What a difference a YEAR makes!

Yes, it has officially been a year since I started my blog. Technically, that was yesterday. Flag Day! How did I miss that before? I don't know. It was motivated by the premiere of Man of Steel, not celebrating flags of any sort, so there you have it. You can read my first blog post here, and that will tell you about the whole Superman thing.

One year and 80 posts later, and a lot has changed. Now, my blog isn't just about me. I've been writing reviews, participating in blog tours, doing cover reveals (for me and others), having contests and giveaways and still occasionally posting about random ramblings or about my work.

As of the start of the blog, I hadn't gone back to social media yet. Now, I have not one, but TWO Facebook pages. I'd reconnected with many old friends and found that my 'author' page was becoming too personal, so, I created an actual Author Patti Korbet page. There, I share the posts of this blog, talk about my work, and help promote other authors, blogs and pages I support. Did I mention that I launched it on October 29, 2013? On February 28, two weeks before I published my third novel, Right Here Waiting, I had 48 LIKES. Today, I have 1,312. You read that right. I gained over 1,250 people paying attention to my author page in 3.5 months. Not that I haven't worked hard for that - on the contrary, I've worked my tushy off promoting others and offering contests or giveaways - but I am humbled by the very idea.

I'm on Twitter, too - @PKorbetAuthor. I don't go there as often as I did in the beginning - when I have big news to share, I post over there. Or, if I've been away a while and want to post a quick update, I sometimes, do that. I read my whole feed all the time in the early days. Now, I don't have the time because I follow too many people! That hasn't grown as steadily as Facebook, but it's all good. I mostly do it for fun and cross-promotion. I'll share the blog there or post the occasional teaser images. Today, I changed my background to the cover for my next book, This Year's Love, and I updated my top segment with a banner that shows all of my Ward Sisters covers.

Ah, covers, another thing that has changed a lot in a year. I hadn't even found the right image for book 1, Back to December, when I started the blog. The one I eventually chose is still the cover image, but I've tweaked it several times - adding taglines, changing fonts, changing text embellishments. I did the same thing with book 2, Only One. Part of why the cover changed so much was that I've learned how to really take advantage of the freeware program GIMP, which is the image manipulating software on my computer. Between talking with my friend, the amazing Rene Folsom at Phycel Designs, and trial and error, my skills have improved dramatically. I've finished all the covers for Ward Sisters, and I can't wait to move on to my other series.

Speaking of other series, did I mention that? Yep, it's another big change. While completing Right Here Waiting, I realized that I wanted to write for a couple of the story's secondary characters, but I didn't want them to be in the main series. Thus, a spinoff was born called Vega Brothers. As of now, I have 4 stories already planned, plotted (to some degree) and in some cases, partially written. Likewise, I was inspired to write for more of the soldiers who appear in Ward Sisters. It wasn't a stretch to combine that idea with a spinoff involving Deacon Security, the company which protects Deac Roberts in Back to December and is owned by his brother, Rick. That series has 4 books currently planned, plotted and also partially written. I'm intending it to have the possibility of being ongoing and tapping into the suspense category. I'll post about that soon.

Also soon? My second Blog Takeover. I did one a couple weeks ago and it was fun (and pushed me over the 1k mark). This next time, I'll have two whole hours and it'll be all about promo for the next book. I'm also hoping to organize a blog tour, but we'll see if that can come to fruition this time or if I should just wait for the next round. In August, we'll be at the 1-year mark for Back to December - my 1-Year Pubiversary - and I might save the major blog tour until then.

Either way, the next big thing is the publication of This Year's Love, Ward Sisters Series Book #4. With any luck, after months of struggling to assemble and massage and tweak and smooth, it will be published next weekend. I'll keep you posted, but either way, the next blog entry will be the synopsis and maybe some new teasers from the book. Look for that much later in the day.

In fact, I'm all savvy now, so I'm going to set this baby to post in daylight hours, and I'll do my sharing later. It has been a wild ride, but I've loved it! Maybe not every minute - there have been moments when I wanted to scream - but in an overview, it has been fantastic.

Here's to another year!

Final Covers for Ward Sisters Series!

That's right! You did read that correctly - this post will have all the official covers for all the books. I've been chatting with my friend and fellow author, Rene Folsom, who is also a very talented graphic designer. Check out her work at Phycel Designs. I asked her a design question one day, and that got us on a roll about little things I could do to tweak my covers and improve them. Well, I'm one of those people who likes to learn new things and loves to get better and better at them. Of course I had to go back and futz with the previous covers, as Rene had suggested, but I also felt a need to keep going. I have NINE books in the Ward Sisters Series, after all!

So, without further ado, here they are...you'll notice that Book 5, which used to be called Buying the Cow, is now called Time to Begin. I know. SO much better!

I'm humbled and truly honored...

I'm part of a group on Facebook where authors can seek reviewers for their work. You see, the more people talk about your books, the more likely it is that people will talk about your books. I know. Crazy, right? An author friend, DJ Shaw (whose Wiccan Lies cover I revealed here recently), introduced me to this group and of course, there are many authors in there, too. It's where I met Rene Folsom (whose fantastic erotic short stories set, Roommate Romance, I've read and reviewed - they're excellent!) and where I met the lovely Ella Medler.

Ella recently read and reviewed Back to December, and I wanted to share a link to her review. It made me cry (okay, I'm a huge sap) and it truly humbled me. As an author, to have even one reader truly get your story is such a blessing. Thank you, Ella! I'm thrilled that you loved my book that much! And I promise, when I get through the insanity that is this weekend, you're on my short list!

