Category: My Books

Move Over, Penny!

I’ve been sitting on this news long enough.

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve sold my 2007 Golden Heart finalist manuscript, WHERE SHE BELONGS, to Five Star Expressions! Yes, you heard me, Cindy rather than Penny (that hog) finally has a new book coming out! In 2011. That’s next year. My new editor informed me that there was ONE (1) slot left for 2011—and it’s been allocated to my book!

If you’re scratching your head wondering, “I’ve never heard Cindy talk about WHERE SHE BELONGS before,” it finaled in the GH Long Contemporary category under the title, HER HOMETOWN MAN.

Okay, that’s all well and good, you say, but what’s Five Star Expressions?

Five Star is a hardcover library imprint, and Expressions is Five Star’s romance line. They also have a mystery line.

Little ol’ me, a book out in hardcover. 🙂 Well, “library binding.” Which is a form of hardcover.

Five Star publishes almost exclusively for the library market. Which means my book won’t be stocked in bookstores, but bookstores can order copies at a customer’s request. The books are also sold on-line at places like Amazon.

I also don’t know at this point if “library market” includes Canada, but wouldn’t it be ultra-cool if one of my books finally appeared in Canadian libraries?

WHERE SHE BELONGS is a dramatic contemporary romance. The hero has a great sense of humor, but the book is definitely a bit of a departure from HEAD OVER HEELS and BORROWING ALEX. This book holds a special place in my heart. It’s about loss, forgiveness, and rediscovering one’s sense of belonging, and it’s set in a fictional B.C. logging town.

Andy, I know you can’t hear me (or maybe you can), but this one’s for you.

Green Christmas

We had a green Christmas for the first time I can remember. We’ve nearly had a green Christmas at least twice before. I distinctly remember one year back when I was around ten, or eight, or twelve (hey, it was a long time ago, the memory’s rusty) when it didn’t snow until Christmas day. And then it snowed dump trucks on us! I was so happy. Of course, I didn’t have to drive in it.

Same thing happened about a decade ago. No snow until my brother and sisters had to brave the roads for Christmas dinner at my house. Then—kablooey. Tons of snow.

I know other areas of North America are getting pummeled with the chilly white stuff as I type. Is your part of the continent white or green?

Oh, before I forget, congratulations to Lisa G., who won the Super Secret Santa Give-Away on Nobody Writes It Better! My romantic comedy, BORROWING ALEX, was included in the give-away. I’ll get the book in the mail to you this week.

Thanks to everyone who entered. I hear we had a good turn-out, which means we’ll hopefully hold another give-away next year.

Box ‘O Books Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my 2009 BOX ‘O BOOKS HOLIDAY GIVE-AWAY. Between entries in the comment trail, Facebook, and emailed entries, I had 28 names this year and numbered them as they reached me. Random draw announced #20 as the winner—Karen from the comment trail. Congratulations, Karen! You’ve won the box of contemporary romances plus a copy of my romantic comedy, HEAD OVER HEELS. Please look for an email from me in your in-box, and I’ll send the books off to you early next week.

If you didn’t win and would like to learn more about my books, please visit my website pages for HEAD OVER HEELS and BORROWING ALEX. E-Books are available from Amber Quill Press, and trade paperbacks and Kindle editions are available from Amazon. I also have a Buy from Author page for Canadians (Canadian Amazon doesn’t carry the books, but you may order from American Amazon or from myself) or if someone wants an autographed copy.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! If my TBR pile gets out of control again in 2010, I’ll hold another Box ‘O Books contest next December.

Kindles for Canadians! At Last!

Yes, you heard it here – probably last. The Kindle is finally available in Canada. Well, we have to buy it from the U.S. Kindle store, but the point is, we can finally buy it. And, depending on where you live in the Great White North, we can use the wireless technology to download books, too.

I checked the service area for my town, and the wireless technology IS available. You know what this means, don’t you? Anyone who wants to buy me a Kindle and ship it to me for Christmas can now do so. Feel free!

In other news, only two days remain in my 2009 BOX ‘O BOOKS HOLIDAY GIVE-AWAY. For details on how to enter, click here.

2009 Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away

**UPDATED** December 11, 2009. Karen from the comment trail won the Box ‘O Books and a copy of my romantic comedy, HEAD OVER HEELS.

