The Next Big Thing

Hey, all,

I was tagged by Erika Chase to participate in The Next Big Thing, a fun, interesting kind of blog chain!

Have a look at Erika Chase's blog, for an idea of what I mean: http://www.mysterymavencdn.blogspot.ca/2012/11/wicked-wednesdays_28.html

So, in The Next Big Thing, I'm supposed to answer ten questions about my WIP, or Work In Progress!

First, an explanation: I am, of course, the author of Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, and last year I was thrilled to sign a contract for a new series, Merry's Muffins and Mysteries! Then I heard that Berkley was looking for an author to write a series based on an idea they had for a Teapot Collector cozy mystery series.

Well!!

I collect teapots (a few, I don't have room for many!) and teacups. I would collect more if I had the room, but I photograph teapots wherever I go, too!! I was thrilled when I got the job, and that is the book I am working on right now, Book 1 in that series, which I will be writing under the pseudonym Amanda Cooper. By the way, those names have a family connection I'll probably talk about some day.

So... on to the ten questions!

1 - What is the working title of the book?

Tempest in a Teapot. After I thought of it I heard about Kari Lee Townsend's Tempest in the Tea Leaves, (more about her later!) but the titles are similar but not identical so I figure it's okay!!

2 - Where did the idea for the book come from?

Well, actually, this is MUCH different than my usual way of working in that the idea came from someone else, my editor at Berkley, the wonderful Michelle Vega. I only hope I take her vision and make her proud! Of course, I have lots of latitude, so the book truly is being shaped by me.

3 - What genre does the book fall under?

Cozy Mystery of course!!

4 - Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Hmm... tough one. Sophie Freemont Taylor should be played by Michelle Monaghan, (she was in Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey, among other things) I think. She's a little older than 27 year old Sophie, but she's beautiful, dark haired, with an intelligent good girl aura that would suit Sophie well. Nana would be perfectly played by Betty White, and Thelma Mae Earnshaw, one of the more colorful characters in the book, (she's a quirky senior) could be handled marvelously by Cloris Leachman.

5 - What is a one sentence synopsis of your book.

Sophie Freemont Taylor, back in Gracious Grove, New York to help her Nana with her tearoom, worries that a fatal poisoning at the tearoom next door is going to be pinned on cantankerous Thelma Mae Earnshaw, so she and her Nana and friends try to figure out who wanted influential matriarch (and Sophie's best friends future mother-in-law) dead. 

6 - Who represents you and who is publishing the book?

It will be published by Berkley Prime Crime. I am represented by BookEnds Literary Agency.


7 - How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'll let you know when I'm done!

8 - What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Well, it's by me, so inevitably it will be in a similar tone to A Deadly Grind, my first Vintage Kitchen Mystery! But pick any one of the books by my Killer Characters' compatriots and you'll get the same kind of coziness!!

9 - Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My wonderful editor gave me the basics of the plot and characters, and I'm working on fleshing it out!

10 - What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

A couple of things, I suppose... my editor was very specific about the kind of cat that Sophie's Nana has, a Birman. Now, I had never seen a Birman before, but they are gorgeous, very Persian-like, with with amazing coloring and markings! I can't wait to see if they put her on the cover. But other than that, I hope they like the very cozy elements of the setting, a tearoom, and the plotting is always super important to me!

The Next Big Thing chain is supposed to have five writers linked to it, but at this busy time of year I only found one writer able to commit the time and energy necessary, but what a writer she is! I am pleased to link to Kari Lee Townsend.

Here is the blog she participates in on Wednesdays: http://www.mysteriesandmargaritasblogspot.com/

And here is her website! http://www.karileetownsend.com/index.html

Shout out to you, Kari!

Cozy Christmas Countdown!

It's here, the first day of Killer Characters' Cozy Christmas Countdown!!

Check out the blog every day through Christmas day and you just might win yourself a igft. On my day, December 21st, I'll be giving away a copy of A Deadly Grind (or perhaps an alternate for those who already have it) PLUS a few extra goodies!!

So check out today's post and comment for a chance to win!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2012/11/christmas-memories.html


Also, today I'm featured at Shelley's blog!!

http://shelleyreadsandreviews.blogspot.ca/2012/11/chatting-with-victoria-hamilton.html

Cozy Christmas Giveaway

It's... The Thirty Days of Christmas!!

Wait, but there are only Twelve Days of Christmas, right?