Meghan Miles' Mother's Day GIVEAWAY!

It's finally here! I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but I'm doing a rafflecopter giveaway with Bellissimi Ornamenti for Mother's Day. The Grand Prize is the gorgeous necklace in the promo image that I created (below). The quote is from Right Here Waiting. Yes, this necklace was created to mimic the pendant that Neil gives Meg in the book. I can't believe how beautiful it is!

So, if you want a chance to win that gorgeous necklace, enter the rafflecopter! The Grand Prize is the necklace and an e-book copy of my three Ward Sisters Series books (Back to December, Only One and Right Here Waiting). First prize is e-books from some great Indie authors - Bethany Averie (All's Fair in Love and Lion), S. L. Dearing (The Gathering), Rene Folsom (Shuttered Affections), Magen McMinimy (Immortal Craving) and Clarissa Wild (Fierce) - plus a gift certificate from Bellissimi Ornamenti and a copy of the first two Ward Sisters Series books. And the second prize is the first two Ward Sisters Series books and a Bellissimi Ornamenti gift certificate. So go! Enter! You have many chances available, plus, there will be extra entries each day if you pay attention to the Bellissimi Ornamenti page and my Author Patti Korbet page on Facebook. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Post and bonus content...

If you follow me on Facebook, you know I'm running a contest from March 2-March 16 to promote my next book, Right Here Waiting, which will be published on March 17, 2014. The contest will require each entrant to answer a question related to one of my books, an answer which can be found among the posts in this blog or on my Facebook Author page. I'm going to make this first answer very easy to find, since it'll be in this post.

We're starting with Oscar Sunday for a special reason. If you've read Back to December, you know that Rob Deacon, aka Deac Roberts, is nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, an honor that happens quite unexpectedly.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences makes an appearance in all of the first three Ward Sisters series books, including Right Here Waiting, where it has a surprisingly pivotal role.

As an added bonus, today's contest answer will come, not from the book itself, but from a segment of the original epilogue, which wasn't published. Do you know what that means? Bonus content! That's right, this can only be seen here. The scene ties directly into the first day of the contest, since it takes place at the Oscars. Which Oscars? Well, you'll have to read the series to know for sure. And for anyone who wished that Emily got her chance to give Rachel a piece of her mind again, she did. Potential SPOILERS AHEAD!! Here it is:

Em waited until the next commercial break, then she headed backstage, both use the bathroom and to find Rob. It had been their ritual this awards season, for her to sneak away and find him as he answered questions after his win. She stopped at the bathroom first, glad for Christopher's genius. Her dress, a flowing, Empire-waist custom Valentino gown in the same hue as her dress for the Fluxus Gala, was both gorgeous and comfortable.

As she checked her makeup in the mirror and reapplied lipstick, Rachel walked into the ladies room.

“Oh, look who's here. If it isn't Mrs. Deac Roberts,” she said with saccharine in her voice.

“Actually, it's Mrs. Robert Deacon. I'm not married to the movie star. That's just some costume he puts on when he steps onto the film set. Not that you ever really understood that about him. How is it that you're here tonight? I thought you got divorced. And I know you didn't get nominated for anything.”

Rachel seethed. “I'm here with Ronin Edgars as his date, if you must know.”

Emily laughed. Of course she was. “Lucky Ronin.” She shook her head and the baby kicked. She flinched a little and put her hand on her belly. “I hear you, honey.”

“What did you say?” Rachel asked.

“I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to the baby.”

Rachel scoffed, “Yes, that was quite a coup for you, to get pregnant so he'd marry you.”

Emily laughed. “Oh, Rachel. Will you never learn? I don't know why I let you convince me that he wanted you back. You're pathetic, you know that? Unlike you, I was there when this baby was conceived and when he proposed. What order that happened is really none of your business. But don't think, ever again, that you'll make me doubt him. I know better, now. I wouldn't have taken you for a hockey fan.”

“Did Liam tell you about that?”

Emily shook her head. “No. Rob did. Yes, Rachel, that's right. Liam told him the minute you walked out of his life on your own. You're lucky Liam is a good person and didn't tell me before. I'd never have believed Rob would go back to you knowing what you did to his best friend and to him. So I suggest you give up on ever stealing him from me. He loves me. He has only ever really loved me. And there is no way I will ever again think he has any interest in you. Enjoy Ronin. I'm sure he'll like you at least until his star rises.”

Rachel's mouth hung open and Emily turned on her sparkly black Louboutins without a backwards glance.

New covers for Ward Sisters Series

One of the things I didn't have time to contemplate when I first published Back to December last summer was learning a new software. Between regular life stuff and the fact that I'd been editing it for 5 months, I was ready to be done and get the story out there. So, I found an image that worked for me, created a quick and dirty cover that I liked well enough, and then called it good. When it came time to create the cover for Only One, I was in a similar predicament. I wanted to make a specific sales deadline (and was insanely busy at the time) and rather than trying to reinvent the wheel for both books, I stuck with the look I'd created for Back to December (with a new image, naturally).

So, earlier, I posted the cover I made for Right Here Waiting. Unlike the last two times, I haven't been editing this book for months and I'm not within a few days of my deadline. I changed my tactic and have learned a lot from the last two books, so this manuscript is in a much better place than the last two were at this stage. Which left me more time to play with the cover, and I took advantage. I had previously played with an earlier version of GIMP, so I downloaded some more fonts and started playing this morning.

