It's Time for RWA Nationals!

Oh boy. This will be my FIFTH RWA National Conference. I can't believe it. And this year I'll be flying to....

DENVER, COLORADO!

I haven't been to Denver in so long. Fun fact: It's where my husband proposed to me. So going to a ROMANCE conference there is very much on point for me.  And oh, I'm so excited for (hopefully) some cooler temperatures but also to be surrounded by my people. My tribe. My besties.  
 

Not my suitcase... YET. But isn't it #goals?

I'm Sort Of Obsessed With Packing

That's.... normal, right? If you already follow me, you know that I'm a capital-P Planner so it totally makes sense that I make lists of what I want to take on trips. But one of my favorite packing hacks/ tools is sadly, lost forever. See, I used to be a regular user of the site Polyvore and yes, I would plan out any vacation outfits and accessories there but the site shut down this year. Now I'm trying out a combination of Pinterest board + Trello board to see if that is sufficient for my shoe-assessment needs.  You see, I like to pack light - but fabulous. So. It takes both some flair and organization. 

If you're attending RWA,  whether a repeat attendee or for the first time, you can take a peek at my past post on WHAT TO PACK.   I still stand by these tips and tricks  but this year it will be a little different because I'm headed to Denver for a few days before the conference starts for a writing retreat. So smart of me to schedule this!  With the writing retreat, I'll have to throw in a few more casual tees and shorts, a caftan, my hot pink Birkenstocks and my Very Smart Lady Glasses.  I'm going for a Writing Retreat Chic look.  

Not sure what this has to do with anything except I love this gif and how much fun Wills and Kate are having here. Also a great example that you should always be prepared for all sorts of events on vacation. ;-)

If you follow me on social media next week, you can judge for yourself whether I've reached that particular fashion goal. 
 

My Schedule

I will be signing books at the Gallery/ Pocket Books signing  at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 19. Bring your coffee and come get a copy of The Royal Runaway signed!

I will also be presenting a 20/20 session on Friday about content marketing and I'll have special swag reserved for librarians, bloggers and readers!

Alas, these events are only for conference registrants, but stay in the know about my upcoming future appearances by signing up for The Inner Circle - my exclusive newsletter. 

And hit me up if you similarly enjoy the vacation packing experience and have a packing trick or tip! I'd love to hear them!

All These Things That I Love - Drinks Edition - July 2018

A monthly roundup of things that give me life...

This summer, I've decided to focus on one of the most popular parts of this blog series... THE DRINKS. 

I do some version of this cocktail every summer by the pool. It's light, it's refreshing, it's pink.

Out by the husband's barbeque smoker...

It's my version of a paloma. There are many interpretations of this grapefruit-based cocktail from the super fancy to the easy. 

(Spoiler alert: I like easy.)

I'm also trying to cut carbs so I'm going to give you my preferred recipe and the lighter, sugar free options.

But you do you. Mix it up. Go all out on MORE SUGAR. Or not. 

My current recipe is: 
1 shot of a good vodka (also recommended, Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka for ultra grapefruit flavor)
1 shot of unsweetened grapefruit juice (if you're doing juice)
half a cup of ice
Fill to top w/ diet grapefruit soda. (I've been using these ICE drinks, but Fresca is also delicous)

This is a very refreshing drink, perfect for waiting by the pool for the brisket to finish. (HINT HINT Mr. EMORY. WHERE IS MY BRISKET!?)

What kind of cocktails are you enjoying this summer? And what do you think, should I rename this cocktail recipe... the Princess Theodora? They look good together, don't they?

Reserve your copy of THE ROYAL RUNAWAY at:
Amazon || BN.Com || Simon & Schuster ||  Apple Books  ||Amazon UK || Kobo

Best Books to Read Now: How to FIND GOOD BOOKS (on sale!)

Where do readers find books?

If you like to read, there’s a good chance that you’ve looked around and asked yourself, “where do other readers find good books?”  Or more importantly, “where do other readers find good books on sale?”

