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Author Archive for Joan Swan

Cool Blog Tool

By Joan Swan · Comments (7)
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

I was introduced to a cool little tool this week by Keira at Love, Romance, Passion where I guest blogged this week with Carly Phillips on author websites (in case you’re interested…great post) and I was so thrilled with the little treat, I wanted to share.  (Yes, I’m excited by little things.)

But one of the things I love about it is that I often struggle with what to post here, because we have a mixture of readers and writers and it’s often difficult to find a topic that suits both.  And this does!

This little tool is fantastic for readers who visit various blogs often and leave comments.  And it’s a valuable little time saver for authors who are always hopping around the blog sphere.  It’s Gravitar.  Not Avatar…this is different.

I may be behind the times…you may all know about this already, and if you do..well, I guess I’ll be **blushing**, but what the heck!

What is a Gravitar?  It’s a miniature image associated with an email address that shows up on every blog where you use that email address as an identifier to post a comment.

So you know on those blogs where you go to the comments section and by their names you see little quilt patterns?  That’s where a picture of you (or whatever you’d like to represent you) will go by using this little tool.  Now, you can hop all over the blogsphere and no matter where you post a comment…there you’ll be!

Here are the steps:

  1. Choose/create your image
    Image should be 200 x 200 or 300 x 300, larger is better
  2. Go to http://en.gravatar.com/
  3. Click on:  Get Your Gravitar Today >
  4. Enter the email you will use when you comment on blogs
  5. You’ll be directed to confirm your account by returning to your email.
  6. Click on the link in the email and it will return you to the Gravitar site to complete the process.
  7. Choose your username and password
  8. Here you will add your image:
    Message: Whoops, looks like you don’t have any images yet!  Click on blue Link: Add one by clicking here!
  9. Search for you image on your computer, select and choose: Crop and Finish
  10. Here you get to select a rating for your Gravitar G, PG, R or X…a-hem…interesting.
  11. You will then be returned to the original screen where you image will appear aside your email.
  12. You’re done!

Now, go leave your new face everywhere around the blogsphere!  Let me know how it goes!!  Pretty please??

 

Comments (7)
Categories : General

Calling All Readers…and Writers…Little Help?

By Joan Swan · Comments (44)
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Thanks for coming to my rescue!  As a show of my appreciation, I’m giving away 2 $10 Amazon Gift Cards to 2 random commenters. Read on to find out more.

See, I have a little problem.  I’ve gone and tied myself up with some hefty blog tours.  The tours themselves aren’t the problem.  It’s those darn, pesky posts that go along with the tours.  Details, details.

Here’s the deal.  I’m a writer.  I’ve been a writer, steeped in craft and promotion and living with little people in my head for a decade now.  I read, but generally, I don’t talk about what I read unless I’m reviewing it or pulling it apart to examine it for one writing technique or another.  So, it’s not like I frequent readers boards or anything.  Now, I’ve got umpteen blog posts in front of me with readers as my audience instead of writers and I’m suddenly tongue tied.  Put me in front of writers and I could talk until I turned 95.  Readers…not so much.

I’ve never been a big fan of talking about myself unless there was a two way conversation taking place where the other person and I could find common ground and explore it.  Especially not if I have to pull a topic out of the air, one I’m not sure will interest the other person or bore them into a coma.

So, here’s where I hope you’ll jump in.  Pretty, pretty, PRETTY please?

Readers:  What are your favorite topics on an author’s blog tour?  What topics do you wish would never see the light of day again?  What have you always wanted to know but never asked?  What intrigues you about every author, no matter how many times the subject is discussed?

Authors:  What topics have been successful conversation starters for you on past blog tours?  How do you approach your tours–choose topics based on what feels right for the location and day?  Or do you plan it all out beforehand and follow a road map?  What things would you suggest staying away from during guest posts?  What are common topics always well received?  Can you share ideas on fun, fresh ideas that you’ve seen used elsewhere?  During blog tours, what has worked well for you?

