Welcome Mary Sullivan

Maureen, thank you for having me today on Get Lost in a Story!

I grew up in Toronto where exposure to multiculturalism started early with my Macedonian friends and Italian neighbors. I think that’s where my love of foods from varied cultures started. I studied photography before taking up darkroom printing as a career, which I loved. While I stayed home to start a family, that career disappeared with the advent of computers.

Writing novels seemed like a good fit—working alone in a small room on creative projects. Sounds a lot like darkroom printing ☺

My ninth Superromance, BECAUSE OF AUDREY, came out in October. It’s still available at all of the usual online venues in paperback and ebooks. For the first time, readers can find Superromances in ebook format bundled in groups of three at a great price. My October book shares space with the wonderful and talented Linda Warren and Stephanie Doyle.

Order from Harlequin

GET TO KNOW MARY SULLIVAN

MAUREEN:  What’s your favorite holiday?

MARY:  Oh, definitely Christmas. I’m barely holding myself back from playing Christmas music now, but I’ll force myself to wait until the first of December. My daughter and I have a Christmas Eve tradition that I love. We have our own mini wine and cheese party in the evening. Every year, we try three or four new-to-us cheeses. We live in Canada, so try to make two or three of those cheeses Canadian. Oh, and there’s chocolate for dessert, of course ☺

MAUREEN:  What’s your favorite hobby?

MARY:  I absolutely adore puzzles. I’m addicted to word puzzles, particularly cryptic crossword puzzles. I need to do them every day. I love doing them almost as much as I love reading good books!

MAUREEN:  What’s the best vacation you’ve ever been on?

MARY:  My favorite vacation was a dogsledding course I took through Outward Bound a few years ago. I loved it! The dogs were amazing and the scenery in Algonquin Park in northern Ontario spectacular. When I was young I skied in Vermont, Utah, British Columbia and Quebec amid some of the most beautiful scenery on earth and yet, memories of that simple dogsledding course linger.

MAUREEN:  What’s the most romantic thing anyone ever did for you?

MARY:  I was sitting in my car in a far corner of a mall’s parking lot on the phone with a friend and crying my heart out because I had just received bad news. It was the summertime and there were no other cars around. The windows were all open. Suddenly, a man appeared beside my driver’s door. I screamed and dropped the phone, but then he handed me an ice cream cone. He said he had seen me when he’d driven into the mall and couldn’t stand how sad I looked. He parked, went into the mall, bought me the ice cream cone and then walked all the way to the far end of the parking lot to me. He told me to feel better soon and then walked away. I guess it wasn’t exactly romantic, but it was a sweet, spontaneous act of kindness that made me feel much better—you know, one of those positive, uplifting experiences that gives you faith in human nature, a small but kind gesture that I won’t ever forget.

MAUREEN:  What book would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

MARY:  MORNING GLORY by LaVyrle Spencer, the book that started me on my romance novel-writing journey. I’ve read it so many times, the last time I picked it up my copy fell apart in my hands.

GIVEAWAY!

Mary would like to give away a copy of her October Superromance, BECAUSE OF AUDREY, to someone who comments today.

QUESTION FROM MARY

My question to you is, what is your favorite romance novel of all time? Or, if you don’t read romance, your favorite book?

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH MARY

I enjoy hearing from readers!
Website: www.marysullivanbooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.sullivan.1460
Twitter: @MSullivanWrites

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today, I'm happy to welcome, Harlequin Superromance author Mary Sullivan for a guest blog.

Take it away, Mary!

Maureen, thank you for having me back on Get Lost in a Story. I always have such a good time here!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

I’d like to tell you about the book I have coming out in March, but before we go there, I want to share my favorite Valentine’s Day ‘blooper,’ because I like the lighter side of love! Years ago, I had been dating a man I liked a lot for a while, so I invited him over to my apartment for our first romantic home-cooked dinner.

I wanted to make it really special and decided to make chicken simmered in champagne, which is delicious and moist and oh so romantic. There were other yummy things to serve with it and, of course, chocolate for dessert.

