Monthly Archives: December 2011

Favorite Holiday Movies

Kerri Carpenter, mermaids, ,

I find it tough to be a writer during the holidays. With the shopping and the baking, festive movies and parties, writing time can take a serious backseat. So this year, I figure I’ll just go with it – there is nothing wrong with enjoying the season. Without further ado, here is a list of some of my favorite Christmas movies.  

1.   A Christmas Story

Nothing makes me laugh like this movie. It’s not only a favorite holiday movie, it’s an all-time favorite. There are so many quotable lines I could seriously write a whole thesis on this film. (And I know you’re all saying, “You’ll shoot your eye out,” right now. Admit it!) Whoever decided to play it nonstop for 24 hours on Christmas day was a genius!

2.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I’m talking about the cartoon, not the one with real people. What’s not to like about this movie? It’s short, it’s sweet and it makes my heart grow three sizes too big as well.

3.  Holiday Inn

I remember the first time my parents showed me this movie. I quickly got over my aversion to black & white because it’s so fantabulous! Plus, my mom and I like to guess what color all of the gorgeous costumes are.

4.  White Christmas

I find myself very drawn to White Christmas. The dance scenes are amazing and I would kill to be as thin as Vera Ellen.   And I love when Bing Crosby says, “what’s the beef” and how the train looks all clean and fun. Those were different times.

5.  Elf

Elf is so funny! But I think my favorite thing about it is how committed Will Ferrell is to the role of Buddy the Elf. He believes he’s Buddy and so do I. “Santa!!!!!!! I know him, I know him!”

As a self-appointed Christmas movie aficionado, there are many, many more movies I could have listed (Bill Murray’s Scrooged, Miracle on 34th Street). But I just wanted to give you the basic idea. No matter what you like watching this time of year, I hope you have a wonderful holiday and a fabulous New Years!

What is your favorite holiday movie?

 

 

You Can Hate Marketing. Seriously. It’s Okay.

Marketing, mermaids

Today I am launching a new series at my blog about branding and website development. Why? Because I’m working with a design team on my new author website. It’s an exciting project, but it’s also something I need to do. Why? Because I believe effective branding, effective web presence, social media and finding my audience niche can’t wait until my first book is published (yep, without a single nibble I’m just putting it out there). I’ve got to get the waters primed, and now is the time.

Don’t believe me? Bored already with the constant chatter about what you need to do from what you don’t? If you write, and intend to get published or are published – you must market your brand. Period. No excuses (I won’t go on and on about how much I HATE excuses…but that’s for another journal entry).

I’ve met two people in my career (I’ve been doing the marketing thing for consumer products companies and nonprofit organizations for twenty plus years) who are standouts on the nuances of marketing. My mentor in Chicago, who tried to teach me as much as he could. Bless his heart. And a woman who started a nonprofit business and just didn’t give a damn about anything but selling her product. She was successful, but I’m not sure if the price was worth it (okay, I am sure, it was–for her).

The thing to know though is that neither one of these people were authors. They both are incredible writers, but not romance authors. That is a special world and as competitive as any other business niche in today’s marketplace – a marketplace that on the outside appears to be jammed with opportunity and easy access because of tools like the Internet and social media. But is that true? Nothing is easy, but for it to be right, it doesn’t have to be hard.

To get started on branding you need to know you — the author you.

Answering that question will help you build a brand, or strengthen your existing Internet presence by giving you more ideas on ways to reach your target audiences through those existing distribution channels (I just had to use that phrase:)…you know, blog, twitter, Facebook, etc (Social media stuff is always a good place to begin).

Check out some websites and blogs I think kick a** when it comes to branding.

Legend the Series – when I visited this blog in April 2011, the book deal had been announced a few months earlier (as much as a year earlier), and the site kept adding features until launch day.

Vanessa Barneveld – an unpublished author, but also a Golden Heart winner – her site has strong branding that let’s you know about the author and the flavor of the books immediately.

Romancing the Palate – a blog by a published author offering a topic/niche that dovetails into her stories, and thus helps to build a consistent identity for her ‘foodie’ angle included in her novels (she recently sold her first full-length book).

Quiet Laughter – a blog by an author who is interested in exploring the differences in cultures, catches the eye, but also imaginatively utilizes a simple blogger template.

Now tell me the first thing that comes into your head when you think about marketing…and no cursing (or at least not too much cursing)…

If you’d like to read a bit more about developing your brand, visit my blog and check out today’s post on BRANDING and Why I HATE Marketing:)…

Congratulations! The WINNER OF THE DECEMBER GIVEAWAY IS LANA!!! Please contact us today with your mailing address so we can drop the AMAZON gift card in the mail ASAP!

December Giveaway Day!!!

mermaids

It is the season to be giving, right! So, we are giving away a $35 Amazon gift card!!!  

It’s December and the big holiday season is upon us. As you might imagine, the Waterworld Mermaids aren’t ones to swim away from celebrations, if you know what I mean. So, we want to add a tiny bit of holiday cheer and a big thank you to those who enjoy stopping by and visiting with us in our pond. Also, it’s fun to give stuff away! So here’s how we are going to play.

