Interview Chat with Author Dee Julian - PART THREE - THE PUBLISHING PROCESS! And check out the Trailer!

Here I am once more chatting with Dee Julian author of The Macgregor's Daughter for Part Three of our “series” interview.
Dee and I discussed her writing process in Part One of the interview and the book in Part Two.

PART THREE - QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PUBLISHING/PROMOTING PROCESS:

M:  How difficult was it for you to get to a point of getting your book published?

Dee:  Extremely. It took about nine years. In my experience, most traditional publishers do not wish to invest in unpublished authors who haven’t proven themselves. My question is…how do you prove yourself if you cannot get published? RWA contests? Been there, done that. Even won or finaled in several, but nothing came of it. Now, most of these same publishers no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts. In other words…get an agent. But getting an agent is no easy task. Ninety percent of the ones I queried from the Predators and Editors website several years ago did not respond. It was very frustrating, to say the least.

M:  Wow. I am sorry to hear how difficult it was/is in the publishing field. I am sure glad that you persevered because I think The Macgregor’s daughter was a wonderful book and deserves to be available to the public.

Do you enjoy promoting your book and do you do anything special to promote?

Dee:  I have to confess, Martha. I don’t like promoting at all. It takes away from my writing time, plus I’m very ignorant in regards to the promotions business. If I had a ton of money, I’d hire an expert. Instead, I roam the romance groups, adding an excerpt here and there. I also ask for reviews from reputable reviewers like you, Martha. Thank you for your hard work and dedication in this area. I also enter contests such as The New Covey Cover Awards or the YouGottaRead book trailer awards. (I didn’t win, but you can find my book trailer below) I’ve just recently done a book signing at the local library, and I donated several ebooks to a local book club. They loved the story and invited me to their monthly meeting. I had a great time with those ladies!

M:  It seems that promoting is a whole other task that authors have to master. I think that library and book store signings can be fun but that is more work too.

The Cover for The Macgregor's Daughter is beautiful - did you have any input in getting the cover?

Dee: Thank you, Martha. I've gotten so many nice comments about this book cover, and I'm proud to say that I did have some input. After I signed the contract with Wild Child Publishing, they sent me a form asking me to describe in detail what I wanted on the cover. That part was easy because I'd had a particular cover stored in my head for several years. I completed the form then emailed it to their cover artist, Valerie Tibbs of Graphics by Design. I have to give her most of the credit. She was wonderful. We must have had a psychic connection at some point because she created exactly what my mind saw...with one exception. She hadn't included Pegasus. I explained to her how important it was (for me) to have that horse on the cover, and I'm very happy she found him. 


M:  I'm glad he is there as he is beautiful.  Speaking of beautiful, here is the very lovely trailer:

Please check in next Wednesday for the final installment with some personal questions.
And don't forget to check out the review and enter the Giveaway for a copy of the book!

Interview Chat with Author Dee Julian - PART TWO- About The Macgregor's Daughter!

Please welcome again Dee Julian author of The Macgregor's Daughter for Part Two of our “series” interview. If you missed last Friday, Dee and I discussed her writing process in Part One of the interview.

Now we continue with PART TWO - QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOOK:

M: Can you summarize The Macgregor’s Daughter in one sentence?

Dee:  The character or the book? (grin) If you’re referring to the book, I’d have to say: ‘Strong-willed lass meets English gent turned spy who thinks he knows exactly what he wants.’

M:  Oh, good one. I was referring to the book although Dreya would be fun to describe too. That sounds like a good one-liner for this historical.

Do you have a favorite scene in the book?

Dee:  There are several really, but I’d have to say the dungeon scene is my very favorite. I enjoyed letting Lucian play the bad guy for once, and he did it with wicked abandon. Example…the light kiss to Dreya’s lower lip before he left her gagged and tied to a chair, alone in the darkness of the dungeon.

M:  Yes. That was rather wicked. But it was a bit of a turn about since she locked him in the dungeon first.

Your story has some very thick Scottish brogue in it – did you do any special research for that? Have you had any feedback about this aspect of the book?

Dee:  There’s a website that offers English to Scottish translations, so that part was fairly easy though time consuming. One of the proofers for this story wanted a more authentic read, and my editor agreed. I had a few reservations about the change at first, but I also wanted an authentic read and decided to go along. I’m sure the dialect caused a few frowns, and I apologize for that, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not so difficult. And, hey, after you read The Macgregor’s Daughter, you can brag to all your friends that you’ve learned a second language.

M:  I didn’t know that about the website translations. I really enjoyed the brogue. It was fun for reading…although I sure couldn’t follow it when I tried to listen with the mechanical voice on Kindle2.

