The Turkey Day Shuffle & Flappers & Jelly Beans

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Delynn Royer

The Turkey Day Shuffle

My husband and one of my sons works in retail, so we’re well acquainted with irregular schedules and working weekends and holidays. But Thanksgiving was always the one holiday that seemed to work out. Mostly because stores close early that day.

This year, though, the unthinkable has happened. Not only is my husband’s store extending their hours, he offered to work so someone else can spend the day with their family. Which means…

Yes. We’ll be doing the Turkey Day Shuffle.

We’ve hosted our family dinner for almost a decade now, and we love doing it. So, we’ll be moving our Thanksgiving to Saturday. The calls have gone out, and the schedule shuffling has begun.

Books, books, books…

Goodbye, Tootsie Book Tour! Hosted by BVB Tours

Goodbye, Tootsie—the second book in my 1920s romantic mystery series—went on tour earlier this month and got some great reviews. I’m more thankful than ever for book bloggers who dedicate their time to reviewing and promoting books, especially those of indie authors.

Thanks also to the awesome Beck Valley Books, which does a fabulous job of organizing book tours.

If you have a moment, give these bloggers some traffic and enter my $20 Amazon Gift Card giveaway. Yes, it’s still running, and it’s free. (Expires November 29, 2015.) Do it. Do it now. I’ll wait. 🙂

Follow the book tour. Read the reviews…

1.	Monday 9th November – Newbery and Beyond
2.	Tuesday 10th November – Cali Book Reviews
3.	Wednesday 11th November – Miki’s Hope
4.	Thursday 12th November – Elusive Red Tiger
5.	Friday 13th November – Notes from a Lady
6.	Monday 16th November – Mother Distracted
7. 8.	Tuesday 17th November – Gypsy Road Tuesday 17th November – I Create Purty Things

A Thanksgiving “Flappers & Jelly Beans” Tidbit

In honor of the upcoming holiday—no matter which day you celebrate it—here’s a remix from a Flappers and Jelly Beans post from Thanksgiving past…

***

Think the trend for pushing the winter holiday shopping season on consumers earlier each year is a modern phenomenon? Think again.

The opening scene of It Had to Be You takes place in Herald Square in New York City on Thursday, November 27, 1924.

Mystery and Romance in 1920s Manhattan

It was Thanksgiving day and the first year R.H. Macy’s sponsored its Thanksgiving day parade. Except they didn’t call it that back then. They called it Macy’s Christmas Parade.

Here’s a peek back in time from the following day’s papers:

“Santa Claus chose Thanksgiving Day this year to come to town. With a retinue of clowns… animals, and floats, the bewhiskered man in red, in sight of thousands of persons, arrived at 9 o’clock yesterday morning and three hours later was crowned ‘King of the Kiddies’ on the marquee above the entrance to Macy’s new store in Thirty-fourth Street near Seventh Avenue…”

Most of the participants that day were Macy’s employees, but they were joined by many others, marching bands as well as floats featuring The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe and Little Red Riding Hood. There were also animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo—bears, elephants, donkeys.

But no giant balloons. Animal-shaped balloons made by Goodyear wouldn’t begin to replace the live animals until 1927. One of the first? Felix the Cat.

Macy’s at Herald Square (1942). From the Office of War Information Photograph Collection

Another 1924 attraction that would feel familiar to us was the unveiling of Macy’s spectacular store window: “The Fairy Frolics of Wondertown.”

Some sources say a quarter million people attended the first parade. It was such a success, Macy’s decided to make it an annual event.

The world has changed, yes?
But maybe not as much as we think.
What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

Macy’s Parade 1930s – British Movietone Temp – Subscribe at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmRpYigmLBc

For those who celebrate, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Photo and video credits:

Pumpkins – Delynn Royer

Macy’s at Herald Square (1942). From the Office of War Information Photograph Collection
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

1930s Macy’s Parade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmRpYigmLBc
British Movietone Temp

It Had to Be You – Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.
Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

New Release, Ebook Tour, Giveaway & Other Summer Doings!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Delynn Royer

Goodbye, Tootsie is Here!

A 1920s Romantic Mystery

It’s been a long road, baby!

