UPDATE: The winner of CAN'T STAND THE HEAT by Louisa Edwards is Kaye Manro! Congrats!! Thanks to everyone who participated! We hope to see you all at the chat tonight with Louisa. :) Kaye, please email your physical addy tocontests (AT) knightagency (DOT) net.
Leave your name in the comments to win a copy of CAN'T STAND THE HEAT by Louisa Edwards. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
Don't forget to join us for a special online chat with Louisa tomorrow night, Sept. 30th @ 9pm ET! As a former editor, Louisa has a unique perspective on the publishing industry, and we hope you'll come out to learn more about her writing life and upcoming projects. There will also be trivia and prizes! Chat instructions are at the end of the post.
Cover Blurb: For sharp-tongued Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. The trouble is, she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secret: this critic has no idea how to cook. As for Adam, well, he’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring. He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own—teaching Miranda what it means to cook with passion.
What: Chat with Louisa Edwards Where: TKA's Chat Room When: Wednesday, September 30th @ 9pm ET How to Chat: (1) Click on this link: http://client1.sigmachat.com/sc.php?id=115545 (2) Enter a username and password (any combination) (3) Click Login
In a recent article on The Business Insider, the headline read “Dan Brown’s E-Book Sales Aren’t So Killer After All.” When news like this hits our agents’ various laptops and Blackberries, it’s followed by much sighing and a round of flabbergasted email forwarding. So let’s hearken back to the days of Dragnet’s plea for “Just the facts ma’am,” and find out why THE LOST SYMBOL’s ebook critics are just plain wrong.
The Rundown: THE LOST SYMBOL was released last Tuesday in both the print and ebook version. The ebook only accounted for about 5% of the title’s total first week sales. However, that was 5% of 2 million copies. No need to pull out your calculators. That’s 100,000 downloads. This phenomenal accomplishment broke Random House records and publishing records, in general, worldwide. It is by all intents and purposes a major accomplishment for both versions of the book.
The Lesson: It’s simply perspective. If you want to, you can always look at the negative. You could say 5% is chump change, so to speak, in light of the 1,900,000 who bought the traditional hardcover. We would argue, however, that 5% might only be a sliver of the pie, but it still equates to a sure-fire success for digital publishing and is a clear indication of its future.
One wonders if it were any other book besides the much hyped Dan Brown tome, would ebook customers so easily be disregarded? The fact that 100,000 paying customers opted to turn on a switch, press a button and immediately start reading a book on their screens is an undeniable indication that the market for ebooks is here to stay.
On Wednesday, September 30th @ 9pm ET, Louisa Edwards will be the featured guest author in The Knight Agency chat room. Formerly an editor at Penguin's Berkley imprint before turning in her editor's hat, she describes her debut novel, CAN'T STAND THE HEAT (St. Martin's, Sept. 2009) as a "culinary romance."
Louisa has an indepth knowledge of the ins and outs of the publishing industry, and she'll be sharing lots of information about her experience as a first-time author and details on her upcoming projects.
Hope to see you there! Of course, there will also be fun trivia and prizes!
Here's the 411 on CAN'T STAND THE HEAT:For sharp-tongued Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. The trouble is, she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secreT: this critic has no idea how to cook.
As for Adam, well, he’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring. He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own—teaching Miranda what it means to cook with passion.
What: CHAT with Louisa Edwards Where: TKA's Chat Room When: Wednesday, September 30th @ 9pm ET How to Chat:(1) Click on this link: http://client1.sigmachat.com/sc.php?id=115545(2) Enter a username and password (any combination) (3) Click Login
UPDATE: The winner of BELOVED VAMPIRE by Joey Hill is SuniSunshine! Please email your physical addy to contests AT knightagency (dot) net.
