Christmas Can-Can

Harlequin Self-Destructs

I suppose you've all heard the big news from Harlequin Enterprises - their venture into vanity/subsidy printing. Harlequin Horizons is a joint venture with Author Solutions, and it is a vanity/subsidy press that relies upon payments and income from aspiring writers to earn profit, rather than sales of books to actual readers.

If you're a writer desperate to see your name in print, plunk down a few thousand bucks and there you go. You too can make it happen.

Except it won't happen.

I'm an e-book author. My books have gone to print. Is it great to see my books out there? You betcha. Do I do it for the money? Nope. Does Harlequin imply that success is at the writer's fingertips with this new venture? Yes, they do. Shame on you, Harlequin.

Self-promotion is one of the hardest aspects of being an e-book author and that's with a wonderful supportive e-book publisher behind me. This new venture of Harlequin's builds on hopes and dreams of writers -- some who will approach this as a legitimate way to get their work out there, but many wanting to short cut the hard sell to print and e-book publishers alike. Their expectations are being taken advantage of, much like the door-to-door salesmen bilking senior citizens. It will leave ashes and shred the reputation Harlequin has built over sixty+ years.

I was glad to see that Romance Writers of America IMMEDIATELY took a stand against this, barring Harlequin from the perks of the National Convention. You have to log into RWA to read this, so if you aren't an RWA member, go visit Ann Aguirre's blog. She's been following this since the news release. Smart Bitches has also blogged on the subject.

This morning I read that the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association has done the same.

And the repercussions keep on coming.

I'm only one person and my input certainly won't change the situation. So I do what I can do. I've shelved ALL my plans for future Harlequin submissions until such time as they drop this insane idea. I think it hurts EVERY legitimate Harlequin author and I want no part of it.

Weekly Reader - November 15, 2009

Finally! I've gotten annoyed with the stack of books at the side of my desk, so it's time to write my weekly reader so they can get put up on the bookshelf. There's some great ones in this list, so let me get started.

I visited the library a couple of weeks ago and stumbled on a Suzanne Brockmann Troubleshooter that I had not read. I'm a tad behind in my purchases of Suz's books.



Let me say how I felt about the first few pages of this. It jumps right in to a situation many of us readers have been waiting for - Dave and Sophia. But then she backed out of it by letting us know he's dreaming. I thought: "Oh Suz, you did not go there, pleaaasee." Nope, she didn't. She twisted it and yes, he was dreaming, but he was dreaming of something that really happened. Nice, Suz. Only other thing I found disconcerting was the book bounced back in time from that opening scene to set up what happened to poor Dave and reconnects back about 3/4 of the way through. Yes, it let you wonder through the whole book - yes, it gave you anticipation in spades, but I'm not a big fan of the jumbled timeline thing. Still, this book is A+.



I'm overdosing on Nalini Singh this year and loving it! Her latest entry is no exception. I had a little trouble getting on board with The Forgotten. I so love the changelings and I missed all the interaction of their world - it was at a minimum in this book. Still, the end had me sobbing - the despair Dev feels with Katya on the edge of death with no hope. Never would have imagined her solution and it was fabulous. I'm not saying what it was, don't want to be a spoiler. A+ - this whole series is unbeatable.



Always nice to visit Cindy Gerard's Black Ops gang. Rafe met his match in this one, and the plot rocked from page to page. Funny, though, the thing I enjoyed the most from this book was Stephanie and Joe. It was a small secondary plot, but oh so satisfying. A+

I've seen Linda Lael Miller's name on books for a long time. It's not hard to find one - she's got fifty million and ten out. I just never stopped to read the back of any of her books and kept passing them over. These were hard to not notice:





God love a cowboy! These covers grabbed me. At the time, I didn't really care what the book was about, I just wanted the covers, wanted to be able to look at these hunky fellows. I was sucked in after the first pages of Logan's story and did nothing but read for two days, plowing through all three books in record time. I love it when I find an author new to me that ends up on my favorites list. I love going back then and researching her entire backlist and making a trek to the used book store and searching amazon for all her other books. Fun stuff. These three are A+. I love the Creed family. I loved the sense of family history, the story of how their family name got ruined and how these men are making an effort to change things for their future. They find women of strength and quality, and they respect them. I loved Dylan's story the most, probably because of his little daughter, but all are delicious. And if you're looking for something to do with your time, go visit her website: lindalaelmiller.com. Great video where the models for these three books portrayed her characters - see theses hot, hot men in all their awesomeness.