Since I’m posting and I’m all about urban fantasy novels (for the moment), I need your help. If you would like a chance to win a $35 Amazon gift card, please comment by answering one of the questions shown below (or both–we don’t mind):

What is your favorite urban fantasy novel or urban fantasy author of 2011?

What makes a bad boy hero sizzle or fizzle in a romance novel?

(The winner will be chosen at random from all ‘commenters’ who answer at least one of the questions above.  I’ll post the winner’s name here tomorrow morning when I blog the first in a series on brand marketing and creating the ultimate author’s website (how much fun is that!). To be selected for the $35 Amazon gift card, I am open to bribery, flattery, or general praise about anything I may attempt to do in the future or have considered in the past. Too much? Okay, So no, it’s pretty straightforward, nothing will help you win but the luck of the draw. So, good luck, have a great day, and enjoy the holiday season!)

Janet Evanovich Swims with the Mermaids

Interview, Writing

Sometimes you just connect with a character. That’s me with Stephanie Plum – of course, I finally married my Jersey boy, but Stephanie and I definitely have the car problems in common. Don’t even get me started on the time I was stranded on a lonely stretch of  I-80 in Nebraska with a smoking engine. Not good.

So imagine how excited I was to get to interview Janet Evanovich. Yeah, I squealed and I’m only slightly ashamed to admit. The woman is a writing hero of mine. Reading her books featuring Stephanie Plum, Alex Barnaby and Elizabeth Tucker make me happy. Usually, I tear through them in one sitting carried along by the action, humor and story twists.

“It turns out I’m a really boring workaholic with no hobbies or special interests. My favorite exercise is shopping and my drug of choice is Cheeze Doodles,” Janet writes on her website. “I read comic books and I only watch happy movies. I motivate myself to write by spending my money before I make it. And when I grow up I want to be just like Grandma Mazur.”

Can the world really take a real-life Grandma Mazur? Oh hell yeah. I for one can’t wait for it. But until that happens, grab a cup of coffee – or if you’re like Lulu a plate of ribs – and spend a few minutes with Janet.

Set the scene for us, where are you and what are your three favorite objects within arms reach.

Coffee cup, computer keyboard and my pet bird Ida’s cage. I’m in my office in Naples, FL.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Why?

I’m both. I start with a brief outline that gives me room to roam.

How often do you write and do you keep a set schedule? Do you ever start to get the shakes if you don’t write? 🙂

Seven days a week — usually eight hours at a clip. I don’t get the shakes, but I do feel the hot breath of the next deadline on my neck.

What is your celebratory treat for finishing a book?

Shopping!

For the sake of this question, your best friend is single, which one of your heroes would you set her up with?

I suppose Ranger. Then she can fill me in on all the details.

Stephanie Plum is such a popular character, do you find it challenging to break out and write non-Plum books? What kind of push back do you receive from your readers?

Yes, it is challenging, but I love the other characters and the worlds they inhabit. With regard to my new Diesel series, the vast majority of feedback is positive.

What was the last non-romance book you read that you’d recommend?

Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw.

What are your favorite pair of shoes and how do they reflect your personality?

My canvas tennies. I like to be comfortable.

What kind of support do you have as an author to help you with your website, e-mails, promotion and all the other non-writing parts of being a successful author?

I get great support from my daughter Alex who handles everything electronic and my son Peter who runs the business side of things.

With the increase in e-books, digital publishing, self publishing and all the changes in New York, where do you see the industry going and what are you doing to prepare?

I think we’re going to see more e-book publishing as time goes on. But whether they’re digital or ink on paper, readers will continue to read. I just have to keep writing the best books I can.

***

Janet, thanks so much for stopping in at the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon! I can’t wait to read Explosive Eighteen. And for those of you who are as big of fans as I am, visit the Avery Flynn website to watch the trailer for One for the Money, which will be out Jan. 27. I think that calls for a Mermaid night out.

Romantic Suspense Rules and All the Others Drool

mermaids, Writing

Yeah that’s right, I’m throwing down the gauntlet you historical queens, contemporary babes, urban fantasy badasses, chick lit divas, inspirational ladies, m/m wenches , paranormal chicks, science fiction damsels, erotica dames and every other romance genre out there. Why? Because today, Dec. 1, is Kiss of Death Day and Kiss of Death members everywhere are celebrating the romantic suspense genre.

To celebrate romantic suspense day, here are some of my favorite quotes about suspense.

“This suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.” – Oscar Wilde

“We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story.” – Mary McCarthy

“What great romance doesn’t have suspense in it? Whether a spy thriller in Regency times, a paranormal romance with a revenge-seeking zombie, or a traditional serial killer after the heroine, romance relies on suspense, leading the reader through the trials of the heroine and hero to see if they will get their happily ever after ending.” – Kiss of Death President A.J. Brower

Often, I’ll find myself reading with one hand clamped over my mouth as my heart pumps so fast blood is rushing like a tsunami in my ears. The only down side is not getting enough sleep because I have to know how the hero and heroine will catch the serial killer/kidnapper/madman and finally figure out they were meant for each other.

Over on Twitter, Kiss of Death members and romantic suspense lovers are Tweeting about why they love romantic suspense using the hashtag #romanticsuspense. Help us to make that hashtag trend on Twitter by Tweeting about why you love romantic suspense.