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Covet Tour Dates and Cities!

  • July 29, 2013

Happy Monday, everyone!

I’m very excited to share the dates and cities of my upcoming book tour for Covet. I will also be creating a Facebook event for the signing at the West Des Moines Barnes & Noble. If you’re local, I would love it if you joined me!

COVET BOOK TOUR
 
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
7:00PM
BARNES AND NOBLE
The Shoppes at Three Fountains
4550 University Avenue
West Des Moines, IA 50266
 
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
7:00 PM
RAINY DAY BOOKS
2706 W 53rd St
Fairway, KS 66205-1705
(913) 384-3126
 
Thursday, September 19, 2013
6:00 PM
THE BOOKWORM
8702 Pacific Street
Omaha, NE 68114
(402) 392-2877
 
Friday, September 20, 2103
7:00 PM
THE BOOKMARK
220 First Street
Neptune Beach, FL 32266
(904) 241-9026
 
Saturday, September 21, 2013
2:00 PM
THE BOOKSELLER AT LAURELWOOD
387 Perkins Road Extended
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 683-9801
 
Saturday, October 12, 2013
IOWA CITY BOOK FESTIVAL
More info to come
 
I will post more information on dates and appearances as it becomes available. Have a great day!
 
Tracey
 
 

Covet Tour Dates and Cities!

  • July 29, 2013

Happy Monday, everyone!

I’m very excited to share the dates and cities of my upcoming book tour for Covet. I will also be creating a Facebook event for the signing at the West Des Moines Barnes & Noble. If you’re local, I would love it if you joined me!

COVET BOOK TOUR

Tuesday, September 17, 2013
7:00PM
BARNES AND NOBLE
The Shoppes at Three Fountains
4550 University Avenue
West Des Moines, IA 50266

Wednesday, September 18, 2013
7:00 PM
RAINY DAY BOOKS
2706 W 53rd St
Fairway, KS 66205-1705
(913) 384-3126
www.rainydaybooks.com

Thursday, September 19, 2013
6:00 PM
THE BOOKWORM
8702 Pacific Street
Omaha, NE 68114
(402) 392-2877
http://www.bookwormomaha.com/

Friday, September 20, 2103
7:00 PM
THE BOOKMARK
220 First Street
Neptune Beach, FL 32266
(904) 241-9026
http://www.bookmarkbeach.com/

Saturday, September 21, 2013
2:00 PM
THE BOOKSELLER AT LAURELWOOD
387 Perkins Road Extended
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 683-9801
http://www.thebooksellersatlaurelwood.com/

Saturday, October 12, 2013
IOWA CITY BOOK FESTIVAL
More info to come
http://www.iowacitybookfestival.org/

I will post more information on dates and appearances as it becomes available. Have a great day!

Tracey

Let’s Talk About Trends

  • July 12, 2013
 
Today I’d like to talk about trends in fiction. This is a subject I could discuss for hours; I find it fascinating how one book or series can impact the publishing industry in such a major way.  
 
I first became aware of how all-encompassing a publishing trend can be after I read Twilight. Many have criticized the writing – and everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion – but I was too engrossed in the story to notice or care about the writing. I just wanted to know if Bella was going to hook up with that vampire, and I stayed up until 2 a.m. so I could find out. Though the concept of a vampire and a human interacting was not 100% original (Anne Rice anyone?), Twilight put a fresh spin on it the day Edward Cullen showed up at a high school. Suddenly, paranormal romance was hot, and so were books for young adults.
 
After I read Twilight I went on to read many more paranormal romance novels. Some were hits, some were misses, and eventually I reached a level of reader fatigue where I didn’t want to read paranormal romance anymore. The last few I read were pretty derivative, and it made me wonder if they were published solely because the trend was hot (the answer is probably “Yes.”). Lucky for me a book called The Hunger Games was released and I was off again, chasing the dystopian trend. I read lots of dystopian and post-apocalyptic books and I enjoyed them until eventually, my interest waned. 
 
In the spring of 2012, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy dominated the bestseller charts and a new trend was born. Interest in contemporary romance and erotica skyrocketed, and new adult eclipsed young adult as the hot age range for main characters. New adult titles, especially if they were on the steamy side, sold very well. Not only do I enjoy writing contemporary romance, I like reading it too, so I was very happy to see this category finally getting its due after being virtually ignored during the paranormal years. 
 

Trends are a normal part of the publishing cycle, and the market (in this case, the readers) creates a demand, which is readily met by the publishing industry. When a reader enjoys a book, they naturally seek out more of the same, so more of the same is published, which perpetuates the cycle. Self-publishing has allowed even more of what’s popular to hit the marketplace at lightning speed.

