It’s still a nightmare here in California, I’m very sorry to say. We are presently experiencing the largest evacuation in the state’s history.

Hubby stayed home from work again today because the freeway that takes him to work was in the line of fire. Our home is safe and will hopefully stay that way, but the state will be reeling from this for some time to come. San Diego county authorities have placed evacuation calls to almost 350,000 homes. I have no idea when this is going to end, but it’s seriously hell here now.

I wish it would rain. Instead, it was 90 degrees today. My heart goes out the firemen out there, fighting these fires in those heavy, hot suits. God bless them.

Welcome back as we continue with our American Title finalists interviews. Wow, has it already been a week? Don’t forget that first round voting ends on Sunday, October 28th, so if you haven’t voted yet, please take a moment after the interview to check out the rest of the American Title finalists and vote for your favorite finalist! Every vote counts and we, the finalists, appreciate the votes and support from you.

Also, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a wonderful prize! Last week, three lucky commentators won prizes. This week, I’m picking two winners from each interview, so leave your comments and don’t forget to vote!

MAI: Today we have with us ANITRA LYNN MCLEOD. Anitra, can you tell us the title of your manuscript that finaled?

ANITRA: Thief

MAI: Interesting title. Makes me curious as to if it’s a thief of hearts or thief of something else. Please tell us what your book is about by giving a short blurb.

ANITRA: Buck Rogers meets the Wild Wild West!

MAI: Ooh, I like that! How long have you been writing?

ANITRA: 29 years

MAI: Tell us a little about how this book came about.

ANITRA: I love sci-fi and westerns so I merged them into a western flavored futuristic. I also love kick-ass heroines and those strong but silent alpha heroes.

MAI: What was your expectation when you first entered the contest?

ANITRA: Thought I had nothing to lose and I might get some feedback.

MAI: What was your reaction when you learned you were a finalist?

ANITRA: I thought someone was messing with me! I read the email four times, printed it out, read it about twenty times then finally believed it and wrote back to Leah. Then, I couldn’t decide who to call first! I ended up calling my dad first since my mom passed away three years ago.

MAI: What has been the most rewarding part of this experience so far?

ANITRA: Meeting the other contestants. I knew most of them from the contest circuit so it was fun to get to know them better. Also, in doing the PR work, a lot of folks in SLC were really excited and couldn’t wait to help me spread the word. For a big city, Salt Lake can be more like a small town in many ways.

MAI: What has been the worst part of this experience so far?

ANITRA: Nerves. I feel like a flasher wrenching open my trench coat, hoping that folks don’t point and laugh!

MAI: LOL. That’s one way of putting it! In one word, how would you describe this experience?

ANITRA: Exciting!

MAI: What kind of advice do you have for other American Title hopefuls and/or aspiring writers?

ANITRA: Something I took from previous AT finalists–have fun with it. Enjoy the ride. And for other aspiring writers–never give up. Take chances by entering contests, networking, getting involved. You really have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

MAI: Wonderful advice. And last question. Any last words?

ANITRA: I just want to thank everyone for all the support. I find the writing community one of the most generous and fun of all the groups of people I know. Thanks for the interview, Mai!

MAI: You’re very welcome, Anitra. Thanks for allowing me to interview you, and good luck in the competition.

Alright, now before you hurry off to vote for your favorite finalist, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a cool prize! On behalf of all the American Title finalists, I thank each one of you for your support.

Good luck to all the finalists and I’ll see everyone back here on Thursday!

Mai Christy Thao
www.maichristythao.com

Aside from Sylvia:

You can visit Anitra at: www.anitramcleod.com

And GO VOTE! (direct link here: Vote on the Best First Line!)

Thank you!

Southern California is hell right now.

Hubby came home after his work in Carlsbad closed for the day. Many are being evacuated from their homes.

www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN22445663

It’s been a good weekend!

