A Video Giveaway

When I go shopping at the store, I sometimes buy DVDs. This has resulted in some misfires because occasionally I forget what I have at home. This time, I meant to buy Eclipse from the Twilight series, and dopey me, I bought New Moon which I already have. All of those astronomical titles can get confusing.

Anyway, this is a Blu-ray Special Edition. I did take off the shrink wrap and the sticky stuff around the edges of the box, but that's as far as I got before I realized my mistake. The disc has never been out of the box. I'll give this to the first Twilight fan who e-mails me at alexis@alexisharrington.com with a name and address.

Free is a pretty good price, huh?

Researching History

Every author gets a stinker of a review once in a while. It goes with the job. Of course—people have different tastes and what a lot of people think is great is slammed occasionally by someone else who has a variety of reasons for disliking a book.

That said, I offer the following. This appeared in reference to Harper’s Bride on Nook.

“It's not the worst thing I ever read, but it's surely not the best. If you don't mind relatively bland romantic writing, then try it. Rather than becoming immersed in the story, I found myself questioning the conveniences used within the time period of the story. Like: Did the Yukon really have access to electricity in the late 1800s? Is it feasible that automobiles were common among the rich in NW Canada during the time of the main character's youth?”

Now then. When I write a book, I do a lot of extensive research. I don’t want to be wrong so there’s a lot of double-checking involved. Because I write fiction, being wrong could be compared to lying or fabrication. Nope, nope, nope. Sure, I've created fictional towns so I could make up what I wanted to. But the Yukon gold rush was among one of the most notable events of the end of the nineteenth century. A number of successful people got their starts with gold they mined in Canada. Johan (John) Nordstrom comes to mind. He opened his first shoe store in Seattle with the money he made on his claim.

Harper’s Bride is a favorite among my readers and most of those readers don’t share the opinion of the one quoted above. But just so there’s no misunderstanding, yes, Dawson City did have electricity. Belinda Mulroney’s Fairview Hotel, which is mentioned in my book, received the electricity for its rooms from a yacht anchored in the Yukon River (The Klondike Fever by Pierre Burton).

“By the end of the year [1898], Dawson had telephones, electric lights, and moving pictures.” (Time-Life Books, The Miners).

These are just two of the references I have ready access to right now. After all, I wrote that book in 1997.

As for automobiles being common among wealthy NW Canadians during Dylan Harper’s youth . . . well, I didn't write that. He didn’t grow up there and neither did Melissa Harper. That reference was to life in Oregon. There isn’t much I can do about how the words get from the page or screen into a reader’s mind.

So—if you like Harper’s Bride, and many of you have told me you do, do me a favor. Let your voices be heard here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=9781452402437

I realize this is an unusual request and one I’ve never asked of anyone before, but I stand by my research.

Merry Christmas Week!

This year has passed so quickly, I can hardly believe it. I know this has been another difficult one for a lot of people and trust me, I’m very familiar with how that feels. Let’s hope that everyone has a better 2011 than 2010.

Between wrapping a few presents, cooking, and listening to all different kinds of holiday music, I’m also working on two projects. One is the sequel to Home by Morning and the other is something so different for me, I feel both a little scared and very exhilarated. I’ll have more to share on that in the coming months.

To all of you who bought one of my titles this year for your e-reader, my deep and humble thanks. If you haven’t, give one of my stories a spin. They sell for a fair price (about $3.00) and because they’re all historicals, I’ll carry you back in time with the characters to visit different places and events.

Have a wonderful holiday and hold your loved ones close to your heart, even if you can’t be with them this year.

Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays
and καλά Χριστούγεννα

Heart Broken But Not Beyond Repair

After Chrissie's loss, I thought there would be a l-o-n-g period of grieving. She was so much a part of everyday life around here for years, such a presence, I couldn't imagine thinking about another dog so soon. And yet . . . a friend contacted me about the Great Pyrenees Rescue group in this area. I wasn't at all familiar with the breed, but I saw this photo and smiled. It turns out that--as I understand it--a lot of GPs are used in the southern US as livestock guards. The economy is still not what we'd like, people are losing their properties, and either just turn the dogs loose or surrender them to shelters where they are almost immediately euthanized. This is where the rescue groups come in. This girl named Lexus (more on that in a minute) showed up on Petfinder.com, and though she was being fostered in the Houston area, she was due to be part of a shipment of GPs coming to the Pacific Northwest.

 

I jumped on this opportunity right away. That face--who could say no to that sweet face? The rescue group has made it their mission to place these dogs in adoptive "forever" homes where they will be cared for and loved. They do wonderful work. Becoming a rescue parent requires an application, a reference from a veterinarian who knows you, and other things like a yard with a good fence. That all worked out for me.

 

So last Thursday night, I was at the volunteer's house when a truck that had spent five days on the road with nine dogs pulled into the driveway. I'd first had the opportunity to meet her three GPs, beautiful massive creatures that are tall enough to look at an adult eye to eye while you're sitting down! Good dogs for Hagrid, if you're familiar with the Harry Potter series.

