Monday, June 11, 2007
Launch Party!
FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION should be out in book stores tomorrow, so its Launch Party time again! Tomorrow night from 7 pm to 9 pm Central Time (That's 8 - 10 Eastern, 6 - 8 Mountain and 5 to 7 Pacific), I'll be giving away books and Amazon.com gift certificates and answering your questions about my upcoming book. Anything you want to know, from how I got the idea to what the story went through before it sold, what's coming on the horizon, etc., ask it in the comments section of this blog post and I'll be here Tuesday night to answer them all. And try to make it on Tuesday night to be part of the prize giveaways!
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126 comments:
very cool!!!
We picked it up today, Paula! Looking forward to reading it, as I loved the first one.
Susan
Congratulations on your book release, the top pick and all the great reviews. It's sounds really good! Here's my questions for you..
Is there anyone in particular that you would attribute to having played a role in your success?
Has any real person been an inspiration for a character in your story?
Guess what I got in the mail yesterday. My pre ordered copy of "Forbidden Temptation".
I can't WAIT to read it.
I love a party that assumes central time is the default time zone.
Hey Brandy! My party, my time zone. ;)
I got mine in the mail yesterday, too, Jennifer. Yes, I bought one of my own books.
Thanks for buying the book, Susan! I hope you enjoy it.
Kim, I'll answer your questions first up at seven. :)
You didn't buy it early?
I actually also bought copies from eHarlequin, Brandy. And I also got comp books as part of my contract. I just didn't want to run out of books if I needed them. ;)
Paula
All right, it's 7 and it's time to start the party!
Kim asked: Is there anyone in particular that you would attribute to having played a role in your success?
First and foremost, my mom. My dad was an uber-pragmatic type who was not pleased when I expressed the desire to write fiction. I guess he thought I'd just quit my day job and become some starving artist in a garret somewhere, and no amount of reassurances really changed his mind. Unfortunately, he died before I sold my first book so he didn't get to see that I'm still working my day job and writing at the same time. But my mom was always there for me, always telling me that if I was willing to work hard, and dream big, I could do it.
Has any real person been an inspiration for a character in your story?
Nobody in real life, no. But the hero of my third book, coming out next February, draws a bit from Sawyer on Lost and Steve Johnson on Days of Our Lives.
He should be an interesting hero I should think.
Who inspired the hero and heroine in this particular book?
And when you're done answering Dawn, I wonder how you came up with the idea of having psychic sisters. (Huh, that sounds a bit Macbethian).
Emily
Interesting question, Dawn. I'm not sure I can answer it. I think Rose was an interesting character for me to write because of the three sisters who are the heroines of my three "Forbidden" books, Rose was the one with a happy gift--the ability to see what she calls true love veils--she could see a person's soulmate's face superimposed over his own face. (So he might see Kayla's face superimposed over Steve's, for you Steve and Kayla fans). But because I'm a sadistic wench, of course I couldn't let Rose get away with happiness so easily. So I had something happen that changed her gift into something much darker. In FORBIDDEN TERRITORY, Rose was a funny, quirky, happy character. I wanted to play with the idea of what happens to a person like that when everything she's believed in her whole life gets turned upside down.
As for Daniel, I think of him as a cross between Fox Mulder (ever searching for the elusive truth) and the Kiefer Sutherland character in that movie where his girlfriend disappears at a truck stop and he can't seem to get past that moment in time.
Hey Paula! Let's see... First question: what's your favorite scene from FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION.
Second question: where are the margaritas?
Emily, I started with Lily in the first book having the gift/curse of visions, and when I decided to give her family, the other two sisters sort of evolved from there. Of course they had to have psychic gifts, too--so I could write two more books!
Hi Paula
just stopping by to say congratulations
- Marianne
Cissy, I'm a non-drinker, so any Margarita I might make would probably suck.
As for my favorite scene...hmm...
:::thumbing through the book:::
I guess there are really two. One is a rather short scene in the early middle in which Rose and Daniel are standing in her bedroom (he's gone up there with her to check out the house before he leaves, since he worries that she might be in danger). Rose turns out the light so they can better see the night view of the city lights. It's a moment chock full of sexual tension and I really liked the mood it evoked.
