LARA Confidential

December 2012

Dec 2012 Newsletter

LARA Presents:

First Romance Nov-

els of 2012

1

January Meeting and

Upcoming Contests

2

New Location for

2013

3

New LARA Releases 4

Speaker Spotlight

5

The Christmas Tree

in Victorian America

6

Quick Tips: List-

making

7

Motivation Methods:

Finish the Darn Book

7

Promotional Prow-

ess: Opportunities

for LARA Authors

8

Promotional Prow-

ess: Swag

9

Dancer’s Guide to

Writing

11

Join us on December 16

for our General Meeting at

the Sportsman’s Lodge in

Studio City, CA (on the

corner of Ventura &

Coldwater Canyon)

Promoting Excellence in Romantic Fiction through Education and Community

LARA Presents

Publishing the First Romance Novel

with Erica Barton, Samanthe Beck, Robin Bielman, Robena Grant, Kate McKinley, and Laura Sheehan

December 16, 2012

Each December, LARA celebrates their members who have been published for the first time in romance throughout the past year. In 2012, the Los Angeles Romance Authors chap-ter is proud to invite six of our authors as guest speaker’s for this month’s meeting. Please join us on Sunday, December 16th as they discuss their journey to becoming published romance novelist!

To learn more about this month’s guest speakers, check

out our Speaker Spotlight on Page 5!

LARA Confidential The Newsletter of the Los Angeles Romance Authors Chapter of RWA®

Robena Grant

Robin Bielman

Laura Sheehan

Kate McKinley

Samanthe Beck

Erica Barton

LARA Confidential 2

December 2012

Upcoming LARA Events

January 20, 2013 General Meeting: New Year, New Goals!

December is – gasp! – almost over. How did that happen? Which means – yes, that OTHER

popular season is just around the corner.

I’m talking about goal setting, of course. Do you set goals and then wonder why you never seem

to reach most of them? Come to the LARA meeting on January 20th, 2013 where I’ll be giving a

workshop about goal setting that can actually work for you.

Bring a pen and some paper – we’ve got work to do! Whether you want to lose that stubborn ten

pounds or get that novel out, I can help you find the right motivation behind the goals that will

keep you on course. See you there – at our NEW LOCATION!

~ Christine Ashworth, incoming LARA President

SPEW: Don’t forget that SPEW (Stop Procrastinating Everybody Write) starts the Monday af-

ter our regular monthly meeting. To join, please email sarahevance@gmail.com.

Author Critique Opportunity Drawing: For just one dollar, you can buy a chance

to get your manuscript read by one of LARA's fabulous published authors! You can buy your raf-fle tickets at the beginning of each General Meeting.

Upcoming RWA Contests

Great Expectations. Sponsor: North Texas Romance Writers of America. Fee: $25–35. Dead-

line: Dec. 28, 2012. Entry: All electronic. First 25 pages plus micro-synopsis (300 words max).

Judges: Three preliminary-round judges (trained, one published). FMI, visit http://

ntrwagreatexpectations.blogspot.com or email Heather Long at gecoordinator@ntrwa.org.

The Smooch 2013. Sponsor: Yosemite Romance Writers - Heart of California RWA. Fee: $15

YRW members, $25 others. Deadline: January 1, 2013. Eligibility: All RWA members un-

published in book-length fiction. Entry: The “first kiss” scene; 8-pages max; electronic submis-

sions only. Categories: All subcategories of romance fiction accepted. Judges: Authors tradition-

ally published in romance fiction. Final Judge: Agent Scott Eagan of Greyhaus Literary Agency.

Top Prize: The Smooch trophy and $50. 2nd & 3rd Place Prize: Certificates and a special gift.

FMI, Visit www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/smooch for complete rules, entry instructions, pay-

ment options, and sample of score sheet. For further questions email sharon.lathan@gmail.com.

LARA Confidential 3

December 2012

Chapter Business

New Meeting Location

Starting in January 2013, the LARA monthly meetings will be held at the new location at Bridg-es Academy, in the library. More information will be provided at the December monthly meeting and via the LARALink yahoo email group.