Now, lots of people say you should use professional cover designers, and if I had an unlimited budget, I'd consider that. But for one, I don't have that kind of budget. And for another, I actually enjoy doing this stuff. I mean, really, truly enjoy it. I learn software quickly and have played with photo manipulating for years. Frankly, I'm excited about what I can do with GIMP to improve my digitally-created photo books - I've made one every year for the past three years - to give them more of a scrapbooking look. And I'm not a total novice - I've done this stuff in the past here and there for a variety of reasons (jobs, volunteer work) and I took a course in document design and presentation a few years ago. It also doesn't hurt that I have a creative person for a critique partner - she's not only a writer, but a painter and a photographer - and she can give me great feedback on my covers, too.

Anyway, long story short, I here are the new covers for the Ward Sisters Series. Yes, I posted the Right Here Waiting cover earlier, but I tweaked it a little to add the series information. Now, we have a cohesive series. :) I hope you love it as much as I do!

Right Here Waiting - official cover reveal

We have a winner! After literally months of searching for the perfect cover image for Right Here Waiting, I finally found one yesterday. Spent some time creating the official cover this morning, and here it is! Meet Lieutenant Neil Murphy.

Later today, I'll be sharing the new cover images for Back to December and Only One. Now that I've found a look that I like for this book, I'm re-branding a bit for the other two books to create a consistent image. Actually, the final, printed version will probably include the series name, too. Otherwise, it'll be exactly the same. I'm very excited about this story, so I hope you're now excited, too!

The debate over the alternate POV story

The other day, I read an alternate POV story - that's Point of View for those of you who don't know. I had read the main tale and loved it, couldn't wait to read more about this character, etc. When I'd finished the novella, I felt strangely less than satisfied. The writing was great, as always. The character was fleshed out more, explanations were given for his motivations. Unlike some alternate POV stories I've read, this one didn't fail, per se, to engage me or make me think it wasn't worth buying OR reading. But it left me with this sense that the information could have been included in the main story. Would it have changed the reader's perception? Maybe. Probably. There are ways to weave it into the plot so that the effect is the same, even if you don't hear that character's voice. Otherwise, I guess it feels like a marketing/sales gimmick concocted by the publisher (even if it's self-published, a story still has to be marketed and sold.)

Now, here's the thing: admittedly, I have a biased opinion on this issue. I tend to write stories with more than one POV, I write in third-person most of the time and I'm self-publishing, so no one is looking over my shoulder to tell me that I can't do whatever I want. Heck, even Laurie, who is very frank about what she thinks works and doesn't, has never said, "Don't include that POV."

In fact, with Only One, she read the first draft, which was solely from Liam's POV, and said, "I wish I'd been inside Jenna's head." I often think that when I read a story in a single POV, too. And you know what? Once I got inside Jenna's head and wrote in her voice, it completely changed the story. If you read the first draft and then the published version, you'd see about 50% of the story was already there and that the plot hadn't changed much. The basic arc, from start to finish, was the same. But the pieces in between and how it all unfolded? That changed dramatically with each successive draft. And it turned out, we really needed to hear Jenna's POV. Until Laurie mentioned Jenna's voice, it hadn't seemed crucial in that story, but it was.

I can see the valueof holding back another POV in a story. Sometimes, stories told in first-person feel more potent if the reader is only in the main character (mc)'s head. Or, in the case with Back to December, which is only told from Emily's POV, there was a valid reason for that. Rob is a famous movie actor. At that point in their relationship, parts of him are unknowable, even to the woman he loves. You see more of him later, in Only One, because you're seeing him through the eyes of Jenna and Liam, his two best friends. But even then, you can't see all of him.

Could I write a story from Rob's POV? Sure. Will I ever do that? Probably not. If I'd wanted the readers to be inside Rob's head, I'd have written that into his story with Emily. And if I'm honest, a part of me actually likes that I'm the only person who really knows Rob Deacon. More importantly, I don't see any value in hearing Rob's voice inside his head at this point. I guess if readers begged me to show them what Rob did, said, felt during the other stories, I'd consider it. But outside that? No.

It's hard for me to imagine writing an alternate POV unless the story reveals things that just can't be told otherwise. With many of those stories out there, I've felt the other POV could have been folded into the main manuscript (this most recent one included).

I have a story, later in the Ward Sisters Series, which currently has 3 main-character's POV, and I keep debating whether I should cut one of them and tell it in another story. That character's story intertwines intimately with the main one, but he also has a parallel story that, for now, takes place predominantly off-stage. It's a few books down the line in this series, so I have time to think about what I'm going to do. But I wonder, what do other people think? Are there times when another POV in a separate story makes more sense to you? Or do you hate those stories and refuse to read them?

In this case, I'm not talking about a strictly alternate POV. Currently, the third character's voice is actually part of the story. But I could easily pull it into a separate manuscript, focus on the other two characters, and tell his part of the story in another segment of the series (with its own storyline). Enough happens with him in the timeline of the story that it would make sense. That would allow me to devote word count to the other two characters and then give him his say separately. It's a tough balance. By NOT including his voice, I'm afraid I'll paint an inaccurate picture of him. If I DO include him, then that changes the focus of the story to some degree. And then the other issue is timing; by including him in the same story, I don't spoil another one in any way.