The second scene is also at her house--they're tense and angry with each other because he's snooped into her background (displaying what she sees as a lack of trust in her) and she's put herself in danger (in what he sees as an attempt to punish him for what he did). In the midst of that angry moment, he confesses something to her that he's never told a soul. It's dark and heavy and intense, and how they work through that moment defines who they are to each other and where they go from there, even if they don't yet realize it.
Rose was a happy camper in Lily's story. I can't wait to read this one. I am planning to start tonight.
Congratulations!!
Thanks, Marianne!
Ooh... loves me some sexual tension. :)
::mixes up a batch of virgin margaritas::
At seven thirty, I'm going to do a random drawing for free authographed copies of both FORBIDDEN TERRITORY and FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION, so if you haven't commented/asked a question yet, do it quick. :) And if you already own both and would rather win something else, I'll give you a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate instead. Your choice if you win.
(And if you miss this drawing, no worries--I'll have more drawings during between now and 9 pm Central).
am i in the right place for this launch party?
Hi Paula, Congrats on the book release!
Hi, Mandy and Janae! You're in the right place. :) And thanks!
i haven't read either book yet, but I'm excited that I can now read them both -- back to back.
Hey Paula,
Congrats on the new book, I sure wish I could read it tonight! I had a stack of stuff I was planning to read once my book club was on summer hiatus, but I've gone through them already. No willpower!
Lorrie
I like to read series books all together as well. I just finished Forbidden Territory before I went on vacation so it is still pretty fresh in my mind. I will reread it and this one when book 3 comes out next year.
How do I get off "anonymous"??
Did I dream that I asked a question about what was next for you now that Forbidden Temptation had hit the stands?
choose the option that says other and then fill in your name.
I guess when posting as anonymous and asking how NOT to, I should leave my name....
LORRIE
I was wondering Paula, I know sometimes you can buy Ebooks, are yours available in that format?
BTW, this is the first book I've written that was set in Birmingham, Alabama, where I grew up and just outside of which I now live. Rose's house and neighborhood are more or less modeled after where I work in Southside, which is a real place. The Storyteller fountain mentioned in the book is also a real landmark: http://www.bhamonline.com/Storyteller/TheStoryteller.htm
Hi Paula! Just dropping in to say CONGRATS to another skork.
P.S. I'm drinking REAL margaritas tonight in celebration!
Kayla S
I wondered when I saw the AL if you would bring in your memories. I will check out the website you posted.
Brandy--up next is Forbidden Touch, coming out in February of 08, which is the third sister's book. Iris is an empath. It's not as fun as it sounds. ;)
I just heard from my editor today on a proposal I sent her a month ago. She likes the premise but has a lot of revisions I have to work through, so I know how I'll be spending my next month. And I have a three book series idea in mind that I'm also going to pitch sometime this summer.
Thanks, Kayla S! I keep rewatching your SKork behind the scenes video. And if I linger on the Blake part, well, what can I say?
Lorrie, as a matter of fact, Forbidden Temptation is available as an e-book. I'm not sure which e-book sites are carrying it, though--I know of two, which I linked on my webpage - http://www.paulagraves.com. And I found another one yesterday but haven't linked it yet.
Forbidden Territory was not made available as an e-book, however.
Okay--drawing coming up...give me a minute to gather all the names and do the drawing.
Would it be better to read them in order?
Okay---the winner of the first half-hour's prize is BRANDY!
Brandy, I think you already have my first book, but if you want an autographed copy of both that one and the new book, I can send that, or I can hook you up with an Amazon.com gift certificate. (And there you go winning everything again!)
Just e-mail me at paulawritesromance@charter.net with your preference.
Lorrie--they're stand alone books, so you could easily read them out of order. It's up to your own personal preferences. I think it might be better in this case to read Forbidden Territory first because of what I said about Rose--you meet her in that book as a very happy-go-lucky, quirky character, and then you see in the second book why and how that all changes for her. But you don't have to read the first book to enjoy the second book, I don't think.
