Rosalind James's Blog

Have you ever had something wonderful come out of something terrible? Have you ever come out of a dark place and into the light? I’d like to tell you about how that happened to me.

At the time of writing this, I’ve just finished book #35, and I’ve written seven series. That’s totally a surprise to me, since I wrote my first book just to see if I could. That was JUST THIS ONCE: Escape to New Zealand, Book 1 (which started out being called RESCUE ME; I think I did myself a favor there with the renaming, don’t you?) I’m going to talk a bit today about where my new career started, with New Zealand and the rugby romance that is still my bestseller.

 

Out of the Darkness

This book didn’t feel like it came from me. It felt like it came from New Zealand. When I started writing JUST THIS ONCE in 2011, I’d been living in Auckland, New Zealand, for almost a year (for hubby’s work), after living in Brisbane, Australia for another year. At the time I made the decision to go with him, I was turning 50 and coming off the hardest year of my life, including a couple months of very scary clinical depression after an awful life event. So when hubby got sent abroad this time, I went with him. I was still working myself as well, doing the job I’d had for about 10 years as a marketing director, and it wasn’t thrilling me. Every time I thought about going after another job, though, it made me feel so tired. Have you ever had that experience? I was just … stuck.

Gradually, that first year in Australia, something happened. I had FUN. WE had fun. Because people over there don’t work six or seven days a week the way they often do in the U.S., we both had the weekends off, and we explored near and far—bushwalks, surf beaches, rainforests and waterfalls and the beauty of Brisbane itself—and also became extremely wary of snakes. (Fun fact: 21 of the 25 most venomous snakes in the world are found in Australia, home of Too Many Things That Want to Kill You. And I’m not even going to TALK about spiders.) I learned to knit. I went to farmers’ markets twice a week, and we gave dinner parties to the other expats on our Queensland-style enormous balcony, featuring fresh-caught fish, surprisingly much tastier Australian fruits and veggies (it’s the soil, apparently), and Australian wines that the guy at the “Bottle-O” helped me pick out. I felt like Julia Child in France. (Well, not EXACTLY like her. I cook OK, but I’m not exactly ready for a TV show.) And gradually, my heart eased and my brain sort of … relaxed.

After another year in New Zealand, doing my open-water swimming in the sea, my running on the beach and the green remnants of volcanoes, and my yoga in a boathouse with the water slapping against the pilings, traveling more, exploring more, LIVING more, my mind opened up more, too. I fell in love, in fact, with the people and places and spirit of New Zealand, a love that’s proven to be the lifelong, lasting kind.

OK, yay New Zealand, but what was the writing thing all about?

Man, I don’t know. I’ve always been a logic person. A detail person. A get-it-done person. I’d always read a lot, but it never occurred to me that I could write a book or do anything creative at all. My head was too full of checklists and obligations and family responsibilities for that.

The one thing I had, though, was daydreams. While I swam or ran or hiked, I’d be weaving these complicated romantic stories. I never thought of them as books, though, just fun diversions. I’d always heard that “writers have to write,” and that was not me. Marketing copy? Yeah, I wrote that, and I was good at it. White papers, too. Fiction? That I made up from my BRAIN? Ha.

The other thing happening in New Zealand in 2011, though, was the Rugby World Cup, which is held every four years. This was only the second time in history that it had been held in New Zealand, and the All Blacks, as usual, were the favorites to win. Being favorite, though, even being the winningest team in the history of sports, doesn’t mean you’ll get across the line, because a world cup is a hard, hard thing to win. You have to lift in every game, against teams who are more motivated to beat you than any other opponent. Over the course of the year, I watched the whole country turn themselves inside out to support their team. It was everywhere. The grocery store, the fence in front of the kindy (preschool), painted on barns and lining livestock fences in the countryside. Go the Mighty All Blacks.

I went to the public ceremony in September where the All Blacks team got their caps for the Rugby World Cup, mainly because I was taking some kids of my acquaintance who were so excited to be there. I couldn’t have picked the players out of a crowd at that point, but I watched Richie McCaw, a legend then and now, give a speech remarkable in its humility and acceptance of pressure. He said, “I know we’ve got a wee little job to do for all of you, and we’re going to do our very best.” They did, and more specifically, HE did. The country found out later that he played that entire seven-week tournament on a broken foot. He couldn’t even hobble after each game, but he geared up for them somehow anyway, and as the tournament went on, I, along with everybody else in my household, became riveted.

The End Game

The Rugby World Cup final, New Zealand vs. France, was the most intense sporting event I’ve ever witnessed, and probably the most-watched two hours ever on TV in New Zealand. We watched in a pub in Wellington where, inside, the Kiwis fell silent as the minutes ticked by and the score sat at 7 to 5 in favor of the French. Outside, the French fans (who were out there because they could smoke) waved their flags and sang the Marseillaise louder and louder, getting more excited and more raucous as the second half ticked down and their team looked on track to beat the best team in the world in the most important rugby contest they’d ever face. Finally, the All Blacks’ fourth-string No. 10 (the driver of the offense) had to take the field in a jersey two sizes too small after the second and third choices were injured. The best in the world, Dan Carter, had injured himself before the World Cup began, a huge blow to the All Blacks’ hopes.

That No. 10, Stephen Donald, in his ridiculously tiny jersey, ran on and kicked a penalty goal as coolly as you please, and the score was 8 to 7. And there were still minutes left in the game. Many minutes, during which New Zealanders everywhere (and I) clutched the edge of the table and couldn’t breathe. The French were attacking, and attacking again. And the All Blacks captain was everywhere, too, stopping them again and again. Sometime close to the end, one of the French players gouged both of his eyes. He got up rubbing them, then threw himself into it again. What we all saw that night was a captain carrying his team to victory on his back, on his strength of will and his determination—on his mana. And he carried New Zealand, too. At the end, he’s said, all he could feel was relief that it was over and he could lay down that burden. A few days later, he had surgery on his foot to repair the broken bone, and the country found out what he’d done.

Like many others, I’ve never been able to watch that final again, though it’s available. It was too intense. And I thought, afterwards—what would it be like to live with that kind of pressure, day in and day out? To carry the hopes and dreams of a nation? To try to live your life as a very private person in a country of four and a half million, where you’re more recognized (and much more popular) than the Prime Minister? Where you’re expected to be not only brilliant at and dedicated to your sport, but humble, gracious, and good-natured—always—to all those people who recognize you? What would it be like, as a young man still in his late 20s, to try to find love in that environment? Who would want you for the man you were, not your position or the legend you’d become?

The Story Appears

A couple days after the final, we took a long walk through the rhododendron gardens of Mount Taranaki, and I had one of my romantic daydreams. This time, I couldn’t get that daydream out of my head. The day after that, as we drove to our next spot on our little vacation, I asked my husband, “Do you think I could write a book?” And he said, “Of course.” I just wanted to write my story down in order to read it. Still one of the big reasons I write today.

The hero of my book is not Richie McCaw. I don’t know Richie McCaw. All the same, my proudest moment as an author came when his aunt emailed me after reading the book, a few years down the line, and said, “It’s like you’ve been sitting at our kitchen table. You got it right.” The book is about an overworked, overstressed woman who finds it hard to trust and harder to have faith, and a quiet rugby captain with strength and mana and a direct mind who knows what he wants and goes to get it. But it’s also about New Zealand, the Pakeha culture and the Maori and the blend of all of it that is uniquely Kiwi. The lightness of life there, the humor, the unpretentiousness, and the joy in spending time outdoors in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and with your family and friends. The satisfaction of being a good neighbor, a good son, a “good bugger.” That’s why I’m still writing about the country, and why I have three series set there. It’s not perfect, because no place is, but it’s awesome. I normally spend two to three months a year there and in Australia, and I look forward to it with the same excitement every time. (Also, I totally think they should make me a permanent resident, or at least upgrade me on Air New Zealand. Seriously.)

