“I knew Lucy Monroe when…”

You know what? That is fun to say! :)

I knew Lucy before she’d published 45 books, before she was award-winning, before she was a best-seller. Back when being a published author was just a mutual dream that drew us together. In truth, Lucy Monroe came into my life the way all blessings do… when I was least expecting it.

I met Lucy online on a writer’s listserve. I don’t remember what I posted or she posted that the other commented on (she probably does… she amazes me with the things she can pull out of the past while I struggle to remember what I had for lunch yesterday), but we started chatting off the listserve and discovered we had one of those unbelievable connections you just sometimes, inexplicably, find.

Over the years, Lucy has shared my contest wins, the contests where they hated my stuff, the rejection letters, the positive editor input, we even co-authored a book last year Miss Fix-It (under different pen names) and now… the publication of my first sexy contemporary romance!

She’s also been a key ingredient in some of my favorite girl’s weekends. One was my first romance writer’s conference when I traveled to Seattle (I’ll confess to being a little star-struck by meeting both Susan Andersen and Julia Quinn in person that weekend. I don’t think I made too much of a fool out of myself, but I admittedly gushed a little!). Another was a writer’s conference in the Midwest, just down the road from me. Probably the best was when her hubby flew me out to visit her shortly after we’d met.

Other than a favorite girlfriend, we had all the other ingredients for a great girl’s weekend too:

1. Chocolate. Check

2. Ability to talk fast enough to cover every topic under the sun in approximately forty-eight hours. Check.

3. Ability to survive on little to no sleep. Check

4. Side by side computers for marathon writing sessions. Check.

Wait. That’s just us? Maybe so, but I’ll tell you we had a great time plotting and talking through rough spots and redeeming our heroes!

Plus we shopped together for our mutual love of office supplies. I also remember a trip to the grocery store where Lucy insisted that we buy a few carrots and a decent source of protein, while I would have attempted to sustain myself with dark chocolate and chai tea lattes!

So, what would go on your “Must Haves for a Girls’ Weekend” list? Massages? Shoe shopping? Chic flick movie marathon? Reading an excerpt from a sexy contemporary romance by a new author?

Well, I can help with that last one! In celebration of the fact that a story born way back when Lucy and I first met is now going to be published and since Lucy’s been there through it all, I wanted to do something special on her blog! My release date is about 4 months away. So, once a month until November I’m going to do a contest right here on Lucy’s blog for her readers!

Just go to my website, go under Books and read the excerpt from No Matter What, then answer the question about the excerpt: What is one of the things Jaden swears she’s not going to do… no matter what?

The winner will be chosen from all the correct answers e-mailed to me (at Erin@ErinNicholas.com) before August. There’s a special prize, chocolate (I’m not new to Lucy’s blog!) plus a copy of something off my keeper shelf: your choice between my two favorite Lucy books (tough choice for me to make!!) or—for those of you who already have every one of Lucy’s books!— a copy of one of the other books I’ve re-read countless times from Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lori Foster, or Susan Andersen.

Then next month we’ll do it all again with a new excerpt and a new prize!!

So, the contest is open! Enjoy!

Erin

No Matter What, a November release from Samhain Publishing

www.ErinNicholas.com

Thanks to Lucy for inviting me to guest blog today!

Since my debut book, KNIGHT OF DESIRE, was just released last week, I thought I’d share some of the highpoints and awkward moments I’ve had with my first book coming out.

Highpoint: My sister, a librarian, and her co-workers disrupted the library by shrieking in the backroom when my book came in. My sister cried when she read the dedication. J

Awkward: My mother read my book. She wasn’t supposed to read past the acknowledgments page—at least not until I razor-bladed out the love scenes for her. The former English teacher said it was “well written.” However, she liked the second half of the book better, “because it had less sex and more adventure.” Note: I don’t think the 2^nd half has less—she just got diverted by the adventure. ;)

Highpoint: My 17-year-old neighbor had her mother bring her over to buy a copy of my book early, because she would be on a plane on the release date. Since I had just received a box of books from my publisher, I made my first sale ever to her. She decided to commemorate the event by writing “1^st Dollar for 1^st Book Sold!” on a dollar—and then she took the dollar back. Later that day, I found a wrapped package on my porch. The girl had put the dollar in a frame, along with lines she had cut out from the announcement of my first signing. This will be on my wall forever. When I was 17, the middle-aged moms of the neighborhood were like wallpaper to me—a pleasant part of the background, but not worthy of much attention. Her thoughtfulness touched me more than I can say.

Awkward: When my in-laws were visiting, they just HAD to joke about my husband inspiring my love scenes—repeatedly & in front of my college-age children. When they started teasing each other about how they might get hot when they read my book, my 19-year-old son had to leave the house. He told me later that thinking about “old people”—I assume he meant his parents as well as his grandparents—having sex was just too disturbing. A big yuk for him!

