STELLA STEPS INTO ELIZABETH'S WHIRLPOOL

Stella: Is WHIRLPOOL an original hardcover, a paperback reprint of a hardcover, a paperback original, a revision…?

Elizabeth: That’s a tricky question. The book WHIRLPOOL is based on came out years ago as The Ruby by Ann Maxwell, a paperback original. At the time I wrote (with my husband as co-author) The Ruby for one publisher, I was writing historical romance under the name Elizabeth Lowell for a different publisher. I used two names both for contractual reasons and because I didn’t want to confuse an audience by doing historicals one moment and contemporary romantic suspense the next.

Stella: So you decided to confuse us after all.

Elizabeth: *wonders if she should plead the Fifth* Not really…it’s just that I’m writing contemporary romantic suspense now as Elizabeth Lowell, and the two publishers I worked for have since merged and become one. When that happened, I agreed to revise/update the three Ann Maxwell romantic suspense titles and have them brought out under the name Elizabeth Lowell. WHIRLPOOL is the last of those three titles. In fact, WHIRLPOOL is the last rewrite I plan to do. Future books will all be originals appearing first in hardcover and then in paperback.

Stella: *reaches for aspirin* So much for the back story. Tell us about the story itself.

Elizabeth: WHIRLPOOL is the story of what happens when a jewelry maker finds a fabulous Carl Faberge egg delivered to her door in an unmarked paper carton. It’s a gift to die for. Literally. In order to survive, Laurel accepts help from Cruz Rowan, a man with his own agenda. He is employed by Risk Limited, an international firm specializing in security. The firm has been hired to recover the stolen egg. (A second Risk Limited book, Silk and Shadow, is still under the name Ann Maxwell with yet another publisher. One of the perils of writing a series, which I will talk about in my next blog!

Stella: My head hurts.

Elizabeth: You’re not alone.

Stella: *passes over the aspirin*

Elizabeth: What makes all the confusion worthwhile is the book itself. It combines romance, action, suspense, and beautiful art. The characters learn to think of the past in new ways, to survive, to trust, and to love. My favorite kind of book, whether reading or writing.

Stella: The good news is that people who never discovered that you wrote as Ann Maxwell have a sexy, suspenseful treat in store!

WHIRLPOOL is available now! Go to your favorite bookseller or order from the online buttons below.

Stella talks about her new release, A MARKED MAN, and interviews Father Cyrus Payne who reveals some of the secrets of the Bayou Books series.

A MARKED MAN is on the shelves. This has been a crazy month with both the appearance of A GRAVE MISTAKE for the first time in paperback, and now my new hardcover.

Hi all:

If I delve much deeper into the world of voodoo, hoodoo, Marie Laveau and the power of the gris-gris, someone will have to organize an intervention!

In A MARKED MAN, two woman have loved Max Savage–and died, snatched from life and found in bizarre, ritualistic states. In both cases, Max was the last man to see the victims alive. He was accused and charged, but both cases were dropped for lack of evidence.

What would you do if you were Annie Duhon, manager of Pappy’s Dancehall in Toussaint, Louisiana and you met a renowned plastic surgeon (Max Savage) who showed great interest in you? Imagine your past is studded with hard knocks and your ego is shriveled and this charismatic man starts showing up most days just to eat lunch with you. Then add the mystery of why Max would choose to open a clinic in the area–an isolated and unlikely place for him to relocate.

And if that isn’t bad enough, you learn (as Annie does) about Max’s past at the same time as another woman disappears. Once again, Max is the last person to see the potential victim alive. Would you be tempted to run from a man who is likely a killer?

Max Savage is angry. He cannot stop the spread of rumors about him and the latest unexplained absence of a physical therapist he interviewed for his new clinic may stop his plans for practice just outside Toussaint. He chose the area because it is remote.

This surgeon hovers between staying to fight, and getting away from people who are becoming important to him. Public interference from some who have judged him guilty turns violent. And fear in the eyes of new acquaintances pushes Max closer to walking away from his plans.