With the hibernation of the American brick and mortar bookstore, it can be hard to discover new authors and their new releases. I mean, you can’t just wander into Waldenbooks or Borders (or in some cases a convenient Barnes and Noble) anymore. And the selections at Target and Wal-Mart are great but they don’t usually cover all genres. You’d be hard pressed to find the latest science fiction series at Target, for example. And if you wanted the first 6 books in a series? Yeah, no. 

So you turn to the internet booksellers. And while Amazon might have every book ever written, that’s a little…. Overwhelming. And it may not solve your original problem. 

So how do I find the perfect book to read? 

1. Follow me! On both this blog and my podcast, WOMEN WITH BOOKS, I’m always giving recommendations and if I see those books on sale, I try to post them on my facebook page. 

2. Goodreads - Probably the largest social media/ website that’s centered around books, it can still be tough to find exactly the book you want to read. There are lists, there are contests, there are groups and you can browse all of them. Anyone can post ‘the top 200 books about cats in Quebec” and that’s awesome to have that space but it can be hard for a reader who’s specifically looking for something. 

My best advice? Follow the authors you already love. Start friending them  and others who like the same books you do. You’ll see what other people are reading and loving. For instance, if you friend me on Goodreads, you’ll be able to easily see what I’ve read for my GR reading challenge this year. 

Then sign up for the Goodreads newsletters for your preferred genre. They can still be incomplete, but you will start to see what’s coming out and what looks good and what’s on sale. 

Also -Amazon now owns Goodreads. So you never know what cool functionality (or sales updates) you’ll see between the two sites in the future. 

3. Bookbub - this is primarily still an e-mail newsletter that will notify you of sales on books in the genres that you select. But in the past year or so, Bookbub has added several new features that I really enjoy. You can follow your favorite authors and when they have a new release, Bookbub will e-mail you. Also, Bookbub will notify you if your favorite authors recommend books, and what they are. Interested? Sign up and try following me to see what happens to your TBR pile. 

4. Amazon - the behemoth of online booksellers also offers some of the same features as Bookbub. For instance, you can follow authors (my profile here) and Amazon says you’ll get a notification of their new book releases. When THE ROYAL RUNAWAY  went up on pre-order, a reader let me know that she learned about it from an Amazon e-mail - which is AWESOME. But I’ve heard other authors say that they’re not sure their readers are notified regularly. So if there’s an author that you absolutely can’t miss, best practice is probably to follow them at Goodreads, Bookbub and Amazon - a belt and suspenders approach, if you will. 

The other recommendation I have at Amazon would be to sign up for their Kindle Daily Deals e-mail. These sales can often be exclusive to Amazon, which means that Bookbub might not feature them. You have to act fast though - when Amazon puts books on sale, it might be a quick flash and then the deal is gone. 

So those are my best recommendations for finding awesome new books (on sale!) to read. I know it might sound like you have to sign up for everything, but I promise you, authors and booksellers are so excited to put the perfect book into a reader’s hands. I know nothing makes me happier. 

Reserve your copy of THE ROYAL RUNAWAY at:
Amazon || BN.Com || Simon & Schuster ||  Apple Books  ||Amazon UK || Kobo

You know what else makes me happy? When readers like you pre-order my latest book! Or add it to their Goodreads shelf! Or put it on their Amazon wishlist! All of these things help signal to my publisher and retailers that this is a book that people will love. 

And it is. Don’t you trust my judgment yet? 

All These Things That I Love - Drinks Edition - June 2018

A monthly roundup of things that give me life...

This summer, I've decided to focus on one of the most popular parts of this blog series... THE DRINKS. 

So... introducing The Drinks Edition. Sounds like a cover band in Omaha. Or a Harvard Law Review inside joke. 

ICED COFFEE!

As many of my readers know, coffee is one of my favorite things. In fact, lattes are practically a  character in my Sorority Sisters' mystery series. 

I'm not going to lie, as soon as summer temperatures hit 100 my usually delightful mug of hot coffee was so unappetizing. And as if THEY KNOW ME, the stores started stocking bottles of pre-made cold brew. 

Yes, I know you can make it yourself. But honey, I'm in deadline mode around these parts. 

