Thursday, September 20, 2012

Guest Post: Justine Dell and Giveaway

Please welcome the lovely Justine Dell who is here today sharing with us what she learned while writing her latest book, Recaptured Dreams. She is also offering an exciting giveaway. More on that later. Take it away, Justine. 

Probably the most important thing I learned while writing this particular book was: sometimes less is more.

You see, this book is only 63,506 words. The original version was only 42,000. Of course it’s changed and grown since then, but I learned the importance of keeping the focus on the hero and heroine in the story. For me I enjoy romances that are succinct, capturing only what’s needed to be captured instead of adding all those other characters and plot layers.

I love romance stories because of the developing relationship between the two main characters and when I wrote this, I learned just how hard it was to stay focused on them. It was so easy to veer in the wrong direction or add stuff that didn’t really add to the story or developing relationship. So while I like reading stories like that, I found it very difficult to actually do. However, because this story was originally written for a specific line with a specific word count, I had to keep the word count low. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But one of the greatest lessons, too. I learned, that while hard, I can write a powerful and compelling love story and do it with as few words as possible, keeping the attention and focus on what matters: the building relationship.

Book blurb: Ten years, the Atlantic Ocean, and several rungs in society have kept Xavier Cain from having Sophia Montel. Now twenty-seven, he’s spent his entire adult life building a fashion empire that could finally prove his worth to her family. When fate reunites him with Sophia at London’s premiere fashion show, one problem lodges in Xavier’s path: Sophia doesn’t remember him.

The only obstacle that has kept Sophia from Xavier is a horrific car crash that erased her memory at seventeen. She’s spent the last ten years fighting to reclaim a sliver of her past that her mother refuses to help her remember. When Sophia meets Xavier at the London show, however, all her fantasies come to life in one night of passion. Discovering he is the missing link, she is determined to find all the pieces to their love story and her memory.

Xavier wants forever. Sophia wants her memory. If they take this chance, they’ll have to start over. How far are they willing to go get what they want? And when the past catches up to them, can they handle the truths it has hidden? Contact Justine by email: dell.justine@gmail.com

Recaptured Dreams on Amazon
Recaptured Dreams on Goodreads.
Recaptured Dreams on Facebook.
Friend her on Facebook
Check out her Blog.
Find her on Twitter.
Find Recaptured Dreams on Goodreads Profile

And don't forget to check out Omnific Publishing. Romance ... without the rules.

Giveaway: Justine will give a copy of her ebook at EACH blog stop! All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment. At the end of every day she'll do the random number generator thing and pick a winner. I'll need the winning blogger's email address and all the prizes will be sent out at the end of the month. On top of that, she'll be hosting a contest on her blog for the entire month. she's going to give away a signed copy of the book, several other new releases, bookmarks, cool, random stuff, and gift cards! 

30 comments:

DWei said...

I can't write anything romance based. It just comes off forced and artificial at best, and awkward and sickeningly sweet at worst.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Justine rocks!
Nothing wrong with that length. Neither of my books are very long. Sometimes just sticking to story works better than adding all of that fancy description and various subplots.

Theresa Milstein said...

Nice to see Justine here. I like the mystery woven with the romance.

Charmaine Clancy said...

Cool premise! I don't write to a word count either, just write until I've told the story. Lovely cover design.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Character, character, character...focus and concise. Less can definitely mean more at times. Love the post. So happy for you, Justine!

DEZMOND said...

Justine's everywhere around the blogosphere this week :)
We do love us some romance!

Unknown said...

I really like short books. Sometimes we think we have to put in extra words to get the point across and really, it just muddles the point of the story. Well done!

JE said...

Thanks for having me on your blog today Lynda! And thanks to everyone for popping by and commenting. I'll swing by later and pick a comment winner for that day! ;-)

~JD

shelly said...

I read something on this the other day. Sounds like a really good read.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

Jai Joshi said...

I totally agree that less is more, Justine. I'm always trying to say as much as possible in as few words as possible.

Jai

Libby said...

Whoot whoot! What a clever idea for a giveaway. I'm stealing it! Also, my novel is just under 60k but I'm not fretting, one of my favorite books is only 125 pages and it was amazing! The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark. Amazing. Good to meet you!

Esther Jones said...

That's an interesting twist on the amnesia trope. I'm intrigued. And as a poet, I agree that fewer words can often be more powerful.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Recaptured Dreams sounds great. I agree with Justine that less is more. Wish I could follow it strictly. Good luck to Justine.

Ellie Garratt said...

I agree with, Alex. It's about writing the correct length for the story. Anything more is forced.

Congratulations on Recaptured Dreams!

Victoria Lindstrom said...

Great advice from Justine! Thanks for hosting her, Lynda!

M Pax said...

I learned to write more succinct, too, Justine. More isn't always better, as you say. All success on your new release.

Have a great weekend, Lynda!

Luanne G. Smith said...

Congrats on the release! And I think a tightly worded, succinct story focusing on the main characters and their relationship would work wonderfully for a romance novel. :)

Karen Lange said...

Lynda, thanks for the intro to Justine and her book! Congrats, Justine! Wishing you much success.

Christine Rains said...

Congratulations, Justine! The book sounds awesome and that cover is gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

CONGRATS on the book!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Congratulations on the release of your book, Justine. I agree wholeheartedly that "less can be more." Why keep the camera rolling after the movie's in the can?

Tonja said...

I think less is more.

Golden Eagle said...

Congratulations to Justine! :)

It's interesting how much a story can be condensed if it has to be.

Mark said...

I def agree with the less is more comment, however, I've found that agents often have certain expectations for a specific genre. For myself, they usually prefer pretty long novels for Historical Fiction.

JE said...

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on Lynda's blog this week! And I'm super glad to see that people agree that less is more ;-) Maybe together we can spread the word!

Here are the winners for commenting today:
L.G. Smith--ebook winner
Tonja & Shelley--bookmark winners

Congrats!

~JD

Anonymous said...

I like stories to get to the point and I've noticed with my past few drafts that my writing is getting tighter, which I like.

I also love romance.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and a big thanks to Justine. Your books sounds great!!

Congrats LG Smith, Tonja and Shelley!!! I'll make a bigger announcement of the winners in my next post.

Melissa said...

I bought a copy already, and now, after reading this, I'm REALLY looking forward to reading it. I love a good romance! :)

Unknown said...

Every time I see this cover I think how pretty the dress is :-)

Unknown said...

Love the cover! The story sounds terrific too...I;m looking forward to reading it!