It made me look closer at my own releases over the past year and I guess I’m right up there with Harlequin in some areas, but very different in others. The majority of my releases were about cowboys, just as theirs were. Where we part ways is the millionaires and the babies. I tend to write the working class man–firemen and soldiers (which both were low on the Harlequin totem pole). Even my cowboys aren’t land tycoons or oil barons, but rather struggling bull riders trying to earn a living. Yes, I’ll admit it, I did write one secret baby, but one out of dozens of books I released isn’t so bad, and far lower than Harlequin’s stats.

Reality or not, it’s an interesting, fun study.

Enjoy!

Cat

Source: Harlequin.com

I know for sure big publishing should heed every one of those above points. I think I myself could adopt a few as well. You can’t argue with Trader Joe’s commercial success. I love a good trip there and have enjoyed more than a few of their signature products, but it’s the philosophy behind the success, driving it, that is the most important.

Now that the RT dust has settled and my fun blog wrap-ups have been posted, I can get down to reality and post what really happens at RT. As Sarah on Smart Bitches mentions, though I can fault the CNBC piece for crediting THAT book with reigniting the industry in one breath while saying how the RT convention has been happening for decades in the next, and for finding and interviewing one of the small handful of (unknown) male erotica authors at a convention where there were easily hundreds of female authors, some making $1 million a year selling erotica, we really can’t fault CNBC for stripping the 4 male cover models that were actually at the convention and putting them on camera, because sex sells.

Want to know the reality? Part of that CNBC piece was filmed in the lobby at  6 a.m. the morning following the Ellora’s Cave party (which want late into the night). That scene was staged. Those authors milling around the hotel lobby with shirtless male models would not have been there at the crack of dawn otherwise. In reality, those models would have been in the hotel gym in tank tops working out before the start of another long day and night. The B-roll of the dancers and party were shot the night before at the EC party.

Yes, there are models (though one tenth of the number there used to be before the death of the Mr. Romance competition), and there are costumes, and fun and games and drinking and hanging in the lobby bar, but much like high dollar deals are so often made by men on the golf course, there’s that at RT too. I came home with a list of 15 items to do, a document with notes regarding ATF agents and bomb-sniffing dogs and another document full of notes I took at the Mark Coker (Smashwords) session with 11 points on how to top the best seller lists. My to do items included following up with the publicist from Kensington I met at the Kensington party, to send her promo materials to start getting some media attention for my book which doesn’t release until April 2013. It including items discussed at lunch with my editor at Kensington that I need to take care of now, again for that new release a year down the road. It included to do items from a discussion I had with the Samhain author liaison in the bar, to email my Samhain editor regarding my next bull rider series book release. On my list is the session I need to pitch to the RT organizers for next years convention in Kansas City in May 2013, and items to follow up with fellow Western authors regarding a reader event we may try to plan for one of the smaller cons happening later this year. On there was how I need to follow up with cover artists for my self-pubbed backlist, and how I needed to send follow up emails to some of the authors I had discussed a possible collaboration with.

So yes, I did post pictures of me in costume with two shirtless cover models holding big swords while wearing kilts, because readers most likely don’t care about my To Do list, or that this RT was the most productive to date for me professionally. But as CNBC and I both know, sex sells.

#1 Aside from the occasional travel to conferences and conventions, it’s best if I stay in my writer’s cave…

Even though I rarely do it, on the plane I was reading an eBook by one of my fellow authors who writes in my genre, to analyze it and make comparisons to my own stories. I thought I was doing a good, productive thing. Apparently I’m not supposed to do that. When I told my new editor at Kensington, the reaction was basically a look of horror and (I’m paraphrasing here) “Oh my God, don’t do that! You’ll mess up your own voice!” All righty, then. Lesson learned. LOL I guess I’ll be reading paranormal or historical or YA or something else from now on, at least while I’m in the midst of writing my own book.

#2 Whether you drink or not, you better plant yourself in the lobby bar…

It’s totally true, some of the biggest deals and the most valuable contacts are made at the bar. They’re all secret, of course, but my plans for world domination (the romance world, anyway) will begin shortly.

#3 I love the Aussies!

