Tuesday, December 1, 2009

MISTRESS Release Day

Golly, that headline sounds like I've been keeping some woman and I'm finally letting her go. That's not what I meant! But that is the theme for what I was going to write about today.

Today is the official release date for my debut Regency Historical Romance, MISTRESS BY MISTAKE. Yay! So exciting! It is also a day my husband has been seriously dreading.

You see, my husband is a good man. He's a dedicated man. He's a man of deep conviction. And he's a minister. Now, he's always been very supportive of my writing efforts but it wasn't until just recently he realized truly and intimately what exactly it is that I write. He tried to read my book.

MISTRESS BY MISTAKE is a fun, sexy romp. That's what it says right on the front cover and I assumed most people understand that means the book is, well, fun and sexy. My husband admits that he read the cover, that he’s heard me talk about the book, but he says he always thought “sexy” just meant, er, “sexy”. He honestly didn’t realize it meant “SEXy”, as in, it gets specific about who’s doing what to whom when and where. And how—I most definitely include the how.

My husband rather wishes I didn't, just on the not-so-off-chance that one of his parishioners might buy the book and also misinterpret "sexy" only to have a coronary at page three when things for my hero and heroine start to get a bit, er, "SEXy". The dear man really does care about his parishioners.

But this has been a lesson to me. Sometimes we can be so very precise in what we say or write, and yet still be misunderstood. When I wrote the title for this blog entry, I referred, of course, to the fact that today is the day my novel, MISTRESS BY MISTAKE, is released onto the shelves of a bookseller near you. I can easily see, however, that someone might read that header and assume it means something entirely different.

So, at the risk of being further misunderstood, let me sum up what I am trying to say:

I’m very excited that my brand new slightly-obscene romance novel, MISTRESS BY MISTAKE, will be available to the public today! Rush out now and buy a copy. If, however, you decide to actually read the copy, please don’t be surprised to find that it is chock full of hot sex. And a lot of really funny things happen along with all the sex, too.

I am not, however, releasing some woman that I’ve held in captivity for illicit purposes. I will, though, send a free copy of my book to some random person who finds this neglected blog and posts a comment today! Just make sure I know who you are and how to contact you.

And may you have a happy release of your own at some point today!

30 comments:

Janie Mason said...

I'm so looking forward to reading Mistress by Mistake. Perhaps I'll pass it on to my hubby since he's quite happy to read the SEXy parts! Cheers on your release (I know that can also be greatly misconstrued, but I mean it in the most innocent of ways!)

Sandie said...

I LOVE racy historical romance novels. I think my favorite term is bodice rippers:) I can't wait to read this one!!!!

Susan Gee Heino said...

Thanks, ladies!

Sandie--have you heard about the new wave of Amish romance novels that are getting so popular amongst the inspirational crowd? They're calling them "Bonnet Rippers"!

Janie--See? We're writing helpful stuff. SEXy romance brings people closer!

Donna MacMeans said...

Hi Susan - Just wanted to pop over here and she you congratulations on your release. LOL on your husband's reaction. I think mine was similiar. Seriously, what do they think we mean when we say we're writing sex scenes?

I know Mistress by Mistake will be a HUGE success. Congratulations on seeing this dream come true.

Susan Gee Heino said...

Thanks, Donna! You've been such a huge help to me all along the way.

Karin Shah said...

Does she do housework? *g* I can't wait to read your book!

Congratulations!

Karin

Susan Gee Heino said...

LOL That's funny, Karin! Sigh, what I wouldn't give if some of these darn characters in my head would help out with some of the real-world drudgery from time to time!

Saralee said...

Hey! I found my copy at the local Barnes and Noble. Yippee!

Well, see ya--gotta go read.

Susan Gee Heino said...

Cool! Thanks for the report, Saralee. I can't believe it's really out there! I hope you enjoy it.

And Karin, it's great to share our first print release date together! Congrats to you, too.

Annie McElfresh said...

I'm so excited for you Susan!! I passed your site around in my facebook account :)

Susan Gee Heino said...

Thanks, P-Chick! (I know who you really are--I left a comment on FB for you.) It's totally fun and exciting to have my book finally hit the shelves. At the same time, it's terrifying that now people can see my typos and how many times I use "that" on one page and stuff. Eeek!

Laura McMeeking said...

