Betsy Horvath

Month: June 2011

  • Betsy’s Excellent Adventure – Day 2

    Wednesday dawned on NYC bright and fair. Wednesday dawned on Betsy with sickness and…well, we won’t go there. So unfortunately I missed the opening session with Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritson, and Steve Berry. But I hear it was wonderful. Fortunately I felt better a little later and so was able to enjoy the rest of my busy day.

    After the annual general meeting (I didn’t bother to take pictures there), was the keynote luncheon with Madeline Hunter.  The room was, of course, packed (hey, it was free food).

     Favorite takeaway quote from Ms. Hunter – “We find our voice when we embrace our exposure.”

    When I embrace my exposure, the voice I hear is usually saying “Hey, don’t do that here, lady!”, but I don’t think that’s what she was talking about. 😀

    Next up, the Pitch Witch workshop, then off to the Spotlight on Carina Press, the press nearest and dearest to my heart.

    I think…is that Angela James up there (in the blue)? She does exist!

    Next, on out to Times Square because, hey, I came all this way so I might as well see some of the city, right?

    Wow…um…BIG!

    REALLY big!

    The hotel from outside:

    More to come in Day 3!  In fact, it might be coming shortly in the next post!

  • Betsy’s Excellent Adventure Begins

    So, you may or may not know that I am attending the RWA National Conference.  This event has been preceeded by much anxiety, but today I left with Bookseller Ann to the BIG city – New York City!

    We decided to take a limo because we don’t live far enough away to fly and the bus didn’t appeal. And no WAY am I driving in New York. 

    Thank you, limo driver, for getting us there safely! 

    Oh, look!  We’re getting near the city!  Woohoo!

    Oh, no!  Will we get there?  Will we get through?  Will we stuck in the tunnel? 

    Never fear!  After a few tense moments, the limo driver weaves through traffic (scary – I kept my eyes closed) and delivered us safely to the hotel! 

    The hotel is quite massive and looks just a little bit like a scene from a Star Wars movie.

     The room is very, very high up.  It doesn’t have a view of Times Square, but it’s close enough!

    Hey, look at all of the little people down there.

    After settling in a little bit, I met wonderful people from Harlequin’s digital team who led me on the path to digital righteousness, and taught me a lot of stuff.  Then it was time for the Literary Booksigning.  500 authors. Open to the public.  Mass hysteria. Dogs and cats sleeping together.  Think I’m lying?  Look…

    But it was awesome because I got to meet Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Nalini Singh and many other wonderful authors.  I had some complete fan girl moments, spent way too much money (for a good cause), and go many autographed books.

    And now here I am back in the hotel room, blogging, Facebooking, tweeting, and looking forward to Day 2.

    More to come….

  • What’s So Scary About Romance?

    You know, when I decided to concentrate on writing romance, I had absolutely no idea that I was threatening the fabric of society as we know it.  And yet, it appears that I am.

    In recent months we have seen, first the public “outing” and castigation of a high school English teacher who has been writing erotic romance novels for years.  More recently there was a news report that reading romance novels can be as addictive as pornography, makes women unbalanced, and threatens marriages (presumably around the world).  Obviously there’s a real problem going on here, and it’s all centered around romance.

    But what exactly IS the problem?

    I’ve been looking at some common characteristics of the romance genre in the hopes that if I understood where it has been going wrong, I could pass the information along to all of you.  Here are some of the common points I’ve identified as a part of my informal investigation:

    1. Most romance authors are women.
    2. Most romance readers are women.
    3. Most romance editors are women.
    4. A lot of the agents who handle romance are women.
    5. Most romance bloggers are women.
    6. By the end of a romance novel, a deep, intimate and usually lifelong commitment has been established between characters.
    7. Usually a romance novel contains sex. For the most part, the sex is extremely enjoyable for one or more of the characters involved. This sex might be repeated several times during the book, with different degrees of verve and variety.

    Based on these findings, I believe that I have identified the reason the romance genre as a whole has been slammed recently. To summarize:

    • Although not all women enjoy romance novels, most romance novels are written, read, sold, and promoted by women.
    • Romance novels always involve people making commitments to each other.
    • Most romance novels also include people having extremely enjoyable sex.

    Ergo, I believe I can state with some certainty that the issue is:

    • Women might think about sex.

    I hope this helps.

    PS – I’m heading out to the RWA national conference on Tuesday to hob-nob with other authors specializing in romance, aka the genre of fear.  I hope to be tweeting and facebooking as the week goes on. And stay tuned here on the blog for photos from my excellent adventure in NYC!

  • The Cover Has Landed

    Just a short post today, to say… I have an official cover for the book!!!  And here it is:

    I think it’s pretty darned gorgeous, and I’m very, very excited.  Carina Press always does such wonderful covers…  *happy sigh* (hey, that’s my name on that thing! 😀 )

    I also have official cover copy, and here IT is:

    Katie McCabe’s life is going nowhere fast when FBI Special Agent Lucas Vasco jumps into her car at an intersection. Luc, his undercover guise blown, is on the run from the Mafia and expects to be killed at any moment. What he doesn’t plan on is finding himself attracted to the firecracker beside him. He feels compelled to protect her when her life is threatened, and insists she stay with him for her own safety.

