The Dragon and the Pearl Launch Celebration

Filed in: Announcements | blog | events | giveaway | new releases    Tags: launch celebration | prizes | the dragon and the pearl

THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL releases on September 20, 2011 and I’m still a fresh-faced newbie author where every new launch is exciting. *bounces*

And of course there will be party favors and prizes like last time. I’m even contemplating how difficult it would be to make Dragon sugar cookies for my local booksigning. Butterfly cookies weren’t so hard, but Dragon cookies seem like an intricate affair. I might have to rethink that. Now Pearl cookies would be much easier LOL.

So join in for my launch celebration for THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL and its linked Undone story, THE LADY’S SCANDALOUS NIGHT (release date September 1, 2011), and be entered to win some lovely goodies. All you have to do is spread the word by blogging, tweeting, facebooking about the books. I’ve provided the HTML for the celebration badge the end of the post that you can feel free to link or copy. Remember to come back and comment here about where you posted so I can count you in. On Twitter, use the tag #dragonandpearl so I can find you. The celebration is open to US and international readers.

The Goodies

The celebration is really a way to give back to all the readers who have been so supportive of me from the beginning. Plus I love to throw parties and with a virtual launch celebration, I don’t have to clean up my living room. I hope you enjoy the goodies this time around. A lot of thought is put into creating just the right mood.

The first round!

On September 15st, we’ll have a drawing for the first set of prizes. Three random names will be drawn to receive one of three prizes.

First up, a digital download of THE LADY’S SCANDALOUS NIGHT for your reading pleasure. This linked story takes place concurrently with THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL and will hopefully whet your appetite for the longer novel.

Second, a DVD set with the international release of Red Cliff. Warlords, intrigue, Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro. The battle of Red Cliff featured in Romance of the Three Kingdoms takes place in the Han Dynasty rather than the Tang, but it’ll put you in the right frame of mind for the power struggle in THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL. (Alas, Tony and Takeshi didn’t answer my casting call for my book trailer.)

Third, a hardcopy of Cindy Pon‘s THE FURY AND THE PHOENIX, sequel to her debut book, SILVER PHOENIX. You’ll also receive autographed postcards with character art that Cindy commissioned herself. This Asian fantasy adventure takes place in the imaginary kingdom of Xia and features a love affair between a courtesan and a eunuch. What, a eunuch you say?!? Actually, those palace eunuchs were the only men allowed in the Emperor’s harem. Historically they had all sorts of affairs with concubines. They also wielded an inordinate amount of power. Scandalous, no?

Second Round – The Grand Prizes!!

On October 20 (this was updated from original date–I didn’t realize I’d be running around and have no time to promote this myself!) , I’ll have a drawing for the Grand Prizes. Three individual names will be drawn.

First, I’m so excited to be giving away a copy of Stephanie Dray‘s LILY OF THE NILE and the sequel, SONG OF THE NILE. I’ve read the first book and am eagerly awaiting the second which releases in October. Stephanie has the same love for ancient history as well as for “bad girls” of the ancient world that I do and her writing is gorgeous. Reading this story of Cleopatra’s daughter Selene made me reminisce about the big Marion Zimmer Bradley epics (Mists of Avalon, Firebrand) I used to love sinking my teeth into.

Second, it was hard to find a giveaway item that could be as exciting as the double swords from last year. My personalized dragon chop is always a conversation starter at signings so I thought I’d give away a customized dragon stamp made of wood. I’ll have it ordered in your name for you so you can have an official chop of your own — a must for signing artwork and doing business in China.

Third, the most popular item from last year was the annotated copy. I’ll be going through and jotting author’s notes in a copy of THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL. Think of this as the DVD commentary, but book style. What were the inspirations for specific characters? What sort of decisions did I have to make. What was I thinking when I did that? The annotated copy of BUTTERFLY SWORDS was sold at the Brenda Novak auction for diabetes research last year for a nice donation. I’m really looking forward to reading through the book again and putting down my notes. It’s a labor of love, truly.

