Help Choose a Book Title

Please welcome my friend and fellow RWA chapter member, Mimi Barbour. I owe Mimi a debt of gratitude for mentoring and encouraging me when I first started to write seriously.

Thanks so much for having me as your guest today Anna. It’s lovely to visit with someone who has the same goals and dreams.

I thought I’d share with you what’s happening in my life right now. I've just released “She’s Not You” which is this year’s Christmas story. Publishing a new book is always an exciting time for an author. For me, it’s a feeling of accomplishment that I love. I’ll admit it gives me a sweet rush that’s become addictive.

Is it the knowledge that I've finished something I started that’s so pleasurable? Heck - I don’t know. Could it be the story that’s existed in my head now has a happy ending?
Maybe…
At least now I can move on. Make room for the other characters who've been driving me batty, impatiently waiting on the sidelines and madly waving at me from time to time.
She’s Not You came to me in a the craziest way. Driving home from the nearest city one day, I listened to the radio and Elvis’s old song started to play. Since it was one of my favorites, the words rang in my head and wouldn't turn off.
I’m serious… It would not turn off!
I’m talking day after day I found myself singing the chorus until I was driven mad enough to go and look up the lyrics. When I read them, a thought popped into my head that those words told a sad yet beautiful story and POOF!! There went the next two months of my life.
Did I imagine that I could write one book, heck no. I’m now committed to writing a series - all based on the words to the King’s old recordings. His music brought people into the Rock and Roll age and gave hours of listening entertainment to millions of fans.
Myself, I crushed on the singer so his songs have always ranked as many of my old favorites. Therefore, bringing them to life in a book is a labor of love.
Since I haven’t chosen which song to use for the next book yet, I intend to set up a contest to let the readers help make that decision. The information for this contest will be posted on my website and Facebook page. So… if you’d like to be involved, please do come and either sign up for my newsletter on my website or follow me on Facebook. Soon, I will be writing a post and sending everyone linked with me the simple rules.

**The winner will not only choose the title by picking his/ her favorite song of Elvis’s, but the book will be dedicated to that person also.

Contacts:
Website: http://www.mimibarbour.com
Blog: http://mimibarbour.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mimi.barbour?ref=tn_tnmn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MimiBarbour @MimiBarbour

Author of The Vicarage Bench Series, Angels with Attitude Series, and the Vegas Series, Mimi lives on the East coast of Vancouver Island and writes her paranormal romances with tongue in cheek and a mad glint in her eye. “If I can steal a booklover’s attention away from their every-day grind, absorb them into a fantasy love story, and make them care about the ending, then I've done my job.”

Welcome, Mimi Barbour

I am delighted to welcome Mimi Barbour to my blog today. We are both members of the Vancouver Island chapter of Romance Writers of America, and Mimi has been a tremendously helpful mentor to me. Today she is sharing a little of her writing journey with us. One of her books is FREE today on Amazon (see details below).

Years ago, after I had written my very first book (which still resides in the oldest files on my computer), I knew I needed to find others like myself who were serious about a writing career.

Chicken right down to the elastic on my undies, I wouldn't tell anyone in my personal world about my new favorite pastime. Not me! I was still very green to the writing world. I guess I worried they might jeer, or tease and make fun. I knew if anyone scoffed or didn't take me seriously, I’d be emotionally wounded. All my life, my imagination would kick in anytime I drew on it, so I felt strong enough about this path to fantasize about my impending wealth, just not that confident in my writing ability.

 I needed to make contact with others who had the same interest, people who could teach me all about the craft and the business. New friends, like myself, who were serious about being an author. Look and you shall find said…?? Humm, someone must have said it because I didn't make that line up. Anyway, I did look and I found the local RWA group, met some wonderful woman and have never looked back. 

It was through one of my new associates that a contest being offered by a small e-publisher called The Wild Rose Press came to light. Something inside me pushed that button – you know the one that says – go for it! What do you have to lose? - So I entered. Unfortunately, my submission didn't come close to following their guidelines. What can I say? I almost never do what I’m told….sigh!!

 

They’d asked for a novella-length story, which had to be about a woman who would walk through a garden gate in a small town in England called Bury. They even had a picture of an old house and a garden gate for us to visualize. Once the protagonist walked through, she must go back in time to one of four eras. I chose the Vintage era. Since I’d lived through the fifties and sixties, I figured how hard could it be? Course it didn't enter my head that I hadn't lived those years in England. Uh huh…I know!

My raging imagination kicked into overdrive and I thought it too tame to just have my heroine walk through a dumb ole gate. So I had her go through the blasted thing, sit on a vicarage bench and prick her finger on a magic rose bush. Then to make matters even worse, instead of letting the girl end up in her own body, I had our heroine, gorgeous but spoiled model Jenna, go back forty years to invade the body of a librarian, chubby, lovable Lucy. So the two of them reside together in one body, and the antics are hilarious. Had such fun writing this story!

Needless to say, my submission wasn't accepted into the contest, but their editor offered me a stand-alone contract. And so began the series called The Vicarage Bench. The first three books “She’s Me”, “He’s Her” and “We’re One” are novellas. 

Then determining that I should write full-length, I did so for the next two “Together Again” and “Together for Christmas”. After taking a hiatus from this series to write my Angel books and the Vegas series, I am working again on the next book for the Vicarage Bench called “Together Always” and expect it to be published next year around this time. 

