ENTANGLED HOLIDAY AUTHORS KAREN ERICKSON & VICTORIA JAMES

Karen Erickson

Ah, the holiday romance. 
I do love writing them…almost as much as I love reading them! This is one of my favorite times of the year, reading-wise. So many holiday romances to choose from, not enough money to buy or time to read them all! In fact, I have a confession to make…I have holiday books I bought last year that I never got a chance to read! Sigh…

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season I love being able to relax for a bit and lose myself in a story. It helps me forget all the presents that still need to be wrapped, the cookies that need to be baked and the teacher gifts that need to be bought—at least for a little while.

My latest release, JANE’S GIFT, is my favorite of all the holiday romances I’ve written. For my heroine, it’s about grabbing that second chance at life and running with it. For my hero, it’s learning how to depend on someone and let that someone depend on you.

Overall, it’s a story about love, both from your family, your children and that special someone in your life. How love can come along when you least expect it. And there’s no better time than the holidays for all of this magic to unfold…

Do you enjoy reading a good holiday romance? Any favorites? Share with me in the comments! I’ll start with my all-time favorite—Jill Shalvis. She can write about any holiday and I’ll read it. She’s an automatic buy for me. But her holiday stories are some of my favorites (and she has a Lucky Harbor Christmas novella coming out next month—squee!).

JANE'S GIFT blurb:

A devastating house fire cost Jane Clark nearly everything: her husband, her confidence, and her looks, with the physical scars marbling her body. Now, two years later, she’s living and healing back in her childhood hometown of Lone Pine Lake. The upcoming holidays are the perfect opportunity to bring some Christmas cheer into her young children’s lives, starting with a visit to the firehouse, where her brother’s best friend has offered to help quell their residual fears.

Lone Pine’s resident playboy, fire captain Christian Nelson is happy with his single-guy lifestyle. He’s an everyday local hero, so he’s never wanting for attention around the holidays. But when Jane Clark shows up, Chris is immediately drawn to the beautiful widow—even though kids and commitment have never been his style.

Despite her brother’s warnings about his friend’s playboy status and dangerous occupation, Jane can’t help but fall for the gorgeous fire captain. The holidays are a time of new beginnings, but can two scarred people find the strength to let go of their pasts to live in the present, when a lifetime together might be the sweetest gift of all?

You can find JANE’S GIFT at Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Where you can find Karen:
 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

Victoria James

Staying Power…

As far back as I can remember I have always been a reader.  And a loyal one-I basically had a ‘keeper shelf’ without knowing what that meant! One of my earliest reading memories was with my mother, at the doctor’s office.  I was around four years old, and every time we’d sit in the waiting room, I’d run and grab the book about the duck that tears down his house trying to find an ant.  I still remember the basic plot of this book.  And I can still remember my mother’s face when she had to read, and reread this book-every time we went to the doctor’s.

My tastes have thankfully evolved since then (though, I think I need to search for a copy of that ant book!) I still have my favorites-you know that stash of books, that you still enjoy even though you’ve read them a dozen times?  They sit in a basket, beside my bookshelf.  Each of them appeals to me for different reasons, and at different times.   And each of them has the power to transport me back to that moment in time when I first read them.  If I’m crunched for time, I might just flip through and re-read my favourite parts.  Inevitably, though, I usually get sucked in and read more.  

I think a book can bring you comfort, laughter, and peace. I think it can also say a lot about your personality, who you are.  For instance, I started reading romance during high school.  Historical, was my first love, then contemporary.  I always gravitated toward characters that had to overcome adversity, because seeing them triumph in the end was so rewarding.  As a writer, I find myself drawn to writing these types of characters.  Humor is vital for me as well.  

 In my current release, THE BILLIONAIRE'S CHRISTMAS BABY, my heroine, Hannah Woods has had a traumatic past.  When she was growing up, the only real thing she had to call her own, was a small stash of books.  The books traveled with her from home to home-and the comfort she derived from them was her constant.  Books gave her the ability to escape the life she was living-and they kept the idea that happy endings really did exist inside her.  

 When she sees her favorite romance book in the hero’s hands-Hannah feels exposed.  She feels that way because of her deep connection to the book and what it reveals about her character.  Eventually, she does open to the hero about her books and childhood dreams.  He, being the fabulous guy that he is, vows he’ll help her fulfill those dreams ;-)

How about you?  Do you think that your favorite books reveal your personality?  Do you have a pile of ‘keepers’?  Or are you always looking for something new?  Are you drawn to books with certain types of characters or do you like a variety?