After he arrived, I started browning the chicken and asked him to open the champagne. At the time, my apartment was a schoolroom in a former private girl’s school. It’s now a heritage building and beautifully restored. My kitchen was miniscule—a repurposed cloakroom—so he carried the bottle into the large airy schoolroom, which was my living room, dining room and bedroom. When he took the wire from the cork, it exploded out of the bottle. Half of the champagne shot up, hit the ceiling and then dripped onto the floor and sofa…and him. My date looked at me sheepishly, shrugged and we both started to laugh. When we finally managed to stop laughing, we cleaned up the floor and sofa…and him. I cooked the chicken with what was left in the bottle and it was delicious. We had a great night despite the mishap, but remembered that Valentine’s Day for years. It was a good memory.

Now…on to my next release. In January, I told you about my February Superromance, IN FROM THE COLD, and how much I enjoyed writing the details of my hero’s dogsledding business, using my one dogsledding adventure as the basis for details in the book.

My hero is Gabe Jordan, the eldest of three brothers.

In my March Superromance, HOME TO LAURA, the hero is the youngest brother, Nick. He and Gabe have been estranged for years, because of something nasty that Nick did to Gabe when they were young. He has a lot to make up for. It takes Nick a while to redeem himself in this book, but he eventually does. Along with hurting his brother all of those years ago, he also damaged the heroine, so some of his redemption includes groveling.

The hero and heroine’s first meeting when he returns to town, though, is rather explosive. In the cover photo, you can see the results of that encounter J

Here’s the back cover copy:

‘A single encounter with the gorgeous Laura Cameron and
 Nick Jordan knows he has a lot to make up for. What he did to her years ago changed their lives dramatically. Unfortunately making amends isn’t easy, especially when this sizzling attraction keeps interfering with his good intentions. He’s torn between the strong urge to get out of the hometown he despises and exploring what could develop between them.

The longer Nick’s in Colorado, though, the more he seems tied to this place. His daughter insists he reconcile with his estranged brothers. And the project that brought him here has hit a roadblock. But the one thing that could tip the scales in keeping him here? When Laura announces she’s pregnant...with his child!’

The middle brother, Tyler’s, story spans the two books.

The book will be out in ebook format through harlequin.com and Amazon.com on March 2^nd. It will be in bookstores on March 12^th.

I’m giving away a copy of HOME TO LAURA to someone who leaves a comment today.

I would dearly love to hear some of your Valentine ‘bloopers.’ While Valentine’s Day is all about love and hearts and flowers—and lovely romantic dinners—I can’t believe I’m the only one who has ever had my Valentine’s Day plans go awry! Please share.

www.marysullivanbooks.com

https://www.facebook.com/mary.sullivan.1460

Come In From the Cold with Mary Sullivan

Welcome Back, Mary Sullivan

Mary Sullivan, a born-and-bred city girl of Irish descent, grew up amid the cultural fizz of Greektown in Toronto, eating Greek pastries on the Danforth, noshing on grapes from her Italian neighbor’s vines, and drinking Turkish coffee with her Macedonian friend whose mother read the grounds and postulated about her future. Funny that she never predicted that one day Mary would become a published author.

A hopelessly inept athlete, Mary never stops trying. A couple of years ago she took an Outward Bound course—dogsledding in February in breathtaking Algonquin Park in northern Ontario. She came home bruised and euphoric.

She has been a finalist in many contests, including RWA’s Golden Heart, and has won Booksellers’ Best, RomCon and RT awards. Who knew daydreaming could be so rewarding?

www.marysullivanbooks.com

https://www.facebook.com/mary.sullivan.1460

ABOUT THE BOOK

Mary Sulivan's latest Harlequin Superromance, IN FROM THE COLD, is a February release about a man who owns a dogsledding business. Note the gorgeous new style for the 2013 Superromance covers. So warm!

 ‘A city girl to her core, Callie MacKintosh doesn’t do rugged. She does do her job, however. That’s why she’s here in this Rocky Mountain town getting more of rugged than she ever wanted. All she has to do is persuade Gabe Jordan to sign over his share of the family land so her boss can develop it.

