The Jennifer Blake Newsletter, October 2011

Greetings:

The newsflash for this month is that SEDUCED BY GRACE, final book of the Graces Trilogy, was released on September 27, so is now officially “gracing” the book racks along with Books 1 & 2, BY HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE and BY GRACE POSSESSED. Reviews continue to be gratifying. Harriet Klausner, well-known for hundreds of reviews for Genre-Go-Round.com and Amazon.com said: “The final Graces medieval romance is an engaging historical that combines love, honor and intrigue into an exhilarating thriller. The lead couple is delightful…Jennifer Blake is three for three as she provides another charming fascinating late fifteenth century tale.”

When SEDUCED BY GRACE made its official debut, I was in Colorado for the autumn turning of the aspens. It was an RV trip with my husband, my brother-in-law and his wife—Jerry and I in our Navion motor home, Eddie and LaDell with their 5th wheel rig. The weather was wonderful, a great escape from the heat of Louisiana. As for the leaves, we could not have caught them more perfectly if Mother Nature herself had planned our trip. The mountains were on fire with bright yellow and spots of orange and vermillion against the dark green of fir and spruce. We spent a while in Taos, New Mexico then went northward to the Buena Vista–Leadville area of Colorado. After several days of driving winding roads while “ohhing and ahhing” at the grand golden vistas, we then went south again to Antonito where we had reservations on the Cumbres-Toltec narrow gauge railway, a train pulled by one of the few coal-powered steam locomotives left in the country. This was an all-day trip over the mountains to Chama, New Mexico past deep canyons and over high, winding passes alive with color. At one point, it began to rain—then to sleet! From Antonito we went west to the Four Corners area where we visited the Anasazi Heritage Center near Cortez and the ancient pueblo ruins of Hovenweep. Photos from this trip (I took 475!) will be posted on Facebook as soon as I can get that done, and a few will accompany this news letter when it’s posted to Jennifer’s Journal, the blog on my web site.

Meanwhile, a blog post about how I came to create a Scots hero in a kilt for Graces Book 2, BY GRACE POSSESSED, is now available. You can access this and a story excerpt on the RT Book Reviews web site at: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/authors-spotlight-52. Also, Eye on Romance (http://www.eyeonromance.com) will be doing a special promotion for SEDUCED BY GRACE beginning tomorrow, one which includes an e-card with review quotes, a “Sizzling Scene” excerpt, and a Romance Preview featuring five days of excerpts, or the complete Chapter 1, delivered to your email box. You can still sign up for these goodies if you hurry. Just click to receive the Eye on Romance newsletter.

In other news, I’ve agreed to be part of the 30-year retrospective for the romance industry at the RT Book Reviews Chicago conference in April of next year. For the event, I’ll be appearing on a panel about the history of the romance novel with Roseanne Bittner, Patricia Rice, Mary Balogh and Kathryn Falk. I’ll also participate in an “Author Chat” session with Loretta Chase and Mary Balogh, answering any and all questions from readers in the audience.

Between following the trilogy through the publication process, packing for travel, traveling, and then unpacking, I’ve done little new work this month—or this summer, for that matter. The urge is growing, however, and I’ll begin soon. With a little luck, I’ll have something new to report on that front next month.

With warmest wishes for all the color and cool glory of fall wherever you are,

Jennifer Blake

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Jennifer Blake Newsletter - August

Greetings:

The Long Hot Summer slowly moves along… Remember this theme from the old Paul Newman movie? The dog days of summer are definitely upon us as it was 105° F yesterday—too hot to breathe when coupled with Louisiana's humidity. Complaining about the heat is a Southern pastime, however, especially when it makes such a great excuse for doing as little as possible.

Have you seen ROYAL SEDUCTION on the book racks yet this month? This Sourcebooks, Inc. reprint was officially out on August 1, though it's been available at Amazon.com so long that it sold out, at least temporarily. Notice how thick the book is compared to those around it. Publishers wanted 150,000 words when this title hit the New York Times best seller list in 1983. Printing costs now dictate word counts of around 100,000 for mainstream novels—which may still seem like a thick book until you see one of these older titles. Future books of mine in this reprint program will be brought out in trade size paperback editions (the size of hardcover books) as part of Sourcebook's Casablanca Classics program. Those scheduled so far are FIERCE EDEN, February 2011, MIDNIGHT WALTZ, August 2011, and SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL, October 2011. Covers and blurbs can be seen at: http://www.jenniferblake.com/books.cfm

Speaking of book sizes, how do you feel about the tall and narrow mass market paperbacks? Frankly, I'm not fond of them. The pages are so skinny that the print disappears into the spine margins: you have to almost break the book's spine to read them. Holding them seems more difficult, too, as there's less to grasp. Or could be it's just me.

I continue to add a "Writing Tip of the Day" to Jennifer's Journal, my web site blog. This past month I expounded on villains and secondary characters, and will be writing about the use of scenes in story construction over the next few days. If you have any interest in writing, take a look. You never know when some small comment may change the way you think. I still read books on writing for these "Aha!" moments.

Part of last month was spent in the mountains of Colorado on retreat with several members of the sewing group I belong to, Magnolia Stitchers. We took in a quilt show and festival at La Veta, enjoyed the Fourth of July parade, fireworks, and Chaffee County quilt show in Buena Vista, and traveled to Golden for a visit to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. We even sewed a little! It was a lovely, relaxing get-away.

With this trip behind me, as well as a Mediterranean cruise last month, it's time to turn my attention to the next book. This will be #3 in my medieval trilogy, with a working title of SEDUCED BY GRACE and a deadline of April 1. I managed to make a start last week, and plan to continue, slowly, as August moves along.

With warmest wishes for something interesting to help get you through the rest of the summer,

Jennifer