Remember Me?

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Hey look a new post! Ala-bit a short one, but hey, it's something!

Thanks so much for the patients everyone, I really appreciate it! Also, I want to give a huge thanks to Anita, who gave me a blog award last week! I'll get to officially accepting and posting is in a day or two, but in the mean time, thanks Anita!

Now on to business...

It's a short one today, but it's something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Romance novels.

Did you know that romance outsells every other genre every year? Like, by a lot... a whole lot. Why is that not common knowledge? Because most romance readers don't admit to being one. Romance readers like me. There is a lot of romance I enjoy--Mary Balogh being my all time favorite--but do I wear a 'Romance Novel Reader' shirt to the super market? No. Why? The same reason everyone else is embarrassed to admit they love romance. We all know that when the average person hears 'romance novel' they picture this:

...and this...

...and of course...

The Cover! Seriously? The cover, which 90% of the time has absolutely nothing to do with the actual book!  Seems really stupid, but that's all it takes. When people see a horribly cheesy cover, they assume the story inside is equally as lame and cheese-filled. Okay, yes, sometimes that is the case (we all know there are terribly corny bodice-rippers out there), but more often than not, the cover has nothing to do with the actual story. Hell, sometimes the characters aren't even described correctly! The blond bombshell on the cover is actually supposed to be a mousy brunette school teacher, etc.

*Sigh*

When the overly cheesy, Fabio-style covers came into popularity, I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it was 80s early 90s. What I have noticed lately however, is that publishers are starting to realize just how horrid those old covers are, and have begun to give some of their older titles face lifts. For instance,

This...

...is now this.

Dancing dreamily...

...to pretty bow.

And my personal favorite...

...oh yeah, much better.

So, in conclusion, I would like to thank all the publishers who are giving readers like me more to enjoy, with no reason to hide my book behind a magazine or roll the cover back so no one can see it! ;)

Long live romance!

Congratulations!

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Life has been beyond busy for me these past two weeks, and I apologize for neglecting you all. I will get back to posting regularly soon, but I had to give a quick congratulatory shout out to Anita Howard, who is a spectacular lady who writes YA. She has just signed a two book deal with Abram's Amulet imprint for her first novel, Splintered.

Check her out at A Still and Quiet Madness, and look for Splintered on shelves, Spring 2013!

Show Me The Money!

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Hello all...

Just wanted to share a link to a page that a friend of mine sent me. I lists all the major publishers and what they have been paying for first books in recent years. It is on the website of author Brenda Hiatt, and she keeps it up to date. Pretty interesting stuff...

http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

Happy Wednesday, and talk to you soon!

5 Things not to do at your court appearance...

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1.) Do not leave your flip -flops in the car saying, "Oh, I won't need them, these shoes aren't that bad, I'm sure I'll be fine until I get back to the car," only to leave the courthouse two and a half hours later limping, cursing, and bleeding.

2.) Do not arrive an hour before your scheduled time thinking you will be the first one there and will thereby be one of the first called. You will be the first one there, however you will not be able to check in until ten minutes before your scheduled time, at which point everyone who arrived after you will rush the door forcing you to the back of the line. Then, when you are finally checked in, you discover that it didn't matter an any case, because they are calling cases in alphabetical order!

3.) Do not offer your seat on the only bench in the hall to the pregnant lady who just walked in, because she will graciously decline, and while you are up asking her if she would like the seat, some thirty something year old jerk-wad, who wears ripped jeans and a dirty baseball cap to court, will steal it for himself.

4.) Do not tell the Judge that something is "None of your business," or you will get thrown out of court and fined. (That one wasn't me.)


5.) If you are driving a car and the seat belt is cutting painfully into your neck because the seat isn't adjusted properly, do not loop the belt under your left elbow, or you will get a ticket and have to spend half your day in court. Meh.

And what happened, you ask, when the big moment rolled around and I was finally called up before the Judge? Well I'll tell you. It went like this...

Clerk: Marian Vere
I walk to the podium.
Judge: (to me)Ms. Vere, this is a seat belt charge. (to the prosecutor)Any priors?
Prosecutor: No.
Judge: Wear your seat belt. Charges dismissed.
I leave.


Sigh.

When you are a best-selling author...

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Back online! (again...) After the crazy storms of the past weekend, my entire street has been without internet now for almost three days, but we are back up! Why it always seems they have to create problems to fix problems is beyond me, but that's a whole different matter...

So, nothing major on my mind today, but I do have a question for all my lovely readers. Most of you are as-of-yet unpublished writers, and I know I am not the only on who sits on the couch and dreams of all the great things I am going to do/buy when I become a best-selling author. Come on, we all do it. We all picture ourselves on the best sellers list, seeing a line out the door at our book signings, speaking and sitting on panels at writers conferences, and so on. Don't be ashamed, hell, what else do we have to keep us going if not our dreams--pie in the sky or otherwise. So my question to you is just that--what will you do with all your money? Now, yes, we are all going to pay off debt, send the kids to college, etc, etc, but what I mean is the fun stuff. The sort of stuff you think about at night before you fall asleep? Here, I'll give you mine:

• I want to build us a big house where I can have an office/library where built-in bookshelves will be a must. Not too big mind you--not a full out mansion--I would have no idea what to do with all that space. Big, but not intimidating. It will also have an awesome kitchen where I can bake and cook without running out of counter space five minutes in. My hubby want's a running track going around the perimeter of the basement, but we'll see.
• I will finally buy some make-up that isn't super cheap. You know the kind, the stuff that is actually embarrassing to pay for because it's the stuff that middle schoolers wear (I don't buy the middle school colors, mind you, just the brands), but it's cheap and does the job.
• I will buy my husband a convertible. He had to get rid of the one he had just after we were married for something more practical, and I've always felt bad about that.
• I will finally buy my underwear from Victoria's Secret, and get rid of the worn out, thread-bare, hope-to-God-I-never-have-an-accident-and-get-caught-dead-or-other-wise-in-these-things undies that currently fill that particular drawer in my dresser. (Side note: the panty thieving goat is more than welcome to visit my house anytime. I'll even leave the window open for him. Fair warning to him, it'll probably scare him straight!)
• I will throw an awesome Christmas party every year for family and friends. The kind of Christmas party you see on TV and always want to go to, but never do because no one you know ever throws them.
• Last, Hubby and I will renew our vows at Disney World (which is where we were married the first time), and this time we will fly all out guests down and pay for their rooms so they can enjoy without it costing them anything.

So there it is! Now it's your turn. Castle by the sea? Harley Davidson? House in the Hamptons? Don't be shy, let's hear them!