Australians (at least the ones I’ve come across) are the most genuine, generous and friendly people I’ve ever met. They are always there with a smile and a G’day, and willing to share their yummy TimTam cookies and a shot of Australia’s own signature liqueurs. Apparently they have a great sense of humor down under since the line of “Dragon liqueurs” made by Castle Glen Australia come with such colorful names as Kiss, Piss, Blood and Crap. I was treated to the Vampires Blood which is apparently a mix of Dragons’ Blood and Wiskello and comes with a kick thanks to the hot pepper flakes in the bottle.

#4 Just do it!

Going to the gym on 4 hours sleep hungover won’t actually kill you. What doesn’t kill you truly does make you stronger, I guess.

#5 Don’t judge…

Those whom I thought would be stuck up were incredibly friendly and warm. Those who I thought would be fascinating bored me to death. And those who I thought would be boring proved the most informative of all. You really never know, so you had better plant a smile on your face and be open to everyone, anything and everything.

So that’s my wrap-up of the educational aspect and the lessons learned at this year’s convention. For embarrassing pictures of me dressed like a Scottish faery and posing with shirtless cover models check out my site. And for pics of the cowboy and Western events at RT, check out the Wild & Wicked Cowboys blog.

The New York Times recently ran an article by a celebrity cookbook ghost writer saying that it’s these nameless, faceless writers who do all the actual work while the celebrity pretends they did it all, meaning conceiving of and developing the recipes. Needless to say the celebs named, Gwyneth Paltrow for one, are not happy.

Now I’ll admit that when Gwyneth Paltrow came out with her cookbook it was kind of the last straw for me. She’s a great actress and I love her in that role, but having to listen to her song on the country radio station and on all the music award shows where she got up there to perform and we all had to pretend she was as good as the music legends on stage with her ticked me off pretty good. Follow that up with a best selling cookbook release and I was like Come on, all ready! Was winning acting awards not enough? Now she gets to be a best seller just because of her name? In a field she has no experience or qualifications in? It was nearly as maddening as Snooki hitting the NY Times best seller list with her book.

Anyway, back to the controversy…Gwyneth is insisting every recipe is hers, and not the work of a paid consultant. [UPDATE- just this minute Gwyneth appeared on The Rachel Ray Show to say she did indeed cook every thing and write every word in her cookbook, and I believe her. Of course, I still stand by my belief that if she wasn't a famous actress no one would ever buy her cookbook, but that's another issue altogether.]

My job is not to determine who’s telling the truth. I can tell you this–I think the ghost writer controversy in general really depends on the level of involvement. I think of it this way–when Frank Lloyd Wright or IM Pei or Christopher Wren designed a building, it was their vision, their concept, their creation. And even though it is the actual bricklayers, carpenters, and various construction crews who build that building and make it a reality, it is still the work of the architect.

However those men dictated every detail of that design. If they hadn’t, if Pei had said, for instance, “I think it would be cool to build an extension to the Louvre. Hey, let’s make it shaped like a triangle. You guys handle it. I’m going out for drinks. K?” Then that would have been really pretty shitty, and unfair to the builders who would get no credit.

So if these celebs who want to pretend they are writers said, for instance, “Hey, let’s write a book about a girl who spends the summer at the Jersey Shore and she really likes guidos and to drink and she has really high hair. Can you write that for me? I’ll be over there doing some shots with Mike The Situation, unless my boyfriend Gionni shows up”. Well then, I would say it is a great injustice for Snooki’s name to be on that NY Times bestseller list and not the ghost writer’s. The same with these cookbooks and the celebrities whose images and names grace the covers.

I have no conclusions, just opinions, as usual. I think this cookbook controversy will be a “he said, she said” for a bit, then it will die down and be forgotten. But let’s hope that in future we all give a little thought to the writer behind the writer. I’ve been that person back at the start of my writing career many years ago, and though then I was just as proud on publication day even though my name was not on the cover, but instead buried in the fine print on the copyright page, I can say now that it sure is nice to be the name on the cover.

Cat

Anyway, I’ve touched a tiny bit on here, and delved in a bit deeper on my own blog, about PayPal (and in reaction to PayPal certain retailers such as Bookstrand as well) and their recent determination that selling erotica and erotic romance is the same financial risk as selling Pornography, Prostitution and Online Gambling. As a result indie authors and publishers were all lumped into one big category and declared obscene. (This is an extremely simplified in-a-nutshell explanation culled from various official statements, as well as emails and letters written and posted on various places around the web. If you are interested I suggest you Google the topic to make your own determinations.)