I am writing at a marathon pace - whipping through Kiss Me Goodnight. It must have been time for this to get finished, because it's falling out of my brain. I'm not taking much time to read, but I do have a few in my stack that are enticing, including C.L. Wilson's Queen of Song and Souls, Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre, The Enchanted Season Anthology with a good one by Nalini Singh, and more Linda Lael Miller.

In the meantime, I hope you have a chance over Thanksgiving to pick up a good book and enjoy!

November and the Holidays

I lost October somewhere. I'm not exactly sure how or why, but I blinked and it was gone. Yes, I know I have a blog and the concept is that I'm supposed to write it in frequently to keep you up-to-date on Patti doings. So what have I been doing? Glad you asked.

First, I'd like to remind you that this is Halloween/Thanksgiving season and it is definitely the time to revisit a favorite read -- THE DADDY SPELL.



Pumpkin magic is always stronger during 'the season', doncha know. If you follow me on Facebook (and if not, why not???), you'll know I posted a teaser on Kiss Me Goodnight yesterday. My brother thought that was quite the marketing ploy, but truthfully I was having so much fun pulling out the pumpkin magic as a threat to Tom and Summer that I laughed my way to 2500 written words with no problem.

Of course, you're probably sitting there saying - Yeah Patti, but Kiss Me Goodnight probably won't be available to buy until Spring 2011. How do we get our Echo Falls fix until then? My Answer: I'm writing here people, as fast as I can. Harvest Moon Magic is about half finished and hopefully will be on my website before Thanksgiving. Then I'll be writing a wonderfully fun story - Boo and Lindy's Magical Christmas Matchmaking Adventure. What's it about? Ummm...I don't exactly know, but doesn't the title sound great? Yes, I have an evil grin on my face. You're just going to have to wait and see...just like waiting for Santa. I am planning to post that free short story mid-December. 2010 will be littered with several Echo Falls Short Stories to keep you up on the town doings.

The other good news is that Canyon Hearts - Echo Falls #4 - will be finished shortly, too. I've co-written this one with my writing partner and best friend, Kelly McCrady. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my publisher can give you a double whammy of Echo Falls in 2011.

What took so long? Two things. I side-tracked for about seven months to write The Rock Star's Sheriff - Book 1 of a new series set in Parson Corners, Colorado. I sent this one to Harlequin American and it was rejected with a nice personalized letter. I plan to send it to The Wild Rose Press as well -- that means early next year because it isn't being sent until Kiss Me Goodnight has gone - so don't panic!! But hopefully I'll sweet talk you into enjoying another small town love story which has a bunch of sequels planned, too.

The second reason? I'm working on a futuristic, military romance action adventure. I not giving out many details here yet because the idea is cool and unique and I'm scaring myself to death with it. "I can't write this!!!" I wail that frequently. Then my crit group slaps me - "YES, you can!" And I go back to seeing if I can get this tale out of my head.

Have I given up on print publishing? Of course not. I have one completed romantic suspense and a new planned contemporary romance waiting in the wings to be worked on next year to be sent out into that world. There's much more coming from Patti Ann Colt.

In the meantime, I continue to take care of my grandson full-time, work my Amazon Marketplace, and write articles for associated content. Housecleaning and trips to the park fall in there somewhere. And I'm happily anticipating a trip to Nashville next year for the Romance Writers of America conference.

You can find me on Facebook most days - Patti Ann Colt. I also am on Myspace and Twitter - pattianncolt.

