Guest Blog and Giveaway!

Two more days to sign up for a chance to win a digital copy of my newest contemporary romance, "Something Good."  All you have to do is visit Storeybook reviews where I'm guest blogging about how books have played a significant role in my life. See you there!

http://storeybookreviews.com/2014/08/the-circle-of-my-life-in-books-by-darlene-deluca-giveaway-darlene_deluca1/

Release Day for "Something Good!"

Hello, dear readers!
Today, I'm celebrating the release of my fourth novel, a contemporary romance titled "Something Good." I'm hosting giveaways on my website, Goodreads, and my Facebook author page. Come join the fun. Comment/share for a chance to win a copy of the book. The festivities continue all weekend, so check back often!
"Something Good" is now available in print and digital formats! Happy reading to all!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darlene-Deluca/282385088481413?ref=br_tf

http://www.amazon.com/Something-Good-Darlene-Deluca-ebook/dp/B00J8UN1GI/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395958585&sr=1-4&keywords=darlene+deluca

Writing Realistic Romance . . . new one coming soon!

Very excited to announce that I'm releasing a new contemporary romance novel in March. I’m thinking this one fits a little more neatly into the category than my other two romances did. While I like contemporary romance, I also like books with multiple story lines, and multiple points of view. I think they tend to be a little fuller, a little more real.

What I like best is fiction with romantic elements. Unfortunately, no one has that specific category anymore. When I first started writing, Romance Writers of America offered that as a romance sub-genre. The first year I published, they did away with it. And none of the retailers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble, offer that distinction. So I have to choose general fiction, romance or women’s fiction. Then I worry that there won’t be enough romance for the people who really like traditional romance, and there will be too much for people who don’t like romance at all.

It’s kind of a quandary.

I entered my first novel into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition last year. It did well. It got past the first stage. And then passed the next round, too. So it was a quarterfinalist in the Romance category – top five percent. But at that point, it was judged by a romance reader at Publisher’s Weekly, who stated that the novel was not a romance. Erg. Had I put it in General Fiction, I’m afraid the exact opposite would’ve happened.

To sum it up, even when I’m writing romance, I like there to be a little more to the story. That means my characters will have multiple issues going on – some completely outside the boy-meets-girl scenario. If you’ve ever read books by Barbara Delinsky, I’d say my books are similar in style. They tend to be realistic. I hope the characters are like people you might be friends with, people you can relate to in real-life situations. The women are generally strong and self-sufficient. The men are, too, but they aren’t super-macho arrogant ultra-alphas (alpha-holes, as I’ve heard some described) who sweep the heroine off her feet, toss her onto the bed and have their way with her.

I like books that are grounded in reality and relationships, so that’s what I write. That being said, the new one is, indeed, more of a true contemporary romance. It’s fairly mild in language and sex, so if you like a lot of hot, steamy sex scenes, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you like stories and romances that develop between interesting characters that seem real, remember March 28th – release day for “Something Good.”

Happy reading!

Anniversary sale . . . celebrating publication!

In honor of the first anniversary of my debut novel, Unexpected Legacy, I'm putting the digital version on sale for just 99 cents. Hope you'll take advantage of the price reduction and check it out!
The novel is a contemporary romance/young adult crossover about people, relationships and real-life situations. It was a quarterfinalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and has five-star reviews from librarians!
You can buy the book, read the awesome reviews, and get a sneak preview on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Legacy-Darlene-Deluca-ebook/dp/B00AW5NTC4/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388898469&sr=1-3&keywords=darlene+deluca

For other digital formats, please use Smashwords, coupon code GD47C.
Thanks, and happy reading to all!

A Little Christmas Excerpt

Christmas is in the air! So far, I've attended a holiday concert, bought all the ingredients for starting on sugar cookies, bought gifts, and got the tree! In honor of the season, thought I'd share a short Christmas excerpt from my sweet contemporary romance, Meetings of Chance. Merry, merry!

When Julie opened the oven door, Megan caught a sharp whiff of cinnamon. “Mmm, that smells wonderful,” Megan said. “What’s in there?”
Tom turned back to them. “Mom’s famous pumpkin pie. A Christmas tradition.”

Hands on his hips, he looked around. “So, Mom, speaking of traditions, where’s the mistletoe?” Tom demanded. “The one year I could use some mistletoe and you don’t have any?”
“Sorry. Guess I forgot that little detail.”
Tom’s dad turned from the television. “Kiss her anyway, son. It’s all right.”
“If you insist.”

Before Megan could object, Tom took her hand, pulled her off the bar stool, and twirled her around. Dipping her backward as if they were dancing, he planted a firm kiss on her lips. Then he grabbed his mother, and swung her around, too.
“My two favorite ladies . . .”
Julie laughed, patting down her hair. “My goodness. What’s gotten into you?”
He grinned at her, and spun Megan again, whispering in her ear, “I’m in love.”

Thumbs Up

The results are in! Four out of five judges in the RWA Golden Heart contest liked Surprise Son! One of them gave the manuscript a perfect 9! Woo-hoo! Unfortunately, there was that one judge out in left field, the lone dissenter who kept the manuscript from finaling. That's sad, and annoying. But the good news is that if the judges mirror real life, and real readers, four out of five thumbs up is fabulous. That tells me that if I end up self-pubbing, I've got a good shot at connecting with readers. And that, of course, is the goal. I'm encouraged!

website workday

Just scheduled an all-day work session with my critique partners! Yay! Can't wait. We may do a little reading and critiquing that day, but mostly, we're going to design a website. Since we all write some form of romance, we're teaming up to create one site that will give each of us an online presence in addition to our individual blogs.
Published or not, agents and publishers say all writers need to build a platform and start reaching an audience on line. Yes, it takes away from writing time, but it's part of the bigger picture, the whole package.
Already we're building a backlog of ideas and articles to include on the site. Key lime pie, anyone? Watch for a great recipe from J that ties right into her novel set in fabulous Key West. We'll introduce ourselves, our stories and our characters, and share blogs and thoughts on writing, romance and publishing. And, hopefully, we'll have a little fun in the process.
Stay tuned!