Saturday, November 05, 2011

A Black Hawk Excerpt



At Romcon.  An excerpt (where they're about to make love.)   Here.

At Jeannie Lin's blog.  A fellow author's take on Black Hawk -- always interesting what other authors see --  Here.
You should click on 'books' up at the top and go see her covers.  Some of the loveliest in the business.

At the Debutante Ball.  An interview.  That's here.

Visiting the excellent writers at Risky Regencies.  Here.    There's an excerpt there and some discussion of cats, birds and dogs arising out of why the book is titled Black Hawk.



Where to Buy  Black Hawk


Oh.  I should mention that you can buy Black Hawk, (and it is on special sale in both sites,)  at:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble


Some Interviews with Me and Some Comments on Black Hawk

At Booktopia.  Nine interesting questions about the writing life.  Here.  

At History Hoydens.  An interview where  I talk about the problems of plotting Black Hawk.  There is no corner of that blog that is not interesting.  Here.

At Romance Dish -- you will find just the most flattering and wonderful review here .  That is four wonder folks --Gannon Carr, Buffie Johnson, PJ Ausdenmore, and Andrea Williamson who support Romance genre in all its forms.

Melanie and I, at Bookworm 2 Bookworm, do an interview, talking about the age of the hero and heroine, talking about  writing in general and plugging Black Hawk. That's here.   Bookworm has also posted such a lovely review of Black Hawk.   Here.


Reader I created him has another interview with me.  And it is so thoroughly another interesting place you should be visiting just on general principles anyhow.   That's here.



And I got an excerpt right here  (or Rat Cheer as we say in the South):


His chin was shadowed with a need to shave. She had known a boy three years ago. She did not really know this young man.

I do not know how to ask. Everything I can say is ugly. I do not want this to be ugly.

She gave her attention to pouring hot water onto the tea leaves. Rain drummed on the roof. Since they were not talking, since they were not looking at each other, it seemed very loud. He said, “As soon as you drink that, you should leave. It’s getting worse out there.”

I must do this now, before I lose my courage. “I am hoping to spend the night.”  She chose words carefully, to clarify matters beyond any possibility of misunderstanding. “It is my wish to spend the night with you, in your bed.”

Hawker was silent. He would be this self- possessed if tribesmen of the Afghan plains burst through the door and attacked him with scimitars. The refusal to be ruffled was one of his least endearing traits.

Black Hawk image
Time stretched, very empty of comment, while she swirled the teapot gently and he was inscrutable.  Finally, he took the oil lamp from the end of the mantel and busied himself adjusting the wick, lighting it with a paper spill from the fire. “The hell you say.”



Buying Black Hawk Overseas

Black Hawk is available as an English language book in Germany at amazon.de, here.   They don’t seem to sell the kindle version in Germany.  In the Netherlands, one can order the paperback here , in theory, but possibly not in practice.    The book is available on kindle at amazon.uk here but won't be out in paperback till January 19th. (Thank you, Ute, for the information.)


Book Depository has it here for free delivery worldwide.

28 comments:

  1. Fun having you at the Ball!

    BTW, who is the model/actor you found for your Adrian pics? He looks familiar, but I just can't place him.

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  2. The particular pic on this page has an interesting story behind it.

    I searched five or six of the top stockphoto sites and would have to go back to figure out which company this was with.

    When I went back to the photographer info to see if I could track down other photos of the same model, it turned out this was an amateur, hired for this one shoot.

    I like the pictures. It's difficult to find somebody really 'sharp edged'. Professional models tend to be a softer lot.

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  3. Christine2:28 PM

    What a terrific interview at History Hoydens. I enjoyed it immensely and long wondered about the elusive "cat" you had mentioned previously that was Adrian's pet.

    It's so much fun to read all the interviews as some of the questions are great. (Some I must say are odd but still entertaining!)

    I am sure you have probably already seen it but AAR has posted a wonderful
    review of Black Hawk today. I agree with every word.

    Congratulations again.

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  4. Oh Christine --

    I woke up this morning,
    (kinda under a pile of toddlers,)
    made coffee,
    and fought my way to the machine,
    (there is something called PBSkids that has games you can play if you are of the 2- and 3- year old persuasion,)
    exerted my authority,
    and opened my mail.

    AAR had sent me the news that I had a review up. I knew it had to be good because they had given me a DIK --
    which is DESERT ISLAND KEEPER
    and a great honor in Romancelandia. *g*

    I was so happy. Am so happy. This is just wonderful.

    I was kinda hoping not to screw up too badly with Black Hawk but people like it.

    You may picture me, pleased.

    I will go out and eat Indian to celebrate.

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  5. Jo, I've been wanting more information about Adrian's break-in at 7 Meeks Street for ages. I got the impression in TFR that he had knifed Galba -- but, of course, it would be "several Service agents." And yeah, Doyle would dislocate his knee. Thank goodness for Cat. So who else did he stab? Grey? Fletch?

    What about Lazarus? Did he figure Adrian was a lost cause or was he trying to find a way to free him?

    I'm off to read the AAR review, on which congratulations in advance.

