Hello all!
I will be out of the office until June 4th on vacation. Stay tuned for loads of other cool, interesting (hopefully) tidbits. I'm taking about 20 books with me for the week, so I thought I'd give you some recommended reads when I return.
Check out this blog while I'm gone: http://threadbared.com/ -- this totally cracks me up and I'm ashamed to say I'm addicted!
Someone asked me where I'm going -- Rome, Italy. I plan to eat, shop and see the sights, while reading as many books as I possibly can :)
Arrivederci and A presto!
Leigh
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Avon, Kensington, Spice, and Berkley Oh My!
I write erotic romance. Most of the time it's futuristic, but occasionally I'll write something earth bound with a werewolf or a ghost or something like that. I like paranormal, because I find that real-life earth can be so tedious and constricting. To allow my imagination to soar, I need to change things up. That's not to say that I don't enjoy contemporary spicy romance - I do. I just find I can't write it with any enthusiasm. Which is a shame, really, because print publishing was slow to jump on the spicy paranormal romance bandwagon that is thriving in e-publishing. When I wrote a futuristic spicy novella called STASIS about this guy who is trapped by a new type of chemical warfare in a bizarre state where he can feel, but not move except in reflex (of course the heroine takes care of him - grin), my agent four months ago said she wasn't interested in it because there would be no place to sell it.
But all this seems to have suddenly changed over night. Shazam! Avon just bought Liz Maverick's spicy futuristic novella, Kensington bought a spicy set of werewolves and has already bought some vamps (I don't write vamps, they just seem kind of boring. I'm ducking as readers throw rotten fruit at me - I know you guys love them!) Berkley has been buying paranormal spicy too. Only Spice, Harlequin's new line, hasn't announced (to my knowledge) buying paranormal. I suspect that will change.
This brings me around to the observation that writers need to write what they love and not jam themselves into the box that is selling in today's market. My agent asked for STASIS a couple days ago. Someone wants to take a look at it. For those of us who love a good futuristic spicy read, things are looking up!
But all this seems to have suddenly changed over night. Shazam! Avon just bought Liz Maverick's spicy futuristic novella, Kensington bought a spicy set of werewolves and has already bought some vamps (I don't write vamps, they just seem kind of boring. I'm ducking as readers throw rotten fruit at me - I know you guys love them!) Berkley has been buying paranormal spicy too. Only Spice, Harlequin's new line, hasn't announced (to my knowledge) buying paranormal. I suspect that will change.
This brings me around to the observation that writers need to write what they love and not jam themselves into the box that is selling in today's market. My agent asked for STASIS a couple days ago. Someone wants to take a look at it. For those of us who love a good futuristic spicy read, things are looking up!
Friday, May 20, 2005
Book Stacks and the Life Laundry
I have this book stack that has grown outrageously since I became an author. It used to be that I bought a book, read it, then bought another book. But as friends publish and free books come my way and more books tickle my fancy, I can't stop collecting them. It's an addiction of frightening proportions. I wonder if perhaps it's a signal of greater difficulties ahead... Will I grow old and have 20 cats and 5000 romance novels crammed into my one room apartment, only to die and have my niece clean everything out on an international episode of the Life Laundry?!
But I digress, because I was actually thinking more in terms of the LOGISTICS of all these books. I keep clearing them out and rearranging them and giving them away to anyone who comes near with a pulse. I even bought new shelves to put them on, which made me happy for awhile, but this last RT convention put about 40 books on the floor again. I have this guy coming in this afternoon to fix a hole in the side of my house (that he put there when he fixed a problem with the roof) and I had to move these 40 books so he could reach the hole. They're all stacked in almost exact piles across the room now. Piles that I unconsciously built that amused me when I moved them -- vampires, witches and shifters, cowboys, romantic suspense, category, military, Rosemary Laurey's latest release that is so big it is a stack of its own, regencies, books I will probably never read but wanted anyway because I'm a greedy hogglet who has a serious problem.
I'm not sure why I'm ranting about this. After all, it isn't such a bad problem to have, if you think about it. But I notice my cats (I only have two of them, I swear) have been using these books to hide behind and jump out at each other. And I saw a flash of my future...
But I digress, because I was actually thinking more in terms of the LOGISTICS of all these books. I keep clearing them out and rearranging them and giving them away to anyone who comes near with a pulse. I even bought new shelves to put them on, which made me happy for awhile, but this last RT convention put about 40 books on the floor again. I have this guy coming in this afternoon to fix a hole in the side of my house (that he put there when he fixed a problem with the roof) and I had to move these 40 books so he could reach the hole. They're all stacked in almost exact piles across the room now. Piles that I unconsciously built that amused me when I moved them -- vampires, witches and shifters, cowboys, romantic suspense, category, military, Rosemary Laurey's latest release that is so big it is a stack of its own, regencies, books I will probably never read but wanted anyway because I'm a greedy hogglet who has a serious problem.
