Author name: Jill Monroe

The great ladies at eHarlequin have set me up, and I now have my own official topic! “When Seduction Goes BAD” Okay, I have the same kind of fears I did with my first signing. No one shows up, but I won’t have to worry about distributors or giving directions to the bathroom. eHarlequin also has a spell check (something I haven’t been able to find on Booksquare even with all my snooping). Here’s the intro they gave to my topic: The time is right, you’ve got it all planned…tonight, you’re going to be naughty and he’s going to like […]

This week I’m going to be doing a lot of talking. Actually, it’s a lot of typing. Somehow I scheduled my two promo moments for the exact same week. This is the last week my kids are in school before break – so doing it now sounded like a smart idea at the time. Now I’m just really nervous. First up is a week long discussion on eHarlequin on Seductions Gone Bad!!!! (Yeah, unfortunately there’s some personal experience there.) I’ll also be doing a live chat Tuesday on Writerspace. One of the great things about being a Harlequin author is

The sign beckoned as I was going to where else? Sonic (I start every morning with a diet cherry coke). Gas is finally down. A buck fifty-five. This means one thing: Road Trip!! Gena Showalter and I can finally make to Tulsa for that stock signing excursion. I’d never heard of this phrase until recently. No table, no sign, no awkward accosting of potential customers. A writer just goes into the store, picks up the book, signs it, and then replaces it on the shelf. I am fascinated by this idea. Primarily because all my life, I’ve been something of

I’ve been told to get another author head shot because the picture is a lie. My whole life, I’ve lamented on having curly hair, dimples and forced to shop for clothes that have the letter “P” after the number. To be honest, long-legged with straight (ultra-straight) blonde hair always seemed to be the ideal. To top it off, I’ve been answering (since nearly birth) to a 4-letter, one syllable perky name – Jill. Now while I’m still not convinced Jill is the name of a grown-up, the year printed on my birth certificate and my mom crying that her “baby”

It’s clear I am totally unprepared for this booksigning. After reading some of the comments from my previous blogs, having something to pass out to passersby came into play. Daniel Olivas suggested a bowl of candy and keeping copies of reviews handy. Susan Gable suggested passing out a bookmark. Booksquare reminded me to use the sparkly gel pen I’d used to sign her book. Yes…hopelessly unprepared. My mother thought only my appearance needed to be considered – I didn’t even realize I needed to worry about pens, candy, bookmarks and such! The things I can obsess about go much, MUCH

Nothing like irritating a whole bunch of people by not finishing a story. Many apologies. The husband’s new iPod came yesterday and the computer was hijacked. I long for the day when we have two. Booksigning Nightmares Part 2 (or is it 3?) Nervously I call the bookstore manager and explain how there may be quite a few people showing. I say this in a very small voice because really, I have no idea. Lots of calls were made, lots of e-mails sent, but who really knows? There’s a long pause. Then the manager explains the situation with quite a

I was going to call this blog “Insert Your Own Subject” to describe my first booksigning. I had quite a few ideas: Glad I didn’t waste the 18 bucks (see previous blog about manicure) No Reason For Shoe Buffs (again, see previous blog about mother’s nightmare) Upside to Booksigning: No Bathroom Directions Given But when it comes right down to it, Booksigning Nightmares Revisited is the true title. This past Saturday was my first ever booksigning. For years I have attended the booksignings of my fellow romance writers, so I had a pretty good idea of how things worked. Table

My mom called me this morning at 8:30. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she’s been up worrying since around 2. “Jill, I really think you need to get a manicure before your booksigning.” Just so you know where I am on this – I haven’t had a manicure since 1994. I do the obligatory daughter groan. “There’s a place just down the street from you that will do a full set of nails for 18 bucks.” At this point she’s lost me. At first, I was thinking hand massage, orange stick, maybe a light coral

**Okay, I know I did a mini-blog earlier, but that was more of a test run. This one is the real deal.** My dear friend at Booksquare has told me the importance of getting my own blog. My theory – why go to all the work when Booksquare’s done so much legwork? Errr, fingerwork. The truth of the matter is that I’m very, very shy. Okay, I realize this isn’t public speaking, but it’s still being out there. My fingers freeze on the keyboard at the very thought someone may actually read my words. I’m sensing as I type this

Publishing is a slow, slow business. Molasses slow. December 23rd when you’re seven slow. I sold my book December 18, 2003 – was told I’d be out sometime in 2005. All the time in the world, right? Then change. I wasn’t prepared for fast-moving. In the Spring, I got the happy word I’d be out in December (and quickly changed all my references to weather/flowers/clothing) to reflect December temps in Oklahoma. Now if you’ve ever been to Oklahoma in December, you realize just how tough that is, because quite frankly, who knows what the weather will be? This summer, it