As a show of my appreciation for your participation (because I have to admit, this is stressing me out a tad and I’ll feel so much better when I’ve got some solid ideas in my head), I’m giving away 2 $10 Amazon Gift Cards to 2 random commenters.

Come forth and share your ideas!  Brainstorming session is open!  TIA!

Comments (44)
Categories : General

Covers in the Ebook Era + Giveaway

By Joan Swan · Comments (31)
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

I received a very cool surprise in the mail today!  VERAH, VERAH pretty cover flaps for FEVER which releases February 2012.  I’m giving away 5 signed cover flats AND 5 custom handmade bookmarks of FEVER to random commentors today!!

Here’s the cover blurb:

Dr. Alyssa Foster will admit to a bad boy fetish…

But when she finds herself face to face with a convicted murderer with a ripped body, a determination for freedom and an eye on her as his get out of jail free card, Alyssa knows she’s in deep trouble…  Not just because Teague Creek is a prisoner desperate for freedom, but because his every touch makes her desperate for more. Read More→

Comments (31)
Categories : General

Can a Book Ever Be TOO Good?

By Joan Swan · Comments (12)
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

I’ve been reading a LOT lately. A lot more than I used to. I’ve started reviewing for a few publishing houses (including Kensington) and having the authors on my blog for interviews and excerpts and giveaways. It’s been so darn fun meeting all these new-to-me authors!

I also write a craft column for Savvy Authors once a month. This, I think, is the greatest challenge, because while many books are good, its tough to find the ones with craft so stellar I can use it as a teaching point. I’m also joining Roni Loren’s blog this month as the suspense/thriller reviewer for a once-a-month post and suggested read.

One book I read recently (actually listened to on audio during my long drive to work) was DAMAGED by Pamela Callow. I started listening to it and turned it off. The beginning scene just didn’t grab me. Later, I started listening again, and as soon as that first scene was over, the book absolutely took off. I think this is the first book since Stephen King’s PET CEMETARY that turned out to be just too intense for me to finish. It was THAT good. The plot was so dynamic and heart wrenching. Characters intertwined into a weave so complex I couldn’t stop listening. What ended up making me put it away? The romance.

Okay, it was a thriller, so I can’t fault the book for the romance aspect. And I didn’t put it down because it was bad. I put it down because it was heartbreaking. The protagonist heroine and antagonistic hero in the book had a prior relationship, a secret came out about her past and the hero went ape-sh*t. They were both devastated, both felt betrayed by the other and broke up. When the story starts again, they are pulled together by this murder case and, man, is this emotion palpable. Every scene they’re in together made my stomach ache. And it was so damn realistic. Every one of us has been in a situation where there was no going back, no putting the broken pieces back together, no matter how much you loved the other person. This was a case of the characters’ insecurities wrought from their past being just too ingrained in to their individual personalities to allow love to conquer.

I only reached the 1/3 mark of the story and finally had to give it up. The couple continued to travel down this hopeless path, hurting each other with every step. It killed me. If I weren’t a romance writer, maybe I could have persevered. And I’m not a conflict-squeamish type. I throw everything possible at my h/h. Drive them into crisis at every possible opportunity, but this was just too much. Had this been a romance, I would have stuck it out, because I would know they would turn it around and come out together in the end–as better people and with a stronger relationship. But it wasn’t. It was a thriller. And I just couldn’t watch these two injure each other any longer.

If you want to experience deep, visceral, moving relationship emotion — this is the book for you. If you love a complex thriller — this is the book for you. Maybe at some point, I’ll pick it up again, because IMO it’s an amazing study in writing emotion among other techniques. But not now. Not for a while. The battle still sticks with me, a month after I stopped listening not even half way through the book! Truly powerful!

If anyone has read this book, I don’t want spoilers, but if you could just tell me these two end up okay, I’ll start listening to it again.

Have you ever experienced a work that was just so good it was too good? Something so intense you had to put it down?

