Arkali the Awesome (at The Romance Reviews) will be giving away those 5 ebook copies of Kismet’s Kiss tomorrow. Today’s the last day to enter the giveaway!

The fabulous Arkali at TheRomanceReviews.com is holding a contest to give away five Kindle copies of Kismet’s Kiss. Go sign up and get ‘em! (Have your copy already? Tell your friends so they can partake in the lush and sensual goodness that is Kismet’s Kiss (er, if I may say so, m’self).

Remember that Kindle versions can be read on PCs, Macs, smartphones and iPads as well.

Enjoy!

I’m about a week away from finishing up my second-to-last round of edits on The Source of Magic. Hooray! I’m like the hugely pregnant, somewhat cranky woman who cannot WAIT to get this baby born and out. Fortunately, I’m still on target for a publication in the second half of March.

I’ve been playing with a super-short blurb that can fit on a business card. Thanks to the help of my Ruby Sisters, it’s being narrowed down. Here’s one of the possibilities:

Abducted from modern Scotland into a magical realm, Jilian discovers her own mystical powers and faces a terrible choice: bind herself to the sexy Prince Alvarr to help him save thousands of people from a great Evil… or escape and cure the dying mother she left behind.

This seems a good time to unveil Source‘s new cover, too. Hope you like. :)

Yes, there is such a site, and Kismet’s Kiss was featured on it yesterday. :)

Daily Cheap Reads spotlights e-books under $5 from both traditional pubs and indie authors. Handy for those of us who are frugal…

I’ve been lucky that Kismet’s Kiss has been blessed by excellent reviews, so I found it interesting that today two bloggers weighed in with somewhat inter-conflicting verdicts. That, plus a friend’s apparently mixed Romantic Times review for her debut, has me mulling over the amount of angst writers invest in other people’s opinions.

Many of us start by revising our novels to please our critique partners. (Fortunately, those CPs are often brilliant people who understand our strengths and weaknesses as storytellers and give us smart advice. ;) )

Then we may go on to refine things based on contests. (I was a Contest Slut, er, Queen, for a very long time. Some judges’ comments were truly insightful suggestions. Other comments, however, completely conflicted with one other. Same contest, same entry, and yet what one judge loved another hated. That was my First Major Lesson: the subjective nature of writing.)

Then comes feedback from agents and/or editors. Since these people are higher up the publishing food chain, writers tend to put more stock in that feedback. The problem is that it can be just as subjective as anyone else’s. Yes, those employed in the industry have often read a ton of books and have a good sense of what will work and what won’t in the traditional marketplace. But not always. That’s why a book can be rejected by twelve editors and yet bought and adored by the thirteenth.

Next come the reviews, whether from Romantic Times and Publisher’s Weekly, blogger sites like Dear Author and SmartBitchesTrashyBooks, or from readers themselves at Amazon, Goodreads, etc. Of course, everyone has their own likes and tastes. And just as with the contest judges, reviewers may disagree. That’s what happened with Kismet’s Kiss today.

Exhibit A, from the new Pink Owl Reviews:

“Like many of the reviewers out there who spoke of Kismet’s Kiss, we were wary once we got the whole picture. A man with six wives? Falling for a beautiful healer who believes in monogamy? Now how on (their) Earth would this work out? And would we even be rooting for it to?

Well, it does. And we did. And it was beautiful.”

Final rating: 9 out of 10.

Exhibit B, from Lovin’ Me Some Romance:

This was a nice review (3.5/5) that took issue with the basic premise of Kismet’s Kiss–the same premise the above reviewer at Pink Owl ended up loving. (The LMSR review is wonderfully detailed, though, and worth a read even if I–perhaps not surprisingly–happen to disagree with the reviewer’s inferences about the storyline. :)

Anyway, getting these two reviews on the same day underscores that it’s not possible to please everyone. What one editor or reviewer or reader loves may really bug another.

The funny thing is that as authors, we usually hope–deep down inside–that we can please everyone. We know it’s impossible, but hey, our stories are our babies. Of course we want the whole world to love them.

