Bandit Booty Strikes Again!

HOORAY!!

Welcome back and CONGRATS to Buffie!

YOU are the winner of a copy of Robin Kaye's fabulous debut release Romeo, Romeo! Please send your snail mail info to Aunty Cindy at cindymm18 at gmail dot com. Soon you'll be enjoying Robin's wonderful story of a domestic god!

And a BIG THANX to everyone for joining the party.Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/Sourcebooks
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Robin Kaye Is In Da Lair!

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

We had a wonderful time yesterday hosting the lovely Tessa Radley, and today we are lucky enough to have another SUPER guest! I'm excited to welcome another of my "Casa Sisters" whose debut novel, a delightful contemporary romance, just hit the book stores on November 1st.

A very hearty Bandita HUZZAH to Robin Kaye!

RK: Hi Cindy and everyone here in the lair. Thanks for having me. I’ve never been in a lair before…bars, clubs, once I was even in a yurt, but never a lair. I like it.

AC: Ah yes, we had the cabana boys and gladiators up until all hours sprucing the place up just for you, Robin. Please tell us about your debut release Romeo, Romeo and your writing journey that ultimately led you to write about "…a man as good in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom."

RK: Independent businesswoman, Rosalie Ronaldi’s life would be perfect if she could just figure out how to keep her nosy, pushy, Italian family from trying to marry her off.

Nick Romeo, Brooklyn’s Donald Trump without the comb over, thinks independent women are an urban myth, until he meets Rosalie and realizes they’re no myth, just a pain in the ass. He’s finally met a woman who is looking for the same thing he is, a commitment free relationship and is shocked to discover that all he wants to do is take care of her... Before too long, he's moved in, cleaned her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog.

I’ve always written, but it wasn’t until I moved to Maryland eight years ago that I started writing seriously.

Like every other female romance writer, I write about men I find attractive and in my book, there’s nothing more attractive to me than a man who is a Domestic God—someone who is as good in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom. Men who leave their socks and underwear on the floor and their dishes in the sink for me to clean aren’t the least bit sexy.

AC: EWWW! Aunty is in total agreement with that! What about your writing process? I know music plays an important part, but what kind of research or other methods do you use in creating your stories and characters?

RK: I do use music, I have a soundtrack for every book I’ve written, it keeps my head in the book and allows me to jump back in after an interruption, which happens more often than not. I’m one of those crazy busy people whose life is a series of interruptions. If it took me 20 minutes to get back into the story, I’d never get any writing done. I write where ever I am. I have a MacBook Air and even if I only have five minutes, I get it out and write.

As for research, I go to Brooklyn as often as possible to get my New York fix--there’s something about Brooklyn that stays with you long after you leave. I always have the subway map on hand as well as a map of Park Slope, photos, a good English/Italian dictionary, and my family on speed-dial.

AC: We love "Call Stories" here in the Lair. Please share yours with us.

RK: It was really an email. I had finaled in the Golden Heart which was a huge shock. When I found out, I scrambled and made plans to go to Nationals. The day I arrived in Dallas, I received an email from Deb Werksman an editor at Sourcebooks saying she’d read Romeo, Romeo and “LOVED it.”

Now I’d never heard of Sourcebooks before since they were new to romance so I went in not knowing what to expect. When we met, Deb began quoting her favorite lines to me, verbatim and to tell you the truth, I wondered about her sanity—I mean, what editor does that? It didn’t take me long to figure out she was in fact sane and just really loved Romeo, Romeo.

Unbeknownst to me, she’d requested a copy of Romeo, Romeo from RWA and had read the original version. When I realized what had happened, I told her that I’d spent the past few months rewriting it.

All the blood drained from her face. “What did you do?” she asked.

I filled her in on the changes I’d made and she said I was a genius. That’s when I handed her my cell phone and asked if she would mind calling my mother-in-law and telling her, she was so unaware. (Aunty rolls on floor in laughing fit while wishing she were so clever.)

Deb promised she’d send my MIL an email and made an offer. Romeo, Romeo was sold four days before I won the Golden Heart. It was an amazing time and an unbeatable conference.

AC(now recovered from laughing and in serious journalist mode): How has life changed or stayed the same for you now that you are a published author?

RK: Life has changed, but only some of that is because of publication. My kids are getting older and busier, so finding time to do everything is more and more of a struggle. But that’s my life—it’s a juggling act.

AC: Any pleasant (or maybe not so pleasant) surprises? Things you know now that you wish you'd known beforehand?