I'm not sure why I'm ranting about this. After all, it isn't such a bad problem to have, if you think about it. But I notice my cats (I only have two of them, I swear) have been using these books to hide behind and jump out at each other. And I saw a flash of my future...
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Secrets Volume 12
I have a story coming out in Secrets Volume 12 called "White Heat" in July (as well as another coming out in December called "Night Heat"). This volume has been getting AMAZING reviews and I wanted to share them with you here.
Faith from Romantic Times Review 4 1/2 star rating -- Secrets Volume 12, turns on the heat with a seductive encounter inside a bookstore, a temple of naughty and sensual delight, a galactic inferno that thaws ice and a lightening storm that lights up the English shoreline. Tales of looking for love in all the right places with a heat rating out the charts.
Jane from Fallen Angel Reviews gave it a Recommended Read -- White Heat is stunning. The reader is quickly drawn into Leigh Wyndfield’s absorbing tale and bears witness to two strong, but lost, souls finding each other. What a sizzling pair they make. The story is wonderfully conceived and delivered, far exceeding my expectations. White Heat is white hot!
"Secrets 12 is a torrid, erotic anthology that keeps the bar of excellence readers expect from the series at high quality level...." ~5 stars from Harriet Klausner on B&N.com
"WHITE HEAT is an awesome futuristic read that will have you panting for more when the story ends. Raine is brave and courageous with a comical streak of talking to herself. Walker is the tortured hero who is persecuted for his heritage and special abilities. The chemistry between this couple is explosive and passionate. WHITE HEAT is full of action and adventure and will keep readers turning the pages and waiting with baited breath to see what happens next. Leigh Wyndfield has created another tale that is sure to go on the keeper shelf." 4.5 Ribbons from Angel at Romance Junkies
Faith from Romantic Times Review 4 1/2 star rating -- Secrets Volume 12, turns on the heat with a seductive encounter inside a bookstore, a temple of naughty and sensual delight, a galactic inferno that thaws ice and a lightening storm that lights up the English shoreline. Tales of looking for love in all the right places with a heat rating out the charts.
Jane from Fallen Angel Reviews gave it a Recommended Read -- White Heat is stunning. The reader is quickly drawn into Leigh Wyndfield’s absorbing tale and bears witness to two strong, but lost, souls finding each other. What a sizzling pair they make. The story is wonderfully conceived and delivered, far exceeding my expectations. White Heat is white hot!
"Secrets 12 is a torrid, erotic anthology that keeps the bar of excellence readers expect from the series at high quality level...." ~5 stars from Harriet Klausner on B&N.com
"WHITE HEAT is an awesome futuristic read that will have you panting for more when the story ends. Raine is brave and courageous with a comical streak of talking to herself. Walker is the tortured hero who is persecuted for his heritage and special abilities. The chemistry between this couple is explosive and passionate. WHITE HEAT is full of action and adventure and will keep readers turning the pages and waiting with baited breath to see what happens next. Leigh Wyndfield has created another tale that is sure to go on the keeper shelf." 4.5 Ribbons from Angel at Romance Junkies
IN ICE wins Write Touch Contest!
Well, the winners of the Wisconsin RWA's Write Touch Readers' Award have been announced and IN ICE won for best erotic romance of 2004! Woohoo! http://www.eclectics.com/WisRWA/wt05_finalists.html
This is fantastic news and I want to thank the Wisconsin RWA chapter for all the hard work they did to make this contest happen.
Check out my site for an excerpt -- www.leighwyndfield.com !
This is fantastic news and I want to thank the Wisconsin RWA chapter for all the hard work they did to make this contest happen.
Check out my site for an excerpt -- www.leighwyndfield.com !
St. Louis, Naked Men and Flogging
I recently came back from the RT Convention in St. Louis, where my book, IN ICE, had been nominated for the Best Erotic Romance of 2004. Sadly, I didn't win (Angela Knight did for one of her many great books), but boy was it a wild ride!
I got in on Sunday, taking a plane up from the Big Easy, where I'd been enjoying some fabu people-watching at Jazz Fest. There might be no better place on Earth for collecting ideas for other planet populations then Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. Needless to say, all this research had tired me out.
Monday I tooled around with some other authors, taking in the sights. We went up to the top of the Gateway to the West in an egg-shaped capsule that reminded me of this time I got stuck with about 20 people in an elevator on choir tour in high school. Luckily, no one had claustrophobia and ended up in a raving heap on the floor like they did back in the day, which meant the ride up and back was uneventful, if a tad strange. The little room at the top of the arch sways. A lot. Up to three feet in either direction, according to the helpful park ranger who was up there with us. That had me lining up a bit early to go down and wishing I hadn't eaten all that saltwater taffy in the museum while we were waiting.