Like I said, it's a lot to consider and I've got time. There are a lot of factors to weigh, including what the point of the other story might be (aside from giving his side) and there is still story left to write. But in that case, I'm considering a third, MAIN character, not a minor one. We're not talking about a couple segments or a secondary character. And I guess I prefer to write and read both main character's POV in the SAME book, rather than in two separate stories. Every time I read a 'told from so-and-so's POV' story, I think...why didn't you just put it in the book originally? To me, when I'm reading a story about another character in a series, that's not the same as 'Book One, told from Hero's POV'. If that character was important enough to have a voice, I guess I'm saying that it should have been included in the main manuscript. Otherwise, the story should have been written so that we got to know them via the main character. I'm certainly struggling with that balance myself. I'm curious how others make the decision to include or not.

What do you think? Do you have an opinion? Would you rather hear that third (or even second) POV in the main story? Or do you like having a secondary, companion novel/novella?

Hello, Google+ and Pinterest, but...

So, I was thinking I'd dump my blog and switch over to Google+ instead, but I'm not really ready for that yet. I'd have to move all the existing blog entries, and I don't want to take the time at the moment. I'll explore other options later. For now, the blog stays as is. However, I've officially joined the Google+ circles, so if you're on Google+ or gmail, you can probably find me - same name as Facebook, Patti Korbet.

Pinterest was a fun, new addition. Check out my new Pinterest page when you have a chance. I've set up 8 boards thus far, one for each of the full-length novels planned for the Ward Sisters Series and one for the first novella, Buying the Cow. Lots of yummy pics (for the guys, too; there are female leads in all my stories, after all!) and hopefully, it'll provide some visuals for all of you. If you'd rather imagine on your own, go for it. If not, and you want to see what I see in my head (or a close approximation thereof), the images are available for your enjoyment. All the boards are public, so you don't need a Pinterest account, or to follow me on Pinterest, to see them.

As for progress on Right Here Waiting, I'm getting there! I've tried, really hard this time, to send along work to Laurie that is a lot closer to the 3rd or 4th draft version - in other words, a lot more like a finished product - than I've ever sent before. Until I sent along the first 150 pages last night, she'd only seen it in bits and pieces, and even that was occasionally. But we're getting there! And I'm loving where it's going, so I hope you all do, too.

Between Pinterest and life stuff, today was a bit of a bust in the normal working hours segment, so we'll see what I get done tonight for edits. Wish me luck!

What's next...

With Only One complete and out there for the world to judge, what's next on the horizon? It's that time of year, so let's get to the goals/plans. I like putting them out there - it holds me accountable.

One of the things I had to do for my marketing class this fall was create an action items list for the first year. I went a step further and looked at the first two years. It made me think about my writing goals, my publishing goals AND my marketing plans. I won't throw it all out here right now, but I have some upcoming goals I wanted to share.

First of all, Book #3 of the Ward Sisters Series is nearly done its first draft. My plan is to publish that on St. Patrick's Day. There are a few reasons for that - for one, lead male, Neil Murphy, is Irish. For another, that's just after the Oscars telecast and I'm planning a pre-publication promotion/giveaway to coincide with the Oscars. Anyone who has read Back to December and/or Only One will know that the Oscars play a little role in the series, at least this part of it. Oscar night is a big night for several people and my giveaway will capitalize on that. The winner of the giveaway will receive, among other things, a copy of book #3, Right Here Waiting. Lastly, St. Patrick's Day is about 4 months after the publication of Only One, and I'm aiming for about 4 months between book publications. I think it's a reasonable goal; we were about 4 months between books 1 and 2.

Further ahead, I'm anticipating that the next book will be published around the end of June, to celebrate my 40th birthday. Right now, I'm expecting Reggie and Eddie's story to be book #3.5, but if, as I complete the first draft on that or on This Year's Love it looks better as book #4.5, then so be it. In which case, Josh and Annie's story, This Year's Love, will be published at the end of June, with Buying the Cow (Reggie and Eddie) coming in the fall.

I have a second series in the works. Book 1 of that series, The Piece I Don't Need, is planned for November 2014. The series will be called Warwick, Maine, and is set in a fictional town. It has a stronger social bent and I'm hoping will be well-received. I'll start promoting that this summer.

So, those are some of the upcoming things from me. I also have a Pinterest board and a Google+ profile that will be launched in January. And you'll see more contests/giveaways as the year progresses. I'm happy you're taking this journey with me!

Only One Teaser

Here it is, a tiny excerpt from my upcoming novel, Only One, Book #2 in the Ward Sisters Series. Just a little one, because I'm waiting on some edits and I want the teaser posts to be finished work from here out. The official publication date for Only One has been set for December 21, 2013. For any of you who have read Back to December, you'll know why that date is significant to the series. And if you haven't read it yet, that book will be coming to Nook as soon as I get the file up to B&N specs. Maybe Tuesday. Tomorrow is Christmas tree decorating day and help a friend move day. Which means its not marketing homework day nor is it work on book stuff day. Enjoy the tidbit. More will come over the course of the next week or so!

The longer she looked at him, the sexier he got. Listening to him talk, hearing him joke with his family, just made the gorgeous outer package more appealing. At one point, their eyes met and the smile he gave her would have melted the clothes off a nun. Willingly. Damn.

Writing, writing, and more writing...

It's been a while since I made a blog post, so I'll create a few today. For one, when I'm writing a Facebook post and it starts to look like a blog post, I realize I probably want to write on my blog. Also, I need to post a review of the other book I read via Netgalley so that they might give me more someday, LOL. And I had a draft post that I'd still like to publish, so that will happen, too. So, here we go...

Yet another gross weather day, which is fine. Nasty weather lends itself well to writing, especially in the coziness of my house with the woodstove running. And I have a lot of writing on my plate - #NaNoWriMo, on which I'm still behind; a marketing project (again); a marketing mid-term makeup (that I must kick butt on, since I got spanked on the exam itself); a project to polish for Pitch Wars; and edits for Only One. Yep, that's on top of the list of regular life stuff, plus I'm going to see Catching Fire tomorrow.