Happy to announce that today, She’s Me is “FREE!!” on AMAZON, as is my medieval romance Passion in the Blood.

The Big Reveal

I am delighted to announce the unveiling of new covers for my third medieval romance series, The FitzRam Family.

The completion of this project signifies a milestone for me. All ten of my published books now have professionally designed covers.For this series I worked with Steven Novak, (http://www.novakillustration.com/bookcovers.html) who also did the covers for Mimi Barbour’s new releases, Partners and Roll the Dice. Like Mimi, I can heartily recommend him.

The process of working with a designer to produce covers can be a trying one. Sometimes it’s hard to achieve a meeting of the minds. Steven was open to all my ideas and willing to make lots of changes. He wanted me to be comfortable with the finished product, and I am!

Special thanks to fellow authors Mimi Barbour, Helen Scott Taylor (Oceans Between Us) and Lois Lavrisa (Liquid Lies) for permission to use quotes from their reviews.

So without further ado, here are the covers.

USE IT OR LOSE IT! by Mimi Barbour

Use it or lose it! As retirement approached that old saying kept reverberating, haunting me. I worried that there wasn’t heaps of brainpower left to take any chances on losing even a little bit. So I decided the answer was to keep busy, get involved and learn something new.

I tried ceramics and stain glass, quilting and cross-stitch. They were just too much work. All that stitching, glass cuts and cleaning up my messes, (you wouldn’t believe the messes!) exhausted me. I needed something that would be less taxing, more fun.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve lived with this force inside to create something that would make me proud—an endeavour that would delight my family and also keep my juices flowing. Since I've read thousands of romance books, and everyone knows how easy they are to write (uh-huh), I decided this cushy pastime would fill my days and keep my mind occupied.

How could a mature (notice I didn't say old) woman be so…so dumb?

But in my defence, it did seem like a good idea, and so I got started—wrote the first book. Now you might ask yourself, where do the ideas come from? My best professional answer is...heck if I know!  For me they magically appear after reading a particularly funny article or watching an appealing show on television. It’s not the whole story, you understand, just that one small glimpse of a character, or it could be a little nudge about a ‘what-if’ scenario where maybe an angel has to kick-start a shy, young women to get on with it, live up to her potential, and then be happy with who she is.

Remember though, books don’t get out there by themselves. I needed help to market this…ahhh ‘bestseller’. (Unknowledgeable about protocol in the business, I actually sent it along to a top New York agent, Donald Maas, with instructions for him to tell Nora Roberts to move over because there was a new author in town.) Still have a copy of the e-mail, and blush when I remember how serious I was, but it is sort of funny.)

Not hearing back from Donald, I decided that I would do more research and used the Internet, but this didn't work. Feedback from real people, living breathing individuals who were either going through, or had gone through, the same experiences would be a far better way to learn what was necessary. You know the old saying – search and you shall find? Well that's what happened with me.

I joined a local RWA group and met wonderful, giving, kind-hearted ladies who were happy to share their knowledge with a raw beginner…and trust me, some of my questions were pretty silly and naïve. Their patience was unending, more than I deserved and they took me to a place where I began to gain knowledge and the confidence to create a book that made me proud. Back in those days my stubbornness carried me through so many setbacks. Persistence and my new found love with being a writer kept me glued to my computer.

Slowly, I became involved with other groups, pushed myself to promote my work, and even entered contests. That was scary! But doing so opened the door for me to be published with Wild Rose Press. This time I didn't hesitate to join their loop and interact with their super friendly group of authors. Once again, in this my new career, I found strength and unprecedented support. Women, who I interacted with online, people I never saw in my life, became my friends. Not just co-authors, but honest-to-goodness pals. I suffered their bad reviews and celebrated their successes, as they did mine. They made the introverted daily grind behind my lonely computer screen something to look forward to—even enjoy, because I wasn't really alone.

Since then, I've reached out to many others and realized I've come full circle. I now have something to share and give back. Over time, I've learned so much about this wonderful profession, and now it's my turn to repay. I've managed to create something lasting, a gift worth more than wealth—friendships that make me truly happy and a career that has given this old brain more activity than it should be subjected to. 

I do love these golden years! 

As a recipient of Mimi's assistance and support in my writing journey, I can attest to her altruistic character. It has been a great pleasure to have her on my blog today.

Mimi and I are involved this week in a FREE promotion on Kindle. She is featuring her novel, His Devious Angel. May 7-9 ONLY.

Here is my review of her book. I loved it.

If you love tongue-in-cheek paranormal romances, you’ll love this story.

We all carry baggage from our childhood. Sadie cannot forgive or forget the taunting and abuse she endured as an overweight schoolgirl. She believes all members of the male species are jerks.

Liam’s childhood demons feed on the shame he feels for his parents who shared a difficult and complex relationship. Traumatic experiences as a Special Forces operative in Iraq have only worsened his state of mind. He is a haunted man, plagued by shame, guilt and insomnia.

They struggle to help each other come to terms with their ghosts, aided by an unlikely guardian angel who looks like Johnny Depp, and a motley crew of whip smart dogs.

This seemingly light-hearted romance touches on deep-seated fears and nemeses that only love and forgiveness can counteract.

You will LOVE the ending of this story. And if you are a dog person, it’s a must-read.