Too bad the situation is not that simple. Gabe is her boss’s estranged brother. And Gabe is the most fascinating man she’s ever met. Her focus is severely compromised by his strong, sexy ways. More than that, having spent time on this land, she’s no longer convinced a ski resort belongs here. But she thinks she might. Because for the first time, with Gabe, she feels as though she’s come home.’

 GET TO KNOW MARY SULLIVAN

Okay, now that we have the promo out of the way, let’s chat! Thank you so much to Maureen and Get Lost in a Story for hosting me today. I always enjoy visiting this fabulous blog.

MAUREEN: Where do you like to read and how often?

MARY: I most like to read at home, in the evenings when it’s quiet. In September, I gave up my TV cable subscription. I’d been watching far too much of it and was seeing it more and more as a waste of time. In the months leading up to Christmas, I knit a lot of gifts while listening to my favorite music, took long walks to try to lose weight, and then read before bed every night. My biggest problem? Stopping at a reasonable hour, but honestly, don’t you love those books you can’t put down until you finish them, even if it means reading until 4 in the morning?

On a side note, the walking worked, but how is it possible to lose an inch and a half from my waist since August, but not a single pound??? Sigh.

MAUREEN: Where in the world would you most like to visit?

MARY:  Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories. Strangely, for a girl raised in the city, I’ve always been intrigued by the wilderness, by any rough and rugged terrain, and by stories of survival in hostile physical environments. One of the best books I read recently that I loved was a kid’s novel, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Just fabulous.

Perhaps it all started with my dad who was a construction worker and took jobs all over Canada. In 1953, he traveled north of the Arctic Circle when there were no passenger planes flying to the Arctic. He flew in his winter longjohns and big parka and packed his own sandwiches and thermos of coffee.  At that time, it was so unusual to fly that far north that he received a plaque that stated that he’d flown north of the Arctic Circle. It hung on one of our walls until long after his death.

The photographs he sent home of the scenery and of the Inuit building igloos fascinated me.

MAUREEN: Cats or dogs?

MARY:  I love them both, but I adore dogs, which led me to my adventure with dogsledding. While the physical activity, the adventure and the breathtaking beauty of northern Ontario in the winter were all wonderful, the best part of the Outward Bound course was the dogs. They were phenomenal, just full of heart and the desire to run their hearts out for us. In return, they were treated like gold. After five or six hours of sledding, when we returned to camp we took care of the dogs before we did anything else, certainly before we did anything for ourselves. My hero, Gabe, own a dogsledding business, and I used my experience to fill the book with details, but what I wanted to convey most was how much our guides loved, respected and cared for the dogs.

Here’s my favorite photo of one of them. They were happiest when they were running and pulling the sleds and, if we stopped for any reason, they became impatient and barked, yipped and jumped until we got moving again.

This is Keebler jumping up in the air trying to make the sled move while Azul looks like a very patient older sibling:

So much joy in the dogs!

MAUREEN: Hiking boots or high heels?

MARY:  Both, as a city girl with a fascination of the wilderness, but also complete, utter envy of my sister’s shoe closet!

MAUREEN: What book would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

MARY:  LaVyrle Spencer’s Morning Glory. I was in my early forties when my mother suggested that I read it. I did, but very reluctantly, because I refused to read romance. My mother raved about MG, so I capitulated. The story and the writing blew my mind. I devoured Spencer’s other books and decided I wanted to write romance. I still marvel that one simple act by my mum started me on this wonderful journey.

MAUREEN: What’s next for you as an author?

MARY:  Just before Christmas, I sold three more stories to Harlequin. My editor had a slot she needed to fill for October, so I agreed to finish the first story by February 15^th. An 80,000 word novel in two months is quite a rush for a slow thinker like me ;-)

Here’s an excerpt from IN FROM THE COLD:

Nick no longer knows his older brother. Callista’s boss had warned her that Gabe would put up resistance to their plan, but not to worry, that Nick had ways to get around him. Seeing Gabe in person, Callie wasn’t so sure. He didn’t look like the pushover Nick had described. This man had substance, presence.

