Stefanie Sloane's Regency Round Table » Writing

Bloggity Goodness

Stefanie — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:53:58 +0000

It’s been some time since I’ve written. I’m alive and well, closing in on the ending of book #3, tentatively titled “The Sinner Who Seduced Me.” Look for more regularly posted content as I gear up for a huge website redesign and massive holiday contest!

Publication Dates? We Got ‘Em!

Stefanie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:13:28 +0000

I know, it’s true that I’m fairly easy to excite these days, but really, for a debut author, actual publication dates are HUGE. It means that yes, your publisher does plan on printing the book. And distributing the lovely little novel to bookstores. Where equally lovely readers may purchase it.

Mmmmmm. Dreamy. Oh, sorry, I got carried away there for a second.

Anyhoo, here are the titles–fingers crossed that I’ll get to keep these–and publication dates for the first three books in my Young Corinthian series:

May 2011 – The Devil in Disguise

June 2011 – The Angel in My Arms

July 2011 – The Sinner Who Seduced Me

And here’s a video of how I’m feeling at this very moment:

Pub date? Really? REALLY!

An Austen Friday

Stefanie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:00:02 +0000

It’s raining and quite grey here, leaving me in the mood for a bit of brooding.

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Mmmmm. Really, brooding doesn’t get much better than that to be found in Austen. Throw in actor Rupert Penry-Jones and you just can’t go wrong. He loves her! He hates her! He loves her! No, wait, he hates her!

Ah, amore.

The Day After

Stefanie — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:00:53 +0000

I was having coffee with a good friend the other day. We talked about the weather. The upcoming holidays. Our love of mini-sized Halloween candy. And, of course, the election.

I have great respect for this woman, a friend since college days who is intelligent, kind, trustworthy–someone I am extremely proud to count a friend.

We voted for different candidates. One for Obama, the other for McCain.

That’s not the important bit. Really.

What is important is that we both agreed that, no matter which man won, the focus should be on what we as individuals were going to do to insure that our country begins to move in a positive direction.

Donate used clothing to a local shelter. Volunteer to study with disadvantaged youth. Cook a meal for a family in need. It doesn’t matter who you voted for–everyone is affected by job loss, mortgage woes, market crashes, and the like.

So take a moment today to either celebrate the win or mourn the loss.

One moment. Two moments. Three moments.

Now get out there and make a difference.

An Austen Friday, Spooky-Style

Stefanie — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:00:25 +0000

As much as I love Halloween, I couldn’t stray from my usual Austen Friday feature. So I did my best to find one with a little of the BOO! included. See what you think:

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The video, not so scary. The music? Well, not that I don’t love Michael Buble–handsome and hip!–but, and here’s the scary part, I remember the Cheap Trick version. I even remember when it was released. 1980. Yeah, that’s right, I remember 1980.

Now that’s scary!

My Choice for Halloween: Slutty McSlut

Stefanie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:35:58 +0000

Um, surely I’m not the first woman to take notice of the rather disturbing fact that our choices when it comes to Halloween costuming are, well, somewhat limited.

Apparently, I should really want to be a slutty nurse. Or a slutty maid. Or a slutty leprechaun–I’m not even making that one up. Really. See for yourself:

Seriously? Is this what the marketing gurus think we women want? C’mon Ladies, let’s send a message loud and clear: No more insulting costumes! Next year we want creative, fun, interesting options that actually cover our assets.

Is that too much to ask? I think not.

As for this year? I’ll be saving my cash and coming up with my own. Maybe I’ll wrap myself in tinfoil and go as a leftover. Warm and modest–NICE.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Stefanie — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:22:37 +0000

It’s currently raining and 45° in my little corner of the world. Which made the promotional email from JCrew sitting in my inbox this morning that much more entertaining. Because really, who doesn’t need these:

JCrew Crackle Jane ballet flats in metallic aqua

I know, I know, for those of you in warmer parts of the world, these would be considered practical. As for me? If I can’t have the webbed paws of my chocolate lab, then I really should be looking at something more along the lines of these:

Chooka Tattoo City rain boots

Which, while no where near as stylish as the flats, still add a little oomph to any outfit. Rain, rain, don’t go away, in a pair of these boots I want to go out and play! I’ll file the flats in the “sunny vacation” section of my brain and stick with the boots for the fall. And winter. And spring. And, oh let’s be honest, probably part of the summer as well, since the Northwest is notoriously shy when it comes to the sun.

How about you? Any accessory that will be occupying your dreams to get you through the doldrums of the colder months?

The Great Agent Hunt

Stefanie — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:21:03 +0000

Every writer will tell you that finding an agent is nearly as hard as selling your book. And I have to agree. My first go round with a Chick Lit manuscript some years ago found me signing with a big agent known for her stellar clients and killer deals.

As it turned out, the fit wasn’t precise, my need for someone in between a shark and a friend making for a lousy business relationship. To add to the discomfort, I fell into the habit that many new writers do of deferring to the agent on every front, losing sight of what was right for me and my work in favor of buying into the all-mighty agent act.

The excitement of being agented had turned to disappointment and regret. I talked with many writer friends who encouraged me to part ways with the agent, no agent being preferable to the wrong agent.

Writing the letter that would cut ties with her was hard, mailing it even harder.

If it had been the right thing to do, why did it feel like I’d just taken a giant step backwards?

It took some time to regain lost confidence, but I did, turning to writing historical romance with a passion and excitement that I’d not felt for my writing in some time.

And then I met Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Associates at the Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas. She was approachable and down to earth, clearly very intelligent and professional without an ounce of ego or stuffiness. And funny. Really, really funny. Talking to her was like talking with a good friend.

She asked to take a look at my work and handed me her card. I taped the card to my desk and looked at it every day while I worked.

And then I got the flu.

And then I got pneumonia.

And, well, life just happened and before I knew it spring had sprung and I’d failed to pass on any pages.

Sure that she’d say no thanks but hopeful all the same, I emailed Jennifer and reminded her of our meeting oh so long ago.

She was still funny, still down to earth, smart as a whip, and willing to look at my work.

So she did. And she signed me.

And I’ll always be grateful for having had the courage to let go of what I thought I wanted in order to look for what I really needed.