I finally finished the major changes to my latest draft of Only One. Did I say this on my blog or just on Facebook? I can't recall. Either way, I said that my muse smacked me around a bit and told me that I was going to make some plot changes for Only One, whether I liked it or not. I'd had a discussion with Laurie (for those of you who don't know, my mentor is author Laurie Breton) after my last draft review and she made a good point about where the story should end. Since I wanted it to end at a certain point, I had to make the rest of the story work toward that. And one major issue was making it...difficult to see why the story should continue after a certain point. So, I made a minor tweak to the plot. Nothing crazy, just changed the timing of an event.

Oh? Did I say nothing crazy? Okay, I lied. I mean, the plot change really wasn't crazy and it makes the story so much better. But once I did that, I had to make some big adjustments to the story to reflect it. Along the way, I came to a couple other realizations about character motivation and BLAM! The story was blown wide open. Questions I hadn't even considered before (but should have) needed to be answered, new scenes were written. On top of all that, I'd been restructuring the manuscript to reflect a more chronological approach, which allowed me to answer those questions and simultaneously enrich the story. More conflict, layers of the characters that were there but not shown well, these things appeared as I made the changes. Best of all? I didn't set out to give an explanation for something in Back to December, but I realized today that anyone who has read both stories will hopefully appreciate the information.

Now, I'm going back through to make sure my changes on Only One are consistent. I'm hoping to finish today. As you can see, I haven't been writing on NaNo, but I have been writing. I still have 8 days to finish my last 16k for NaNo, and for me, that isn't as big a challenge as it might be for others. I tend to write a lot. But I really wanted to get Only One out for a holiday release, and if I don't get the latest draft ready for review, then it won't be possible. Book 2 takes precedence over Book 4. If I can manage to actually finish Book 4, maybe it can be my Pitch Wars submission. I don't know; I was thinking I didn't need a 100% finished manuscript, but I guess I do. *shrug* We'll see; this might not be the year to do it. Maybe next year will be better. My class has to take priority, since it is being graded.

I'll post two more blog posts, one of which will be a review for Temptation Bay by Anna Sullivan. The other is about writing. Enjoy! And wish me luck getting that To-Do list done...

The Influence of Music

Yesterday, I finished another Jasinda Wilder story, Stripped, and like the other two books I've read by her, she included a playlist at the back. I, too, am highly influenced by music when I write. I prefer to listen to music while I write (though in mom mode, it's not always easy) and I also find that songs can shape my stories.

For instance, when I wrote Back to December, I had a pretty extensive playlist that was mostly from my own music files. Then I turned to YouTube videos. And finally, I found Spotify once my sister introduced me to it. I've since created both YouTube video and Spotify music playlists for each story. If you're interested, become my friend and I'll share them with you. I considered posting the titles to each song, but there are some really long lists, so it's just easier to let people see the playlists.

Originally, I had a different title for the book. It doesn't matter what it was now, but the first, working title for the book was not Back to December. Then, one day, I was listening to the radio - probably in the car, since that's usually where I listen to radio - and Taylor Swift's song, Back to December came on. I've always liked the song, both for the melody and the orchestral sections, but I really heard the lyrics that day. And I thought, This is my story. This is how Emily feels about the mistake she's made. And it spoke to the story on several levels. If you've read the book, listen to that song and maybe you'll hear something new in it. Maybe you'll also see things in the story that you didn't before.

Music moves me. It always has. It's always been a huge part of my life, of who I am. I'm not a musician, though I always wanted to learn to play something, anything. And while I still could, well, I've got other things I want to do right now, so I think I'll leave making music to people who are far more talented than I'd ever be. But so much of my life has its own soundtrack. I hear a song and it brings me back to the time in my life when it meant something specific. And now that I'm creating these characters and their worlds, when I hear music, it often speaks to me about those people.

How about you? Does music shape your life that directly? If you're a creative person, do you listen to music while you work?

Print Version of Back to December, etc!

It's official! The print version of Back to December is available on Amazon. Now, just so you know, I don't make the big bucks on the list price. Really, that's mostly the printing costs. I'm just offering it because, well, it's cool to think I might be in print somewhere (and you know I'm buying one, right? Because I want to see ME on my bookshelf!) and there are still people out there who want to feel a book in their hands. Me, if I can save $ and a tree by purchasing the Kindle version of a book, then that's what I'll do.

Anyway, to celebrate the excitement of the print release, I'm offering the Kindle version for $0.99, a price that's now good through the end of Tuesday, September 3. I wasn't sure exactly when the print edition would be live, but since it made its debut sooner than I expected, you all benefit by getting an extension of the Labor Day weekend sale. Act now! The offer only lasts through tomorrow.

In related news, I'm working on several other parts of the series at once. I'm in-progress with edits for book 2, Only One. I've made a few changes that I think make the story flow better and that should improve other, less tangible things. I had an early reader indicate that they didn't much like Jenna, the heroine. Well, we can't have that. I'm not going to change her, just show a little more of her true character, which may not have been as evident before.

I'm also making some edits to book 3, Right Here Waiting. Some of what I'm doing is structural alterations that don't really affect the plot itself but transform how the plot unfolds for the reader. I can't wait for you to finally get a chance to read those stories! In due time.

