Friendly “face off” between Joan and Kate’s books!

Kate Patrick’s book, One Sizzling Summer, is available today through Siren BookStrand.  Normally we’d have had a release party to celebrate tonight, but she is otherwise detained.  So instead, I made a new video to celebrate.  Like the others before it, I “borrowed” Richard Armitage in the role of leading man for both books.

Hope you enjoy!

http://youtu.be/oR8Mh7aA3VY

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Perfectly Imperfect is available on Amazon!

By chance, I happened to see my own book cover on Amazon today!  I hadn’t gotten a notice from Siren telling me it was now available, so I thought it was still exclusive only through Siren BookStrand’s website.  Imagine my surprise to see that pretty redhead and those ripped abs staring back at me from the computer screen!

To anyone out there with big dreams, let me just say DON’T GIVE UP!  Up until about six months ago, getting published was still a dream.  Yes, I was taking steps to try to make it happen.  But I kept getting rejected.  But now, I have one book already out and I’m editing my second.

So keep the faith, keep believing, and keep trying.  Believe in yourself and it will happen eventually.  And the longer you have to wait, the sweeter it is when it finally does all fall into place.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Little Guy Approves this Message!

 

 

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New Orleans is full of surprises…

A quick trip to New Orleans yesterday went completely different than expected.  We had a stowaway on our trip and he provided basically all of the entertainment for the rest of the day.  Our children were embarrassed, they even frequently blurted out to strangers around us, “We’re so sorry!”  or “We don’t know them!”.  But Kate Patrick and I were on a mission and nothing would stop us.

We turned our guest loose in the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and then documented the ensuing craziness.

Click below to see the results.

New Orleans Trip

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The Good Times were still rolling in NOLA yesterday…even though Mardi Gras season had officially already ended

Yesterday, my good pal Kate Patrick and I loaded up our two children and headed over to New Orleans, LA, for a short trip.  We had wanted to do something special to celebrate a couple of different things, and The Big Easy sounded like the perfect destination.

Mainly, we wanted to mark the occasion of her debut novel’s release through Siren BookStrand, but personally I needed to decompress after a particularly difficult six weeks where I was working extremely long hours to produce a budget for our company.

Whenever Kate and I are together, there is always plenty of laughter.  We laugh at stuff no one else would even think was funny.  But the elements were just right yesterday, and her euphoria at finally being able to say she is a published author – combined with my extreme relief at having the budget finally completed and the presentation to Corporate going over so well – created a non-alcoholic drunken state of happiness for both of us.  Let’s just say we were in rare form.  When she and I get like that, our children know to expect the unexpected.

And that is exactly how the day panned out.  We were joined by an “unexpected guest” on our trip to NOLA, and hilarity ensued.  I am working on getting the photos downloaded, and she and I should have an updated post later today to share with you.

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Kate Patrick’s One Sizzling Summer…

As promised, I have a special guest today.  Kate Patrick is with me and we’re talking about her new release with Siren BookStrand Publishing.  This is her debut novel, and it’s called One Sizzling Summer.

Welcome, Kate.  Let’s get started, shall we?

Where does your inspiration come from when you start a new              book?

 Kate:   It’s usually a song from the radio or a CD I’m listening to in the

car.  Some part of the lyrics spark a mini-movie in my head, and it

sticks.  Before I know it, I’ve woven a complete backstory for the

couple, and it must go on paper!  Music plays a HUGE part in my

writing. It can make you feel sexy, sassy, sensuous, lonely, sad…

the list is endless.

 

You have a full time job, a family, and are now a published author.  How do you balance it all?

Kate:   I’d like to say I have it completely organized, but I don’t.  My family

comes first, then the demands of my job.  I prefer writing when it’s

quiet, so I am not interrupted when working through a scene.  That

pretty much leaves late at night and early morning hours for developing

my stories.  Needless to say, I rely on Derma Blend to cover up the

dark circles around my eyes!

How would you categorize your writing style?

 Kate:   Much to my mother’s dismay, it is erotic romance, NOT to be confused

with erotica.  I write love stories that are about a passionate romance

that ignites between a man and woman and cannot be ignored.  When I

write love scenes, I give a lot of details so the reader can sense the

unmistakable “chemistry” between the lovers.  It is not filled with

random, casual sex.  My readers will get a “happily ever after”.

I guess my philosophy toward writing is that people are so busy with

daily life, that I want to offer an escape with a story that can become a

fantasy for the reader.  Hopefully, they will end up with a satisfied grin

on their face!