So what happened next?

Next time, I’ll share a bit more about how my publishing journey went, but for now I’ll just say—I finished the book and published it 9 months after I started writing it, along with two more Escape to New Zealand books. JUST THIS ONCE has sold well over 100,000 copies now, plus another 35,000-plus in German translation. It’s been nominated for an Audie as Best Romance Audiobook (like being nominated for an Oscar, but with less money involved!) That book I started writing in a barnyard, that risk I took, has turned into the best job I’ve ever had and the best work I’ve ever done, and I love it for that. It was my rebirth, out of the ashes and into something better, and that’s what I try to do with every book—to give the reader that experience, too, and that hope. We can all be more than this. We don’t stop learning and growing just because we’re 40, or 50, or 70. We can all be bigger.

 

The World of Rugby Romance

 

 

I’ve written fifteen New Zealand rugby romances now, and I still love writing them. In between, I’ve written all the other series, which I love just as much, and which I’ll tell you about more later, but as they say—there’s something special about your first! (Well, not mine, but you know. It’s a concept.)

Which are the best Escapes, besides that first one? In my opinion, JUST FOR NOW (My Sound of Music book, full of family love and my first adventure writing kids, which has become one of my favorite things); JUST SAY YES (another heartwarming and funny one with kids, but also with the beauty of ballet and some really satisfying moments with the hero being, well, a hero); JUST SAY (HELL) NO (my favorite opposites-attract book, with a pretty combustible relationship, steamy sex, some of my funniest writing, and also probably my biggest weepfest moments); and, finally, JUST COME OVER (my only book with a 4.9-star average, and to my mind, the best book I’ve ever written, about a Maori rugby coach with a tough backstory who falls in love with his brother’s widow). All the books in the series are stand-alones except JUST ONCE MORE and JUST SAY CHRISTMAS, so if one of them sounds especially good to you—take your pick! They’ve all got a lot of humor, a lot of family, a lot of warmth, a lot of New Zealand, and, yes, a fair amount of steam, too.

I found my dream job, and I love it.

All That in Pictures

Here’s Pokarekare Ana, “the other New Zealand national anthem.” Sung here by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, with a backdrop of some of the things that make New Zealand so special.

 

And I couldn’t tell you about the Escape to New Zealand series without showing you the haka! Here you go. Richie McCaw at the head of his men, facing the French again four years later during Rugby World Cup 2015. (Spoiler alert: he and the All Blacks won the tournament again, the only team ever to do it twice in a row. The All Blacks definitely make my job easier!) As many times as I’ve seen the haka, live and on screen, it still gives me the same tingle down my spine.

Next time: Stepping Outside the Box, or: Panic Stations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get a printable list here

Have you wondered how the series fit together? Which have spun off from other series? What characters appear in multiple series?

And the most asked question of all: “Do you have a list of all the characters and their kids, etc., from the Escape to New Zealand books?” Here you go!

The New Zealand Series

Escape to New Zealand:

Book 0.5: JUST FOR YOU (Reka & Hemi)
Book 1: JUST THIS ONCE (Hannah & Drew)
Book 2: JUST GOOD FRIENDS (Kate & Koti)
Book 3: JUST FOR NOW (Jenna & Finn)
Book 4: JUST FOR FUN (Emma & Nic)
Book 5: JUST MY LUCK (Ally & Nate/Kristen & Liam)
Book 6: JUST NOT MINE (Josie & Hugh)
Book 7: JUST ONCE MORE (Hannah & Drew again/reunion)
Book 8: JUST IN TIME (Faith & Will)

Not Quite a Billionaire (FIERCE, FRACTURED, FOUND, or boxed set) – Hope & Hemi. (FIERCE is the book Faith is writing in JUST IN TIME)

            – New Zealand Ever After

Book 1: KIWI RULES (Karen & Jax) – Karen is Hope’s little sister from the Not Quite a Billionaire series.
Book 2: STONE COLD KIWI (Poppy & Matiu) – Matiu is Hemi’s cousin from NQAB series; Poppy is Jax’s sister from KIWI RULES.
Book 3: KIWI STRONG (Daisy & Gray) – Gray is a former All Black who played with Drew, etc., from the Escape to NZ series.




Book 9: JUST STOP ME (Nina & Iain)
Book 10: JUST SAY YES (Chloe & Kevin)
Book 11: JUST SAY (HELL) NO (Nyree & Marko)
Book 12: JUST COME OVER (Zora & Rhys)
Book 13: JUST SAY CHRISTMAS (Zora & Rhys; Hayden & Luke; Victoria & Kane; Ella & Tom)

Escape to New Zealand Characters in Detail

Sir Andrew (Drew) Callahan, Hannah Montgomery Callahan. JUST THIS ONCE. Drew, a former blindside flanker (No. 6) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks, and the two-time Rugby World Cup-winning captain of the All Blacks, is head coach of the Highlanders; Hannah is a marketing executive for 2nd Hemisphere knitwear. 3 children.

Hemi Ranapia, Reka Hawera Ranapia. JUST FOR YOU. Hemi, a former No. 10 for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks, coaches with Drew at the Highlanders. 4 children.

Koti James, Kate Lamonica James. JUST GOOD FRIENDS. Koti was a centre (No. 13) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks, now playing overseas; Kate is an accountant for the Blues. 2 children. Goes overseas at the end of JUST SAY CHRISTMAS.

Finn Douglas, Jenna McKnight Douglas. JUST FOR NOW. Finn, a former No. 8 for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks, is strength & conditioning coach for the Blues; Jenna is a teacher. 4 children.

Nic (Nico) Wilkinson, Emma Martens Wilkinson. JUST FOR FUN. Nic is a fullback (No. 15) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks; Emma is a knitwear designer for 2nd Hemisphere. 2 children. They go to France to play at the end of JUST SAY CHRISTMAS.

Liam (Mako) Mahaka, Kristen Montgomery Mahaka. JUST MY LUCK. Liam is a hooker (No. 2) for the Wellington Hurricanes and the All Blacks; Kristen (Hannah’s sister) is a fashion buyer. 1 child.

Nate (Toro) Torrance, Allison (Ally) Villiers Torrance. JUST MY LUCK. Nate is a halfback (No. 9) for the Wellington Hurricanes and the All Blacks, and captain of the All Blacks; Ally is a climbing instructor.

Hugh Latimer, Jocelyn (Josie) Pae Ata. JUST NOT MINE. Hugh is an openside flanker (No. 7) for the Auckland Blues; Josie is a TV star and model. Raising Hugh’s two half-siblings, plus twin boys.

Will Tawera, Faith Goodwin. JUST IN TIME. Will is a first-five (No. 10) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks; Faith is a novelist.

Iain McCormick, Sabrina (Nina) Jones. JUST STOP ME. Iain is a lock (No. 5) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks; Nina is an international model.

Kevin (Kevvie) McNicholl, Chloe Donaldson. JUST SAY YES. Kevin is a wing (No. 11) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks; Chloe is a ballet dancer and teacher. 1 child.

Marko Sendoa, Nyree Morgan. JUST SAY (HELL) NO. Marko is a blindside flanker (No. 6) for the Auckland Blues and the All Blacks; Nyree is a painter.

Tom Koro-Mansworth, Ella Sendoa. JUST SAY (HELL) NO. Tom is a lock for the Auckland Blues; Ella is a University student.

Rhys Fletcher, Zora Fletcher. JUST COME OVER. Rhys is the coach of the Blues; Zora is a florist. Two children.

Kane Armstrong, Victoria Gibson. JUST SAY CHRISTMAS. Kane is a lock (No. 4) for the Crusaders and the All Blacks; Victoria is a prosecutor.

