Davies, the one-time debutante who’s a rookie in the art recovery biz. Gwen may look sweet and proper, but she can kill a man with a spike heel . . . and she’s got some skeletons in her past who are about to pop out and shake, rattle n’ roll. Our Gwennie once spent a secret, steamy summer down south in Brazil. And she got a little too bad with bad…

Yesterday Sara discussed what bugged readers and made them turn away from an author. I want to know why readers read. What is your favorite thing to read about? Do you remember discovering reading? I personally don’t recall when, where, how, or why I learned to read. I also don’t remember the first book I read independently. I do know that my parents thought I could read until they caught me with the book upside down, and backwards, and realized I hadn’t learned to read it all, but had instead memorized it. Buy Your Copy today Buy Your Copy today Buy Your Copy today I’m sure I became a reader because I remember growing up somewhat lonely and friendless. Board games required at least one other person, but reading is totally independent and can be pretty much done anywhere! I know that some of my favorite books were those read to us at school, and to this day I still own copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte’s Web, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I remember being bribed to do things with a new book, and of course that almost always worked, but how do you decide which book? Choices…

Books read this week, all good for me: Buy Your Copy today Pre-order Your Copy today Buy Your Copy today Got your attention on that title. It’s been another interesting week with book discussions, perhaps because we had two great meetings back-to-back we were able to get into longer and better conversations about books. And the theme I heard the most, besides the absolutely delicious strawberry dessert made by Mindy all low-cal, was readers tired of being angry at books. Now don’t despair authors, no one has said they’d hunt you down and shoot you in your sleep or anything really nutty, just an overall frustration at investing in a book and being sorely disappointed. So after reflection and there are only so many ‘heated’ discussions I can take, I thought perhaps we should dissect this reader dilemma. First problem — voice changes. What do you do when it’s been a long time between books or worse, they go back and re-visit old friends and completely change their sound, ideas, and personalities? Forgiveness is divine I said and was soundly hushed. Second problem — character killed off Ooh, this one is generally the kiss of death to the readers I…

Bet you think I’m here as a writer.  Well, you’re part right.  I’m also here as a businesswoman, because that’s what being a successful writer demands.  It isn’t enough to write a good book these days; it also takes running a website, being on Facebook, even Twittering (as BarbaraDelinsky).  Oh, and blogging.  Can’t forget that.  I blog on my own website, and now, here, as a guest. Who’d a thought, way back when, that all this … peripheral stuff would matter so much?  But boy, does it.  I’m currently writing NOT MY DAUGHTER, scheduled to pub on January 5, 2010, but the book will not do as well as I want unless I continually hype it on my website, email my mailing list, write Q&As for online resources, display the cover art on Facebook, and tweak Twitter – and that’s not to mention giving speeches and signing books.  Sadly, I’ve known many writers far more talented than I am, who have stopped writing because they found all these things so daunting. Don’t stop now, read the rest of Barbara’s blog… Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

What is it about the topic of sisters that causes so much controversy? My new Regency-set historical, Mastering The Marquess, is partly a story about a pair of sisters, and the life-threatening situation they confront together. Meredith, my heroine, will do anything to keep her little sister Annabel out of harm’s way—even if it means putting her own life at risk. And she does that without blaming Annabel for their predicament, or feeling resentful that she must potentially sacrifice her own chance for happiness. Meredith’s selflessness didn’t seem odd or out of character to me, likely because I have an older sister who has always been uber-protective of her siblings. She would take on a herd of charging elephants without a second thought if it meant keeping me or my brothers safe. But to my surprise, a few readers of Mastering The Marquess expressed discomfort with Meredith’s willingness to sacrifice herself for Annabel. They thought their relationship was too perfect—that real sisters fought more, and that Meredith should, at the very least, be resentful of Annabel. That took me aback since I can count the number of times I’ve fought with my sister on one hand, with a few fingers…