I went and stocked up on my favorite sugar-free syrups and through several jittery trial-and-error days, I came up with MY perfect iced coffee recipe. 

It may not be yours, however. Every woman must listen to the siren call of her own cold brew desires. 

But my recipe is: 
2/3 cups of cold brew
1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoons of mocha syrup
ice to full cup

This is a very sweet, delicious pick me up. And of course I'm toying with the idea of making it... ahem... an adult beverage in the evenings but I have other... preferences there (which I'll be sharing with you soon.)

How do you take your coffee? Venti triple-shot like Margot Blythe in SISTERHOOD IS DEADLY?  Or black, strong and in a Limoges cup like Princess Theodora in the upcoming THE ROYAL RUNAWAY?

The Royal Runaway - How I got the idea...

It all started with a dream.

Seriously. About two years ago, I had a very vivid dream. A whole story came alive as I slept. I dreamed of a princess who sneaked out of her castle at night. The country was modern, but small. She was able to blend in with people in bars and cafes and visit friends. Then stuff happened. 

When I woke up, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. The world had felt so real to me, I immediately grabbed a pad of paper and made notes so I wouldn't forget. 

Don't believe me?  Here it is, pinned to the bulletin board in front of my writing desk.

Evidence of the dream-notes that would become a book. Spoilers whited out.

And oh yes - here was the key part. In the dream, I specifically saw that the princess had been abandoned by her groom on her wedding day. 
 

And I think that's why it stuck with me. You see, I'm a great sleeper. It's one of the top-three things that I excel at. Caffeine does not affect me, noise, lights, nothing stops me from sleeping pretty much anytime I want to (except planes because ugh.) Because I'm so awesome at sleeping, I also rock at dreaming. Almost every night I have lucid dreams but I let 99% of them go in the morning. 

This one? Wouldn't let me go. 

The emotions of a princess, suddenly not knowing who she is, or what she was meant for, were what caused me to grab that paper and pen and capture the idea. 

But it's a crazy idea, right? How do I write a story about a princess of a make-believe country? Even though I'm a writer, I'm a pretty down to earth, practical person. I put my electric purple thigh-high stiletto boots on, one leg at a time, like the rest of you. 

Just kidding. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I run car pool, have a garden, go for walks. I'm not nearly as exciting as a glamorous European princess sneaking out of her palace. 

But I went ahead wrote the first chapter. I do this sometimes, when I have a new idea that won't let me go. It's a form of bargaining. "Okay, FINE. I'll let you off the leash for 500 words but that's it. After that, we're going to switch back over to our normal, boring book."

Ah ha. You see the problem there, don't you?

Who wants to write a normal, boring book?

Who wants to read one, for that matter?

Maybe that was why the dream wouldn't let me go. And maybe because it all started with a dream, THE ROYAL RUNAWAY came out all backwards and forwards. Blips of it here, strings had to be pulled there. The characters popped up like a a literary game of whack-a -mole. HERE! was the Queen. THERE! Was the sexy Scottish spy. QUICK! LOOK! A psychic hacker?  Um, okay, subconscious. You're full-on nutso now.

So I went ALL IN. Fine. This insanity wants to unfurl? I want to make up a whole new country, with a whole new geography and hundreds of years of history? Sure. Why not. Clearly, I need a hobby. 

Still I wondered: WHY was it happening like this? WHO would ever want to read it? Oh, an author gets so caught up in questions like that. Even now, when there are literal printed copies of this book going out to reviewers, I'm still not sure that I did it right. 

Or that I can do it again? Yes, that's always the next problem, isn't it? I went along for the madness that my subconscious dreamed up. But...

What if... what if my sleepy brain now has a huge ego and now thinks that it can come up with random, nonsensical story ideas in the future and hijack all my logical, reasonable (read: boring) book ideas and force me to do its diabolical will?

More importantly... what if it doesn't? 

THE END. 

<Lindsay's Brain: You forgot one thing.>

EPILOGUE. 

Reserve your copy of THE ROYAL RUNAWAY today so you can see why I dreamed it all up.
Pre-order at your favorite book retailer: Amazon || BN.Com || Apple Books || Amazon UK || Kobo