Not at Killer Characters, where we have soooper sized it! Check out our new - temporary - look for our fabulous Cozy Christmas Giveaway... visit and comment everyday from November 26th to December 25th for a chance to win books and more. I say 'more' because I will also have a little somepin' somepin' extra to add to the gift of A Deadly Grind... like special magical pens and notepads! (Just joking... they're regular pens and notpads, but are pretty cool anyway.)

So check out my 'Giving Thanks' post today for more information! (Hint: my giveaway day will be December 21st, 'cause I blog every month on the 21st.)

Where Did I Go?

Wow... the last post on here was August 2nd. I've been away a long, long time. Where did I go? Well, not too far... glued to my computer.

But I'm back, for now, and ready to update.

In the coming weeks I will have news on...

• A month of giveaways on Killer Characters!
• My new cover for Bowled Over, Book 2 of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries.
• More about my two new cozy series with Berkley Prime Crime.

See you all soon!!

Pardon me while I rearrange...

I am determined to do some prettifying, and so things may look strange from time to time in the next while. Pardonez moi, s'il vous plait, as us classy broads say, while I work here...

Cover Story

So I said I would post some of my less than stellar romance covers the next week, and it's been... three weeks?? Time flies when you are laboring over a hot computer. I am hard at work on Book 1 of a new series, about which I will have more to say in future!

Anyway, here are a few samples of my Regency covers.

As Donna Simpson, I wrote Regency romances for Kensington Zebra. Gosh, I loved writing and reading traditional Regency romances! So much fun . But it appeared, sometimes, that cover artists didn't know much about the Regency period, roughly 1810 to 1820. Here is a Christmas cover... can you spot the BIG boo-boo??
Here's a hint... it is on the right, just barely visible.
Did you guess Christmas tree?

You're right! Trees were not commonly a part of English Christmas traditon until the Victorian era. Other than that, it is actually a lovely cover!


Which I can't say about this one. This is my least favorite. Okay... I think it's hideous.




I call it the breast implant cover, or 'Dude, Where's My Bowflex'. The models' development - in both cases - is just so dang over the top.

And the smirky look on his face... augh! My eyes!

I actually laughed out loud when I saw it, and that is not the reaction the poor artist was likely going for.


However, just as the imprint was shutting down in 2005, I had one of the last covers, and it was gorgeous!! Breathtaking! Totally awesomesauce.

So here, without any more gushing or commentary, is the cover for Lady Savage, June 2005.

Okay, a little more gushing... I love the colors, and the back view of the heroine, and the moon, and... well, everything.

Beautiful.


Next, I think I will go through some of my Italian covers by Mondadori... hoo, boy! Interesting take on my werewolf paranormals, I do have to say.

By the way... today I am guest at Poe's Deadly Daughters, with my Love Letter to America. Drop on by!

http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.ca/2012/07/canadian-in-us-my-love-letter-to.html

Cover Art & the Author

For many years, when I wrote romance novels, I would be bemused by a certain question that came from readers and non-readers alike. After "Where do you get your ideas?" the next most asked question any writer gets, would be, "Do you do the cover art yourself?", or some variation of that.

I actually haven't heard that for a while, and assumed that the internet had made readers and other folks more savvy. But then I read this in a recent Amazon review of A Deadly Grind:

"My first turn off on the book is the cover, the dog's head is completely out of proportion to the body and when you read the story, you find out that the dog has a missing front leg due to an accident when still a puppy. Yet, the cover shows both front paws. Was this an error by a newbie writer? I do not think so since Victoria Hamilton is a pseudonym for Donna Lea Simpson, a romance writer that is now branching into the cozy market."

I'm not quite sure where to start with this, and I'm trying to figure out what exactly the reader/reviewer is saying. I'm okay with the reviewer not liking the book - everyone's tastes are different, after all - but the remarks on the cover are unfortunate for a number of reasons.

So, I thought I would just run through the book cover design process, from concept to finished product, from the author's point of view.

I write the book (Insert Barry Manilow singing "I write the songs, I write the songs...") and give it to my editor. At some point down the line, my editor will ask me for some concept ideas for the cover, for the artist to work from. In the case of A Deadly Grind I described the summer porch on the back of Jaymie's home, the boxes of items she had purchased at the estate auction, and sent along photos of my own Hoosier-style cabinet, as well as photos of Yorkie-Poos.

Should I have made a point of saying in the reference material that Hoppy is three-legged? Not sure about that. Maybe. Whenever publishers have asked for my input on covers, I've gone overboard, sometimes spending days writing scene blurbs and gathering reference materials. In one memorable instance I did all that - days worth of work! - and the stuff was ignored comepletely and a random generic cover designed.  *Note - this was NOT with Berkley, but another publisher.

