Month: January 2020

Posted in In which Anna vomits her thoughts at you

5 Ways To Help A New Author

Posted on by annakalingauthor

By “new author” I mean “me,” but it sounds more magnanimous this way.

Publication seems like the end goal for writers. Actually, it’s just the beginning. Unless we sell gazillions and become household names, there’s no guarantee of being published again. Hell, even being a household name isn’t enough – RandomHouse refused to publish Joan Collins’ manuscript, even though they’d already paid her, because it was so terrible.

Most of us receive contracts for one, two, or three books at a time; rarely more. Once those books are published, we need to convince the publisher (or another publisher) to give us a new contract. Lots of factors come into play but, naturally, sales figures are one of the biggest – publishers are businesses, and they need to make money if they want to keep publishing books.

So, if there’s an author whose books you love – or just an author you love – and she isn’t at Rowling levels of stardom, how can you help her get that next contract?

1. Buy the book.

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Posted in Author interviews

Interview with Anita Kushwaha, author of SECRET LIVES OF MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS

Posted on by annakalingauthor

I’m delighted to host an interview with Anita Kushwaha, debuting this year with the fantastic Secret Lives of Mothers and Daughters from HarperCollins. This breathtaking book is already receiving rave reviews, and I’m so happy to have Anita on the blog before she becomes too famous to talk to the likes of me. 😀

Secret Lives of Mothers and Daughters COVER

For readers of Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s “Secret Daughter” and Nancy Richler’s “The Imposter Bride”, a breathtaking novel from Anita Kushwaha about the ties that bind mothers and daughters together and the secrets that tear them apart

Veena, Mala and Nandini are three very different women with something in common. Out of love, each bears a secret that will haunt her life—and that of her daughter—when the risk of telling the truth is too great. But secrets have consequences. Particularly to Asha, the young woman on the cusp of adulthood who links them together.

On the day after her eighteenth birthday, Asha is devastated to learn that she was adopted as a baby. What’s more, her birth mother died of a mysterious illness shortly before then, leaving Asha with only a letter.

Nandini, Asha’s adoptive mother, has always feared the truth would come between them.

Veena, a recent widow, worries about her daughter Mala’s future. The shock of her husband’s sudden death leaves her shaken and convinces her that the only way to keep her daughter safe is to secure her future.

Mala struggles to balance her dreams and ambition with her mother’s expectations. She must bear a secret, the burden of which threatens her very life.

Three mothers, bound by love, deceit and a young woman who connects them all. Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters is an intergenerational novel about family, duty and the choices we make in the name of love.

Anita, where did the idea for Secret Lives of Mothers and Daughters come from?

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Posted in In which Anna vomits her thoughts at you, Writing advice that may or may not be completely wrong

It’s Not Easy Being Green – Author Envy

Posted on by annakalingauthor

Authors on the whole are a neurotic, anxious bunch. Okay, most aren’t quite as bad as me, but nearly all of us fret. A lot.

Maybe it’s because we’ve trained ourselves to scrutinise our words and the impressions they make, and that extends into over-scrutinising everything. Maybe it’s because publishing is like war – 5% terror and 95% waiting – and in those periods of waiting we inevitably overanalyse and catastrophise everything. Maybe it’s Ebola. I don’t know.

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Whatever the reason, one of the consequence is that most of us suffer from author envy at some point. Maybe at every point. When you’re unagented, you’re jealous of authors with agents. When you’re agented, you’re jealous of authors with publishing deals. When you get a deal, you’re jealous of authors with bigger deals. When you get a big deal, you’re jealous of authors with… better hair, or something. Those coiffured bastards.

Who are they sleeping with, huh??

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Posted in Author interviews

Interview with Kate Sherwood, author of LAST CALL

Posted on by annakalingauthor

I’ve had the pleasure of reading a pre-release copy of LAST CALL, the next M/M romance from Kate Sherwood, and she even agreed to answer some of my fangirl questions! …And also one question from the group I founded, ‘The Squirrel from Mark of Cain Appreciation Club,’ which currently consists of just me but I think that’s only because I haven’t publicised it. Or maybe because I set the joining fee at £5,000. I have expensive cats, okay?

Kate is the author of more than 30 novels and novellas, including those under her other pen names, Cate Cameron (M/F romances) and Catherine Dale (YA). Her next release, an M/M romance, is out on 21 January and can be preordered now. It’s very funny. And also hot.

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Ethan is living the good life as a student at Montreal’s McGill University. He’s out every night, partying, dancing with his friends, and meeting guys. When he sets his sights on Alex, the world’s hottest bartender, he expects a good time, and nothing more.

But things aren’t so simple with Alex. He’s been hurt too many times and he’s protective of his heart. He certainly can’t let himself get attached to a party-boy like Ethan. Except… maybe there’s more to Ethan than there seems.

As the guys grow closer, it’s harder and harder for Alex to keep the darker parts of his life away from Ethan’s brightness. But Ethan proves that he’s tougher than he seems on the outside. And maybe that means Alex can save the soft place in his heart for Ethan.

1. Where did the idea for Last Call come from? 

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