Luke Armstrong, Hayden Allen. JUST COME OVER. Luke is a retired prop for Paris Racing; Hayden is a lawyer (and Zora Fletcher’s brother).

 

The United States Series

The Kincaids:

Book 1: WELCOME TO PARADISE (Mira & Gabe). Set in North Idaho, on a historical-reenactment reality show.
Book 2: NOTHING PERSONAL (Rae & Alec). Set in San Francisco; Alec is Gabe’s fraternal twin.
Book 3: ASKING FOR TROUBLE (Alyssa & Joe). Set in San Francisco; Alyssa is Mira & Gabe’s little sister; Joe is Alec’s business partner and closest friend.

Sinful, Montana:

Book 1: GUILTY AS SIN (Paige & Jace): Set in the Montana mountains. Paige is an identical twin.
Book 2: TEMPTING AS SIN (Lily & Rafe): Set in the Montana mountains & Byron Bay, Australia. Lily is Paige’s identical twin; Rafe is Jace’s brother.
Book 3: SEXY AS SIN (Willow & Brett): Set mostly in Byron Bay, Australia, with forays into the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies. Brett appears in NO KIND OF HERO (Portland Devils, Book 2), and features more in GUILTY AS SIN and TEMPTING AS SIN. Willow is Jace and Rafe’s cousin.

  Portland Devils:

Book 1: SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL (Dakota & Blake): Set in Wild Horse, Idaho, and Portland, Oregon. Blake appears in FRACTURED (Not Quite a Billionaire, Book 2).
Book 2: NO KIND OF HERO (Beth & Evan): Set in Wild Horse, Idaho, and Portland, Oregon. Beth is Dakota’s friend; Evan is Dakota’s business partner. Brett Hunter from the Sinful, Montana series makes his first appearance in this book.

Paradise, Idaho (for once, they’re all actually set in Paradise, Idaho):

Book 1: CARRY ME HOME (Zoe & Cal)
Book 2: HOLD ME CLOSE (Kayla & Luke). Luke is Cal’s brother.
Book 3: TURN ME LOOSE (Rochelle & Travis). Rochelle is Zoe’s friend.
Book 4: TAKE ME BACK (Hallie & Jim). Jim is Cal & Luke’s cousin. (Jim shows up in the Epilogue of NO KIND OF HERO.)

Want to print it out? You can do that here:

Rosalind James book series

Do you want to ESCAPE TO NEW ZEALAND? Want to watch the All Blacks try to win three Rugby World Cups in a row in the country that will be willing them on with every breath to do it? Want to visit the very best spots on the North AND South Island with a tour guide who can get you behind the scenes and make magic happen? (That would be Sharron Hickman, guide extraordinaire. I’ve never seen anybody who knew more people in my life. Sharron did this tour before, and it was fabulous.)

Take a look at this itinerary! Starting in mid-October and running through early November, through all the drama of the Rugby World Cup and  through the seasons in some of the most beautiful places in the world–it’s the Escape to New Zealand Tour, Take 2.

If you’re interested, please contact Sharron directly. (Info on the itinerary.)

EXCLUSIVE TOURS LIMITED

Member of Auckland Convention Bureau

Address: 9 Rushland Rise, Pukekohe 2120, New Zealand.

Mobile Phone: (64) 027 4732934

Email: Sharron at sharronh@exclusivetours.co.nz

Website: www.exclusivetours.co.nz

 

Proposed great Escape to New Zealand tour

18th October to 3rd November 2019.

Version number 1.

Sharron will include some surprise (not mentioned in the itinerary) experiences during the tour.

No bookings have been made as of 16th January 2019.

Expressions of interest are required for this tour.     

If you are interested in this tour then please email Sharron as soon as possible at sharronh@exclusivetours.co.nz       Thanks.

 

Friday 18th October

ARRIVE AUCKLAND

Welcome to Auckland!!!

On arrival at Auckland international airport, today, you will be met by Sharron and a drive and transferred to your accommodation.      Please supply Sharron with your flight arrival details so that the transfer (s) can be arranged.

At a time to be decided there will be an orientation walking tour of downtown Auckland including an ice-cream at the world famous Giapo Ice-cream shop!      

Late afternoon tour briefing followed by an early welcome dinner tonight at the revolving restaurant – Orbit Restaurant, Sky Tower.    

Overnight:  Grand Millennium Hotel, Auckland.     

Meal included today is welcome dinner.

 

Saturday 19th October

AUCKLAND

9.00 am to 1.00 pm sightseeing tour of Auckland including a one hour guided tour of Auckland War Memorial Museum followed by one hour free time at this world class museum, a drive along Tamaki Drive to the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial lookout to take in the views of the harbour and city, Auckland harbour bridge and city centre.     

Free afternoon to perhaps visit the Viaduct Basin area, the Wynyard Quarter area, ferry to and from Devonport, visit the Auckland Art Gallery etc.

This evening watch one and or two World Rugby Cup quarter final rugby matches at a venue in downtown Auckland.      Matches commence at 8.15 pm and 11.15 pm.     

Overnight:  Grand Millennium Hotel, Auckland.     

Meal included today is breakfast.

 

 

 

Sunday 20th October

AUCKLAND / WAIHEKE ISLAND / AUCKLAND

9.00 am travel on a ferry from Auckland to Waiheke Island (40 minute journey) for a tour of Waiheke Island including honey / olive oil / wine tasting, visiting local artists, walking on Onetangi Beach and lunch.      Return to Auckland, by ferry, in the afternoon.

Watch one and or two World Rugby Cup quarter final rugby matches at a venue in downtown Auckland.      Matches commence at 8.15 pm and 11.15 pm.     

Overnight:  Grand Millennium Hotel, Auckland.      

Meals included today are breakfast and lunch.

 

Monday 21st October

AUCKLAND TO ROTORUA

8.30 am travel from Auckland to Rotorua stopping en-route at Zealong Tea Estate for a tea tour and tea tastings followed by lunch.      After lunch travel on to Hobbiton for a two hour guided tour of Hobbiton – the largest green movie set in the world.       

Overnight:  Millennium Hotel, Rotorua.     

Meals included today are breakfast and lunch.

 

Tuesday 22nd October

ROTORUA

9.00 am to 12 noon sightseeing of Rotorua including the Government Gardens, guided tours of Rainbow springs & Kiwi Encounter.     

Free afternoon to perhaps soak in the hot mineral waters at the Polynesian Spa or treat yourself to a massage at the Polynesian Spa, or visit the Rotorua Arts Village and Cafe, or visit St Faiths Anglican church at Ohinemutu village etc.

4.00 pm travel to Te Puia for a guided tour of Te Puia (geysers, mud pools, Maori wood carving and weaving schools etc) followed by Maori cultural performance and hangi dinner.      

Overnight:  Millennium Hotel, Rotorua.     

Meals included today are breakfast and hangi dinner.

 

Wednesday 23rd October

ROTORUA TO NAPIER

8.00 am travel to Napier – the Art Deco Capital of New Zealand!      Stop en-route at Lava Glass to watch a glass blowing demonstration / walk in the glass sculpture garden / admire and maybe purchase some of the amazing glass products etc.      On arrival in Napier enjoy wine tasting and a platter lunch at Church Road Winery followed by a guided walking tour of downtown Napier.      Overnight:  Te Pania Scenic Hotel, Napier.      

Meals included today are breakfast and platter lunch.

 

Thursday  24th October

NAPIER TO WELLINGTON

9.00 am travel from Napier to Wellington – New Zealand’s capital city.      Stop en-route at New Zealand Rugby Museum in Palmerston North.      

Overnight:  CityLife apartment Hotel, Wellington.     

Meal included today is breakfast.

