IT'S HERE!!!

It's here!!! DUTIFUL WIFE has gone live today!

For those of you who don't know, it's been a while. I loved writing Regencies for Signet and when they closed the line I was sad not only for myself as an author but also as a reader. Signet has been bringing out backlist titles and now some new titles as well in e-book format.

Here's the cover for DUTIFUL WIFE: 

What happens when a viscount must marry and chooses a girl he thinks will be docile and sweet only to discover that isn't what he's getting at all? And what if having his life shaken up is just what he needs?

You can find it at your favorite e-book store. You can find it at Amazon for kindle and at Barnes and Noble for Nook or at Penguin's own website.

I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

New date for Book in a Week class

I've rescheduled the Book in a Week class to start September 30 (full details of class in blog post below. This means that the class will end November 9 and the two intensive writing weeks will be October 20 to November 4. Deadline to sign up will be September 28.

 Note: I realize this coincides with both the NJRW and NINC conferences. The NJRW conference, however, falls during one of the "quieter" and more laid back weeks of the class. The NINC conference falls during the writing weeks but the class now does include TWO writing weeks rather than one so there's still plenty of time to write.

 Why take my Book in a Week class? Every writer's brain works a little differently. The more you know about what works for YOU, the easier it is to write and the better you can write. By the end of this class you'll have a pretty good idea when and where and how you write best AND what kind of brainstorming ahead of time is most useful to YOU.

 My goal is to suggest ways to brainstorm and think about your book that you won't see anywhere else. My goal is also to help you recognize your own unique strengths and how to work with them.

 As I said, details about cost, how to sign up, etc. are in the blog post below. I look forward to hearing from you!

Note that this will probably be the last Book in a Week class in 2012 because it's too hard to schedule in November and December due to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Next Book in a Week online class

Why BIAW?

 It's time for another Book in a Week class! Based on response to the last two classes, it's clear that people prefer having 2 weeks to write and therefore a 6 week class so that's what I'm offering again this September 2012. Here are the details.

 NEXT BOOK IN A WEEK ONLINE CLASS

Cost: $85 ($45 if you have taken it before)
 Dates: September 16, 2012 to October 26, 2012
Deadline to sign up: September 14, 2012 (though I do sometimes take people at the last minute if there is still room in the class)
Lessons: Everything is handled via email so that you can do the work at your convenience.
Class size is limited.

 Payment for the class may be made by check or by PayPal. To sign up send an email to aprilkihlstrom@yahoo.com with the title of the class you wish to take in the header and in the body of the email please put: your name and whether you prefer to pay by check or PayPal. Also, please let me know if you have taken the class before. Note: If you do not get a response back from me, please try emailing me at april.kihlstrom@gmail.com. Unfortunately email does sometimes simply disappear into cyberspace.

Class Description: This class will take you through every step of the writing process—from beginning to brainstorm all the way through sending material out to be published. And it will help you discover who YOU are as a writer. You can participate as much or as little as you like in email discussions.

 Weeks 1-3: This is when you do the prep work with lessons that are designed to get you thinking in new ways about your project. Among other things, I'll cover characters and book structure, imagery and use of names, POV and how to make sentence and paragraph structure work for you. If you choose, you can post answers and get help brainstorming ideas for your book but NO ONE is required to do so!

 Weeks 4 and 5: Intensive Writing Weeks (October 6, 2012 through October 21, 2012)This is your chance to write better and faster than you ever have before, to discover what YOUR natural first draft will look like and ways to fit writing into your life that you may never have thought of before.

 Week 6: Here's your chance to look at the experience of weeks 4 and 5 and use it to create a writing method that works for YOU and is tailored to your most natural writing style. We'll also look at how to revise your work in the fastest, most effective way possible and I'll be sharing some of my thoughts on query letters, synopses, etc.

 Does BIAW work? Well, a number of people who have taken this class are now published or under contract and/or finalled in or won contests with material they worked on during my classes!

 Bio: April Kihlstrom is an award winning author of 31 published romance novels (32 as of October 2012). She offers coaching to fellow writers as well as classes and workshops on writing and has spoken at many conferences including: the Romance Writers of America national conference (romance) and the East of Eden conference (non-romance).

