Some updates

[stoney321]

Third novel (And It Came To Pass) out, is well-received, am pleased. My dad actually started reading it and mentioned specifically how "shocked" he was that I got how guys act with each other (specifically the missionaries joshing around, etc.). I blinked a bit, then responded, "It's almost like it's my job to make things realistic on the page." What I SHOULD have said was, "Weird how I, a mere woman, could accurately portray men on a page but most male writers cannot." Anyway, I bet he stops when it gets to the romance. BUT THAT IS A-OKAY. FIRST FAMILY MEMBER TO ATTEMPT TO READ ANYTHING I'VE PUBLISHED.

It got all the way to #80 on Amazon's Romance bestsellers list and sold out of the initial order they placed with my publisher, which is very awesome! It's still on sale at Amazon (as in, 23% off cover price) with free Prime shipping, if you're interested. Orrrrrrrr: ask your local library to get a copy, saving you money and helping me in turn! NICE. (You can also get it from Target, iBooks, Indiebound, Book Depository, etc etc.)

I'm running a series of blog posts over the next week and change about my Mormon family, romance, and other things, for those interested. Today it's about my grandma (who I've mentioned before back on LJ) who was forced to "eternally divorce" her One True Love, my bio-grandad who died when my father was 9 months old, in order to be temple-sealed to her second husband. Ultimately it's about why romance matters, because it does. I get really tooth-grindy when people roll their eyes at the genre. Is there garbage in the genre? Of course! There is in ALL genres. But there seems to be a particularly misogynistic flavor to the derision of romance novels. Read on here.

And lastly, who's got two thumbs and was hired this week by some Buddhist monks to prepare the temple gardens for a visit from the Dalai Lama in September? THIS GAL. 

:D

HEY GUYS. NEW GHOST TOWN SAME AS THE OLD GHOST TOWN, EH? ;)

Comments

[poisontaster]

On the one hand, I am absolutely unsurprised you got hired to do the temple gardens, because you're JUST THAT GOOD. On the other hand, HOLY CRAP, that's awesome!! Congratulations.

And It Came to Pass, in its original version, was my introduction to you and I didn't really read long fic but I remember being so enraptured and so sucked in by it. I'm so thrilled to have and be able to read an expanded version of it, because it was such a fundamental part of my introduction into how GREAT fandom can be. ♥

[stoney321]

ERIN!!! Okay, this is just the nicest thing ever, so you know. I'm so excited to do the garden, I just can't even. (And it's essentially an audition for a future 40 acre development.)

I hope you enjoy the expanded version, too! I like it so much more than the original--how it turned out, the deeper dive into the characters' lives and families, and the missionaries, too! <3

[crazydiamondsue]

BUT THAT IS A-OKAY. FIRST FAMILY MEMBER TO ATTEMPT TO READ ANYTHING I'VE PUBLISHED. That makes my heart hurt and happy at the same time. Also yay, temple gardens!!!!!

I stepped on a bee. I'm in pain and whiny, but your post made me smile.

[stoney321]

Oh, Sue, you think my sisters will read anything I write? We don't even talk anymore. (And that's okay.)

I'm so sorry about the bee!!!! I'm so allergic to them it's not even funny. Benadryl, orally, every 4-6 hours if you can to help with swelling! POOR SUE.

[crazydiamondsue]

I don't understand about your sisters -- well, maybe the older one -- and it weirds me out because I would read your stuff even if I didn't know you because it's good!

I went back and read so much of your BtVS stuff during the anniversary. So many wonderful memories. And your original fiction is SO original -- it doesn't give me romance malaise. That's alright, they can miss out and I will still buy every book you write!

[stoney321]

Oh no, Beth is furious with me because I unfollowed her and her husband on FB. They want nothing to do with me.

Ugh, I go back and read some of my earlier stuff and I promise I got better! Gerund abuse like whoa... ;) (And thank you for the support! Found Families for the win!)

[kseenaa]

I think it's beyond cool that your dad is reading your book! And liking it! (so far...)

And the fact you're actually fixing up a temple garden for Dalai Lama is just a tiny bit mind-blowing...