キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか？ しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか？ 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな？』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう？もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain’s Log, Stardate 08.11.2006
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is MY SO-CALLED LOVE LIFE by Allie Pleiter.
My Thursday book giveaway is RELUCTANT BURGLAR by Jill Elizabeth Nelson.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for MY SO-CALLED LOVE LIFE and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
Of not much interest to anyone else except writers...
While I was at RWA, I got the back cover copy and bio that will be on my books. I apparently had to approve them. They were written by Z’s marketing staff, I guess. Have a gander:
[Brief summary]
Lex Sakai never had time for dating until her crafty grandmother insists she bring a date to her cousin’s wedding. The always-in-control Lex uses Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the Perfect Man … but God seems to have a much more unlikely candidate in mind.
[Back ad]
Will Lex Sakai be able to surrender her “perfect man” list and give Mr. All Wrong a chance?
Lex Sakai’s family is big, nosy, and marriage-minded. When her cousin Mariko gets married, Lex will become the oldest single cousin in the clan. And that makes her a moving target for Grandma Sakai, who insists that Lex bring a date to her cousin’s wedding.
Of course, Grandma Sakai has some perfect candidates for Lex. Too bad they don’t speak English! And Lex herself has used her Bible study class on Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the perfect man. But the one man she keeps running into doesn’t seem to have a single quality on her list. Aiden Young is not her type. He’s not a jock, he’s not employed, he’s not a Christian, and he was just dumped by Lex’s cousin, Trish. It’s only when the always-in-control Lex starts to let God take over that all the pieces of this hilarious romance finally fall into place.
CAMY TANG grew up in Hawaii, and worked for years as a biologist/researcher until she felt God’s call to return to the writing that she had loved as a student. She now writes “romance with a kick of wasabi” and, with her husband, is a staff worker at the youth group of the Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church. Solo Sashimi is her first in a series of four romance novels about the single cousins in the Sakai family.
US $.99/UK £.99/CAN $.99
FICTION / ROMANCE / HUMOR
ISBN 0-310-
Camy here: Like how it’s priced at 99 cents? :)
They seem to be marketing it more as romance, which is fine with me. However, I’m realizing that it hopefully won’t look too romancy on the cover or else it might not appeal to my main demographic—20- and 30-something singles, chick-lit lovers.
I also recently received a “writer’s welcome package” of sorts from Z. “The materials accompanying this leter are designed to give you an overview of the editorial, marketing, and sales efforst that will go into successfully publishing your title.”
Cooooooool.
I have an Author Information Form to fill out and send back, and I also have to include a headshot AND the photographer’s written permission to use it. Hmm. Since I don’t have that for my current headshot, I guess that means I have to get another photo done.
They gave me a copy of THE CHRISTIAN WRITER’S MANUAL OF STYLE, which I know is a standard used in most publishing houses alongside THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE. I think I got a copy of THE CHRISTIAN WRITER’S MANUAL OF STYLE because it’s published by Z.
I also got this nifty handbook that tells about Zondervan and a few of their departments like Marketing and Sales. It also talks a bit about their Bibles, Zonderkidz, and Inspirio.
There’s an FAQ section that has mostly stuff I already know—no-brainers like “Will you be giving my manuscript a new title?” (Hell, yes, because the I absolutely suck at titles), “Will every bookstore carry my title?” (Dream on, babe), and “How long will my title be kept in print?” (As long as a certain number of people keep buying it each month, duh.)
I also got a really neat Royalty Reference Guide that shows a sample statement and deciphers the Greek. However, I still can’t keep straight in my head whether “net” or “gross” is retail price and which is wholesale price.
In all, a nice package to get, but also more things for me to do. Gotta find a photographer who will give Z written permission to use the photo.
TMI:
Diet: I exercised five times this week so far! The past few days I mixed things up a bit—I did only one Denise Austin program and then the Power Yoga program. The yoga was quite challenging but also very relaxing with all the stretching.
However, I have apologize to my husband, Captain Caffeine, because I did yoga on Thursday, which was abs and back, and I overdid it. My back was a little sore for the rest of Thursday, but it was fine on Friday.
So I can’t say anything about him complaining his back and then not doing yoga with me. He might have been doing himself a favor.
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is MY SO-CALLED LOVE LIFE by Allie Pleiter.
My Thursday book giveaway is RELUCTANT BURGLAR by Jill Elizabeth Nelson.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for MY SO-CALLED LOVE LIFE and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
Of not much interest to anyone else except writers...