Friday 25th October

WELLINGTON

9.00 am to 1.00 pm sightseeing tour of Wellington including guided one hour tour of Parliament buildings, Wellington botanic gardens, Cable Car ride and visit to summit of Mount Victoria.     Free afternoon to perhaps visit Te Papa Museum of New Zealand, or participate in a Weta Workshop tour etc.      Group dinner in Wellington.     

Overnight:  CityLife Apartment Hotel, Wellington.      

Meals included today are breakfast and dinner.

 

Saturday 26th October

WELLINGTON TO PICTON TO BLENHEIM

8.00 am travel from hotel to Interislander ferry terminal.     

9.00 am travel on the Interislander ferry (about a 3 1/2 hour journey) from Wellington Picton.      On arrival in Picton travel by road from Picton to Blenheim.       Enjoy wine tasting at Cloudy Bay Vineyards.      Watch World Rugby Cup quarter final rugby match, which commences at 9.00 pm, at a venue in downtown Blenheim.       

Overnight:  Chateau Marlborough, Blenheim.

Meal included today is breakfast.

 

Sunday 27th October

BLENHEIM TO KAIKOURA

9.00 am travel from Blenheim to Kaikoura.      Opportunity to go whale watching by boat this afternoon.      Sharron will book the whale watching experience.      Whale watching by boat is weather dependent.      Please pay the operator directly for this experience.      Watch World Rugby Cup quarter final rugby match, which commences at 10.00 pm, at a venue in downtown Kaikoura.      Group dinner Kaikoura.     

Overnight:  The White Morph, Kaikoura.     

Meals included today are breakfast and dinner.

 

Monday 28th October

KAIKOURA TO CHRISTCHURCH

9.00 am travel from Kaikoura to Christchurch.       On arrival in Christchurch a one hour guided tour of Christchurch botanic gardens and an orientation tour of Christchurch.      

Overnight;  Rydges Latimer Hotel, Christchurch.     

Meal included today is breakfast.

 

Tuesday 29th October

CHRISTCHURCH TO AORAKI/MOUNT COOK VILLAGE

9.00 am travel from Christchurch to Aoraki/Mount Cook Village.      Spectacular scenery en-route at such places as Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki.     Group dinner tonight.     

Overnight:  The Hermitage Hotel, Aoraki/Mount Cook Village.     

Meals included today are breakfast and dinner.

 

 

 

Wednesday 30th October

AORAKI/MOUNT COOK VILLAGE

Morning guided walking tour on the Hooker Valley Track.      Free afternoon to explore this amazing alpine area.     

Overnight:  The Hermitage Hotel, Aoraki/Mount Cook Village.     

Meals included today are breakfast and dinner.

 

Thursday 31st October

AORAKI/MOUNT COOK VILLAGE TO QUEENSTOWN

9.00 am travel from Aoraki/Mount Cook Village to Queenstown.      Stop en-route at AJ Hackett Bungy Jumping to view the jumpers (and you might like to jump?!) and visit the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown.       

Overnight:  Millennium Hotel, Queenstown.     

Meal included today is breakfast.

 

Friday 1st November

QUEENSTOWN

Free day.      The choices are yours today.     Sharron  will book today’s activities.      Please pay the operators directly for the activities.      Ideas include bungy jumping, jet boating, white water rafting, paragliding, Milford Sound full day (coach/cruise/coach), Doubtful Sound full day (coach/cruise/coach), fly/cruise/fly to Milford Sound, wine tasting tour etc.      Watch World Rugby Cup runner up rugby match, which commences at 10.00 pm,  at a venue in downtown Queenstown!!      So exciting!!     

Overnight:  Millennium Hotel, Queenstown.     

Meal included today is breakfast.

 

Saturday 2nd November

QUEENSTOWN

Free day.      The choices are yours today.     Sharron  will book today’s activities.     Please pay the operators directly for the activities.      Ideas include bungy jumping, jet boating, white water rafting, paragliding, Milford Sound full day (coach/cruise/coach), Doubtful Sound full day (coach/cruise/coach), fly/cruise/fly to Milford Sound, wine tasting tour etc.      Watch World Rugby Cup final rugby match, which commences at 10.00 pm, at a venue in downtown Queenstown!!        So exciting!!      Farewell dinner tonight.      

Overnight:  Millennium Hotel, Queenstown.     

Meal included today is breakfast and farewell dinner.

 

Sunday 3rd November

QUEENSTOWN

Tour ends after breakfast today.      Transfer (s) from hotel to Queenstown airport are included today.      Travellers can stay on in New Zealand or return to the USA today.    

Meal included today is breakfast.

 

 

 

Estimated per person prices based on minimum of 10 travellers are as follows.

NZD$6,700.00 per person on a twin / double share.      As of 16th January 2019 NZD$6,700.00 is approximately USD$4,600.00.

NZD$8,890.00 per person on a single basis.      As of 16th January 2019 NZD$8,890.00 is approximately USD$6,200.00.

 

Included items in these estimated per person prices are accommodations as per itinerary (however these accommodations may be substituted for similar standard accommodations if at the time of booking the suggested properties are not available), meals as per itinerary, Auckland airport meet and greet (s) and hotel transfer (s) on 18th October, Auckland sightseeing tour / entry to Auckland War Memorial Museum / guided tour of museum on 19th October, Waiheke Island round trip ferry tickets & tour of Waiheke Island including honey / olive oil / wine tasting, visiting local artists, walking on Onetangi Beach and lunch on 20th October, Zealong tea tour / tea tasting / lunch on 21st October, two hour guided tour of Hobbiton on 21st October, Rotorua sightseeing tour including guided tour of Rainbow Springs & Kiwi Encounter on 22nd October, guided tour of Te Puia / (geysers, mud pools, Maori wood carving and weaving schools etc) followed by Maori cultural performance and hangi dinner on 22nd October, Lava Glass entry to glass sculpture garden / glass blowing demonstration on 23rd October, Church Road Winery wine tasting & platter lunch on 23rd October, Art Deco guided walking tour of downtown Napier on 23rd October, New Zealand Rugby Museum entry fee on 24th October, one way Wellington Cable Car journey on 25th October, ferry from Wellington to Picton on 26th October, Cloudy Bay Winery wine tasting on 26th October, Christchurch botanic gardens one hour guided walking tour on 28th October, Hooker Valley guided walking tour on 30th October, Queenstown hotel to Queenstown airport transfer (s) on 3rd November and New Zealand Goods and Services Tax at 15%.

Tempting as Sin (Sinful, Montana, Book 2)

Coming May 1, 2018!

Once bitten, twice shy.

Rafe Blackstone may play the sexiest werewolf superhero to ever melt women’s . . . hearts . . . on the big screen, but Lily Hollander has already been bitten once by an actor, and once was enough. When she’s fooled all over again, it’s time to put that wayward heart in lockdown mode, especially once Rafe starts aiming his overprotective streak at her identical twin. Lily may seem like the softer side of the twinship, but nobody messes with her sister.

There’s nothing she can do about Rafe being her temporary neighbor in the mountains above Sinful, Montana, or about being forced to witness the least impressive feats of horsemanship known to man. That doesn’t mean she has to let him into her lingerie store, her heart, or any another part of her anatomy. He can just take his silver-blue wolf eyes, his rueful smile, and the rest of his gorgeous self . . . Wait, where was she?

Oh, yeah. Are you allowed to hate your future almost-brother-in-law, if you do it really, really quietly?

Read an excerpt

Just Say (Hell) No

(Escape to New Zealand, Book 11)

Valentine’s Day, 2018

Even a hard man needs a soft side.

Marko Sendoa isn’t a beach man. He’s not an Auckland man. He’s a hard man. Born Basque, raised in the heart of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, and bred on hard work, discipline, and getting the job done. It’s not easy for a rugby flanker to make it to age 32 at the top of his game, but he’s done it. Next year is the Rugby World Cup, and he’ll do whatever it takes to be on the field in the black jersey when the anthems are sung.
 