Party favors – Romance Trading Cards

All newsletter subscribers can use the contact link in the newsletter to request THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL trading cards. I must thank www.chineseclothingonline.com for the use of the lovely costume pictures!

Want to subscribe to Jeannie’s newsletter?

FRONT	BACK – Li Tao	BACK – Ling Suyin

More Info and Events:

Badge

Copy and paste HTML for badge and link below:

Giveaways:

I’ll be giving away copies of THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL and THE LADY’S SCANDALOUS NIGHT on various blog tour stops. In the meantime, the Goodreads giveaway is open until Friday, September 2nd. Get an advance copy before the release date.

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Rumors of my untimely demise…

Filed in: Announcements | blog    Tags: harlequin historical | new release | the dragon and the pearl | the lady's scandalous night

Are only partially exaggerated.

Given my zealous launch celebration last year about this time for BUTTERFLY SWORDS, I may seem relatively quiet for my upcoming release of the short story THE LADY’S SCANDALOUS NIGHT on September 1st followed by the release of THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL on September 20th.

I’m definitely still planning a little celebration with prizes and of course some signings and appearances, but nothing to rival the bacchanalia (new favorite word) of the BUTTERFLY SWORDS launch. The main reason why is—yes this is unscrupulous of me–I’m playing the CARD.

The “I’m going to be a mommy card”. Here’s my proof:

*blink* *blink* Yes, those are TWO little zygotes in there. No, neither hubby nor I have twins in either of our families. Yes, we were shocked, but quite excited. They’re cute, no? Actually this was the first ultrasound so they were just little blobs. They now look like little peanuts with tiny stick arms and legs. I told hubby they look just like him.

No worries. This is not going to turn into a baby blog, but there were a few people who suspected after my less than chipper appearance at RWA and so yes, the rumors are true. And if you happen to want to have mercy on me and help me spread the word about THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL since I’m going to be lying low and incubating…I did confess to being unscrupulous right?

I’m still waiting on pins and needles for the cover of THE LADY’S SCANDALOUS NIGHT (pre-order: Amazon(Kindle) | Barnes & Noble (Nook) ) The story is a parallel tale to THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL. They both can be read independently though chronologically they happen at the same time. I’m hoping “Scandalous Night” will seduce readers into the sexy battle of wills in “Dragon and Pearl.” MWHAHAHA!!

To be announced:

• The cover for THE LADY’S SCANDALOUS NIGHT (fingers crossed that my cover karma holds out)
• THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL galley will be made available on NetGalley for reviewers
• My first southern California booksignings: San Diego and hopefully Los Angeles
• Some nice launch prizes for those of you who would like to join in like last time
• A little Dragon and Pearl blog tour

Stay tuned. Same bat time. Same bat channel…

12 Comments

The Dragon and the Pearl: Cover Kibitz

Filed in: Announcements | blog | covers    Tags: romance covers | the dragon and the pearl

I have been waiting on pins and needles for the cover to THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL and it’s here! It’s finally here!

Pretty cool, huh? On first glance, it doesn’t look as shiny as the BUTTERFLY SWORDS cover, but I kind of like the more classic painted look. It definitely looks more like a romance cover.

Now let the cover kibitz begin:

Tang Dynasty clothing – Suyin’s robe is stunning and I approve of her styling with the string of pearls and the off the shoulder look. The hanfu is also a lot prettier than the one from Butterfly Swords, so thumbs up there!

Li Tao’s jacket — Okay, minor point: I know it’s not Tang. The jacket is more Qing in style. Does anyone care? Actually…given that the cover of Butterfly Swords made it on to random Han clothing manufacturers’ blogs in China, people might care. But he’s not the star of the cover anyway.

Background – Does that background look familiar to you? I think it’s the same one used for the previous book, but it’s still very nice.

The headless warlord – Well, he does have a head. I’m actually glad they didn’t show Li Tao’s full face. It’s better to leave a little to the imagination. And Li Tao has grown so big in my head, it’s so hard to measure up. Plus then there’s the question of hair which can be tricky. I would have to object if they depicted him with a Qing-era queue…though I don’t think I actually get to object.

