Cameo Contest!

It's contest time!! Here's how you can get a character named after you in my newest novel, Reckless Radiance.

• Share my Facebook author page with all of your pals and tell them to 'like' me!

• Be sure to let me know via Facebook wall-post, Facebook message or email to authorkateroth@gmail.com which new 'likes' are your friends. 

The person who brings in the most new 'likes' will make a cameo appearance in my new novel!

Rules and Conditions:

• Winner must already 'like' Kate Roth : Author Facebook page
• New 'likes' must still 'like' page at the time the contest ends to be considered counted
• Contest ends January 1, 2013 10:00pm EST

Please feel free to post any questions in the comments section or on the Facebook page.

My Second Event!

Tonight I'll be signing copies of The Low Notes at an event for the second time in my career. This summer I had my very first signing and I had a great turn out and it was a blast! 

This evening I'll be sharing my night with an incredible author and someone I look up to in so many ways. Julie Young is the author of  multiple non-fiction titles including Historic Irvington, A Brief History of Shelby County Indiana, A Belief in Providence : A Life of Saint Theodora Guerin and The CYO in Indianapolis & Central Indiana. 

Back in 2008 when I was ready to get back in the writing game there was a listing for a class called "So You Want To Write A Book?". And yes--that was exactly what I wanted to do! I signed up and there was Miss Julie Young at the front of the classroom. The class was informative and fun and most of all it got me excited about the possibilities of what writing could do for me.

Like any two people who meet and don't hate each other in the modern age, we became Facebook friends. A few years later I reached out to her and asked her to take a look at something I had written. From there we had a few meet ups where we talked writing and she gave me some solid advice about what my next move should be. And then it seemed we started talking more about life in general. We talked work and family and our shared love of music and celebrity. 

Julie quickly became my friend and our 'meetings' now consist of a glass of wine and conversations that take us into the late night hours of any old weeknight.

I'm so thrilled that Julie and I will be hosting this book signing together and that the woman who was once my teacher is now someone I can call friend and fellow author! 

If you are local to the Indianapolis area please come out and visit us at Bookmamas in Irvington. All the information is listed on the Events page of this blog and can also be found as a shared event on my Facebook page. Be sure to visit Julie on her website!

Top Ten Tuesday : Holiday Movies

Let the holiday cheer continue!! Here's a list of the top ten movies I LOVE watching each December. This was so hard because I think I actually have a top 15. I had to leave out Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Holiday in Handcuffs and Die Hard. SOOO HARD!

10. The Holiday

9. Scrooged

8. The Polar Express

7. Love Actually

6. The Muppet's Christmas Carol

5. White Christmas

4. The Santa Clause

3. Home Alone (and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

2. Elf

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Note : For those of you who can't believe you eyes and think I have made a serious oversight...I personally am not a fan of the movie A Christmas Story. I don't like it so it doesn't make the cut.

Work In Progress

So glad to have that name back on my screen. Can't wait for you to meet him!!

Before I ever typed the name Kevin Reed--I had Russell. Back in 2008 when I was getting back into the writing game after a long hiatus a Maroon 5 song sparked an idea in my head. That first idea has transformed many times and today I'm left working on an almost five year old manuscript, finishing it and perfecting it for publication.

I recently titled the novel Reckless Radiance and I can honestly say it's all I think about these days. The passion I had for it in 2008 has returned with even more fire burning for my story. It has been scrapped and rewritten twice and now in its final version (version 3.0) I feel confident that it will be a book I will be incredibly proud to share with my readers.

Send me good vibes! Cheer me on on my Facebook page and Twitter! Here's to 2013--the year of Reckless Radiance!!!

Top Ten Tuesday : Favorite Holiday Songs

I've got holiday fever!! I've turned on the Christmas music, I'm baking up a storm and I've been decking my halls since Thanksgiving. However you celebrate, there's one thing we can all agree on--this truly is a time to share goodwill and cheer. As the weather gets yuckier and the year comes to an end let's be thankful for what we have, mindful of those who have less and kind to all.

This was a hard list to narrow down but here are my top ten holiday tunes!