Besieged by dreadful nightmares, Annie sees death. Something big is afoot in the Bayou. Bigger than, but related to the crimes Max Savage is accused of. Unasked for attention from a voodoo practitioner who claims she sees Annie’s future, as well-meaning as it seems, doesn’t pump up her confidence. And evidence that her fate may be in the hands of another leads to impulsive action–and its consequences.

You, my readers, are invited on the journey to . . . to whatever awaits you!

Sincerely,
Stella Cameron

Story points:

1. Complex, boldly drawn protagonists.
2. An obsessed villain without conscience.
3. Intense action and adventure in sultry Louisiana bayou country.
4. An entertaining cast of characters, including Father Cyrus Payne, a Bayou Book legend, and Wazoo, the bearer of both drama and laughter.
3. Highly charged adult sexuality.

Stella interviews Father Cyrus Payne of the Bayou Books Series:

Stella: I don’t suppose it’s appropriate to tell you I find you very attractive, but I do.

Father Cyrus: Mmm.

Stella: Sorry about that, couldn’t help myself. You’ve been around The Bayou Books since your sister, Celina, had so much trouble in FRENCH QUARTER. Would you tell us how that came about?

Father Cyrus: Several years ago I arrived unexpectedly at my sister’s New Orleans home. I am a priest and was in the city to visit with my superiors. Celina had been taken suddenly ill and I got to her just in time to help her through a difficult time. Of course, I’m not at liberty to share intimate details with you, those are privileged between priest and supplicant.

Stella: You must know so many juicy, I mean, interesting secrets.

Father Cyrus: Mmm.

Stella: Sorry. I hope you’ll take us through the highlights of your life from the days of COLD DAY IN JULY, though KISS THEM GOODBYE, NOW YOU SEE HIM, A GRAVE MISTAKE and now, A MARKED MAN, the Toussaint Bayou Books. And you know all about what’s going on in the Pointe Judah Bayou Books, too. If you feel like it, it would be fun to see the way BODY OF EVIDENCE and TARGET fit in.

Father Cyrus: I should have been writing all that down. Whew. I’ll do my best.

Stella: Oh, oh, just a second. Madge. She’s, well, she is, isn’t she?

Father Cyrus: Madge Pollard is a wonderful woman and I’m a blessed man to have her as my assistant.

Moving right along. Not long after the events surrounding Celina Payne and Jack Charbonnet I became Pastor of St Cecil’s Parish in Toussaint, Louisiana. It’s a great little town on Bayou Teche.

Stella: Your first mysterious events took place there, didn’t they? They were recorded in COLD DAY IN JULY.

Father Cyrus: Exactly. A woman I had taken into the parish house on Bonanza Alley, Bonnie Blue, suffered a terrible experience which turned Toussaint upside down. She had been through dangerous times in New Orleans when she sought refuge at the parish.

It was through Bonnie that we first met L’Oisseau de Nuit (Wazoo). Some are far from grateful for that but I enjoy her. True, she has little control over an irreverent mouth and she doesn’t like me, but I believe she is intrinsically good and I’ve been trying to prove this for years.

More important, Reb Girard, as she became when she married Marc Girard, together with Marc, showed their determination (although I’m sure they must have been afraid from time to time) and wouldn’t give in to weakness.
You know, we have some people in Toussaint you just have to know. And some you might–one hates to speak ill of anyone–but some whose souls need a little work.

Stella: Who was your housekeeper at that time. Didn’t she have a really trashy daughter.

Father Cyrus: I must ask you to be more circumspect.

Stella: Sorry: Consider me circumspect.

Father Cyrus: Oribel looked after things at the parish and her daughter, Precious was married to that man who ran the body shop.

Stella: Wasn’t Precious–I’ll put this nicely–a bit free with her favors.

Father Cyrus: Are we finished with your questions?