Comments (12)
Categories : General

Balance – That Ever Elusive Dream

By Joan Swan · Comments (2)
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
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Well, maybe it’s just elusive to the OCD’s out there like me. You know who you are. Those of us who get focused on one or two, okay, maybe six projects until those tasks take on a life of their own and morph into living, breathing, sanity-stealing demons.

I always know when that’s happened when my family and friends find me slumped over my desk, staring into nothing, glazed exhaustion in my eyes and they shake their heads and say, “That new project, huh?”

Right now, I’ve tossed the illusion of balance to the wind. For the summer months, I’ve agreed to work full time at my day job. With staff retiring and vacations coming up, we are critically short-handed. With my oldest heading into her second year of college and my youngest headed toward a drivers license, our family could use the extra income. The plan seemed sound. On paper.

And of course I considered the time requirements of my writing—the edits for my debut with Kensington, FEVER, the revision on one proposal while sketching another and the promotion for FEVER now that I’m only 6 months out from release.

But, I’m in the midst of it now I keep wondering…who’s idea was this again? Well, I said I was OCD. I didn’t say I was smart!

Because the job is also out of town, my balance quotient tips a little further south. In times like these, I’ve learned to ditch the small stuff. I get through my days with the minimum of fuss, complete my obligations at both home and work with the maximum amount of skill and care I have in the moment and let everything else go. That means things that are normally important to me now take a back seat—a clean house, order, schedules, routine, healthy eating, getting to the gym regularly. And I know I’m trading. For this short amount of time, I’m shifting priorities to meet a goal.

You all know how that is – a writing deadline must be met, a child takes on a club sport, work gears up for a new product distribution or software rollout.

So, here’s my question(s): How do you create the semblance of balance during stressful times? Are you able to drop things less important, knowing it’s simply one of the trade-offs or do you stress over it? What types of trade-offs have you made in your past during these times?

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Categories : Joan Swan
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Releases, Contests and Giveaways…Oh My!

By Joan Swan · Comments (13)
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
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This post is more of an announcement & giveaway than a discussion…although I’m all ears on the topic and welcome comments, suggestions, etc.

I recently wrote a blog on my personal/author site regarding my authentic approach to marketing.  It involves my as-of-yet-undiagnosed personality disorder, soon to be registered in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) I’m sure–a combination of the love of giving and OCD. 

Downtime is seriously dangerous for me.  (Not that I *should* have any downtime…as every prolific auhor knows there is no such thing.)  But in a moment of that forbidden lull which I allowed myself recently, I took a deeper look at my marketing efforts and discovered I’d been spending too much time focused on “my” marketing campaign.  After much debate and creative idea hashing with my mulitple personalities (a frightingly funny story for another post), I came up with @romancegiveaways.

@romancegiveaways is a Twitter account I started which is dedicated to announcing new releases, contests and giveaways.  An author-helping-author, authors-connecting-with-readers, community-building endeavor.

I hope you’ll visit me at @romancegiveaways (no spam, no crap, just…yep, you got it…releases, contests and giveaways.)  And it stretches across genres despite ‘romance” in the name (all the other generalized titles like fiction, books, etc. were taken). I scour my resources each day and report my findings.  I also take announcements from emails, direct messages and facebook messages and tweet them.

So…if you’re an author and want to get the word out about a…well you know…shoot me an email at romance @ joanswan.com.  If you’re a reader, hop over and follow for all the latest!  And if you know of someone in the social media universe who I should follow to keep track of their giveaway movements so I can report good stuff, let me know!

The greatest leverage in this system is SHARING the information.  You know that old commercial slogan: she told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on and so on… while the woman’s picture multipied.  Was that VO5…no.  Herbal Essence…no.  Anyway… get out there and SHARE this info because it benefits EVERYONE!!!

Now…for the giveaway part:

~ All @romancegiveaway NEW followers from midnight 6/15 to midnight 6/16 will be entered for one giveaway.
~ All @romancegiveaway PRIOR followers up to 6/15 will be entered in another giveaway.