Leave your name in the comments to win a copy of BELOVED VAMPIRE by Joey Hill. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
Escaping the depraved servitude of a vampire master she killed, Jessica has found her way, with three nomadic guides, to the sun-baked desolation of the Sahara-only to slowly perish. Then she hears the tale of Farida, an enigmatic beauty lost as well to the Sahara three centuries ago, whose ancient desire for the legendary vampire Lord Mason is stirring the same desires in Jessica. But the more Jessica's fatal curiosity reveals of Farida, the closer she gets to Lord Mason's irresistible and forbidden secret.
A.J. Whitten is the pen name for well known romance author Shirley Jump and her teenage daughter/co-writer Amanda.THE WELL is the first release for this dynamic duo! Thanks for having us on the blog! Mandy and I, who write horror teen novels as A.J. Whitten, have our first release out this week with THE WELL (Houghton Mifflin Graphia). While working together was great fun, just hanging out can be a blast too. We have a lot of common interests (horror movies, Broadway plays, the mall ;-)), and we thought we’d do a “Ten Random Questions” quiz to see how we score on alikeness here.
Please look for THE WELL in stores nationwide, and at online venues. It’s the story of Cooper Warner, a high school freshman whose mother is trying to kill him. He’s trying to write his Hamlet paper, fend off a matricide and fight the evil creature that lives in the well behind his house. 1. When was the last time you went to the mall? -Mandy: Way too long ago, last week I think. I got a New Found Glory shirt and glasses :) -Shirley: I don’t think I should answer that on the grounds it could incriminate me in overuse of a credit card ;-). Let’s just say, between you and me and the rest of the Internet, that it was recent. Very recent. And there are absolutely positively no new shoes in my closet as proof. Cough, cough.
2. Name the last movie you saw. -Mandy: I just saw Sorority Row with my mom and it was all right. I just recently saw Gamer and I thought it was awesome! -Shirley: Sorority Row with Mandy. Her friends don’t like scary movies and neither do mine, so we’re best horror movie buddies. But, like she said, it was just okay. Not as scary as other movies we’ve seen!
3. What are you wearing right now? -Mandy: I’m wearing blue skinny jeans, a Los Angeles tee and my white Vans authentic with Paramore lyrics written on them. -Shirley: black capris and a green long-sleeved T that I bought in San Francisco. Sorry, Mandy, no Paramore lyrics on my black wedges ;-)
4. If you were on a desert island, what three things would you bring (other than food and water)? -Mandy: I would bring my iPod, my guitar and my good friend Haley Swartz :) -Shirley: (uh, Mandy, I’m going to have to talk to you about survival skills ;-). Matches, an axe and my Crackberry.
5. Ever go to camp? -Mandy: Oh my gosh I love camp! I went to Camp Lutherhaven for 7 summers in a row! I would still go, but sadly I’m too old. -Shirley: Once. And I stress the ONCE. I went to camp when I was around eleven or twelve. Ugh. I am so NOT nature girl. My idea of “roughing it” is staying in a hotel that doesn’t have room service ;-)
6. If you could eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? -Mandy: SPAGHETTI!!! -Shirley: Anything in the pasta family (like mother, like daughter!), but probably Fettuccini Alfredo would be number one. But it would have to have no weight-gain after effects whatsoever, LOL. I spend enough time on that elliptical as it is!
7. What are you listening to right now? -Mandy: Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan. I also just got into a rap-rock artist called Cage. -Shirley: Whatever Mandy forces me to in the car ;-). Just kidding. I’m not a super-hip mom, as she reminds me on a regular basis, but I have been known to listen to Uncle Kracker, Rehab, and Colbie Calliet.
8. Describe yourself in 3 words -Mandy: Authentic, optimistic and philosophical. -Shirley: Mandy, you picked great words! For me, I’d say: outgoing, hard-working, and Mom. :-)
9. Sam or Dean (on Supernatural)? -Mandy: Dean, for sure. ;) -Shirley: I totally thought Mandy would say Sam! I’m a Dean fan, too. Jensen Ackles…love his uh, acting.