He doesn’t need a kitten.
He doesn’t need a pregnant cousin.
He definitely doesn’t need a too-short, distractingly curvy, totally unimpressed Maori barista and part-time pet portraitist who fills his house and his life with too much color, too much chaos, and too many secrets.
 
He’s getting them anyway.

Read an excerpt

GUILTY AS SIN (Sinful, Montana Book 1)

Coming November 1, 2017

Some secrets are more sinful than others.

Paige Hollander and her identical twin Lily stopped switching places a decade ago. But Lily’s run into trouble, and Paige is on leave from the SFPD and recovering from a traumatic shooting. It’s not like she has anything better to do, and she remembers how to be feminine. Sort of. Selling lacy thongs in Sinful Secrets and playing Heidi to Lily’s goats for a week? How hard could it be?

For Jace Blackstone, idyllic Sinful, Montana, is the perfect escape. In this town, he’s a reclusive, black-haired stranger, not the former pride of Australia’s Special Forces, a bestselling thriller writer, a man with no more faith in women, or even the brother of a superhero action star. Right up until the day a mystery fan starts getting much too up-close and personal, and his neighbor comes back from her vacation with a personality change that knocks him sideways.

Suddenly, Sinful is looking downright dangerous. And the biggest danger of all might come in the form of flashing brown eyes, a rear view to stop a man’s heart, and a wit sharp enough to slice him to the bone.

Sinful might be getting serious.

Read an excerpt

Two of my book notebooks (CARRY ME HOME and JUST ONCE MORE.)

So here I am, one week after release of NO KIND OF HERO, my twenty-third book, at loose ends. A little surreal, considering that I started this journey on a whim five years ago, and almost accidentally found a passion and a vocation.

As always after finishing a book, I’m wondering what to do next. Unusually, I actually have the start of a book written (in a new series), and ideas for three more (one, yep, new series, one in the Portland Devils series, and one–which I’m dying to write–Karen’s story, the follow-on to Hope and Hemi’s story). All of those books are completely different in location and tone, which has made me realize one unusual thing about my writing career thus far—that I’ve written so many different types of books, with different tones and in different subgenres. The usual advice is to stick with the thing that brings you success, but then—I started this journey to learn and grow, and the thing I like best (afterwards!) is challenging myself to do something new and succeeding. Not always as well as I could hope, but with every challenge I meet, I get a little better. Who knows—maybe someday I will be the writer I hope to be!

As I way of working through what I want to do next, I thought about the “turning points” on my writing journey thus far. And because I think best when I write things out, I did that. Here they are, in order of publication, little goalposts along the way.

JUST THIS ONCE (Hannah & Drew). You never forget your first. The idea that I could take this cool daydream of an American woman and the captain of the All Blacks and actually write a BOOK about them—it still amazes me. I felt like I was on drugs while I wrote this book. It was euphoria. I’d go to bed with the printed manuscript and read it over until I fell asleep. I dreamt and slept and lived the book. Writing it was the most fun I’d ever had in my life. Is it my best book? Nope. But it was still amazing.

JUST FOR NOW (Jenna & Finn–and Sophie and Harry). Something clicked when I wrote this book. I got better. I felt like I knew how to do it. I wrote it when I was very sick, when my priorities in life became very clear. It’s my warmest, sweetest, most “family” book, and it was a pure joy to write. I got through difficult physical times by taking myself away to my “happy place” and imagining Finn and Jenna, thinking up the next part of the book. And that was the book when I discovered how much I loved writing kids and loved writing funny.

WELCOME TO PARADISE (Mira & Gabe). The New Zealand books had just started to sell big, my career was taking off, and I was panicking. I feared putting myself in a box—the very thing I’d started writing to get out of. I didn’t know if anybody would read me for anything but the NZ angle. I thought of the coolest book I could possibly create, and then I researched and wrote it, and it was a blast. Huge cast of characters. Blend of contemporary fiction and romance. The historical aspect. So much fun to write.

 

ASKING FOR TROUBLE (Alyssa & Joe). I’d always written fairly articulate and emotionally available guys. Writing somebody like Joe, somebody who felt so deeply but buried his emotions all the way down, was a huge challenge. How could I let the reader see Joe when he didn’t talk, and when his emotions were often invisible even to himself? I took the journey along with Joe.

 

 

JUST NOT MINE (Josie & Hugh). My funniest book in my opinion. Certain scenes from it still make me laugh to think about. Also the book where I had the biggest crisis. I had horrible insomnia and incredible anxiety during the last few weeks of writing it. I was alone in New Zealand and not sleeping. I woke up at two AM on what turned out to be Finish Date -1 for the book, realizing that the reason for the anxiety was that I had the ending all wrong. That day, I started writing Josie’s scene with her mother. Well, I started “jotting down some ideas.” Standing at the kitchen bench with my anorak on. I ended up writing the whole chapter that way in a heated rush. Then I packed my notebook, went to the pub, and wrote the entire rest of the book in longhand. The whole last three or four chapters got written that day, and it was awesome. I learned to trust my gut and my process, that the anxiety is just my brain niggling at me that something’s wrong, but that my brain will eventually get it right.

HOLD ME CLOSE (Kayla & Luke–and Eli). Along those same lines—my most emotionally gripping book (at least to me), and my best book ever, in my opinion. Going down into some darker places. I’ve always loved writing kids, and writing Eli’s feelings, his point of view, was immensely satisfying. The one thing I wasn’t so satisfied by was also a lesson. It was my second time working with a developmental editor. She’d been incredibly helpful on CARRY ME HOME with pace and suspense plot points, but on this book, I felt much more confident. I still let her convince me to change some things, and afterwards, I was sorry I had. I realized that she was very good on pace, but I was better on character development. In the original book, Luke had a few more rough edges. She objected and I smoothed them out, and then wished I’d left them. The one big criticism I get on this book is that Luke is too perfect, and I agree. After that, I became much more confident in “standing up for” my people.

FIERCE (Hope & Hemi–and Karen). Writing in first person was an absolute revelation. It was so immediate and so engrossing, and let me absolutely inhabit the voices of my characters. It was HARD to go back to third person afterwards. I’ve stayed with third because it’s much more common for my contemporary romance/romantic suspense genres, but I think I’ve kept some of that immediacy of voice, that sense of being right inside the character’s head, and that’s good. I do want to write more in first person, though.

JUST STOP ME (Nina & Iain). I had the idea for the three generations and three stages of love, and how they’d be woven together over the book. I wrote it half in New Zealand and half in Australia, in various locations in Sydney, and wow. It was a PUSH. It’s my second-longest book, and I was on a deadline. I finished it on Christmas Eve at 9 PM, and the final version had to be uploaded by New Year’s Eve! I loved it because it was sexy, it was funny, it was heartfelt—and I just loved Iain. The whole book was a huge challenge and a treat to write.

SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL (Dakota & Blake). Nothing but fun. I had the idea for Blake and Dakota while standing outside the Coeur d’Alene Resort, and I just loved it and couldn’t wait to write it. I had to finish another book first, but then I got to do that one. I love, love writing funny, and having that interspersed with some harrowing stuff and Dakota’s vulnerability made it better. I realized I had grown better at writing a complex character. Dakota is tough, but she’s vulnerable, too, and when she thinks Blake has betrayed her—it was harrowing to write. That book was a reminder that I CAN get good ideas for books. Those good ideas, those strong characters can carry me through.