    After learning she has become the target of a psychotic hit man, Katie is whisked off to Luc’s house to hide. Once there, she’s shocked to discover that she and Luc have an unexpected connection—a connection Luc already knew existed, but withheld. Will their intense attraction reach flashpoint despite their misunderstandings and the pain of the past?

    And the official release date is:  September 5, 2011.

    HOLD ME. Coming soon to an e-reader near you.

    Woohoo!

  • For My Father On Father’s Day

    I’ve been writing fiction for years, with various degrees of serious intent.  Sometimes I thought I wanted to become a published author.  Sometimes I thought it was just too bloody much work.

    I was having something of a crisis of faith about 2 1/2 years ago.  I was working on a romance manuscript that never seemed to be finished.  I’d written a number of science fiction short stories that never seemed to go anywhere (mostly because I really wanted to write romance).  My life was too busy, too stressful, and I was too tired.  I had been diagnosed with diabetes.  I had a lot of debt. I was going nowhere.

    Then my father died.

    Until I was about twenty-five, my father and I had a rocky relationship.  I don’t think we understood each other very well.  And the adolescent and young adult years were hard on us.  We’d patched it up, forgiven each other, and moved on.  Then he got sick with Lewy Body disease.

    In case you don’t know, Lewy Body disease is a delightful combination of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s symptoms.  You can’t think straight. You can’t talk. Your body won’t move properly. But, unlike Alzheimer’s, you actually remember. So you know that you can’t think, or talk, or move. And it’s sneaky. It’s misdiagnosed a lot of the time, so you don’t even know you have it.

    Looking back now, we figure that Daddy had the disease for about 5 years before we even knew there was something wrong.  We thought he was slowing down, that he just wasn’t active enough. We didn’t know that he was really sick.

    Eventually he ended up in a nursing home – his body so stiff and unresponsive that it took 3 aides to get him into bed each night.  He was there for 2 1/2 years before he died.

    After he died, and after the grief had diminished somewhat, I thought about my life.  I realized that I was foolish to turn my back on my writing. I wanted to continue.  I wanted to finish the romance manuscript I’d been dickering around with for years. I wanted to push it to the next level and see if it could be published. I wanted to do it for myself, because life is too short and too precious.  And I wanted to do it for my father.

    Now that manuscript is indeed being published.  I dedicated it to him.

    Happy Father’s Day everyone!

     

  • RWA-NYC

    As some of you may know, I’m heading to New York City in less than two weeks to attend the RWA National conference. And in EXACTLY two weeks from this MOMENT, give or take an hour, I shall be sweeping majestically into the freaking Waldorf Astoria hotel as one of the attendees of the Harlequin black and white ball.

    Um, ‘scuse me?

    In my mind’s eye, I’m wearing a beautiful black dress (because, hello, white dress? Are you kidding me?). I am perfectly coiffed and made up. I walk with elegant ease in mile-high shoes. My skin is flawless.

    And then I see myself tripping and falling on my butt right in the middle of the dance floor.

    The RWA (Romance Writers of America) is the trade group for – wait for it – romance writers. And the national conference is the big enchilda in the romance industry. Very well-known authors will be there. Authors of all levels of experience will be there. Agents and editors from all over the place will be there. The hotel has been sold out for months. The conference itself is sold out, despite difficult economic times. There will be workshops and parties and opportunities for madness, mayhem, and shopping.

    And I’m so far out of my comfort zone that I can’t even see it from where I’m standing. (Hello, comfort zone? Are you there? *crickets*)

    On the other hand, I’m also very, very excited about attending. I’m looking forward to meeting other Carina Press authors and editors I’ve only met through email. I’m hoping that I’m will learn something. I’ll be able to wear a ribbon announcing my first sale and hand out business cards saying that I’m a romance author. I’ll be able to talk about “my publisher”, because I actually will have a book being published. I’ll meet some of the wonderful people at Harlequin.

    So, in two weeks, give or take an hour, I shall sweep majestically into the freaking Waldorf Astoria hotel. I will indeed be wearing a very lovely black cocktail dress (provided by my friend, Bookseller Ann). I will glide across the floor in dress pumps that, although not mile-high, are significantly dressier than anything else I’ve bought in a while. And my skin might not be flawless, but I do have babe-ilicious brown hair – again.

    In other words, I shall look as good as a Betsy can look, and to that look I shall remain true for the entire evening. I shall be the Betsy of the Ball.

    And I’ll try not to fall on my butt.

    Stay tuned for more “Betsy Goes To A Conference” updates in future blog posts.

    Woohoo! New York City!