As for writing, I've been a slave to the muse of Charlie Ward's story, Better Be Home Soon. For those of you who haven't already read Back to December (who are you people? Get on it! Just kidding. Sort of), Charlie is Emily's youngest sister. She gets married at the end of that story - not a spoiler, since, well it's not Charlie's journey. What, pray tell, could we have to learn about Charlie? She's married, right? She already had her epic romance off stage, already got her happy ending! I knew when I wrote Back to December that things would never be what they seemed. They aren't in real life, are they? But until I started writing her story, I had absolutely no clue what would really happen with Charlie and her husband Dan.

This story is the end of the series arc - if you're familiar with episodic TV, you know the concept. Each show has its own plot line and with serial programs, that story somehow fits inside a bigger concept for the season, then the season fits into the bigger story arc of the show itself. The Ward Sisters Series starts with Charlie's engagement, the moment that changed everything in Emily's life. Once I realized I had a series here, I knew that it would end with Charlie. Where it took me on the journey was an interesting surprise.

And I'm still learning new, unexpected things. I've said this before, I had an 'aha' moment when I read Stephen King's On Writing and he compared authoring a work of fiction to the role of an archaeologist. The writer chips away at the story, brushing the dust from their find, until eventually, the whole thing is exposed. Sometimes, you get what you expected. Other times, you make discoveries that you couldn't have imagined in a million years. Emily's story was pretty much exactly what I had expected it to be, aside from the fact that it spawned an entire series of stories in my mind. But so far, there have been some crazy (okay, maybe not crazy - unanticipated) plot threads exposed for the other characters. And when that happens, I'm often amazed and exceedingly pleased.

We've got a while before you'll get to hear Charlie's story. After all, there are currently 6 full-length novels and two novellas in progress (often nearly complete) in this series, plus Back to December. And Charlie's story is, as I said, the final chapter. I hope when all of this is said and done, you're all just as pleased with how it turns out as I am.

For now, here's an updated list of the stories, their order and the main characters in each:

Book 1, Back to December, Emily Ward and Rob Deacon (out now!)
Book 2, Only One, Liam Neely and Jenna Ackerman (coming this fall)
Book 3, Right Here Waiting, Meghan Miles and Neil Murphy (coming late 2013/early 2014)
Book 3.5 Why Buy the Cow? (or Buying the Cow), Eddie Besson, Reggie Reynolds and Jill Daigle
Book 4, This Year's Love, Annie Ward and Josh Ricker
Book 5, Just Realized, Nina Jacobs, Owen Nichols and Noah Adams
Book 6, Think of Me, Noah Adams and Catie Neely
Book 6.5, Tell Me What It Takes, Aaron Wallace and Ally Carmichael
Book 7, Better Be Home Soon, Charlie Ward, Dan Williams and Jack Armstrong

Back to December is LIVE!

It's official! Back to December is now LIVE on Amazon! I'm ecstatic. So, head over there and make an author feel good about herself. Tell your friends, tweet it to the world, spread the news. And I'll sit here and try not to think too hard about the fact that now my writing is no longer just for me. It's thrilling and terrifying all at the same time!

Meanwhile, I thought we were going to the beach today, but that's not happening. For one, the temps are supposed to hover around 70 - not exactly ocean weather. For another, my husband called and informed me that a whale carcass is being devoured by Great White Sharks off the coast of Boothbay. Say what? Yeah, don't think we want to give the kids a fear of the water when that's a very, very rare occurrence. Jaws wasn't real, people! But damn if that's not freaky. Aaaand now I'm reading that this isn't as unlikely as I thought. Lovely. Jawswasn'treal. Jawswasn'treal. Jawswasn'treal. If I say it three times fast, it makes it true, right?

With the beach and even the lake not in the cards (too breezy), that means I'm going to be painting. It's good painting weather. And now that the book is out there, I need to work on some other things for a bit. I want to whine and say, Do I have to? But if I'm going to get my husband to let me be a writer without the look of disdain, I need to pull my weight. And I've been skimming the surface as I made the push to get this first book published. The first time you do anything new is always the hardest. I learned so much over the past nine months. Now I can take those lessons and get the next story out there more efficiently.

I've set up an author page over at Amazon: amazon.com/author/pattikorbet (this link won't be live for a bit). And I'll have one at Goodreads soon, too. If you were already my friend on Goodreads, my page will merge with my author page so you'll automatically be friends with my author page. If not, you can find me there - my profile name has been changed to Patti Korbet (it used to just be my first name), so just look for me and friend me now. I added Back to December on Goodreads this morning.

I hope you all enjoy Back to December! Stay tuned for teasers and updates about Book 2.

This is it...

It's official; I uploaded the file for Back to December to Kindle just a short time ago. When it's live - meaning available for purchase - I'll let you all know here, at Facebook and on Twitter. To say this is a long time coming is a ridiculously immense understatement.

But time moves forward and while this book is finally ready to make its debut, the rest of the series still needs to be finished.

While I waited on my final edits - the last read through by my mentor/editor/aunt, author Laurie Breton - I worked on the concluding story in this series, Better Be Home Soon. When you read Back to December, you'll meet Emily's family, including her youngest sister, Charlie. Little sis' engagement is what gets the ball rolling both in Emily's life and in this series. It only makes sense to tell Charlie's story last. But get this: when I started the story, I thought I knew what was going to happen. And then I was writing and BLAM! Nope. Wrong, sucka!

