She's Got It, Oh Baby, She's Got It!

Hello Belle and Pixies!

So I was getting ready this afternoon when I heard a loud truck outside (as opposed to being inside ::lol::) Anyhoo I opened the door to see what was going on and there on our porch was a big 'ol box from amazon.com! I was so excited that I dropped what I was doing to tear into that box and inside was the Amazon Kindle!!! So far I have only downloaded one book, just to see how it was. I love it already, although I have yet to really get in it and use it for all it's worth :) Thank you again so so much for having this awesome prize and I look forward to more from the Enchanted Forest!

Sunny Days!

Candice

Tag, You're It!

Fellow author, Debra Glass, (who, btw, has an outstanding new release this week on the EC site called SHADOWKEEPER) tagged me and asked me to blog about “My Unspectacular Quirks.” Ever hear of "reindeer games"? These are author games, and I'm pleased as proud punch that I’ve been invited to play.

First, here are the rules for the Tag, You’re It! game with other authors:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. List 6 unspectacular quirks you have.
4. Tag 6 bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each person’s blog to let them know they’ve been tagged.

And now... drumroll, or jellyroll, please...

Six Unspectacular Quirks About Author, Belle Scarlett:

1. I deliberately garble the lyrics to songs when I'm driving (Example: "It's much tooooo late porcupine" as opposed to "It's much toooo late for goodbyes.")
2. I twirl my hair when I'm nervous or agitated and can tie it in double-knots with one hand.
3. I refuse to eat fortune cookies that offer observations rather than predictions.
4. I'm disappointed if I don't get the first scoop out of a pristine new jar of peanut butter.
5. I'm semi-ambidextrous (write with left hand, use scissors with right, and I switch hit in sports).
6. I'm superstitious about kissing my manuscript submissions for good luck before I send them off.

Are you superstitious about anything? If so, leave me a comment! Or a black cat will cross your path... mwwah-hahahaha...

I'm tagging the following authors: Melissa Lopez, Marilu Mann, Allyson James, Maxie Cooper, Mary Winter, and Charlotte Boyett-Compo! I hope they can play with this newbie!

On E-Readers and Chocolate

Although I gave away an Amazon Kindle on my website recently to celebrate my first e-book release, I've been reading e-books on my laptop since discovering them over a year ago because I'm waiting for the "perfect" e-reader gadget. For me, that means a next-gen Amazon Kindle that easily reads PDF, the most common format in which I receive my reading material, and has a back lit screen capability so I can read in the dark. I'd also prefer an e-reader that pops a piece of chocolate out of its side compartment at regular intervals with no extra charge.

I'm a born romantic who reads omni-voraciously, but I'm not sentimental about old fashioned, musty, dusty books. Has anyone else noticed that books are freaking heavy? I hate lugging around my whole library every time I move. Even tossing just my Jane Austen anthology in my already overstuffed suitcase increases my odds of hernia when I travel. The advent of paperbacks made physical books more or less disposable anyway, yet still curiously expensive.

Besides, can you imagine if people stuck doggedly to their chiseled stone tablets or handwritten scrolls after Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press? I'd love having my whole library, plus access to favorite blogs, newspapers, and magazines all on one, convenient device. But, sigh, before I give away my freaking heavy stacks of musty books and replace them all with e-versions, I'm holding out for that perfect e-reader to come out, complete with that chocolate feature, please.

What special feature, real or fantasy, would you like your e-reader to possess?

(You can also find my rant on this on Dear Author...)

THE POWER OF PIXIE DUST (AMAZON KINDLE WINNER NAMED!)

Well, we searched high and low to find our MIA Amazon Kindle winner. We looked in all the usual places in the Enchanted Forest - under the Troll's Bridge, in Ogre's Field, even in the Woodsman's cottage (and newlyweds Sir Marrok Ulfang and Lady Lily Rouge were none too cheerful about that, we can tell you!) We even grew concerned the Loch Monster near the Hexed Waterfall might have snacked on our missing winner.

Finally, the pixies used their pixie dust to track down the winner of Belle Scarlett's Amazon Kindle Drawing. Now, you need to know that when pixies really put their scattered minds to something it's an awesome sight. Here's what Trix the Pixie looked like in the midst of her divining spell (by the way, Trix is the heroine of PIXIE AND THE BEAST, Belle's as yet unsold erotic fantasy romance follow up to THE WOODSMAN.) Ready? Shield your eyes, Trix is the most powerful pixie in the bunch!




So without much further ado about nothing, congratulations, felicitations and happy reading ever after to the winner of Belle Scarlett's Amazon Kindle Drawing Giveaway...

(suspenseful drum roll)

CANDICE HARPER!

(cue the confetti, pop the champagne cork!)

The pixies pulled Candice's name from over five hundred names entered in the black cauldron and now the Magic Wishing Well in the Enchanted Forest will grant her a free Amazon Kindle upon which to read THE WOODSMAN, Belle Scarlett's debut Ellora's Cave release! Thank you to Candice and to everyone who entered the drawing.