Totally all about the autographed copy! But I'll email you with details.
Woohoo! Way to go, Brandy :)
So Paula, did your characters do anything that surprised you in this book? Or do you maintain strict control of them?
Cool! I usually like to read them in order if I know it's part of a series.
So, here's a tidbit about me in relation to the three sisters books: I'm pretty much a major skeptic about things like psychic abilities. I mean, I'd like to believe in them, since I think the idea of special gifts is cool and interesting in theory, but I've just never seen much convincing evidence of it.
Also, when I came up with the particular gifts of the sisters, I wanted to twist them from the norm in some way, to make them different from what we typically think of as psychic abilities. So Lily's gift is a sort of blend between clairvoyance and astral projection. Rose's true love veils gift was very specific, and even when her gift is twisted into something darker in her story, it's still a very specific, unusual gift.
And in Iris's case, her empathic abilities go beyond just being able to feel what others are feeling. She can actually take on the emotions and physical pains of others, drawing it out of them and into herself to ease their pains and emotional distress. But, just like her sisters' gifts, that ability can take a dreadful toll.
Paula:
Just dropping in to say congratulations on the release of your second book. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Maddy
WOW, that does sound like an interesting premise for a series. I love stories with a supernatural edge to them. Would you ever consider moving into even darker territory (I only ask because of my fondness for vampires).
Cissy, I don't have control over anything in my life. Why would my characters be any different? :)
Actually, in this particular book, Daniel ended up doing something near the end that surprised me a lot. It was unexpected but it worked really well with some incidents in his past that I had already set up.
This poor book has been through several early permutations, including a screenplay at one point. In the screenplay, Daniel was a reporter, not a former FBI profiler, and his estranged mother was a TV psychic. And Rose had a dog in the screenplay, a scruffy mutt named Valentino who haaaaaaated Daniel.
Lorrie, I don't think I could ever write a vampire story, despite my love for all things Spike. However, a very good friend of mine, Kristen Robinette, has a Vampire series coming out from Silhouette Nocturne that should be great. Keep an eye out for it. Dang, I wish I could remember the titles.
What prompted you to name the sisters after flowers?
No worries, I'll look her up!
So, the next one comes out in February? That's actually not as much of a wait as I'd anticipated.
Excellent!
LOL, Dawn, the answer to that is terribly mundane.
When I first wrote the book that would become FORBIDDEN TERRITORY, some twelve years ago, I managed to get all the way to the Senior Editor at Silhouette Intimate Moments before it was rejected. And they tell you that once you have a book rejected, don't resend it later because they log all the manuscript they receive and can check to see if you've sent it before.
Well, about a decade later, I decided to give it a full revision and pitch it again. In the first version, the sisters were named Sarah, Rachel and Hannah. But because I was sending the book in again, I had to change the title and, to be safe, changed the character names as well. (McBride, the hero, was once named Riley.)
So I wanted to keep the three sisters in a logical grouping, and those of you who've read the book may remember that Iris, the empath, is also an artist. She painted an iris that McBride saw in Lily's living room. So I took Iris's name from that painting of an Iris, and from there, came up with flower names for the other two sister. All to avoid being flagged by Harlequin's computer tracking!
Guess it worked!
Hey, the last person who posted as anonymous---if you'll post again and sign your name, I'll add you to this half-hour's drawing, which is for a $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com. I'll give you a couple of minutes to do so, then I'll be drawing again.
Sorry Brandy, in my contests you can only win once. ;)
I don't have a google account. But it's Kris. You can just call me anonymous.
I wanted to pick up your book today. Even went to the local grocery store to grab it but it wasn't on the shelf yet when I went and I had to go see my dad, so I'll try again tomorrow. I'll have you know Phyllis already has it! She beat me AGAIN.
Okay, can't wait any longer.
This half-hour's winner is...Kim W!
Kim, email me so I have your email address and I'll send your amazon.com gift certificate to you!