The thing I realize, looking back over this? I’ve learned something from writing every book, and I’ve liked every book. There’s really no “fail,” even if some books are bigger reader favorites than others. That’s a heartening thought in the middle of the book, when I’ve wondered if it’s any good at all and have feared that it stinks. (Along those lines–which books have I been most scared about? You might be surprised. JUST FOR FUN (Emma, Nic, & Zack). CARRY ME HOME (Zoe & Cal). JUST SAY YES (Chloe & Kevin. MAJOR angst there. I was sure it stunk. I almost threw it away four times. Literally. Turns out it has my highest review average. Before that, the honor belonged to JUST FOR FUN. Shows what I know. My writing career has been all about being scared and doing it anyway.)

So with all that—what am I going to do next? When I ask readers, I always hear, “Escape to New Zealand”! But you know–I think readers only still like those books because I only write them when I have a really good idea. I don’t want to bore myself, and I don’t want to bore my readers. I want to do this right. I want to learn and grow, or it’s just another job.

So what WILL I write? Something with all the above. The suspense I’ve learned to do after a lot of practice. The humor that I always enjoy. Something with kids, because I love writing them. Something with sexy times, because life’s short and sexy feels are good. And something that’s FUN and challenging and new. Something that comes to me like Blake and Dakota did, I hope.

Something I’ll enjoy and despair over, something I’ll be sure stinks at about eleven points along the way, something I’ll do my very best on. And something I’ll learn from.

 

 

I’ve read a lot of posts recently about the increase in “churn” with ebooks, particularly on Amazon. Conventional wisdom says that in order to have success selling on Amazon, particularly in KU, you have to be releasing new books every month.

I think that’s wrong. Here’s why.

The authors I hear that from most are also the most vocal about the need to “write to market”–to identify what the market wants now and supply that, in a format (presentation) that makes it instantly identifiable.

The problem with that? You are inviting churn. You’re inviting obsolescence. You’re putting yourself on the writing treadmill, and on the promotion treadmill, too.

Why? Your books look the same as everybody else’s. You’re going after a trend-loyal, a niche-loyal reader, NOT an author-loyal reader.

Does that work? Yes and no. Yes, there’s sure as heck a big audience who are picking up books right now featuring Navy SEALs. Books with a man’s nekkid torso and a short title written in bright blue script. Books featuring a bad-boy Mafia hitman with a jaggedy sort of title. Short books priced at 99 cents and in KU. (Or to mention some of the trends in other genres: books with a spaceship on the cover. Urban fantasy showing a skinny girl with long hair and leather pants. Not that those books can’t be great. I’m talking about jumping on the train because that’s the hot thing.) Some of those authors are making great money putting out a book every month within that trend. They pivot fast, too. When the trend changes, they’ll write the new trend and present that well.

But their books don’t stick. What’s my least sticky series? Not Quite a Billionaire, even though, she says modestly, it’s really kinda awesome. It is the only series I wrote to any kind of trend (super-alpha multimillionaire boss, blonde virgin employee). I did that for Reasons (it was the book Faith was writing in Just in Time–to go along with a photo shoot featuring those two characters), and the books, especially the first one, sold very well–but they don’t stick. People read FIERCE, thought “That was fun” (well, unless they thought “I hate Hope,” which also happened), and went on to the next billionaire/virgin book.

Those books respond to promotion (Facebook ads, etc.) better than my other books do, because the audience is so defined, and the books hit that spot–but they don’t stick.

The key to getting off the Churn Train? Books that stick.

That Churn Train can take you straight to the bank. Yes, it can. But it’s not the only way to get there. The other way is to go after YOUR reader, to write YOUR brand of books instead of today’s brand, and to present those books so they’re clearly identifiable as (a) yours, and (b) a certain type of read.

NOTE: What I discuss below is not the only way. It’s one way. It’s something to try if you long to step off the writing/promoting treadmill. If you have a strong voice and some writing chops. And, perhaps, if you have some spirit of adventure and you want to make your own, more personal mark.

This way has worked for me. My first book has sold almost 150,000 copies in ebook, German edition, and audio. It came out almost five years ago, and it still sells well.  (Even though, yes, it’s my first fiction, and yes, that shows.) My top-selling book right now is over four years old, and it’s currently ranked in the 700’s on Amazon. It is the LAST thing from trendy. The absolute last. But it’s sticky. Because it’s a cool idea, it’s presented intriguingly, and it’s written hookily.

So here’s my best advice.

Know your brand. Author brand underlies all else. Who are YOU as an author? What are YOUR strengths? What is a “Madison Kimberly” book? (I made up “Madison Kimberly.” If that’s your name, I don’t mean you.) If you don’t know the answer–spend some time thinking about it. Ask your readers. And, yes–read your reviews, however painful that is. Find out what isn’t working. Fix it.

Knowing your brand and writing to it doesn’t mean every book has to have the same sort of hero and heroine, the same tone, or be in the same genre. I write in three or four subgenres, even within series, and my books are quite different in tone. SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL, for example, Book 1 in the Portland Devils series, is funny and snappy and I guess you’d say–bold. Whereas Book 2, NO KIND OF HERO, has a bittersweet tone and a very reserved hero and heroine. That kind of difference among books is part of my brand. (Scary, because readers who love one book can feel very meh about the next, but part of what I like to do as a writer and what my reader enjoys.)

Your brand also isn’t “bad boys” or “billionaires” or whatever specific thing you’re writing right now. Dig deeper. Do you spring surprises on the reader, make them gasp in shock? Do you deal in realism in characters and situations, anchored in details, or are we strictly in fantasyland and archetypes? (Either thing can work.) Are you edgy, putting your reader on the verge of discomfort, or–not? For me, consent’s a Thing. A great, big Thing. So I’ll never put a reader in that uncomfortably-aroused-but-disturbed spot. It’s a place I don’t go. Other authors go to the bank on that spot. (And yes, it’s fiction. Personal choice for author and reader.)

Know your genre. Know your reader. What is your reader reading for? I don’t mean “hot guys” or “kissing scenes,” I mean what emotions? From the beginning, I wanted to write “Calgon, take me away” books–a concept that resonated so deeply that, decades later, the Dixie Chicks had a hit with it. 

The concept embodied in this song is the one that was embedded in my mind while I wrote JUST THIS ONCE. I knew it was a hooky idea. Calgon and the Dixie Chicks had already proven it. I wanted to write that concept for my reader, a reader like me–a smart woman with a demanding life–kids, job, and all the rest of it–who wanted to escape into a book. To feel good, not bad, except during the weepy moments. Who wanted to get stirred up at times and reminded that she was more than just a mom, but without any squicky feelings.

When I see writers talking about not selling well and not understanding why? It’s usually (a) cover, and, more importantly, (b) not understanding what their reader’s looking for. There’s a world of difference between a good romance concept and an unappealing one. I see questions a lot on forums like, “Can you write a romance hero who isn’t strong and hot?” Well, sure, if you don’t want to sell books. He doesn’t have to be good-looking, and he definitely doesn’t have to be perfect. But he sure does have to be strong and hot. Know your reader.

Show your brand. Your author name needs to be more visible than that “hot niche” branding. Every series does NOT have to look the same–check out my Escape to New Zealand covers vs. my Paradise, Idaho, Kincaids, and Portland Devils covers. All those are quite different, because the series are quite different in tone and content. But my author name is similar on all the covers, and the “look” of each series signals its tone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I’m going for a clean look, and a look that would attract a reader who reads multiple genres (romance and others) or multiple types of romance. That’s my reader. I’m also trying to tell her that the books are about more than the romance–that there are other layers to the books. Because that’s my reader too.

Which brings us to . . .

Writing sticky. AKA “writing re-readable books.”

(Note: what follows is NOT a claim that good books can’t be written fast. It’s my personal experience and my personal path.)