Stella: No, no, no. I’d like to move on to the way things developed in KISS THEM GOODBYE.

Father Cyrus: Very well, but I am starting to doubt the wisdom of this chat.
You see, Jilly Gable and her brother Joe were already good friends. Jilly runs ALL TARTED UP, The Flakiest Bakery in Town. Joe has been her partner although he’s actually a lawyer and has a practice in town. His offices are beyond the Square at the dead end of Main street. He’s next door to HUNGRY EYES. You remember that?

Stella: Of course, the café and book shop run by Ellie Byron. But we haven’t gotten to her story yet.

Father Cyrus: No, but I did want to remind you that Ellie’s shop is near Joe Gable’s offices.

Stella: Right. Tell us about Vivian Patin and Sheriff Spike Devol.

Father Cyrus: You’re in such a hurry. Spike and Vivian weren’t an instant success story.

Stella: No, except for them both being so sexy and such wild things when they’re together.

Father Cyrus: Mmm.

Stella: Sorry. There were some creepy types around in that episode. It was lucky everyone pulled together to sort things out. Rosebank, where Vivian and her mom, Charlotte were turning that big old house into a resort gave me the creeps at first.

Father Cyrus: Yes, it probably did. I was rather more concerned about the people next door at Serenity House. You’ll remember them and that the House used to be called Green Veil?

Stella: Ew, that weird Dr. Link and his sexy wife, Susan Hurst.

Father Cyrus: Quite.

Stella: They were fascinating though. And it was fun to see all the folks from COLD DAY IN JULY, and even one or two from FRENCH QUARTER involved in everything that went on.

Father Cyrus: You do have a prurient interest in the more seamy side of life.

Stella: I do not! I’m a realist and I know the elements that make the world go round. I get excited when I think about the way all the characters fit together in the Bayou Books series.

Father Cyrus: Well, you should know. What do you do? Keep master charts?

Stella: Of course. Character charts. With each story they shift in importance, some rise to A characters and are protagonists, some drop to B, C or even D according to their piece of the pie. Then there are charts to chronicle how each of these people came to Toussaint and why. There are overviews of each character’s background, and the motivations for the particular part they play.

Father Cyrus: Motivation interests me. People and events always come along, or happen for reasons, don’t they?

Stella: Oh, yes. No motivation, no reason to be around.

Father Cyrus: I have found that each episode of our lives here has grown more intense.

Stella: It does. It grows so intense between you and Madge, I’m fraying the fabric on the edge of my chair.

Father Cyrus: Pull yourself together. You need a sense of propriety. Hm, I mean, please make an effort to elevate your soul.

Stella: Yes, Father.

Father Cyrus: We had started to settle back into a quieter life style when NOW YOU SEE HIM came along. What a shock. The last thing any of us expected was that uproar with Ellie Byron and Joe Gable.

Stella: Oh, yes, I just sigh when I think of how their love affair blossomed.

Father Cyrus: That’s an unfortunate term. Ellie and Joe were pushed together by jealousy and greed and I thank God they drew strength from one another.

Stella: There’s nothing wrong with pointing out that a man and a woman with the hots for each other can find a lot of mutual satisfaction through good, old-fashioned . . . well, in their case, not so old-fashioned sex. I think it gave them stronger backbones to cope with some of bad stuff. People turn to each other when the people they trust sell them out. Admit it, they do. Look at you and Madge.

Father Cyrus: That’s inappropriate and you know it.

Stella: Wazoo and I talk about it. She’s really simpatico with the two of you. She says Madge just glows when she looks at you. And you give her those intense looks of yours. Ooh, you both make me shudder–in the best way.

Father Cyrus: You mean well, but these things are hard enough, without . . .

Stella: Of course they are. Thank you for being so open with me. Have you two ever kissed.

Father Cyrus: Should we move on?

Stella: I knew it, you have. I bet it was lovely. You're such a handsome, solid man. I bet you swept her off her feet.