 
But eventually this happens:
 
 
I’m the first to admit that I’m a fairly picky reader and I probably reach trend saturation much sooner than others. Your mileage may vary; these are merely my very subjective thoughts as a reader, not a writer. And to be clear, my reader fatigue has nothing to do with the way books are published. I don’t care if it’s self-published or traditionally published, I download the sample first, and if I’m hooked I click the buy button, regardless of the publisher, price, or author. 
 
But lately I haven’t found many books that make me want to hit the buy button. This makes me sad because there is nothing I love more than discovering a book I can’t put down. Once again, I’m seeing a lot of similar plotlines that seem like watered-down versions of the ones that came before them, and everything feels a bit unoriginal right now, which is what happens when a trend starts to lose a little of its steam. As a result I’ve been reading more memoirs, literary and women’s fiction, some historical romance, and even a few mystery/thrillers. 
 
Some fellow writers and I have been talking about trends and the direction we think the publishing world is headed in. The consensus is that we don’t really know – because no one really knows what the next trend will be until it arrives – but what we do think is that there has never been a better time to TAKE A RISK. If someone were to ask me my advice right now, I’d tell them to look at what is selling really well at this moment and don’t write that. Write something completely different. You might just end up being the frontrunner of the next trend, which would be awesome. But even if you aren’t, it’s still better than limping across the finish line at the end of the current trend, after the crowd has gone home and the winners are long-past celebrating. If what you’re burning to write isn’t selling well right now, write it anyway. You never know what can happen.
 

 
So, what’s on my wish list of things I’d like to see as a reader?
 
  1. A little more emphasis on the heroine. It takes two people to fall in love, and if all the attention is placed on the hero, the heroine can end up looking like a mere backdrop for the man, or worse, like a giant Mary Sue who doesn’t have an opinion of her own. I like book boyfriends as much as the next girl, but I also need a story. Show me a smart, handsome hero with a complete character arc, a man who grows and changes, a man who is not a giant douchebag, and I will come along willingly for the ride.  
  2. Beautiful writing. I will be the first to admit that On the Island’s prose is quite simple. It was the first book I ever wrote and I was still learning and trying to find my way. With Covet I tried to challenge myself by making my sentences a bit more lyrical, with some added heft. It’s a skill I will be working on for as long as I write. As a reader I will always choose story over craft because it takes more than lovely sentences to keep me engaged in a book, but I do think that it’s important to aspire to both. And without sounding like I’m standing on a soapbox (but excuse me for a moment while I climb up), why are books still being published without even a minimum level of editing? I receive book recommendation on a daily basis, and if the title and synopsis interest me I’ll download the sample. But I often stop reading after the first chapter because the editing is so mind-bogglingly bad. There are many readers out there who don’t care, because for them story trumps everything, but I can’t stick with a book that has so many typos and errors in the first chapter that I’m editing it in my head as I read. There are too many well-written books out there. So why not tell the best story you can, with words that can hold their own?
  3. Characters who aren’t quite so damaged. I feel like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sort of set the stage for this way back when, and it’s still continuing. I’m all for flawed characters, and heroes and heroines who don’t always do the right thing. Fiction is all about conflict, right? But now I feel like it’s a race to have a character with the most horrifying backstory, which I think is supposed to make me root for them but mostly makes me wonder how they’re able to function without a therapist on speed-dial.
  4. Plot twists. I love it when something happens that I did not expect. I would love a big old OMGWTF along the lines of Gone Girl. You guys? I did not see those twists coming.
  5. Adult characters. It’s not that I don’t like younger characters (T.J. Callahan, anyone?), but I’m dying to sink my teeth into an epic romance with characters who are at least in their thirties, with the wisdom and life experience that accompanies that age group.
  6. Fast-paced commercial novels like The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown or anything by John Grisham. Stories that appeal to the masses and generate lots of talk around the water cooler.
 
So tell me, what trends are you tired of? What would you like to see more of? What are you hoping sticks around for awhile?
 
And what’s your prediction for the next big thing?
 
Tracey
 
*Quick reminder: Because of spam, all comments are moderated, which means I have to approve them. Don’t worry if you don’t see your comment right away.
 