10. Twelve Days of Christmas Medley by Straight No Chaser 

9. Hey Santa! by The Wilson Sisters (aka Wilson sans Phillips)

8. Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes

7. Mele kalikimaka by Bing Crosby

6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by James Taylor

5. Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon

4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Bon Jovi

3. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey

2. Oh Holy Night by Nsync

1. Celebrate Me Home by Kenny Loggins

Why I'm Glad I Failed NaNoWriMo

50,000 words in 30 days. That's the challenge of National Novel Writing Month and I FAILED. Not just failed by a little. We could call this one an epic fail.

I started out with a story that I thought would excite me and evolve into something amazing. I challenged myself to do something different from my usual genre and it didn't end up working out.

I'm glad I failed because it was a nice lesson. Deadlines are not encouragement for me. Deadlines are stress and more stress in my life is debilitating to my writing process.

Since giving up on NaNo I've written 3,000 words of a project I had been telling myself I needed to get back to. I spent dinner a few nights ago explaining the entire plot to my husband which totally proved to me that I had a beginning, middle and end (and even hubby thinks it's a good story!).

I'm not going to give myself a deadline for this project. I'm just going to tell myself that I can get it done. I can write a little (or a lot) every day until it is complete.

NaNoWriMo is clearly not for me but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good challenge and a good lesson learned.

Top Ten Tuesday : Thanksgiving

It's been a while since I had a T.T.T. on here! With Thanksgiving just a few days away I thought it would be a great time to list a few things I'm thankful for this season.

10. My Day Job : Some of you may not know that I spend the majority of my days making a living as a hairdresser. I have a great group of amazing clients and I truly enjoy the creativity that hair styling allows me. I'm thankful for the fact that I enjoy my job, the people I see every day and that I have been able to be successful.

9. Fellow Authors : Facebook and Twitter have helped me 'meet' some incredible fellow authors who are supportive and helpful with tips. I have a few authors I call 'friend' and those relationships are even more treasured. I am thankful for Britni Hill, Julie Young, Christine Johnson, Adam L. Garcia, Caitlyn Duffy, Katie Andrews Potter, all the Rebels and tons more!

8. 2012 : This year has been so full of amazing opportunities and exciting endeavors. I'm thankful that in a year that is supposedly ending on December 21st I've been able to make sure I beat the clock on achieving a few of my dreams.

7. Readers : It's sometimes still hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that people are reading my book! From getting emails, reviews and requests for more novels I am beyond thankful for readers of The Low Notes.

6. Words : I'm thankful for words. Simple as that. Words are my life and without them I would have a lot less joy.

5. My Friends : I have an astounding group of friends. They are some of the most fun, strong, hilarious and supportive people I know. I am thankful for relationships that feel like family created by fate.

4. My Family : Two siblings, three sister-in-laws, one brother-in-law, three nieces (and one on the way), one nephew, mom and dad, the in-laws and everyone beyond that--you are all amazing and I would be so much less without you.

3. Sampson : My first (and for right now, only) baby! He puts up with me typing away and he sits by me for long hours while I drink my coffee and work. Thankful for my furry child.

Photo of Sam courtesy of Eliza Marie Photography

2. My Husband : Unending support, unconditional love and unpredictable fun! Adam makes me a better person and he has treated me to an amazing marriage for five years. I am so thankful to have found and married my best friend.

1. My Health : Without this I would be nothing. I am thankful I can stand on my feet all day and do hair. I am thankful my fingers work tirelessly writing novels. I am thankful my mind is clear and full of ideas. I am thankful to see the beauty in the world, smell the fragrances of the seasons, hear and be inspired by music, feel the keys beneath my fingertips and eat, sleep and breathe love, life and passion.

This holiday season, no matter how you celebrate, take a moment to ponder your own top ten list of thankfulness. Bonus : I am thankful for anyone who takes the time to read my blog, so thank you :) Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

NaNoWriMo Day #9

Nine days in and I have to say I feel like I'm losing a bit of my momentum. As of last night I was just 15 words over where I should be which I know I should be happy about but starting out I was a good 1,000 words ahead. That was a nice buffer to have!

I like my story. I like a handful of my characters. Others I could probably do without and some, quite honestly I feel like I don't know at all. It's a very different type of story for me and though I like writing about something a little darker and with a little more meat to it I still find myself getting the most excited when I'm developing the love triangle. DUH.

I'll check back in at the halfway mark and hopefully I'll have a better handle on things. But even if I don't I still believe this is a positive experience, a great challenge and I think it spark me to keep writing quickly and consistently through the end of the year. You never know, there may be another book out by The Low Notes' one year anniversary!!

