Skip to main content

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Chick-lit, originality, and Brandilyn Collins

Captain’s Log, Stardate 05.12.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is PINK by Marilynn Griffith.
My Thursday book giveaway is THE PREACHER’S DAUGHER by Lyn Cote
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for PINK and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.

Chick-lit: I did take time today to catch up on a couple e-mail loops I’m on, one of which is the chick-lit loop. There’s been a really good discussion about where the genre’s going—if it’s evolving, if it’s dying, what?

Most people had good points. One woman especially said something that resonated with me, and which I think applies to most other genres as well:

A lot of chick-lit now being published is a lot of the same rehashed storylines. You know what I’m talking about—bridezilla, weirdo mother, dating lots of losers, etc. It’s making chick-lit readers bored.

As chick-lit writers, we have to take the essence of chick-lit—the voice, the plight of the single 20- or 30-something woman—and give it a different spin. If we keep up with the market and see that bridezilla is being overdone, then take a different theme and turn it on its head. It forces writers to be more creative, more unique, more original.

I see this a lot in entries I judge. Some entries have a really unique theme, idea, premise, or characters. However, many of them don’t have that something different to make it stand out as a story.

I think writers sometimes don’t pay enough attention to that aspect of storytelling. The characters are so real, the story so alive in their minds, they don’t want to think that it needs a boost of something to make it memorable.

MEMORABLE.

Scarlett. Everyone knows who I’m talking about.
Bond. Don’t even have to say his first name.
Darth Vader. (Okay, that’s actually movies)
Harry Potter. (No discussions from the anti-HP corner)

They’re all memorable stories. Scarlett puts b*tch in a whole ‘nother level. When it first came out, Ian Fleming’s James Bond was THE man’s man. Darth Vader is not your typical “son betrayed by father” story. Harry’s stories make the wizard/witch fantasy something out of the box.

I’ll take Brandilyn Collins as an unwitting example. EYES OF ELISHA, DREAD CHAMPION—her Christian heroine has visions and solves crimes. Innovative, especially when it first came out, especially within Christian fiction. Not your typical suspense, not your typical paranormal, not your typical crime story.

Okay, okay, my rant is over. But all you writers (and there are a lot of you who read this blog) really analyze your story. What makes you stand out within your genre?

TMI:

Diet: According to my body fat % scale, I’m down one fat percentage! I don’t know how, considering I haven’t been eating that well lately and exercise has been nonexistent. But oh well! I’ll take it!

Comments

woohooo down one fat percentage!!!! yay!!!
Ruth said…
Congrats on the diet!! :) And great thoughts on chick-lit!
Delia said…
I read a lot of books of many different genres. My favorites are romance (of pretty much any kind) and you do see a lot of repetition in the themes, characters, conflicts, etc. What does make the same storylines still interesting is when the author adds that little something special that makes it his/her own.

Way to go on losing one fat percentage! But, wait a minute...I think...maybe...yep, it somehow made it's way here, lol.
Mirtika said…
Actually, heroines solving crimes with visions was done in the romanctic suspense genre before Brandilyn (in films on tv, and by Linda Howard and others). Brandilyn had the schmarts to put the Christian Fiction touch on it and bring it to CBA. :)

Mir
Ruth said…
Hi Camy -- I sent you an email w/ my address yesterday afternoon -- it must've not gone through. I'll send you another one here in a sec. Sorry about the delay! Thanks!! Ruth
Anonymous said…
I think a lot of what you said about the chick lit realm has to do with character. We have to not only care about her, but we have to believe in her and her struggle. True, storylines can become cliched, but it's the characters (like Scarlett, Bond, Vader and Harry) that stick with us after the cover of the book has turned. That's how I want to stand out: memorable characters. Hmmm... maybe I should get back to my WIP on that note.

And congrats on the lost 1%!

Popular Posts

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

Camille's Writing Progress

Join my newsletter to get regular updates in your inbox!

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And

Lady Wynwood's Spies Special Edition paperbacks covers revealed!

I’m in the process of formatting Special Edition paperback editions of all the Lady Wynwood’s Spies volumes so far. Click below to see the new covers for the Special Editions! (You may need to sign up for a free Patreon account to see the covers) As a bonus, I’ve also included an image of what the outside edge designs will probably look like! Check out the pretty new covers

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci

Captivating, chapter 3

Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.30.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is CONSIDER LILY by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. My Thursday book giveaway is LOVE ONLINE by Kristin Billerbeck and Nancy Toback . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for CONSIDER LILY and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. Haunted by a Question: Sorry, this is really long again. As before, some things I liked and some questions. Eve—What Happened? The authors say: “[Eve] brought strength to the world, but not a striving, sharp-edged strength. She was inviting, alluring, captivating.” I don’t know if I buy that. I don’t know if I really see how being inviting, alluring, or captivating is a strength. I understand how restfulness (restful inner beauty?) can be a strength, or solidity like a rock. To me, that’s strength. But being alluring? Captivating? Then they talk about “Why do so few wom

Just another day at youth group

My Christian contemporary romance, Single Sashimi , includes some of the wilder tales from my and my husband’s stints as youth staff workers at our church. The Steven character in the book is actually the same Steven who’s the associate pastor and youth group leader at our church now, since I wrote Single Sashimi when he was still in youth group. :) He’s a young man in his late twenties (maybe early thirties?), and he’s full of great ideas and lots of energy. On one particular Saturday, my husband and I were at youth group as usual. Steven had bought a tug of war rope—the really long, thick kind that looks like it belongs on a sea trawler. The opening game for the kids was, of course, tug of war. Then we came indoors for a three-song worship set. After worship, we usually split up into Junior High and High School for lessons, but this time Steven had an idea: “Okay guys, we’re going to have a tug of war--staff versus kids. If you guys win, we’ll ditch the lesson and go out t

Keriah's Narrow Crescent Scarf

In my series Lady Wynwood’s Spies, my character Keriah is more emotional than her friend Phoebe, and so when writing about her in Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 6: Martyr , naturally I described her scarf as having more lively colors than the greens and blues that Phoebe favors. I didn’t really have a particular yarn colorway in mind when I wrote the scene, but when looking through my stash to knit her scarf, I found the Carnival colorway in Knit Picks Chroma Twist Fingering, and it was absolutely perfect for her. Chroma Twist Fingering is discontinued, but you could knit this in Chroma Fingering or any other color-transitional yarn. In the Regency era, a tri-color 3-ply yarn like Chroma Twist Fingering would probably not have been sold in shops, but it also may not have been completely unheard of. It is made by simply dying the wool rather than the finished yarn, and then the dyed wool would be split into 3 parts and each part spun into a single ply, before all three plies

What's a Kickstarter and what will I get from it?

I’m hoping to do a Kickstarter in late July or early August, and I thought I’d post this to answer a few questions you might have about it. What’s a Kickstarter and why’s Camy doing one? My Kickstarter is a crowdfunding campaign to fund the production of a Special Edition hardcover with dust jacket of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer. Depending on how this Kickstarter goes, eventually I would like to do Special Edition hardcovers of the other books in the series. For all you avid fans of the series, this Kickstarter will also offer an early release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. However, the main focus of this campaign is the Special Edition hardcover of book 1. Kickstarter isn’t a shopping website, but I admit I kind of feel like I’m shopping when I back a campaign for books or items that look fantastic! Why Kickstarter: Kickstarter enables me to produce the kinds of gorgeous special editions that I love and offer them to you, my readers, so you can