Anyway, thanks to industry pressure–mainly irate readers and authors as well as Mark Coker of Smashwords–as well as a denial from Visa (whose policies PayPal cited for their decision), PayPal is reevaluating their position and backing off… slightly… but at least things are moving back in the right direction.

So, now it seems that the food industry is experiencing the same kind of issues, mainly misclassification and an attempt at censorship, and of all things, WALNUTS are the target.

In a recent article I read that many recent studies have determined that omega-3 fats may lower cholesterol, inhibit tumor growth, lower the risk of breast cancer and treat major depression. Walnuts naturally contain omega-3 fats. However, when Diamond Walnuts dared to state that on their label, the FDA cracked down on them with the following statement…

“Because of these intended uses, your walnut products are drugs… Your walnut products are also new drugs … because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced conditions. Therefore … they may not be legally marketed with the above claims in the United States without an approved new drug application.”

Now, I’m not talking about Diamond Walnuts making false, unsubstantiated claims. They have the omega-3 studies to cite, and the omega-3 fats are actually in the nuts naturally, but in a twisted sense of oversight the FDA has now grouped walnuts with drugs. Again, this is an extremely simplified explanation of what is a complicated situation so READ it yourself.

So, to recap, in the U.S. today, ROMANCE NOVELS = PORN and WALNUTS = DRUGS and both need to be regulated for our own protection.

What all this does, however, is make me want both more.

I’ve got a bag of walnuts here somewhere that I keep around for if I’m making chocolate chip cookies. Or if I take the time to make slow-cooking oatmeal, I’ll throw some walnuts on top to up my protein for the meal. Now, because I like to be contrary, I’m going to eat more walnuts. I’m going to put them in my salad. I’m going to leave them laying around in bowls in the house for a snack. I may make that my gift of the year this Christmas–nuts and nut crackers for everyone!! In fact, my go-to contribution for all the parties I attended last season was nuts–mixed pecans, peanuts and walnuts tossed with rosemary-infused olive oil, spiced with cumin, sugar, salt, pepper and just a touch of cayenne pepper and toasted for 20 minutes in the oven. That dish was a hit at all the parties pre-censorship, it should be huge now it’s an illegal “new” drug!

There are plenty of erotica and erotic romances out there. The theme is not new–uber rich, powerful and handsome billionaire business mogul. The unknown, average, seemingly inconsequential college girl he’s so attracted to he must have her no matter what. Classic romance novel trope, but with the addition of super hot BDSM sex. BDSM isn’t new either. You can find thousands of books with those elements to a variety of extents.

So why oh why did Fifty Shades of Grey, written by an unknown UK author, published by a small press that I had never heard of, sell hundreds of thousands of copies and hit #1 on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon? Why has it been blog fodder everywhere and featured on all the network national morning talk shows, being touted by Good Morning, America and The Today Show as “mommy porn”, and “suburbia’s dirty little secret”? Some doctors and sex experts are debating if the BDSM theme is freeing to women who just want to turn the reins over to someone else in bed after being in charge of the house all day, while other experts are saying it’s dangerous and sets up women for abusive relationships (an accusation which to anyone who knows how to Google and look up the principals of BDSM knows is absurd). Meanwhile, there are plenty of books where women relinquish control to be ravished by the rogue, so why this one book in particular, which grew in popularity strictly by word of mouth and not through marketing or advertising dollars?

Here’s why it shouldn’t be so popular:

-a few very respected and increasingly famous book bloggers didn’t like it. One marked it a DNF (Did Not Finish) last year, long before it hit the media full force. (Seriously, this story is being covered everywhere in the past week, from the NY Times to the Washington Post.)

-it’s based on fan fiction. The author loved the Twilight series so much, she wrote her own little stories using the same characters, published them on fanfic websites, then eventually expanded those ideas, changed the characters’ names from Bella and Edward to Christian and Ana, and published it with a small press overseas.