 
 
 

    Let’s Talk About Trends

    • July 12, 2013
    Today I’d like to talk about trends in fiction. This is a subject I could discuss for hours; I find it fascinating how one book or series can impact the publishing industry in such a major way.
    I first became aware of how all-encompassing a publishing trend can be after I read Twilight. Many have criticized the writing – and everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion – but I was too engrossed in the story to notice or care about the writing. I just wanted to know if Bella was going to hook up with that vampire, and I stayed up until 2 a.m. so I could find out. Though the concept of a vampire and a human interacting was not 100% original (Anne Rice anyone?), Twilight put a fresh spin on it the day Edward Cullen showed up at a high school. Suddenly, paranormal romance was hot, and so were books for young adults.
    After I read Twilight I went on to read many more paranormal romance novels. Some were hits, some were misses, and eventually I reached a level of reader fatigue where I didn’t want to read paranormal romance anymore. The last few I read were pretty derivative, and it made me wonder if they were published solely because the trend was hot (the answer is probably “Yes.”). Lucky for me a book called The Hunger Games was released and I was off again, chasing the dystopian trend. I read lots of dystopian and post-apocalyptic books and I enjoyed them until eventually, my interest waned.
    In the spring of 2012, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy dominated the bestseller charts and a new trend was born. Interest in contemporary romance and erotica skyrocketed, and new adult eclipsed young adult as the hot age range for main characters. New adult titles, especially if they were on the steamy side, sold very well. Not only do I enjoy writing contemporary romance, I like reading it too, so I was very happy to see this category finally getting its due after being virtually ignored during the paranormal years.
    Trends are a normal part of the publishing cycle, and the market (in this case, the readers) creates a demand, which is readily met by the publishing industry. When a reader enjoys a book, they naturally seek out more of the same, so more of the same is published, which perpetuates the cycle. Self-publishing has allowed even more of what’s popular to hit the marketplace at lightning speed.
    But eventually this happens:
    I’m the first to admit that I’m a fairly picky reader and I probably reach trend saturation much sooner than others. Your mileage may vary; these are merely my very subjective thoughts as a reader, not a writer. And to be clear, my reader fatigue has nothing to do with the way books are published. I don’t care if it’s self-published or traditionally published, I download the sample first, and if I’m hooked I click the buy button, regardless of the publisher, price, or author.
    But lately I haven’t found many books that make me want to hit the buy button. This makes me sad because there is nothing I love more than discovering a book I can’t put down. Once again, I’m seeing a lot of similar plotlines that seem like watered-down versions of the ones that came before them, and everything feels a bit unoriginal right now, which is what happens when a trend starts to lose a little of its steam. As a result I’ve been reading more memoirs, literary and women’s fiction, some historical romance, and even a few mystery/thrillers.
    Some fellow writers and I have been talking about trends and the direction we think the publishing world is headed in. The consensus is that we don’t really know – because no one really knows what the next trend will be until it arrives – but what we do think is that there has never been a better time to TAKE A RISK. If someone were to ask me my advice right now, I’d tell them to look at what is selling really well at this moment and don’t write that. Write something completely different. You might just end up being the frontrunner of the next trend, which would be awesome. But even if you aren’t, it’s still better than limping across the finish line at the end of the current trend, after the crowd has gone home and the winners are long-past celebrating. If what you’re burning to write isn’t selling well right now, write it anyway. You never know what can happen.
    So, what’s on my wish list of things I’d like to see as a reader?
    1. A little more emphasis on the heroine. It takes two people to fall in love, and if all the attention is placed on the hero, the heroine can end up looking like a mere backdrop for the man, or worse, like a giant Mary Sue who doesn’t have an opinion of her own. I like book boyfriends as much as the next girl, but I also need a story. Show me a smart, handsome hero with a complete character arc, a man who grows and changes, a man who is not a giant douchebag, and I will come along willingly for the ride.
    2. Beautiful writing. I will be the first to admit that On the Island’s prose is quite simple. It was the first book I ever wrote and I was still learning and trying to find my way. With Covet I tried to challenge myself by making my sentences a bit more lyrical, with some added heft. It’s a skill I will be working on for as long as I write. As a reader I will always choose story over craft because it takes more than lovely sentences to keep me engaged in a book, but I do think that it’s important to aspire to both. And without sounding like I’m standing on a soapbox (but excuse me for a moment while I climb up), why are books still being published without even a minimum level of editing? I receive book recommendation on a daily basis, and if the title and synopsis interest me I’ll download the sample. But I often stop reading after the first chapter because the editing is so mind-bogglingly bad. There are many readers out there who don’t care, because for them story trumps everything, but I can’t stick with a book that has so many typos and errors in the first chapter that I’m editing it in my head as I read. There are too many well-written books out there. So why not tell the best story you can, with words that can hold their own?
    3. Characters who aren’t quite so damaged. I feel like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sort of set the stage for this way back when, and it’s still continuing. I’m all for flawed characters, and heroes and heroines who don’t always do the right thing. Fiction is all about conflict, right? But now I feel like it’s a race to have a character with the most horrifying backstory, which I think is supposed to make me root for them but mostly makes me wonder how they’re able to function without a therapist on speed-dial.
    4. Plot twists. I love it when something happens that I did not expect. I would love a big old OMGWTF along the lines of Gone Girl. You guys? I did not see those twists coming.
    5. Adult characters. It’s not that I don’t like younger characters (T.J. Callahan, anyone?), but I’m dying to sink my teeth into an epic romance with characters who are at least in their thirties, with the wisdom and life experience that accompanies that age group.
    6. Fast-paced commercial novels like The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown or anything by John Grisham. Stories that appeal to the masses and generate lots of talk around the water cooler.
    So tell me, what trends are you tired of? What would you like to see more of? What are you hoping sticks around for awhile?
    And what’s your prediction for the next big thing?
    Tracey
    *Quick reminder: Because of spam, all comments are moderated, which means I have to approve them. Don’t worry if you don’t see your comment right away.

