Chatting with Readers is Refreshing!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face with a group of readers who belong to a book club at the local library. It was so much fun! I needed this. I needed to connect with real people, people who enjoy books, but aren't authors.
I've met some wonderful authors in the past year, as I've joined the publishing industry. But so many of them have been in cyberspace only. And often I've felt that I was caught in an endless loop of authors promoting to authors.

It was good to meet people who enjoy reading and were willing to spend a few minutes listening to me talk about my books. They happily took bookmarks and asked question. They thumbed through the books and declared them to be interesting and well-written!! YAY! This is a big deal, because, I'm sorry to say,  several of them mentioned having seen self-published books that were embarrassing in their lack of professionalism. That, I'm afraid is an uphill battle.

The other big battle for a self-published author is getting in front of readers, finding an audience. So, I'm very grateful to the library for inviting me, and to the lovely ladies for indulging me. I think I've got a second wind now! Maybe this would be a good time to tackle that next chapter! :-)

Jingle Bell Virtual Book Fair

Hello dear readers!
Thanks for stopping by! Today, and for the next three days, I invite you to visit a Facebook event. It's the Jingle Bell Book Fair. Dozens of authors have joined together to present excerpts of their books, discount offers, and giveaways. This is a great way to sample new authors and material. You just might find a new favorite, or two! Hope to see you there!
Here's the link to the event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/663323370357638/663973250292650/?notif_t=event_mall_comment

You can also go directly to the excerpts for my novels by visiting my website at www.threewritersofromance.com.

Happy reading!

In Good Company

Can't stop smiling. Saw my books on the shelf at a local bookstore over the weekend, and the placement is so awesome. There sit all three Darlene Deluca novels sandwiched between Barbara Delinsky and Jude Deveraux. Not a bad place to be!
I confess that when I chose the pen name of Deluca, the thought did cross my mind that I could be near one of my favorite authors, and could possibly be seen by readers who enjoy her work. I couldn't ask for a better location. Now, I hope that the book covers entice those readers to pick up the novels and read about them. And I hope the descriptions will be of interest to readers who enjoy multiple story lines about friendship, family relationships, real-life situations and in some cases, a little romance. Happy reading to all!

On gatekeepers

I read an article a couple of days ago that has stuck with me. Actually, I’ve decided it offended me. It was about gatekeepers – agents, editors and publishers as gatekeepers. About the need for gatekeepers to regulate who gets in and who doesn’t.

All of this is with respect to self-publishing, of course. Because without gatekeepers, mediocrity will reign, and books and publishing will go to hell.

I have to agree with one point: without the gatekeepers keeping people out of the book business, there’s going to be some trash out there. I believe that’s true. But so what? Isn’t one man’s trash another man’s treasure? I’ve paid good money for books I ended up disliking. I’ve read published books I thought were trash. I’ve purchased many a product over the years that didn’t live up to its billing or my expectations. Don’t we live in a buyer-beware society?

Here’s my problem with the gatekeepers. They’re the brick wall (the last lecture by Randy Pausch). They may be keeping people from achieving a dream. How long does an author have to wait to get through the gate or over the wall? Is it a certain number of years? Must they have a certain number of dusty manuscripts under the bed? Or a specific quota of rejection letters? A certain amount of money spent on workshops, classes and conferences? What’s the measurement?
 We hear all the time how busy and overworked agents and editors are. It seems to me, there simply aren't enough to go around.

This is America, where we’re supposed to be able to follow our dreams. We tell our children they can be anything they want. Yes, that might require a lot of years of hard work. It might mean making some sacrifices, but we tell them it will pay off in the end, that hard work and perseverance will make their dreams come true.

But what if it doesn’t? What if Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, had decided sixty rejections were as many as she could stand? She’s said it was number sixty-one that finally gave her a chance. What if an author never finds that one agent/gatekeeper that clicks, and agrees to crack open the door? Why shouldn’t an author have other options?

Now, I happen to love libraries and bookstores, and I want to see them survive, even thrive. And I really want to see one of my manuscripts published and sitting on the shelves in one of those places some day. I would like to feel the validation of being plucked from obscurity by a gatekeeper. But that’s not to say I’m willing to beat my head against the brick wall indefinitely. Finding a way to go around the wall, or punch out a brick or two, to take another path is the way of survivors and entrepreneurs. Having an alternative is a good thing.