What do you think readers will like best about The Macgregor’s Daughter?

Dee:  I hope they enjoy everything about this book, but if I had to choose one thing, I’d like my readers to admire the way Dreya and Lucian faced their differences before finally deciding to let love overcome those difficulties. I think that’s a lesson for all relationships. 


Here is an excerpt when Dreya and Lucian first meet.

Don't forget to check out the review and enter the Giveaway for a copy of the eBook!

Review of Turtle Soup by Danielle Thorne

The orginal of this review is posted at Single Titles CataRomances

Title: Turtle Soup
Author: Danielle Thorne
Publisher: Awe-Struck Publishing
BUY LINK
Author website: Danielle Thorne
# of pages: 161 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Release Date: August 30, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-58749-183-2
Reviewed by: MarthaE

Blurb: Sea turtles may be endangered but after an encounter with marine biologist, Jack Brandon, nothing will stop Sara Hart from naming her deli Turtle Soup. When Jack takes a job at the nearby Georgia Aquarium, Sara finds the environmental poster boy at her door, hungry and carrying a chip on his shoulder. Neither thinks the other has what it takes, until a scuba class reveals what lies beneath the surface. It will take food, friends, and a little help from Mother Nature, to help them see that making a difference isn’t all numbers and glory. It must begin with love.

REVIEW: Sara has saved and planned for many years to set up her own deli in Atlanta. She has found a spot just a few blocks away from the Georgia Aquarium. Sara names her eatery “Turtle Soup” after she learns that the rude, arrogant fellow she met at the airport is Jack Brandon who heads the Aquarium exhibit for the endangered sea turtles.

Jack is a pretty hard headed marine biologist who spends part of his time managing the Sea Turtle foundation and exhibit and part of his time relaxing in the Caribbean away from the noisy rush of Atlanta. He doesn’t have time to deal with a snappy lady who doesn’t seem to respect his beloved turtles!

Sara lost her parents to a drowning car accident when she was young. Jack has suffered a loss too. Both characters are pretty self reliant, slow to trust and reluctant to share about their pasts. They start out like oil and water that just won’t mix. Fate has other plans in mind for them though if cupid can just get his arrows past their prickly protective shells! As they face their fears, their spicy antagonism slowly turns into sweet passion. But there are rough waves along the way before they can have smooth sailing!

The battle between these strong and well defined characters is fun to follow! As a plus, the author presents lots of scuba detail through Sara’s lessons with Jack and his fellow instructors. This is a very entertaining, hate turned to love, sweet romance! I highly recommend this story as a fun read and look forward to reading more books by Ms. Thorne!

This is my Tuesday R&R review at SaSR.

Monday Mailbox October 5, 2009

This Meme starts at The Printed Page

I didn't receive too many books last week but I received two $25.00 gift certificates! One from Suko’s Notebook as part of BBAW giveaway and the other from Cym Lowell as part of his new Wednesday Review Party!
Now to figure out what books to buy! *BG*

I also received as ebook: The Adventures of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie from Frances Romney for participating as a reader at Brenda Williamson Romance Party on 9/24.

I received The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands from RJR Mystery Read Shout out on 9/2/09.

What are You Reading Monday October 5, 2009

Join this meme at:
 J. Kaye's Book Blog

Finished reading:

PB: THE TEXAS CEO'S SECRET by Nicole Foster – Silhouette Special Edition. An easy read with likeable characters and story. Review being sent to CR today.

The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin – absolutely lovely little read. Review being sent to CR today.

Audible: -----

Kindle2: The Last Guardian by Stephan LaFevers. A fun and fast Sci Fi! Review will be sent by Tuesday night to YGR.

Audio CD: Ravens by George Dawes Green. An interesting ending. I’m still deciding on my rating for this. Hopefully will get the review sent to YGR by Tuesday night.

**************************

Currently reading:

PB: A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandi. Just started this thriller which I am reviewing for the author.

Audible: March to the Sea by David Weber and John Ringo - Book Two in the Prince Roger (originally "Royal Brat") Sci Fi series. This is basically on hold while I catch up on the review books!

Kindle2: The Midnight Effect by Pamela Fryer – Romantic Suspense paranormal. WOW! This is just flying by! Reviewing for CataRomances.

Miss Bisque and the Colonel by Carol North. This is a contemporary romance. I am about 25% into it... interesting, emotional beginning. Reviewing for the author.

Audio CD: I Can See You by Karen Rose. Romantic Suspense. About 25% into this – it moves very quickly. Reviewing for YGR.