First, my new website went live on Friday. It’s not 100% done yet, but it’s close. I love it! It’s bright and pretty, and for the first time ever everything has the same design. My site, message board, blog, and photo album have always been disconnected in their appearances. Now, the whole site blends seamlessly and I’m thrilled!! Super, ultra happy. Check it out: www.sylviaday.com

Next, the postman delivered the coverflats for ASK FOR IT. Oh. My. Gawd!! It is the most gorgeous cover ever! (Yes, I’m biased.) The jpg truly doesn’t do it justice. In the jpg the colors are a bit off and the title/author name font looks like it’s yellow ink. Update: I took the flat to Office Depot and had it scanned. In reality, it’s gold foil and the cover is a soft satin texture. It’s seriously GORGEOUS!! I absolutely love it and I can’t wait for you all to see it in person. I keep a flat by my keyboard and I stare at it often. That’s how much I adore it. Kensington has always blown me away with my covers, but this time they really outdid themselves. They’re so lucky they’re in New York, I tell you. Otherwise, I’d be doing the squealing happy dance in their offices (and getting kicked to the curb as a nut, probably. ) Seriously, though, a great cover is so important. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful one for my first mass market ST release.

Yesterday, I found out that BAD BOYS AHOY! won the Aspen Gold Award, which is judged by readers and booksellers. Very cool news. Yay! Makes me happy.

I’ve heard a few reports of A PASSION FOR HIM being spotted (and purchased — thank you!) in bookstores. It’s not officially out until next Tuesday, so it’s a bit early, but I’m glad it’s being found (and purchased — thank you again!) I hope you all enjoy it.

As for reader-me, I went to Rite-Aid last night for ice cream and found SERVANT: THE AWAKENING and MINE ‘TIL MIDNIGHT on the shelves. I bought both (Lisa is an auto-buy for me.) Color me happy.

I feel like I’m forgetting something, but I’m really tired right now so my brain’s not working right. If I remember in the morning, I’ll add it.

I hope your Monday starts off with a bang, in the best possible way. Anything cool or unusual planned for you this week?

Guest blog by Jenny Gardiner

Hi Sylvia–thanks so much for inviting me over to your blog! You know I’m one of your biggest fans and have been since way back when I read your entries in Lori Foster’s fabulous contest. That was back when I’d never written any fiction–I was simply a fan of Lori’s books! In fact, I only decided to dabble in it because hey, why not?! My totally lame entry went nowhere fast, but I remember reading your and HelenKay’s entries and taking note of what a winning entry looked like…

Flash forward a couple of years. I actually did venture into fiction, and found out that for someone trained as a journalist and bound by writing facts, writing fiction and making it all up as I went along was awfully fun and liberating!

As a fellow “contest baby” I think you are fabulous for helping out the AT IV authors with such a very generous contest to draw attention to their campaigns. I know you really appreciate what a wonderful launching pad winning a writing contest can be, and I’m here to second that notion.

When I entered the American Title III contest, I was, I’m embarrassed to admit, a little in the dark about the whole thing. I vaguely remembered having seen some posts on a loop in which authors asked for votes that previous winter. I was new to RWA, new to loops, new to all of that stuff. I obliged those authors by casting my votes when asked, and that was that. And when the AT III contest was announced and I learned that they were looking for humorous women’s fiction, I figured it was a great way to get my writing in front of an editor’s eyeballs, so I entered.

Now, you’ll know I’m crazy when I also admit that once I found out I was a finalist, I hesitated to actually accept–I was worried that it would tie up my manuscript! D’oh! Lucky for me, an agent friend gave me a huge dope slap and told me all of the fabulous things that went along with being in a contest like this: the exposure, the ability to meet a lot of people, even more industry professionals’ eyeballs being on your work. What can I say? I told you I was clueless!

Once I realized this, I also realized that in an industry in which one has so very little control, this contest put an enormous amount of control squarely in my lap. I viewed this contest as mine to win or mine to lose. And that beautiful acceptance letter I got? I viewed it as my own personal Golden Ticket, just like in Willy Wonka (and I still have it taped up right next to me at my desk!).

