Category: My Books

Of Note

I’m feeling tons better, and life is slowly getting back under control. So, ta-da, one blog post before the weekend. Watch, now no one will comment because I said I wouldn’t be here again until next week.

Not getting any writing done, but on Monday I had a 90-minute long Skype brainstorming session with a former critique partner, and now I have a ton of excellent revision notes for SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE. Really looking forward to solidifying my approach to the revisions and digging into that book again. Will pass the notes by a writing friend who critiqued the full first, though. I have another manuscript I can work on in the meantime.

Guess what? I’ve already received, signed and mailed back the hard copy of the contract for the HEAD OVER HEELS manga rights. When I approved the contract via email (last week) and my contact in the Tuttle-Mori contracts department said I would receive the hard copy contract soon, she wasn’t fooling. I don’t think I’ve ever received a contract that quickly.

Also, I find it interesting that this contract was the easiest to understand and read of any I’ve ever purused for either myself or Penny. In other words, the easiest to read and understand contract from any North American publisher with whom I’ve dealt. The legalities are all in place, but not in a “foreign language,” to speak. They’re written in plain English. What a switch! 

I’m Going Manga!

Last week I hinted that I would have some good news to share soon. And here it is!

I am very happy to announce that I’ve sold the Japanese translation rights to my Amber Quill Press romantic comedy, HEAD OVER HEELS, to Ohzora Publishing in Japan. Ohzora has published a lot of Harlequin novels as manga (Japanese comic) paperbacks, and that’s what they’ll be doing with my book. I also sold the serialization rights and ebook rights. HEAD OVER HEELS will publish in Japanese manga over cell phones as well as in traditional ebook manga format.

Now here’s the interesting part. I didn’t go looking for this opportunity, it came to me. Somehow, Ohzora became interested in my book. I still have no clue how or why. I’ve been dealing with a literary agent in Japan, and I asked her to ask them, but then she went on holidays, so for now I still don’t know. I was going on my merry way enjoying the summer and working on various manuscripts when I received an email forwarded from an Amber Quill staff member—from the scouting division of an NYC literary agency. I’d never heard of the NYC scouting people, nor the Japanese literary agency they were working with, nor had I heard of Ohzora. At first I thought, this can’t be legit. But I did some major networking, including contacting a couple of State-side agents I’ve submitted to in the past. I learned that all parties involved were indeed legit.

What makes the whole thing sweeter is that while Amber Quill operates on a royalty-only model, Ohzora offers advances as well as royalties. So I’m finally getting an advance for HEAD OVER HEELS—years after its initial publication in English. That makes me giggle. It’s a decent advance, too, one that would more than satisfy RWA-PAN if they counted foreign translation advances (I have no clue if they do, and it doesn’t matter, because I’m already a member of PAN thanks to the novellas I’ve published under my pen name). So, while some members of the romance writing community aren’t quite ready to accept ebooks or accept publishing with a royalty-only house like Amber Quill, in this case it’s worked out wonderfully. I have a book I love on the cyber-shelves, and now I’ve sold the Japanese translation rights. I have a wide grin on my face that’s not likely to disappear soon.

More good news! I just learned that HEAD OVER HEELS is now available in Kindle format. Yippee!

Opportunity Rocks!

I had a fantastic opportunity drop out of the sky several days ago. However, I knew zippo about the parties in question, so had to go into hibernation while I did my due diligence. I am now very excited to announce that I’m very close to revealing an exciting announcement! How exciting! But I ain’t announcing anything today. The opportunity is still too new, I’m still getting used to it, and let’s just say I don’t want to jinx anything by revealing the details into the Blogosphere too early.

Here are some hints. It involves one of my Amber Quill books. It involves a publishing entity somewhere in the known universe. And the opportunity came to me, I didn’t go looking for it. I would have gone looking if I’d known how or where to look. But I didn’t. A Boy Scout might have known.

I have a, um, “contact,” shall we say, who is helping me navigate these foreign waters. However, the contact is now on holiday, so details might not be forthcoming for another week or so.

Rest assured, I will yell my news from the rooftops (or at least my blog) soon enough. For now, I’m looking forward to climbing off the ceiling. I’m dizzy!

MetaWhat?

In case you missed the Amazon brouhaha over the long weekend, you can read about it here. The Twitter nation got involved, and Dear Author also raised a commotion. A little entity called The New York Times chimed in, too.

Penny’s books were affected, although they’re appearing again now, sales ranking intact. (Hint, the first link leads to Penny’s first book, the second link to the second). If you’d like to increase Penny’s sales ranking in protest against the “glitch,” be my guest! (Hint, purchasing the volumes increases the rankings).