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  8. Jo, I always feel bad when you dismiss My Ladyship's Companion. I think it's charming, and while I realize you were not at the height of your powers, most of us would give a limb to write half as well. Adrian, while not as fleshed out, is definitely Adrian.

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  9. Anonymous3:52 PM

    Love the stepback of the Eiffel Tower which I interpret to mean that Adrian and Justine are going to live until at least the 1880s.

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  10. Hi Anon --

    I think the Art Department is a little elastic on French history.

    I'm going to hold a Top-the-Eiffel-Tower party on my blog in about two weeks.

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  11. Anonymous11:55 AM

    Black Hawk is fabulous book with terrific writing. But the cover is truly awful...I bought the book in spite of the cover. A wonderful book like Black Hawk deserves a better cover.

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  12. Liz in Amman6:17 AM

    Hello- I just wanted to thank you for the book. I stayed up all night to finish reading it, shed (quite) a few tears at all the lovely and angsty parts, and then got up two hours later to go into work. While googling you to look up your backlist, I was much intrigued to find out you are a former FSO. It made my day at the embassy 10x better. I look forward to your next book (Pax!?!) and to glomming the backlist.

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  13. Anonymous6:09 PM

    Congratulations on library journal Reviews top 10 2011 romances! I hope for you and readers everywhere lots more libraries now pick it up! DLS

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  14. Hi Anon --

    I do not understand marketing. I truly do not. And I'm not a visual person.

    So I have to kind of trust that the Berkley people know what they're doing when they give me that cover.

    The step back -- it's the Eiffel Tower. My book ends in 1818. The Eiffel Tower dates to 1889.

    (le sigh)

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  15. Hi Liz --

    I am so glad you enjoyed Black Hawk. I served London and Paris. So useful in writing.

    I was in NEA a while too.
    Seems like FSOs are always writing books. . .

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  16. Hi DLS --

    Thank you so kindly for the congrats. I was pleased beyond measure.

    Did you see the other names on that list!! And me.
    Too cool.

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  17. Anonymous7:25 PM

    Yep . I have read or preordered all but one. Some great books in there. Yours is still my choice fir best of year. DLS

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  18. Hi DLS --

    Oh *g*. You are so very kind.

    I go through those lists at the end of the year and order all of the books I haven't already bought. They are such a great resource.

    Did I ever mention that My OWN LIBRARY doesn't buy my books even though there I am on the Library Journal list and I live here in this small town? Did I ever mention that?
    (jo pouts)

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  19. Anonymous11:10 PM

    That's absurd! Most libraries love stocking local authors never mind award-winning ones! DLS

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  20. I know. I know. I find it bewildering . . .

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  21. Jo, you need to get someone (friends, family members going incognito) to ask the librarians for the book. Our local Borders :( and Barnes & Noble had/have sections devoted to local authors. A couple of times the books of people I know were missing. My expressing shock SHOCK usually had the desired result.

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  22. Oh my. Yes. My library is very hard-nosed however. I don't see them changing their minds soon.

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  23. It is very weird. I have a friend who has published more than 40 children's books. Her local bookstore usually doesn't stock her books.

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  24. I sympathize with local libraries. They must be inundated with local authors whose published work rA uns from the self-pubbed 'Fangs of Doom' to 'Comparison of Level II and Level III Spear Points in Serbian Neolithic Burials'.

    It occurs to me the library staff may be even harder on local authors.

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  25. Carol6:47 PM

    So sorry to hear that about your library. I am a real librarian and I found out about your books via Library Journal as My Lord and Spymaster made one of the top 10 lists for great books of the year - or it might have been Library Page, the free books and other library related info newspaper that we give out at libraries. All libraries I have worked in carry genre fiction, including romances. I ordered MLAS for my library when I saw that and then bought Spymaster's Lady for myself too. Loved them both. There is a big difference between vanity press produced, not-reviewed books written by Uncle Max vs. a book published by a real publisher and vetted as such.

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  26. Sorry not to get back to you sooner, Carol. One of Real Life Intervenes times.

    Thanks so much for liking the books, (and for ordering them for the stacks. *g*) I'm always flattered when a librarian -- who sees all kinds of books -- enjoys the work.

    My own library orders several paperback copies of the top twenty bestsellers in Romance. They keep them in one of those moveable carts off to the side. And we get Inspirational and Amish Romances. In hardback.

    Did I mention I live in a smallish town in the South? I have a feeling the person in charge of ordering books is a tad bit wary of Romances.

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  27. Anonymous10:58 AM

    Jo,

    Just wanted to tell you that the scene following the above excerpt is one of the best I've ever read. Hawker, being very much a man, still acknowledging Justine's emotional trauma. Very sexy!

    Carrie Murgittroyd

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  28. Let me tell you something about editors, which I figger you already know.

    When they are good,m they are very very good. My editor looked at the perfectly adequate love scene I had written to fit in that place and said, (well, wrote actually,) something like 'Hawker deserves a better love scene than this.'

    That's all.

    So I went back and rewrote from scracth and it is better. I am so glad I did.

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