Link Fiesta

Maverick women writers are upending the industry and making millions.

Interesting interview with Rachel Aaron on her use of American mythology in her Heartstrikers series.

Chris Fox talks on launching a book written to market.

I love this poem. If it's out of copyright, I'll use it as one of Abby's lullaby songs. Hard to believe she's a mom already, right?

Link Fiesta

Rosemary Clement-Moore's Pie-in-the-Face Writing Method is fantastic!

Instagram tips from The College Prepster. Instagram is not a big platform for me (as soon as FB came up with IG ads my IG reach dropped by 90% Coincidence? I think not.), but this is very useful. I didn't know about SnapSeed and VSCO. I should try them out. She also has a great post on Blogging Tips.

Carrie at Smart Bitches reviewed one of my favorite SF romances, Sweet Starfire. The Harmonics! The Wolves! The glow-in-the-dark crystal mosses! I have to re-read this book. (BTW, look out for my Jayne Ann Krentz tribute in Fortune Favors the Witch. It's in there!)

I watched Season 2 premiere of The Good Witch and was blown away by some of the costumes (You can follow me on Twitter and read my reactions in real time). Guess what? They have a style guide for the series! Cassie wears Sephora's Rouge Shine lipstick. Unfortunately, they don't have Stephanie's blue coat, but maybe if I tweet enough, they'll add it. :)

Link Fiesta

Best practices for author Facebook pages and groups. I'm toying with the idea of starting a Facebook group. I still haven't come up with a group strategy for it. I think I'm going to add "Maximize my FP Page and Brainstorm a FB Group" to my list of New Years' Resolutions. :)

Lindsay Buroker on being a full-time author. I love Lindsay. Her blog is a great resource for newbie writers. I love her advice here.

How to get a Bookbub ad. I'm not going to try for one until I see if my upcoming brand change works, but this was still worth watching. Lots of great marketing advice.

How to write faster. I need to do this.

Harry Potter leggings. These are actually adorable. They're not at all slimming though.

Link Fiesta

Tour Ina Garten's house in the Hamptons.

Delilah Dawson on how to take your writing to the next level. Great editing checklist.

Emily Henderson decorates a master bedroom in Manhattan. The writing desk is amazeballs! I need a little fern for my writing space. I also need a Serena and Lily lamp.

Zoe Archer's steampunk-themed shoe shopping guide.

Link Fiesta

Logline Madlibs.  Most of these aren't romance oriented, but they're still very interesting.

Romance Pitch generator. This is hilarious.

This Romance Divas article on pitching has a great list of hooks and themes.

Sarah Richardson remodels a London rowhouse. I love this! The kitchen is amazing. It reminds me of the London townhouse in The Parent Trap remake. Sarah has a new show coming up. It's called Real Potential and the premiere airs in Canada on September 19. I wonder if/when they'll air it in the States.

A gorgeous Spanish country house. Perfect for a fall vacation.

Link Fiesta

Mojito Fruit Salad by Jamie Oliver. Maybe for next summer.

A fabulous game room makeover with Ikea furniture. I think I spy an Ektorp sofa.

How to avoid episodic writing. Also, how to create transitions between scenes.

Author branding and creating an author tagline. This blog has more on author branding with an emphasis on developing your industry brand. That's interesting I wouldn't have thought that the industry brand would be different.

Making inspiration boards, by Cottage and Vine. I've never done one of these, but Jennifer Crusie swears by them. Maybe I'll try one next time.

Link Fiesta

Writing advice from Jennifer Crusie: "Go for the action."

Writing advice from Clarion 2012: "Shit can always get shittier."

Writing advice from Chuck Wendig: "That story won't unfuck itself."

Writing advice from the Telegraph : "The first 12 years are the worst."

Link Fiesta

How shoes contribute to character development. Interview with Scandal's Kerry Washington.

Financial Times interview with Jodi Picoult. Interesting take on the U.S. and U.K. book markets. I didn't realize Picoult was so popular in the U.K.

Bourbon sangría from Bon Appétit.

Spanish beach house by María Lladó. This house is gorgeous. It's a very sophisticated take on beach style. I love the encaustic tile.

I found that house through the a new decor and lifestyle site, Domaine Home. I love this site. They feature posts on luxury vacation homes and recipes for spicy watermelon margaritas. It's like they built it just for me.

Link Fiesta

A cover design post by Sherry Thomas.

Fall in love with your process by Rachelle Gardner.

Fabulous Dear Author post on reading habits and book marketing.

The perfect pitch.