Handsome in a rugged mountain-man way, the antithesis of lean and refined Nick, Gabe wore a plaid shirt and blue jeans, the shirt wrinkled in the spots that weren’t stretched tautly over muscle, and the blue jeans old and pale with wear on his thighs. Not only did Gabe look as though he could eat a bear, but he could probably wrestle it into submission with his bare hands.

            His unruly beard and moustache, his black eyes and high cheekbones in a stone-chiseled face spoke of hard-earned character. But what kind? Was he as devious as Nick, as willing to do whatever it took to get a job done?

            Maybe not, but Callie had the sense that he would fight for this land tooth and nail, and that her job had just become a whole lot harder.

            He watched her with shadowed eyes.

            He has baggage. If Callie could peek inside his head at the contents of those suitcases, she would know better how to approach this man.

Still he said nothing, just stared with mute wariness, held by a deep, unnaturally quiet…waiting.

            He had a right to be wary.

            Callie was about to blow his world apart.

MARY ASKS: 

My question to each of you is, have you ever been dogsledding? If not, what is your favorite wintertime activity?

  

GIVEAWAY

Mary will giveaway a copy of IN FROM THE COLD to one lucky commenter!

Welcome Mary Sullivan

 Mary Sullivan grew up amid the cultural pop and fizz of an urban cosmopolitan center. Despite this, she writes about a small fictional town called Ordinary in Montana, and peoples her stories with cowboys and ranchers. Harlequin published the first in her Ordinary, Montana, series, NO ORDINARY COWBOY, in June of 2009. Four more novels followed quickly, A COWBOY'S PLAN, THIS COWBOY'S SON, BEYOND ORDINARY and THESE TIES THAT BIND. 

Currently, NO ORDINARY SHERIFF, the sixth and last of the Ordinary series, is on bookstore shelves.   www.marysullivanbooks.com

NO ORDINARY SHERIFF

Publisher: Harlequin

ISBN: 978-0-373-71780-4

 

http://www.harlequin.com/

Shannon Wilson is on the fast track to the top. A DEA agent from the big city, she's simply passing through Ordinary, Montana, to settle a score. And no small-town sheriff will derail her plans simply because he flashes a badge and a great smile…no matter how sexy he looks in that cowboy hat.

After all, Sheriff Cash Kavenagh is ready to settle into that white-picket-fence ideal. And Shannon isn't about to swap her fast-paced lifestyle for such an ordinary existence. Only problem is—wrapped in those big masculine arms of his, Shannon can't seem to shake the feeling that life with Cash may just be the most extraordinary thing that's ever happened to her.

EXCERPT:

http://www.marysullivanbooks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=54

GET TO KNOW MARY SULLIVAN

Maureen, thank you for having me today! I’m so happy to be here.

Glad to have you. :) What’s your favorite holiday?

Christmas. I come from a large family and we have a lot of fun when we get together. We do a lot of laughing. With some family members it might be the only time I’ll see them for the year. I go home on Christmas night tired but happy.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

OUT OF AFRICA. I loved the Robert Redford character.  Meryl Streep’s acting was stunning and the scenery spectacular and there were so many heartbreakingly beautiful moments.

What’s the first book you remember reading?

I had a book about ballet with illustrations of children doing the five basic ballet positions. I remember standing in my bedroom doing those positions over and over again until it stopped feeling awkward. My parents sent me for lessons, but I quit after just a few. I can’t remember why. I sure loved that book, though.

What really scares you?

Oh my goodness, what doesn’t? Seriously, though, spiders and insects. They make my skin crawl. Snakes used to do the same, but this past autumn I attended the local agricultural fair and, in the children’s section a young woman was holding a small, harmless, garden snake and, for the first time ever, I made myself touch it. His skin was soft and his head incredibly tiny and he was really quite sweet. I’m still not sure I could bring myself to touch anything larger, but getting over fear is all about baby steps…lots and lots of baby steps.

Who was your favorite teacher in grade school? Why?