Bridges Academy 3921 Laurel Canyon Boulevard

Studio City, CA 91604

LARA Confidential 4

December 2012

New

Releases by

LARA

Members

LARA Confidential 5

December 2012

Speaker Spotlight

Victoria Russell, LARA Programming Director, interviews our December speakers: Samanthe Beck, Erica Barton, Robin Bielman, Robena Grant, Kate McKinley, and Laura Sheehan.

What does being published mean to you?

Samanthe Beck: Well, technically it hasn't hap-pened yet, as I've contracted for three novels, but not yet published, so I'm still speaking hypotheti-cally, but I sincerely hope it means I never have to be a lawyer again. I'm pretty sure the entire legal community also hopes that's what it means!

Erica Barton: Being published to me means that I am sharing something from my heart with peo-ple who love to read as much as I do. Publishing ROMANCE means that I may get hurt or embar-rassed by readers' reactions to my stories, but it was still worth sharing the story anyway.

Robin Bielman: Being published is a dream come true for me. It didn't happen overnight, and I learned that if I was persistent and dedicated and didn't let doubt worm its way into my thoughts too often, I would one day have the success I want-ed. It also means a group of wonderful friends that I treasure very much!

Robena Grant: Validation. Someone saw the benefit of my words, my story made sense to them, and they were willing to give me a chance. To be able to reach even a handful of readers who might sit back and say, "You know what, that was a pretty good yarn," is worth more to me than riches.

Kate McKinley: With ebooks on the rise, I was thrilled when I sold to The Wild Rose Press earlier this year. But I’ve been a part of RWA for 6 years and being published by one of the “big 6” (or is it the “big 5” now?) has always been an aspiration of mine. So when I “got the call” from Grand Cen-tral, it was just icing on the cake!

Laura Sheehan: To me, being published means validation. As we all know, writing a book is hard. It takes time, effort, skill, passion, and courage.

Having a publisher read your novel and tell you that they loved it and want to publish it is a won-derful feeling, and that stamp of validation can make a rookie author feel as though all of their hard work was worth it. Although self-publishing is such a viable, sensible option nowadays, I don't blame new authors for still wanting that "official stamp of approval" that comes from a publishing offer... that's what happened to me. I do not doubt that I could have made more money self-publishing DANCING WITH DANGER, but I want-ed that validation.

What is your favorite dessert?

Samanthe Beck: Oh, geez ... this is like asking me to choose my favorite child. Actually, that would be easier since I only have one! I'm a big chocolate fan ... and a cupcake junkie ... and ice cream ... and ...

Erica Barton: My favorite dessert is choco-late. Anything chocolate.

Robin Bielman: My favorite dessert? Oh, this is hard given I have a huge sweet tooth! I love cup-cakes, but those are fun to eat any time of day. For a traditional dessert, my favorite is probably a fruit tart - with strawberries and kiwi and blueber-ries and a layer of chocolate on the crust - be-cause it's just so darn good.

Robena Grant: Key Lime Pie. I love the combina-tion of the sweet/tart taste, smooth texture, cool sensation on my tongue, and all followed by the crunch of a magnificent crust.

Kate McKinley: Easy—anything chocolate! Chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream! Yum. I’ll take it all.

Laura Sheehan: I'm a HUGE fan of chocolate, but only milk chocolate. Forget dark, mint, white, semi-sweet.. ick. Give me a bag of Lindt Milk Chocolate Truffles (gooey soft milk chocolate sur-rounded by a hard shell of equally delish milk chocolate) and a bag of pretzels and I'm set! I'm also a fan of angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream.

LARA Confidential 6

December 2012

Historical Hot-sheet

The following article originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of Bard’s Scroll, the monthly newsletter of the Hearts Through History RWA chapter. It was reprinted with permission.

The Christmas Tree in

Victorian America

By Susan Macatee

The traditions of the Christmas season, at least

in America, evolved during the Victorian period

to encase much of what we still celebrate as

part of Christmas today. St. Nicholas or Santa

Claus appeared as a main part of the season

during the Victorian era.