Lydia Sharp discusses the questions agents ask.

Link Fiesta

Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends cartoon made out of Legos. Fabulous.

Nephele Tempest on writing the short synopsis. Very useful post from an agent's perspective.

Rachel Manija on the unexpected ending.

How an upstairs landing became a library. This is a gorgeous remodel. I want this library so much.

Link Fiesta

Ghostwriting Sweet Valley High.

Cheryl Klein has some good advice on how to write an effective first chapter.

Tips on bookshelf styling. Good article, but it assumes that your bookshelves have empty spaces. Mine don't.

Link Fiesta

Story of a query by Courtney Milan. The scariest part about these posts? Her agent used the query language in the pitch she sent to the publisher. Yikes.

Golden Heart advice from the Wet Noodle Posse.

The Kill List, or words you need to vote off the island. I have to print out this list and go through my MS with a fine-tooth comb, or a fine-tooth Find and Replace function.

Otis Chandler, CEO of Goodreads, talks about book discoverability.

Link Fiesta

Anatomy of a Kristen Ashley book cover.

Jennifer Crusie explains the Oliver-Felicity chemistry in Green Arrow. A great post on how a character can get away from you.

Ilona Andrews on common query issues. This post is very helpful. She also wrote a sample query and explained all why the sample works. Very interesting.

Jessica Faust posted her checksheet for slush pile readers. This is really useful.

The art inside Amanda Sun's Ink book. I love this cover, it's beautiful.

Bobby Flay's Grilled Corn with Manchego Cheese recipe. This looks delicious.

Link Fiesta

RWA2013 advice from Jill Shalvis, Robyn Carr, and Kristan Higgins.

All About Romance has a fabulous RWA2013 roundup.

Building the Virgin River phenomenon. Great article, I didn't realize the Virgin River books were issued three months apart. The publisher attributes a lot of the success of the series to the abbreviated schedule. Three months, yikes!

Tessa Dare makes fabulous book trailers with toys. Her Stud Club trilogy trailer is here. Her trailer for Maya Banks' Highlander trilogy is here. The trailers feature Barbie nuns, Ken dolls in trews, and a dungeon encounter with Batgirl.

Link Fiesta

Chuck Wending on writing what you want to write.

Nathan Bradsford on why you should query in batches. I'm still not sure how you decide which agents to query first. Dream agents first? Alphabetical order? Random? I need to do more research on this.

Agent Jessica Faust on word count. My WIP is clocking in at 80,000 words and that seems to be fine. Whew.

Author Mary Kay Andrew's mint green beach cottage was featured in Better Homes and Gardens. This house is absolutely gorgeous. I love her kitschy lamps. Also, I think I spied an Ikea Ektorp sofa. You can rent the cottage here.

Ingrid Hoffman's alfajores recipe. My husband brought me alfajores from Argentina, but we already ate them all. This recipe looks surprisingly simple. I'm going to try it!

Link Fiesta

Smart Bitches features a pair of shoes decorated with romance novel covers. This is awesomeness.

A recipe for hard cider sangría. I love cider and I love sangría so I'm really excited about this recipe. I need to buy some calvados so I can try it out. Recipe via Food and Wine Magazine.

A video tour of Harlequin's proofreading department, via Catherine Ryan Howard.

Apt 11D on the bittersweet aftermath of a book purge.

Jennifer Lopez bought a house in the Hamptons. The kitchen is to die for.

Link Fiesta - Revisions

Here's some helpful stuff I've found around the internet. I'm plodding through revisions so these mostly deal with the nitty-gritty of the revisions process.

Revision advice from Jaye Wells. I love every single one of her writing posts, but this one is sheer genius.

From Veronica Roth: Post 1,  Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5. Veronica has a LOT of posts on the revision process. She really eviscerates her books when she revises and I love that.

Jennifer Crusie has a wonderful series of blog posts where she chronicles her working process. It's called The Twelve Days of Liz. My favorite posts are here and here.

Maisey Yates on teasing out conflict, making your work sparkle, and the power of subtle changes.

Gratuitous House Porn Link: Jeremy Renner, house flipper? Hooked on Houses has a blog post on a house he designed. The house has a barber chair and Escher-style marble floors, and the decor is very Harlequin Presents fabulousness. Check it out.

Quick Links

Via Ugly Renaissance Babies Tumblr

Ugly renaissance babies blog.

Alyssa Rosenberg on casting minority roles in The Mortal Instruments.

The magical realism trend hits romance.

Model David Gandy finds true love.

Watermelon mojito popsicles.