While I was at RWA, I got the back cover copy and bio that will be on my books. I apparently had to approve them. They were written by Z’s marketing staff, I guess. Have a gander:
[Brief summary]
Lex Sakai never had time for dating until her crafty grandmother insists she bring a date to her cousin’s wedding. The always-in-control Lex uses Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the Perfect Man … but God seems to have a much more unlikely candidate in mind.
[Back ad]
Will Lex Sakai be able to surrender her “perfect man” list and give Mr. All Wrong a chance?
Lex Sakai’s family is big, nosy, and marriage-minded. When her cousin Mariko gets married, Lex will become the oldest single cousin in the clan. And that makes her a moving target for Grandma Sakai, who insists that Lex bring a date to her cousin’s wedding.
Of course, Grandma Sakai has some perfect candidates for Lex. Too bad they don’t speak English! And Lex herself has used her Bible study class on Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the perfect man. But the one man she keeps running into doesn’t seem to have a single quality on her list. Aiden Young is not her type. He’s not a jock, he’s not employed, he’s not a Christian, and he was just dumped by Lex’s cousin, Trish. It’s only when the always-in-control Lex starts to let God take over that all the pieces of this hilarious romance finally fall into place.
CAMY TANG grew up in Hawaii, and worked for years as a biologist/researcher until she felt God’s call to return to the writing that she had loved as a student. She now writes “romance with a kick of wasabi” and, with her husband, is a staff worker at the youth group of the Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church. Solo Sashimi is her first in a series of four romance novels about the single cousins in the Sakai family.
US $.99/UK £.99/CAN $.99
FICTION / ROMANCE / HUMOR
ISBN 0-310-
Camy here: Like how it’s priced at 99 cents? :)
They seem to be marketing it more as romance, which is fine with me. However, I’m realizing that it hopefully won’t look too romancy on the cover or else it might not appeal to my main demographic—20- and 30-something singles, chick-lit lovers.
I also recently received a “writer’s welcome package” of sorts from Z. “The materials accompanying this leter are designed to give you an overview of the editorial, marketing, and sales efforst that will go into successfully publishing your title.”
Cooooooool.
I have an Author Information Form to fill out and send back, and I also have to include a headshot AND the photographer’s written permission to use it. Hmm. Since I don’t have that for my current headshot, I guess that means I have to get another photo done.
They gave me a copy of THE CHRISTIAN WRITER’S MANUAL OF STYLE, which I know is a standard used in most publishing houses alongside THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE. I think I got a copy of THE CHRISTIAN WRITER’S MANUAL OF STYLE because it’s published by Z.
I also got this nifty handbook that tells about Zondervan and a few of their departments like Marketing and Sales. It also talks a bit about their Bibles, Zonderkidz, and Inspirio.
There’s an FAQ section that has mostly stuff I already know—no-brainers like “Will you be giving my manuscript a new title?” (Hell, yes, because the I absolutely suck at titles), “Will every bookstore carry my title?” (Dream on, babe), and “How long will my title be kept in print?” (As long as a certain number of people keep buying it each month, duh.)
I also got a really neat Royalty Reference Guide that shows a sample statement and deciphers the Greek. However, I still can’t keep straight in my head whether “net” or “gross” is retail price and which is wholesale price.
In all, a nice package to get, but also more things for me to do. Gotta find a photographer who will give Z written permission to use the photo.
TMI:
Diet: I exercised five times this week so far! The past few days I mixed things up a bit—I did only one Denise Austin program and then the Power Yoga program. The yoga was quite challenging but also very relaxing with all the stretching.
However, I have apologize to my husband, Captain Caffeine, because I did yoga on Thursday, which was abs and back, and I overdid it. My back was a little sore for the rest of Thursday, but it was fine on Friday.
So I can’t say anything about him complaining his back and then not doing yoga with me. He might have been doing himself a favor.
Comments
I think your series is going to do very well. New niche and your the first one out of the gate, I think. Does Z sell much chick-lit? Maybe their more comfortable marketing romance than chick-lit. If the cover art doesn't target the market appropriately, you might have to push back a little...gently.
Educate me, the aspiring author. They're not really going to sell your book for $0.99, are they? This is just a placeholder/default until the final stages?
This has got to be so exciting for you :-)
Thanks for giving us a glimpse of the behind the scenes of what an author (yes, that would be you!) goes through in publishing her book.
I know I can't wait to read the whole series :-)
Blessings,
Sheryl
LOL no, they're not going to sell it for $0.99, that's just until they decide on the price.
Camy
hugs & blessings,
Vicki
"My Blog". Or next time I'm in town, I can take your photos for you!
I'm so excited for you!
Shirlee
Way to go on the exercising. I've been doing a yoga DVD and man does it stretch you out. :)