The Jennifer Blake Newsletter - August

Greetings:

Hot, hot, hot! If you watch the Weather channel, you may have noticed the red-shaded section of northern Louisiana that has the same triple-digit temperatures as Texas and Oklahoma. We are in the middle of that area, caught in a heat wave the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. The level of the lake we live on drops every day, and it’s all we can do to keep the landscaping alive, much less the lawn. I’d do a rain dance if I thought it would help. Meanwhile, we’re just trying to stay cool.

BY HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE, Book 1 of the Three Graces Trilogy, is in stores at last, as well as available for order online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Reviews continue to come in with at least eight posted on Amazon.com, and more than that on Goodreads.com. The book is being featured on the Eye on Romance web site, also on the for RT Book Reviews Magazine site. In addition, it was chosen as the “Fresh Pick” for August by readers on the Fresh Fiction web site, a nice honor indeed.

Both this new book and MIDNIGHT WALTZ, my reprint out this month from Sourcebooks Casablanca Classics, received top honors on the Long and Short Reviews web site, with their highest review award of "5-books"—their version of a five star ranking. See them here:

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/search?q=By+His+Majesty%27s+Grace

And here:

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/search?q=Midnight+Waltz

My husband and I were in Colorado much of last month, where the air was wonderfully cool and dry. Considering how hot and humid it’s been since our return, we should have stayed longer! While there, we were joined by some of our children, grandchildren and other guests. If you’re on my Facebook page, you may have seen several photos of them enjoying white water rafting on the Arkansas River. If not, you’re more than welcome to take a look by joining me on Facebook. You never know what I may post or what kind of photos I might put up! I’m also considering hosting a weekly question and answer session there on the craft and business of writing. The link to sign up is below, beneath my signature. Once you’re on my Facebook home page, just send a “Friend” request and I’ll add you. The link for my Twitter page is below as well, if you’d care to “Follow” me there.

Because of traveling plus the promotional efforts caused by having three new books and a reprint out this summer, I’ve neglected the series of writing tips on my blog. I’ll get back to them later this month, if all goes according to plan. The next subject I’ll be posting about is choosing character names. Meanwhile, there’s a fun “interview” posted there, one in which Sir Randall of Braesford, the hero of BY HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE, asks questions of the author who created him. Scroll down below the copy of this newsletter to see it. 

Book 2 the Three Graces Trilogy, BY GRACE POSSESSED, will be released at the end of the month, on August 30. My author’s copies, with their vivid green covers, were delivered while I was in Colorado. Reviews are already trickling in, as well. RT Book Review’s Magazine gave it 4 ½ stars, saying:

“With the second Three Graces novel, Blake draws readers into a tale of attempted murder, insurrection against the king and a high romance with her marvelous research of the period. She builds a strong background, creates three-dimensional characters and weaves sexual tension into a lively love story.”

And Harriet Klausner of Merry Genre Go Round said:

“The middle sister’s Graces medieval romance is an exciting period piece as armchair readers will believe they are at the court of King Henry VII in the late fifteenth century. Except for her belief in the curse, Cate is a typical historical heroine while Ross is a fascinating protagonist whose loyalty is stretched in diverse directions as he must choose between Scotland (and his father), the English king and Cate.”

Meanwhile, I have a new venture in the works which will involve some of my older works, also a couple of things that have never been published, a nonfiction manuscript or two, and work from my daughters and my nieces. It’s still in the planning stages for now, but you’ll be hearing more about it later in the year. Just what I need, another project, Well, it does keep life interesting!

With warmest wishes for cool days and interesting projects wherever you are,

Jennifer Blake

http://twitter.com/JenniferBlake01

http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.blake#!/profile.php?id=100000468533638

The Jennifer Blake Newsletter - January

Here we are with another new year, another new beginning. This winter period has always been a favorite of mine: the holidays are over, the winter solstice has passed so the days are growing longer, and not much is happening which allows extra concentration on writing projects. Still I won’t be putting fresh words on paper this month for the first time in ages. Because of the way the deadlines for my medieval trilogy fall, I’ll be polishing a rough draft, instead, getting the manuscript ready for its April 1 send off. This is for BY GRACE SEDUCED, the final book of my trilogy set during the reign of the first Tudor king, Henry VII. It will be released in October, following Book 1 in August and Book 2 in September. Can’t wait to get back to this story that was finished at the end of November—which is a good thing since it must be done!

I’ve mentioned the Sourcebooks reprint program here before. FIERCE EDEN is the next title up from them, scheduled to ship late this month for a February 1 debut. Look for it on the shelves in a gorgeous trade size paperback edition, the larger format selected by Sourcebooks for their Casablanca Classics Collection. FIERCE EDEN, set during the Natchez Indian uprising in French colonial Louisiana, circa 1730, spent many weeks on the best seller lists in the 1980s. Its original release from Random House was in trade size paperback as well. Cover Art for this book appears on the the home page for my web site.

And I discovered yesterday that I’ll have another book reissued this year, in addition to two Sourcebooks reprints and the three books of the medieval trilogy. Scheduled for June, this will be LUKE, a contemporary romance that belongs to my Louisiana Gentlemen series. Mira Books is bringing it out again in a hardcover library edition.

That second Sourcebooks reprint mentioned above, in case you’re interested, will be MIDNIGHT WALTZ, on the schedule for August. The covers for both LUKE and MIDNIGHT WALTZ are posted below.

For the sake of clarity, here’s a simplified list of the books appearing in the coming months:
Publications for 2011
February 1: FIERCE EDEN, historical reprint, Sourcebooks.
June 1: LUKE, contemporary reissue in hardcover, Mira Books
August 1: BY HIS MAJESTY’S GRACE, medieval trilogy Book 1, Mira Books
August 1: MIDNIGHT WALTZ, historical reprint, Sourcebooks
September 1: BY GRACE POSSESSED, medieval trilogy Book 2, Mira Books
October 1: BY GRACE SEDUCED, medieval trilogy Book 3, Mira Books

Another reprint from Sourcebooks, SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL, may be released before the end of the year, but the date hasn’t been confirmed.

So what’s next, when the medieval trilogy is done? Nothing! Well, nothing except answering editor’s queries and checking page proofs for all the books that will be out in 2011. In between, I expect to relax, travel a bit, catch up and clear away the household clutter that piled up while I was so involved with writing. I also want to work in my yard that’s been seriously neglected; one of my Christmas gifts was a candy apple red “little mule” truck, about the size of a golf cart, that has a bed for hauling mulch, fertilizer, clippings, etc., and I’m looking forward to puttering around in it. Eventually, I may work on a short contemporary romance or else write the futuristic novel that’s been in the back of my mind for years. Or I could revisit the medieval period if the trilogy goes well, who knows? The year ahead is chock-full of possibilities!

With warmest wishes for a New Year filled with plans and promise for you, as well,
Jennifer