Father Cyrus: When Jilly Gable finally decided to confront Guy Gautreaux--you know he was the NOPD detective who came into town when Ellie was in such a bind? Of course you do, well, he didn’t still around Toussaint afterwards because nothing interested him here.

Stella: You and I think so much alike. It was obvious he was burning his jeans over Jilly Gable.

Father Cyrus: Hmm. Sounds uncomfortable. A GRAVE MISTAKE brought a lot of situations that were too close for comfort.

Stella: Or close enough for really exciting comfort, Father. Ooh, sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. The devil makes me do it. I got really scared when things got out of hand. Your brother-in-law, Jack Charbonnet, and some of your other friends from New Orleans played an important part, though.

Father Cyrus: I have many good friends.

Stella: Like Wazoo. I shouldn’t laugh.

Father Cyrus: Wazoo is a friend. I wouldn’t mind if she stopped calling me God Man. Quite difficult. And she could dress and behave with more decorum.

Stella: No, she couldn’t. A woman like her, Pet analyst, medicine woman and voodoo practitioner–how could she protect her image if she wasn’t naturally the part .

Father Cyrus: If you say so, but please remember I’m here for you when you need me.

Stella: I bet you say that to Madge all the time.

Father Cyrus: My turn to ask questions. A MARKED MAN has left me longing for some peace. How about you?

Stella: Of course not! And I don’t believe you want that either. Annie Duhon is a love and we’re all going to be glad she and Max Savage are living here for good.

Father Cyrus: But it didn’t look good there for a long time. I was deeply concerned about Max. I believed what he told me about his innocence, but all the evidence pointed toward him.

Stella: Yes. Annie hasn’t had an easy life.

Father Cyrus: No. But she’s strong and she’s turned her disadvantages into a base to build on. I admire her.

Stella: I loved every moment of their private times together.

Father Cyrus: You would.

Stella: Father! Do you think we should wait before going into the way the Pointe Judah books came along because of the Toussaint Books, and why they work so well as the two components of The Bayou Books?

Father Cyrus: I surely do. I think we’ve gone over more than enough for one session.

Stella: You do know I’m going to have to sort you and Madge Pollard out, don’t you? I’m being serious now.

Father Cyrus: Lord, save me.

Readers, friends all:

Is there something in particular you’d like to ask about a character or characters in the Bayou Books?

Do you have any ideas for people or twists you like to see in future?
What is it that makes series books so special to you?

Susan wonders: are we BORN wanting to do it?

Write books, ride horses or create fabulous pastries, that is?

What? You were expecting something a little more titillating?

:) I was counting on that.

The first time I met my future sister-in-law she was painting a picture of a horse. She LOVED horses and rode at any opportunity. Every spring we'd go over to Sun Lakes in eastern Washington. (or as we call it up here in our little corner of the world: East of the Mountains) The first thing she'd do is drag everyone down to the stables and bully the stablemaster into letting us take the horses out on our own. This was heaven for her. For me, not so much. I always seemed to end up on some big ol’ brute named Bright Eyes who's only desire was to return to the barn. And if he had to scrape me off against a tree to obtain his objective. . . well, that worked for him.

But I digress. Reading has always been my passion and as you all know, writing eventually became my defining one. But back when it was still merely a mental exercise I did to put myself to sleep at night, I found a creative outlet in baking. Pies and breads, mostly.

The minute I pulled out that flour canister, my Sweet Baby Boy started clamoring to help. I think he was maybe three/four years old the first time he pushed a chair up to the counter where I was assembling ingredients and pulled on an apron that pooled atop his shoes.

By the time he was 13 he was creating desserts with such beautiful presentation it knocked my socks off. The minute he was old enough to legally hold a job he went to work in a restaurant and eventually won a partial scholarship to culinary school, where he trained to become a pastry chef.