I love lists. I am a list-maker, a list-keeper, a doodling scribe of anything on any surface. My kids have picked up a dinner napkin as we left a restaurant because I had jotted a few ideas down on the paper. Bless their hearts, they were afraid to leave behind one of Mom’s Big Ideas. Lists keep me organized, make me aware of how much I get done in a day or not done as life may have it. I also love bestseller lists, especially when one of my books or a friend’s book makes its way onto the hallowed spaces. Recently, my four-book series, The Morgan Men, was fortunate enough to make a few lists, one book being first on the eharlequin.com list, and another staying on same list for about eighteen days in various spots. Throw in a Waldenbooks/Borders list for three weeks in a row for my March book—culminating in the #2 spot in the third week!–and I began to ponder the scattered good fortune in the universe. (Remember, I am a student of listing—I try to figure out these random occurrences, whether or not I can find an answer being irrelevant). Greater minds than mine have…

Hardcastle Progeny Jennifer Lewis’ books My new book out this month, The Heir’s Scandalous Affair, is the third in my Hardcastle Progeny series for Silhouette Desire. This is my first author-generated series, and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to carry my characters through three different books. It was quite a challenge because each book had to stand completely alone, so you could pick it up without ever having read—or even heard of—the other two. I also wanted them to mesh together so you could read all three as part of one overarching story about the Hardcastle family. As a reader I enjoying seeing characters from previous books and learning what they’re up to now, and I know from experience that I’m not the only one. Soon after my first book The Boss’s Demand, came out in July 2007, I started getting emails asking if I planned to write books for the two brothers of my hero, Elan. I wrote back that I honestly wasn’t sure. I’d always wanted to create stories for all three brothers, but I wrote that book before I sold and publishers aren’t always wild about the idea of buying several linked books from an untested author….

I didn’t set out to write series. I fell into it by accident. I was watching the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with my younger son about twenty years ago. We didn’t pay much attention. He was eight and preferred trying to wrestle his father to watching a musical even though it was his idea to watch the movie together. (Since he’s never watched a musical before or since, Providence’s hand must have been at work.) After it was over, I thought that seven brothers looking for wives would make a good idea for a series, never dreaming it would turn out to be an idea for me. Sometime later, I realized I had a group of brothers in my head. I didn’t know where they’d come from or why they were there, but they were remarkably well defined. A little bemused, I asked my agent what I should do about them. She suggested that I write a proposal, let her send it out, and see that happened. Thus was born the Seven Brides series. A John Wayne movie, The Cowboys, gave me the idea for my The Cowboys series. He recruited schoolboys to help with a cattle drive….

Saturday the DFW Tea Readers were invited into the home of local author Dakota Cassidy for a truly delicious barbecue instead of our usual monthly tea. As always the conversation was lively, diverse, and I found myself trying to decide which conversation I truly wanted to follow. However, the one the got my attention was the discussion about book covers. What type of book cover is best? What type of book cover makes you pick up a book to investigate further? What type of book cover makes you think “no way am I reading this book,” and you don’t pick it up to check the back cover blurb. Then came the question I think most authors dread most, “how do you feel when the hero/heroine on the front looks one way, but the hero/heroine in the book is described totally differently.” To be honest I think I do judge a book somewhat by its cover. If the cover appeals to me I’m more likely to pick it up to see the back cover blurb. However, if the cover really annoys me I’m also liable to pick it up to see what deserved such a bad (in my opinion) cover. I…

Hey, guess what? Something you’ll never believe about the economy! Romance book sales are up. Way UP! And I say, DUH!!! Sheesh, where has everyone been? Of course they are! As the uncertainty about jobs and income stays with us so does the need to find escapes and one of the best “bangs for the buck” is a good old-fashioned romance novel. Seriously, you get a couple of hours of entertainment with a guaranteed happy ending for about eight dollars. Of course the romance publishers doing the best are the ones with the less expensive books, but even so, $8 is generally still affordable. It’s even better than buying a tube of lipstick which was supposed to be the other big recession commodity not given up by women. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy And the other little splurge? Movies. But not the big dramas, the so-called chick flicks, children movies, comedies and as my son calls them, “light-hearted action flicks” are all making box office profits and it’s hard to find a good seat on Fridays and Saturdays. Even worse on half-price Tuesdays! People find it reasonable to go out for a movie,…