Hi all. I hope you had a lovely holiday. We’re expecting snow later today and I’m hoping my husband makes it home before it hits. We’ve gotten more snow this year than is typical, and we lost power during a storm on December 26th for five hours. Luckily, our guests had departed and weren’t around to turn into Popsicles with us and our cats. Stay warm!
NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON
I hope to be able to report that my new website is up in my next newsletter. Frauke at Croco Designs is currently reworking it for an early 2011 launch. I’ll keep you posted.
BASTIAN ONLINE:
Woo hoo! I checked just now and Bastian is available for pre-order at Amazon and B&N for $8.88; at Borders for $14; Books-a-million for $8.53club/$9.48. If you prefer independents, I think Indiebound is a great way to search for deals.
NEW BASTIAN BOOKMARKS
I’m gearing up for the Bastian release at the end of April, and I just had new bookmarks printed, so I’ll include a couple in each of these giveaways…
CONGRATS TO LAST MONTH’S CONTEST WINNERS
- Virginia Kantra’s: IMMORTAL SEA.
And a Bastian cover flat & bookmark
Winner: MelJPrincess - Lydia Dare’s A CERTAIN WOLFISH CHARM.
And a Bastian cover flat & bookmark
Winner: Betty Jones - Susan Lyon’s SEX ON THE SLOPES.
And a Bastian cover flat & bookmark
Winner: Mara Brandon
Everyone sent in an address with their entries (Thank you!), and I’ll mail these
goodies out within the week.
NEW CONTESTS**
On March 1st, I’m giving away:
- 2 autographed copies of SINFUL HARVEST from Anitra Lynn McLeod
- TESTING MISS TOO GOOD from Stella Cameron
- SUGAR CREEK from Toni Blake
- CHAMPAGNE RULES from Susan Lyons
All giveaways include my brand spanking new Bastian bookmarks and some of that RWA swag from last summer. I think I’ll run out of that just about in time for RWA 2011 this summer.
**TO ENTER: email me at elizabethamber1 at aol dot com with BASTIAN in the subject line. Please include YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. This is where your goodies will go if you win, so please make sure it’s accurate. My bff randomly selects the winners’ names. Good luck!
GETTING AN AGENT / WHAT AGENTS READ
I didn’t have an agent when I sold the first three Lords of Satyr novels, but when the 4th book sale came along, I went looking for one. Why? Because I really, really dislike negotiating contracts. Kate Douglas introduced me to Jessica Faust at Book Ends, and after some back and forth, Jessica and I decided to work together. At the time, I didn’t realize how important it was to get the right agent. I was just hoping Jessica would take me because Kate loved her. I didn’t give much thought to whether or not she was right for me. Duh, that is really important.
Luckily, it turns out that Jessica is my dream agent. At conferences, she schedules meetings with her authors, so last summer at RWA, we sat down and brainstormed an idea I had for a new series. I loved that. She reads my final manuscripts and makes suggestions. And she gives good career advice when we chat. I also get good advice about writing and publishing from her blog.
Reading an agent’s blog can offer insight into her/him as a person, which can help me—and those of you who are authors—figure out what she’ll like and what she won’t. For instance, in this post Jessica reveals some books she has chosen to read, and some she hasn’t:
What someone has read can offer clues regarding how compatible you or I might be with them. Besides, I love any kind of Cosmo-like quiz, so of course I pored over the list to see how many I’ve read—twelve. I have started eight others and did not finish. How about you? I hope you get a chance to do some reading during the chilly months ahead when the weather keeps many of us inside our cozy homes.
I wish you and your families a happy healthy, prosperous 2011! See you next time.
— Elizabeth Amber