Since then, he's worked in some fabulous restaurants in the Seattle area. My sister-in-law now owns three horses. And I write for a living. So I'm wondering: were we born to do these things? What do you think? Are people meant to choose certain paths in their lives? And do you have a passion that manifested itself early?

RUNNING WITH QUILLS--NEW DOINGS!

Good Thursday afternoon!

We've cooked up a special Blog Happening for you:

HOOKED ON SERIES: Find out what is going on behind the scenes of each Quill's latest series.

Mon, Oct.30. Stella Cameron on The Bayou Books.
Fri, Nov. 3. Lori Foster's latest series
Mon, Nov 6. Jayne Ann Krentz on her Arcane Society.
Wed, Nov. 8. Elizabeth Guest (Suzanne Simmons) on her new vampire series.
Fri, Nov. 10. Susan Andersen's Marines, and her Showgirls series.
Wed, Nov 15. Elizabeth Lowell on the St. Kilda series.

We hope you'll join us for inside looks at our series,

The Quills

PS Watch for a group chat at Writerspace later in November!

Suzanne announces: And the winner is . . . (trumpets, please.)

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SEPTEMBER WINNER!

Our September contest winner is Dianne from Wheeling, Illinois. She has won a signed book from each of the Quills: Susan Andersen, Stella Cameron, Lori Foster, Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell and Suzanne Simmons. We hope you enjoy the books, Dianne!

Inquiring Minds want to know: Have you noticed the "contest" tab at the top of RWQ, where you can click and enter?

Do you know that all of the Quills run monthly contests on their individual web sites? (Click on the web sites beneath each of our photos at left.)

Inquiring Minds are particularly snoopy this month: Do you enter contests in general? Have you ever won a contest? (My dh recently won a golf hat. Whoopee! Like the guy doesn't already own dozens of the things.) But my friend Tina once won a van. Yes, as in vehicle!

So good luck to everyone!

Having a Happy Hiatus . . . wish you were here.
Suzanne

Stella and Jayne Go Shopping for Holiday Gifts

As Lori's blog reminds us, the holidays are just around the corner. Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone on your list who is crazy about horses? Hey, you know who you are. Just about every little girl who grew up to love romance novels started out reading horse books. Some of us (ahem) never outgrew them.

Which brings us to our Super Cool Gift Suggestion of the Month, a fantastic new horse book. Meet our guest today, CATHERINE JOHNS, former curator at the British Museum. Her new book, HORSES: HISTORY, MYTH, ART arrives in stores this month and because this just happens to be the start of the shopping season, we've asked her to discuss her new release.

Stella: Welcome to RWQ, Catherine: Please tell us about HORSES: HISTORY, MYTH, ART.

CJ: It is a picture-book with about 180 colour photographs of objects, dating from the early Stone Age to the present day, which illustrate the relationship between horses and people. There is an essay about the evolution and domestication of the horse, and the many roles the animal has played in human culture – themes such as racing and hunting, the care of horses, warfare and transport, mythology and symbolism – followed by 80 double-page picture spreads, each with a short, self-contained text of about 300 words. All the objects pictured and explained are from the collections of one of the world’s great museums; the British Museum.

Jayne: You have published a number of books, both popular and scholarly, relating to your professional field of Roman archaeology: what made you decide to write a book about horses?

CJ: I am deeply interested in all animals, and have always loved horses. I am one of the many women who read every horsy book, fact or fiction, that she could lay hands on as a child. As an archaeologist, concerned with the whole subject of human culture, I have been fascinated by the worldwide special relationship between humans and horses: they have a unique bond. I wanted to convey that visually, through the countless objects that people have made and used that depict the beauty and character of the horse.



Stella: Time for that famous question, where did you get the idea for this book?

