It Takes A Village... To Launch A Book

As a former journo, I know all too well the value of the goodie bag, so there was no way that I could not have goodie bags at my launch. And I used to work in marketing too, so I know the protocol. I know how to come up with a decent pitch: "We're expecting at least a hundred people, this could be great exposure for your brand." And by the way, this is not a lie.  I'm telling everyone and their mom about my launch party and over seventy people are already confirmed! It's not easy to get people on board with the goodie bag thing - asking small businesses to part with merchandise for free is a tall order, I know, but I am super psyched about the companies I do have on board.

So in the spirit of the event, this post is a love letter to the fabulous guys and gals at Perfect Fit, Samona Date, Pink Bunny, The Enchanted Crystal and Skin. I am so grateful to you for padding my goodie bags (and for providing the killer raffle prizes).

Sadly I couldn't get any chocolate companies on board.  I came very close with the owner of the healthy cafe across the street from me.  He mentioned he might be able to do chocolate-covered strawberries.  In the end, he said they were too busy to manage it, but now my heart is so set on having chocolate-covered strawberries, I'm thinking about making them myself!  Should be interesting...

Love,
Libby

Musing on Alpha Professions

I recently came across some interesting statistics.  Two female psychologists, Maryanne Fischer and Tami Meredith, analyzed the titles of over 15,000 romance novels published by Harlequin from 1949 to 2009 and came up with a list of the most common hero professions.  And the results?

                 1.   Doctor

                 2.   Cowboy

                      3.    Boss

                 4.   Prince

                 5.   Rancher

                 6.   Knight

                      7.      Surgeon

                      8.      King

                      9.      Bodyguard

                 10.  Sheriff

                 11.  Soldier

                 12.  Lawman

                 13.  Pirate

All ultra alpha professions, with the possible exception of #4 and #8.  I certainly don’t think of Prince Charles as an alpha-type, although admittedly the role of royalty has changed over the years and it’s safe to assume that historical royals had an abundance of alpha-ness. 

But why so much alpha?  As a single gal, I have to say I’d much rather meet a veterinarian than I would a doctor.  I’d choose a landscape architect or even an organic farmer over a rancher.  A soldier would always be away, as would a pirate (hehe).  And the idea of a surgeon romancing me… according to a close family member who’s also an ER doc, surgeons have the most impossible egos.  God complexes even.

Granted, the study involved books that were published as far back as 1949 when most women didn’t have career ambitions of their own.  Back then, maybe the alpha pull was stronger than it is today, I thought.  But then I read the second set of statistics.

For their book, A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World’s Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire, Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam analyzed the romance titles on Amazon at the time.  Although I haven’t been able to find the total number of titles they included in the study, they revealed that they found 415 millionaires, 286 billionaires and 263 sheiks in the titles alone.  Yikes!

I understand the appeal of a romantic hero who’s loaded.  I do.  I’ve spent my fair share of time daydreaming about Christian Louboutin heels and jetting off to the Caribbean to escape the winter blues, so I get the whole Cinderella fantasy.  However…

Maybe it’s to do with my Midwest upbringing, but I’ve got a fiercely strong work ethic.  I take great pride in being able to provide for myself (which hasn’t always been the case, hence…) I can’t accept help without a heaping of self-imposed guilt.  And I know I project my own issues on the characters in romances I read.  And on the ones I write.

In Fashioning a Romance, I didn't want to stray too much from the norm, I gave my hero, John, one of the top alpha jobs (#3 Boss), and he’s got heaps of money too.  Caitlyn, my heroine is a hard working seamstress-slash-fashion-designer who’s uncomfortable with the kind of money he wants to spend on her.

Once I’ve got another few books signed, sealed and delivered, I might experiment by giving a future hero a very un-alpha profession.  Would readers root for a romantic hero who works in a bookstore?  What about one who works in construction?  Would these men have to be secret millionaires in order for readers to fall in love with them?