So half-face is a good compromise.

My favorite part – This is so silly, but I love the building on the back of the cover nestled among the cliffs. It looks just like pictures I’ve seen of parts of the Bamboo Sea in Sichuan. And now there are two books labeled Tang Dynasty. Tee hee. Tee hee hee…

Hero Hotness – The model is handsome enough, but if I had to judge from the bottom part of his face which of the Five Tigers he most resembles, I’d have to go for Kent rather than an Andy or a Michael. (Okay, I just lost about 80% of my audience there, didn’t I? Quick explanation: As a child of the 80s, these five actors were huge in the Hong Kong market so I pretty much cast them (young versions) as characters in my head. One of the tigers is my oft mentioned Tony Leung. Another is Andy Lau.) Kent is not my favorite tiger, but I really shouldn’t complain.

Okay, enough from the picky author. What do you think, really?

21 Comments

Fury Winner & Kindle Cake & Other News

Filed in: Announcements | blog    Tags: brenda novak auction | kindle cake

In honor of my meeting with Cindy Pon, I’m giving away a copy of Fury of the Phoenix along with some of Cindy’s autographed postcards with her character art. And the winner is:

Debra McDonald

Congrats Debra and thank you for following my newsletter! If you’re not already subscribing and would like to get updates and special giveaways, make sure you sign up:

Sign up for Newsletter

***

In other news, I helped decorate a lovely cake this weekend for a belated Mother’s Day gift. (Not for my mums — Mother and Mother-in-law got their gifts delivered in advance). It was my first time working with fondant and though we ran out of time so I couldn’t individually letter the keys, I thought the Kindle cake turned out nicely, n’est-ce pas?

***

My lovely agent let me know that Harlequin wanted to offer two more Undones. So more stories to come! It’s also my first sale of the year, so that’s a nice milestone to celebrate. I wish I’d been able to have a slice of that Kindle cake.

***

Bid on the Brenda Novak auction items! Open until the end of the month.

Fan pack including annotated copy of Butterfly Swords

Critique of first 30 pages by me and Little Sis

For a good cause.

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RT Booklovers Convention

Filed in: Announcements | blog | events    Tags: rt convention 2011

This California Girl is going back to Los Angeles today. I’ll be attending the Romantic Times convention for the first time. *bounce* If you happen to be going to RT, please come by and see me.

Where’s Jeannie?

To the best of my knowledge, this is where I’ll try to be.

Tuesday:

1:30-8:00pm: RT Book Camp

8-10pm – I’ll be at the bar from in case RTCers want to find me to get their buttons and stickers(wherever the bar is at the Westin Bonaventure).

Wednesday:

11:00-12:30pm – Welcome to LA Mixer

2:45-3:15pm – Club RT

4:45-5:45pm – Specialty Workshop: Kung-fu Fighting (presenting with Lynn Lorenz & Belinda McBride)

6:30-8:00pm – Saucy Sirens Through History

9:00-12:00am – Ellora’s Cave Fantasy Party

Thursday:

10:00-11:00am – Marketing: Promoting Like a Big Name Author When You’re Not One…Yet (presenting with Stephanie Dray)

1:30-2:00pm – Club RT

8:30-12:00am – Venetian Masquerade Faery Ball

Friday:

11:15-12:15pm – Multicultural: The Next Generation ( panel with Brenda Jackson and Monique Patterson)

And then sadly I’ll be flying out Friday afternoon for the Missouri Writers’ Guild conference in St. Louis. So y’all have to tell me how the signing and the rest of the weekend goes.

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Los Angeles, Here I Come

Filed in: Announcements | blog | conferences    Tags: operationauction | romance trading cards | rt convention

I’m preparing for the RT Booklover’s Convention in Los Angeles from April 6-10 and this may be the biggest suitcase I have ever packed.

