Coleen Kwan

My cover copy for WHEN HARRIET CAME HOME has recently been done. Here it is:

After ten years of exile, Harriet Brown is back in town. Things have definitely changed, but so has she. Now the confident owner of a catering business, she’s no longer the shy, overweight girl everyone – including her hot teenage crush - used to ignore. In fact, she’s determined to make peace with Adam Blackstone for her part in exposing his father’s secret affairs and corrupt behavior as Mayor.

But Adam has changed as well. No longer a pampered, rich pin-up boy, he just wants to re-establish his family’s good name. He reluctantly agrees to a truce with Harriet, and is surprised by how changed she is. He doesn’t want to be drawn to her, but he can’t seem to resist her allure.

As Harriet struggles to come to terms with her past, her adolescent infatuation with Adam morphs into something more serious… Will she ever be accepted again? Or will ancient history ruin the chance of a future full of possibilities?

The cover copy is done by the Carina Press acquisitions team, and I’m assuming they go off the synopsis I wrote. Considering how I loathe writing synopses, I’m full of admiration for the person who did my blurb.

Photo by ucumari

These days becoming a published author comes with a non-optional side order of marketing and publicity. I’ve dreamed of being a writer, but I’ve never dreamed of being a salesperson. Frankly, I suck at selling. But numerous articles told me I should be developing an online presence even before my book is published. I cringed at the idea, but when I sold to Carina Press, I finally bit the bullet.

Having read all the advice on offer, I decided I would start out slow with just a blog/website. I wanted something relatively quick and easy to set up and maintain, and I wanted something cheap. I eventually chose Blogger over Wordpress. Wordpress has a cleaner look and heaps of templates, and I like how you can make it look more of a website than a blog. But I chose Blogger because:

I didn’t have much time for reading this month, but some books that grabbed me were:

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark. A duet story set in India during two tumultuous periods — the Indian Rebellion in 1857, and Partition in 1947 — told through the lives of three women. I loved this book. The author captures all the beauty and mystery of India, and the details of life for Victorian women living in India are extremely evocative.

Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil & Kaja Foglio. A rollicking steam punk caper featuring Adventure! Romance! Mad Science! (according to the book flap). More of a YA book, I thought. Very funny at times and always entertaining.

I’m In No Mood For Love by Rachel Gibson. I don’t know why I enjoyed this contemporary romance so much, but I did. There were few fireworks in this story, just two likeable characters, both with relationship issues, gradually moving from dislike to like to lust, and ultimately to love. Believable and satisfying.

The Eight by Katherine Neville. A sprawling epic revolving around a mystical lost chess set, featuring a dizzying array of characters. Fast-paced lengthy story which sacrifices character depth for action, but still entertaining.