 Testimonials from students who have taken the Book in a Week class: 

 Flo Fitzpatrick wrote: "I hope you get a ton of students, April! ONE OF THE BEST WORKSHOPS I EVER TOOK!!!! (It enabled me to write Hot Stuff in a week - and that book received four and half stars - Gold on RT Reviews and is under option for film.) TAKE THIS CLASS, PEOPLE!!!!"

 “I have taken several online classes, none of them writing related. Still, none of them have been as well planned, documented and executed as BIAW.”

 “Wow...Let me begin by saying Thank you Thank you Thank you! What an amazing process and generous amount of information given in a relatively short amount of time!”

 “This course was certainly value for the money. A price can't be placed on the invaluable information and experience you imparted during this course.”

 “I'm a better writer. I'm a faster writer. I'm a more confident writer.”

COLORADO

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy. I watch the news and know that grief can be overwhelming, that it all seems senseless and once more we are being reminded that lives can change in an instant.

It is at times like this that writers are needed most even as we are likely to wonder if our writing matters at all. But it does. We writers can give voice to grief, words to pain and comfort through what we write.

Some writing will explore the question everyone is asking: Why? There are writers who through their words explore how someone can be in so much pain that they will lash out as this shooter did.

Other writers offer hope through stories of how people can rise above tragedies like this one. Some will write of heroes and others simply of every day people doing the best they can.

Some writers will create the shared experience of grief so that no one has to be alone in what they feel.

Some writers will simply offer comfort and distraction at a time when emotions might otherwise be overwhelming.

I’ve heard it said over the past few days that a sense of community matters and I absolutely agree. Writers help to create that sense of community. Writers so often help to show how people who seem different are almost always more like us than not, that hopes and dreams and fears can be universal.

Writing matters, perhaps most of all at times like this. What we write has the ability to touch hearts and minds. What we write may help make sense of what otherwise would seem overwhelming. What we write may provide both hope and a kind of road map for the ways that people can overcome or at the very least survive the challenges in their lives.

What we write matters and each of us has a unique voice with which to do so. That voice will resonate with those who most need to read what we have to say.

If you are a writer, note your own reactions, your own emotions. Pay attention to how you handle those and how others handle theirs. Even if you do not do so now, the time may come when this knowledge will inform your writing and help you to add depth to what you write and make it more compelling and in doing so what you write may help someone in the moment they need it most.

Writing matters.

JULY BOOK IN A WEEK ONLINE CLASS

It's time for another Book in a Week class! Based on response to the last two classes, it's clear that people prefer having 2 weeks to write and therefore a 6 week class so that's what I'm offering again this July 2012. Here are the details.

NEXT BOOK IN A WEEK ONLINE CLASS

Note: You can sign up to be notified when I am offering this or any other class by using the link on the righthand side of the blog.

Book in a Week Online Writing Class

Cost: $85 ($45 if you have taken it before) Dates: July 15, 2012 to August 24, 2012 Deadline to sign up: July 13, 2012 (though I do sometimes take people at the last minute if there is still room in the class) Lessons: Everything is handled via email so that you can do the work at your convenience.

Class size is limited.

Payment for the class may be made by check or by Paypal.To sign up send an email to aprilkihlstrom@yahoo.com with the title of the class you wish to take in the header and in the body of the email please put: your name and whether you prefer to pay by check or Paypal. Also, please let me know if you have taken the class before.

Note: If you do not get a response back from me, please try emailing me at april.kihlstrom@gmail.com. Unfortunately email does sometimes simply disappear into cyberspace.

Class Description: This class will take you through every step of the writing process—from beginning to brainstorm all the way through sending material out to be published. And it will help you discover who YOU are as a writer. You can participate as much or as little as you like in email discussions.

Weeks 1-3: This is when you do the prep work with lessons that are designed to get you thinking in new ways about your project. Among other things, I'll cover characters and book structure, imagery and use of names, POV and how to make sentence and paragraph structure work for you. If you choose, you can post answers and get help brainstorming ideas for your book but NO ONE is required to do so!