My favorite was my grade three or four teacher, but I’m COMPLETELY blanking on her name. I’d like to say that in some deep, profound way she started me on my lifelong journey toward publication, but no. She had a desk drawer full of these great tiny toys that she used to give out at the end of her frequent spelling bees. I used to win regularly and get to choose something to take home. I realize now that they were cheap trinkets, but I saw them as treasures. These days, I would never win spelling—or grammar—awards. I’ve forgotten so much over the years. God bless editors. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. They perform a valuable service.

What was your favorite book when you were twelve?

I don’t know which one exactly, but I do know that I jumped straight from children’s books to adult books. So it would have been something by Victoria Holt or Phyllis Whitney or Daphne DuMaurier. I devoured their books. I loved my local library and came home laden with as many as I was allowed to withdraw and, many weekends, would stay up reading on Friday and Saturday nights until 3, 4 or 5 in the morning.

I think a lot of  jumped straight from kids books to adult books. Teens today (and adults) are so lucky to have real young adult books. **shameless plug from Maureen** 

What sound or noise do you love?

I live across the street from an elementary school with a small playground. The building next to mine has a daycare in it and the children walk past my windows on their way to the playground. Their voices as they talk to each other couldn’t possibly be cuter. They chirp. Their cheer me up while I write and wrestle with plots and recalcitrant characters who won’t do what they’re told.

There’s another daycare on the far side of the schoolyard and I often hear the children screaming. Oddly, it doesn’t really bother me, but I could never figure out why they were screaming so much…until the day I walked by just as the caregiver said, “We’re going back indoors in one minute. If you have any screaming inside of you, get rid of it now before we go inside.” The children stood in a circle and screamed at each other. The teacher said, “Okay, now it’s time to go in,” and they stopped screaming and followed her docilely. That teacher was so smart. Now when I hear them screaming, I smile.

A quick anecdote…another day a police officer pulled up in his car across the street and the children all ran to the fence to tell him there was something wrong with his car because his police lights weren’t on. He said, “They aren’t???” as if he was completely surprised, then got back into his car, turned on the flashing lights and the siren and that ‘whoop whoop’ noise they can make, then drove away like that while the children cheered. It was incredibly sweet to watch this big burly cop turn into jelly for these kids.

GOTTA ASK—GOTTA ANSWER

What’s the best thing about being an author?

Honestly, I genuinely enjoy meeting readers, especially if they like my writing, or have been touched by it in some way. In my very first published novel, NO ORDINARY SHERIFF, the heroine had lost a breast to cancer. Her husband walked out on her and she can’t trust that another man could love her scarred body. The hero helps her to heal with his tender lovemaking. I received an email from a woman who had read the book and was so touched because she had gone through the same dreadful events and a man had helped her to heal by loving her in exactly the way my hero had loved my heroine. I got chills when I read her email—and a little teary-eyed.

MARY ASKS READERS

Here’s my question to you: what is the most moving scene you’ve read in a novel, perhaps one that has stayed with you for years? Why did it affect you so strongly, and why do you still remember it?

Mary is giving away a copy of NO ORDINARY SHERIFF to someone who comments today!

 

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

Come back tomorrow for Sandra Sookoo!

STACYD is the winner of the book! Congrats, Stacy!

Mary Sullivan

Mary Sullivan grew up amid the cultural pop and fizz of a large city. Despite this, she writes about a small fictional town called Ordinary in Montana, and populates her stories with cowboys and ranchers. When she read her first Harlequin Superromance, she knew she wanted to write these heartfelt stories of love, hope, relationships and happy endings. Harlequin published NO ORDINARY COWBOY in June of 2009. Both it and her second book, A COWBOY'S PLAN, are award-winning novels.

Her fourth Superromance, BEYOND ORDINARY, is in the bookstores now.

Angel Donovan limped home to Ordinary, Montana, on her wounded Honda Gold Wing, pulling to a stop on the side of the highway a couple of miles shy of town.

Out of gas.

She tugged off her helmet and, with one strong swing of her arm, heaved it into the closest field where it rolled across dry soil beneath yellow wheat, its red gloss disappearing under the dirt it picked up.