    A Big Mish Mash of A Post

    • July 11, 2013

    Hi, friends!

    I have several things I want to mention and in the interest of efficiency I’ve decided to throw them all into one post.

    1) First of all, a giant THANK YOU to everyone who downloaded Uncharted. It’s been almost two years since my last release day, and I must say that the butterflies were fluttering in my stomach when I woke up on July 2nd. It didn’t help that my husband and I decided to take the kids on an impromptu five-day vacation to Texas, and the Internet connection in our hotel was one of the weakest I’ve ever had (I’m looking at you, La Quinta). We visited Austin and San Antonio and had a wonderful time. I especially loved San Antonio’s River Walk. We had a nice dinner and took a boat tour afterward. I highly recommend it!

    2) On behalf of myself and Penguin UK I want to offer my sincere apology regarding the e-book of Uncharted (UK version only). There was a slight mix-up and the three-chapter excerpt of Covet was not included at the back of the book (an excerpt of On the Island was included instead). I assure you that Penguin UK is working to rectify this and I’ll be giving further instructions soon on how anyone who purchased the edition with the missing excerpt can obtain it.

    3) If you have a copy of On the Island and would like it signed, you can send it to P.O. Box 71694, Clive, Iowa, 50325. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope and I’ll mail the book back to you ASAP.

    4) Starting tomorrow, I’m going to be posting the first blog post in a series called “Let’s Talk About.” Tomorrow I want to talk about trends in fiction. In addition to trends I want to talk about heroes, heroines, genre, sex (in fiction), and whatever else I can come up with in regards to books. I’m hoping to post every Friday and I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to some lively discussions!

    5) Many of you have asked if I’m writing another book and the answer is, “Yes!” I’m still finishing up some research and have only just started on the first draft. I can’t tell you much about the new book right now because it’s way too early, but what I can tell you is that it’s very romantic (with a little suspense thrown in). I have a strong urge to create a love story along the lines of Anna and T.J. (although there is no significant age difference this time around, or a desert island for that matter). But I’ve got a hero and a heroine who will have to overcome some mighty big hurdles to be together, and there will be plenty of action. It’s a slow burn, though. No insta-love in this story. I’ll share more in the coming months.

    6) I will have the tour schedule for Covet to share with you soon. I’m just waiting on a few details and then I’ll post it.

    I think that’s it for now. Please join me tomorrow so we can talk about trends in fiction.

    Tracey

    Uncharted Release Day!

    • July 2, 2013

    Hello, everyone!

    I’ve been waiting so long for the release of my second title and now it’s here (and I’ll get to do it again in less than three months when Covet comes out. Yay!).

    During the last year, I’ve received lots of messages from readers asking me if there would ever be a sequel to On the Island. My answer was always, “No.” Anna and T.J. got their happily ever after. They worked hard for it and they deserved it. So to try and extend their story wouldn’t feel organic, and any new conflict they encountered would pale compared to what they’d already been through. I wouldn’t have enjoyed writing that story, and you may not have enjoyed reading it either.

    But last summer my editor asked if there might be another character from On the Island that I could write about, and she wanted to know if I would be open to writing a short story from this character’s perspective. Penguin wanted to release this short story as an eSpecial, and would include the first three chapters of Covet at the end. I said I would be happy to do it because – coincidentally – another character from On the Island had begun to creep into my thoughts. I remember driving home after dropping my daughter off at zoo camp when I had a tiny spark of an idea:

    Whatever happened to that guy who built the shack? What, exactly, was his story? I thought, wouldn’t it be kind of fun if I could write about his time on the island? Learn more about him? Discover whose bones were in that cave? 

    The answer was, “Yes.” It was fun to create the whole backstory of a character I never expected to meet. 

    So, what is Uncharted about, exactly? I don’t want to spoil anything, but I can tell you what Uncharted isn’t: It’s not a sequel to On the Island. It’s not a re-telling of the story from another character’s POV because Anna and T.J. already took turns telling it in On the Island. Uncharted is a prequel of sorts, and it should answer any lingering questions you might have had from On the Island.

    And I hope you enjoy it.

    Uncharted is available from the following retailers:

    Amazon
    B&N
    Apple
    Google Play

    xoxo,

    Tracey

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