A big part of a Victorian Christmas, the Christ-

mas tree, was thought of by many as being do-

nated by German immigrants, who decorated

an evergreen tree in their homes. This tradition,

in actuality dates back to pre-Christian times.

To the Romans, the evergreen was a symbol of

fertility and regeneration. The early Christians

adapted the symbol to represent the Tree of

Life and Jesus.

The Christmas tree in America dates back to

as early as 1812 or 1819. New York was origi-

nally a Dutch Republic named New Amster-

dam, hence the earliest American Christmas

trees may have originated with the German-

American population.

The Christmas tree gradually increased in pop-

ularity over the next twenty years. Universal

appeal occurred during the 1850’s and

1860’s. Godey’s promoted the charm of the in-

home Christmas tree, highlighting Queen Victo-

ria and Prince Albert’s celebration. A table-top

tree was included, the print appearing in the

December Godey’s issue in 1850. Albert had

introduced the tree he’d embraced as a child in

Germany and years after his marriage to Victo-

ria, stated, “I must now seek in the children an

echo of what Ernest [his brother] and I were in

the old-time, of what we felt and thought; and

their delight in the Christmas-trees is not less

than ours used to be…”

In America, over the next decade, Christmas

trees started to appear in both churches and

the marketplace. This in turn encouraged peo-

ple to bring them into their homes, making the

tree an important part of holiday décor.

Resources: From Christmas Trees and

Godey’s Lady’s Book/ America’s Victorian Era

in the Age of Sail

For more information and photos of early

Christmas trees go to:

karleeaturner.wordpress.com

Susan Macatee writes American Civil War romance,

some with a paranormal twist. From time travels to vam-

pire tales, her stories are always full of love and adven-

ture. She’s spent many years as a Civil War civilian

reenactor with the 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regi-

ment. She's a wife, mother of three grown sons, and has

recently become a grandmother. She spends her free

time watching favorite old movies, and inhaling books.

LARA Confidential 7

December 2012

‘Tis the Season for List-Making

Santa’s making a list and checking it twice, and so should bloggers. Readers often prefer information that is provided in bullet-point or list form, rather than paragraphs of text, when browsing the internet. And research indicates that headlines involving lists

receive more clicks from search engine results.

Quick Tip

Motivation Methods

The following article appeared in the October 2012 issue of DARA News, the newsletter of the Dallas Area Ro-mance Authors. Reprinted with permission.

A Newbie's Guide: How to Finish the Darn Book

by Michelle Miles

Previously, I talked about finishing the darn book. I hope that post motivated you to get out of your own way and start writing to the finish line. Part of writing is the ability to complete a project, edit it, submit it and move on. But if you’re having difficulty finding a way to finish that book, the maybe you need some help. Don’t be a fence-sitter. Here are five tips to help you jump off that fence and get back to the keyboard.

1. Treat it like a job. You want to write. You call yourself a writer. But it’s the last thing on your to-do list every day. This does not a writer make. I realize how difficult it is to carve out that writing time when you have a full time job, a family, etc. When dance classes and sports take over your life. When you have to answer for The Man from 8 to 5. But if you never treat it like a job, your future career, you will never make it a full time job. Even if you only write 15 minutes a day, you should be doing it every day.

2. Set yourself a daily goal and stick to it. Figure out what your schedule is for writing. Do you write best in the morning? At night whenev-er the household has gone to bed? Carve out that time and stick to it. For me, I write on my lunch hour at work. I take my lunch every day and sit in the restaurant in the building and hammer out the words on my keyboard. Maybe that doesn’t work for you. And if not, you have to figure out what does. Most important: try to do it at the same time every day. It will be a way to train your brain when Creative Time is.

3. Make your writing time sacred. Tell the family to bug off while you write. Okay, maybe not in so many words but you get my drift. Tell them this is your dream and you will do any-thing to follow it. Don’t feel guilty for not spend-ing every second of every day with the hus-band and kids. They’ll understand and get it. The point is, don’t allow anyone to interfere

(Continued on page 9)

LARA Confidential 8

December 2012

Promotional Prowess

Check out these fantastic promotional opportunities available for LARA authors through the new LARA Website.

