Wednesdays With Joanne: "It's the heroine, stupid."

I say that with all due respect and nothing but love in my heart!

Of my two books sold to Five Star-Thomson Gale, while the hero and heroine both figure prominantly (as is requisite in any romance), much of the story falls on the slight but strong shoulders of the heroine. It's up to her to get the romance off the ground and keep it going through every conflict, no matter how black the moment. Of course it takes two! It takes both the hero and the heroine to create the romance "that dreams are made of," with the plot often taking twists and turns made by the hero. I believe, however, that it is the heroine with whom the reader first identifies, first takes note of, and keeps the reader "reading."

In Matchmaker, Matchmaker, the heroine is a young, unwed, Jewish doctor struggling to make a life out west for herself and her ailing father. Five identifiers right away: young, unwed, Jewish, doctor, daughter. In A...My Name's Amelia, the young heroine is unwed, deaf, and trying to make a living in the non-deaf world. Four identifiers here: young, unwed, deaf, strong-willed.

While I can't wait to have the hero and heroine meet, more important is to have the reader first meet the heroine. Will you love to love her, or love to hate her?

Happy Reading & Happy Holidays!

Shalom to all, and to all a good night,

Joanne

Wednesdays With Joanne : A "signing we will go!"

Still happy to snag a few signing appearances, given that Matchmaker, Matchmaker has been in release since January, I happily took my Mont Blanc in hand and showed up at B & N in Denver this past Sunday. What a fun time! I call my signings "cold calls" as I show up and see what happens (as opposed to having an agent or publicist contact newspapers, radio stations, etc, to announce my comings and goings. Maybe in my next life, huh). The community specialist at B & N in Glendale was wonderful, giving me a huge publicity sign and a comfortable chair. Of course a chair is a no-no at a signing. You need to engage and energize the literary public that happen by; hard to do if you're sitting down I think. With props (Chanukah sugar cookies and signed bookmarks) in hand I had so much fun conversing with history buffs, medical folks, teachers, and lovers of historical romance. It doesn't get much better than that. I sold some books and signed a few to leave in-store.

My library booktalk in the mountains, while not as well attended as my Denver signing, taught me a thing or two about marketing. No matter how much you publicize things (despite the local newspaper not listing the word "signing" in the promo blurb, daggone it), don't plan any events during the month of December, especially in the mountains, on a freezing night in the snow, and expect the folks to come. If you build it, they don't necessairly come! I'm learning, albeit slowly. A brave, sincere, few showed up for my booktalk and some even bought books. Thank you!!!! You all know who you are. Although my ego is a bit bruised, I don't fault mountain kith and kin. I blame myself for my ill-timed marketing effort.

The "marketing sweats" come in all kinds of ways; not just waiting for reviews to come in. Oy vey! I experienced a few anxiety pangs Monday night but such is the nature of the marketing beast.

Shalom,
Joanne

Wednesdays with Joanne ... on Friday?

Hi guys,

Been caught up in a bit of web trouble. Sorry for the posting delay.

I'm trying to find time each day to "surf the blogs" and find out what's what. I have learned that apparently there's a whole new category of us out there: bloggers and non-bloggers. If one dives into blogging, one should commit to weekly, if not daily postings. And these postings need to be substantial, or at least, gritty and informative. Then, if one decides to take the plunge into the blogging pool, one should link to other blog sites, share information, and even set up interviews, and blog tours. Whew! See why I'm still overwhelmed at the prospect of blogging?

That being said...

I'm still going to be Wednesday's Child here, and do my best to entertain, inform, and hook you on historical romance; especially historical romance set in the West. Hey, there are so many talented, successful, historical romance writers here in Colorado. Joan Johnston kindly gave me an author quote for my upcoming romance, A...My Name's Amelia, and I met Sandra Dallas at the recent Women Writing the West Conference, where her book, New Mercies, took top prize. Isn't name-dropping the best! (network-speaking, that is) I met another amazing author there as well, Harriet Rochlin.

There are three Romance Writers of America chapters in Colorado: Heart of Denver, Colorado Romance Writers, and Pikes Peak Writers. I'm a member of CRW, living 2 hrs away in the mountains. A new member, I've run into some old friends and am making new ones! Couldn't ask for a better support group, or writing resource.

I'm gearing up for a signing at B&N in Denver this Sunday, and a booktalk/signing at one of our local libraries on Monday. I hope to meet other writers here in Grand County. WE ARE NOT ALONE!

I'll be back soon.

Joanne