Did I mention before that I subscribe to the Stephen King philosophy of writing? At least to an extent. Like Maine's most successful author, I believe I'm the vessel for the story. That it's my job to uncover the fossil and piece it together. The more I write, the more I understand this to be true. The last 24 hours while I wrote for Charlie, that could not have been more evident. Here I was, writing bits about Charlie and Dan in Back to December, and guess what? I still hadn't found the overall arc for the series nor had I found a solid story for their entry. But I've found it. And I love it. And you know what I love more? That those hints about Charlie and Dan make so much sense now. Love. That.

So, next on the agenda is Liam's story. It's called Only One and you'll see a sample at the end of Back to December in the form of the prologue. Liam, as you will soon discover, is Emily's bodyguard. But he's so much more than that, both to Emily and in this series. His story is done, but there are significant edits left and I suspect it will be some time before we get it uploaded.

For one, my editor has her own book to write. Her fans will thank me for that. It means a lot of writing for her and a lot of reading/editing for me.

Fortunately, I can do both at the same time. For another, I learned so much this last time around and I plan to send a much more thoroughly edited draft to Laurie before she makes her suggestions this time.

Meanwhile, I'm pooped. We had a fun evening with my inlaws to celebrate my MIL's birthday. The kids had a fantastic time playing with their cousins, I got some yummy Bloody Marys and a scrumptious, hard-shell lobster. It was a lovely way to spend a summer evening. But I'm tired. So I'll read until I fall asleep and pick up writing and promoting in the morning.

Thanks for being on this journey with me! The ride isn't over yet! It's just getting started...

That was Christopher

One of my favorite characters in Back to December is Christopher, Rob's stylist. He was so fun to create. He'll make additional appearances later in the series, particularly in Only One. Here's Emily's first meeting with him:

The force of nature that was Christopher immediately enveloped Emily as soon as she opened the door. She didn't even get past the entry. All of a sudden, a 6'3" man, black as night with platinum, spiked hair, sculpted muscles under his tangerine orange cashmere sweater and dark, fitted jeans, was barreling toward her like the Basilisk in Harry Potter – a slithering freight train. The deep, yet feminine voice was disconcerting, to say the least.

“Oh! Look at you! You're like a little Kate. We can work with that. Though, Rob is so much more handsome than William, thankfully.”

He winked and stole a look at Rob that said he thought Rob was much, much more than handsome.

“Quick! Let's get that coat off you so I can see your curves.” He yanked off her wool trench. “Twirl for me. Slow. Good. Uh huh. Uh huh. Well, we'll have to make sure we put you in something that slims your hips a little and doesn't over emphasize your tush. Can you take off the pants so I can see your legs?”

Emily looked at Rob. He was stifling a laugh. He gestured, as though to say, Well, go on. You heard the man. She rolled her eyes as she shook her head at him and took off her shoes and pants.

“Okay, now put the shoes back on. Yes, honey, I'm serious.” Em hadn't said a thing, but apparently, Rob wasn't the only one who could read her expressions. She obliged, to Rob's amusement.

“Niiiice. Excellent. You've got fantastic gams. That means we can put you in anything without worrying about your legs. Looks like you'll need a wax, though. And now that I see your hips and tushy without those pants on, we might be a little better off there than I thought. Do you work out? Yoga? Pilates?”

“Yes. I haven't in a few days, but usually I do both a few times a week.”

“Well, it shows. I'm sure we can do some tailoring on those pants to help your figure. I'll send someone over to pick up everything and we'll have it back before you even realize they're gone. You've got it, girl, you might as well make the most of it while you're still young and it's all real. Now, let's see those boobies.”

“You're kidding.” Rob was having a hard time containing himself.

“No, honey, I'm not. It's strictly professional. I don't get any personal enjoyment out of it, if you know what I mean.”

Em sighed and took off her blouse and her camisole. She was standing there, in her stockings, bra and thong, wearing three-inch heels. She felt like a stripper. Rob's expression had turned from amused to aroused. She gave him a dirty look. Just you wait, mister.

“Oh, excellent! 34C?” Christopher asked as he felt her boobs. She didn't know what else to do, so she nodded. “And totally real. This we can work with. I think I've got the perfect dress, but I'll bring a few others, just in case. I'm never wrong, though.” Rob was shaking his head, mouthing, He's not.

Christopher was grabbing his coat and his handbag. Emily had to laugh to herself that the most shocking thing was that he had a handbag.

“Wait, don't you need to take measurements?”

“Oh, honey. No. If we were having a dress custom made for you, I would. Or if you were really fat, just to make sure I brought a big enough size. But you'll fit all the samples. We'll alter as needed. We'll have our first fitting on the 27^th and then we'll do the final fitting on the 31^st. Okay? Okay.” He kissed both her cheeks, waved a cute little wave to Rob, said “Tah!” and was gone.

Emily was standing there, in her underwear and shoes, baffled, mouth hanging open, when Rob's arms came around her.

He nuzzled her ear and said, “Sorry about that. I should have warned you, but there really is no way to explain him until you see it.”

She turned to look at him. “What the hell was that?”

“That was Christopher.

What was that?

We're approaching the official Back to December publication date. In honor of that, here's another sneak peek...

This is just after Emily's first encounter with the paparazzi. It's also her first encounter with Rob's family and his staff, when she meets his brother, Rick for the first time.

Emily sank into the seat and turned to face front, startled when she noticed for the first time that someone sat across from her and Rob. It was the man from the club entrance. Somehow, that seemed wrong. She looked at Rob for an explanation – by now she realized that she could silently communicate with him, her face was apparently so readable. He smiled his lovely, dimpled grin.

“Emily, this is Rick Deacon. My bodyguard and my older brother.”