10. If you could be a part of any television family, which one would it be and why? -Mandy: I’d want to be in the Tanner family from Full House. With a dad like that, I’d definitely rebel. I’d be the bad child that they make hide in a closet when guests come over. lol -Shirley: LOL, Mandy. Not my precious sweet daughter! I would want to be part of the Jetsons’ family. Not only did they have all that automated housework, they had Rosie to do any other leftover housework. Far as I could tell, Mrs. Jetson didn’t have to do much more than look pretty all day ;-).
RWA's Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter (FF&P) is kicking off an exciting new feature! Members of the chapter can enter an online raffle to pitch to some of the industries leading agents. Deidre Knight, president of The Knight Agency, is kicking off "Win a Pitch" on October 29th @ 8pm ET in FF&P's chat room.
UPDATE: The winner of GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE is Gabrielle! Congrats :). Please email your physical addy to contests @ knightagency.net (remove spaces).
Leave you name in the comments to win a copy ofGHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCEby Marley Gibson. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
The 411: Kendall and her ghost hunting team is the talk of Radisson, Georgia, but one person isn't so pleased. Courtney Langdon doesn't appreciate Kendall's new popularity or her relationship with Jason, Courtney's ex.
So Courtney begins dabbling in the paranormal world. At first it's all a game to draw attention away from Kendall. But Courtney doesn't know what she's getting into--or what wants in her. This is one game that's about to turn deadly serious.
A bit belated, but definitely not forgotten (hey, aren't all good things worth waiting for?), Jennifer St. Giles's August chat transcript is linked below. The USA Today bestselling author of the SHADOWMEN series shared some great information about her writing habits, future projects and much more. Check it out here: transcript.
Also, be sure to mark your calendars for an upcoming chat with debut author Louisa Edwards* on Wednesday, September 30th @ 9pm ET! Sign up for TKA's monthly newsletter, and you'll be sure to get all the updates on agency events!
*Chat originally included Deidre Knight. Will now feature the author only. :)
UPDATE: The winner of a signed copy of BLACK AT HEART by Leslie Parrish is LEE!!! Please send your physical addy to contests @ knightagency.net (remove spaces). Thanks to all who participated. Hope to see you next Tuesday!
Finishing the Hat
People who know me are aware that I’m a big Broadway musical fan. Stephen Sondheim is my favorite composer and "Sunday In The Park With George" one of my favorites of his shows.
The play is about Impressionist artist Georges Seurat, famous for his enormous painting “A Sunday Afternoon On the Island of La Grande Jatte” which hangs in the Chicago Art Institute. He’s also famous for the artistic concept of pointilism…his paintings are comprised of thousands (millions?) of tiny dots of paint. When you look at the painting close up, all you see are dots—points of light and color. As you back away, your eye blends the points into images and you behold what the artist was trying to convey. (FYI: If you’ve seen the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off…this is exactly what Ferris does with Seurat’s painting when they visit the art institute!)
There are several songs in the show that relate to the life of any artist—painter, sculptor, even writer. And I often find myself listening to this CD, or humming a few lines of it when I have to deal with issues Seurat deals with in the musical—which is probably why it’s one of my favorites.
First, the issue of pointilism. I find myself thinking about it when writing a mystery-suspense novel where I have to instill tiny hints, clues and red herrings to lead the reader in the direction I want them to go. As the reader comes across those “dots” he doesn’t necessarily see the whole picture yet, but later, when all of them are taken together, the entire scene becomes clear. That’s the best kind of suspense novel, when you get to the end, see the picture, and realize every one of those small points that seemed unimportant have blended together to form something that delights you.
But it’s not all about the art. There’s one song where a modern-day artist is trying to balance his vision of his art with the business side of the art world: “Art isn't easy. Overnight you're a trend, you're the right combination, then the trend's at an end, you're suddenly last year's sensation!” He’s scrambling to be in ten places at once, keeping investors happy, courting buyers and museum reps, wondering how he’s actually going to have time to create another work.
Wow…most people who write for a living will recognize that one. How to balance the promo, the blog, the interviews, the agent, the editor, the bookkeeping, the mailings, the copying, the contests, the taxes, the galleys, the revisions…and still have time to write the next book?
