Posts made in 2012

Giveaway and Interview with Debut Author Robin Bielman!

I’m thrilled to welcome debut author (and very good friend) Robin Bielman to my blog today. Her novella, Worth the Risk, just came out, and it’s a wonderful read – fun and funny and steamy and totally unforgettable! Believe me, you’re going to want this one! Here’s the blurb:

Their love was ancient history…until their paths crossed again. Samantha Bennett put Dean Malloy out of her mind five years ago, when he broke her heart after a summer fling. But now he’s back in her life, and ready to steal a heritage protection contract that could make or break her career–if he doesn’t steal her heart first. Samantha’s vowed to hate him, but it’s more than anger heating the competition between them. With sparks flying across the conference table and sizzling in every touch, Dean proposes a weekend liaison. Anything to have Sam again; anything to get her out of his system. But the unresolved feelings between them complicate both their personal and professional lives, and one wild weekend could turn into a disaster that would destroy the one job that means more to Samantha than anything. For a shot at love…is it worth the risk?

You can read the first two chapters of Worth the Risk on the Entangled Publishing website, or buy it at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. To connect with Robin, visit her blog. She’s also active on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Read on for giveaway details. Maybe you’ll be one of the TWO lucky winners of Robin’s fabulous book! But first, an interview.

Hi, Robin! Thanks so much for coming. First of all, Worth the Risk has such a unique premise. I especially love the heritage protection angle. What inspired it? 
Thank you for having me on your blog, Caryn! I’m so happy to be here! You write the best blog posts, and I enjoy reading each and every one of them. (I can’t believe I’m your guest today! Squee!)

I’m a big fan of Outside magazine, and I was reading an article about the best jobs when one on heritage protection really resonated with me. I decided right then I was going to write a story about a guy (Dean) with that job, and who loved the environment more than anything else. Then I came up with Samantha – the girl from his past that he’s never stopped loving, and who makes him rethink his bachelor status.

Wow. Lots of room for fun stuff there! So what’s your favorite line from the book?
I have lots of favorites, but the one that sticks out is, “One kiss, Sam. I dare you.”

Oh, yes! I remember that scene. It’s one of my favorites. Lots of tension and humor. Wonderful! What’s your writing process like? Do you outline everything before you begin, or do you plot as you go?
I am a total pantser! I love sitting down to write and letting my characters lead the way. Since writing Worth the Risk, though, I do briefly outline my stories, just so I have some idea of where I want to go. But that often changes—and I love when that happens! I love when my characters take me in a direction I didn’t see coming.

Speaking of pants, what’s your favorite writing outfit? Bathrobe? Bikini? Three-piece suit?
I love this question! My favorite writing outfit is comfy sweat pants, a sweatshirt, and my pink fluffy socks.

Sounds very comfortable! What must you always have by your side while writing? 
I write at my desk and it’s pretty messy. (Which is really weird, because everywhere else I’m very neat.) I always have my dictionary and thesaurus near by. And I’ve got paper everywhere – mostly notes about my WIP or other writing related things – which gives me a great deal of comfort. Oh, and my dog, Harry, is always at my feet. If I’m ever at a loss for words, he always cheers me up.

Your publisher, Entangled, is fairly new. What has your experience with them been like?
My experience with Entangled has been fantastic! I’ve been super lucky to work with two amazing editors. Adrien-Luc Sanders is beyond awesome. I’d always dreamed of working with someone who got me, but helped make my writing and stories stronger, and he’s done that. I hope to work with him for a long, long, long time! I was also very lucky to work with Stacy Abrams when Adrien was out of commission for a few weeks due to illness. She was all sorts of awesome, too, and I loved how she could change just one word in a sentence and make all the difference in getting my meaning across better. I’ve learned a lot from both of them, and I’m very grateful for their guidance and expertise. The rest of the gang at Entangled goes above and beyond. The generosity and camaraderie from the management, editors, publicists and other authors is truly outstanding. I feel like I’m part of a family. I highly recommend submitting to them!

Author Robin Bielman

They sound like a great team. So now that Worth the Risk is out, are you nervous about what reviewers will say, or do you, like many authors, plan to ignore reviews altogether?
I’m very nervous! So far, though, I’ve gotten really wonderful reviews. I know it won’t always be like that – and I’ll be sorry I’m not like those other authors and am instead torturing myself by looking – but I’ll just try and remind myself that everyone is allowed to have their opinion.

You reviews are great so far! Lots of fours and even more fives. What’s next, now that Worth the Risk is in readers’ hands and out of your control?
I recently finished a second novella for my editor Adrien, and pitched him a third idea. The hero in my second novella is McCall, a character I introduce in Worth the Risk. The hero in my third novella is a character I introduced in my second novella. So I hope McCall’s story is published next! I’m also finishing revisions on my contemporary YA—a story I just adore.

Just what I like to hear – a whole list of upcoming books from Robin!

And now the giveaway…TWO lucky winners will receive electronic copies of Worth the Risk for their e-readers. To enter, just leave a comment below by midnight MST on Sunday, May 20th. Winners will be drawn using the Random Number Generator. They will be notified by email and posted here on Monday. For bonus entries,  just post about this giveaway/interview on Facebook and/or Twitter, then come back here and leave a comment to let me know what you did. Super easy!