Many bestselling romance authors, as noted above, write eight or ten or fourteen books a year, where I can write only four or five. But when I’ve tried to push my pace, I’ve found that despite the fact that writing is pretty much all I do, my books stubbornly refuse to get thought up faster. My one experience where I started writing without really knowing my characters, without getting fully into their heads, was JUST GOOD FRIENDS. I was so afraid I wouldn’t be able to write a second book, I jumped into it too fast. I finished it and was happy, but I sent it to my beta readers, and they said, “Ehhhh…” I was so upset! I’d only had one good book in me after all. Then I slept on it and realized what the problem was. Kate’s character wasn’t developed enough, because I hadn’t thought enough about what it would FEEL like to have been in her situation, to have been stalked and terrorized. Once I did, I rewrote the book, and you could see what she felt, where she was in her life, which informed her reactions and her decisions. I sent it out again, and guess what? It was a whole lot better.

Same thing with writing. It takes me 4-6 weeks to write a 100k (350-page) book once I start, and while that sounds fast to non-writers, for many romance writers it would be a snail’s pace. But I find that I need a certain amount of time to write, edit, polish the prose–and most of all, time to think and let the book “rest,” to come back the next day and edit some more, to have the characters’ reactions, on and off the page, unspool in my head, in order for the book to have some richness, for the other things to occur to me that make the book more, that make it better.

I’m not saying that all those who write faster aren’t writing rich books with great character development. I’m saying that for me, there’s a pace where that happens, and a pace where it doesn’t. Find YOUR pace, and resist the urge to write 8K words a day if those won’t be your best words. (If they are? Yay, you–go for it!) People say that the writing doesn’t matter anymore. It does. That doesn’t mean perfect mechanics. It means that the writing resonates at your readers’ fundamental frequency.

How about other genres? Urban fantasy? Annie Bellet writes books that stick. She writes a book a YEAR right now–and they stick. Yet–skinny girl with blowing hair, check. Black leather pants, check. Glowy colored light, check. BUT . . . her books are different. They stick.

Paranormal romance? Kristen Painter. Cozy mystery? Jana De Leon. Billionaire and virgin that veered from the norm? Brenna Aubrey. More examples of authors in “currently hot” genres who stick.

Character counts. Write at the pace where you can produce a multi-layered book, a book that can be read as a simple romance or mystery or whatever, but also on another level. For me, that other level tends to be personal growth toward courage and self-expression, and also family dynamics. It’s writing characters who feel real. I strive to get better at that with every book, because those things are my brand, and it’s by improving those that I connect better with MY reader.

Write hooky. I’m gonna invoke myself here–my post on “How to Be Hooky,“ which is my very best “craft” advice. 

Your re-readable book. It’s got that–the depth and “reality” of the characters, that they’re people you remember after you finish the book. LaVyrle Spencer? I can still remember her characters literally 30 years after reading the book. THAT is voice. THAT is richness. Eva Ibbotson. Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Jennifer Crusie. And, of course, Jane Austen.

Then it’s the flow, the ease of it, and the writing quality, too. It’s some indefinable spark that makes that book come alive, where you’re escaping into that world and just—immersed. Whether it’s a thriller, a mystery, a historical novel, a romance, a literary novel, you’re THERE. As a writer, during that 4-6 weeks when I’m writing, I’m totally wrapped up in my book. I’m with the characters, believing that they’re real, living in their heads and hearts. My goal, my dream, would be that I could transmit some of that “life” to my readers as well; that they could believe, for just a little while, that they were there, too. That’s the sharing and connection that makes it all worthwhile for me.

And best of all? It’s what keeps me off the Churn Train.

Hookiness. It’s what a good book is all about, really. When I look at the books I really enjoy, that I burn through, they’re (a) pulling me in and (b) pulling me on. But how do you do that? How do you grab a reader? How do you KEEP the reader? How do you entertain a reader enough that she will go on to read the next book? How do you (I) consciously do those things better?

A while back, I was writing a book, FIERCE (Not Quite a Billionaire) that was quite different for me. KU2 had also just begun, paying authors for the first time by pages read. That meant you wanted, more than ever, to have people finish the book. I wrote that book thinking hard with every chapter about pulling the reader along. About making them want to turn the page. Here were some things I thought about:

Start strong. Chapter One really matters! Even though not all my books have lots of “action,” I start most of the New Zealand ones, especially, with a more gripping scene. Since the book is called “Escape to New Zealand,” that chapter is usually what the person is escaping from. Something pretty important should be happening in Chapter One. The reader has to be engaged from Page One.

Here’s the first line of FIERCE:

Have you ever noticed how, when you’re around certain people, you seem to grow an extra thumb, and not in a good way?

That hooks the reader, because she’s immediately relating it to her personal experience (I hope). It also establishes the conversational, almost confessional tone of the book. FIERCE was my first book written in first person, and I wanted it to feel like your entertaining friend was telling you a story about this guy she just met–the kind of story where you can’t wait to hear what happened next.

My first book ever, JUST THIS ONCE (Escape to New Zealand), starts out,
Wow. Welcome to New Zealand.

And then the heroine almost dies. I honestly think that first chapter is what made my career.  You want to say, “BOOM. Here is the book.”

Last lines of chapters. Every chapter is a cliffhanger, even if it doesn’t end with action or whatever. There need to be questions asked to which the reader wants an answer. In the case of FIERCE, it was mostly, “What will Hemi (or Hope) do NOW?” I realized that I always spend a lot of time on the endings of my chapters, trying to pull the reader along in the story.

Here are some last lines of chapters from FIERCE:

So, yes, you could say I was at a low point that day I met Hemi Te Mana. But it wasn’t as low as I’d go.

Nobody should be treating her like that. Nobody should be doing anything to her. Nobody but me.

“Be ready,” he said softly. And he left.

I pay attention to this on the paragraph level as well. If there’s a new thought, a leap–that happens at the beginning of the next paragraph. If there’s something the hero or heroine is going to find out, I don’t telegraph it.

Story arc. This seems simple, but you really have to be building to something. It does NOT always have to be conflict. One of my best-reviewed books, JUST FOR FUN, has almost no conflict in the whole second half between the hero and heroine, but it has plenty of drama. When I first wrote it, though, it didn’t have enough of a climax/resolution. My best friend said, “Something else has to happen.” I called another friend and wailed, “But the whole POINT is that she trusts him! She isn’t going to do one of those ‘misunderstanding-run-off-things!'” She suggested something with their son that she’d wondered about–whether he wouldn’t react strongly to the thing that had happened. BOOM. In another hour, I’d written three chapters of nail-biting tension, then resolution and weepfest, that totally worked and drove the story to the finish line.

Which brings us to . . .

Pacing. It’s about waves. I shift mood a lot within the book. That’s partly because romance is all about eliciting emotion. I want to make the reader laugh, cry, think, steam up, be scared, be excited, and sigh. So–different chapters will do different things. I actually think of my pacing sort of like waves. If I were to draw a diagram, the mood would go gradually up in a series of smaller waves, gradually increasing. The peaks of the waves aren’t just sex (which for me happens about 40-65% through the book)–they’re also action, danger, or just strong emotion. But I want to have quiet, sweet, and funny times in between those. In JUST STOP ME, there’s a really sexy chapter followed by a funny chapter where the hero messes up. Then a sexier chapter. I think the “rest periods” actually help intensify the stronger emotion periods–keep the reader from getting numb by it being all nonstop action. I don’t like that Disney-movie thing where it’s just racing, racing, racing–you know, when Cruella’s chasing the dalmatians around all the corners until her car goes off the cliff.

The waves build to up to a great big wave at the end, and a fall down to a sweet, satisfying wrapup. The last 20% or so of the book should be building, building, building, with the reader pressing the “next” button on the Kindle pretty frantically and staying up late to finish. At least that’s the goal! But again–not all the same emotion. I want there to be a buildup of suspense if it’s suspense, then that climactic scary/action thing, then a big, sweet emotional scene, then a wrapup, then another sweet emotional scene. Suspense, fear, tears, satisfying tie-up-in-bow, tears, The End.

