Deb, I told Greg about the reviews. He's very excited for you and plans to point them out to his boss. Go you!

Susan, I was woefully behind, so I knew you had finished, but I didn't know there was a party in this thread about it. Happy finishing. You inspire me.

Deb, if you go to Toronto, it's only a couple of hours or so on to Cleveland. You can bunk with us, comfy couch, comfy beds, it would work. Not well, but, you know... I have to try.

Thanks, Deena!

I just posted a draft pitch for the conference in my LiveJournal, friends-locked for a little more privacy. I've never done one of these before, so I'd appreciate any feedback and suggestions--let me know if you'd like to read it and I haven't friended you. I think it needs to be shorter, and I'm frustrated by what a pale shadow it already is. It's just not a plotty story. It's all dialogue and character interaction and nuance, and I don't know how to pitch that.

Congratulations on the great review, deb!

off to check lj...

(deb and I were discussing this on LiveJournal, and she suggested I bring it over here for wider input.)

The draft pitch I did is very, very plotty, and I'm left dissatisfied with it, because it's just not a plot-heavy book. No kidnappings, no murder mysteries, no mortal enemies. If I'm any judge of my own work, what makes my story shine is the characterization and the dialogue, and that's hard to highlight in a pitch.

So I'm thinking of changing my approach, spending a paragraph or so on the sketchiest plot summary possible, and then talking about the hero and heroine and how they grow over the course of the novel--the things they learn, what makes them fall in love with each other, and what drives the conflict between them. Maybe even hint at a few favorite scenes--say something like, "I wish I had time to show you the scene where James and Lucy spend a perfect English summer afternoon walking an injured horse home, and the friendship that builds between them in spite of how angry she is at him for flirting with her cousin Portia, or the gothy fairytale setpiece of a ball scene, complete with dancing by torchlight in a medieval castle and Lucy all innocent sensuality in her first ballgown of snowiest white trimmed with blood-crimson red, where James and Lucy first recognize their attraction to each other."

Workable, or crazy?

I think you should do that. But I haven't finished a novel yet.

Susan, I think the "I wish I could..." handling is gorgeous, but also that it's going to depend on how you lead up to it.

But I feel, very strongly, that you ought to lead with, or at least stress, the fact that it's a character-driven book, a la Austen. Let them know it's sexy, but not a bodice-ripper. From what Marlene tells me, PHD-Regency is a whole 'nother case of beer.

You know what, I can ask her how to pitch it. Want me to?

Oh, crikey. Shoot me. I've joined the Dark Side.

I just emailed my editor and my publicist, asking if "Weaver" would be a suitable book for "Reading With Ripa".

You know what, I can ask her how to pitch it. Want me to?

Sure!

Susan, I'll give her a call later on. Best to do this sort of thing by phone, rather than email.