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Becoming a Beach Read

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I found out some exciting news last week–my Avon book, The Rules of Gentility, is being released a month early, in August.
(Another excuse to post my gorgeous cover!) So I’ll be a beach read! (OK, that’s my quota of exclamation points used up.)

But there’s a reason, and lest you think I’m going to talk entirely about myself, here’s why: Becoming Jane opens in the US August 3, and the publishers want to take advantage of the Jane-mania that will accompany the movie.

Becoming Jane has just opened in England and in case you haven’t heard about it, it’s a very fictional account of Jane’s formative years and her short-lived engagement to Tom Lefroy. Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy star in a cast that includes Julie Walters, Maggie Smith, and Ian Richardson. The reviews I’ve read indicate that it’s a gorgeous movie–shot on location in Ireland–but with a rather weak story line.

Find out more at Becoming Jane’s official website and there’s also some interesting info at the filmfactory.co.uk (with less fancy downloads and some reviews).

Of course we’ll all rush to see this movie, but tell me what you think of the casting (here’s James McAvoy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!). And do you think the storyline is too inevitable to justify two hours worth of film, however gorgeous? Who would you have chosen to play Jane Austen?

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R&W

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Rest and Writing, that is.

Neither of which has happened much this week, which started with one of my kids getting an ear infection. For those of you who don’t have children, or are fortunate enough not to have gone through this, ear infections generally mean interrupted sleep for everyone until enough violently pink bubble-gum smelling antibiotic has been slurped.

Needless to say, progress on my Mess-in-Progress has been painfully sloooowwww.

The good news is this weekend it’ll be my turn for a retreat. Each year a couple of writing buddies of mine and I get away to a lakeside cottage, bringing laptops, notebooks, inspiring music, munchies, wine and chocolate. During the days we focus on solitary writing, breaking only for meals or the occasional thinking walk (or paddle, depending on whether a canoe is available). In the evenings we chat and watch romantic movies–this year it’s the newest adaptation of JANE EYRE which I’ve been dying to see.

Anyway this retreat could not come at a better time. It’s been a tough winter for writing and this latest ear infection felt like the universe telling me I should give it up. But I won’t. I’ve got friends who won’t let me, for one thing! For another, I know that all I need is some decent sleep and a good shot of writing time to get the mojo flowing.

So my Risky friends and visitors, when you’re at the brink of despair, what pulls you back?

Do you go on retreats and what sorts?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

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Covers…Love Them or Hate Them?

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We haven’t talked about covers recently, have we?

For me, that’s one of those eternally interesting topics.

There have been so many styles of Regency covers over the years…

Over the decades, rather!



Different publishers have their different styles…

And these vary year by year, too!

I can think of at least three very distinct styles that Fawcett had, for example, and a lot of variations within each.

And some publishers, like Avon, changed their look so much at some point that they were really unrecognizable.

Some covers seem to emphasize the period style…

And some, the romance.

Some Regency covers seem to be shouting FUNNY! BOOK! NOT! SERIOUS!

(For me, most of Harlequin’s long-defunct Regency line falls into this category.)

On some books, the illustration takes up the whole front cover.

On others, the illustration is in a little box.


And then of course, there were Zebra’s last-minute experimental covers, which appeared right before Zebra quit doing Regencies.

These tended to not have a single distinct style (which, as far as I can
tell, is extremely rare in the history of Regencies), but rather to give each author her own unique cover style — the way publishers usually do with single-title books.

I know some people thought these covers were the best thing to ever happen to Regencies — and some thought them a very bad idea.

(I adored them myself. What did you think?)



Almost all covers have had one or both of the main characters as the central feature of the cover illustration, but even that isn’t an absolute rule.

Avon’s covers at one point were impressionistic pastel compositions, often showing landscapes or cottages or meadows, with little people somewhere in the picture.

This
Kate Moore cover is an example of that — though in many of the covers during Avon’s Impressionist Period, the characters are much less noticeable than they are here!

So…which of the covers pictured here do you like?

Or hate?

Do you like a Regency imprint to have a distinct style?

What do you think of less realistic covers (like the Heyer cover here, or cartoon covers?)

Do colors matter to you? Do you like pastels, or brights, or the muddy greens and browns Signet favored for many years?

Do historically inaccurate costumes or backgrounds bother you? If so, how much?

All opinions welcome!

Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER — which has a cover that gave her some joy, and some eye-rolling

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The Treat of a Retreat!

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I’m just back from Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat in beautiful Harpers Ferry*, West VA, one of the writing highlights of my year.

On Thursday, April 26, I had the pleasure of transporting guest speaker Julia Quinn and her sister and workshop speaker, Emily Cotler of Waxcreative Design, from the DC area to Harpers Ferry. On the way we had a very pleasant dinner together and lots of time to talk. Both of these ladies are just so pleasant and friendly. I’m delighted I had the time to spend with them.

On Friday, Apr 27, we went to Boonesboro, MD, to Turn the Page Bookstore Cafe, Bruce Wilder’s (Nora Roberts’ husband) bookstore for a mega-author booksigning. Here’s a photo of Julia and me and Lisa Gardner, another of the guest speakers. Lisa, by the way, is a doll, inside and out, and has the most captivating eyes. Lisa also speaks without notes and with great poise. Madeline Hunter (whom I had the privlege to introduce) was the third guest speaker and was also at the signing. If you can believe it, all three ladies speeches involved lists of various sorts and all were great. Synergy happens!

Back to the signing. I sat next to Michelle Willingham who is a brand new Harlequin Historical author with her first book, an Irish Medevial called Her Irish Warrior. I was signing Innocence and Impropriety.

We were right at the doorway where the visitors entered. They were our captive audience and we had the best time chatting with them! Here is one of the happy customers who bought our books. And another treat! My friend Toni stopped by. In all there were about 100 visitors who came to the signing.

Just to prove Michelle and I really were at Turn the Page, here we are with Nora (that’s her husband Bruce in the background looking harried)

After the signing it was back to Hilltop House, the old hotel that WRW takes over totally for the Retreat. The workshops were fabulous. Emily Cotler did two workshops on website design, including critquing three members’ websites. It was fascinating! The agents and editors do a variety of workshops, but one is our American Author workshop, a take off on American Idol, only kinder. Members volunteer to have the first pages of their manuscripts read out loud and three editors, Kate Duffy, Jennifer Enderlin, and Tracy Farrell, respond with their impressions. They don’t always agree, either. Another workshop I attended was with Sue Grimshaw, the Romance buyer for the Borders Group and she talked about the marketing side of books. Another workshop speaker was Michelle Buonfiglio of Romance Buy The Book, who made an exciting announcement. Her column and blog will soon exclusively be on LifetimeTV.com! Check her site for details.

On Sunday morning Nora Roberts entertained us with a talk about the difficulties in publishing that she faced at the beginning of her career which were not so different than the ones we face today. As always, the serious message of her talk was delivered with wit and humor. Nora also answers questions. One thing I love about Nora is that she always makes it clear that there is no one right way to write a book. Whatever way works for you is fine. She also stresses that the only thing the author truly has control over is writing the book. So all the periphery we worry about should not distract us from writing a good book.

Even though I love the workshops and the speakers, my favorite part of the Retreat is the time I spend with old friends and the opportunity to make new friends. At the end of it all, that is what gives me that happy sigh when I drive back home.

Do you have any questions about our Retreat? Are there any get-togethers you attend that leave you with that happy sigh at the end?

Cheers,
Diane (who has NOT unpacked yet!)

*Photo of Hilltop House courtesy of WRW’s website

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