 

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Expect the unexpected

I had a delightful surprise last night.  Someone close to me passed along a message from an important man in her life.  His message?  “Keep ‘em coming!”  Turns out he’d read my book, Perfectly Imperfect, and really enjoyed it.  I’d never thought of my book’s audience as anything but female.  So what a fantastic surprise to find out a guy liked it!  But it gets even better…he had told his co-workers (mostly male) about it and some of them had read it too!  Before last night, I had only considered my book through a woman’s eyes.  Never a man’s.  But not only did I receive great feedback from a man about the book, but he encouraged me by letting me know he’ll be waiting for my next release.  That meant the world to me.  As a writer, we want to reach the widest audience possible, and how thrilling to think my book found favor with demographics I’d never even considered before.

It’s a good life lesson, when you think about it, and actually it parallels one of the main themes in my book.  Don’t we often sell ourselves short?  Why do we automatically assume our efforts will be discounted by certain people? Why do we tell ourselves our work isn’t good enough? Or why do we think pigs would sooner fly than that the man of our dreams might actually notice us and – egads! be INTERESTED in us?

I had a really great review on my publisher’s website yesterday.  And the person who wrote it said my book was a great lesson in acceptance.  That meant so much to me, because that truly was the main point I was trying to drive home in my story (amidst all the graphic descriptions of body parts and intimate gestures! LOL!).

So, my own eyes have been opened to the fact that sometimes we limit ourselves without even realizing it.  But some of us do it knowingly too.  I’m the worst about not mentioning something because I assume no one is interested.  Or not going out of my way to speak to some random acquaintance I spy across the check-out line, because I assume they won’t even remember me from that time a few years ago that our kids were on the Robotics team together.  If I remember them, why should I assume they don’t remember me???

From now on I’ll make a concerted effort to step out of my own comfort zone more, and to reach out to people I don’t normally interact with.  There is a line from a Brad Paisley song that says – and I’m paraphrasing a bit – to the world you might only be one person, but to one person you just might be the world.  You never know when someone right next to you is down or feeling low.  And a simple gesture or kind word from you might be what it takes to turn their day around.  Sometimes we just like to know that someone notices us, that we’re not invisible, and that we matter.

It’s Mardi Gras season, and it’s known for it’s motto of ”Let the Good Times Roll”.  I’m not espousing debauchery here, but I do wholeheartedly believe we can all afford to loosen up a little and spread a little sunshine to others.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!!   (but please celebrate responsibly).

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Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk

Here’s an odd tidbit…today is Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk day.  I’m not lying.  Apparently, there are seventeen national food holidays.  I’m game for National Watermelon Day or maybe even Something on A Stick Day, but count me out for Turkey Neck Soup Day.  Seriously…google it and see the whole list of 17.  It’s some crazy stuff.

But, today it’s all about spilt milk (or spilled, if you prefer, but seriously, isn’t “spilt” a much quirkier and fun way to say it???).

What does that mean exactly?  Well, the generally accepted translation is that you shouldn’t waste time fretting over something that either can’t be changed or is too insignificant to matter anyway.

Unlike most foods, where the 3 second rule applies and as long as you pick it up off the floor within 3 seconds of dropping it, it’s still considered edible, it’s impossible to collect spilt milk and put it back in the glass.  Just clean it up, pour another glass, and move on.  No harm, no foul.  In the time of my parents’ childhood, or “the dark ages”, as we tease my 80-year-old dad, many families had dairy cows and literally had to milk them in order to have something to drink.  If the bucket got tipped over, the liquid would quickly ooze into the earth, and you just picked the pail back up and started milking again.

When I clicked on the internet this morning and saw the headline which explained that – no this isn’t an ordinary Saturday, it’s a national ”holiday” – I wondered about the origin of the old adage.  As any modern day woman would do, I googled it.  Some people say it’s in the Bible, although I’ve yet to find that in my concordance (although references to a land flowing with milk and honey are).  Others believe it goes back to simpler times (see previous paragraph) when life was hard and there were enough legitimate things to be stressed over, so there was no sense adding to your worries about the insignificant ones, and it was best to just let the little things go.