Perhaps this is naïve of me, but I think readers would be open to unconventionally, non-alpha heroes.  If the romance is strong enough, it shouldn’t matter if the hero is a cowboy or a horse trainer, should it?  I would LOVE to know what you think. ;-)

Love,

Libby

Drumroll, please...

This is a very exciting day! I've just gotten the final artwork for the cover of Fashioning a Romance! I love it. It's classic and fun and beautiful. (I can say this because I didn't design it myself!

Sorry about the radio silence over the past couple of months. I've been busy, busy.

More good news: Musa will be publishing my second romance entitled The Karmic Connection! No release date as of yet, but the contract is signed and the wheels are turning. Life is good.

Blog Hop Winner

First of all, many thanks to my new followers! I hope you enjoy reading my posts. And now for the winner of a copy of Fashioning a Romance, to be delivered on the day of release... drumroll, please... June!

Congratulations, June. I hope you enjoy Fashioning a Romance!

Love,
Libby

Musa Books I Love

The Estrogen Posse

by Sharon DeVita

My advice, folks, is to purchase this book right away. Do not pass Go. But here’s the kicker: put it away for a little while and don’t actually read it until life hands you a few lemons. Trust me, you’ll be glad you held out.  Simply put, The Estrogen Posse will lift you out of a funk and undoubtedly cheer you up. *Best taken with chocolates and/or a glass of wine.

Plot wise, it’s a whodunit, but the snappy pacing, wacky characters, heartfelt moments and fun, quirky voice make it a fabulously charming read that you’ll have a hard time putting down. I do not exaggerate – I burned through all 125,000 pages in less than 48 hours.

Ellie Briotti, the central character, is an extremely relatable Every Woman type whose life has just been turned upside down. The Estrogen Posse consists of Ellie’s eccentric mother, Gram Crackers, Ellie’s best friend, Rina, who’s just had some life-changing news of her own, two neighborhood nuns who happen to be called Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Margaret Mary, and Ellie’s husband’s ex-butler, Nevins, who, while he doesn’t possess the estrogen reserves of his peers, definitely deserves an honorary mention. The posse rallies around Ellie when her life starts crumbling to bits (thanks to her no-good husband) and they really step up when it looks like Ellie’s going to go down for “the other woman’s” murder! 


Buy link here.

Hard Bargain

By Grace Wen

I just started reading Hard Bargain, and let me tell you: it's very Hard To Put Down! Jenna Petersen and Brad Tremaine are both attorneys with very different outlooks on life. Jenna is super focused (one might say career-obsessed) and Brad, while highly successful, is more well-rounded. Even though I'm only halfway through the book, I'm thinking he's going to end up helping her chill out, and I'm really excited about that. Jenna is a lovely character who deserves a life outside of work.


The electricity shooting between these two is nothing short of thrilling and Grace Wen does a great job teasing us readers with one love scene in particular! I look forward to more.


One thing I absolutely must comment on is the auto theme. Now, I've never been interested in cars, but I love, love, love the automobile theme in this Hard Bargain. The book takes place in Detroit and in the opening chapters the characters are getting ready for the Dream Cruise, which is an annual parade of primo automobiles. The descriptions are so vivid - I really feel like I'm there with them. Also, there's a red hot scene during which Brad helps Jenna hand wash her cherished vintage car. And finally, it's clear that Jenna has a perplexing and possibly unhealthy attachment to her car. She refers to it as her security blanket. To be frank, I'm a little worried about her. I feel like something might happen to her car, causing her to "go off the rails". But as this is a romance, I know that in the end, Brad will be there for her. :-) 


Definitely a great read so far or if you will... a wild ride. Hehe. I just couldn't help myself.


Buy link here.


And now... contest info!


I am giving away an e-copy of my debut novel, Fashioning a Romance, on the day it comes out: May 18. To enter, just "like" my blog. If you're already a liker, no worries - you're already entered. I'll choose the winner at random after midnight on February 19th. Good luck!