Happily ever after,
Belle Scarlett (and the pixies, too!)

THE PIXIES HAVE PICKED AN AMAZON KINDLE WINNER!

(Inaudible titters) Hi! We're da pixies, the real stars of Belle Scarlett's THE WOODSMAN, now available at Ellora's Cave! We're here to announce da big winner in Belle's Amazon Kindle Drawing Giveaway. We've pulled the name out of the big, black cauldron where Belle put all the names (we didn't peek, promise!) And the winner is... TRIX THE PIXIE! Come on down!

(Uh, Belle Scarlett here, no Trix, you aren't eligible to win the Amazon Kindle. Neither are Dax, Jax, Jinx and Kinx, or Linx. Get with the program, please... Sorry folks, but these are pixies, after all. They might do anything, and often do).

Okay, okay. Sheesh. So we know the name of the winner and have sent one of these here magikal emailz (sic) to da winner and, as soon as we get a verification reply from aforementioned said winner who shall be nameless for the time-being until s/he replies, we'll post the winner's name right here. So the moral of this story - everyone check your emailz and bulk folderz - da pixies are trying to get in touch with one, lucky winner of a FREE Amazon Kindle! ... Or else we get to keep it for ourselves! Yay! Whee!

(uh, Belle here again, NO, we do not get to keep it. If the person of the first name drawn is not reachable by email or otherwise does not respond, then we pull a SECOND name, contact that person, and so on and so forth, until we have a winner.) Oh, for the love of cheese sauce, okay, okay, right, right, we forgot alla dat. What she said, already. So check yer emailz for our email now!! (Titter, titter)

XOXOXO,
Da Pixies (and Belle Scarlett)

The Pixies Have Spoken: Contest winner announced in Belle Scarlett's Enchanted Scavenger Hunt

Congratulations, Daun Ann Korty! The pixies pulled your correct entry in Belle Scarlett's Enchanted Scavenger Hunt Drawing. The Magic Wishing Well has granted you a copy of Belle's Ellora's Cave e-novella, THE WOODSMAN, and your entry counts as five (5!) in her upcoming Amazon Kindle Drawing. (The Kindle winner will be announced on Belle's website August 5, 2008.)

Thank you, Daun, for playing with the pixies on Belle Scarlett's Enchanted Scavenger Hunt (they said they had a blast with you and they hope you’ll post a reader review here soon!!)

If anyone else would like to make their single entry for Belle Scarlett’s Amazon Kindle Drawing automatically count as five (5) entries, you can go on the Enchanted Scavenger Hunt, too!

Here’s how:

Hunt for the answers to the following questions on Belle Scarlett’s website, My Space, You Tube, Ellora’s Cave, and Facebook pages. Then email the answers to her OFF-LIST at belle@bellescarlett.com by Friday, August 1, 2008 before midnight Pacific Standard Time (PST). The pixies featured in THE WOODSMAN will put the names of all correct scavenger hunt entries in Belle Scarlett’s Amazon Kindle Drawing five (5) times (they’re magic, they can do that!)

Then, on August 5, 2008, the pixies will pull one name from all the entries and the magic Wishing Well will grant that winner a FREE Amazon Kindle (OR a POT O'GOLD whichever happens to be handy).

You must be 18 or older to play, and all the sites in Belle Scarlett’s Enchanted Forest are rated “M” for Mmmmm (Mature).

Here are the territories in the Enchanted Forest for the hunt (mind the Ogre!):

http://www.bellescarlett.com/

http://www.myspace.com/bellescarlett

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1022652842#/profile.php?id=1022652842

http://www.youtube.com/user/bellescarlett

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419916342

Wanna play? Ready… Set… Have fun!

1) How many pixies in total are on Belle’s website home page?
2) What animal is on the cover of THE WOODSMAN?
3) What happens when you click on the cover for THE WOODSMAN on Belle’s website?
4) What song is playing on Belle’s My Space page?
5) Name one person Belle says she’d like to meet on her My Space page.
6) What “Secret Password” did Belle leave for you to find on her Facebook page?
7) Which of Belle’s three Passion-in-Progress blurbs did you vote for?
8) Which review site gave THE WOODSMAN the rating of 4.5 Pixies?
9) In the Ellora’s Cave excerpt of THE WOODSMAN, what holiday will it be the next day?
10) On Belle’s My Space page, during the slide show, what flower is featured in one of the slides?
11) According to Belle’s tag line (under her name on her site) what is the “spice of love”?
12) In the Ellora’s Cave excerpt of THE WOODSMAN, what is the heroine traveling in when she hears a fearsome howl?
13) What’s the name of the heroine in THE WOODSMAN?
14) What’s the name of the hero in THE WOODSMAN?
15) What fairytale is THE WOODSMAN based on?