Like the man said…art isn’t easy: “Every minor detail is a major decision, have to keep things in scale, have to hold to your vision.”
Have to hold to your vision. That’s the key line in the song. For me, when all the other stuff gets too loud and intrusive and distracting, I find myself going into a quiet room and sticking earplugs in my ears. I’m trapped in my own head, able to focus on nothing but the story. Quite often, when I hit some kind of wall with my writing, that’s the only way I can push through all the nonsense and focus on the story. Holding tight to that vision pulls me through.
There’s one more song I love in that show, which contains a lesson I think is most important of all. It’s called "Finishing The Hat." In this one, Seurat is trying to do something vitally important to him—finish painting a lady’s hat in his epic work. Meanwhile his mistress, Dot, is drifting away, tired of being pushed out. She always comes second to his work and eventually leaves him altogether.
I think of this song sometimes when I’m trying to prioritize my life. Sometimes I get so caught up in the work that I allow myself to forget I’m supposed to be living a real life as well as creating fictional ones. It’s too easy to say, “Later,” when one of my kids wants to show me something, or to say I’m too busy to attend this party with friends…but I’ll try to make the next one. Like Georges, I find myself instinctively wanting to “finish the hat” rather than pay attention to the people I love.
But unlike Georges, I am usually able to put things back into perspective. Life is short and childhood so fleeting. The people you care about are far more important than any job or even any work of art ever could be. The art is impersonal, it doesn’t feel hurt when you push it aside, doesn’t grow up too fast and leave home while you’re busy doing other things.
People though…spouses, children, siblings, friends. They’re a different story.
So when those moments come, I think about that song. I think about how Georges ends up alone and full of regrets. I put the hat aside, and I pull out the earplugs and I walk into the brightest room of the house that’s filled with the people I love and actually find the time to live. Always knowing that the hat will still there waiting for me when I’m ready to go back to it.
To win a copy of Leslie's latest BLACK CATS NOVEL, BLACK AT HEART, leave your name in the comments section. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
Guest Blogger Louisa Edwards Steams Up the Kitchen!
UPDATE: The winner of Louisa's A RECIPE FOR LOVE cookbook giveaway is fleur! Please email your physical addy to contests @ knightagency.net (remove spaces). Thank you to everyone who participated :)!!!
Hi, Everyone! It's so nice to be hear at the Knight Agency blog. Thank you for having me as a guest!
I was raised in the South, where it's considered bad manners to show up at someone's house empty-handed, and since CAN'T STAND THE HEAT is all about fabulous food, I've brought a recipe for you all! We're going to make lamb hash. I don't know about where you live, but up here in northern Ohio where I am now, it's already getting chilly. This old-fashioned hash is a perfect early fall dinner--hearty enough to be comforting on a cold day, but not so heavy that you feel like hibernating after!
The concept of a hash was originally intended as a delicious way of repurposing leftovers. In this case, the original recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked lamb, chopped. With just my husband and me, I don't often find myself roasting a leg of lamb and needing to deal with the surplus. However, I love hash so much that I think it's an end in and of itself, so I adapted the recipe for ground lamb, which is readily available at a lot of grocery stores.
Lamb Hash (Adapted from THE NEW YORK TIMES COOKBOOK by Craig Claiborne)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, minced
2 tbsp chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 slices bacon, cooked till crisp, then cooled and chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
1 cup canned beef broth
1/2 canned tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream, approximately
2 tbsp finely grated sharp cheese, like Parmesan or Gruyere
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Heat a large, heavy skillet (one that has a lid and is safe for both stovetop and oven) over medium high heat until the pan is almost smoking, then add the ground lamb. Stir the lamb with a wooden spoon to break it up, add salt and pepper to taste, then cook until all pink is gone. You'll get better color and caramelization if you don't stir the lamb too much, and if your skillet is large enough to give the meat plenty of room to sear rather than steam.
Remove the lamb from the pan and drain on paper towels. Allow to cool.
