It's All About the Love

6:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 33 Comments



I got Mark Noce's book, Between Two Fires,  on early release from Net Galley. I started it a few days ago, and I honestly hate putting it down. It's not because it's a historical, and I love history. It's not because it is action packed with wars between kingdoms, bitter feuds, and traitors in the mix. 

I mean all of that is excellent. But it's not what keeps me reading.

For me, it's all about the love. Blended in with all the goodness above is a wonderfully enticing love story. And I am all about the romance.

Okay, okay, so sometimes in the book world, it isn't cool to be into romance. I sat on a panel of authors discussing romance writing and several admitted, they either never considered reading romance until they decided to write it. Or they started reading romance early on, but would hide their "trash" novel inside another, more respectable book.

Not me. Unapologetic romantic here. I've been devouring romances since I could walk myself to the library and sign my name on the check-out card.

My first day of detention in junior high was after a dramatic reading of the love scenes from Danielle Steel's Palimino in math class. Of course, I wasn't the reader...I was entrusted to watch the door while my friend did her best audio rendition of the steamy content.  Little did we know our teacher was wise enough to turn on the intercom between the classroom and the secretary's office during her absence.

Busted. But all in all, it wasn't a tragedy. They let you to read books in lunchtime detention.

Not a believer in romance? Let's consider some very awesome movies:

Star Wars...Han Solo + Princess Laya = romance
Lord of the Rings...Aragorn + Arwen= romance
Thor...Thor + Jane Foster = romance
Harry Potter...Harry + Jenny; Ron + Hermione= romance
Spiderman...Peter Parker + Gwen Stacey (Gwen was better than Mary Jane) = romance 

Romance makes a story awesome.

As it does in Between Two Fires. 

Now, enough writing about the book when I could be reading to see if Branwen will toss the heartless Hammer King for Artagan, the dashing knight,


Praise from Bestselling Authors for Between Two Fires:

“A spirited ride through a turbulent slice of Welsh history!” – Paula Brackston, NYT Bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter

“A fast-paced read that has a wonderfully visual style and some memorable characters. Mark Noce combines Welsh history with a touch of folkloric magic in this promising debut novel. Lady Branwen is a strong and engaging narrator and the turbulent setting of early medieval Wales makes a fine backdrop for an action-packed story.” – Juliet Marillier, Bestselling author of Daughter of the Forest and Wolfskin

Synopsis of Between Two Fires
Saxon barbarians threaten to destroy medieval Wales. Lady Branwen becomes Wales’ last hope to unite their divided kingdoms when her father betroths her to a powerful Welsh warlord, the Hammer King.
But this fledgling alliance is fraught with enemies from within and without as Branwen herself becomes the target of assassinations and courtly intrigue. A young woman in a world of fierce warriors, she seeks to assert her own authority and preserve Wales against the barbarians. But when she falls for a young hedge knight named Artagan her world threatens to tear itself apart. Caught between her duty to her people and her love of a man she cannot have, Branwen must choose whether to preserve her royal marriage or to follow her heart. Somehow she must save her people and remain true to herself, before Saxon invaders and a mysterious traitor try to destroy her.

Places to Order Between Two Fires
Release Date: August 23, 2016
Amazon/ Amazon Kindle/ Barnes & Noble/ Barnes & Noble Nook/ iTunes/ IndieBound/ Thomas Dunne Books

Bio
Mark Noce writes historical fiction with a passion, and eagerly reads everything from fantasy to literature. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s an avid traveler and backpacker, particularly in Europe and North America. He earned his BA and MA from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he also met his beautiful wife. By day, he works as a Technical Writer, having spent much of his career at places like Google and Facebook. In addition to writing novels, he also writes short fiction online. When not reading or writing, he’s probably listening to U2, sailing his dad’s boat, or gardening with his family.
His debut novel, Between Two Fires, is being published by Thomas Dunne Books (an imprint of St. Martin's Press and Macmillan). It is the first in a series of historical fiction novels set in medieval Wales.

Social Media Links
Marknoce.com
Twitter/ Facebook (author page)/ Goodreads/ LinkedIn/ Google+/ Thunderclap Campaign

Now, for my good things!

Thanks to our hosts LexaL.G, and Tonja Drecker for this weekly good things check in! 



I'm doing one good thing...
Today is my birthday. Feel free to send me cake. 


33 comments:

Let's Talk Quantity

6:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 50 Comments

What is my insecurity this month? 

Quantity. 

Tara Tyler and me
at the Ohio Expos
Last month, I went to the Ohio Expos for readers and writers. It was an event that hosted more authors than readers. We were all there basically selling to each other. 

As a writer, I am also a reader. Book buying is as exciting as shoe shopping, so having down time to peruse the available books wasn't a totally bad thing. 

But from a reader's perspective, I couldn't buy all the books I wanted. I had a budget to stick with. So, out of all of these available, most certainly worthy books, I walked away with two new ones. 

I still haven't had time to read these new books. Earlier in the summer, I bought several titles for my Kindle. Then there are the books I've won in contests, the beta reads, and Net Galley reads. I've read a lot this summer, but I'm still way behind because as a reader, I'm swamped. I could NOT buy another book for a year and still not get through my to-read list. 

Good thing for family!
My cousin Jenny and Aunt Judy stopped in and stocked up. 
From a writer's perspective, that's flattening.

I was beginning to wonder...are there more writers than there are readers? 

Years and years ago, long before the rise of the indie market, I read an article in a writing magazine about the predicted glut of writers in the future. That the upstarts would hurt the market, making writing more of a hobby than a profession because there will be so many writers, they will desperately give away their work for free or dirt cheap in order to bait a single reader.  
Young reader Kailee
There is hope.
She was eager for a book!

That article was prophetic.

Maybe there are just too many. Maybe a new book makes as much impact on the market as a hailstorm over an ocean. 

But then there is always hope. In conversation with the other writers (because we had lots of chat time in our down time), we decided that we may survive. Writing is hard work.

Every newbie (including ourselves) thought words on a page would be the magical portal to a life of leisure and liquidity. The hard truth is, sometimes if you're the author who sold a single title on a day when writers outnumber readers twenty-five to one, you're a best seller. That's not a truth new writers want to hear. And it's a truth that writers whose hearts aren't in it will tolerate. 

It's that marathon theory. Success in writing is a race measured in miles, not yards. And not everyone wants to train for marathons. 

Why does that inspire hope? 

Because when you accept that something is intrinsically hard, and possibly getting harder every day, it's no longer a personal failure, but a challenge.


IWSG question of the month:
What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

It was an action/romance about a kidnapped debutante and the hot black ops spy who saved her. It's sitting on my hard drive collecting dust. 


Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and his awesome co-hosts for the August edition of the IWSG: 
Tonja Drecker
Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor
Lauren @ Pensuasion
Stephen Tremp
Julie Flanders



50 comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...