Now…what to giveaway?  Let me thumb through my gift card pile…

Well, shoot, what’s better than Amazon?  $15 each!  GO! (See you there)

Comments (13)
Categories : Joan Swan

Guest Elisabeth Naughton & Giveaway!

By Joan Swan · Comments (28)
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
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Thanks so much to the crew here at the Brava blog (especially my fab CP and Brava author, Joan Swan) for inviting me to guest post with you today! My first Brava release, BODYGUARDS IN BED, a romantic suspense anthology featuring Lucy Monroe, Jamie Denton and yours truly, releases on May 31st. As you can probably guess from the title, this is a collection of fun, hot, sexy stories all about…what else?…bodyguards.

When I was first asked to participate in this anthology I was really excited. I love writing fast-paced, sexy romantic suspense stories. But…I’d never written about a bodyguard before. Oh sure, I’d read plenty of RS books  about bodyguards, but reading about them and writing about them are two very different things. So I did some research. And I found several universal qualities that all RS bodyguard books share.

1.  RS bodyguards must be hot. This is a major no-brainer. “Hot” and “bodyguard” seem to go together like…well, “deadly” and “SEAL” (and considering all the recent press the SEALs have been getting, I’m pretty sure you could add in “hot” there as well).

2. RS bodyguards are serious about protecting and serving. In all aspects of the words. Oh, wait, what? You need protection from the monster hiding in the closet? A bodyguard in your bed is the most obvious solution!

3. RS bodyguards can overcome any obstacle. Especially a head-strong heroine who doesn’t think she needs protecting. (In rare instances you get the reverse—the RS heroine who IS the bodyguard protecting the hero, but even in those situations the protectee is still usually obstinate about being protected in the first place.) So what’s the easiest way to overcome those obstacles? Seduction, people. After all, this is a romance, remember, and our bodyguard is a professional.

4. RS bodyguards get the job done. A bodyguard story, by definition, implies danger. Which means at some point, someone’s going to get threatened, hurt, shot…maybe even killed. Nothing amps the sexiness of a bodyguard more than seeing him in his element, protecting and serving amidst a violent and dangerous situation. And nothing turns a heroine (and a reader) on more than a guy who can get the job done even when the bad guys are hot on their trail.

And finally…

5. RS bodyguards are willing to put their lives on the line for the people they’re protecting. And seriously, what’s sexier than a guy who would take a bullet for a woman? Not much.

I’d love to hear your favorite elements of bodyguard stories. What is it about bodyguards that keep drawing readers back time and again? One lucky commenter will win their own personal bodyguard (or three!) in an autographed copy of BODYGUARDS IN BED!

***

A former junior high science teacher, Elisabeth Naughton traded in her red pen and test tube set for a laptop and research books. She now writes sexy romantic adventure and paranormal novels full time from her home in western Oregon where she lives with her husband and three children. Her work has been nominated for numerous awards including the prestigious RITA® awards by Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, The Golden Leaf and the Golden Heart. When not writing, Elisabeth can be found running, hanging out at the ballpark or dreaming up new and exciting adventures. Visit her at www.elisabethnaughton.com to learn more about her and her books.

Comments (28)
Categories : Joan Swan

Summer Reading (+ Giveaway!)

By Joan Swan · Comments (21)
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
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We’re already nearing the end of April! Can you believe it?  Within six weeks we’ll be in swimsuit season.  Which is :grin: for some of us.  I’m more of a :cry:.

Luckily, or unluckily (is that a word?), depending on how you look at it, I won’t be taking any trips where I’ll be in need of a swimsuit this summer.  The oldest daughter is just finishing up her first year of college, which puts us clearly in the BROKE category.  But…she’s doing well, and I’d trade that for every vacation for the rest of my life.  (Of course, I say that now…  )

But that won’t keep me from reading!  There are so many awesome works coming out in the next few months, I fear my TBR pile will be taller than I am!

First on my list–as soon as the ink is dry–our Brava sisters’ anthology, BODYGUARDS IN BED.  Holy :oops:.  Talk about some summer heat!