CJ: I first proposed a picture-book of horses in the British Museum collections to British Museum Press nearly 25 years ago, but they were not interested. Then, a few years ago, a colleague who was doing the academic research on one of the Lakenheath burials (a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon warrior who was buried with his horse) had the idea of a special British Museum exhibition on horses. A very enthusiastic group of curators formed a planning committee, and we established the topics and objects that we wanted to include. Sadly, the exhibition was shelved, but the preparatory work we did helped to form the basis of this book. Around that time, my publishers suddenly concluded that there was a market for horse books after all, and started to press me to research and write one, even though I was in the middle of another, major writing project.

Jayne: Ah, yes, the publicity department finally notices that there is an audience...As I was saying, the artefacts illustrated and discussed in your beautiful book range very widely over place and time, from about 10,500 BC to the 21st century, and from many parts of the world. How did you, a Classical archaeologist, write knowledgeably and confidently about things like medieval armour, Mughal painting, Victorian jewellery and Tang Dynasty tomb-figures?

CJ: With the help of my friends! If you look at the Foreword, you will see that, in the standard academic tradition, I acknowledge the help of no fewer than 24 friends and colleagues. I was able to pick the brains of true experts on everything from practical equitation to Egyptian hieroglyphs, Buddhist iconography, medieval Islamic metalwork and Japanese netsuke. The internet was often useful, but my colleagues were indispensable.



Stella: What sort of readers do you think will enjoy the book?

CJ: It should attract horse-lovers above all, but it is full of arcane information on many, many aspects of art, history, mythology and human culture generally, so I hope that people who simply enjoy picking up facts of many kinds will get a kick out of it, too. I certainly enjoyed doing the research.

Jayne: The book is listed as being for adults, not children: is the text easy enough for a young reader?

CJ: It is not actually written for children, but kids who love horses usually like to learn obscure facts and specialised terms, and I have explained all the really technical or academic words anyway. The short discussions that accompany the pictures make it possible to dip into the book at any page, and I think the pictures will draw in even those who are too young to understand all the text. I could have read it myself with pleasure by the age of about ten.

Stella: There are countless books in print about horses but this one is special. Why is that?

CJ: A very high proportion of the horse books available are chiefly about the hundreds of modern breeds, or about the practicalities of riding and the care of horses. Books in English on the horse in art tend to focus on fine art – paintings and sculpture – from the Western world within the last 400-500 years. I don’t know of another book that deals with horse imagery on objects as diverse as jewellery, pottery and glass, gems, coins, bone knife-handles, and drawings and sculpture, or that gives as much weight to the arts and crafts of the Middle East, Asia and Africa as it does to those of the Western world.

Jayne: What is your next writing project?

CJ: The first must be to complete the large scholarly catalogue I have been working on for several years. But after that, and provided Horses sells well, it occurs to me that it would be a lot of fun to do a companion volume entitled Dogs: History, Myth, Art. I have already made a preliminary list of some wonderful objects for this in the Museum’s collections…

Stella: Thank you so much for joining us on the blog, Catherine! For those of you out there who would like to purchase HORSES, HISTORY, MYTH, ART, below are links to both U.S. and UK online booksellers. (Note that the UK edition features a different cover. Interesting). Of course, if you happen to be in London, you can always pop around to the gift shop at the British Museum where you will also find the book for sale.

Jayne: What about those of you reading this blog? Got a special feeling for horses? I know I do. They were the magical creatures of my childhood.



Order US version:

Order UK version:

Tis the Season!

Okay, I know it's only October, but the holiday books are on the shelf, and I love the holiday season so much, I always start celebrating early. I love everything about the holidays... except for the cold and when the snow turns black, but let's don't go there.

I went shopping a few days ago and already the mall had decorated with wreaths while workers stayed busy displaying signs. It was so crowded that a few people were short tempered, and that got me thinking.

There are a lot of movies that showcase the desolation that some people experience during the holidays. Because of that, I used to believe that it was an especially difficult time for many.

Then I wrote a novella for a Kensington anthology titled
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
It featured a jaded cop who was fed up with the holiday hype. Like any good author, I did my research to shore up the hero's beliefs.