Wipe out the skillet and return to stovetop. Add the butter and melt over medium heat until the foam has subsided. Then add the minced onion, garlic, and chopped bacon. Stir it around to coat everything in the melted butter, then add the lamb, beef broth, and tomato sauce. Salt and pepper the whole thing, cover the skillet, and bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning.
*The recipe can be completed up to 1 day ahead of time up to this point, then the hash can be brought to room temperature and then refrigerated. To reheat, bring the hash back up to room temperature and preheat the broiler before continuing.*
Lightly butter 6-8 ramekins (depending on their size) and portion the cooked hash into them. Cover each portion with a tablespoon of cream and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Brown under a preheated broiler.
Served with a simple green salad and a good vinaigrette, this hash makes a lovely lunch or light supper. And the individual portions make it attractive enough to serve to guests. We drank an Oregon Pinot Noir with it, which was delicious.
Enjoy! You'll find more recipes like this in the back of my debut book, CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, and at my website, www.louisaedwards.com, where you'll also find excerpts, deleted scenes, and a free short story! Come visit me anytime.
Bon appétit,
Louisa Edwards
LOUISA'S COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!!!: To win a cookbook filled with Louisa's scrumptious recipes, along with those of some of today's top chefs, leave your name in the comments section. This special contest will be open all weekend! The winner will be announced Tuesday morning, September 8th.
TKA would like to give a very special shout-out to Kristen Painter, who can now add published author to her long list of accomplishments! Today, her debut novel, ALL FIRED UP, was released by Samhain. Read below for more deets on this steamy release! Cover copy: Desire can heal the coldest heart—or burn it to ashes. Alrik Gunn knows from bitter experience that change isn’t always for the better. From the woman who annihilated his Viking clan to the goddess who tricked him into centuries of slavery, betrayal has dogged his existence. The Goddess of Love is going to let him avenge his family, but for a price. As a Phoenix—a merchant of change—he must grant a human woman three chances to change her life.
When former Irish dancer Calleigh McCarthy tosses a carved-bird statue that belonged to her ex into a roaring bonfire, she unwittingly summons an honest-to-god Phoenix. A sexy, irresistible Viking who offers her an unbelievable bonus—three get-out-of-her-crappy-life-free cards. She’ll take it, even if it means guarding her cautious heart against the dark pain behind Alrik’s eyes.
Alrik has vowed never to let love sway him again, but Calleigh’s innocence and kindness throw him off balance. Yet even as his need for revenge fades and his love for her grows, he is bound to let her make her choices without interfering. One wrongly chosen word, and any chance for happiness—for either of them—will go up in flames.
UPDATE: The winner of THE DARKEST WHISPER by Gena Showalter is Razlover! Please email you physical addy to contests @ knightagency.net (remove the spaces). And just to sweeten the deal because there was obviously A WHOLE LOT of Gena love going on, we threw in a second book!!!! So, Emily C. it is your lucky day too! Please email your physical addy also. Thanks to everyone who participated! Make sure to check back with us tomorrow becuase we have a special guest blog and giveaway lined up from Louisa Edwards, debut author of CAN'T STAND THE HEAT.
Leave you name in the comments to win a copy of THE DARKEST WHISPER by Gena Showalter. The winner will be announced tomorrow morning.
The 411: Bound by the demon of Doubt, Sabin unintentionally destroys even the most confident of lovers. So the immortal warrior spends his time on the battlefield instead of the bedroom, victory his only concern...until he meets Gwendolyn the Timid. One taste of the beautiful redhead, and he craves more.
Gwen, an immortal herself, always thought she'd fall for a kind human who wouldn't rouse her darker side. But when Sabin frees her from prison, battling their enemies for the claim to Pandora's box turns out to be nothing compared to the battle Sabin and Gwen will wage against love....
Cover Blurb: For sharp-tongued Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. The trouble is, she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secret: this critic has no idea how to cook.
Cover Blurb: For sharp-tongued Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. The trouble is, she never expected Adam to find out her most embarrassing secret: this critic has no idea how to cook.
