Money, Honey Fabio-ulous Prize Winners!

The photo: Fabio on the Prairie
(From Man of my Dreams, not Savage Thunder, much to the disappointment of my inner 13 yo who likes to make fart jokes.)






And the winning captions?


"Stop breathing so hard. The heaving bosoms in this book are supposed to be mine." --Janga

"I can't believe it's not a b--- j--." --Gannon Carr

And Ms. Hellion for the idea that perhaps Fabio isn't embracing this woman so much as using her to shield his manly bits after unexpectedly losing his loin cloth to a fierce prairie wind. Which would explain both his look of extreme gratitude & her look of "Whaaaa?"

Email me at susan@susansey.com with your snail mail address, & I'll get a copy of Money, Honey winging your way!Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Money%20Honey
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It’s all about the Money, Honey!

by Susan Sey

Big news today, darlings: Money, Honey—the book of my heart that I almost didn’t submit anywhere because it was so tragically flawed, the book I’ve been waiting to see in print for nearly two full years—that book? It hits the shelves today. Let the chandelier swinging/shield sliding/rooster grabbing commence!

I personally plan to sit around all day with a stupid grin on my face, nursing a ridiculously strong drink, and making suggestive remarks to the gladiators. I may talk the Golden Rooster into a tango later. He’s divine on his sharp little feet, & I feel like dancing.

But first, walk with me. Come on. This way, while we can still walk a straight line. Demetrius? Grab that torch, will you, darling? Sven? Be a dear & bring along that pitcher of margaritas. Watch your step, now, everybody. The stairs are a bit sketchy, the door jamb’s a bit low…but okay. Here we are, safe and sound.

Welcome to the Cover Art Hall of Fame! Why are we here, you ask? Why are we in a long, stone hall deep in the Lair, lined with giant, gorgeously framed prints of romance novel covers?

It’s the Fabio jokes. They’re killing me.

Okay, let’s back up. I’ll explain.

As you all know, a book release isn’t a book release anymore without the accompanying blog tour. And mine kicks off here, today, as you can see. But a handful of other blogs have graciously consented to host my shameless promo-hoing as well. And I’ll tell you the truth—as much as I cherish my Call Story, I didn’t feel up to telling it ten to twelve times over a two week period. If you’re interested in a fabulous retelling of it, however, RT has been kind enough to offer me their Debut Author Spotlight this week. I go into my Journey to Publication there. You can check it out by clicking here.

For those of you interested in traveling a little further afield, however, welcome to Susan’s Blog Tour in which I will, at each whistle stop, heroically address the Top Ten Responses Commonly Heard when an Ill-Groomed Stay-at-Home Mom Announces her Secret Career as a Romance Novelist. (For the details of where I’ll be next & what I’ll be discussing, see my website.)

And I’m kicking things off here with my beloved thap gump. So let’s get started, shall we? We’ll begin, a la David Letterman, with Response #10: A smirky “Hey,will you get Fabio for your cover?”

Yeah, the dreaded Fabio question. This descends with depressing predictability into “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” jokes and a retelling of the time Fabio got nailed in the face with a pigeon while riding a roller coaster. (Okay, I’ll admit, that one’s still funny.)

Now I have nothing against Fabio. In my mind, he ranks right up there with William Shatner in terms of people who’ve parlayed a somewhat limited & outlandish skill set into a career of remarkable longevity. So it’s not Fabio himself. It’s the way his name has become shorthand for the entire romance genre. It’s the way people seem to think that Fabio—and his enthusiastic embrace of the overblown & ridiculous—IS romance. And THAT offends me. It’s about as accurate as saying all young actresses are Lindsay Lohan. “Got a role in a movie, young lady? Well,then, here’s your ankle monitor, a ziplock of prescription pills & a gallon of Red Bull & vodka. Go get ‘em, princess.”

This is not to say romance novel covers—or what’s between them—are free of ridiculousness. (Christina Dodd’s famous Heroine with Three Arms comes to mind.) But the vast majority of romance novels have perfectly lovely content—and Fabio-free covers. Just here in the Lair, we have some gorgeous—and recent—examples from nearly every subgenre. Walk with me, darlings. Let’s have a look.


In the historical category, we have Christine Wells’ Sweetest Little Sin. Sheer sexiness, literally & figuratively, & not a mullet in sight. Fabio weeps.

In the Category category, we have Kate Carlisle’s July release, The Millionaire Meets his Match. Now this is a Desire, so pretty sexy, right? So where’s all the skin? Underneath that well-fitted tux, I’m guessing. Nice.

In the Romantic Suspense category, we have Jeanne Adams’s Deadly Little Secrets, coming later this year. Dark, dangerous & sexy, the contemporary version of a clinch cover. I get a really noir, old Hollywood vibe here, don't you? I’d be proud to read it on the bus.

And (you knew it was coming, didn’t you?) here in the plain old contemporary category, we have my beloved Money, Honey. Again with the sexy clinch cover but the playful version this time. We have flirt, we have sexual tension, we have a handful of cash for heaven’s sake. What we do not have is cheese. Fabio only wishes he were my Patrick. (I’m biased, I’ll admit it, but my Patrick wears a custom-tailored tux like most guys wear t-shirts. It’s like his native habitat, which makes my heroine a little crazy. In the very best of ways, though. I’d encourage you to pick up a copy if you’re curious about why.)