I’m bleary-eyed and sleep-derived but also dang happy to announce that Goodbye, Tootsie–the sequel to my 2014 romantic mystery, It Had to Be You–has gone live at Amazon and will soon be available under the Kindle Unlimited program.

If you’re so inclined, you can give it some Amazon love by:

→ Checking out the sample pages at U.S. Amazon HERE. (Every love-tap on that book link is appreciated!); or

→ Tweeting the book page… New! #Mystery & romance in #1920s Manhattan! GOODBYE TOOTSIE @DelynnRoyer #romanticmystery getBook.at/20SMYS

Plans to release at other ebook retailers—iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo—are in the works for Fall, 2015.

It Had to Be You: All Grown Up! (And Going on its First Summer Book Tour Vacation)

Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe It Had to Be You is already over a year old. To celebrate, we’re doing a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway and sending it on its own Mid-Summer Book Tour Vacation.

It Had to Be You Book Tour

Its overnight bag is all packed and it’s ready to go for a book tour hosted by Beck Valley Books from July 6th to July 10th. Below is the itinerary, and the Book Tour Page is HERE.

Don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Appreciation for Book Bloggers

If you’ve ever written a book or a movie review, you know firsthand that it takes time and thought to dash off even a thumbnail review if you want it to be useful and of good quality. An hour, maybe?

What about an in-depth review for a book or movie review blog? More than an hour? Easily. (If I count writing, editing, hyperlinking, and layout, it takes me about half a work day to do a blog post.) Oh, and don’t forget to add the time to actually read the book or watch the movie.

In today’s online book market, reviews are important to authors for sales and to readers for making buying decisions. Yet, most book bloggers receive no compensation for their reviews beyond review copies of books. That’s what’s called a Labor of Love, and it’s appreciated.

If you have time, please consider popping by to visit Beck Valley Books and the other sites hosting It Had to Be You on its first summer book tour vacation. 🙂

Best Surprise of the Week

Speaking of book bloggers, eagle-eyed Ava Quinn, the chucklemeister behind Tongue in Cheek blog, tweeted me last week that my first book–A Touch of Camelot—was reviewed at Dear Author.

Gah! What a cool surprise! (Truly, this tweet came at a time when I’d just birthed Goodbye, Tootsie, and I still resembled the Bride of Frankenstein–little sleep, bad hair, blurred vision from staring at the Kindle previewer for, uh, like, days. ) I believe the pic above accurately captures the expression on my face when I read Ava’s message… whaaat?)

My favorite line from Jayne S’s review?

“As a western rom com, ‘A Touch of Camelot’ hit the spot for me…” I’ll take it. 🙂 (Read the full review here.)

***

And so, what’s new with you? Have you gone on any summer vacations? Any excursions coming up? Did you have any fun surprises lately?

Thanks for visiting, and have a great week! 🙂

Photo Credits

It Had to Be You – Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Goodbye, Tootsie cover art design by Fiona Jayde Media. Learn more About Fiona here.

Goodbye, Tootsie Custom Photo Shoot and Cover Model Image from RomanceNovelCovers.com

By Trailer screenshot, from DVD Bride of Frankenstein, Universal 2004 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYD3-pIF9jQ) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A Touch of Camelot cover art design by Hot Damn Designs

Goodbye, Tootsie… Cover Reveal!

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Delynn Royer

Goodbye, Tootsie. Putting it Together: Part Four

If I could have chosen my talent, I would have chosen the visual arts–painting, drawing or graphic design. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

RomanceNovelCovers.com (RNC) Custom Photo Shoot - Behind The Scenes - Jimmy Thomas & Inessa - DL Royer

RomanceNovelCovers.com (RNC) Custom Photo Shoot – Behind The Scenes – Jimmy Thomas & Inessa – Delynn Royer

In my last few posts I talked about my search for the perfect cover model images for the hero and heroine of the next book in my 1920s romantic mystery series, Goodbye Tootsie. (See the happy results at right.)

With that mission accomplished, it was time to shift gears. Design. What should the cover actually look like?

While I’m pretty good at coming up with elements and concepts, I have no sense of how to put them together into an eye-catching design.