The romantic suspense hits shelves, May 31, 2011.  I’m particularly excited to welcome my amazing, generous, savvy critique partner Elisabeth Naughton to the Brava line.  Her novella, ACAPULCO HEAT, will join two other novellas by fellow Brava authors Lucy Monroe & Jamie Denton in this sexy trio perfect for beach reading. 

There’s just one cardinal rule when it comes to being a bodyguard: no matter how tempting it may be, never, ever get romantically involved with the person you’re supposed to be protecting. But as these sensual novellas prove, even the most important rules are made to be broken–again and again and again.

Yum! :cool:  Seriously!

A few other releases between now and August (and a few I haven’t gotten around to yet) that will be at the top of my TBR pile for a sultry summer are:

  • Cynthia Eden’s DEADLY series
  • Stephanie Tyler’s SHADOW FORCE series
  • Mariah Stewart’s THE CHESAPEAKE DIARIES series
  • Larissa Ione’s ETERNAL RIDER
  • Shannon McKenna’s THE ULTIMATE WEAPON
  • Pamela Clare’s BREAKING POINT
  • Anna Campbell’s MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION

Oh…so many awesome books…so little time.

So, for a chance to win a copy of BODYGUARDS IN BED when it releases on May 31st, tell us:

  1. If you’re taking any cool vacations this summer — even if just for a weekend
  2. What you plan on reading this summer
  3. What you just can’t WAIT to release

(And for extra chances to win copies of BODYGUARDS IN BED, check out Elisabeth’s blog or sign up for her newsletter–in the right sidebar on her website, where she’s randomly giving away ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) between now and release day!)

Comments (21)
Categories : Joan Swan

Giveaways, Contests, Auctions, et. al.

By Joan Swan · Comments (62)
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
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We love them, right?  The chance to win something.  It’s awesome, even addicting.  So…today, I’m giving away a $15 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commentor!!

I got to thinking about this topic because — many of you may have already heard — that an important backstage member of the romance community, Fatin, also known on Twitter as @mad4rombks suffered the tragic death of her husband last week. 

Several authors and friends of Fatin arranged an auction to benefit her and her four children.  Writers far and wide have donated everything from signed books to a full length book trailer (courtesy of Tessa Dare) for the auction.  (If you would like to donate something for the auction, please contact Lauren Dane.)

I wanted to donate, but my debut, FEVER, doesn’t come out for another year, so obviously no signed books to offer.  I need every minute I can find just to keep my own writing schedule, so offering a critique for donation would be just professionally…well…stupid.  So, what did I have that would be valuable enough for others to bid on, yet manageable for me to follow through on?

In my search for ideas, I came across Larissa Ione’s post on Facebook, asking her readers what they would like to see in the auction, what they would bid on.  It’s a very fun read.  Some of the items readers came up with that surprised me?  A character in the author’s next book modeled or named after the auction winner.  Lunch with the author.   Even brainstorming opportunities with the author on their future work.  Definitely things I would have never considered.

But, again, I’m a debut author, who won’t be in print for quite a while, so those aren’t viable options for my donation.  My critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, suggested I offer some of my design services.  In one of my other lives (I’ve had so many) I was a web/graphic designer for Hewlett Packard, I graduated college with a design degree and I love designing.  It’s a fabulous creative break from writing.

On her suggestion, I’ve donated my design services for the up and coming romance trading cards.  Great!  But…I still don’t have a book to design for.  So, I used Elisabeth’s.  She’s on deadline right now and needs them done.  I need a book to use as a design guinea pig.  Win-win, right?  You can decide–see hers here.

So, all that brings me to my question for the day — as a reader, what do you LOVE to win as prizes? Do book copies get old? If you could choose–be reasonable now–what would you REALLY like to win?  What is the BEST prize you’ve ever seen offered? As an author, what would you bid for in an auction?