But that’ll be different for different genres, of course. Just one example of how suspense might look. Like a conductor, like a piece of music. Building, building, building. The climax. And then the tailing off, the sweet finish.

Oh, and . . .

Take out the boring stuff. If nothing really important is happening in the scene, it probably doesn’t need to be in the book. If there are lines or emotions or information that are necessary, maybe they can go at the beginning of the next chapter or something. [Of course, people who don’t like your book will always say it is “boring.” My most common negative review is “slow and boring.” (Well, that and “too much sex.”) But lots of times, you can spot your boring passages/chapters and remove them.]

BUT–it’s personal. Your personal voice and style. That thing that turns some people off, but what turns others ON. That first group? They’re not your reader. You’re writing for yourself, and your reader. My books don’t gallop along at breakneck speed, nope. Because if I’m going to read about two people falling in love, I want to SEE them falling in love. And that means, yep, talking, not just thinking, “He’s so hawt.” I’m pretty darned leisurely for a romance author–but I try to make sure every scene is moving the story along.

When I say “boring,” I mean this. Originally, in JUST STOP ME, I wrote this whole thing showing what the Iain’s house/neighborhood was like, where the beach was, how you got to the grocery store, etc. Editing the book, I thought, “Gah. Rosalind. Who CARES?” I could show the reader how you got to the beach when the bad guy was chasing Nina there. A little more interesting in that context!

Instead, I put Iain and Nina in the grocery store already having their intense conversation while Iain stares at the pink lamingtons (squishy coconut thingies . . . never mind). Take out whatever you realize your story doesn’t need. Whatever isn’t advancing character or plot or story. Which YOU will be able to determine for your own story.

And finally . . .

End strong. The ending sells the next book. Think back to some books with “blah” endings. Even if the rest of the book is good, it doesn’t make you want to buy the next book. For me: I want readers to cry! In romance, you want a happy sigh at the end, that lingering feel-good hum that makes the world look a little brighter. 

Another common criticism I’ve had is that my endings are “rushed.” I write terrific epilogues if I do say so myself, but I’ve been told that my final action scenes could allow more time for savoring. My loyal readers have also mentioned that they want it ALL. They WANT the proposal. They want the wedding. They want the dress. They want the ring. That’s what they’re reading for, and dammit, they WANT it. So in this latest book, NO KIND OF HERO (which by the way, yep, is done and ready to release!), I gave them the works. That doesn’t mean everything wraps up in a perfect bow. Not every conflict will be solved. You will feel sad for one character (if you don’t, I haven’t done my job). But that is life too.

For a thriller, you want a nice solid recap that reminds you that Good won. I swear, one my favorite parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the epilogue, where you find out who married whom, that Sam is with Rosie and they have a daughter. Where you get to savor that it worked out, and you get to linger in the book a little longer before you say goodbye. If it’s good, you don’t want it to be over. Not quite yet.

Those are my tips. What are yours? Feel free to comment and share!

No Kind of Hero (Portland Devils, Book 2)

Coming from Amazon July 1, 2017

Some men are hard to quit. Some heroes take you by surprise.
Beth Schaefer isn’t just on the partnership track at her Portland law firm, she’s in the lead. Unfortunately, she’s about to fall at the finish line. When she makes a list of Breakdown Destinations, she can’t even manage to choose between them. Which means she has to come home to Wild Horse, Idaho, for her breakdown. She has exactly eighteen-point-five days of accumulated vacation time to devote to it.

Evan O’Donnell’s girlfriend took off when their baby girl was a month old, and that’s just fine by him. His daughter Gracie is all the female companionship he needs, thank you very much. Beth Schaefer’s not even in the running. Eight years ago, her parents convinced her to give him up, and he’s had enough of snobs and women who don’t stick. Evan’s a blue-collar guy from his too-broad shoulders to his scuffed work boots, and he’s nobody’s white knight and nobody’s hero. Not anymore.

But what if Beth isn’t the only one who needs saving?

Excerpt:

Beth turned at his approach. Well, everybody turned at his approach. Gracie was making that kind of an entrance. He dumped the diaper bag into the stroller with one hand, kicked the chair out, sat down, and plopped the nipple into Gracie’s mouth.

Blessed silence, except for the thup-thup-thup of a very greedy baby.

Beth said, “I guess babies have their own ideas.”

Evan laughed, to his own surprise. “Yeah. You could say that. They work your blood pressure up like that to make you do what they need.”

“I suppose it’s a sort of evolutionary thing,” she said. “Human babies being born so helpless and all. Not like ducks.” She indicated the creek, where a mother mallard was giving swimming lessons to eight fuzzy ducklings. “Babies are helpless because they have big heads, right? Because of brain size?”

“Uh . . .” He adjusted Gracie in his arm and tipped her bottle up so she wouldn’t swallow air. “Brain size?”

“Their heads are big in comparison to, say, puppies, because human brains are so big,” she said. “They can’t get born as . . . as far along, because a woman couldn’t give birth to them otherwise. It hurts a woman a lot more already than a puppy hurts a dog. Imagine if babies had to be born able to walk. Think how big their heads would be. You’d never get them out of there.”

This was what he’d always loved about Beth. The way her mind worked, the things she said. She seemed so quiet, but she was so damn smart. “I’m surprised you got born at all,” he said, and found that he was smiling despite every bit of better judgment. “With how big your head must have been. So tell me why Gracie has to scream for that bottle. Evolution-wise.”

“Well,” Beth said, “she’s helpless. She can’t get it if you don’t give it to her. She can’t even reach for it and bring it over to her mouth. She has to scream, and her scream has to trigger something in everybody who hears it—not just you, but you most of all. It’s better, though, if it triggers that response in everybody—that almost everybody within earshot is agitated and wants to do something, because a baby’s mother wouldn’t always be around, right? She needs to be able to signal somebody else besides her mom, or she won’t survive.”

That one wiped the smile off. He’d been stabbed in the heart, and she was trying to twist the knife? That wasn’t like Beth. But then, he didn’t know who Beth was anymore. Eight years was a long time.

He looked down at Gracie, at the dreamy look on her face, at her hand rubbing over her hair like the pleasure of getting that milk was so good she had to feel it all sorts of ways, and thought, I might not have a girlfriend anymore, but I made a good trade.

A few seconds passed before Beth said, her voice sounding much more constrained, “I just realized I should apologize.”

“You just realized that, huh,” he said before he could stop himself.

She wasn’t drinking her milkshake. He was looking at his—which was melting, of course—wishing he could drink it, and she was just shoving the straw up and down in hers.

“You should drink that,” he said, “before it melts.”

She shrugged, still not looking at him. “I haven’t been doing so hot at eating lately.”

He remembered that. When she got tense and stressed, she had trouble eating. It had driven him crazy, and then, when she’d been lying around in bed with him, eating a sandwich he’d made her, rubbing her bare legs against his as if she couldn’t bear not to touch him . . . he’d felt like her hero. Her safe place, where she could relax.

Stop that. What was he, the world’s slowest learner? Gracie was done with her milk, and he put her up on his shoulder, started to pat her back, and said, “Maybe you should give me that apology, then, and then you’d be able to drink your shake.”

She took a deep breath, then said, “I realize I shouldn’t have been talking to you like you were still a single guy. I came up to you on the beach, and I know that if I’d been your wife, that wouldn’t have been all right with me at all. For your old girlfriend to be trying to reconnect like that, to ask you to be friends. I’d have hated it. Sorry. I saw you, and I . . . I suppose I didn’t think. But I’ve thought since.”

“I don’t have a wife,” he managed to say. If I’d been your wife.

She made an impatient gesture with one hand. “Your girlfriend. Your fiancée. I don’t know. Whatever she is, I was out of line. I’m sorry.”