Dang, Kris---missed you on this drawing. But there'll be two more and you're automatically entered now. :)
I'm afraid one of these days, you and Phyllis are gonna have a knife fight over who gets the books first. Of course, it'll probably be over Nora's books, not mine, but still...
Yeah, Kim!!! Congratulations!!
This is Kris, btw.
I guess your books are proof that sometimes you can beat the system. The flower choice makes sense to me because our names can actually tell a lot about us or create an image, good or bad, that isn't based on reality. By there nature flowers are strong. They have to be in order to survive the elements.
We do love Nora, that's true!
But I'll have you know that Phyllis sent me an email last week to remind me that the date for the release of your newest book was fast approaching. Then she emailed me yesterday to told me she had it in her hot little hands. She'd ordered it from somewhere. Maybe eharlequin? So she got it early.
Rats!
Kris
Kris if you choose Other instead of google you can then log in with your name instead of anonymous.
I got mine yesterday from amazon.com. I got mine from eHarlequin a few weeks ago. And my comp books came the same day as my books from eHarlequin. I have a box full o' books now, waiting to be used for promotional purposes.
I think in my third contract, for FORBIDDEN TOUCH, I actually get twice as many comp books as I did for the first two. I may need to clear off another shelf!
Oh. grin.
Okay. I'll keep that in mind.
Thanks for the tip Dawn!
you are welcome Kris.
How big is your shelf Paula?
I have a lot of shelves, Dawn. You should see my book collection, and that doesn't even count my own.
Dawn, is that smut or do you mean her bookshelf? ;)
Come on, people, questions! If you don't keep asking questions, I'll resort to anecdotes that probably won't be interesting to anyone but me...
LOL, Cissy! I almost answered that question, "That's kind of personal, Dawn." ;)
Steve Johnson is in part the inspiration for your next hero? Reeeallly???
I'd buy the book ANYWAY because I love your writing, but mention Steve Johnson, and I'll be there with bells on!
PS, Cissy---are you writing 26?
Cissy stop that lol. As a lover of books I have several book cases myself. I was asking how much space you have for YOUR books.
Do you have any control over how your cover looks at all, or is that solely at the discretion of the publishing company? And do you find that your hero always matches the description in the book fairly closely or is it ever pretty much off?
Yes, Kris, although to be perfectly honest, I started writing that hero with Sawyer from Lost in mind. But my critique buddy, Jenn, started reading the first few chapters and asked me, "Do you realize Maddox (the hero) has a whole lot of Steve Johnson in him?" And when I went back and read it, she was right.
Snarky, quirky, kinda-bad-boy, a bit tortured---it fits both Steve and Sawyer.
I haven't even seen clips yet. I came right over here when I got home so I could come see what a launch party was like.
Go Paula. If Cissy can cause trouble in here you can stalk her in here as well.
Works for me!
HEY ALL!!!
-Nicole aka Flyaway
Yes stalk Cissy!!! ;)
Do I have to answer that question? You're the one on the hotseat here ;)
Hi, Nicole!
Dawn---I actually keep my books in a large drawer in a chest of drawers in my bedroom-cum-office. But I may have to clear out another drawer.
Kris--at Harlequin, we fill out what are called Art Fact Sheets. It asks for physical and emotional descriptions of our hero and heroine, outlines of two or three scenes that we might want depicted on the front of the book, etc. The first book, I said the hero looked like Clive Owen, only with hazel eyes. As you can see, McBride didn't look much like Clive. But the scene he's in is pretty true to life to something that happened in the book. Only he wasn't in a wet t-shirt. Not that I'm complaining.
I purposely included a rain scene from the book in the art fact sheet for FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION in hopes that I'd get another wet t-shirt cover. Which I did. Although I must have forgotten to mention "swimmer's body" on the art fact sheet, because the Daniel depicted on the cover is more bulky than I conceived.
I look forward to seeing what they do to poor Maddox, who looks like Sawyer (Josh Holloway) in my head. Oh, and I purposefully added a rain scene to the book just so I could have a wet t-shirt trifecta.
So if you were stranded on a desert island, in addition to all of your S/K clips, what one novel would you take?
