As my RETREAT TO LOVE Pinterest board makes abundantly clear (as does the book itself, I suspect!), I think quilting is fabulous.
But I'm not especially talented. Kind of a good thing, really, because quilting takes a ton of time, and if I was better I'd want to spend alllllllllllllll my time hunched over my sewing machine instead of hunched over a keyboard. (I have poor posture.) Regardless, I try periodically to put together a quilt that does me credit, and no matter how approximate my corners, I love the process. I've written about some of the work I've done on my general books / life blog, and wanted to link to it here so y'all could check out my creations. But remember, Ashlyn in RETREAT TO LOVE is a far, far more talented artist than I could ever hope to be.
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It's fun to compile Pinterest boards for each of my books, but I had to exercise some SERIOUS self-restraint when picking photos for the RETREAT TO LOVE board.
I'm so madly in love with quilt art, and would fill the entire board with it, but I am trying to highlight a couple of other things about the book, as well. Also I want to ensure accreditation - everything I've pinned was linked through the International Quilt Association, which brings the Quilt Show to Houston (where I live) every fall, and it's the best time of the year. The work on display there is simply stunning. (I personally am not a very deft quilter, much less a fabric artist, so writing Ashlyn was some very serious wish fulfillment on my part!)
Where are you from?
My teen's just been contemplating identity (it's possible he's also delaying his bedtime....) He's a bit of a mix. His dad's from Ireland, I'm from America, and on top of being Texan for seven generations on one side (hi, Mom!) I'm also a first-generation American & Jewish on the other (hi, Dad!) I've noticed our tendency to define ourselves by the ways we are unlike others. To look at me, I'm fairly indecipherable from any other white woman in the city. So I proclaim my deep roots in the state, my cultural heritage, my imported husband. (He lost the charming accent when he moved here. I have to paint shamrocks on his cheek for people to know he's Irish.) When my teen was outlining those same differences, we talked about how he would define himself if we lived in Dublin. Suddenly the being half-Irish side of him is less defining than the being half-American side of him. Even as we go through life seeking commonalities (we both have teenage sons! we both love Kristan Higgins books! we both want a margarita right now!), we define ourselves by our individuality. Ultimately, my life wouldn't be substantially different if my ancestors were from Kansas instead of Texas, or Italy instead of Poland. I would still love margaritas and contemporary romance. So would you. But I still enjoy hearing about those things from the past that identify you in the present. So: where are you from? I'm at my local RWA chapter meeting this morning, enjoying the camaraderie and knowledge of my fellow romance authors.
Writing can be a pretty solitary job (understatement), so being able to befriend and learn from others in the same boat means the world to me. If you're a romance author and are looking for a community, check out rwa,org and look for a local and/or online chapter! Been dying to hear Janice and Miguel's story in audio? You know you have!
The wait is over - READY TO ROLL is now available in audio from Audible / Amazon / iTunes. And it's sooooo good. As with ROCKET MAN, it is narrated by the stellar Amy Rubinate, Let her sweep you away for a few fun hours as Janice and Miguel's battle of wills escalates. It'll knock your socks off. You, dedicated readers of melaniegreene.com, will have noticed my new Signings page. That's because I'm booking author events now!
I'm diving into the deep end by attending the Houston Authors Bash this Saturday 2/28 - yikes! That's tomorrow! There will be over a hundred area authors and hundreds of awesome readers, and I can't wait. Because I'm getting organized in what can politely be called "a bit of a rush" I'm not going to have time to get nervous. Or that's the theory anyway. I'm excited to mingle with other authors from my city, especially the ones I already know from West Houston RWA (I'm shy at heart, so it's always a comfort to know there will be familiar faces in the large crowd!) (Also, they're great writers and fun to visit with!) See you soon! I'm giving away ... let's count this up now. Eight! Yes, that's right, eight total copies of my audiobooks.
The giveaway runs from March 3-17, 2015, and it's super-easy to enter. All the instructions are right there on the Rafflecopter widget above, but it boils down to just plain liking me a lot. And y'all like me a lot, right? (I like y'all a lot, too.) Once Upon a Time... I was a little kid reading all the fairy tales I could get my hands on. And then I grew up and was a writer who still enjoyed reading fairy tales. So when I had a chance to turn a fairy tale into a contemporary romance novella, I jumped at it! FEATHER IN HER CAP will be published by Decadent Publishing. Check out my blog post over there to find out more... And meanwhile, here's some more happy dancing, courtesy of clevermanka's gif collection: Somedays, chair dancing isn't dance-y enough. Today's the day ROCKET MAN is available in audiobook format! I am a huge audiobook fan, especially romance in audio, and getting my work into audio was a major goal in my writerly career. Here's how audio works for indie authors (well, one way it works - there are so many paths, but this is a popular one.) Audible is, as you know if you've ever listened to pretty much any podcast, the internet's largest provider of audiobooks, and they have an arm called ACX for audiobook production. Authors put their books up on ACX and narrators can look through and pick projects and submit auditions. Authors can also ask narrators to submit auditions. So, that's what I did - I received many different great auditions, as well as some that just didn't suit me, but wasn't quite finding what I wanted. Likely because I have my favorites, and had always envisioned (enlistened?) one of them reading my books. Fortunately, my problem has a solution: I sought out Amy Rubinate, asked her if she'd be interested, she was, I hired her, and now y'all can spend 12 1/2 hours listening to her reading you my novel. Is that exciting or what? (It is.) I'm confident you'll agree, when you hear her reading of ROCKET MAN, that this production is worthy of a full-on dance party celebration. If you need me, I'll be the one flailing around in the middle of the living room! (h/t CleverManka for the gif!) |
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