Rick said hello, smiled at her and stuck out his hand for her to shake. She took it and just stared at him, idly pumping his hand. While there was a vague resemblance between them, if Rob hadn't said Rick was his brother, she would never have guessed. The man was huge like a pro wrestler, with bulging muscles and an imposing presence. Brown eyes observed her instead of Rob's potent blue and the hair was shorter and lighter in color. One thing he shared with his brother was the dimpled, naughty grin. Rick's smile widened.

“She's a talkative one, Rob.”

Emily shook her head. “I'm sorry. I'm just...I'm still a little stunned by all that back there. What the hell was that?” She looked at Rob for an answer.

“That was the paparazzi.”

Almost there...

Today, I finished my last round of edits for Back to December. Okay, finished is relative. I completed my post-redline edits and began my final read-through. Of course, I found things I wanted/needed to fix in the earliest chapters. Somehow, I was either drunk or sleeping when I completed those edits, because I missed some really obvious stuff. I'm being a little hard on myself, but there were certainly things I should have caught.

Anyway, despite the fact that I'm nearly done with the actual body of work, there are still things to do before publication, including final cover art and then dealing with all the items that will be easier after the first time I self publish. I still have some things to set up at Kindle, I should convert my Goodreads page to an author page, blah, blah, blah. Right, that's the boring stuff but it's required. Like I said, first time stuff that will be less of an issue for subsequent books. So, not really 'done' but 'done', you know?

Since we're a few days away from the official release, I figured I'd post another sneak peek. I'm not telling when this part takes place. That will give away too much of the story. But here you are:

Rob said, “Care to dance?” He knew it would take her mind off things to be in his arms again, and she was immediately grateful for his presence. She nodded vigorously.

They stood at the same time. He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Taylor Swift's Back to December played and he swept her into his arms. Em chuckled as she remembered what she said to him that first night at dinner.

“What's so funny?” he asked, as if he didn't know; she told him the same thing when they first danced at the gala.

“Oh, I don't know. Just recalling how I insulted both your dancing and your acting skills in the same sentence once upon a time.”

He spun her out and back and when he caught her he said, “Have you revised your statement, then?”

She laughed. “Absolutely. You're a fantastic dancer. The acting, I don't know...”

He pulled her closer. “Watch out, or I'll tickle you.” The fingers of his left hand, which were on her back, crept toward her ribs.

“Rob!” she said under her breath. “We are in a public place. Don't forget that.”

“Oh, right. Standard protocol in place, ma'am!” he mock saluted.

She laughed. “Thank you. For making this so much easier. And for helping me laugh. You've always been able to make me laugh.”

I needed that

I'm now in the home stretch with Back to December - about 300 pages into the last draft's redline edits with most of the major editorial changes made (as opposed to the technical, typo stuff). I haven't made as much progress the last several days because it was my daughter's 6th birthday on Friday. We make a big deal out of birthdays around here, and usually, it's a multi-day celebration. Mostly in the vein of celebrating more than once, but when you have a huge family and your kid has friends from school, it happens. The party with her school friends was yesterday, and I think it went pretty well, given that I decided they should make cake pops. Now that's all done and though we were blessed with gorgeous weather over the weekend, it's going to be blah and rainy for two days. I won't complain about that right now!

So, I'm going to post some more snippets this week, starting with today. With any luck, by week's end, we'll be ready for publication. *crosses fingers*

On other notes, I was chatting on FB with my sister this weekend and actor Victor Webster's name was mentioned in conversation. She said she pictured him as Rob, which is close but no cigar. Darling Henry Cavill is Rob, not the least of which is because of those gorgeous blue eyes and the panty dropping smile - didn't that make you believe he was ladies man Charles Brandon? It made me believe! She said she keeps seeing Charles Brandon and not Superman, but to me, that's just hair and costume, and Rob would change his hair with every role. His eyes and his smile would always be the same, and that's what makes Henry Cavill Rob for me (it was just the Man of Steel promos that helped me see it; personally, I love shaved-head Henry). In part, that's because I really didn't know who Henry Cavill was before that. But he's Rob. He just is. That's who I saw in my head when I wrote the character originally. I had no idea a person like that really existed and was also famous.

Victor Webster, however, could easily be Sergeant Owen Nichols, who will feature in book #5 and will play a bit part in book #3 of this series. Owen is movie star handsome like Rob, but he's in the Army not the movies and he's also part Native American - thus the dark hair and eyes. At this point in his career, I'm not sure he'd be young enough to play Owen, but you never know. And I loved him as Coop on Charmed, so I know he could pull off the confident, smart-assed, sentimental Owen. Couple that with his soon to be turn in The Scorpion King and yeah, he could play ass-kicking soldier, too, I bet. *sigh* I think all romance authors must fall a little in love with their heroes. Or is that just me?

Okay, back to the real writing. Here's today's snippet. Emily has just had a  conversation with her sister. It's Christmas Eve and she's on emotional overload.

Mo opened the door for her and Emily climbed inside the limo. Rob was sitting across from her and suddenly, nothing else mattered. Not her call with Charlie, not her mother's opinion, not Josh or his feelings, not even the small sliver of nagging doubt that was plaguing her. He smiled, and that was it. Her eyes watered.

“Hey. Are you okay?” he said so sweetly it almost made her cry. He moved to sit next to her, even though they were still in visible range of the photographers. And she let him.

She shed a tear. “I am now.” He pulled her into his arms and just held her. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back in slow, rhythmic circles. The tears kept coming.

After a few minutes of silence, except for her sniffles, she pulled away so she could look at him. “Thanks. I needed that.”