Question: Do all romance authors get hassled so much by family about their love scenes?

Highpoint: My hometown release signing was amazing. After living in front of my laptop for months, I was a bit shell-shocked to see so many old friends and acquaintances in the space of 2 hours. It was also a great joy. Several people, including my son’s friends, even came in medieval garb…or some approximation thereto. We sold a lot of books—I was signing the full two hours. My hometown was very good to me.

Awkward: Since so many people in town bought my book, I won’t be able to go to the grocery store or take a walk without running into people who will think about my love scenes when they look at me.

Highpoint: It’s been a delightful surprise to have friends and neighbors who are not romance readers call to tell me they couldn’t put my book down. The funniest call was from a man whose family was out of town. He said he went home from my book signing, popped a beer, and sat down in his backyard to read his first romance. Really, he told me, other men might read if it had a different cover and title.

I’m not the first, but I have to say it: I love Lucy.

Margaret

Be sure to leave your comments as I will be picking someone at random for a special prize! You can see what I'm up to at margaretmallory.com

Labels: books, freebie, tgp

During.

The final product.

I am truly thankful for my wonderful and very talented friend! To see more pics for our Fun Hair Day, visit my MySpace.

Now, about the contests mentioned in the header...DQ picked a winner for the prize on her guest blog. It's Michele L. Please email Promo Guy with your deets so he can get the prize out to you.

Just a quick reminder, the big prize package for June celebrating the 45th release for me will be drawn from ALL the comments made on ALL the posts for the month of June! And I'm giving away a special prize pack off my website this month as well, so don't forget to enter that contest too!

Hugs and take care,
Lucy

Labels: family, fun, just me

Forty-five books! Ohmigosh. I knew her way back when she was just aspiring to publication. But how far back was that? I'm getting to that age where years blur together. Hmm...

So I dug back in my email archive, and there was the first contact I ever had with the then-unpublished president of a local RWA Chapter, dated January 4, 2000. She wrote to ask me if I'd speak to their chapter on October 1 of that year. January...for October! I was convinced there was a typo -- no one ever scheduled local speakers out that far. But no, Lucy assured me, she really did schedule that far out, because, as she explained, "...then I actually get to write as well as be President of our chapter."

Then, a couple of months later, I got this message with the subject "A Neat Development":

"I pitched an idea to B&N about having a 'Romance Author of the Month' and by the way, why not make that author our chapter speaker since she'll be in for a signing anyway that month?...They will have a prominent display of your books out all month along with a stand up with your picture, short bio and book cover(s). You will get the usual advertising for your signing, but billed as their 'Romance Author of the Month.'"

Those two snippets tell you a whole lot about who Lucy is, how she's managed to bring out 45 books out in six years, why she has the career she has, and why everybody loves her: Organization. Hard work. Good ideas.

And generosity.

Generosity is more common in the ranks of romance authors than in any other group of writers I've ever observed, but Lucy follows her mentor, Debbie Macomber, in exceeding even that high standard, both within the writing community and in the community at large. And like Debbie, she writes FAST, thus making me incredibly jealous--but not jealous enough to stop liking her.

So that's why I wanted to do this post about Lucy and not my book or hero or any of that nonsense. See, Lucy is a real-life heroine, who has accomplished an incredible amount in the nine and a half years since she sent me that first email. Forty-five books published, a passel of kids raised or fostered and graduated from high school, a foundation started to help yet other kids who don't have their own Lucy, other writers mentored and assisted, and about a million fans hugged virtually and in person.

That needs to be celebrated.

However, I do have books to sell, too (Lucy understands), so please excuse this brief plug for IMMORTAL OUTLAW, Book 2 of The Immortal Brotherhood, my paranormal historical romance series about a crew of Viking warriors cursed to live forever as were-beasts:

For centuries he’s hidden in the woods. Now a maid has come to lead him out…

It’s been four centuries since Steinarr the Proud was cursed by a wicked sorceress-along with the rest of his Viking crew-to live for eternity as half man, half beast. By day Steinarr is like any other man-by night he is a lion. He has taken refuge in the woods of Nottinghamshire, England, and there he encounters two young travelers, Robin and Marian.

Painfully aware of the danger he presents when the moon rises, Steinarr initially refuses to help them search for the key to Robin’s inheritance. Then a kiss from Marian awakens his desire. Driven to protect the maid he so desperately wants to possess, Steinarr joins their quest…while the sorceress Cwen gathers her dark magic to destroy them.

As a legend spreads of an outlaw in the woods, their band is joined by others. But it is Steinarr who has the most to gain and the most to lose-if he is ever to be free of the curse and free to love as a man…