NaNoWriMo word count as of 8:50am 11/9/2012 : 13,345

Split Personality

I've been writing since middle school but for a period of time after I left college I stopped writing consistently. Then in 2008 I had my first idea in a very long time. That idea was NOT The Low Notes. Before The Low Notes I was working on a paranormal romance. I adore the genre of paranormal and I've always liked writing and reading it.

The idea started out as a vampire story (because what was hotter in 2008 than vampires?!) but eventually morphed into a story about angels who walk the earth. The story is still collecting dust on my hard drive and every now and then I take a look and edit it a bit. One day I'll finish it. After I took a course on novel writing it became clear to me that the first novel I had in me was The Low Notes.

But I haven't yet lost my love of paranormal. Specifically, young adult paranormal. Last night I was inspired and started working on something of the YA para variety and I have to say I'm a little scared. I know there are lots of authors who cross genres but it's a scary jump. I just keep telling myself that I can't be confined by a certain genre...I have to tell the stories that strike me. And trust me readers, I've been struck.

J.K. Rowling's latest release, The Casual Vacancy, is certainly a different kind of book for her but she has already made more than a name for herself so she's in the category of I-do-what-I-want. Stephen King is in the same boat. He writes less and less horror all the time even though that's what he's known for.

I suppose I could classify what I'm doing by looking at Meg Cabot. She started writing romance (under pen name Patricia Cabot) and then made the leap into YA, middle grade and paranormal. She writes across genres successfully.

So here's hoping my readers have split personalities just like me. An eclectic taste for an eclectic author.

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month! The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. Can you do it? Should you try?

A few years ago I tried NaNoWriMo but failed pretty miserably. That isn't stopping me from taking the plunge this year. I'll be working on a YA novel that I've been thinking about for a while. Fifty thousand words by December 1st or bust!

I love the idea behind the challenge. It's a fantastic way to jump start an idea and to get the creative juices flowing. There's no rule that says the finished work has to be ready to publish. It's just about accomplishing a goal.

Writers tend to have a lot of ideas about what they need to do to be able to write. I'm one of them. I make excuses as to why I'm not able to work. But it's as simple as this...just write. If we take the time to sit and write, a little every day, we can accomplish what we set out to do.

Now, editing is a whole different story. 

I'll be posting my progress throughout the month of November and fingers crossed I'll have 50,000 words just after Thanksgiving. If you are interested in learning more or signing up for the challenge you can visit the official NaNo website here.

Get your pens or keys ready!

Release Day : From the Rubble by Britni Hill

Today is a day to celebrate my dear friend and fellow author, Britni Hill. Her second novel, a follow up to Tears in the Rubble is released! If you read book one here's your chance to read the rest of the story and if you haven't read book one then there's two awesome books waiting to be purchased!

From the Rubble by Britni Hill

In the wake of a terrible betrayal, Taylor and Layla bury their feelings for the other, good and bad, just to get by day to day.  Forced together because of their daughter, Taylor struggles to forgive Layla so he falls into the role of fatherhood, naturally striving to be the best father he can be.

Layla’s guilt overwhelms her as she fights herself over her feelings for Taylor.  After all, she doesn’t believe she deserves another chance.  She’s already had too many. 

Making a family out of a broken relationship won’t be easy, but with both Taylor and Layla pushing forward, will they ever find a new normal?  Will they ever confront their feelings for one another?

Hop over to Britni's blog to find all of the purchase links or go to her Amazon page for Kindle purchases. Best of luck Britni! Can't wait to see what comes next.

Where Do I Fit In?

When I was first writing The Low Notes and even after it was first published I could never quite give an accurate title to what genre I thought I belonged in. I would say things like, "It's romance but not in the bodice-ripper-Fabio-on-the-cover way." I'd say, "It's young adult (YA) but a little more dangerous."

I felt lost in a way. It was as if I didn't have a genre to fall into. Until one day I was having a chat with someone in the business and she said the words 'new adult'. 

Eureka! That's exactly what I write! NEW adult. Adults who can drive, vote, maybe even drink but they sure as hell don't have a handle on grown-up life yet.