As a long time traveler, having to pack a checked bag makes me cringe, but there was no way around it for the convention. I mean, how else was I going to get my wardrobe, which included a pair of glittery faery wings, to Los Angeles?

I’m very excited because this is my first time going to RT. I’m speaking on three panels and also have two appearances at Club RT. This will also be the first big unveiling of the Romance Trading Cards and I can’t wait to collect them from all the authors there. I’ll be carrying buttons to distribute to the RTCers so readers will be able to find them.

In the meantime, OperationAuction is currently underway to raise money for book blogger Fatin whose husband was tragically killed. Five sets of Romance Trading Cards from over 60 authors are being auctioned over the week. All proceeds will go to Fatin and her family.

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Romance Trading Cards – Who’s IN?

Filed in: Announcements | blog | promotion    Tags: romancetradingcards | RT 2011

Download the FAQ

Download RTC Templates

Join the Web Tutorial on Romance Trading Card Templates and GIMP: March 5, 7-9pm EST – Link will be here. DM on Twitter or e-mail for Password.

A chat on Twitter (#romancetradingcards) quickly converged into a fun promotion idea for RT 2011 and RWA 2011. It’s simple — authors print romance trading cards with their heros and heroines and readers can collect them all.

As the questions about design and standardization are beginning to gather so I figured it was time to gather everyone together.

So far, we have this quote from GotPrint if we want to standardize on size. I’ve used them before and found them quite reasonable and user-friendly, but always open for any other vendors with better pricing if you know them:

Standard size & printing: Trading Cards from GotPrint

Other ideas:

• Cover on one side
• Character stats on other – Height, age, description
• Best lines
• Similar border or logo on backside to unify cards – i.e. knotwork design

Example:

So here’s a starter for discussion. These are rough prototypes only. Do not use these files to create your cards. I can provide the layered, high resolution files for use with Photoshop, Fireworks, or another imaging program once the design is finalized.

I tried to choose a neutral border that still felt romance-y. Keeping in mind that this needs to look good with historical, paranormal, contemporary, etc. I went with a border that looked like a pewter frame. The border and the lettering for “Romance Trading Cards” below will hopefully unify the design. The back will be the book cover.

This was a quick job so cropping and other details may be asymmetical. I’ll fix in final version. Actual print size is 2.5 x 3.5.

What do you think?  (I’ve finalized the design with a genre specific color scheme as suggested. Download RTC Templates)

Note: You don’t need special art for the backside. It can include part of your cover (if that’s allowed) or just stats and info like on baseball cards.

An alternative example from author Moira Rogers, independently created here.

Who’s Participating in Romance Trading Cards:

The author listing has been moved to: www.romancetradingcards.com

And the ideas are flying as well. For example, we may have a listing at RT so readers will know who to seek out for cards. Keep those ideas coming! Who else is in? (Comment below and I’ll gather names and post above)

Remember hashtag #romancetradingcards if you’re following the discussion on Twitter.

138 Comments

And Silver Phoenix goes to…

Filed in: Announcements | blog | giveaway   

The Super Bowl is over, I’m home and, as promised, random.org has selected the winner of the Silver Phoenix original hardcover edition. Congrats to:

Aron White!

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I really enjoyed Silver Phoenix and I’m hoping you will too. If nothing else, the cover is a work of art, no? I’ll be contacting you for your mailing address shortly.

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RSS Winter Writing Festival

Filed in: Announcements | blog | writing    Tags: ruby-slippered sisterhood | winter writing festival | writing challenges

The Ruby Sisters are hosting a writing festival for those of us that want to get a jumpstart on the writing goal for the new year. Big pluses: You get to set your own goals, chat challenges, shiny prizes, and this one doesn’t happen over a major holiday.

It starts on January 10, but you can register now at the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival blog and set your daily goal. Mine is to write 10 pages a day as I’m Fast Drafting this next novel.  Be pretty cool to have a novel done by February…

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Filed in: Announcements | blog | friends and family   

Wishing everyone a wonderful season!

Little Sis delivered at approximately 9:00pm on 12/26/2010. I am an Auntie.

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