Tag: Simon and Schuster

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We are all wonder women

It was International Women’s Day the other day so, naturally, Facebook was filled with images and quotations to inspire and celebrate the female in all her glorious (often mysterious) forms.

Anita Heiss shared this image on Facebook (thanks Anita) and I would love to give credit to the two people responsible (whose names are indecipherable at the bottom of the picture) because it is a wonderful message for all.

The whole “modern day Wonder Woman thing” with women trying to do it all reminds me of my Maggie in Simmering Season. Nicknamed Magpie at school because she was always protecting others in the playground, as a grown up she is trying to do it all and juggling way too many things at once (like most mothers).

I’m afraid I don’t go too gentle on her either by sending a perfect storm her way in the form of an old school girl crush and an unexpected guest for the summer. Maggie already has a restless 17 year old son, a father with dementia, an absent husband and a country pub that just won’t sell.

Simmering Season and Maggie’s perfect storm is coming…

Not long to wait now. Poster are already in my local bookshop. Here’s Aleesha from The Book Warehouse, Tooormina.

Simmering Season is released officially on April 1 and will be in bookshops a few days before, probably. Anyone in Coffs regions pls email me and let me know and I will send you an official launch invitation.

Those who prefer shopping for their books online (print or ebook) you can now pre-order. Your favourite e-tailer will have it. Just search Simmering Season of check out the links on the Simon and Schuster page (print and ebook) where you can also become a fan and sign up for newsletters that often have freebies.

So here’s to women everywhere – especially women writers and readers.

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Ready to lose your erotic genre virginity like me?

The YearningThe Yearning, by Kate Belle, is being marketed as New Adult and age-wise I am a long way from New Adult! But I have been curious about Kate’s new novel. Then I saw the cover (yet another mesmerizing design from Simon & Schuster) and I decided to give this book a shot.

Since erotic fiction hit mainstream publishing lists, I have been wondering if the genre is for me, trying several books to see what all the fuss is about. I can be a bit of a fuddy duddy, and with my reading-for-pleasure time in short supply these days, erotic fiction is not on the top of my list. What I noticed most was that the ‘mechanics’ of the sex scenes tended to add a clunkiness and overshadow the plot (when there is one!)

My first comment about The Yearning is this…

It’s a shame a novel like this has to be categorized (largely so a bookseller knows where to plonk it on a shelf—cyber or real). It’s a shame because there will be people who’ll have their perception skewed as a result of a generic genre label and miss out on a wonderful reading experience.

I loved everything about this story: the writing is evocative, the storyline compelling, the biblical references intriguing. The Yearning is a truly unique and superbly crafted novel and while the author leaves nothing to the imagination, she handles the most intimate scenes deftly, delivering a soft, flowing, sensual (and sensory) journey of a teenage girl’s sexual awakening. I initially worried about the basic premise (blurb)—small town schoolgirl and older, unconventional male teacher in the free and easy seventies. I also thought I knew how the story would pan out. (Pretty predictable stuff this erotic fiction, you know?)

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! And all I can say (after scraping the egg off my face) is Wow! Wow! Wow!

Wow to the clever, clever plot that, despite the small format paperback of only 300-odd pages, packs a punch in so many ways. Wow to the hauntingly beautiful prose and description that will transport you to a different time and place (and if you are my age, to a few fond memories of that fun-loving decade). Wow to the complex characters, the divine descriptions of small town life, and the delicious metaphors that bring this story to life. The Yearning is a fully dimensional read with great characterisations, beautiful prose, a proper narrative arc and a well-developed theme. The erotic elements are integral and necessary to the story—hence the label!

So… not into erotic fiction? I didn’t think I was either. Still not sure I am. I just know I loved The Yearning and I am so glad I took the genre plunge.

If you don’t want to be like me—a fuddy-duddy—and should you choose to lose your erotic genre virginity and see what all the fuss is about, this is the book—although I fear this novel may have ruined me for any other!