I recognize, however, that not everybody is as lucky as we here in the Lair. Bad Covers do happen to Good Authors. Unless you’re Nora Roberts, chances are nobody’s asking your opinion when it comes to cover art.

So in the spirit of Laughing So We Don’t Cry, here’s some classic Fabio action for you. Pour yourself a margarita, put on your Snarking Cap and come up with a caption that suits the action. The top three captions (as judged by me in all my subjective glory) get a free copy of Money, Honey! Thanks for playing, darlings!Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Money%20Honey
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Secret Formula?

by Susan Sey

I hit a writing milestone just before Christmas. I turned in Book 2 on my first contract. Now you'd think Book 1 would be the milestone, wouldn't you? The first one, the big kahuna. The one that merited The Call we writers love to talk about for years and years to come. But I'll tell you the truth--it's Book 2 that I'm really proud of.


And why am I prouder of Book 2 than Book 1? Because I wrote Book 1 (Money, Honey, coming July 6 from Berkley Sensation--have I mentioned that?) under absolutely no pressure. Nobody cared if I wrote it, nobody cared if I finished it, nobody cared what I did between "once upon a time" and "happily ever after." It was my book, my baby, & somebody--goodness only knows why--liked it enough to buy it. That was lucky. Not that I'm knocking luck--I'm darn grateful for it--but with Book 1, I presented the publishing world with a done deal.

Book 2, though? That's a different story. That one you write with somebody looking over your shoulder from start to finish. It's the one you have to outline before you write, & get the outline approved. Then you have to write something approximating the outline, and pray you've managed to turn the outline into a story that has even a little bit of the verve & charm that sold people on the first book.

It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that much. I wrote Book 2 two separate times--not two drafts so much as in two completely separate books. I wrote it the first time in about eight months. I wrote it the second time in two months. I don't recall anything between Halloween & Christmas, I truly do not. But I finally got it right. I did the work & I'm proud of it.

I thought I was in for a well-deserved vacation but my agent has recently informed me that we should now be thinking about what we want to propose to my editor for a follow up to Book 2 (now sitting on her desk awaiting jugment.) So for the past two weeks, I've been racking my addled brains for fresh story ideas. For some gorgeous, high-concept pitch that's going to convince the powers that be to take another flier on me in an economy that (to put it politely) blows.

I'll tell you this--for all the flack romance gets for being formulaic, this was not as easy as it should have been. If there's a secret formula out there for writing a best-selling romance, will somebody please send it my way?

In fact, hey, why don't you? If you had to write a recipe for your perfect romance novel, what would it look like? Do you like your heros dark & broody? Funny & smart? Dangerous & suave? What about your heroines? Shy & sheltered? Kick butt & unapologetic? When a dog takes center stage, do you cringe or melt? Give us the skinny! Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Money%20Honey
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Sold!

by Susan Sey

So I've been sitting on this news for so long it almost doesn't feel like news anymore, but since my agent is currently in possession of a contract with my name on it (and since I am currently in possession of my first ever revision letter) I'm going to go ahead & spill it:

I sold.

Seriously. I sold a book. TWO books, one of which isn't even written yet. I can't tell you what kind of cold pit of terror that little fact opens up inside me. But there it is. I sold my Golden Heart winner, Money Honey, in a two book deal to Berkley not even a week after I got home from San Francisco.

But do you want to know the really good part? The really rewarding part?

I never meant sell Money Honey. This was a book I wrote purely to prove to myself that I could still write all the way to a happy ever after.

Now I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that prior to writing MH, I suffered a deeply personal loss. The kind of loss that sucks the wind right out of a girl's eternally optimistic sails. The kind of loss that rips a big, gaping hole in the center of your soul. For a while there, it took every ounce of my energy just to get through the day, & I had to wonder if I'd ever have another creative impulse again.

But slowly, as time did its magic thing, I healed. And after a while, I started writing again. Not romance, of course. I didn't have the wherewithal for a happy ever after just yet. Just the usual, repetitive, cathartic stuff where I imposed a narrative on my loss. Where I gave it a story line & made it make sense.

After a few months of that, though, I had an idea for a romance. Mind you, it wasn't a good idea. It involved a hero with a lengthy criminal record & a heroine with such a heinous backstory there was no really plausible explanation for why she was still functioning like a normal human being. But I figured, hell. Why waste a good story idea on what will most likely end up in the recycling bin anyway?

So I wrote it. I wrote the darn thing & fell in love with my crazy characters & mourned when every contest I entered it in confirmed my suspicions that it was fatally flawed. So I put it under the bed & wrote something else. And that something else landed me an agent, so I felt pretty good about my comeback.

But when it came time to prep my 2008 GH entries, I just couldn't put MH under the bed. I ponied up the extra $50, kissed it goodbye & sent it off. My beloved dark horse. Imagine my shock when it finaled.

Imagine my shock when it won.

Imagine my utter & absolute astonishment when it sold.

So that's my story. I wrote a book I knew wouldn't sell just to prove to myself I had a happy ending left in me. And that's the book that brought me my own happy ending. So how about you? Has the universe ever rewarded you for doing exactly the wrong thing? Let's hear about it!

p.s. Look for Money Honey in the Fall of 2009 from Berkley Sensation! But if you forget, don't worry. I'll remind you.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/Money%20Honey
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