Hey Susan, Annie sent me to your blog and told me to pick up your book! I just recently got into romance novels and LOVE THEM. I've not read a lot of historical romance, so I can't wait! And, I see it's out on Kindle! I'm in the UK, so sometimes it's hard for me to get new releases if they aren't on Kindle. YAY for your release day!!!!! (email address is on my profile if you click my name).

KLMunoz said...

I can't wait to read you book!! I feel priveleged to know such an important person!!!

C.J. Redwine said...

Yay!! Congrats on the big release day. I'm so excited for you!

Susan Gee Heino said...

Laura--thanks for popping in all the way from the Uk! Guess I owe Annie for doing my international publicity for me, huh?

Kim--Can I quote you about me being important? LOL But I can't get into your profile to find out which Kim you are! Oh no! Help me out!

CJ--Thanks for the visit, Pixie Sister! I know you've got a couple things you're busy with so it's extra special to see you here at my pitiful, neglected blog.

Annette McCleave said...

Woohoo! Huge congrats, Susan! Can't wait to read the book. Right after I finish these darn copy edits. :-)

Margaret said...

Susan: I LOVE the title of your blog and can't wait to buy Mistress.

BIG HUGS!!!
Margs

Susan Gee Heino said...

Thanks, Annette. I've been waiting for copy edits any day, but my editor hinted they may wait until after Christmas. Yeah, that works for me! LOL Good luck!

Amber said...

Hi Susan! Happy release day. I can't wait to read your book, especially after reading your post today. I loved the story about your husband, that was great. Did he ever go ahead and finish reading it.

Amber

Susan Gee Heino said...

Hey, Amber! Thanks for joining in here. No, my dearest has not picked up the book again, LOL. But I'm not the least offended. He just doesn't read fiction, and that's okay. He's got other good qualities going for him!

Unknown said...

I'm waiting for mine from Amazon (they e-mailed me yesterday that it's on its way) so I'll be hanging out at the mailbox. :) For obvious reasons, I hope any book with a name like Mistress by Mistake sells like hotcakes! Congratulations on the release and a sure-to-be-fabulous career ahead!XO.

Elysa said...

Hi Susan,

Loved you blog on hubby's reaction to your book.:-) I'm looking forward to reading it.

Elysa

Susan Gee Heino said...

Maggie--Hello, my mistress siter!
I tell you, this whole book release thing is pretty cool. I'm soooo looking forward to bringing your MISTRESS home to meet mine. (Everyone, you can pre-order Maggie's wonderful up-coming debut. It's got a great title: MISTRESS BY MISTAKE!) I guarantee these last few months will fly by for you, Maggie! Start writing blog copy now.

Susan Gee Heino said...

Margs--hey, you snuck one in here on me! Love you, babe!

Elysa--Thanks. I know if my hubby ever blogged, he'd be glad to find his life provided so much entertainment for so many of us. See you at the par-tay!

Susan Gee Heino said...

Okay--so I've selected the winner of a free copy of MISTRESS BY MISTAKE. Actually, I assigned numbers to all the commenters and called my hubby and asked him to pick a number. (He started to get excited, wondering what he'd win, so I had to explain things.)

So, he picked a number and it turned out to be... Drum roll...

C.J. Redwine!

Yay CJ! (I'll contact you to get the details. Congrats!)

Thanks, everyone, for helping me celebrate my first-ever release day!

Kat Sheridan said...

Susan, many congrats on the book release, and hoping it just flies off the shelves for you! You know, on Lori Foster's Cafe Press shop, she has a hat avaialable that says "I sleep with a famous author". Or a shirt that says "Yes, I *AM* the inspiration". Either one might make a great Christmas present for your hubs!

Susan Gee Heino said...

Hey, Kat! Thanks for the great gift ideas. I'll definitely check those out. Let's see, does the shirt come with a clerical collar? LOL

Liz said...

Huge congratulations on your book release, Susan! I can't wait to run out and buy a copy.

Susan Gee Heino said...

Thanks, Liz. Hope you have fun with my MISTRESS! And thanks for dropping by my neglected blog. This makes two days in a row of getting attention! That's a record for it, poor thing.

Kismatt said...

I love a good read, and have put this one on my 'go-pick-up" list! Your husband's response to the book made me LOL. How funny!

Congrats on the first release of (hopefully) many!