RK: The surprise for me was realizing how much time it takes to do the PR needed for a book launch. I’m enjoying it, but it’s severely cutting into my writing time.

As for what I wish I knew before hand…nothing that I can think of. I look at this as an adventure so I’m happy to take it one day at a time and enjoy the ride. It’s been great so far.

AC: What adventure is next for you?

RK: My next book in the Domestic Gods series Too Hot To Handle comes out this spring. I’m working on the third book. The working title is The Making of a Domestic God. I’m writing the book and praying the perfect title comes to me. Any ideas would be appreciated.

AC: What about short term or long term goals?

RK: Short term goals is to finish the next book.
(Aunty can totally identify with this one!)

Long term is just keep doing what I’m doing, writing two or three books a year, and enjoying my family. I really love my life, and except for maybe adding a bit more family time, I wouldn’t change a thing.

AC: Any advice for the AYU (as yet unpublished) writers here in the Lair?

RK: I can only say what helped me. I entered contests. I targeted agents, editors, and houses, and only entered the contests they were judging. I got several requests by doing that. Then I entered the Golden Heart and was lucky enough to sell to one of the final judges. I know I’m really lucky.

The other thing I’d suggest is to go to conferences and meet people. Put yourself out there. I’ve found myself talking to a total stranger and then realized she or he was an editor, agent, or writer I loved. Chitchatting has gotten me requests from editors, agents, and it even got me a cover quote.

AC: Thanks so much for visiting us today Robin. You'll find plenty of chitchat and chocolate and umbrella drinks... But first, let's ask a question!

Robin and I agree that a man who leaves dirty clothes and dishes
around for someone else to clean up is NOT sexy, but one who cooks and cleans definitely IS sexy.

What makes a man sexy in your opinion?

One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Robin's debut release Romeo, Romeo. Let's get this party started!
Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/Sourcebooks
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Publicist Danielle Jackson Is In Da Lair!

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

One of the nicest perks of being a Sourcbooks Casablanca author is working with my very own publicist! Okay, so she's really assigned to ALL the Casablanca authors, but I ADORE working with her, and all of us in the Casa line know how very fortunate we are to have her in our corner.

I'm talking about the lovely and vivacious Danielle Jackson, of course! She works tirelessly to get the word out about all the Casablanca romances, whether it is sending out Advance Review Copies of our books, or writing killer Press Releases for us.

Aunty twisted Danielle's ar... er, um, CONVINCED Danielle to pay a visit to the Lair and answer all our questions (and I know we have MANY) about promotion and publicity! So with the help of my fellow Banditas, I started out by grill... er, um, asking Danielle a few questions...

AC: Please give us a bit of your background and what led you to become a book publicist. Any advice for others seeking a similar career?

DJ: I’ve always been a reader—my parents would joke with me because even if we went somewhere 10 minutes away, I had a book in the car and they’d ask me how to get home and I wouldn’t know how to direct them! That love for books carried all through high school and into college, where I was an English major, history minor with a French concentration. A lot of reading, a lot of writing and a lot of discussing books, history social commentary etc. Around my junior year I began to look into publishing, had a couple of internships with an online publication, a magazine and at a publishing house—Sourcebooks! The rest is history.

AC: What is the “best” part of your job?

DJ: I work with some of the hardest working authors I know in the business! They keep me laughing and also keep things VERY positive all the time. And I have to mention the publicity department at Sourcebooks—there are 8 publicist working very hard an all the books we put out each season, and they are the BEST co-workers I could ask for.

AC: The worst?

DJ: I HATE getting bad reviews in for “my” authors’ books. Even though I know they will eventually find them, I do my best to hide them, haha! (Aunty's note: Danielle is very good at hiding them!) However, even when a negative review comes in, it makes me work harder to find the perfect niche audience for that particular book. There is always someone out there that will read AND like your books, and it is my job to find that person!

Bandita A: In your opinion, what role does publisher promotion play in propelling a book onto the bestseller lists?

DJ: In my experience with Sourcebooks (before I worked on romance, I did some radio PR and worked with all kinds of books from children’s to how –to’s), publisher PR is very important. We make sure books are sent to the appropriate pre-publication reviewers and long-lead time reviewers, and of course, continue on to all available places for review. I think that a publisher should have high goals for all its books and they should put support behind them!

Bandita B: Self-promotion is hard work and for that reason, many authors don't do much of it. How important is it for new and "midlist" authors to promote themselves?

