Angels #2
Tor Paranormal Romance
October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
Featuring: Rafe Gerritson; Delilah Desjardins
368 pages ISBN: 0765359502 EAN: 9780765359506 Paperback Add to Wish List
The victim of what she believes is a malicious kidnapping,
seer Delilah Desjardins quickly realizes that her abductor
is on a mission to save her from assassins. Rafe, a fallen
angel, must ensure that Delilah, blessed with the gift of
foresight, reaches her true calling as an oracle for the
Republic - and if his divine calling results in a more
earthly relationship between the two of them, well, he
doesn’t mind that at all.
Drawn to Rafe, but fearing the loss of her gifts should she
surrender to his charms, Delilah knows she has to leave
him. But fleeing his guardianship sets the assassins on her
trail again. As Rafe races to save Delilah, he knows he
isn’t just saving her for the good of the Republic, for the
angels, or for the future - he’s saving her for himself.
I notice you wrote time travel books, those are my favorite. I'm looking for a time travel I read years ago from the library. I do not know the author or title. It started off with a woman in the dentist office and she ends up in the old west as a mail order bride. I've asked different authors, still haven't found out who wrote it. Any Ideas? (Theresa Buckholtz 12:50pm September 15, 2009)
Claire Delacroix/Claire Cross/Deborah Cooke: Thank you so much for your list. Your advice is most helpful, especially concerning one's writings in the long-term perspective of one's career.
Your recommend to aspiring authors, "Once you know the defining characteristics of your work, you essentially know the shape of the piece that you need to fit into the puzzle of the market." This is most encouraging to those of us who are pushing the envelope, defy formulas, and bucking trends. Too often I hear how writers like us haven't a chance. Yet from your POV, even we have a place in the overall picture.
Your second piece of advice recalls to my mind Sir Phillip Sidney's famous poem about his writer's block. When he was stumped for inspiration, and imitating others wasn't working, he asked his Muse what he should do. Her reply? "Fool! Look in thy heart, and write." (Mary Anne Landers 1:33pm September 15, 2009)
Hi Theresa -
My time travels have been out of print for a while now. It's a very tough subgenre to sell these days, although it's a lot of fun to write. I don't remember the one you mention, although I read a lot of them. Have you looked at all of the Time Passages titles released by Berkley Jove in the late 90's? They published one a month for quite a while, and someone somewhere must have a list. Two of mine were published there. Good luck!
Hi Mary Anne - I believe actually that being distinctive is the key to new authors placing their work in the marketplace. The trick is to recognize how to structure your story in recognition of the expectations of each genre - it is very difficult, for example, to place a romance that ends badly. The HEA is a big part of why readers choose to read romance. But if you tell the story of a love story gone awry, you can structure it as a women's fiction story - i.e. the story of the female protagonist's emotional journey - or as literary fiction - i.e. fiction with a stronger author voice - and have a much better chance of selling that work. You would also submit it to a different selection of agents and editors than you might a romance. So, there's a balance to be struck there, between deciding how to tell your story and what the conventions are within each genre. Of course, the market changes all the time, so some conventions are always on the move. I suspect that the HEA, though, will never really leave the romance genre. Good luck! Deborah (Deborah Cooke 2:11pm September 15, 2009)
Thanks for the tips! (Kelli Jo Calvert 4:22pm September 15, 2009)
Clair, this was a well thought out and clear, concise explanation of how to be published. Thank you! (Rosemary Krejsa 7:47pm September 15, 2009)
Lots of great advice. I just wanted you to know I love your Dragonfire series (Diane Sadler 10:50pm September 15, 2009)
Hi, Deborah, I've noticed that you are very good at getting the right words and the correct spelling. This is one of my bugaboos when reading anything written. If I find too many mistakes in spelling, grammar, etc., I'm very disinclined to continue reading any more of that writer's work, no matter how good the stories. I just find that the flow of the story is always disrupted for me, and this definitely annoys me. This is probably a reaction of any English teacher, especially those who like me taught it to non-English speakers. Ive just read a book where the words 'reeked' and 'wreaked' were confused, among other problems. 'Lie' and 'lay' are seldom used correctly, as are 'it's' and 'its.' Every writer should have a grammar and dictionary handy. Just don't drop the attention once you have a published book. I read the first book by one writer with great pleasure, because there were almost no mistakes. The next book was a disaster--probably because of time constraints--but I have not read a book by her since. (Sigrun Schulz 11:18pm September 15, 2009)
thank you for the great list. You really spell it out nicely. (Karin Tillotson 11:24pm September 15, 2009)
Reading this blog gave me a lesson in publishing and even more encouragement to write in my favorite genre. I feel as though I've taken a master class. Thanks for the insider's edge. (Alyson Widen 12:07pm September 16, 2009)
One of the best top ten lists I have EVER read!! And I'm right there beside Sigrun when it comes to typos, whether spelling or grammar. As a copy editor, mis-spelled (or is it mis-spelt?) words, the incorrect words (what does spell-check know after all?), and bad grammar send me screaming from the room. When I come back into the room, I have that dreaded RED PEN held firmly in my hot little hand, and it usually gets a workout!
Yes, it can sometimes be very distracting to read something with errors, especially when you KNOW that author can do better, in fact HAS done better in the past, which is why you bought their new book in the first place, but sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. When it's too much, I will give up on a book, and pass it on, with instructions to my reading buddy to pass it on when she's done with it. In all our years of reading, there has only been one author who had a book that neither of us could finish. Finish? Heck, we couldn't even get past the third chapter, it was so bad! Fortunately, that was the only time that we've had any problems with that author, which is good, because she's a favourite of ours.
Later,
Lynn (Lynn Rettig 12:36pm September 16, 2009)
What wonderful tips. Thank you for sharing them with us. (Robin McKay 9:14am September 16, 2009)
I love Claire Delacroix Shes one of my keeper Authors I cant wait to get this book.... Ann (Ann w 3:27pm February 12, 2010)
my daughter and I would both would like to read this. sounds great (Kathy Weber 5:23pm February 13, 2010)