She unhooked her saddlebags and took out a can of lighter fluid she’d bought in Bozeman and sprinkled it over the bike. It glowed golden in the horizontal rays of the setting sun, its chemical scent a counterpoint to the dry, earthy aroma of the fields.

Striking a match on the denim across her thigh, she threw it onto the bike where the lighter fluid ignited with a satisfying whoosh.

So begins Angel’s ignominious return home. Her attempts to outrun her past have failed. Back home, she feels the weight of who she used to be looming. But there’s one person who sees beyond her former wild-child self—Timm Franck. Too bad he’s also the one person she’s wary of…with good reason. Thanks to his journalistic skills, the private details of her scandalous upbringing are a matter of public record.

GET TO KNOW MARY SULLIVAN

MAUREEN: Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why?

MARY: Definitely, Janey Wilson from A COWBOY’S PLAN. She’s a young Goth woman who’s had to deal with too much adversity in her young life, including a rape at fourteen and then delivering and keeping the child conceived from that rape, then losing her little girl six years later to a car accident. No twenty-two-year-old should have to experience so much so early. And yet…despite the maelstrom of emotions this all engendered in her, and the tough attitude she cultivated to survive, she lives a life of hope. She falls in love with a whimsical candy shop in small-town Ordinary, Montana, while she also falls for the shop’s owner (a preacher’s son), dishing out sweets while wearing shovel loads of black mascara, plenty of face and body piercings, and big black Goth boots. A study in contrasts, she’s strong, but also achingly vulnerable. I LOVED writing her character. Apparently, readers must have, too, because this book won the 2011 Booksellers Best award for Long Contemporary.

MAUREEN: What soundtrack or playlist do you recommend for your current release?

MARY: Both Shawn Colvin’s and Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s versions of Roly Salley’s Killing the Blues, one of the most beautiful songs ever written, in my opinion. Every day before working on Beyond Ordinary, I used it to put me into the mood for writing, but then had to turn it off while I wrote. I can’t chew gum and write…I mean, listen to music and write at the same time. Too distracting. Guess I’m not much of a multi-tasker!

MAUREEN: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

MARY: Out of Africa.

MAUREEN: What’s your favorite book of all time?

MARY: Mrs. Mike, a novel by Benedict and Nancy Mars Freedman set in the Canadian wilderness in the early 1900s. I read it first as a young teenager and have re-read it many times since. It’s based on a true story of a young woman who travels from Boston to visit her uncle in Canada, falls in love with and marries a Mountie, and travels with him by dogsled to northern Canada. The details of how tough life was in the far north at that time are fascinating.

MAUREEN: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

MARY: You mean besides the fabulous wealth and jet-setting around the world to private parties in Rome and Paris? And the multi-billion dollar movie deals? Sorry, got carried away in my daydreams…

I wanted people to read one of my books, finish it, sigh and say, “That was a really good story.” Judging by feedback, that’s how some readers feel when they finish my stories and that warms my heart.

MAUREEN: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

MARY: Underdogs who triumph by the end of the book.

MAUREEN: What was the first story you remember writing?

MARY: When I decided I wanted to be a writer, the first book I wrote was about a pretty widow with two children who travels to northern Ontario in the early 1900s to cook for a bunch of men in a lumber camp. Hmmm. Sounds like I might have been influenced by Mrs. Mike’s story. Anyway, she falls in love with the camp foreman instead of a Mountie.

MAUREEN: What’s next for you as an author?

MARY: Harlequin just bought three more of my Superromances. Sigh. Lovely. More writing. More stories to invent. I’m in heaven.

MAUREEN'S GOTTA ASK, MARY'S GOTTA ANSWER

MAUREEN: Why do you think cowboys appeal to so many readers?

MARY: Hmmm. What can I say about cowboys? Most of them adhere to a set of values and principles that makes them solid and responsible and dependable. They work hard in tough conditions, in any weather. And those cowboy hats make them all look great!

Learn more about Mary Sullivan at
http://www.marysullivanbooks.com/

GIVEAWAY!

Mary will give away a signed copy of Beyond Ordinary to one of today's commenters. Be sure to come back tomorrow to get to know Vicki Essex.