DJ: I cannot agree more that self-promotion is hard work! Sometime I feel like I sent out emails to the authors asking them to write so many guest blogs, or so many interviews and I wonder, do they have time to write their new books? I hope so!!

It is BEYOND important for new and midlist authors to promote themselves—be it contacting local media on their own, blogging, or handing out postcards or book marks in the grocery store. You never know who might be standing next to you or who you might bump into! But most importantly, a collaborative effort between you and your publisher, as I do with my authors, spreads the knowledge of your book.

Bandita C: Short of getting a marketing degree, how can we get smarter about our own publicity? What things should an author do to promote him/herself? Which choices will likely get the best results for the time and money we have available?

DJ: One idea is to look at some of your favorite authors—where are they being reviewed or interviewed? I know, I know, how could you get the same level of PR of Nora Roberts or Jodi Picoult, right? But look around—their books are probably being reviewed on a lot of the same site or blogs as yours!

I think author blogs, especially of the romance vernacular, are amazing, because it is such a warm community to belong to, and you can all help one another out. Also, if you see a small personal blog that looks fun, email them and ask them if they’d like a review copy. Chances are, they will fall all over themselves to hear from you! Most bloggers can’t believe that a publicist would contact them; think of what might happen if YOU, a real live author, did!

As for promo materials, I personally like postcards better than bookmarks because there’s more room for information, but bookmarks and business cards do seem to go over well. Postcards are fun for mailing and to leave places.

Once you do start to get in reviews, interviews, etc., creating a personalized press kit is a great idea (and something new I’ve discovered authors doing). I usually create a media profile or buzz sheet for each of my authors as the season progresses and share that with them. This way everyone has relevant information and together we can continue the “noise” about your book!

Bandita D: How should we begin to "think" about publicity and generating it, even before we're published? Is there anything the unpubbed can do to set ourselves up in a good position to be able to help our publicist/house once we sell?

DJ: Getting your name out there is the number one initiative for all authors—think of your name as your “brand”—YOU are the one constant from book to book, and people get used to you and your style.

Unpubbed authors can do quite a lot—joining RWA is the BEST way to network, and all of you romance authors are so NICE! (Note from AC: She hasn't seen the Pits of Despair deep in the Lair!) Also, reading and reviewing books is also great, especially if you make friends with the authors your review; you might even be able to get a blurb or two out of one of them. By having connections within the romance community, you are staking out your place for your own book’s release.

Also—you know that random guy you sort of dated when you were 19 that you saw once 4 years ago at the grocery store and found out he works for a local newspaper? Yeah—you should call him and see if you can’t get a local author feature. Random connections like that can turn out to be a huge surprise and can really help out. I’ve had a lot of luck by starting off an email by saying, “your friend/colleague, Author McAuthorson (AC notes: any resemblance to Loucinda McGary is purely coincidental!), let me know that you might be interested in a review copy of her new book!”


Bandita E: What about when it comes to working with an outside publicist? How do the two roles differ? And ideally, what can an outside publicist do for the author that the in-house publicist doesn't have the time, budget or energy for?

I personally have not worked with an outside publicist, but I do know that a few of my colleagues have done this. Their advice is to OVER communicate everything. That’s a rule that I have with my authors anyway—I’d rather you tell me something 5 times all within the same day than not at all!

An outside publicist generally has the time to focus all of their time, budget and energy solely on that one particular author. I work with all of our romance authors, our Austen-sequel authors, and I also do PR for some historical fiction that Sourcebooks is reissuing (Georgette Heyer, Joan Aiken, Margaret Campbell Barnes; just to name a few). The main difference is that there would be one publicist for one author.

However, I think with a lot of organization, a desk full of post-it notes, a dry erase board with schedules on it and a WHOLE LOT OF COFFEE, an in-house publicist with an unbelievable group of proactive, energetic authors can do just about anything, and can achieve the same results as an outside publicist. (AC notes: any resemblance here may not be coincidental!)

AC: If you weren’t a publicist, what would your dream job be?

DJ: This is going to sound totally nerdy, but I would LOVE to be a student again. I enjoy learning. So you know back in the old days when people would aspire to be “scholars” (even though they were usually men and the children of very wealthy people and didn’t have any responsibility in life) –yeah, that’s what my dream job would be.

AC: Hmmm, being the offspring of very wealthy people would be a dream job for me too! Er, um... Thank you, Danielle! But the questions are just beginning!

Now it is YOUR turn! Do you have a question about publicity or promotion for Danielle? If not, care to tell us what your dream job would be?Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/Sourcebooks
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