Don’t you find it funny that the Universe has a way of nudging us in timely ways? This morning before I knew about either of the above reviews, I read a blog post by Zoe Winters that preemptively reminded me of the First Major Lesson. Zoe’s post definitely made me think, although I should warn you that she…um…does not tend to mince words. Here it is: “Readers Aren’t Co-Authors.”

I understand where Zoe is coming from. I can’t change my vision or the multi-novel arc of my story world to suit other people. Some readers (or reviewers) may disagree with my choices, but that’s to be expected, considering the breadth of human tastes and opinions. No writer can run a poll for every decision (or the soup/novel will be spoiled because there are too many cooks in the kitchen).

But I feel just a little bit differently than Zoe does. I certainly write for myself…but I also write for my readers. If I didn’t write for them, I would never have bothered to publish my work (’cause what would be the point?). Readers’ enjoyment of my stories keeps me going.

The world of Alaia is no longer simply mine–it exists in some real way because other people have now spent time with it. I’m incredibly grateful for their investment and imagination. Those are precious things. Readers’ questions and excitement about Alaia remind me why I do what I do–even if some of them disagree with my choices.

I now realize that’s the Second Major Lesson. :)

I know, long time no hear from. I’ve had my head down and buried in revisions for The Source of Magic, which will be out in March. I passed the “I hate this freaking book” stage (a common one during revisions) and made it into “hmm, maybe I kind of like it now,” so that’s a good sign.

I may have a cover to share soon, too. W00T!

Digigirl posted a great little review of Kismet’s Kiss today. My fave parts: “Incorporating magic, espionage, betrayal, love and family, Kismet’s Kiss is a keeper” as well as “settle in for a delicious romantic fantasy!” She posted the five-star review at Amazon, too.

And then Mandi and Tori of Smexy Books posted their top books of 2010. (They both tried to get their lists down to 20, but couldn’t quite do it. Heh, I know how they feel.) Tori reviewed Kismet’s Kiss in October and has now put it in her Top 22 of 2010. Here’s the fab quote: “A provocative and lush fantasy that calls to all romance lovers.” That’s a terrific “pull quote” for sure.

I’ve run out of room for all the review snippets at Amazon, where they’re limited to five. I might need to start a page on my website to corral them all.

What a nice problem to have. :D

Oh, and here’s a bonus link full of hysterical laughter for you, I promise: Hyperbole and a Half’s latest post, “The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas.” You’re welcome.

Wheeeeeeeee! Kismet’s Kiss is now available in a gorgeous trade paperback at Amazon for $7.99. The Kindle version is just 99 cents!

Both prices are for a limited time during my Winter Sale, so, um, you might want to grab them now. :)

I priced them low for this sale, but the drawback of the $7.99 price is that it’s too low to qualify for Expanded Distribution, which means Kiss can *only* be purchased at Amazon (or its subsidiary, CreateSpace) for the duration of the sale. Sorry about that. :(

However, that’s a fantastic price for a 6″ x 9″ trade paperback (which are larger than mass-market paperbacks, and usually much pricier).

Anyway, I’m absolutely thrilled with the way the paperback turned out. Getting Kiss approved and up at Amazon ended up taking quite a bit longer than I’d hoped (gee, that’ll teach me to use “standard” shipping instead of express), but in the end all is well.

It’s been quite a learning experience, but I’m looking forward to the next opportunity with The Source of Magic a few months from now.

Oh, and Kiss now has 15 reviews at Amazon (all 5 or 4 stars, averaging 4.8), too. W00T!

That’s right, just 99 cents for the ebook version. WOOHOO! This book is getting AMAZING reviews. Just a tiny sample of them:

Smexy Books: “A magical, exhilarating, sensual delight.”

The Romance Reviews: “A must-read for all fantasy romance lovers.”

Coffee Time Romance: “So much sexual tension that the pages are likely to burn your fingers as you eagerly beg for more.”

Want more reviews? Sure! Check them out at http://amzn.to/KismetsKiss.

Grab the ebook of Kismet’s Kiss on sale for just $0.99 at:

- Amazon

- Barnes & Noble

- Smashwords (all ebook formats)—just use Smashwords coupon AK29M to get the sale price.

Get Kismet’s Kiss for yourself and please tell your friends! Happy reading. :D