Sweet thunderation!
Where’s a cattle prod when you need one?
—The Cousins McClare: Book 1, Dare to Dream
By Julie Lessman
Well, it almost always happens, you know. What, you ask? A publisher changing your original title. My agent told me it happens most of the time, and I think she threw a percentage range at me of 85 to 95 percent. About killed me on the “Daughters of Boston” Series because all of my titles were Scriptures hand-picked to reflect a theme I sowed throughout the entire book. PLUS each title (including the series title) had the word “wind” in it because of my love for Gone With the Wind and the idea of wind symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Great reasons, all.
But not marketable, apparently, according to my publisher. In hindsight, I now realize that my publisher knows A LOT more about book sales than I do, and now I quietly (?) defer to them in almost every case. And, in hindsight, I think their chosen titles (which I actually submitted to them in a document of approximately 130+ titles because yes, I really am that anal!!) are PERFECT!!
So … here we go again! My publisher has changed the series and book titles for The Cousins McClare and guess what? They are spot on and I couldn’t LOVE a book title more. So instead of Book 1 of The Cousins McClare series being called Dare to Dream, it will now be called:
Love at Any Cost
Book 1 of “The Heart of San Francisco” Series
Release Date: April 1, 2013
And here’s a glimpse at a jacket blurb I wrote to give you an idea of what’s in store:
Fooled by a pretty boy once, shame on him.
Fooled by a pretty boy twice, shame on me.
Jilted by a fortune hunter, cowgirl Cassidy McClare is a spunky Texas oil heiress without a fortune who just as soon hogtie a man as look at him … until Jamie MacKenna, a handsome pauper looking to marry well lassoes her heart. But when Jamie discovers the woman he loves is poorer than him, Cassie finds herself bucked by love a second time, sending her back to Texas to lick her wounds and heal her heart. In her absence, Jamie discovers money can’t buy love … but love built on faith can set a heart free, a truth he discovers a little too late … or is it?
I am VERY excited because I have some fun cover ideas since these books will be just a hair lighter than my previous books and definitely more linear and not as complicated. Because Cassie is a Texas ranch girl with an attachment to her lasso and a pool and poker shark to boot, I’d love to see her in a side angle wearing a secret smile and a gorgeous Gibson-Girl off-the-shoulder dress that flows to her feet while holding a lasso, a pool cue or a hand of cards behind her back. I have a meeting of the minds with my publisher this week to discuss covers, so say one for me, okay?
WINTER NEWSLETTER COMING OUT NEXT WEEK!!!
Yes, it’s true … FINALLY I will be sending out my LONG overdue newsletter, so if you aren’t signed up for it, you’ll want to do so right now at http://www.julielessman.com/sign-up-for-newsletter/ because not only does it contain an excerpt from A Love Surrendered, but also announces the winners from my contest and a few other things you won’t want to miss. It will mail on Tuesday of next week, so if you do not receive it by week’s end, PLEASE let me know, okay?
NEW NEWSLETTER CONTEST … VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS!
If you are signed up for my newsletter, here’s a chance to vote for your favorite authors AND win a signed copy of A Love Surrendered PLUS a $25 Amazon.com or CBD.com gift card. All you have to do is take the time to VOTE for your favorite authors in Family Fiction Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards, then let me know via e-mail or through my website, and you will be entered in my new contest. PLEASE NOTE: You do NOT have to vote for me to be entered in this contest, so take advantage of this opportunity to support your favorite Christian authors across all genres!!! DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 29TH, AND I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER IN THE FRIDAY, MARCH 2ND JOURNAL JOT.
Here’s the link:
http://www.familyfiction.com/news/vote-in-the-2012-familyfiction-readers-choice-awards/
LAST-MINUTE BLOG GIVEAWAYS!!
FEBRUARY 13-18 — GIVEAWAYS ALL WEEK LONG!!
THREE CHANCES TO WIN ONE OF MY BOOKS … FEBRUARY 13, 15 & 18 … PLUS CHANCES TO WIN BOOKS BY JULIE KLASSEN, LAURA FRANTZ, KELLY LONG AND SUSAN CRAFT ALL WEEK LONG at the Overcoming Through Time Valentine’s Week Celebration at:
FEBRUARY 13-19, 2012
FICTION ADDICTION FIX MEGA VALENTINE WEEK GIVEAWAY!!! You won’t want to miss this massive giveaway of a huge bag of goodies and bundles of books!!! Check it out here at Fiction Addiction Fix, the #1 BEST BLOG to keep apprised of all the fabulous Christian fiction giveaways going on that day. Here’s the link — make it a “favorite”!!
http://fictionaddictionfix.blogspot.com/
FEBRUARY 21 – MARCH 3, 2012:
READ A “NEW” EXCERPT from A Love Surrendered (and a different one from the excerpt in my newsletter) and win your choice of any of my books including A Love Surrendered on my special guest day of SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH PLUS giveaways ALL WEEK LONG by other authors for a blogaversary celebration from FEBRUARY 21-25!!! Check it out here during those dates at Hardcover Feedback blog at:
http://hardcoverfeedback.blogspot.com/
And that’s it for this week—have a GREAT weekend!!
Hugs,
Julie