I'm going to write now, but I do have a six book weekly reader entry to write. Eventually I'll get tired of the books hanging around on the corner of my desk and I'll get it done.

Happy Veteran's Day to all!

Food Talking and Fun

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time moves. I feel like I just posted and yet it's been over a week. Time is a mystery to me. I know they say we all get the same amount and it's how we use it that makes it different - but I swear I don't get the same amount as everyone else. Either that or I'm just living in la la land part of the time and I'm unaware that life is moving this fast.

One fun thing - I've posted a couple of great fall soup recipes - go check them out!

I'm writing again. Back at Kiss Me Goodnight - Book 3 of Echo Falls - after taking a brief seven months (HA!) to give Harlequin a go. The strangest thing happened when I pulled the first few chapters that I had complete and reread them. I didn't think I wrote them! They were fabulous and I remember them being more crappy than that. Yes, it's true what they say. Some of us writers are just plain off our rockers.

Canyon Hearts - Echo Falls Book 4 - continues on its merry journey to the ending. Kelly McCrady and I are almost finished with this crackerjack story. It has lots of editing to be done, but we'll hopefully be able to give you a double blast of Echo Falls. If you haven't read it lately, pull The Daddy Spell and get yourself some pumpkin magic going! Two short stories will be coming up on my website, too -- Harvest Moon Magic available 10/26 and Boo and Lindy's Magical Christmas Matchmaking Adventure available 12/14.

I've been watching way too much television, but I have to say that Stargate: Universe had me squeeing in glee! So glad a new Stargate is back. Watched the pilot three times already!.

Weekly Reader is going on hiatus until January. My to-be-read pile is ridiculous, but Fall seems to be the time when I dive into projects around the house and don't read as much as I am used to. Plus, lately I'm reading my favorite authors - Suzanne Brockmann's on my bedside table right now -- and those reviews are simply too easy - A+. I'll be happy to give you reports on home improvement projects, sewing, and all my television watching if that will suffice in the meantime. ;-)

That said. Ta Ta. I'm off to watch NCIS Los Angeles.

Kate Duffy

Kate Duffy, editor extraordinaire in the romance industry, died today. On this day of sadness, I'd like to remember Kate with my favorite Kate quote:

"Romance entertains me; it makes me happy. I like to say Nora Roberts got me through my divorce; Suzanne Brockmann got me through my father's illness; Joanne Ross got me through my father's death, and Lisa Kleypas got me through yesterday."

Amen. Blessings to Kate's friends and family.

Yard Sale Aftermath

Oh yeah, enthusiasm increased.

Many $$$ pocketed and lots of items carted off. Things of note if you decide to ever do a yard sale.

--Several people asked if we could break $100 bills. This was early on in the morning, so maybe this was their yard sale budget and they hadn't spent anything yet. But if you're only buying seven bucks worth of stuff, breaking a hundred dollar bill ain't cool. Just saying.

--Sold 90% of our baby clothes, toys, and baby furniture. I can understand that as it's expensive in the stores. I was just glad we had lots to offer.

--I was amazed by the stuff that did sell, i.e. my broken lawn mower and the bins from my dead refrigerator. I was amazed by the stuff that didn't sell - not a bit of our Christmas decorations and two seven foot artifical trees and Anne's old recliner, still in good shape.

--I'd like to express my deep appreciation and admiration for the six foot, long black haired, muscled biker dude who bought my Mom's gaudy 70's blue bubble lamps and the gamer chair. You made my day! No joke.

--I'd like to say WTF to the neighbor who brought over an old 8-track player and about thirty 8-track tapes and asked us to sell them for her. Fortunately, she said the magic word. Keep the money. I actually decided to buy them myself and see if I can sell them on e-bay.

It was a profitable, but miserably hot day. I still have stuff to take to Goodwill, but half a truck load isn't anything at all. A thorough reorganization of the garage will then net me a parking spot for my car. Sigh. The best reward of all.