You did great! Now email the answers to the pixies OFF-LIST at belle@bellescarlett.com to be entered five (5) times in Belle Scarlett’s drawing where the winner will score a FREE Amazon Kindle..OR A POT O’ GOLD!! (Sorry, sorry, the pixies keep adding that bit about the pot o’gold, and you know what notorious fibbers pixies are…)

Thank you for playing with Belle Scarlett and the pixies in the Enchanted Forest and good luck!

Diary of a First Sale! (Abridged)

September 23, 1983
Dear Diary,
So, like, the Police concert is a month away! Sting is so totally bitchin’. I have to be there, right up close to the stage so he sees me during “Every Breath You Take.” And I need a new pair of jellies and stone washed jeans to wear. But Dad won't raise my allowance, and baby-sitting isn't cutting it. I've been reading romance novels since seventh grade. I think I'll write one to raise some quick cash!

September 28, 1983
Dear Diary,
Okay, so that was like totally easy. I based my hero on Sting, only he’s an arrogent (sic) Greek millionaire tycoon and my heroine is his no-nonsense, career gal secretary he talks into a marriage of convenence (sic) that he intends to make real on their wedding night because he secretly fell for her the moment they met. Now I'll just mail it off and that concert ticket is as good as mine. I’ll probably get enough from the advance to take my five best friends with me! I better call and tell them the news! Gnarly!

October 5, 1983
Dear Diary,
No advance check in the mailbox yet. I hope I put enough postage on it. Maybe I should have made a copy before mailing it off. I just found out about something called a SASE, but what kind of dufus would invite a publisher to return their manuscript by providing one? Like, duh.

October 23, 1983
Dear Diary,
Only four days left until the concert. It’s almost sold out. Gag me with a spoon. I better phone the publisher directly and find out what the hold up is. Maybe they can wire me my advance…

Cut to…

March 28, 1995
Dear Diary,
Wow, I just learned that all my favorite romance authors, Jayne Castle, Stephanie James, Jayne Taylor, Jayne Bentley, Amanda Glass, and Amanda Quick are actually one and same person - Jayne Ann Krentz. Huh. Who knew? Oh, and I joined the RWA today! I think I’ll give writing one of my own another go.

Cut to…

June 13, 1996
Dear Diary,
One of my romance submissions won Honorable Mention in an RWA Chapter Contest today!

Cut to…

November 2007
Dear Diary,
Raelene Gorlinsky, publisher at Ellora’s Cave, placed my submission, THE WOODSMAN, in first place in the On The Far Side contest sponsored by the Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal chapter of the RWA! She’s requested a look at the whole manuscript… I better proof it again before emailing it off.

January 1, 2008
Dear Diary,
It happened. Ellora’s Cave accepted THE WOODSMAN today. I made a first sale in romance. And it only took twenty-five years, off and on.

January 5, 2008
Dear Diary,
Hmmm, apparently author book promotion is a very important part of this whole process. I better look into that before starting “the next one.”

(For that whole saga read “Promotion Motion, What’s Your Notion?” at The Kittens Blog http://romancekittens.blogspot.com)

May 2, 2008
THE WOODSMAN launched today at Ellora’s Cave! And The Police reunion concert at the Hollywood Bowl is only about a month away! Sting is so totally bitchin’... I need some new Manolos. I better start writing the next one.

Promotion Motion, What's Your Notion?

For those who are interested, I just posted all about the heavy-lifting of book promotions over at The Kittens' Blog http://romancekittens.blogspot.com/

Go on over, the Kittens' Blog is like catnip - Purrr!

XO,
Belle

Do readers and writers like ratings in book reviews?

This question was initially asked by Sassy Brit over at the Alternative Reads group, so a big shout out to Sassy for raising this interesting question! We're most all of us here readers, writers, or both. Do you, as an author, prefer to have your books reviewed with or without a rating system? As a reader do you prefer to read reviews that also include a personal rating?

As for myself, I don't go nuts on the subject or anything, but am mindful that ratings are subjective to each reader and three out of five on a book rating system means something a little different to different people. Also, when ratings are based on a possible five star (or rose, or ribbons, or lips, what-have-you) rating system, it's sort of damning a book with faint praise when a reviewer gives two or three or even four out of five stars. What does only three and half stars (or roses, what-have-you) really mean, anyway? Read it? Don't read it? Toss a coin to decide? I'd almost rather have a more clear cut, thumbs up/thumbs down edict on my book than a lukewarm rating endorsement by a reviewer. And as a reader, I dislike ambiguity in book reviews - I want to KNOW where to spend my five to ten bucks (or Euros, what-have-you) Anyway, that's my opinion, as a writer and a reader. Unless someone give my book a five our five, then I'm all for it! Ha. I look forward to hearing what everyone else has to say on the subject. Lemme know!

Thanks!

Belle

The best piece of romance advice I ever got

When I was crushed because the high school football team captain actually started ducking me in the halls to avoid being daily ambushed by my gooey-eyed, oh-so-obvious flirting signals, my father gave me the best piece of romance advice I've ever heard. "The best way to land a man," he said, "is to let him chase you until you catch him."

And now, it's sharing time. What's the best piece of romance advice you ever got?