When I got the cover illustration for A Deadly Grind, I was very pleased... loved the Hoosier cabinet and the grinder and Hoppy, big head and all. I think the head size was meant to be cutesy, and I don't mind it a bit. But it was a four-legged Hoppy. I emailed my agent, and pointed that out. Do you want to say something to them? my agent asked me. I pondered it for a few days, then decided that in the grand scheme of things, depicting Hoppy with two front paws rather than one did not matter to the book. I didn't mention it to my editor.

Why did I decide that? Well, I liked the cover. I didn't think the extra paw was damaging to the book itself and didn't think it would matter to readers. I was new at Berkley Prime Crime and sooo thrilled to be launching my mystery writing career, so I suppose I didn't want to rock the roat. I know how much time and effort goes into the artwork, and to ask them to redo it based on one small objection... I just didn't have the heart to do it.

So, ultimately, I suppose the reviewer is both right and wrong... in a sense it IS my responsibility. However, it is NOT the mistake of a newbie writer, but rather the decision of a seasoned one, and a decision with which I'm completely at peace. Hoppy rules!!

I think next week I'm going to post a few of my old romance covers, with my first throughts and impressions on seeing some of them!!

Gluten Free Goes Vintage

A couple of weeks ago I got a charming email from a reader claiming I was reading her mind! She lives in Michigan, writes a food blog based on vintage recipes and collects vintage kitchen stuff... in short, her similarities to my heroine, Jaymie Leighton in A Deadly Grind, are truly startling!

But the basis of her reworking of vintage recipes is a little different; she creates gluten free recipes from vintage recipes!!

So Holly and I have partnered to offer one of my autographed books to a commentor on her blog, Gluten Free Goes Vintage. Check it out, read about the fun she had at the Feast of the Strawberry Moon festival, and drool over her lovely Hoosier-style cabinet and comment for a chance to win!

http://glutenfreegoesvintage.blogspot.ca/2012/06/once-in-strawberry-moon.html

50 Shades of Cake

Lately I've been seeing a lot of mention of 'food p o r n', (I'm separating the letters of the word because I don't want to wind up with trouble, or weird stuff... LOL!) and I never quite got what that phrase meant. Then on Thursday, I went to the thrift store; I got the cutest teacup with a little mystery attached, which I have to investigate and I'll talk about later. But I also perused the books, and besides getting Mary Daheim's Hocus Croakus and another 'Company's Coming' cookbook, I found a book called Luscious Afternoon Teas by Rosemary Wadey.

OMG. This book has the most gorgeous cakes and pastries... here are some of the names of the cakes... Chocolate and Hazlenut Caramel, Orange Caraque Gateau, Gateau Japonais, Lemon Praline Ring... and the photos!! Beautifully photographed, gorgeous flowers, and the plates and cutlery are divine...

I was salivating, and not just for the food.

And suddenly it hit me... I understood food p o r n. The recipes are difficult, too much so for my limited baking abilities, but I can look, right? So just like that other kind of p o r n, which describes activities and positions you might not actually try, flipping through the book was still fun.

You get my drift. The book will stay on my shelf, even though I'll never try one of the recipes. But I will look it over and sigh.

Oh MY! Will you look at that!!

Teapot Collectibles

As anyone might guess from my recent change in my Facebook profile pic, I do love tea, everything about it, the taste, the vessels and the brewing paraphernalia. So recently, when I went to a gigantic epic garage sale, I was thrilled to find a few 'tea' items. I'd like to share so photos of my finds!

Here is a cutesy 'tea tray'... and I can't say that without remembering from Alice In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll's version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

 

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!

 

 

 

 

I collect miniature tea items, too... I just love tiny teacups and teapots, and children's sets. I suppose I coveted one when I was a kid, because my tea drinking started early, when it was a treat that made me feel like an adult. Of course, my tea was mostly milk, but it was served in a china teacup!!

At the sale I found this gorgeous tiny teapot... I cried out loud - yelped, actually - and the woman in front of me dived to the left as I lunged for it. She joked that she didn't suppose she had better get in my way, and I laughed... never get in the way of a dedicated collector!

But the prize of my day was this sweet Otagiri figural teapot... and it was only .75! Not a chip or a scratch on it.

I don't have a place for it, and I still can't figure out where it's going, but it sits on my kitchen table right now.

I also got a beautiful silverplate teastrainer that I forgot to photograph... I'll have to do it and upload that too!!

So there you have some of my adorable finds... total bill? About 2 dollars.