Vicki Essex

Vicki Essex’s debut novel, Her Son’s Hero, will be released by Harlequin Superromance in July. With no clue about what she’s supposed to do now that she’s a published author, she turned to veteran author Mary Sullivan, whose book Beyond Ordinary is also being published by Superromance in the same month.


Maureen eavesdropped on their conversation, and here's an excerpt!

VICKI: Mary, I sold my book, and I’m kind of freaking out. The release is next month. I made bookmarks, I set up my website and social media sites, I organized signings, I’m doing some blogs…but it all feels so…CHAOTIC. What the #@$& am I doing?!

MARY: Vicki, HUGE congratulations on your first sale! It’s an awesome accomplishment. When you start to feel overwhelmed, take a deep breath, sit back for a moment and remember that the most important work has already been done. You achieved an amazing goal by starting the book, writing it well, finishing it and selling it. As far as the list of things above that you are doing to promote it, you’re on the right track in every area!

Vicki Essex

VICKI: How do I get people to review my book?

MARY: Harlequin will send your books automatically to Romantic Times Book Reviews.
If you want to be reviewed elsewhere, you need to send out copies of your books yourself. There are many websites out there reviewing books. In the past, I’ve sent to Cataromance, All About Romance, and Fresh Fiction. There are also Dear Author and Smart Bitches. [If anyone reading this has other suggestions, we would love to hear them!]

VICKI: What do I do if I get bad reviews? What do I do if I get good ones? What do I do if there aren’t any reviews?

MARY: Learn from bad reviews, if you can. If they feel mean-spirited, curse a lot and then ignore them. Treasure good reviews—and quote them. This is a tough industry. Find your accolades where you can.

VICKI: I’ve never been to a conference in my life. I’m no good at talking to people face-to-face. I can barely talk to myself on a good day. Do I have to go to conferences? I can’t go to RWA this year, so I feel like I’ve missed out on a huge opportunity.

MARY: Vicki, I know what you mean about talking to people face-to-face. I might be the world’s worst networker, so perhaps not the best person to advise about conferences; however, there are many reasons to attend them. The RWA conference offers amazing resources for the published author—fabulous workshops and seminars.

If you sit at a lunch table with a bunch of strangers, you automatically have something in common to talk about. You are all writers. Most write romance, in a myriad of subgenres.

An easier way to break into conferences, though, is to attend a smaller regional Chapter conference, which might have only 300 or so attendees, rather than Nationals, which can feel huge and overwhelming. These are listed in the RWR Report. Choose one that offers the most workshops that address your particular needs in a rapidly changing publishing market.

Mary Sullivan

There are other conferences to consider attending—fabulous learning experiences—I’m thinking in particular of the NINC conference. You have to have published at least two novels to become a member, so something to keep in mind for the future.

You’ll have to make your own decision about whether to attend conferences at all. In this digital age, many people think that networking using all of the social media is enough. So, make your decision based on whether you would use a conference strictly for networking, or for broader motivations, i.e. to keep up-to-date on publishing trends, or to continue to work on your craft, or to actually meet some of those people you’ve ‘met’ only online. I think there’s a lot to be said for personal contact.
In the past two years, I’ve attended reader conventions rather than writer conferences because I love touching bases with readers.

I wouldn’t worry about missing this year’s Nationals. Regret is such an energy-suck and there are always more opportunities in the future.

VICKI: Am I still supposed to enter contests? Is there any point?

MARY: Entering contests is optional. Between entry fees and the cost of mailouts, it can be expensive. Entering, though, can be done for a number of reasons. Contests offer the chance to get your work in front of different judges, and if you are lucky, maybe increase interest in you and your writing. The following are from my own experience.
Judged by Reviewers: RT Book Reviews decides on their own finalists using feedback from their reviewers. The author has no influence. You receive a notification (I think for me it was email) that you are a finalist. It’s a lot of fun being a finalist at the RT Convention.
Judged by fellow published authors: The RITAs are wonderful, but a huge competition--so many entries, slim chance of ever being a finalist, sigh--but I send my books anyway.
Judged by readers: the RomCon Reader's Crown awards. Again, a lot of fun being a finalist at their convention.
Judged by booksellers and librarians: GDRWA Bookseller's Best contest. Nice to have both as fans.