THE LARA BLOG TOUR

Have a blog? Now LARA can help you spread the word about it. LARA is doing an email blog tour to the Chapter's Readers. Once a month, a few members will have their blog spotlighted in the email newsletter.

Simply click here to submit your blog information: http://www.lararwa.com/blog-tour-form/

SAY HELLO TO ARTICLES

LARA will be posting "Say Hello To" articles about the various members on the main blog and in the newsletter. It is a simple and fun way to let the Chapter's Readership get to know you, your blog and your writing

style better. Simply click here to fill out the form: http://www.lararwa.com/submit-a-say-hello-to-article/

WORKSHOP PAGE

LARA is rebuilding the Workshop Page on the website to help our writers market their Speaking and Workshop events. To have

your workshop added, simply click here to fill out the quick form:

http://www.lararwa.com/submit-a-workshop-or-speaker-proposal-for-laras-website/

LARA Confidential 9

December 2012

with that sacred writing time, be it 15 minutes or 60 minutes.

4. Allow yourself to write crap. If you’re just starting out, know that your words are not gold-en. In fact, they most likely will suck. It’s okay to suck. You will suck until you learn the craft. You will suck right now but probably not later. Tell yourself this is okay. Puke out those words on the page and keep going. You can always edit it later. If you keep writing and working and learning, you will get better. I promise!

5. Don’t stop believin’. Journey said it best. Don’t stop. Ever. Believe in yourself. Believe in your writing and never give up. No matter how many rejections you get.

Michelle Miles writes contemporary, paranor-mal and fantasy romance. You can find out more about her books at her website at http://www.michellemiles.net, follow her on Twitter @MichelleMiles, or like her at Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MichelleMilesRomance

(Continued from page 7) Finish the Darn Book

Promotional Prowess

The following article appeared in the December 2012 issue of In Print!, the monthly newsletter of Houston Bay Area RWA. Reprinted with permission.

Swag

by Gerry Bartlett

Who knows what swag really means? If you google it, you can find definitions from loot to plunder, as in a pirate’s haul. Of course you can swag fabric too. But in our author’s world, I think it stands for “So What Am-I Getting?” Hmm. Maybe that sounds a little mercenary. But in promotion, it seems to boil down to fig-uring out what you can give potential readers that will make them remember you or your books and, most importantly, buy someday. I have noticed that some authors have the mis-taken notion that swag is a bookmark. Really? When half of your readers are using their Kin-dle or Nook to download their library now? I’m sorry but I think bookmarks may be going the way of the dinosaur. There are probably still a few fans who collect them, but I think they are admiring the graphics. Do they lead to sales? I’d love to see some statistics.

Of course getting statistics on any kind of

promo material is impossible. For one thing, I don’t think readers know what makes them remember to buy a book. Seriously. All the surveys I’ve seen that probe reader choices seem to come to the same conclusions: author loyalty and good covers with intriguing blurbs are the best sales boosters you’ve got. But for some reason we all still try to bribe readers to come join our fan base. And we do it with swag. We also hand it out to keep our loyal readers happy. Unfortunately it’s an expensive proposition. Let me walk you through some of the basics.

First, you might want to go for bookmarks. I personally always have brochures made in-stead, the tri-fold variety with an excerpt in-side. I waited for a special coupon and got 3000 for $400. I got a price break because my webmistress did the design work, which ran me another $125. The good thing is that I had the covers for all the previous books in my se-ries on the front, with the excerpt from the coming book inside. I figured that brochure was good for a year. With my active street team I’ve already run out of those and just or-dered a thousand more because I’m going to the RT conference this spring. I never go any-where without a few in my purse. They are my calling card. And they can be used for a book-

(Continued on page 10)

LARA Confidential 10

December 2012

mark. Multi-purpose. I can’t quote a price for bookmarks but go on-line and ask any pub-lished author and I’m sure someone can point you to a cheap printer who can set you up. There are easy programs that you can use to make your own with a color printer. I just didn’t feel up to it.

