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This month we build on the BEA buzz to welcome not our usual two, not three, but four super fab guest authors: Marjorie M. Liu, Wendy Corsi Staub, Diane Gaston, and Amanda McCabe.
For this month only the Salon will go an extra hour from 7:00 to 10:00 PM to accommodate all the goodness. Otherwise stats remain the same: Madame X, 94 W Houston (between Thompson & Laguardia). Admission is $5 or one gently used paperback romance novel to benefit Share The Love.
Hope
Thanks to all who braved the rain on Monday to turn out for Lady Jane’s Salon, including the authors of Operation L.O.V.E. and Romantic Times BOOKReviews Web Manager, Rob; the latter favored us with a song.
On tap for the Monday, June 1st salon are bestselling authors Marjorie Liu, Wendy Corsi Staub and historical author extraordinnaire, Amanda McCabe. Again, the venue is Soho’s uber cool Madame X. The time is 7-9 though we may go a bit later to accommodate all the goodness.
If you live in or near the Big Apple, or plan to be in town for Book Expo America, I hope you’ll join Maya Rodale, Leanna Renee Hieber, Ron Hogan, and Yours Truly as we host a very special Lady Jane’s Salon. Local NYC author J.S. Hawley will be reading, along with the authors of Operation L.O.VE.: Anne Elizabeth, Tara Nina, and C.H. Admirand.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of OPERATION: L.O.V.E.-the Special Ops Anthology of Sweet Romance is donated to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations people who die in operational or training missions and immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations people and their families. The book debuts the new military anthology line for Highland Press.
As always, admission is five dollars or a gently-used romance novel to benefit Share The Love. This month only we will be splitting the proceeds with Operation L.O.V.E.
WHEN: Monday, May 4th. 7:00-9:00 pm.Â
WHERE: Madame X, 94 Houston Street (btw LaGuardia and Thompson Streets), New York, NY 10012, 212.539.0808, www.madamex.com. Nearest subways: F,V,B,D at Lafayette, N, R at Prince Street.
Last night’s Lady Jane’s Salon was uber fab. I know I say that every month but that’s only because it’s true.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blogger, Sara Wendell is well, one smart b—- as well as a total hoot, the perfect guest emcee. And bonus: she read aloud from her book, Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels, waxing eloquent on, among other topics, sexually impossible positions.
Memo to Sarah: you had us at “turgid boner.”
A round of belly laughs, not to mention an anatomy lesson was enjoyed by all.
Our guest author readers were Alisa Sheckley/Kwitney and Lady Jane co-founder Maya Rodale. Alisa read from her latest paranormal, The Better to Hold You set here in the Big Apple. Warewolves on the Upper West Side, oh my! And just when I was convinced cab drivers and pizza delivery guys were the main urban predators.
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Maya read a very sexy scene from The Rogue and the Rival with the help of her “EBF” i.e., English Boyfriend, Tony. Together they rocked the house–and steamed up the windows.
Memo to Maya and Tony:Â next time how’s about adding some pantomime, hmm?
As for Yours Truly, last night was the perfect antidote to the Deadline Blues.
Otherwise, the stats stay the same: First Monday of the Month (May 4th), 7-9 chez Madame X. May is also the host month for Book Expo America America, so we’ll be packing in the out-of-towners as well! Hopefully that’ll include…YOU!
Hope
Sometimes you don’t actually have to be in the limelight to um…be in the limelight.
This year’s Book Expo America took place in Los Angeles. BEA is the largest publishing trade fair in the country, comparable to the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs. BEA is a great way for an author to build buzz for her book by connecting with publishing professionals–distributors, reviewers from Publishers Weekly and the like, publisher sales reps, and the list goes on and on.
For several years, I’ve been a regular participant, signing my books in both the Expo’s in-booth and “ticketed” forums. For various reasons (hint: do you hear “deadline” bursting out of my thought bubble?) I wasn’t able to attend this year’s show.
Imagine my delight when folks who did go started emailing me notes and yes, photos of the large–and I mean huge–backlit poster for BOUND TO PLEASE fronting the entrance to the Harlequin booth alongside Linda Lael Miller’s latest. Who knew!
To add another shmeer of cream cheese to the bagel, my other wonderful publisher, Medallion Press, had complimentary copies of all three of my Men of Roxbury House books: Vanquished, Enslaved, and Untamed prominently displayed in its booth.
I may not have gotten to go to all the great parties or rub elbows with the publishing brass this year but in a way, I was there. My characters certainly were. Party animals all, I’m sure they had a fab time. 😉
Hope
Hi Everyone,
I’m back from Book Expo America. For those of you not familiar with BEA, it’s the U.S. answer to the London and Frankfurt Bookfairs and I do believe it’s even bigger — around 30,000 participants at this year’s event held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.
Big clue to the incredible vibe of this year’s event: the Expo was in New York City — now, can that *ever* be bad? 😉
I went up on trusty ole Amtrak the night before expecting to have a good trip, a productive trip, a pleasant trip…
What I had was a *great* trip.
I launched my venture on Thursday evening with dinner a-deux with my good buddy, uber talented historical romance novelist, Kathryn Caskie. We chose Zagat top pic, Gotham Bar & Grill on 12th in The Village. Determined not to be idle, we mapped out our Expo plans over a lovely bottle of shriraz and top tier (aka yummy) fare of hard shell crabs (me) and filet (Kathy).
Friday was a “work” day. After a short waiting stint sipping designer H20 in the Green Room (and no, I didn’t see anyone terribly famous, more’s the pity), I kicked off with a traditonal autographing for my new historical romance release, Enslaved (Medallion press). Later, I had midday coffee talk with talented historical fiction author, Will Hutchison, and then an in-booth signing at the Harlequin booth during “Sexy Hour” with Cara Summers and bestselling author, Carly Phillips.
But there’s more…
That night, Kathryn Caskie (Kathy to me) and our good buddy, historical romance author, Sophia Nash, met up at New York’s famous Webster Hall for The Rock Bottom Remainders “Still Younger than Keith” charity concert. At the VIP reception to kick off the concert, we clinked glasses with literati heavyweights Mitch Albom, Frank McCourt, Amy Tan, Stephen King, and my personal fav, humor columnist turned children’s author, Dave Barry. If you have two ticks, check out our candid pics on my Snapshots page. And yes, consider the rumor confirmed, Dave Barry really did pronounce the three of us “hot.” I believe the word “babes” was also used,” but well, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble at home. 😉
As you may expect, all this autographing and gladhanding can really wear a woman down. Fortunately, I got to unwind on Saturday evening at the Harlequin party held at a swank Midtown club. Harlequin always does it right and this year’s fete was no exception. Guests were greeted at the door with champagne and chocolates and the night got even better from there. Over canapes and champagne (yes, more), I caught up with authors Jane Porter (“Flirting with Forty”), Candice Poarch, and Rebecca York as well as had the opportunity to say thank you to Harlequin’s talented and hardworking editorial, marketing and sales staff.
Come Sunday, all this nose-to-the-grindstone hard work was really taking its toll. The chocolate consumption alone had me at “sixes and sevens” as Sophia might say in one of her Regency-set historicals. I wound down with a signing of The Haunting in the Romance Writers of America booth at BEA along with Niki Burnham (“Goddess Games”) and Silhouette author, Anna DePalo.
A few days of post-Expo R&R in the West Village set me to rights. Come mid-week, I was homebound on that Amtrak train, maybe not exactly fresh as a daisy but certainly touting a big ole smile.
Okay, so enuf about me. Anybody else go to BEA? As they say, inquiring minds…
Hope