There are many more contests available for published authors, including in various subgenres. Check them out in the RWR Report or on RWA’s website.

Category books are only available on shelves for one month (not counting ebooks), so what's the point in shelling out for the contest entry fees and postage if it doesn't come back as sales?

Yes, they are on the shelves for only one month. We're fortunate these days, though, that so many sales are made over the Internet, and this can continue long after hard copies are gone from retail stores.
Entering the contests gets my name out in a good way. After I won the Reader's Crown last year for Best First Book, Harlequin re-issued No Ordinary Cowboy for a full month in all Borders stores. Borders put them on an endcap with the cover showing, where they had a much better chance of sales than on the regular shelf with only the spine showing. Also, all the winners were interviewed on Borders' website, which generated a lot of interest. The number of visitors to my website skyrocketed.
My Amazon ratings on ALL of my books—not just the winning book—shot up and stayed up for a couple of months because some people were suddenly interested in Mary Sullivan books--and wondering who I was. After the Reader's Crown, my books moved into the top 100 Superromance sellers for a while despite not being current, which was fun. Even more fun was that No Ordinary Cowboy made it into the top 100 Canadian authors sold one day! It might have lasted only a couple of hours, but you can bet I hooted long and loudly about it!

These are AMAZON sales--Internet sales, which have nothing to do with the actual sales at Borders from the re-release of that book. Internet sales can continue long after your book comes off real bookstore shelves, but only if you are putting your name out there, one way or another—making readers aware that you exist, and that they should give your books a try.

I’m not handy with social networking, and I don’t give workshops or seminars, so I need to find ways that fit my personality for raising awareness of who I am. Entering, and I hope, being a finalist, give me a boost in that area.

VICKI: What am I supposed to do with these bookmarks I made? I mean, doesn’t it seem kind of weird to hand them out to people who are already buying my book?

MARY: So, you mean that you will hand them out only to readers who have already purchased your book, i.e. at booksignings? Here are more options for you to consider.
You can check out conferences that are put on by RWA chapters. Often, they will send out calls to the loops for promotional materials from published authors, to add to the goody bags they will hand out to attendees. Check whether that would include bookmarks and mail them a bunch.

Again, it won’t matter whether your book is already off the shelves. Think Internet sales.
I know that you’re booked for a booksigning when your book comes out. Ask the bookstore whether they would consider handing out your bookmarks whenever anyone purchases a romance novel—for say a full week before the booksigning? If the owner/manager is promoting the signing in any way, this gives the reader another chance to see your name and perhaps show up at the signing to purchase your book!

I’ve designed my bookmarks to list all of my books and the next two coming out, rather than just showcasing one current book, with room to add the next book after that, so it acts as a kind of oversized business card—people have a printed copy of my booklist—and I can continue to use it long after the current book has left the shelves.

I think it’s nearly impossible to draw a direct line between promotional materials handed out and actual sales. Do these items actually promote sales? Are they worth the per unit cost compared to the per unit royalty made on whichever sales they generate? I don’t think anyone really knows. [If anyone reading this has anything to offer in this debate, we would love to hear it! Any great promotional ideas out there?]

Vicki, I’ve enjoyed our talks. I’m looking forward to the two booksignings we’re doing together in Toronto.

For readers in the area:
On July 16th, we will be signing at the Coles Bookstore in the Cloverdale Mall, at 250 The East Mall, at the 427 and Dundas West, from 12:30—4:30.
On July 23rd, you can find us at the World’s Biggest Bookstore, at 20 Edward Street in downtown Toronto, from 2—6 signing our July releases.

We would love to see you there!

**Maureen's back** Hope you enjoyed a sneak peak into the life of a soon to be published author! Both Mary and Vicki will be back in the future to be grilled by the Get Lost in a Story team bloggers.

Come back tomorrow and get to know author Misty Evans!