In my brief research this morning, I landed upon an origin that piques the romance writer in me.  There is a legend that in olden days, fairies would walk among us (or fly?  I’m never sure if Fairies are supposed to be little flying beings like Tinkerbell, or gorgeous gods and goddesses who could intermingle with humans, yet stood out among them for their mouth-watering good looks!).  Even though times were really hard and every ounce of food or drink was needed for the sustenance of humanity, people recognized the importance of finding favor with the Fae, and would leave offerings of food or milk out for the fairies to enjoy.  Milk was thought to be the fae’s absolute favorite thing, so it was frequently left out to appease any visiting sprites.  And anyone who grumbled about the “waste” of milk was in danger of angering the beings.  Therefore, family members urged each other to give the gift willingly and not grumble about it lest bad luck come into the home.

Whatever the origin, it’s sage advice.  Life is extremely hectic for most of us.  We don’t have time to accomplish half of what we need to, and what we DO accomplish is often hard-won.  So let’s don’t complicate things by stressing out over what truly doesn’t matter.  I challenge myself – and each of you as well – to try to learn NOT to borrow trouble.  There is enough going on every day that is beyond our control and sometimes even seemingly impossible to achieve.  So let’s all learn to let the little things go.  Every moment that passes is a minute of our lives we cannot get back.  Let’s spend our moments wisely.

And since we’re on the topic of Fairies, I will leave you with a little eye candy from the covers of two of my favorite author’s Urban Fantasy books.  Feast your eyes on this sampling of cover art of Karen Ann Moning books, as well as a photo of the model who has posed for many of them (paging Jinger Heaston…do you have this man on speed dial because his abs look remarkably similar to the hunk you used on the cover of Perfectly Imperfect!!!  ).

 

Now if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to take a gallon of milk and drizzle it outside every window and door of my house in an attempt to lure this fairy to my house! LOL!

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Perfectly Imperfect

I’ve had several people ask where they can find my book, and what formats it is available in.  It can be purchased through the publisher’s website (Siren BookStrand) and is downloadable in several formats to accommodate nearly any e-reader (you can even download it to your computer). Here is a link.  Thanks for your interest!  Your support means so much. 

http://www.bookstrand.com/joan-chandler

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For all my twitter friends

A little reward for befriending me on Twitter – y’all know who you are!  No other words are necessary…

Okay – maybe just one word.  SCRUFFALICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

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May I present to you – Jillian Chantal…

Jillian Chantal

I’m so excited to turn the spotlight on a dear friend today.  Jillian Chantal has written several books and short stories.  I think she may have even snuck a few magazine articles in for good measure too!  She has mastered the art of multi-tasking, because she is a full time attorney, is very involved with her family and friends, is always putting out new material for publication, and on top of it all, she takes time out to help others who are just starting out in the literary world.  That is exactly how we met, and she has always been so willing to share her expertise with me.  She is a true friend, and I am grateful that she took me under her wing.

Jillian, welcome to my little corner of Cyberspace.  It’s great to have you with me today.  Of course, it’s a special occasion because we’re celebrating the release of your newest book.  At this point, I will turn the controls over to you, Jillian.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thanks for asking me to pop in and visit your blog, Joan. I appreciate it. I love to meet new people and am thrilled to chat a bit to your readers.
I’m here to celebrate the release of my latest romantic suspense, Sebastian’s Salvation. This book has had three names and that’s not really usual for me. I normally settle on one pretty early in the process and I did for this one as well until one fateful day when I was watching television and saw a movie on one of the movie channels.  My inspiration for the hero in this story is Idris Elba, a British actor who I really like. This book was first called Obsession. Then came the day of the movie I saw. It was a movie named Obsessed. It starred Idris Elba and Beyonce. So, I immediately decided it would be best to change the name lest someone think I stole it from the movie.

Then the quest was on for another name that was something kind of like Obsession. After much thought and thesaurus research, I decided on Tormented. It seemed to fit as well as, if not better than, Obsession. Then I sold the book. The publisher didn’t really think a romance by the name Tormented would be appealing, so then it was on again for another title change. I have a beta reader who lives near Memphis and she helped me brainstorm a new name. We finally decided on Sebastian’s Salvation. I actually think it’s perfect. It just took me a while to get there.

The story is an interracial, contemporary, romantic suspense and there really is some obsession, some torment and some salvation in the book. I hope readers will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I love to hear from readers.

Visit me on the web here: http://jillianchantal.com/news/

email: Jillianchantal@gmail.com

twitter: https://twitter.com/JillianChantal

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvzMd4ttvmUhttp://youtu.be/Z-DIBWvGsoI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DIBWvGsoI&feature=youtu.be

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/sebastians-salvation

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