By Tuesday, I'd recovered somewhat from New Orleans to start really enjoying the folks trickling in to the RT Convention. It was great to see my fellow authors from Liquid Silver, meet some Red Sage folks, and hang with my long distance critique buds, Jennifer Skully, TL
Schaefer, and Dee S. Knight. By Wednesday, things were in full swing -- all my goodies on the goodie table were swiped fast, my talk on promotion went well, and I only stuck my foot in my mouth once when I told another finalist we all knew who won for each of the categories. Turns out she was the only one of us who hadn't read the RT issue for June that came in her welcome bag. Oops.
What I really enjoy at RT is that folks let themselves go hog wild. A little heavy petting at the bar (Karen Monroe took a picture, to memorialize it forever for us - I'll see if I can get a copy if you're interested), a little flogging, some half-naked men here and there, someone's body guard rolling around on the floor with a couple authors. The sights and sounds of RT are many and varied. I even heard one reader tell an author, "What I love about your books is how realistic they are. When the heroine goes to the bathroom on page 68 - that was just amazing." Another author I’d never heard of before told the hotel staff who was trying to assist her, "Do you know who I am?! I'm XX, a world famous author!" Good times and great laughs are there to be had by all!
Now I don't want any of you to get the wrong impression and go to RT next year, then email me when you have a bad time. RT is what you make of it. You will laugh only if you can see the humor. Otherwise, you will find yourself telling someone like me, "I'll never come back to this. It's sickening." Hmmm... well, I had fun and I'll have fun next year most likely too. I'll definitely be having fun in two years, because I've never been to Hawaii and what better excuse is there to go than this?
So what if the food is bad (although this year I thought it was pretty good), or the hotel rooms were broken into, or the guy who left books on your pillow accidentally didn't see you sleeping there and dropped them on your head, there is fun to be had, I'm telling you. Lay aside that little angel on your shoulder that tells you the difference between what's right and what's wrong and step onto the wild side. When you get there, look me up -- I'll be the one in the vampire outfit, scarfing chocolate and swilling Miller Lite in the bar, wondering why all those cover models don't use more conditioner on their split ends.
I got in on Sunday, taking a plane up from the Big Easy, where I'd been enjoying some fabu people-watching at Jazz Fest. There might be no better place on Earth for collecting ideas for other planet populations then Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. Needless to say, all this research had tired me out.
Monday I tooled around with some other authors, taking in the sights. We went up to the top of the Gateway to the West in an egg-shaped capsule that reminded me of this time I got stuck with about 20 people in an elevator on choir tour in high school. Luckily, no one had claustrophobia and ended up in a raving heap on the floor like they did back in the day, which meant the ride up and back was uneventful, if a tad strange. The little room at the top of the arch sways. A lot. Up to three feet in either direction, according to the helpful park ranger who was up there with us. That had me lining up a bit early to go down and wishing I hadn't eaten all that saltwater taffy in the museum while we were waiting.
By Tuesday, I'd recovered somewhat from New Orleans to start really enjoying the folks trickling in to the RT Convention. It was great to see my fellow authors from Liquid Silver, meet some Red Sage folks, and hang with my long distance critique buds, Jennifer Skully, TL
Schaefer, and Dee S. Knight. By Wednesday, things were in full swing -- all my goodies on the goodie table were swiped fast, my talk on promotion went well, and I only stuck my foot in my mouth once when I told another finalist we all knew who won for each of the categories. Turns out she was the only one of us who hadn't read the RT issue for June that came in her welcome bag. Oops.
What I really enjoy at RT is that folks let themselves go hog wild. A little heavy petting at the bar (Karen Monroe took a picture, to memorialize it forever for us - I'll see if I can get a copy if you're interested), a little flogging, some half-naked men here and there, someone's body guard rolling around on the floor with a couple authors. The sights and sounds of RT are many and varied. I even heard one reader tell an author, "What I love about your books is how realistic they are. When the heroine goes to the bathroom on page 68 - that was just amazing." Another author I’d never heard of before told the hotel staff who was trying to assist her, "Do you know who I am?! I'm XX, a world famous author!" Good times and great laughs are there to be had by all!
Now I don't want any of you to get the wrong impression and go to RT next year, then email me when you have a bad time. RT is what you make of it. You will laugh only if you can see the humor. Otherwise, you will find yourself telling someone like me, "I'll never come back to this. It's sickening." Hmmm... well, I had fun and I'll have fun next year most likely too. I'll definitely be having fun in two years, because I've never been to Hawaii and what better excuse is there to go than this?
So what if the food is bad (although this year I thought it was pretty good), or the hotel rooms were broken into, or the guy who left books on your pillow accidentally didn't see you sleeping there and dropped them on your head, there is fun to be had, I'm telling you. Lay aside that little angel on your shoulder that tells you the difference between what's right and what's wrong and step onto the wild side. When you get there, look me up -- I'll be the one in the vampire outfit, scarfing chocolate and swilling Miller Lite in the bar, wondering why all those cover models don't use more conditioner on their split ends.
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