You can find The Billionaire's Christmas Baby here

About Victoria James:

Victoria James is a romance writer living near Toronto, Canada. Victoria is a mother to two young children, and one very disorderly feline. Victoria attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and graduated with a degree in English Literature, where she met and then later married, her own hero. After Queen's, Victoria earned a degree in Interior Design. After the birth of her first child she began pursuing her life-long passion of writing. Her dream of being a published romance author was realized last February, 2012, when Entangled Publishing bought her manuscript.  Victoria is living her dream-staying home with her children and conjuring up happy endings for her characters.

Visit Victoria James:  www.victoriajames.ca  Twitter: @vicjames101

FAIR SALES--FOR THE BIRDS?

Fair Selling—For the Birds?

The three-day Holiday Fair in Greenville, SC, attracts substantial crowds, people who buy all manner of Christmas gifts, holiday decorations, foodstuffs and household gizmos. So having three authors split the $300+ cost of a booth to sell our books sounded like a grand idea. Out of the thousands of shoppers, surely hundreds would be eager to buy our traditionally-published trade paperbacks for avid readers on their Christmas lists.

At least that’s what two of my published friends—Kathleen Delaney and Ellis Vidler—and I thought. Were we right? No. Was it worthwhile? Yes. Would I do it again? Maybe.

Here’s a rundown on pros and cons for authors contemplating selling at a fair.

Dwindling Pool of Paperback Buyers—I’d estimate half the folks who stopped by our booth said they only buy e-books and/or anticipated receiving an e-reader for Christmas. We gave these folks bookmarks. Will they actually download our books after they unwrap new e-readers? Don’t know. I saw no instant surge in my e-book sales ranking. If I did this again, I’d investigate adding one of the new cell phone-scan barcodes to my bookmark to encourage immediate downloads.

Buyer Psychology—While the three of us write very different books, we all pen adult suspense/mystery with varying degrees of romance. Several potential buyers voiced reluctance to buy books from one or two of us as it might hurt the feelings of the passed-over author(s). A few years ago, Ellis shared a booth with a children’s author and this problem didn’t surface. So sharing a booth with authors who target very different audiences might improve sales. On the other hand, I had a delightful time chatting with my author friends during slow periods.

Do You Like To Read?—In an attempt to lure people to our booth, we’d call out to passersby. Do you like to read? I was astounded at how many people answered with a gruff “no.” At one point, we got the giggles thinking of follow-up questions to the naysayers like Can you read? or Are you a snake handler? On the pro side, we met and talked with many avid readers, librarians, and lovers of suspense and mystery. We tried to recommend books that fit their tastes even if we weren’t the authors, and we invited many of them to come to our local Sisters in Crime chapter. I have to believe there’s a long-term payoff in such interaction.

Book Covers/Geography—I attribute more than a third of my fair sales to the image of a lighthouse on the cover of DEAR KILLER and my ability to talk about my book’s South Carolina Lowcountry setting. These buyers purchased DEAR KILLER because they or their friends and family vacationed in the Lowcountry. If your setting has a strong tie to a popular vacation Mecca and/or the location of the fair, it will definitely help sales.

Books As Gifts—Most people bought our books for themselves rather than as gifts. This surprised me. I attribute it to uncertainty about whether or not a gift recipient would like the book. In contrast, they could make a judgment for themselves based on the back-of-the-book blurb, paging through the book and talking to the author. Our sales also may have been hindered by competition from a used book booth just down the aisle from us that was selling books by “big name” authors.

Time, Dollars and Sense—On the first two days, the fair ran from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., while the Saturday hours were 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Add booth setup/takedown, planning and travel time and you’re talking about investing the equivalent of a 40-hour work week. In my case, my “profit” would translate into an hourly rate well below the minimum wage. Actually, if I subtract the amount of money I spent at the concession stand and on gifts from other Fair vendors, I’m not sure I broke even. However, I did get all my Christmas shopping done, and I had fun.

For the Birds?—To raise money for an animal sanctuary, our neighboring booth let people photograph rescued birds of a feather including a Muscovy duck, a screech owl and a barn owl. There was always a crowd. Maybe next time I’ll bring a hawk to my booth and hint that it only attacks people who don’t read.