I'm blogging at Paranormality today on Nightmares, Dream Interpretation and Before I Wake. Come analyze my dreams for a chance to win a signed copy of Before I Wake!
And Now a Word from Our Sponsor
Current mood: curious
I've had a few people email me recently (or mention in blogs) that they didn't like all the product mentions in Before I Wake. Now, I'm okay with that. To me, the product names were all part of Dawn's personality. Of course she's going to say she wore M.A.C's 'Boy Crazy' lipgloss instead of simply saying it was bright pink, because she has ALOT of pink glosses. She's a makeup wh*re for lack of a better term. She's not going to buy makeup from a drugstore -- not that there's anything wrong with those brands. Dawn's a cosmetic snob, and she'll pay more for a foundation than she will for a top.
Anyway, the purpose of this blog isn't to defend myself or Dawn. Something that kept coming up in these emails and blogs is the mention of authors being paid for product placement!
I'm not sure where this idea came from. I'm sure it's grounded in reality somewhere, but it's something I really want to nip in the bud. I've never been asked to place products in my work. I don't know any author who has. On one hand I think that would be selling out. On another, you don't make a lot of money as an author unless you're a big name, and if M.A.C. or Benefit offered me money to mention their products, I'd be tempted. Especially if they threw some swag in there too. But only because I like their products. I wouldn't endorse a certain company that has the initials C.G. because I've read (in a published work on cosmetics and the industry) that they continue to do animal testing.
But I digress. I guess I was bothered by the fact that these readers automatically assumed that I was placing product. No one asked, it was simply a given. My attempts (and I guess they were lousy ones at that! lol) at characterization were diminished to advertisements. Hmm.
Anyway, I wonder what some of you think about the topic? Advertising is everywhere, would it bother you if authors got paid to mention products? Would you rather I simply had Dawn put on pink gloss and be done with it? Or are you interested in what she as a character likes?
I can't believe that BEFORE I WAKE comes out in less than a week! Where has the summer gone?
The day the book comes out I'll be flying to San Fran for RWA's National conference. I can't wait! Even though it's a long flight, the end result is so worth it. I'll be seeing friends I haven't seen for a year, sightseeing and having a fabulous time! And I won't be able to obsess as much over how BIW does in its first week. lol.
For you Connecticut peeps, I have signings planned for later in August. On the 9th I'll be at the Borders at the Meriden mall (Westfarms) in Meriden. I'll be signing BIW and Let the Night Begin from 1-3.
And on the 16th I'll be at the Southbury Borders signing BIW from 2-4.
Hope to see some of you there! Meanwhile, look for pics from SF when I return!
If you live in the San Francisco area, I will be there as part of Romance Writers of America's National Conference July 30-August 2.
Wednesday July 30 -- Literacy for Life booksigning at the San Francisco Marriott. There will be hundreds of authors here, and all the proceeds go to benefit literacy programs in the city! I'll be signing Let the Night Begin. And I'll be handing out promo goodies for my Brotherhood of the Blood series and the brand new Nightmare Chronicles!
One week until Let the Night Begin comes out! Excerpt!
Current mood: anxious
I can't believe it's almost the end of June already. How crazy is that? So while I revise the second Nightmare Chronicles installment, I'm trying not to get too nervous about Let the Night Begin's release. I don't think it ever gets any easier, waiting for your 'baby' to hit the shelves.
Anyway, because I want you all to buy the book, I thought I'd give up an excerpt to hopefully suck you in and make you want more. lol. Here it is...
This scene is from Olivia's point of view. She has just seen her husband Reign for the first time in 30 years...
They stood watching each other, as all opponents did, taking the other's full measure. He looked older. That was impossible, of course, but true all the same. His eyes, once so bright and crystalline looked faded and gray. His mouth, thin but well shaped seemed less generous, more unforgiving. He had changed his hair according to fashion. It was longer than she remembered, the thick inky locks curling ever so slightly over his forehead. It was a good style for him, softening the lines of his blunt cheekbones, strong jaw and a nose that had to have been broken more than once, and hundreds of years earlier.
Emotion changed his face so easily. She remembered how devastatingly handsome he could be when he smiled, how heartbreaking he looked when grieved. Oh, and frightening. He could look so frightening when he wanted.