Author/blogger JJ said this about the genre, "YA is about a certain time of life, when you are no longer a child but not quite an adult and one can write about this period of time through less literal genres like historical fiction or science-fiction and fantasy. Similarly, New Adult is about young adulthood, when you are an adult but have not established your life as one (career, family, what-have-you)."

I couldn't agree more! And I'm completely in love with the fact that I can claim this new category as my genre. 

What I'm working on now would certainly be considered 'new adult' as well but I'm happy to say I also have a few other genres up my sleeve including YA romance and paranormal romance. 

Stay tuned to more info on what I'm working on next!

H.P. Mallory : The Author Interview

Please welcome New York Times bestselling paranormal romance author H.P. Mallory!

 

What was the querying/agent search process like for you? 

Well this is a two-fold question. When I first started out which was about 6 years ago, this process was grueling. You send out tons of queries and almost no one writes back. I was lucky enough to land an agent the first time around but once we submitted my books to the publishers, no one was interested. Then I ended up sitting on the first two books in both of my series (Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble and To Kill A Warlock) for about 5 years before self publishing them. Once I self pubbed them and they hit numerous bestseller lists, I sent out four agent query letters and received prompt responses from each agent, eventually signing with one. So the first time around wasn't fun but the second time around was much easier! LOL

Is there another genre you would like to try at some point?

 

I'm not sure yet. Right now I love paranormal romance and urban fantasy and can't really see beyond them...

Do you have a writing ritual or a certain way you like to get ready to write? 

 

Not really. I just aim for 2000 words per day and take numerous breaks throughout the day to give my eyes a break!

Tell us about one of your characters you loved writing: 

 

I'm actually working on the first book in a new series and the angel in that book is so much fun to write! He's not like a customary angel at all--he's really uncouth and crass but hysterical!

Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? If so, what changed? 

 

Yes, after the first go around when no one was interested in my books, I did give up. Then I read about self publishing and decided to give that a try. Since then I haven't looked back. I ended up signing with Random House and then, most recently, I hit the New York Times bestseller list. Just goes to show that you should never give up on your dreams!

What advice would you give to an aspiring author? 

 

See above. LOL

Some of your characters have their own Facebook pages! How has social networking helped build your fan base? 

 

Yes, social networking is probably one of the biggest reasons I was able to get the word out about my books. Self pubbing is great but it's a lot of work and the author essentially has to do all her marketing herself! For me, word of mouth has been crucial and I'm sure it has a lot to do with how much guerrilla marketing online I did in the early days.

What is your current obsession (absolutely anything)?

 

Remodeling my house. It seems like that's all I've been doing lately!

Thank you so much to H.P. for chatting with me! Be sure to check her out (links below!)

www.hpmallory.com

 

H.P. Mallory Facebook 

 

Find her books on Amazon

Top Ten Tuesday : Current Obsessions

10. Wedding
My lovely sister in law is getting married in a few weeks and for the last few months I have been in Matron of Honor mode. Though things are winding down I'm still all about wedding hoopla these days.


9. Supernatural on Netflix

I can't explain just how much I love this show. Though I own all the DVD's I tend to watch random episodes on Netflix while I clean or right before bed. The Winchester's just make me happy!


8. Blogging
If you can believe it I'm spending a lot of time trying to keep the blog up to date. I've been doing interviews and reaching out to other authors to do guests posts like crazy!


7. Revenge

I'm getting caught up on the first season of this show and I'm totally ADDICTED! It's like The O.C. and Kill Bill combined. Great show!

6. Promotion
I've been hearing great things from people about The Low Notes lately and it has been driving me to do more promotion. I'm using Facebook and Twitter to get the word out and reaching out to book review bloggers too.


5. Pinterest

 

I'm not as psycho about Pinterest right now as I was this time last year but I'm on there about every day. I pin things like recipes and DIY crafts. I also have a lovely board called The Dream which is made of ideas for my ultimate dream home. You can follow me if you like!


4. Popular Music
A lot of popular songs are really good right now and I'm a little obsessed. Let's see...Maroon 5's One More Night, Alex Clare's Too Close, Fun's Some Nights, Taylor Swift's We Are Never Getting Back Together, Cher Lloyd's Want U Back, Justin Beiber's As Long As You Love Me are just a few. I need to make a mix tape!


3. The New Normal on NBC
Hilarious and sweet new sitcom about the new normal family. Check it out. Are you sensing a theme? I watch a lot of TV haha!!