(Side note…the best prize I’ve seen was an author recently giving away a full on cruise for 4.  Can’t remember which author, but it was a huge giveaway, for a release I think –seemed very well planned and thought out.  I’m sure something here knows who that is.)

Comments (62)
Categories : Joan Swan

The Black Moment—When is it Dark Enough?

By Joan Swan · Comments (26)
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
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One lucky commenter will win a copy of my fellow Brava Author
Emma Lang’s new release: RESTLESS HEART.

What makes a book memorable? A truly enthralling read?  A tale that sticks with us long past closing the book? 

Yes, characters, but not just the people in the story—everything that happens to them during the course of the story.  How they cope, how they change, how they overcome: a.k.a. the character arc.  And that transforming arc peaks within the climax at the black moment. 

And a black moment is made, not born.  The power of this critical element is completely dependent on its support elements. 

If beginnings create readers and endings create fans,
black moments create addicts. 

A moving, meaningful, magic black moment is carefully crafted from page one, builds through the first 7/8th of the book (or maybe 3/4th, but my resolutions come fast. ;-)) where it climaxes into that moment when the character(s) makes a critical choice that will change life as they know it–change themselves, the one’s they love and their future—forever.

For me that’s the pay off for reading to The End.  I want to watch the characters emerge, struggle, grow, nearly lose everything that matters, then triumph.

And while every writer knows what a black moment is, what it represents in a story’s structure and why it’s necessary, not every writer knows how to make it happen in the most passionate, powerful or poignant way.

As a reader, I find this the black moment one of the most critical elements in a story’s ability to ultimately provide complete satisfaction.  As a writer, I find it one of the most difficult to craft.

The Black Moment is often described in “literary” speak.  With explanations as vague as “when all is lost”, it’s not surprising that many authors I’ve read fall short of delivering the most powerful punch possible.  What exactly is “all”?  A goal? A relationship? A life?  And what exactly is “lost”?  Failure? Defeat? Death?

The anatomy of a black moment

  • It begins with characters the reader cares about (characterization)
  • It builds through continued struggle (conflict)
  • It expands along the story’s trajectory (character arc)
  • It deepens as danger mounts (increasing stakes)
  • It culminates at the most threatening point (climax)
  • Black Moment
  • It consolidates with reflection and self-realization (resolution)

The black moment’s power lies within each individual story element’s strength. 

If those pieces are weakly constructed, the black moment fizzles and leaves a reader feeling less than satisfied, like the impending sneeze that tickles in the nose but never comes.

My critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, crafts deep, meaningful, moving black moments.  She explains it as the moment at which the character makes the decision to do the one thing he/she would never do at the beginning of the novel. 

A couple of examples

In Dean Koontz’s newest thriller, WHAT THE NIGHT KNOWS, the main character, John, fights against a malevolent spirit for the safety of his family.  John would never give himself over to this demon.  The entire book revolves around John’s struggle to keep himself from succumbing to the evil in an effort to keep his family safe.  John’s black moment comes in his realization that to save his family, he must sacrifice himself to this devil.

My debut novel FEVER begins with the hero, Teague, escaping prison.  When the reader meets Teague, he is willing to die rather than go back to prison.  Teague’s black moment comes in the moment of realization that he must give up what he wants most in life—his freedom, in order to keep those he loves from suffering the damaging consequences he brought into their lives by his act of escaping.

In each example, you can see how it is tied to the character’s growth arc.  How the one thing they would never consider and spend all their time fighting for (or against), is the one thing they must give up to succeed in what has become, after their character arc is complete, their greater goal.

A black moment that is truly (pitch, jet, coal, raven) black provides the deepest emotional hit, which in turn delivers the sweetest resolution.

Your turn

As a reader, how important is the strength of the black moment to your overall satisfaction in a read?  What authors do you think do an exceptional job with their black moments?  And why?

As a writer, how do you craft your black moments?  How important to the overall craft of your novel do you believe they are?

Every commenter will be entered to win a copy of fellow Brava Author
Emma Lang’s most recent release: RESTLESS HEART.

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