Friday, July 26, 2013

The Bitches of Brooklyn have arrived!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, I know I'm a writer, but this is impossible. How do I begin to tell you..well, I'll start with a tiny story.

Two newbie writers, strangers, show up at the same house at the same time for a Sisters in Crime meeting. One is a master gardener working on her first novel, one in a TV report working on her first novel. they're both wearing black, both happily married, both hard workers, and both basically clueless about the publishing world. Well, wait, the reporter was clueless, the gardener wasn't. Anyway.  They're thrown together on an impromptu panel when the scheduled speaker doesn't show up...and they've been talking together--constantly--ever since.

Rosemary, Jan, Roberta,Hank, Hallie--the original Reds!
That was--gosh, maybe eight years go? And Rosemary Harris and I have been though the trenches since then. You know our stories-- our successes and our adventures, and our travels and even a few escapades.  That encounter grew into..Jungle Red. And here's a photo of us from around that time...

And now, dear RO is embarking on yet another new adventure. Her new book--NOT a mystery but a chic, sleek, funny, wry, witty, clever, emotional and hilarious novel called--well--let Ro tell you.


And let me admit, this brings tears to my eyes. Ro, I love you.

ROSEMARY HARRIS: You...you're amazing! And too kind.  Right back to ya. That day was prophetic. We fell into it as if we'd been giving talks together forever! This book is a new adventure for me. And it's been fun.


Ever felt like you were sitting in the middle of a scene from a book or movie? One that's already been written or one you could see yourself writing?

I had that feeling about three years ago and it was the inspiration for my new book, The Bitches of Brooklyn.

Four friends and I had planned an all-girls weekend in Sedona. We had discussed and agonized over the location for months (we'd be coming from all parts of the country and wanted to be fair in terms of time and expense.) One of us even created a spreadsheet so we could compare the various choices. (She's an accountant.) And then, at the eleventh hour, one of us had to cancel. If I'm not mistaken she had lobbied hardest for the place we finally decided on. That first night - without her - was interesting.

We didn't trash her (hint about the book?) But I did start to think, hmmmm what if she DIDN'T have a last-minute work obligation?

Happily she didn't suffer the grisly fate my missing character did in the first draft. And she didn't do what my character ultimately did - send a note saying that she'd run off with one of their men.

That was the genesis of The Bitches of Brooklyn and in it the four women at the heart of the story, childhood friends named Jane (a bakery owner), Rachel (a vet), Clare (an unemployed producer) and Tina (a teacher and fledgling novelist) spend the weekend eating, drinking and reevaluating their friendships, their marriages, their jobs and their memories. But when Monday comes, these babes want answers. And they go to vastly different lengths to get them.
For me, it was a lot of fun not to feel obliged to have bodies dropping all over the place and to have a non law enforcement professional irrationally inserting herself into a crime scene. Think Paula Holliday with misdemeanors instead of felonies! And...hallelujah...unlike most cozy heroines, they get to have sex.

There's a fair amount of humor - because I can see the humor in practically anything. And if you liked Paula, Babe and Lucy, I think you'll have fun with The Bitches of Brooklyn.

Available as an Amazon download for only $1.99. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3XMPN0
(Don't have a Kindle? I just learned Amazon offers free Kindle apps so you can read a Kindle book on virtually any computer or device. Who knew? http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_390220_30905230_sa_menu_karl?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

HANK: Rosemary! You are brave and fabulous. ANd I know this will instantly be picked up on Lifetime TV! (Would that be fun or what?)  I have a question for you--was it difficult/fun/challenging to write a that's not a "mystery"?  

ANd how about you, Reds--do you have a good friend--who, one day, surprised you? I do--but--hilariously--I can't tell you about it. SInce I promised to keep it secret. But you--you can tell us! But first, go download THE BITCHES OF BROOKLYN.  And toast to our dear RO--who has done something wonderful!

37 comments:

  1. This sounds like a lot of fun . . . I’m off to check it out! Congratulations, Rosemary!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hank and Ro— what a great story! I love stories about lasting friendships more than anything. Great beginning to yours...

    Ro, I'll be reading The Bitches of Brooklyn this weekend. I've had my eye out for a book like this to read. Great timing! And guess what. This is Auntie-Mom's kind of book, so I'm buying a download for her too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Got mine downloaded! It's a very striking cover. Congrats!

    Ro, tell us a little about how you decided to go the ebook route...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations, Ro! Just downloaded mine, too.

    Question - you said it was a relief not to have to drop bodies and clues. But was it difficult to switch out of mystery mode? Your mention of the grisly fate in the first draft makes me think so! Tell us more about the switch.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you, thank you ladies!
    I think at their core all of my previous books have been about friendships. How those friendships are tested under extraordinary circumstances - when a pal is in danger, physical or otherwise. But this time, it was so much about their emotions and insecurities that the cops - the usual mix of inept, helpful or studlike - got in the way of the fun.
    Lucy - I'm so glad you mentioned the cover. I LOVE it. There's a great copy called 99Designs. You tell them what you're looking for and they run a contest for you and you offer a prize to the winner. i got almost 200 designs for the cover and a gal in(from?) the Phillipines came up with this one.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congratulations Rosemary.

    That 99Designs company sounds like a great idea. Why didn't one of us think of that. ;-)

    Anyway, love the cover AND the title. And like Hank says, it sounds like a perfect match with Lifetime television.