1920s Fiction, 1920s romantic mystery, 1920s mystery

A Trixie Frank – Sean Costigan 1920s Romantic Mystery

The first book in the series, It Had to Be You, published by Carina Press, has a gorgeous cover. A vivid black and white close-up of heroine Trixie set against a gauzy backdrop of Manhattan. I couldn’t have asked for anything more spot-on to capture the classic cinema elements that had inspired me to write the book.

But I didn’t have that cover artist any longer. I needed to find my own. I’ve worked with cover designers in the past and loved their work, but this was a different series, and I was curious to try someone new.

I asked for referrals from friends and business contacts. After checking out websites, I contacted award winning cover artist Fiona Jayde.

One thing I liked immediately about working with Fiona was that, after I filled out her questionnaire, she spent some time with me via email batting around a few ideas before we committed to move forward.

Here are ten keywords/ideas we worked with.

1920s
Mystery
Romance
Detective
Gatsby
Wealth
Black & White/Sepia
Art Deco
Classic Cinema
Light

Those keywords–along with my back cover blurb and cover model image–were the three components needed to create my cover. Now, can you picture it?

Neither could I. That’s why we need designers. 🙂

Here it is!

What do you think? Did we nail those keywords?

What does one glance at this cover make you think about the characters? The mood? The story?

If you’ve read It Had to Be You, does the pose and look of these models resemble the Trixie and Sean you imagined?

***

CHECK OUT GOODBYE, TOOTSIE’S NEW BOOK PAGE AND EXCERPT HERE!

COMING FIRST TO AMAZON… JUNE 21, 2015!

January, 1925
Homicide detective Sean Costigan and tabloid reporter Trixie Frank are on the road to romance but at cross-purposes at work when they investigate the New Year’s Eve murder of “Poor Little Rich Girl” Abigail Welles after she comes into control of a family fortune.

Photo Credits

It Had to Be You – Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Goodbye, Tootsie cover art design by Fiona Jayde Media. Learn more About Fiona here.

Custom Photo Shoot and Cover Model Image from RomanceNovelCovers.com

Who are those gorgeous peeps on the cover?

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Delynn Royer

Goodbye, Tootsie. Putting it together: Part Three

Last week, I talked about my almost fruitless mission to find the right leading man to grace the cover of the second book in my 1920s romantic mystery series, Goodbye, Tootsie.

From one end of the internet to the other I searched—one romance stock photo site to the next. That’s right, ladies. One drop-dead gorgeous male model after another after another. It was grueling. (And yes, I have wonderful friends willing to help, but some jobs just can’t be delegated.)

My search for leading man Detective Sean Costigan finally ended at RomanceNovelCovers.com (RNC), where I signed up for two Exclusive Cover Image shots of well known cover model Jimmy Thomas—one for Goodbye, Tootsie and another for the last book now in progress—Good Night, Angela.

Working with site owner Jimmy Thomas turned out to be a pleasure and very similar to working with a cover artist. I answered an emailed questionnaire about my characters—their physical descriptions as well as personalities. The questionnaire also asked about the book’s genre, setting, tone and any ideas I had for poses, costumes or props. I included sample images to illustrate my ideas.

Mr. Thomas came back with a few questions based on the ideas I’d offered—such as, “Should the models be looking at each other? Should one be looking at the camera?” “If so, which one?” These may seem like ABCs to a model or photographer, but I’d never thought about these details, much less the impact they could have.

RomanceNovelCovers.com (RNC) Custom Photo Shoot – Behind The Scenes – Jimmy Thomas & Inessa – Delynn Royer

Soon, I received an email with links to view portfolio shots of female models. Who would be in my top seven to be Trixie? There was no guarantee I would get my first choice. Or even my second or third. Schedules and availability would be taken into account.

I sent back my list and waited. But not for long. Within a couple weeks, I received several high quality proof images in various poses. It was difficult to choose just two, but I did. Those two will be exclusive for my books.

Holy cow! (As Trixie might say.) Had this process been fun or what? Thanks, Jimmy! 🙂

Next up… working with a new cover artist and…

cover reveal!

Having direct input on cover art is one of the aspects of indie publishing I absolutely, hands-down enjoy the most. Indie authors… do you feel the same?

Traditionally published authors … what has your experience been with cover art? Good ? Not so good? (I’ve been both thrilled and horrified.)