I thought that was going to be a tough question, Emily. But it's not. Pride and Prejudice. My favorite book. I have to read it once a year or I don't feel complete. ;)
Before I forget--Hi, Nicole!
Good question Emily.
Gotta love wet t-shirts.
I figured it might be Jane.
Time for another drawing--this one is for an autographed copy of both of my books--or a $10 amazon.com gift certificate, your choice...
And the winner is...
LORRIE!
Lorrie, email me at paulawritesromance@charter.net with your preferences!
Congrats on the new book Paula!! I know it will be even better than the last one (and that one was pretty darn good). I'm going to see if I can find it to read on the plane tomorrow.
Congratulations, Lorrie!
Congrats Lorrie.
You made it Sherry. Does that mean you are all packed?
My internet is crappy tonight! I keep fading in and out, or just hanging FOREVER waiting for a page to load up. This is like dial up. Argh.
Anyhoo, what sort of window or timeline are you given to complete new books once you've been given the go-ahead by your publisher? Also (and this may actually be a PM question), but I'm thinking of entering a short story contest by Memphis Magazine and wondering what advice you might have.
Woot! Go Lorrie!!!
WOW, I just realized I won!
WOO HOO!!!!!
Sherry!!!
Have fun in LA without me?! *pouts*
Good question, Lorrie.
The last time, my editor was going to give me three or four months, but I was almost finished with it, so I set my own deadline of about a month and a half. Stupid me. ;) But I wanted the book to come out as early as possible in 2008, so I pushed it.
I've never actually written on deadline from scratch yet. But I imagine it's between three and four months.
As for the short story question, I'm not sure I know much about it, but feel free to PM me with your question.
And no question about it (I'll email you later with my particulars) - I definitely want signed copies of your books!!
Do you prefer to write in silence, or with music, or some other background noise?
Do you find it easier to write with a shorter deadline vs. one farther down the line?
Do you need to read something to inspire you or can you just write?
Janae is now stalking me thru email!! OMG!!! I am scared!! :D
Emily--there is no such thing as silence in my household. I live with my mom, my sister, her two grade-school age kids and a menagerie of dogs and cats. I actually have trouble concentrating when there's too much silence.
But I can't much seem to write to music with lyrics in English, so I'll usually make myself a moody instrumental playlist. I often include Gaelic music because I don't understand Gaelic and so the lyrics don't distract me.
I do make a playlist of music that fits the mood of the book I'm working on and play it in my CD player on the commutes to and from work. To get my head into the story.
Anna says Hi Paula,
After spending all day babysitting my nephews, I went on a hunt for the illustrious book. Went to three different locations and can't seem to find it anywhere LOL Going to try more locations tomorrow See I am bound and determined to find your book one way or another LOL Anyways.. Congratulations on your current and future sucesses AmcDoug190
Dawn, I work best with a shorter deadline, because I'm prone to procrastination, and the shorter deadline forces me to make a tough writing schedule and stick to it.
Hmmm, my other post never showed up so I'll do this again.
I am packed but I've done nothing else, lol.
Paula, I can't wait for that 3rd book. Do you have a date for it?
Nicole, different things inspire me. I once wrote a whole book around a line from a Richard Marx song called Hazard. The book I most recently pitched to my editor (the one I'm going to have to revise now) came out of a small secondary scene in a Tom Clancy book, when the character of Jack Ryan was Vice President and his children were being guarded by the Secret Service. It gave me an idea for the relationship between the hero and heroine (which will be changing due to the rewrite, but hey. That's how it works sometimes).
Sherry, book three will be in the stores around Valentine's Day 2008.
Wait just got here , your next book is looselty based on Steve? I was about to ask you if you would be tempted to use Sn and MBE as part of your literary muse Need clarification on I think it was Kris comment
Hi, Anna, and thanks! Keep looking--they'll be in the stores soon if they're not there already.
Anonymous (who ARE you???) the hero in the next book is actually loosely based on Sawyer from Lost, but as I was writing it, I found that Steve Johnson kept creeping in, mostly in the dialogue and the attitudes. And the tortured anti-hero aspect of my hero.
