Thank Yous are Necessary

I've just discovered the other day that the following was not well known:

As a published author, I contribute bookmarks, etc. to different conferences, etc. When the conference is over, there is always a very polite thank-you note acknowledging my contributions. Usually, these are bookmarks for goody bags, but authors send all sorts of stuff to fill these bags. They are taking time and effort to help a conference (okay, it is promotion for the author, too :))

The thank-you note varies. It can be a brief e-mail, or a sweet little note (always great to open), or in the form of a business letter if books are donated. This is something that needs to be tucked into my tax file to show I am using my ad books.

This courtesy is customary, and fuels more donations from authors. Rarely is this courtesy skipped.

If you are having a conference, or promoting a cause, take time to write that little thank-you note to the people who have donated. It is so very important.

People I Admire

Add Jayne Ann Krentz to my list with Lauren Hutton for People I Admire. (Don't forget AlisonKent.com or Michele Albert at Inkalicious.com)

Few writers conduct their long term careers as well as JAK. She's just posted the best basic how-to write and finish and polish a book technique ever at runningwithquills.com

Basically, write full speed ahead, a la Book In A Week style, finish the rough draft, which you'll probably edit along the way, then return 4 or more times to edit.

In her post, JAK expresses getting to know her characters and settling in with them. I'm doing that now at over half way into a new one. The situations, the scenes, the characters all change as the work develops. In no way would my characters be set-in-stone from the get-go. They evolve and so does the story from that first inception, gem of an idea.

I hope you visit runningwithquills.com and read JAK's post. With a new book out April 24th, and I'm buying that one in the Arcane series, she'll be promoting, too. Love that Arcane series, esp. the contemporaries.

Friday the Thirteenth

Oooo. Scary.

This month, I'm celebrating my birthday, but today is a friend's. She seems normal :) Another friend's birthday is on the 15th, which is usually tax day. She usually celebrates that way.

Amazing how many Aries there are coming out of the woodwork now that they know April is my birthday month. I'm celebrating with a red shoulder bag prize, filled with my backlist and other goodies at two contests this month; one is at FreshFiction.com and the other at my website, http://caitlondon.com The red bag matches the color of AT THE EDGE's cover.

Reviews Nice Ones

It is a scary time, but so far, reviews for AT THE EDGE have been great. Here are a couple.

***** (5 stars) Only Cait London can write such a stimulating Romantic Suspense novel that readers will be unable to tear themselves away from. Though the story focuses on Claire and Neil, readers will come to know Claire's sisters and mother as well. Claire is the one that brings balance to her family. She brings them together, somehow, and helps solve or soothe family troubles. As an empath, she instinctively wants to help, to heal. Pairing the empath with a troubled (and divorced) male neighbor is a stroke of genius, in my opinion.

This is a stand alone tale. I did not feel as though I was left hanging at the end. You will not have to read the following two books in this trilogy; however, there is a subplot which runs throughout this book, and it will be used within all three stories. To get the full effect, I highly recommend reading the entire trilogy. No one writes like Cait London! Excellent! *****

HUNTRESS REVIEWS
(Reviewed by Detra Fitch)
--

I simply could not read this book fast enough. Psychics have always
fascinated me so this story was exactly the kind of thing I thoroughly
enjoy reading. I'm not sure I'm patient enough to wait for the second book
in the trilogy, Tempest's story. It cannot be published quickly enough for
me!
TheBestReviews.com
(Reviewed by Kathy Boswell)

Lauren Hutton, Hero

I admire Lauren Hutton. She's out there, doing her thing, has overcome huge difficulties and is quite the girl. According to her spot on hsn.com, she's heading for China now and diving off the coast of somewhere. I love to watch her ad spots and purchased her Passport to South Pacific. Very handy travel makeup, and good. I'd already had her Face Disk, which is great.

With promotion for AT THE EDGE coming up and in my own travels, I appreciate stuff (her brand is Good Stuff:)) that travels/packs well.

She's done great things with her life, a real inspiration, and probably will just keep on going.

At the Edge Reviews

You can find several reviews of AT THE EDGE reviews at http://caitlondon.com/Edge.html

They're all positive, thank goodness. And several five-stars. The very first reviews in are always scary, and you wait for the very first one. I've never understood the "baited breath" phrase,but I'm sure that it would apply to this scary time.

You've worked so hard on your baby, sometimes having to rediaper and clean up before you can send him out to play with the other kids.

I'm having a lot of promotions for AT THE EDGE, and you can find those at my website. The red shoulder bag filled with my backlist and promotions, is going to be listed in several contests. So I hope you'll enter those too.

AT THE EDGE in June is the first of my psychic triplets trilogy and I'll have an excerpt up soon. We are doing a cover and title for book 2 now, which is Tempest's story. I am writing Leona's now.

I also had a PR photo taken last week, for use in my new books. It was exhausting, though the photographer and assistants were great. Under the spotlight, is not my environment. Most writers are reclusive.

Right now, the birds are chirping signaling sunrise and I had better get back to work on Leona's story.