Imagine my surprise to find that the holidays actually provide comfort for many, even those in less than ideal situations.

They might not get or give gifts.
They might not have close family or friends to share the festivities.
They aren't always in the best of health.
Their loved ones might have just passed.

But the holidays give people hope.
It gives them something to focus on other than their troubles. Like me, they feel that special something in the air that lightens their worries and highlights their blessings.

Did you know that during the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas season, there are less reports of new depressions?

The American Association of Suicidology has proven that December has the lowest suicide rate of any month of the year.

The National Center for Health Statistics has documented a suicide drop by at least 20 percent during the holidays.

People who can't give with their wallets and don't have extra time to share, donate a special smile or hug. They encourage others. They make a phone call. Send a card. Bake a cookie. Build a happy snowman. Offer to shover a walkway.

The ways that the season brightens our lives can't be measured in consumer sales or commercial advertisements. Whether you decorate every inch of your house until it glows up and down the street, or simply wear an inexpensive pin on your sweater, you contribute to the spirit.

Instead of seeing the money spent and feeling the extra rush to finish, look at how the stores all offer the opportunity for donations.
Read the newspaper with an eye for miracles - they're there, I swear. I find them every year. (I put several in the above-mentioned book, with names and dates changed.)



Watch a few cartoons that focus on the true meaning of the season. My personal favorites are The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Charlie Brown's Christmas. I swear, when the Grinch's heart grows, I cry. And when Charlie Brown jumps at the sight of his scraggly little tree made beautiful by love, I smile at everyone in the room.


When my husband and I were first married, we decided that we would have Christmas Eve at our house. Now, thirty years later, it's often the only tradition that the rest of our families honor. We have cookies galore - enough for the neighbors and teachers and anyone who doesn't have any place else to be.

Though some can't bring a single gift, no one leaves empty handed.
We usually have over 40 people, and sometimes it's been over 50.
Our dinner is not a sedate affair. People mill in and out of the kitchen filling and refilling their plates, then carrying them to various floors in the house in hopes of finding room to sit, or seeking out a similar age group.

I have so many Christmas CDs that they need their own storage place. My favorites are those by Neil Diamond.

Throughout my 48 years, what I could and couldn't do for the holidays has changed according to our financial situation and the ages of our children. But I've always loved the spirit of Christmas, so the rest is just icing on the cake, whether it cost a small fortune, or no fortune at all.

My favorite gift was a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet that my husband gave me one year. It meant a lot because he picked it out himself, and he looked so happy to give it to me.
My favorite scent is cinnamon.
My favorite relatives are any that are still believers.
My favorite food is pumpkin pie with whipped cream, or butter cookies made from the press in the shape of trees.
I love Neil Diamond's "Little Drummer Boy."
I love snow globes. And musical bells. And I love seeing others smile.

What is your favorite part of the holidays? Your favorite gift, relative, song or food or scent? What's your favorite memory?

Do you like holiday themed books? I LOVE writing them, even if I have to turn them in months before the holidays begin.
I have 3 out this season - a new record for me. One is original, two are reissued.

I hope that you're anticipating the season as much as I am. I hope the spirit is already touching you, and that you find joy in every day.

And the winners are...

Two weeks ago, I did my blog on the craziest, funniest, goofiest holiday presents you ever received. I LOVED all the entries, but I did choose my 3 top picks to receive an arc of Santa, Baby.

I still need the winners to contact me!

Justine Fancis... you're #1! I could just imagine the saran pot covers as a gift!

Sara Mallion, you're #2! Loved the proposal story.

Estella, you're #3! A Yoke! Now that DID take imagination, and it's pretty darn funny to boot.

So ladies, if you'll email me your addresses at lorifoster1@juno.com I'll get your arcs of Santa, Baby in the mail to you ASAP. If I still don't hear from any of those 3 in a week, I reckon I'll have to choose 3 others.


Many, many thanks!
Now watch for my next blog, tomorrow morning, about your BEST holiday present ever!