My favorite swag was a drink koozie—you know, one of those foam can holders? Fans loved them. I gave them away when I first start-ed my street team and at the last RT confer-ence I went to. I paid too much for mine but they were cute—red with “I’m Blood Thirsty,” “The Real Vampires Series” and my website of course. I put my website, gerrybartlett.com, on EVERYTHING. I paid over two bucks apiece for these. You can do better if you shop around. I’m totally out of them now because everyone wanted one. So far I’ve resisted or-dering more.

My latest swag was a big hit with my street team. I ordered red shopping bags that fold up and have my logo, bats, with my catch phrase, “Because vampires are everywhere…”, and my website on the side in black. I ordered 150 for, gulp, $490. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but I feel like I got good bang for my buck. I don’t kid my-self. I realize that the only reason some people asked to join my street team was because they saw the pictures members posted on Facebook of the bag I’d sent them. All of those are gone now, but I got a few that the printer messed up so I’m giving those out too.

Does it sound like I’m breaking the bank? Trust me, I’m not spending nearly what a lot of authors do. One member of another chapter told me about a flash drive she gave out at RT. It had her logo and website on the side and hung from a rubber bracelet. I priced those. Wow! Almost five dollars each. I’d have to get bigger advances to justify that.

The bottom line is: Does a bribe, I mean

swag lead to more sales? I’ve picked up cute things at the RWA conferences in years past. Still use some of the pens. Have a great little manicure set in my makeup drawer. Do I ever notice the author’s name on the side of either one of those? No. Did I buy a book out of guilt because I realized the author had spent a lot on that swag? Of course not. I picked up some of it to get an idea for swag of my own. I don’t consider anything that is just paper to be swag at all and obviously neither does RWA. They banned such items from the goody room years ago. RT has too.

So before you order those cute personalized emery boards with your book’s title and your name on it, ask yourself: is this going to help my career? Will this sell books for me? Of course I’m a fine one to talk. I just bought 160 gold ornaments and wrote RV (for Real Vam-pires, the name of my series) in red puffy paint on the side of each one. Swag for my street team members. I felt like I had to give them something for Christmas. But their best gift this year? I always provide a secret link to a pre-view scene in the upcoming book that no one else gets to see. It’s not swag that they can show their friends or take a picture of to post on Facebook, but it seems to make them hap-py and feel special.

And that’s the bottom line. Forget swag and make sure your books are keeping your fans hooked. That’s why I tantalize my readers with one-line Wednesdays on Facebook, giving them a line from my next release each week. I tease them and keep reminding them that I’ve got a new book coming. I also send out a newsletter every other month with a short sce-ne from the upcoming book. Fresh material. That’s what they’re after. And of course I offer swag—an easy contest where they can win a $20 gift card to B&N or Amazon, their choice. Bribery. Got to love it.

Gerry Bartlett is the author of the best-selling Real Vam-pires series for Berkley Publishing. To read more of her-articles or to sign up for her newsletter, go to gerrybart-lett.com.

(Continued from page 9) Swag

LARA Confidential 11

December 2012

Laura’s Letter

A Dancer’s Guide to Writing

By Laura Sheehan, Newsletter Editor

I began dancing when I was ten years old, and have never stopped. Ballet, jazz, tap, modern, musical theatre, I love it all. To me, my passion for dance plays perfectly into my passion for writing.

How, you ask?

Dance is communication without words. Danc-ers have the ability to manipulate their body in space and time with musicality and form; good dancers can do this while also conveying emo-tion; and great dancers will make all of that seem inconsequential as they transport you to another world.

Sound familiar?

I firmly believe that everyone can dance. All you need is the desire to do so, and the cour-age to get your butt onto the dance floor. The same is true for writing. Everyone can write,

all you need is the desire and courage to do so.

But the difference between a dancer and a great dancer is the same difference between that of a writer and a great writer: passion and training.

So in that vein, here is my Dancer’s Guide to Writing:

Know your craft. You cannot become a prima ballerina without knowing how to plié. So don’t assume you can write the next bestseller until you understand the im-portance of grammar, character develop-ment, and story pacing.