Congratulations, Karen, and thank you to everyone who entered!

~~~~~~~

I had so much fun with this give-away last year that I’m doing it again this year. I’m a little late, so if you enter I can’t guarantee you’ll receive the books before Christmas, but, depending where you live, you should receive them before the end of December. Got that? Ready? Go!

The holiday season is upon us—what better time to tame my TBR pile and give away a Box ‘O Books?

The books I’m giving away to one lucky winner are comprised of free copies I’ve received at writing conferences and haven’t found time to read, as well as books I’ve bought but have never found time to read, or books that I’ve accidentally bought two copies of (hey, it happens).

These are all new, never-read books. Not ARCs. Not used books. Brand new, never-read. Not by me or by anyone else.

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

Leanne Banks, Some Girls Do

Gemma Bruce, Who Wants to Be a Sex Goddess?

Rachel Gibson, Simply Irresistible

Shirley Jump, The Bride Wore Chocolate

Karen Kelley, Double-Dating the Dead

Cindy Kirk, When She Was Bad

Susan Mallery, Married for a Month

Christie Ridgway, First Comes Love

Gena Showalter, Catch a Mate

Kelley St. John, Flirting with Temptation

If you’ve read this far, I’m also including a copy of one of my romantic comedies, your choice of either BORROWING ALEX or HEAD OVER HEELS (please click the links to find out more about each book). If you already have copies of both (aren’t you sweet?), feel free to enter anyway, because you can always ask me to sign the extra copy to your mom, your best friend, or your guppy.

The Rules:

  1. Contest is open from Saturday, December 5th to Thursday, December 10th. I’ll choose the winner’s name at random Thursday at midnight and contact the winner Friday morning, December 11th by email for your snail mail address, so I can ship the books. I’ll ship the books within 2 or 3 days of hearing from you.
  2. Only one entry per person please.
  3. I am very sorry, but because of the weight of the Box ‘O Books and because Canada Post doesn’t provide discounts for shipping books, I can only open the contest to residents of Canada and the contiguous United States. This means that if you live in Alaska, you can enter (seeing as Alaska borders the Yukon), but if you live in Hawaii, you can’t. I’m shipping the winner the books by ground, not airmail.

How to Enter:

  1. Enter your name in the Comment trail, and please let me know if you would like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX along with the Box ‘O Books. OR
  2. Email me at cindy AT cindyprocter-king DOT com with BOX ‘O BOOKS in the Subject line, again please letting me know if you would like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX included in your holiday surprise. OR
  3. Facebook friends can enter their name in the Comment trail of this note on my profile or by options 1 or 2, your preference. If a Facebooker wins, I’ll message you through Facebook. Oh, and in case you haven’t guessed, when you leave your Facebook comment, let me know if you’d like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX along with the Box ‘O Books.

Go forth and enter! Tell your buddies, tell your chapters, tell your guppies.

Musical Editors

I found out the other day that the editor in Japan who bought the manga rights to HEAD OVER HEELS has left the publisher. The publication will go along as planned, except now I still have no idea—and probably never will—how the editor became interested in my book.

Dear Amazing Editor with Fantastic Taste:

Thank you for finding my book and contacting my agent in Japan, who contacted the scouting agency in New York, who contacted Amber Quill Press, who contacted me, resulting in the sale. While I regret that I will never know what prompted your request for foreign rights, I’m so glad you did! And, wow, your former bosses are efficient, too. I received the advance check weeks before the date stipulated in the contract. It’s sitting nice and cozy in my bank account. A completely rewarding experience.

I’m looking forward to seeing the manga version of HEAD OVER HEELS and am thanking my good fortune that we somehow-or-other crossed paths.

Best,

Subservient (in another lifetime) Writer

Dear Blog Readers:

No, you don’t get a letter, just an observation. Which basically amounts to that editors seem to play musical chairs as much in other countries as they do in the U.S. When you consider the factor of Being In The Right Place At The Right Time, I’m feeling very blessed.

So often, timing has worked against me. For once, it worked for me. Yippee-ki-ee.

Except now I’m feeling paranoid that maybe the original editor didn’t mean to buy my rights. Maybe he bought them by accident and got fired for it. Maybe I’ve inadvertently kiboshed his career!

Should I feel guilty?