HUGS,

ELIZABETH UNCOVERS COVERS

You can’t tell a book by it’s cover, right?

Um, wrong.

In today’s popular fiction market, a cover clearly states what kind of story is inside—science fiction or science fantasy, paranormal romance, historical romance, chick lit, contemporary romantic comedy, suspense, sisterhood/motherhood/family fiction, literary fiction, and on and on and on.

I’m not saying this is a good thing, simply that it’s real.

So what happens when you get a cover that screams one thing and the book is about something else entirely?

Nothing good, that’s what.

I became a NYT bestseller writing historical romance. This was back in the dark ages, when romance was just being considered “real” enough to bring out as hardcover, and nobody believed romance readers would buy contemporary romance in hardcover, period. Sandra Brown broke the barriers first, quickly followed by Barbara Delinsky, Iris Johansen, Nora Roberts, Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz, Catherine Coulter, Linda Howard, yours truly, and more other names than I can remember. We all hit “mainstream” bestsellerdom around the same time.

At that time, clinch covers were indelibly associated with category paperback romance, which left art departments with a problem: what to do with all these romance writers coming out in hardcover? I mean, MEN wouldn’t read them, right? Hate to mislead all those guys who would wilt in the presence of pink.

The solution was to put pastels and flowers on the covers—lots and lots of flowers. Then came the “real estate” covers—little cabin in the woods, on the beach, on a mountain, in a tree, whatever. And flowers. Couldn’t forget the little suckers, because they sent the message “woman’s read.” Colors were soft, almost wistful. This worked very well for romantic comedy, sisterhood, family, etc. romances.


When I decided I wanted to do romantic suspense, the art department came up with the following cover for AMBER BEACH.

The sales department was rhapsodic. The cover for AMBER BEACH was soooooo pretty!

When I said, yes, but the cover didn't match the content of the book, I was told it was okay, pretty covers sold books.

And it worked. Once.

People who didn’t know me as a contemporary writer, people who liked Barbara Delinsky, Danielle Steele, and others who wrote of women’s various relationships with their family and lover/s, picked up on the cover cues and bought AMBER BEACH.

Those poor souls must have felt like a debutante in a mosh pit.

People who would have been willing to try romantic suspense by an unknown (to them) author, never looked past AMBER BEACH’S gauzy cover.

JADE ISLAND was a repeat of the same mistake of cover vs. content.

But now, readers were wary. Folks who had bought AMBER BEACH thinking they were ordering tenderloin and got lobster instead didn’t bite a second time. Sell-through on JADE ISLAND slid.

My publisher wondered why. My cover concerns weren't part of their wondering.

PEARL COVE’s cover was even more gauzy, colors selected from the tampon aisle of the grocery store.

Same problem as JADE ISLAND, redoubled. No match between cover and content. None. Period. False advertising at its worst.

By the time RUBY BAYOU came around, I was begging the publisher on all fours to change the damned covers. I was told if I changed the title—but not too much, because it was part of a series—the art department would be inspired. So the book became MIDNIGHT IN RUBY BAYOU.

Well, at least the cover was red, not pink.

After MIDNIGHT IN RUBY BAYOU, my publisher became convinced that the problem was that I was writing a series, so I should do one-off books.

I didn’t argue. I would have done anything for better covers. (My favorite fantasy involved the tampon aisle and the art department. ‘Nuf said.)

MOVING TARGET was a much better match of cover and content.

So was RUNNING SCARED.

So were the titles that followed.

Until now.




I just got my cover art for INNOCENT AS SIN.

Anyone seeing this cover would expect to read a hot, neck-biter romance, especially since vampires are all the rage now.

Anyone expecting that of INNOCENT AS SIN would be real unhappy about what she got.

I talked with my agent, who talked with my publisher, who agreed to come up with an entirely different cover concept.

Stay tuned.

Have you ever bought an unknown author on the basis of cover and been mislead?