Frankly, the entire episode ranked. However, for many book buyers (like those who live in the boonies), Amazon and entities like it are the only option. Yeah, there’s Barnes and Noble…if you’re American. In Canada, we have Chapters and Amazon.ca. I order from Chapters when I can, but they don’t have as big a selection as Amazon.ca. Chapters doesn’t carry Penny’s books. Neither Chapters nor Amazon.ca carries my books. If you want the paperbacks, Amazon State-side is the only game in town.

What do you think about the brouhaha? Did you buy the “glitch”?

Winner, Auction, and News!

First up, Chelsea from the comment trail won my BOX ‘O BOOKS HOLIDAY GIVE-AWAY. This is the first time a Canadian has won one of my website contests, so that gave me a little thrill (I could tell by the .ca at the end of her email address WordPress sent me that she’s a fellow Canuck, and emailing her for her snail mail address confirmed it). I used a random number generator program to choose the winner out of the 31 comment trail and private email entries. Congratulations, Chelsea! I hope you enjoy your books and the free copy of BORROWING ALEX.

I received such a great response to this contest that I plan to do it again next year, but of course it depends on if I attend a conference in 2009 and if my TBR pile grows out of control. And, by all means, anyone who entered the contest and didn’t win is free to contribute toward the King Family Kraft Dinner Fund (a.k.a my teensy royalty checks) by purchasing copies of BORROWING ALEX or HEAD OVER HEELS from Amazon (please, someone, anyone, we’re starving!!). (Yes, I’m serious about the Kraft Dinner Fund).

Second, the For Jo Leigh—Gifts for Writers and Readers auction is on-going. That’s the link to the main website, and here’s a link to the ‘007 Golden Heart Alumni #1 item up for bid, which includes a critique from little ol’ me. Get on over there and bid! The bidding for a historical romance partial critique from 5 Golden Heart finalists ends December 8th, and bidding for a contemporary romance partial critique from 6 Golden Heart finalists ends December 10th. Now, if you’re wondering, is Cindy capable of critiquing a historical manuscript when she writes contemporary? Yes, indeedy, I am! In fact, my longest running critique partner is multi-published under two names in historical romance, and I’ve been reading and critiquing her stuff since long before she published (some might say I am in fact responsible for her success). 😉 My four ‘007 GH compatriots volunteering their time to read the same partial are all well versed in critiquing historicals as well, including Elaine Levine, who is published in historical romance with Kensington.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, I had the happy news the other day that my work-in-progress, SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE, finaled in the NOLA Stars Suzannah Contest. Yippee!! My entry and the entries of my five co-finalists will now be read by two agents, four editors, and the sponsor of the Suzannah. Almost as thrilling…my name is spelled right on the NOLA website! Way to go, NOLA. I now officially love you.

I entered this contest at the last minute (and I mean the last minute), so I am thrilled that my story finaled. Hmm, come to think of it, the year I finaled in the Golden Heart, I entered that contest at the last minute, as well. I think I’ve discovered a new trick to entering contests, LOL.

That’s my week so far. How’s yours?

Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away!!

The holiday season is nearly 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 read and have realized that with all the books in my TBR pile, I might never read them (not because they aren’t good, but because I tend to go overboard in my book-buying and purchase copies in genres I don’t usually read simply to support the authors), 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 anyone else. Some were published this year, some last year, and a wee few are a little older—but they’re all still new.

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

Young Adult: Gingerbread by Rachel Conn, Gossip Girl by Cecilyvon Ziegesar, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.

Chick Lit: Unbecoming Behavior by Stephanie Rowe and Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson.

Historical: St. Raven by Jo Beverley.

Paranormal: Dark Needs at Night’s Edge by Kresley Cole, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover  by Linda Wisdom, and The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks.

Mystery: Candy Apple Red by Nancy Bush.

Contemporary: Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway, Record Time by Beverly Brandt, Tangled up in Love by Hailey North, and Got a Hold on You by Pat White.

If you’ve read this far, I’m also including a copy of one of my books, 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 Monday, November 24th to Sunday, November 30th. I’ll choose the winner’s name at random Sunday at midnight and contact the winner Monday morning, December 1st by email for your snail mail address, so I can ship the books. I will ship the books within 2 or 3 days of hearing from you, which means, you never know, you might receive them in time to stuff a few stockings!
  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. The airmail cost, frankly, would be wayyyy too prohibitive for my rather skinny wallet.

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. Please don’t be shy about entering your name in the Comment trail. I am the only person who sees your email address, seeing as I’m the Administrator of this blog, so whether you enter in the Comment trail or choose Option 2, yes, I will know your email address, but I promise not to use it for any other purpose but this contest. That means, no, I will not sign you up for my newsletter or any other promotional activities without your knowledge or permission.
  2. Or you can 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.

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

If I get a good response, I’ll make the Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away an annual event.