I chose Lexus, who I renamed Roxanne--yes, everyone sing along--because she's a mix and a little smaller, a little more shy. As for the name change, well, that wouldn't have worked out. I didn't want a dog named after a car, and I really didn't want one with name so similar to mine. The confusion over that on Thursday was enough to reinforce my decision.

I'm so glad she's here, and I think Chrissie would approve. As Temple Grandin, PhD, so aptly stated in the title of one of her books, Animals Make Us Human.

2010: Good Year/Bad Year

We're getting down to the last days of 2010--it's hard to believe how quickly the year has gone. Yeah, I know, it's a cliche. But trust me, the older you get the faster time flies. Remember in grade school when summer vacation seemed to last forever? Then by high school, those two or two-and-a-half months passed more quickly, and I'd think, geez, do I have to go back again?

For me, 2010 was a great year for my writing career, thanks to a lot of factors. Great readers, both old and new, e-books, and upgraded, more affordable technology. Plus I got to take some fun trips, was an accidental redhead for two unfortunate weeks, and I'm looking forward to more great times in 2011.

But this year wasn't so good for my pets. I lost my sweet cat Lucy in June. This last Thanksgiving weekend, I lost Chrissie, the dog who made me into a dog lover. For people who think of their pets more as their children, you'll understand that how difficult this has been. Lucy had been ill for a long time and she was miserable by the time I made the decision to release her from that misery. Chrissie, though . . . she was sick for only about six weeks. Her downhill slide was alarming. On Thanksgiving, my mom came for dinner and in the four hours she was here, she noticed Chrissie's advancing decline over that short time period. The doctor thought it was liver cancer or at least liver failure. She was scheduled for an ultrasound this week, but she was having trouble breathing on Thursday, and by Friday she could barely walk.

Lucy and Chrissie were about the same age--12 and 13--and it was my great privilege to have them spend their lives with me. I miss them both every single day.

But now 2011 is coming and each year brings new opportunities and joys. I'm looking forward to that.

The Same Thing Happens Every Year

With the exception of a very few times in my life, I can’t remember there ever being more than three or four people at the table for Thanksgiving in my family. I tried to grab my pal Penny before someone else claimed her, but I was too late. So unless something changes between now and Thursday, the group will include me, my bud Margee, and Mom.

So here’s the drill. As I write this, I’ve got a 15-pound turkey defrosting in the garage refrigerator. Sounds like a big bird for three people, and it is, but hey, it was free after reaching the required grocery purchase total. The Scotch will flow, probably my Gentleman Jack for Mom, and cabernet for me in my special monogrammed Tinkerbell wine glass (Tink wants a drink, damn it!) and even though I always promise myself I’ll be more efficient next year, it’ll be the same. Me sweating and swearing in the kitchen to get things done—the rest know not to offer help. The kitchen is too small and I’m a very poor delegator anyway. While the turkey spins on my Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, I’ll prepare enough food to make the casual observer believe this is our only meal for the year, or perhaps the last one of our lives. I suppose that’s common practice on these holidays. There will be stuffing, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots. I’ll make homemade poppy seed rolls the night before (ha-ha, if I’m organized enough, that is) and let them rise. Dessert is often a flaming cranberry pudding, drowning in brandy or rum and butter, the fire extinguished with a Matterhorn of whipped cream. Baby poop pie, or rather pumpkin pie, for Margee because she’s the most traditional of us all.

Meanwhile, as the alcohol is flowing, there are appetizers going on at the kitchen table, my favorite clam dip recipe and maybe some homemade tzaziki. Hey, my yiayia would be spinning in her urn on my desk if I bought this treat from a store. So everyone is getting stuffed full of chips and crudites before the main meal is even on the dining room table.

All those hours of work, and the whole event is over in 25 minutes. And of course, just to make things interesting, it wouldn’t be a holiday meal unless someone said something to spark an intense discussion [read: hot argument] that on top of everything else will have me swearing that I’m not doing this again next year, even if we have to eat in a diner at a truck stop. But here we are again, and here we’ll be next year, despite everything.

And then there’s Christmas . . .

Now the Question is $2.99 or $9.99

Here's that money thing again. I was alerted this morning to a tweet from a reader who sees my backlist selling for $2.99 and wondered why another author's old titles are priced so much higher ($9.99). As I explained in a disjointed, multi-part message to the unhappy reader, I am in the fortunate position of owning nearly all of my backlist. I can charge whatever price I choose. After some inexperienced dithering at the beginning, I decided to follow Joe Konrath's example and price my books at $2.99, old title or new. There is an exception to this which you will find on this blog if you scroll down to look for it. Same graphic and everything.

I'm not out to gouge my readers--I want them to enjoy my work at a price that's fair to all of us, which e-publishing makes possible. That other author's books being sold for $9.99 are most likely still controlled by her publishers. I'm not knocking trad publishing, paper books, etc.  I've simply chosen the model that works best for me.

So for now and the foreseeable future, my books will be priced at $2.99. If you find them cheaper than that, please know that I did not discount the price, the vendor did. I'm not happy about it and I'm doing what I can to change the situation. $2.99 is more than fair. Less than that is not.