    Real Housewives...only fiction...wait that doesn't make sense. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great story about the cover too! I adore it. Just perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ro, When can reviews go up on Amazon?

    What's it like to promote an ebook--what are you doing differently?

    How is Amazon to work with?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't wait to read this! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think reviews go up whenever someone writes one. I think they just can't go up pre-pub.
    Promotion is challenging - particularly since facebook is presenting problms because of the B word. good grief. Sh*t My Dad Says? Go the F*ck to Sleep? Bitch is practically a term of endearment.
    I'm targeting Brooklyn of course, but would love to hear any ideas!

    Thanks, Liz. I loved your Shaggy dog story!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ro, I'm a real pushover for women friendship stories and I look forward to reading yours. It's going to be interesting to me, as a self published person, to watch your promotion skills at work with The Bitches of Brooklyn in hopes I can learn a few things. And I know it's going to be a huge hit - Yay, You!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I thought bitch was a term of endearment, Ro.

    Okay I can't stop laughing. My captcha is bedsies. That could be the title of the next in a series — The Bitches of Brooklyn go Bedsies.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good luck, Ro! Looks like you're off to a wonderful start.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just downloaded it! Can't wait to meet any of Ro's friends! To promote online, just replace the vowels with ampersands or asterisks. That'll make the title a bit more eye-catching I know that's what I'm going to do when I write about it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This sounds great, Rosemary! And I'm someone who does not have a Kindle so I just downloaded my Kindle reader and my first Kindle book to my Mac! Can't wait to dig into it. Love the title and the cover. (99Designs... writing it down.)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Downloaded. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hallie,
    I'm honored! I know how one of the Bitches might refer to this initial experience put I'm going to take the high road and simply say thank you!

    Molly, I would have to change the title on Amazon and on the cover and I'm not convinced (at this point)that facebook ads are worth the effort. If Costco said they'd carry the book with asterisks I'd do it in a heartbeat!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love the cover!

    Love the JRW origins story.

    Can't wait to read this.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I just down loaded it and cannot wait to read it.
    What do they want you to say? The Female Dogs of Brooklyn sounds ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Congratulations! I'll have to download it asap even though the term in the title makes me uncomfortable.

    Good luck with this new book!

    ReplyDelete
  21. This sounds like a lot of fun. It's going right on my list. Congratulations, Ro!

    Triss

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh, my goodness! I have had a Kindle for more than a year, and I simply have not used it, but kindle for mac! On my trusty laptop. I now "own" the Bitches, as well as Lois Duncan's new ebook, "One for the Wolves," her sequel to "Who Killed My Daughter?"

    Thank you, JRW!!!!

    And the ARC I won the other day -- Hank's "Wrong Girl" arrived in the mail.

    Don't look for me!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you, Denise Ann! Hope you love it! (And remember--its not exactly the same as the final version.. I changed some of the "language" a bit to make it more family friendly. :-) Crossing fingers you love it!

    Ro is there any way to tell us more about the story???

    ReplyDelete
  24. Congratulatons, Ro. Just downloaded it and can't wait to get started!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. That would be DEBI- NOT dwebi!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Just downloaded it! I love the Kindle app for my iPod! (My iPod is so tiny there are about 27 words per screen, but when they're such good words I don't even notice!) Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congrats, Ro!!!!!!!! Downloaded, can't wait to read it! And I love the cover, too!

    Hallie, you have started down the dark road of digital temptation:-) Laughing here. It's SO easy to download just one more book...

    I have Kindle on my laptop, my tablet, and my phone. For newbies who might not know, you can manage your Kindle content (move things from one to device to another) by going to your Kindle page on Amazon. You can also put your Kindle content in the "cloud", but then you have to have an internet connection in order to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I downloaded it a couple of days ago. My weekend plans have fallen through and I'm actually happy, because now I have more time for reading! The thing about the word "Bitch" makes me laugh; what if you were writing about dog breeders?!

    ReplyDelete
  29. In addition to my own reunion experience I was inspired by a classic Hollywood film called Letter to Three Wives in which, you guessed it...
    The characters reactions, how they each feel about where they are in life and where they thought they would be by this time was intriguing to me. They are mid-late thirties but I try to stay away from specific ages because I think everyone takes stock at various times in their lives. And all friendships and marriages have their ups and downs.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow, that cover grabbed me!

    I'm interested in your new indie adventures. How's the process been for you with this latest novel? Pros? Cons?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lisa, Lucy et al - how's it going? It's so early. Ask me again in 90 days!
    As far as making it happen - I think I made some good choices in going with the Bowker/Vook Publishing Package and then the Amazon Kindle Select scenario. 99 Designs was amazing. Of the 200 or so entries just a handful were poorly done or unprofessional. The rest could have been created by any major publishing house.
    I don't want to bore anyone with the details...maybe on my next webmistress week I will!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Interesting premise . . . and I think most could relate.
    I saw a quote somewhere to the effect that
    Everyone will disappoint you sometime, including yourself -- learn to forgive.
    I'm working on it . . .

    ReplyDelete
  33. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  34. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Fun and humor as respite from cozy mysteries and murder will be a good thing and then, there's the sex. :) off to download my kindle copy! Thanks for the interview and heads up.

    ReplyDelete