Obviously, he wanted tonight, because he stared at her with a mixture of desire and antagonism that both scared and thrilled her, but mostly it fueled her own anger. How dare he look at her as though she was the one who ruined their marriage. He had betrayed her. All she had done was leave.
It was that conviction in the rightness of her actions that allowed her to finally find her voice. How long had they been standing there in terse silence? "Hello, Reign."
He didn't move, didn't even blink. "What are you doing here?" The low rumble of his voice still sent a shiver down her spine. She remembered it, lying on the sofa with her head on his thigh as he read to her from a book, or the newspaper.
He never sounded so cold back then. That he did now only eased what little guilt she felt at deceiving him. She felt many things at that moment, anger, a little fear. But not remorse. Not after what he had done to her.
"I need your help."
A bark of derisive laughter burst from his throat. The look he shot her was incredulous at best. "After thirty years of nothing, you come expecting me to help you?"
She didn't expect anything, not when it came to him. "It's not as though you made any effort to see me during those years either." Why did saying that out loud make her feel queasy? It wasn't as though she wanted him to come looking for her.
"You tried to kill me," he reminded her bluntly. "I had no desire to repeat the experience."
Like a wound, the old hurt opened – raw and festering. "How convenient that your memory has made it all my fault." She wouldn't be here now – James wouldn't be in trouble – if not for Reign.
If she hadn't left him.
"You ran."
"You betrayed me." Her voice shook in that maddening way that sound more like tears than rage.
"You promised me forever," the low pitch of his voice never changed. They were having a conversation, nothing more. Yet there was a hardness to his gaze. "I thought you knew what that meant."
Hi all! Wedding season is here and what better way to celebrate than with an anthology of sexy, paranormal wedding stories? WEDDINGS FROM HELL features four stories from myself, Maggie Shayne, Jeaniene Frost and Terri Garey. My story, "The Wedding Knight" is a prequel to the Brotherhood of Blood series. Vampire Payen Carr crashes the wedding of former lover Violet Wynston-Jones to prevent her from marrying a man Payen believes is in league with the Order of the Silver Palm -- a group synonymous with evil.
Here's an excerpt:
He groaned into the moist heat of her mouth, and wrapped his arms around her more tightly. She didn't struggle, didn't whimper in discomfort. In fact, she pulled at his hair, clutched at his shoulder, digging her fingers into the fabric of his coat until he felt the five points of pressure on his skin. So strong, his Violet.
He lifted his head just enough to nibble on her full lower lip. His fangs had partially extended, eager for a little nibble of their own. He ignored that hunger for now. At this moment, in Violet's intoxicating presence, he was more man than vampire.
"I missed you," he heard himself confess, breathless and hoarse against her lips. "Vi, I missed you so damn much."
She pulled back, smiling at him. For a second he thought she might echo the sentiment, but she didn't. Then he thought maybe she was going to shove her knee into his crotch, but she didn't do that either.
She might as well have, so surprising were her words, "You didn't come here because of Rupert and the Silver Palm."
"No?" He questioned dumbly, still thinking with an organ much lower than his brain.
Her smile grew. "That was just the excuse you needed to stop my marriage. Ask yourself, Payen, why you needed to do that. Then, maybe I'll forgive you for making me wait five years."
"Violet-"
She cut him off, shoved him away, and he let her. "Lie to yourself if you want to, but after all this time, don't you dare lie to me. You owe me that at the very least."
And then she left him standing there, hard and horny, feeling every inch the idiot.
Because she was right.
For another excerpt, check out my website: www.kathryn-smith.com WEDDINGS FROM HELL is available from amazon.com, borders.com and bn.com
And later this month, look for the 4th book in the Brotherhood of Blood series, LET THE NIGHT BEGIN. When Reign is reunited with the wife who walked out on him 30 years ago, he knows his bride has something much darker than love on her mind...
For anyone interested, I’ll be signing books at the Crowne Plaza hotel on Saturday, April 12th as part of the New England Chapter of RWA’s annual conference. Hope some of you live nearby!
curious
exhausted
anxious
What do you think?