There's also a bit of Kayla in the heroine, Iris---at least, the Kayla of the rape storyline or the deaf storyline, where she's faced with a world that's increasingly hostile and alien to her, and how she tries to cope with that alienation.
What are some of the reasons your publisher might request rewrites? Do you get a chance to fight for something you feel should not be changed?
forgive the typos LOL having trouble with the typing today Believe it or not I can spell Anna by the way it was my comment about Are you really going to use SN and MBE as part of the literary muse AMCDOUG190 Anna
I would think because Sawyer and Steve Johnson have that masculine rough boy but tenderheart thing it would be natural to kind of blend the two I know for a fact SN's Stefan was used for a book but I can't remember the name of the book though The author had very clearly responded she was inspired by SN's portrayal of Stefan and used him heavily in her book LOL See SN inspires all kinds of things LOL
Lorrie, in the particular case of the Code Name Willow book (the one I just pitched), there were some marketing problems. I had a teenage boy as a major secondary character, and those don't sell well for Intrigue. Also, she felt that having the heroine be the daughter of a former president might be too specific--people would be trying to turn her into Chelsea Clinton or Jenna or Barbara Bush, so she suggested making the heroine the daughter of a well-known ambassador from a wealthy, well-known family (like the Rockefellers or something). That actually is going to make it easier to work this book into an upcoming series idea I have, so I didn't fight it.
Honestly, I've neer much had to fight my editor about story elements, because she knows what sells better than I do, and because she's been pretty flexible with allowing me to come up with the alternative to the story point she doesn't think will work.
I know that my editor's suggestions for revision made my first book a MUCH better novel than it was when she bought it. So I trust her instincts as a rule.
But if it was something I really felt strongly should stay, I'd fight for it, although I'd probably try to find a compromise that worked for both of us.
Valentine's Day is a good date. :)
The more you talk about it the more the anticipation grows.
Thanks for answering my question!!
The most random things inspire me!
On a random note: I am getting stalked on the board and its hilarious!
keep forgeting to ident myself Anna AMCDOUG190 posted about the SN Stefan book thing
Okay---time for the final drawing. Let's see who gets the other $25 amazon.com gift certificate...
And the winner is....SHERRY!
Sherry, I have your email, I think, but if you want me to send the gift certificate to a different email, please let me know!
So what draws you to the psychological thriller? is it the exploration of the paranormal, or the character studies that tend to come to life on the page? ANna
I love reading psychological thrillers. I like the aspect of ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances finding their inner hero. My heroines so far have been a schoolteacher, a wedding planner and a plant nursery owner. None of them were prepared to face deadly circumstances and they had to find out what they were made of when faced with those situations. I find that endlessly fascinating to explore. How do normal, everyday people become heroic?
Okay, it's 9 pm and I now have to go stalk Kim for clip from tomorrow's Days episode. Thank you so much, everyone, for coming to my party! And remember, if ou like the book, tell someone about it!
or is it perhaps the exploration of human psyche that makes it so intriguing would love to hear your thoughts I personally think psychological thrillers are the most intense and most provacative forms of writing Anna
I do like exploring what makes people do what they do. What motivates them to do heinous, unspeakable things?
The non-fiction books of John Douglas are particularly fascinating, as he approaches this question as an FBI profiler in an engaging yet scholarly way.
Hi Paula! I almost missed it. Wrong time zone and rough day at work. lol Thanks for answering my question. I'm glad you have the support of your mom and I just bet your dad is up there cheering you on, too.
Hi Paula, Sooo sorry I got here late, ugh! Can't wait to read the new book!
Yay!!! I just saw that I won. What a great way to end what was a pretty crummy day. Thank you so much! Email on its way.
congratulations on your book release. It sounds really good and exciting.
Hi Paula,
Sorry I missed the party, a rest got way out of hand. LOL on the never-quiet house! Most of my questions got asked by others. I always enjoy your posts at S&K so I'm looking forward to your books. Celtic music always rocks, and thanks for sharing that. "May ideas flow like ink from your pen"
~Cindy
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