The American Title contest goes on over a long period of time, so it did get exhausting. There were phases of two week-long voting frenzies, followed by lags in which I felt I’d been left to clean up after a wild fraternity party–much of my day-to-day life just got put on hold while I was working it to get votes. Dishes stacked eye-high, tumbleweeds of dog fur on my floor. I did remember to feed and care for my kids on a daily basis, though . But the contest was also a lot of fun. We were lucky to have a fabulous group of finalists and we’ve all become good friends and each other’s biggest cheerleaders (in fact, Judi Fennell has gone on to two far more grueling contests with the Gather.com ones, and is now one of five finalists, and we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that win or lose, it leads to a publishing contract for her).

Each month in which I remained in the contest meant I had that much more time to figure out how I could reach out to more potential voters. Now, at the time I hadn’t been thinking terribly long-term. But after it was over, I realized this gave me a fabulous additional gift–I had all sorts of people who were familiar with the title of my book, who might at least pick it up if they saw it in a bookstore, and many of whom felt “vested” in it, having supported it for 6 months during the contest. In my town, I’m constantly running into people from my kids’ soccer teams, academic teams, choral groups, schools, my hairdresser’s (they handed out my card to every client AND kept my cards in their bathroom), who are asking when they can buy the book. It’s really such an honor.

Last spring I attended a writing conference at which Michael Cader, founder of Publisher’s Marketplace, discussed industry trends. And he was frank in his somewhat grim assessment of the publishing industry, and how hard it is to break through the noise of publicity in the book world. And he pointed out that most authors cannot expect an inordinate amount of support (a la heavyhitters like John Grisham) from their publishers, because it’s simply not how things work these days. But, he added, the great equalizer is the Internet. And he said that people who are able to tap into the internet to expand their marketing base start out with a huge advantage when it comes time to sell your book. And so by sheer dumb luck, great good fortune, and perhaps a little bit of my early career publicity/marketing background buried in the depths of my brain, I was able to at least make a little headway in establishing my book’s presence, long before it was an actual book.

So, for this, I cannot begin to say how grateful I am. For Dorchester and Romantic Times for having provided this fantastic opportunity to me–wow, I can’t begin to thank them enough. And for the–literally– thousands of people who have helped me to get where I am, I am really humbled by their generosity.

Not long ago we attended the American Idol concert, and one thing that stuck with me was how very grateful this group of performers was to be on that stage. They knew that the audience played a large part in helping to put them there. And that is most definitely how I feel toward the many people who have backed me along this journey. It’s helped me to appreciate even more what a special gift I’ve been given.

So thanks to you, Sylvia, for extending a helping hand to this year’s contestants, and also for giving me the chance to shout-out to all who have helped me in this crazy journey!

Jenny Gardiner
www.JennyGardiner.net

Aside from Sylvia:

Check out an excerpt from SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER: HERE!

And you can pre-order it here: www.amazon.com

Thank you!

Welcome back as I crash Sylvia’s blog once more to introduce our second American Title IV finalist. If you haven’t already done so, please go vote for your favorite finalist at www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle.php immediately following reading this interview. This first round of voting ends on October 28th!!

And don’t forget to leave a comment here with your email address for a chance to win some cool prizes donated by the Goddess, Sylvia Day, and her friends.

MAI: Please join me in welcoming TRISH MILBURN as our next American Title IV finalist. Trish, what is the title of your book?

TRISH: Out of Sight

MAI: Give us the blurb of your book.

TRISH: Imagine what you could find out if you could make yourself invisible at will. Jenna McCay finds out when she gives a whole new meaning to “undercover” while seeking a potential presidential assassin sending threats from within the White House.

MAI: How long have you been writing?

TRISH: I began during college, but it was sporadic because of classes and my work schedule. Serious, regular fiction writing with the aim of publication began in 1996.

MAI: Tell us a little about how this book came about:

TRISH: It was one of those “what if” questions — What could you find out or accomplish for good if you could make yourself invisible?

MAI: What was your expectation when you first entered the contest?

TRISH: Of course I hoped to final, but I honestly entered with the thought, “What do I have to lose?”

MAI: What was your reaction when you learned you were a finalist?

TRISH: I was ridiculously happy. I read the e-mail, my heart rate went up, I let out a “squee” and danced around my office.

MAI: What has been the most rewarding part of this experience so far?