(I have to disclose that Kate Belle and I share the same publisher and I’m very glad. If not for that I may have missed out on reading this novel, which would’ve been a shame because it is absolutely beautiful—from the cover until the very last page.)

The Yearning has left me with a craving, so I look forward to more from Kate Belle.

Need more? Check this article out – written by Kate Belle.

Buy the book. Available in print om May 1. But you can download it now to your e-reader. Buy links.

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Pitching & Publishing: Larissa Edwards shares…

I am delighted to welcome my publisher, Larissa Edwards (Simon and Schuster, Australia) to Blog Bizzo.

With the RWA national conference a week away, we thought it timely to chat about the business of pitching from Simon and Schuster’s perspective.

 

 

1.You are Head of Publishing with Simon and Schuster, Australia. Sounds like a big job. Can you explain it in ten words or less?

I find the books that readers want to read.

2. What is the key focus at Simon and Schuster? Is Australian fiction high on your acquisitions wishlist?

The key focus at Simon and Schuster is to build our local publishing program, with no more than 15 books per year. This will be a mix of fiction and nonfiction and Australian fiction is at the top of my acquisitions list.

3. How does romantic fiction rate as a genre for Australian readers ? Does one theme stand out more than another, e.g. rural romance vs outback vs city style vs historical?

Romantic fiction is a very broad genre and I think it has something for everyone. You will have seen a huge rise in the number of rural romances published, the biggest of which is Rachael Treasure but with many great writers close behind. I am not sure if there is much room left in the traditional rural romance market for many more debut voices but you never know. I am always open to a great writer with a wonderful voice.

City romances are a little harder to sell at this stage and certainly require more character development. But my personal belief is that there will be a return to the historical saga. It’s been a long time since The Thorn Birds and All the Rivers Run and hopefully there is a new Colleen or Nancy out there.

4. In your blurb on the RWA Conference website you mention the thing that would make you lose interest in a pitch is a lack of passion from the author. Can you elaborate?

If the author doesn’t believe in their work, then why would I? This is the moment when a publisher gets to see into the world that the author has created. I want to be entranced and believe. And it is good practise for the book publicity campaign that the author will have to do. Authors need to be the whole package now, they need to come out of those garrets and into the world and talk to their readers.

5. You say you enjoy pace and tight plotting. What do you dislike?

Waffle. I think authors should always try to distil their writing down to the essentials and focus on the plot. This is certainly the case with commercial fiction, suspension of disbelief is hard to maintain if the reader is bogged down in huge tracts of poorly written description.

6. Do you (or S&S) have a preference when it comes to character point of view? (eg certain POVs – 1st, 3rd person), too many POVs, not enough POVs, etc)

No. I am open to all options. I think that the story gives the author the best pointer as to character POV. And an author may need to go back and change this as the story develops. I would say this about the creation of most books. The book that the author envisages when they start out is often very different to the one that they finally see on the shelf with their name on it. Often a planned trajectory doesn’t work in practice, or a better solution may present itself during the writing process.

7. Do you like submissions that have ‘comparison books/authors’ (eg Barbara Cartland meets J.K Rowling!)

I do find it helpful as a form of shorthand and have been guilty of using such comparisons myself when I was in Sales. And I know that when Sales people have 30 seconds to pitch a book to a buyer it helps to be able to encapsulate it. Having said that, it doesn’t help me get a true insight into the book and I always prefer a lengthier synopsis to get a better understanding of it.

8. A final word, Larissa?

Many people have predicted the death of the book but I am finding this to be an incredibly exciting time to be working in publishing. There are now many more ways to read and buy books and they may look different to how they used to but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the desire of readers for great storytelling. So keep the faith, tell a good tale and you never know, you may just get published. Good luck!

Thank you for coming home to the country and sharing your expertise.

More information about the pitching process at RWA’s 2012 conference.