(Continued on page 12)

Gift Ideas for Writers of all Ages

The Young Writer

Alphabet magnets, books, poetry magnets, Mad Libs, books, word games (Yahtzee, Scrabble, Story Cubes, etc.), books, books and more books.

The Experienced Writer

Blank journals, fancy pens, decorated idea jars, massages/spa day, ergonomic key-board or workstation, research materials, inspirational materials, moral support, honest

reviews, RWA membership, books, books, and more books.

Quick Tip

LARA Confidential 12

December 2012

Practice makes perfect. Even Baryshni-kov, one of the most celebrated ballet danc-ers in history, takes class everyday. Writers are no different. Your first draft will never be perfect. Recognize that revisions are just a part of the writing process and be pre-pared to sweat through them.

Merde. Just as actors tell each other to “break a leg” before a performance, balleri-nas will wish each other “merde.” In French (ballet’s mother tongue) merde means “shit.” Legend says that this tradition began back in the days of the horse-and-carriage, where the success of a show could be measured by the size of the audience (and therefore the number of horse-led carriag-es). In short: the more horseshit in front of the theatre, the better. So what does this have to do with writing? The more success-ful you are, the more shit you will have to put up with. Erroneous reviews, ridiculous criticisms, unfair expectations… shit will happen. Expect it. Welcome it. It means you’re doing something right.

Dance like no one is watching. Don’t hold back out of fear of what people might say or think. As an artist, you must be willing to lay yourself bare. Don’t cater to an audi-ence, your passion must come from within. How can you inspire others if you do not inspire yourself?

Do it full-out. In dancer terminology, there are two ways of dancing: marking it, and doing it full-out. Typical-ly, dancers only “mark it” when they are learning a new piece of choreogra-phy, but once the steps have been committed to memory, dancers are expected to do it “full-

out.” In other (more vulgar) words, marking it means half-assing it, whereas full-out means balls-to-the-wall. Marking it might be easier, but you’ll never learn what you’re capable of until you go full-out.

The show must go on. The lead has laryn-gitis, your costume ripped, the stage man-ager is drunk, someone spilled water on the stage, and there are only eight people in the audience? Doesn’t matter. Life is always going to throw roadblocks that may make you feel like there is no chance of success. Ignore them. Don’t let anything distract you from your goals. The page is your stage, and no matter what, the show must go on.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again. Fred Astaire and Gin-ger Rogers had it right: don’t let mistakes keep you down. “Work like a soul inspired, till the battle of the day is won.”

Ruth St. Denis once said that dance is a form of communication that can “express what is too deep to find for words.”

As authors, let it be your goal to prove St. Den-is wrong.

~ Laura Sheehan

DANCING WITH DANGER (Red Sage)

www.ReadLaura.com

This is my last Letter from the Editor, as the new LARA Board will be taking over in January. It has been a pleas-ure and honor serving as the LARA Confidential News-letter Editor for the past year. Although I’m looking for-ward to having more time to work on my next novel, I will miss having the opportunity to bend your ear every month. Merde! to the incoming Newsletter Editing Team!

(Continued from page 11) Dancer’s Guide to Writing

LARA Confidential 13

December 2012

2012 Board

President:

Erica Barton

Executive Vice President:

Christine Ashworth

Secretary:

Cara King

Treasurer:

Ericka Scott

Programming Director:

Victoria Russell

Director of Membership:

Veronica Blade

Director of Public Relations:

Niki Channel

Ways and Means Director:

Kathy Bennett

Newsletter Editor:

Laura Sheehan

Web Master:

Larry Lundin

PAN Liaison:

Trish Albright

PRO Liaison:

Robena Grant

LARA Confidential welcomes input from all LARA members for requests, original or reprinted articles, ideas, suggestions, and comments. All contributors retain copyright to their original works. This is your newsletter, and it should meet your needs.

Please send comments, suggestions, article ideas, and reprinting permission requests to the Newsletter Editor, Laura Sheehan, at:

LARAConfidential@LARARWA.com

If you wish to receive LARA Confidential in hard copy instead of accessing it online, please send your name and mailing address to the Editor.

LARA Confidential is published monthly by Los Ange-les Romance Authors, Chapter 25 of RWA®.