Readers… do you judge a book by its cover? Will you buy a book with a mediocre cover? What draws your eye to a book’s cover?

GOODBYE, TOOTSIE
January, 1925
Homicide detective Sean Costigan and tabloid reporter Trixie Frank are on the road to romance but at cross-purposes at work when they investigate the New Year’s Eve murder of “Poor Little Rich Girl” Abigail Welles after she comes into control of a family fortune.

Photo Credits

In Search of Sean Costigan…

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Delynn Royer

Goodbye, Tootsie. Putting it Together: Part Two
In Search of Sean Costigan.

In my last post, I talked about my decision to go indie with the sequel to It Had to Be You. One of the most important things an indie author needs to think about is cover art.

I wasn’t in a position to duplicate the first cover—not with the same artist, model or imagery—but I wanted to preserve some elements. Namely, a classic cinema and vintage feel. That meant black and white.

Also, beautiful as that first cover is, I wanted to depart in some ways. Mainly, I wanted both my lead characters to appear. For that to happen, I needed to find the right leading man.

Thus began my internet search for Detective Sean Costigan.

Who is Sean Costigan?

Sean is a second generation Irish New York City cop. He’s thirty-three years old, smart, driven, and, yes, a bit jaded from years on the job. His smiles are rare. They have to be earned, and he has a dry sense of humor.

What’s he look like?

Sean is 6’1” with raven-colored hair, dusky blue eyes, and a lean, muscular build. As for “type,” I confess to imagining Alex O’Loughlin in the role even though his hair isn’t quite dark enough.

So, I spent hours on the internet searching stock images. There are some sites that cater to romance authors that offer no shortage of beautiful men. (I had a tough job, right?) But believe it or not, my search actually grew tedious.

I had three problems.

Type

While several male models fit Sean’s physical description, few were paired with females who fit my leading lady’s type. (Think Amy Adams .)

Pose

Clinch poses were plentiful, but Goodbye, Tootsie is a romantic mystery, not a full-fledged romance. There’s a difference.

Think about the TV series Castle. How often do you see Beckett and Castle crawling all over each other in their publicity stills? Not often, if ever. That’s because the romantic content of the show—while indispensable to the chemistry—is warm, not hot. It bows to the show’s murder mystery plot in each episode.

Time Period/Costume

I adore the 1920s, but it isn’t the wildest selling time period for historical romance. The scant selection of stock available with Roaring 20s costume reflected that.

**And so, how close was I to throwing in the towel?**

I was ready to surrender and settle for a cover with a feather boa and a hip flask when I decided to give it one more go. I returned to the leading romance sites, starting with RNC—Romance Novel Covers—owned and operated by cover model Jimmy Thomas.

Avid romance readers recognize Mr. Thomas. His image graces the covers of countless novels. He also happens to fit Sean’s physical description. Too bad there were no 1920s period photos that fit my criteria among the wide selection of stock offered on his site. But Mr. Thomas did offer one thing I hadn’t seen elsewhere— exclusive custom cover shots.

By then, I was ready to consider going the extra mile, but, as an indie author, it’s my dollars and cents being invested to put out a quality product as well as my time.

So, I asked myself two questions. How long had I spent writing this book? And how much more time would I spend not only scouring the internet for cover images but editing, formatting and otherwise promoting it?

This made my decision easy. My time is worth a lot—at least, it is to me. So, I signed up.

Next time … working with Jimmy Thomas at RNC to get the perfect shots.

Until then… here’s a behind the scenes peek taken during the custom shoot for the cover for Goodbye, Tootsie. Meet Mr. Thomas and cover model Inessa, who is now my Trixie.

RomanceNovelCovers.com (RNC) Custom Photo Shoot – Behind The Scenes – Jimmy Thomas & Inessa – Delynn Royer

What do you think? Could these two play homicide detective Sean Costigan and perky girl reporter Trixie Frank in the movie? 🙂

Indie authors… Have you ever had trouble finding just the right image or models to grace your covers?

COMING SOON in Summer of 2015!

Cover art design by Fiona Jayde. Learn more About Fiona here.

Photo Credits

It Had to Be You – Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.
Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.