TRISH: A couple of things — how nice and supportive the other finalists are, and how wonderful and happy for me my friends and family are.

MAI: What has been the worst part of this experience so far?

TRISH: Hmm, I honestly can’t think of one other than the knowledge that one of the very talented finalists can win. If I had my wish, all of the finalists’ books would be published. I figure the romance reading public is voracious and there’s enough room on the bookshelves — and readers’ shopping carts — for all of us.

MAI: In one word, how would you describe this experience?

TRISH: Exciting.

MAI: What kind of advice do you have for other American Title hopefuls and/or aspiring writers?

TRISH: Go for it. When you see opportunities, grab them. And be nice. Even though it might not seem like it, the industry is a small one. If you say something bad about someone, be it another writer, editors, agents, whoever, it’s likely to bite you at some point down the road. I’ve seen this happen to people, and it’s painful to watch. Finally, never ever give up if being published is your dream. The piles of rejections are going to really suck, especially after you’ve been at the writing gig for a long time, but just think of it this way — with each one, you’re one rejection closer to The Call.

MAI: Any last words?

TRISH: Thank you very much for this opportunity. I truly appreciate it. And huge good luck to all my fellow finalists. Let’s kick butt, girls!

MAI: Thank you for your time with us today, Trish. And good luck to you as well!

Alright now. Before you hurry off to vote (if you haven’t done so already), leave a comment for a chance to win some wonderful prizes! I’ve enjoyed all the comments posted by everyone so far. And I hope that these interviews have given you a better insight into our finalists and their winning manuscripts. I say winning here because honestly, these are ten exceptional manuscripts that Dorchester is willing to stand behind and publish regardless of who wins the American Title.

Thank you for your comments and support. And for your votes. I look forward to seeing everyone again next Tuesday with our next American Title IV finalist interview! And good luck finalists!!

Mai Christy Thao
http://maichristythao.com

Aside from Sylvia:

You can visit Trish at: www.trishmilburn.com

And GO VOTE! (direct link here: Vote on the Best First Line!)

Thank you!

I’ve noticed for a while now that my movie and TV favorites aren’t similar to the books I like to read. There’s somewhat of a disconnect between them.

For instance, my most often watched shows are Law and Order:SVU, NUMB3RS, all three CSIs, and Cold Case. I like ER (used to never miss an episode, but I haven’t watched faithfully in two years) and the regular Law and Order (again, I used to watch constantly, now not so much.).

However, I don’t read hardly any romantic suspense or medical mystery/thriller books.

For movies, I prefer big blow ‘em up action flicks. They don’t have to be believable. They don’t even have to have much of a plot. Just blow things up and have some hot male eye candy; I’m a happy camper. I love science fiction and paranormal movies, too.

But I don’t read action adventure books and I buy very few paranormals. Those I do buy sit for long lengths on my TBR pile and I skim much of them.

For my reading, I pick up predominantly romance, mostly historical romance. However, I rarely watch romantic movies. I never pick them myself. Anytime I watch a romantic movie, it’s because I’m with someone who rented it or is watching a rerun on TV.

I enjoy Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I have a few books from each of them that are on my keeper shelves. Rose Madder and the Christopher Snow books come immediately to mind, as well as The Dark Half and The Bad Place, yet I really don’t like watching horror on the screen. I’m a big chicken. I cover my eyes and go, “What’s happening now? Is he hacking her up?”, but when it’s in book form, I can’t tear my eyes away from the page.

I’m not sure what that means, if anything. Maybe most people have reading tastes in opposition to their viewing tastes?

These aren’t absolutes, of course. I loved Emma and The Painted Veil. I dug the first two Final Destinations (the third was major suckage) and the Scream movies (which are kinda horror, right?). My last all-nighter read was Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs (a paranormal). Although it’s only a novella, I was hooked and what was supposed to be a one-chapter-before-bed treat became a wee-hours-of-the-morning binge. (I’m so thrilled she’s writing a series with those characters!) But for the most part, these preferences hold true.

Are you like that, too? Do you watch movies/shows in genres you don’t read much of and vice versa?