-the writing style, in my opinion, is annoying. Disclaimer right here I have NOT read the book. I read the beginning of chapter 1 on Amazon.com (they allow samples) and realized I wouldn’t be able to read the entire book because it is written in first person present tense and, though it may be a personal pet peeve of mine, I can’t read books in that POV. I find it distracting, annoying, and amateurish. I fear I would lose my mind and that my internal editor would never be able to get past the POV and see the story beneath.

Yet bookstores can’t keep the print version in stock and I’m sure that is driving sales of the digital formats even higher. Again, the question is why?

Here is why I personally think it is so popular:

-the book has both a title and a cover that is totally tame and mainstream. At first glance, 50 Shades of Grey could easily be a legal thriller or a murder mystery. Had the publisher slapped a picture of some man titty (ala my Cat Johnson novels) on this book, I bet you it would have never sold even a fraction of what it has. Why? Because people don’t WANT to like erotica, or erotic romance, or even the Fabio-esque romances of our mother’s generation. This book slipped under the radar with its innocuous cover.

-inside that boring cover is HOT sex that most likely crept up on the unaware reader (since what I read of Chapter 1 of this book reads almost like a Young Adult novel). Before they could slam the cover shut and say “Oh my God, this is dirty“, the story had captured them and the sex took them by surprise, until suddenly they realized their lady parts were tingling and they were feeling a little bit naughty just for reading it. Who doesn’t want to secretly be naughty? It’s the reader’s dirty little secret. Who would know what she’s reading? It’s just a hardcover book with a boring cover, but inside, their hormones awoke, and these readers couldn’t wait for hubby to get home so they could jump him.

-people like to be the first. The first to know something others don’t. The first to recommend something they discovered to their friends, or even strangers, so they recommended this book to others. “I just read this book. You should see what’s in it! I never knew there were books like this!” the unspoken continuation to that would be…because I am so high brow I would NEVER pick up a romance novel and see that there are thousands of books just like this one and better written too.

-maybe that first person POV I hate so much makes the readers feel what the main character is feeling on a more personal level? Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and there is no reason that the present tense should make me so crazy. Maybe I’m already crazy. Hell, anything is possible at this point.

And there you are, my personal, unqualified and unsolicited opinion of the trilogy of books (yes, there are 3 in the series) that has taken publishing by storm, the rights to which just sold to the paperback division of Random House Inc., reportedly for an undisclosed 7 figure sum to be rereleased immediately in eBook and in paperback in April with all the fanfare they think it deserves. Coincidentally this is just weeks after PayPal told the owner of Excessica Publishing that stories with BDSM themes amounted to rape for titillation and may have to be restricted…at the same time that other eBook retailers have been told that their PayPal account would be frozen if they didn’t stop selling certain books that they qualified as obscene. Among themes being classified as taboo and being restricted by certain retailers were pseudo incest, bestiality (which can get iffy in the world of shapeshifters) and “barely legal” stories (IE younger of legal age girls, such as college girls, having sex with older men, possibly billionaire playboys even)…but I digress. That is another tale totally.

Today’s lessons– The almighty dollar is king, perception is everything, and it’s very possible that people do judge a book by its cover.

I am the exact opposite. I’ll spend far too much time and effort to get out every last drop. I’ve even poured the hot tea water into the bottom of the honey jar, then poured that into my tea to get every last morsel of honey out. What can I say? I don’t waste. I have a father who was raised by a single mother during WWII. I grew up hearing the stories of rationing and how there was no real butter. I guess that stuck with me.

So when I saw that mustard container sitting on the windowsill waiting to be carried to the recycling bin at the curb, I took back the mustard! I’m involved in this Romance’s Biggest Winner weight-loss challenge, and I knew I’d be having lots of salads over the next few weeks. I saw that mustard and thought what a perfect way to make some homemade salad dressing. I poured into that mostly but not quite empty mustard container some red wine vinegar, olive oil, a dash of water, a pinch of grated parmesan cheese, some fresh finely chopped garlic, a single dash of Worchestershire sauce, a touch of salt and pepper . Then I closed the lid and shook it all together.