Weeks 4 and 5: Intensive Writing Weeks (August 4, 2012 through August 19, 2012)This is your chance to write better and faster than you ever have before, to discover what YOUR natural first draft will look like and ways to fit writing into your life that you may never have thought of before.

Week 6: Here's your chance to look at the experience of weeks 4 and 5 and use it to create a writing method that works for YOU and is tailored to your most natural writing style. We'll also look at how to revise your work in the fastest, most effective way possible and I'll be sharing some of my thoughts on query letters, synopses, etc.

Does BIAW work? Well, a number of people who have taken this class are now published or under contract with material they worked on during my classes!

Bio: April Kihlstrom is an award winning author of 31 published romance novels (32 as of October 2012). She offers coaching to fellow writers as well as classes and workshops on writing and has spoken at many conferences including: the Romance Writers of America national conference (romance) and the East of Eden conference (non-romance).

Testimonials from students who have taken the Book in a Week class:

Flo Fitzpatrick wrote: "I hope you get a ton of students, April! ONE OF THE BEST WORKSHOPS I EVER TOOK!!!! ( It enabled me to write Hot Stuff in a week - and that book received four and half stars - Gold on RT Reviews and is under option for film.) TAKE THIS CLASS, PEOPLE!!!!"

“I have taken several online classes, none of them writing related. Still, none of them have been as well planned, documented and executed as BIAW.”

“Wow...Let me begin by saying Thank you Thank you Thank you! What an amazing process and generous amount of information given in a relatively short amount of time!”

“This course was certainly value for the money. A price can't be placed on the invaluable information and experience you imparted during this course.”

“I'm a better writer. I'm a faster writer. I'm a more confident writer.”

Signet's New Regency Line

If you read my blog you know by now that Signet is resurrecting the traditional Regency--in ebook format only at this time and they are starting with back list titles but 2 new Regencies will be out by the end of 2012. One of them is mine.

If you loved the traditional Regencies, I hope you'll support Signet by buying titles by your favorite authors. You don't have to buy mine--there are a bunch available. You can check them out here: Signet Regency ebooks

And yes, they are available for kindle and nook and I think other e-readers. You can do a search on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or whatever ebook store you usually use as well once you know which titles Signet is releasing. Or just do a search for Intermix Signet Regency on your favorite e-book website.

I think we all benefit when any new venue opens up for Regency authors. That's one reason I agreed to join Signet in this experiment--because it's not just about how much money I can make but the existence of our beloved genre.

Signet let me write about all sorts of issues dear to my heart and play with fun possibilities as well. I have a son with Down syndrome and got to write a book with a secondary character who was mentally impaired. I got to write about issues of abuse. I got to write a series (the one they're reissuing) with a magic locket. When I did a series with a governess readers loved, Signet allowed me to giver her a book so that she could find happiness, too.

I would love to see Signet's Regency line prosper again and for that to happen it will need our support. So please check out Signet's new Regency ebook line. See if you can find old favorites or perhaps books by your favorite traditional Regency authors that you missed the first time around.

As we all know, with ebooks the challenge is to have visibility. Therefore, if we all buy over a day or two, that will help more than sales spread out over a week--or two or three. So I'm going to ask/suggest that if you want to support Signet's efforts to have a traditional Regency line, please consider buying at least one ebook today, Thursday May 10, 2012 and/or tomorrow, Friday May 11, 2012. Mind you, none of the authors or Signet will mind if you buy books on other days as well! I'd just love to see these Regencies gain some visibility quickly so that those who make the decisions at Penguin can see there really is an interest in traditional Regencies.

If you ARE interested in any of my books, check out my book page on this blog.

Warmest wishes,
April Kihlstrom

Exciting News from Signet

In 2012, Signet will be reissuing 33 Regency romances as part of ther Intermix e-book line and there will be 2 original Regency titles by the end of the year! Look for Signet's Love Always Facebook Fan page in May. Meanwhile....here is a postcard my publisher has sent out.