Category: Blogs & Blogging

Moderation Frustration

This Wednesday, about 80% of the comments left for Natale Stenzel’s guest blog went to moderation. Very frustrating! I don’t know what happened, but I’m hosting four guest bloggers in March and I really don’t want to deal with an 80% moderation rate again. I know a comment will go to moderation if the writer includes a long signature file, some sort of list or more than one link (actually, if you leave more than one link, your comment will go to spam rather than moderation), or if a writer leaves two or three comments in quick succession (which is why I allow my guest bloggers to log in). However, Wednesday, we had one sig file go to moderation, a couple from the guest when she forgot to log in first, and then all hell broke loose and suddenly every comment required my approval.

Something signaled my spam filter to go crazy Wednesday. I’m hoping it was a temporary aberration, but if you’re reading this, do me a favor and leave a comment so I can test it out. Thanks!

A Day in the Life of…Diana Duncan

Seeing as I’m still on Vision Leave, I’m sharing this link to Sia McKye’s blog. My buddy Diana Duncan posted a hilarious “Day in the Life of a Romance Writer” blog. Enjoy.

P.S. Yes, I am managing to work on the WIP, for which I am most thankful.

P.P.S. In case I don’t return before next week, don’t forget that Natale Stenzel, author of funny paranormal romances from Dorchester Publishing, is guest-blogging here November 25th. That’s next Wednesday. The promo post will go up Tuesday. See you then.

A Week of Secrets

My buddy, my friend, my life-long pal (not to mention writer extraordinaire), Kate St. James, is participating in A Week of Secrets at Jennifer’s Random Musings. Starting…yesterday! Yes, yesterday, Sunday February 1st, the Week of Secrets began. No stressing, though. No yelling at me that I didn’t post yesterday. Who do you think I am? Kate’s promo person?

There’s plenty of time—all week, in fact—to pop over and say hello to Kate, meet four other wonderful Red Sage authors, and leave comments to enter a drawing at the end of the week for a coupon toward a print or ebook from Red Sage Publishing.

Yesterday featured an introductory post. Now, each day from today until Friday, a Red Sage author will post a blog, Kate will pop in to comment even when it isn’t her day—because that’s the sort of supportive writer-friend she is, she tells me—then next Saturday, February 7th, a winner’s name will be drawn for the print book/ebook coupon.

You can comment as often as you like, however, every day that you comment counts as an entry into the contest, up to a maximum of 5 entries per commenter. So if you comment once per day from Monday to Friday, you’re entered for 5 chances to win. If you comment 5 times on Monday and no other day, you’re entered for 1 chance to win. Make sense? In other words, visit and comment every day to maximum your chances.

Here’s the line-up for the week:

Monday – Not So Secret Secrets of One Romance Writer by Ellie Marvel

Tuesday – Two Secrets of Bold, Bad Girls by Natasha Moore

Wednesday – Secrets of Successful Threesomes by Kate St. James

Thursday – Four Secrets of A French Courtesan by Juliet Burns

Friday – Five Secrets of the SuperFlirt by Carly Carson

Saturday – Jennifer announces the winner of the give-away

Now, I’ll be busy here Wednesday hosting co-guest bloggers Karen Tintori and Jill Gregory, so I won’t have a chance to heckle you to go say hello to Kate. I might heckle you belatedly on Thursday if you don’t go say hello to her, however. I’m just trying to earn my keep here. She’ll cut me loose if I don’t do my job properly. She’s evil that way.

How Smart is Your Blog?

Not sure what this says about me:

blog readability test

Okay, to be honest, The Blog Readability Test isn’t so much about intelligence as it is about, well, readability. So, I am plenty smart, I assure you. It’s just my blog that’s not. Despite my advanced years, apparently it’s yet to graduate! :::sob::: Must be Elle’s influence.

How smart is your blog?

RITA Controversy Makes PW Blog

The controversy about the new “mass-produced” stipulation in RWA’s 2009 RITA contest has reached the Publishers Weekly Blog. Makes for interesting reading, and you can share your views as well, if you wish.

I’m glad the RWA office appears to have clarified the confusion surrounding the return of disqualified books. Yes, they will be returned. From RWA, via the blog :

A rumor is circulating that RWA refused to return disqualified books. That is not true. They have either been returned or are in the process of being returned. The mailing of the RITA books to judges was a priority for the staff, delaying some returns, but any member who contacted the office with this question was told that her books would be returned.

As for returning the entry fees, that’s another issue. When you enter the contest, you sign a box stating you have read the rules. Despite the confusion surrounding the new mass-produced stipulation, it appears RWA is sticking to their guns on this matter.

By the way, a blog post and petition begun by author Kristen Painter led to the Publishers Weekly blog post. You can have a look at Kristen’s petition here. Information about why she felt it necessary to spearhead the petition is on her blog.

There has been talk on one of my chapter forums about whether or not to protest this latest kerfuffle by returning one’s box of RITA or Golden Heart entries, thereby refusing to judge. I do respect individual choices, however, to me, sending back entries as a form of protest hurts the individuals who entered the contests more than it does RWA, and who’s to say that members whose books weren’t disqualified don’t share the same philosophies as members who are considering returning their packet of books? Also, it’s the RWA office staff that then has to run around and find more judges for the returned entries. The staff has nothing to do with the change in rules. However, they must enforce the change.

Every RWA member must make up her own mind how to protest, if indeed she wishes to. For myself, I have no intention of returning my box of RITA books. I do respect the right of others to send back their box of books, however. Meanwhile, I am 2.3 books into judging my packet of 8 or 9 books, and I’m enjoying the process very much.

Lovely RITA, Meter Maid

Or, should I say, contest.

I have a lot of reading to do over the next few weeks, because I received my RITA books yesterday. This is the first year I’ve volunteered to judge the RITA contest. Last year and previous years, I judged the Golden Heart. Considering this is the second year I’ve entered the RITA myself (last year as Cindy and Penny, this year just as Penny), I decided the time had come to volunteer to judge. As much as I yearned to continue judging the Golden Heart, I confess I don’t have it in me to judge two contests at one time, so I had to choose.

I received 8 or 9 books—yikes! All but one are in one category, and then there’s a lone baby from a second category. It’s interesting, when you receive all but one book from one category, to note the publishers within that category. However, I can’t go into my observations here, so as not to ID authors and publishers. I’ll have to discuss it with Elle Muse. She’s very discreet.

Before I get to the RITA entries, I’m still reading a wonderful book by Bronwyn Parry, an Australian writer who won the Golden Heart in 2007. Bronwyn’s romantic suspense with a mainstream feel, AS DARKNESS FALLS, was published by Hachette Australia this year. I’d love to include a link to Amazon for everyone, but unfortunately the book isn’t distributed in North America. So if you search on Amazon, I think it’s listed as out of print or something. But it IS in print—just in Australia.

How did I finagle a copy, you ask? Hachette had a contest for five people to win copies of Bronwyn’s book, I happened to enter (because I really wanted to read it), and I happened to get chosen as one of the lucky winners. Yay for me.

Oh, and before I forget, today is the last day you can comment to enter to win a copy of SECRETS, VOLUME 26: BOUND BY PASSION, including the novella, Exes & Ahhs, by Kate St. James, who is the author of the week at Candy Ready’s Red Hots. Excerpts from Exes & Ahhs went up yesterday and today—so hop over and check ’em out. Yes, you have to comment (there, not here) to enter for a chance to win, but the winner is getting chosen tomorrow, so if you want this last chance to enter, take advantage of it now. NOW, I tell ya!!