Robin will also stop in throughout the week to answer questions and respond to comments, so if you have anything to ask her or tell her, comment away and she’ll reply.

Word Nerd

In seventh grade, in the back of my parents’ car, on the way home from another disastrous school-wide dance, my friend Rebekah and I lied to each other in the nicest possible way.

“Nerds,” we told ourselves, “Are awesome.”

They were the most misunderstood subgroup in the high school hierarchy. Everyone should want to be one. Those snotty popular girls who had hurled insults down the school hallway toward us that night? They were just jealous. And they were wrong, too, because we were most assuredly not nerds.

Okay, fine, we admitted as the car turned a corner and a street lamp splashed yellow light into the back, highlighting our awkward hair and gawky arms. So what if we sort of were? It might not be permanent. If we could outgrow training bras, dollhouses with hand-painted shutters, and unrequited crushes, we could outgrow this. Nerdhood? Already speeding into the past, baby.

Only, that was a lie. The biggest of all.

Because now, two decades later, I have realized something. Almost every major decision I have made in my life has depended on my latent nerdhood, from my English major to my novel writing. And every purchase backs it up. The deluxe, shiny black Scrabble board on its spinny little stand. The pressed-wood clipboard and cushy mechanical pencil whose sole job is to support our nightly New York Times crossword habit. The books spilling off the bedroom shelves. This laptop, on which I’ve written novels in my free time instead of shopping at the mall, loitering around the bike racks, slipping frogs into the principal’s pillowcase, or whatever it is the cool kids do at age thirty-five.

I am a nerd, a bookworm. Still. Always. Even when I hide it. I have not outgrown it, and I won’t. And lately I’ve decided I don’t want to. Because the hobbies that earned me taunts when I was twelve make me happy now. I embrace them.

I will always read novels in public, and scribble in notebooks, and continue to not know the rules of football. I will be introverted and sometimes awkward, and see my tendency to lean against walls at parties as character research. I will be bookish. Someday I will probably wear glasses. I will never be graceful. I will never be cool. But I’ll take joy over those things any day. And that’s one thing that has changed.

Because you know what? We were right, that painful, long-ago evening. Nerddom is awesome. So are confidence and joy and doing what you love. The rest really doesn’t matter.

What about you? Are you anything like you were in high school? Most importantly, what kind of nerd are you?

Blog-Hopping

Whew! I’m back! Now that I’ve turned in my latest set of revisions, I’ll have a real blog post coming up soon, plus a giveaway and interview with fabulous debut author Robin Bielman. In the meantime, I’ve not only redesigned my site and my photoblog, but I’ve also been playing around on other people’s sites.

Here’s the guest post roundup:

A post about my inner narrator’s refusal to hush up, at the blog for the Chick Lit chapter of RWA: http://bit.ly/zJUwvZ

A slightly different version of my How I Got My Agent story, re-worked for the Hen&Ink Literary Studio blog: http://bit.ly/JXzdsI

An interview with SCBWI’s COO at Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog: http://bit.ly/I4vL4j

Hope to see you there!

I Want That Job! (Or, What I Learned About Careers by Watching Movies)

Considering a career change? Need a job for a character in your next novel? No need to ask an actual person for his or her job description. Just watch movies. According to Hollywood, here’s what a variety of different jobs entail:

Subway/Train Conductor:
Look horrified while pulling imaginary brakes.

Random Politician:
Gaze sternly into camera.
Pound podium.
Spray spittle and vitriol.

President of the United States:
Fly around in helicopters.
Make grave speeches.
Walk in step with perky young aide.
Inspire.

Reporter:
Go undercover.
Research life-or-death stories spouse/editor/creepy anonymous voice on the phone told you not to touch.
Fall in love with source.

Newspaper Editor:
Yell.
Throw things.
Surreptitiously print exposé up-and-coming reporter wrote, printed, handed to you, then asked you not to run. Declare it their best work yet.

Movie Director:
Holler “Cut!” and, on occasion, “Action!”

Motel/Convenience Store Clerk:
Shrug in bored fashion when someone shoves a photo under your nose and asks, “Have you seen this person?”

Judge:
Adjust robes.
Frown at witnesses.
Shout “Order!” and “Overruled!” at random intervals.
Pound gavel.

Taxi Driver:
Cruise streets without picking anyone up.
Honk.
Make witty banter while chasing another car or racing toward the airport.
Glance at passengers in rear-view mirror. Make bug eyes when you see what they’re doing back there.

Goon:
Run awkwardly.
Kick kneecaps.
Get shot.

Mob Boss:
Eat spaghetti.
Scowl.
Casually order multiple murders.
Examine well-buffed fingernails.

Your turn. What careers have you learned about thanks to movies?

P.S. There’s a fantastic discussion going on in the comments right now! Be sure to read everybody’s brilliant ideas about what they’ve learned from movies, then add yours if you’re so inclined. (And I hope you ARE inclined, because I adore comments!)