I’ve been enjoying that dressing over romaine hearts. Sometimes I add grilled chicken breast. Last night for dinner I added garlic shrimp. That mustard dressing has lasted me all week long and the silly man almost threw it away! But I have to forgive him because he’s also the one who went out Sunday and returned home with bags of real wood Barbecue chips. Oh. My. God. Plain old boneless skinless (tasteless) chicken breast grilled over a combination of mesquite and apple wood chips is AMAZING! It’s unbelievable what simply cooking over these chips rather than with gas or charcoal can do to the flavor, all without adding any calories or fat. I’m ready to cook all our food like this. Fish. Steak. Everything! I daresay these woodchips may be my new favorite thing. Crazy thing is, my father probably disposes in the compost pile buckets of similar chips from his sawmill and we’re paying to buy it in tiny bags. I’ll have to investigate this…

So those are my two culinary revelations this week–cooking with stuff that could have been thrown out. LOL Let’s see if I can keep up both the diet and the food discoveries for another week. Fingers crossed because beware, it’s Girl Scout Cookie season.

Cat

First, and most obvious, I know I will personally feel a lot more sexy once I take off these 10 pounds of winter/holiday weight I somehow mysteriously put on. Jeans that are snug to cup the booty are one thing, but jeans that are too snug because you gained weight are quite another. So there’s that, but there’s also this…when I’m on a serious diet I actually eat well. It sounds very strange but it’s true. When I’m not on a diet, I don’t take care of myself. I’ll eat last night’s dinner leftovers of spicy fried Chinese dumplings for breakfast while I’m checking my emails. For lunch I’ve been known to eat a handful of nuts, also while at the computer working. But when I’m consciously on a diet trying to lose weight, I eat like a princess. I food shop. I cook. I sit at a table. I plan menus. I make homemade soup and eat green salads with tasty and creative homemade dressings. Total turnaround.

Yes, being on a diet is a lot more work, and more money, and more time, with shopping for the fresh ingredients rather than scouring the old cans in the closet looking for whatever is the least amount of work. But eating right, and on a plate at a table, almost makes me feel like I’m out at a restaurant, out on a date.

That’s why I’m not too worried that as of March 1st, I am part of Romance Biggest Winners 2. It’s a weight loss competition comprised of romance readers and authors placed on teams to support each other to lose whatever amount of weight they want/need to over the next 6 months. Some of the girls are blogging their experience and I thought I might pop in here with an update or a recipe once in awhile. It’s a nice concept to have us band together in teams, since both reading and writing can be very solitary occupations.

Today, I’d thought I’d include the instructions for my new favorite quick healthy food, Arugula Salad. When I used to try to eat Arugula as if it was regular lettuce, I hated it. It tasted a bit like grass clippings when I tried to use it instead of Romaine Hearts in a salad with dressing. Then I saw a recipe on ABC’s The Chew for Arugula and tried it, and it made all the difference in the world.

Maybe the strong flavor of the Arugula needs the tartness and the acidity of the lemons. I don’t know, but my mouth waters just thinking about this salad. Give it a try. It’s so green and fresh tasting, I feel healthier just from eating it.

ARUGULA SALAD

Put a generous couple of handfuls of fresh Arugula in a bowl. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons good quality Olive Oil. Squeeze in the fresh juice of one half a lemon. Sprinkle with coarse salt (Kosher or Sea Salt, I hate using fine salt on food) and fresh ground pepper. If I have grape tomatoes I’ll add a handful of those. That’s it. Perfect with a steak, or a crab cake for a light lunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

Cat

Here’s a little secret… Flowers wither. Chocolate is fattening.  Here is what really makes me tingle–

• A new book contract. Seriously, heart-racing, hand-shaking tingles. Read the tale about my most recent contract offer HERE
• Finding my titles on a bookseller’s shelf and turning them all to face cover out! Feel free to do that for me as well in your local bookstore. You might want to not let the clerk see you though.
• Sticking my book promo inside the books of my fellow authors who write similar books to mine. Hey, no one of us can write as fast as our readers can devour our books so why not share? Again, I try not to let the salesclerk see me doing that.
• Typing THE END after working to complete a new work for weeks, sometimes months. The adrenaline rush is amazing.

Maybe it’s an author thing. Who knows? Sure, I’ll take take the flowers, candy and cards, and I’ll enjoy them and be very grateful. But give me a good book contract and some kick-ass sales figures and then you’ll see some real happiness, and as an erotic romance author I can be very creative in my gratitude, believe me.

Cat