2. Fall

 Fall is my favorite season and it's almost here. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love the weather and the changing leaves. I also love the return of all my favorite shows, the clothes (and boots) and food. Can you say crock-pot? Cannot wait!


1. Writing!
Typey Typey y'all! The words have been flying off the fingertips lately and I couldn't be happier about it. I haven't given myself a serious deadline but I would love to mark The Low Notes' one year anniversary with another release (if not sooner). The title that I'm currently working on is a beach romance about finding yourself and finding love and it's called Back to You. So excited about it!

Fan-tastic!

The past few weeks have been truly amazing. I've had more fans reach out to me than I ever dreamed possible! The thought that people around the globe are reading The Low Notes and enjoying it brings so much joy to my heart.

Since the release of The Low Notes I have managed to hear from fans from four continents. I've received reviews and messages from Germany, Ireland, England, all over the US, Canada, the Philippines, and even as far as Africa! I even received my first piece of 'fan art'! 


Though I still love my cover this alternate cover created by fan Natasa A. is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing Natasa!!

Fan Art by Natasa A.

To even have fans is an awesome feeling but to have such loving and cool fans is completely overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who has reached out, reviewed the book and read. Each of you make me smile and I promise I'm working on something new for you to read.

If you want to show your fan side you can like my author page on Facebook, Goodreads, and Amazon. You can also review The Low Notes on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The Low Notes : The Movie

In my dreams I attend the red carpet premiere for The Low Notes movie. Hell, I'd settle for Lifetime or ABC Family originals! The film adaptation of my first novel most likely will never happen but that doesn't mean we can't play hypothetical casting director. Here's a few suggestions from readers and my opinions followed by my ideal choices for Kevin and Nina.

Reader A.O.'s choices 

Kevin (Zac Efron)

Best known for the High School Musical films

Nina (Lucy Hale)

Star of the ABC Family show Pretty Little Liars

Author's Opinion : Both are clearly good looking and great actors. But.... Zac Efron is just 25 and he looks about 19 so to me he is too young to play Kevin. He's missing the brown eyes as well and I think he's a little short. Everything but the age can be adjusted in a movie of course but for me he's not Kevin. I love Lucy Hale for Nina (she's got the look, the age AND she can sing!) except for the fact that on her show Pretty Little Liars she has a teacher/student relationship and I wouldn't want that to cloud the viewers minds.

Reader A. N.'s choices

Kevin (Ian Somerhalder)

Hot vampire and hot LOST cast member

Nina (Nina Dobrev)

Two vampire brothers love her, duh.

Author's Opinion: Let me preface all of this by saying I LOVE The Vampire Diaries and think both of these actors are fantastic on that show. That being said Ian Somerhalder is way too brooding to be Kevin and again he has light eyes. Nina Dobrev doesn't look enough like Nina Jordan for me. The other aspects of why I'm not a fan of this pairing for my movie include the fact that they already star on a TV show together and they date in real life. I wouldn't want to be a part of a Robsten type drama!!

Reader M.C.'s choices

Kevin (Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid)

Nina (the reader)

Author's Opinion: I nearly died when I heard this reader (my sister-in-law) tell me she pictured the Disney prince as Kevin the entire time she read the book! Honestly the only thing he is missing is the brown eyes. He's got the sexy, sweet thing going on. I approve! Prince Eric might very well have been my first crush so who's to say whether or not he added to my character development a little? As for Nina I totally get this choice! Sometimes when you're reading a book that you love or identify with it's hard to not think of yourself as the main character. Clearly neither of these choices would really work in a film version but I can respect these suggestions.

Author's Choices

Kevin (Rick Malambri)

Star of Step Up 3-D (yeah, I said it!)

Another pic, a little more real.

Nina (Jessica Lowndes)

Star of 90210

Found this picture ages ago and this is how I always envisioned Nina

Kevin has always been the hardest for me to think of when it comes to casting but a few months ago I settled on Rick Malambri in my mind. He's the closest to Kevin I could think of. Jessica Lowndes has always been choice number one for me for Nina. Though she's getting a little older now (I picked her back when I was writing in 2008) I still think of her as my film Nina.

I hope you liked playing pretend movie maker with me today! Sigh, someday I'll get my movie...someday.