Saturday 12 January 2008

Breaking News! Announcing CAFÉ AU LAIT, the novel!


This is what happens when you Google yourself at 1AM. You stumble across a PDF file with your name, Liane Spicer. Next to it you see the title of your about-to-be-released novel, and it stops you in your tracks. Interesting. You have been careful to never mention the title of said novel online anywhere, since you've heard that publishers can change to a title they consider more marketable. You scratch your head and click on the main link. A blank page comes up. Hmm. There's another link that says View as HTML, so you click there and... presto! It's a page of book titles: January 2008 IPDA book update!

Interestinger and interestinger. You don't have a clue what IPDA is, naturally, but your name is in there somewhere, along with the title of your novel! So you use the 'find' feature on the browser, enter your name, and...

It's official! CAFÉ AU LAIT by Liane Spicer is on a mass market lead titles list for 2008! You have no idea what 'lead titles list' actually means, but it sounds good! It's a Leisure title, and Wikipedia informs you that Leisure is an imprint of Dorchester, your publisher, but it's a horror imprint. Your eyes bug. You skedaddle over to the publisher's website and ascertain that Leisure does, in fact, publish romance. You wipe the sweat off your brow. Had you going for a moment there! Shame on you, Wiki!

The mysterious webpage even gives an On Sale Date: 8/26/08

Finally, it's all beginning to seem real to you. You're a writer!

A few thank-you notes are in order:
  • Thank you, M.B., for your gentle urging all those years ago to pursue my writing dream. There's been a lot of water under lots of bridges, but when I think of the beginning it's you I think of.
  • Thank you, Vaughn, for telling me (back in Miami when you first read the manuscript) that I was a writer, even though I insisted that I hadn't earned the title since I hadn't published anything. Thank you too for your yeoman service as my first reader and critic.
  • Thank you, sis, for believing in me, always, always, always.
  • Thank you, D, for being a true friend through all my ups and downs.
  • Thank you, Rich, for being the great son that you are - and for all the computer and internet stuff.
  • Thank you, blog buddies, for the fellowship over the past six months of this journey to publication.
  • And thank you, all you writers, agents and editors out there, for the innumerable websites, blogs and articles where you provide newbie writers with free information on both the craft of writing and the business of publishing. Special thanks to those I've listed on the 'Links' page.
Gosh, that sounds like one of those soggy Oscar acceptance speeches. But I mean every word.

UPDATE: According to author Rowan Coleman over at Novel Racers, "...normally a lead title means your publishers are putting it top of their submissions list for which ever months your book is published in. They are telling the trade they consider it a lead title and worth buying in great quantities."

Thanks for the info, Rowan. This doesn't sound like a bad thing at all!

19 comments:

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

Wow, that's fantastic! Very many congratulations.

Pacha said...

Well, this post choked me up. I'm so happy for you! And I can't wait for the 26th August! (I will be able to order it online, won't I?)
Soooooo exciting and soooooo pleased for you!

Jenny Beattie said...

OMG, Wordtryst, that's so wonderful - how exciting for you. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Congratulations.
JJx

Anonymous said...

congratulations! that must have been so exciting, coming across notification of the book like that. And so very cool. Congrats again!

kim said...

I love it!

I will be so excited to see your book in stores. It was cool seeing orion's book and we aren't even blogging buddies -- I just read on her blog a bit after seeing her book on manic's blog.

You will be my first official published blogging buddy. I will even buy your book for friends and relatives and say, "my blogging buddy wrote it."

There's something to getting your name out there on-line because I don't do romance novels. I would have walked right on by it in stores -- but now I eagerly anticipate because I love your writing already and I think you are awesome.

I'm so glad you decided to start blogging.

Congratulations on the successful google ;o).

Dave said...

Congratulations... I'll be back to read more of you... :-)

Sandra Cormier said...

Your book will be released one day after my 24th Anniversary so it'll be a great reminder to look for it.

It's so great that authors can connect and learn through these wonderful blogs. A writer's life isn't solitary anymore.

Isn't it wonderful that you can refer to your book by its title? I use Google Alert and I still poke around the internet for my name!

Congratulations!

Sandra Cormier said...

I added you to my blogroll. Don't forget to put your title in your sidebar!

Anonymous said...

I am always the last to get good new!! WOWW!!! and Congratulations :))

I suppose the publishers are going to start marketing CAFÉ AU LAIT by Liane Spicer soon and I am sure a bio would be in order for both the website and the book.

I wonder if it's going to be available on Amazon (USA)? It was an emotion-filled and very nice acceptance speech, and it is a well deserved reward :)

Kaz Augustin said...

Yes, I had noticed you never mentioned the title! ::grin::

That's FANTABULOUS news. Bet you're walking on air. Wanted to post this before I check out the links in question. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Liane Spicer said...

Zinnia, thank you. It's wonderful to be able to share this with everyone. Is the Internet cool or what?

Pacha and akalol, thank you. I checked the publisher's website and yes, their books are available online and at all the major outlets for mass market.

JJ and Chennette, I'm pretty excited here - and that's an understatement. Thank you.

Kim, isn't it wonderful? I used to see Orion around on Snark's blog but I never really interacted with her. Even so I was very excited when her book came out.

I agree about the power of the Internet. I won a western romance on Cheryl St. John's blog, and even though this is a genre I would never glance at in the store I not only read it, I liked it!

I too am looking forward to reading the books written by people I met online. Now that I once again have a day job [groan] I can begin working through my 'to buy' list.

Thanks for the encouraging words re my writing. I'm not at all awesome - just trying to do what I love and hopefully make a living from it at some point.

Dave! Good to see you back in these parts. Your post made me think really hard about calling my dad, and guess what? I did it!

Thank you, Chumplet. I've had more fun in the six months that I've been blogging than I've had in, oh, ages. The sense of isolation from the rest of the writing world is history now. And thanks for the blogroll add-in (I'll reciprocate, of course) and for the Google Alerts hint - and also for the reminder to put the title up on the blog.

akalol, ack. The speech! :) The editor did in fact e-mail me two weeks ago with a bio request.

Kaz, you noticed?!?! Walking on air doesn't begin to describe it. FANTABULOUS indeed.

Thanks for the good vibes, everyone!

Lane Mathias said...

Cripes Liane, that's fantastic news. Looking forward to reading it as soon as it comes out!

Matt said...

HOORAY!!!!
That's amazingly exciting. I hope the euphoria lasts forever. :)

KeVin K. said...

Oh, cool! I know a writer!

Liane Spicer said...

Lane, fantastic is the word. Now the countdown has begun in earnest. Seven months to go...

Matt, I'm trying to hold on to the good feelings because I know they can't last forever, life being what it is. So I'm stretching this out as long as I can... :)

Very funny, Kevin. I'll go one better. I know a multi-published writer. [Yes, I mean you.]

The Anti-Wife said...

WooHoo!!!!!! This is great news and I love the title. Can't wait for it to hit the stores.

Liane Spicer said...

Ooh, Anti-wife! You love the title! I kinda like it myself and I'm soooo glad the publisher kept it!

PJ said...

wI'm looking forward to reading your novel this summer, congrats!

Liane Spicer said...

Thank you, PJ! I can hardly wait myself!