There’s a lot of debate out there on what is snark and what is snarl (for lack of a better term). And I think that’s a personal call for everyone. No matter how many books, definitions or whatever is quoted and spread across a post to try and properly label and define it, it’s still open to interpretation.

Blogs like Karen’s, Dear Author, Smart Bitches and others come under fire quite a bit in the online world. And I don’t know any of these ladies personally, even though I have been reading Karen since the day her blog door opened. Are they being too mean? Maybe sometimes. Have I ever felt they are personally attacking a person? Not that I’ve read. But the big kicker is, if there is ever something on their sites that slightly rubs me the wrong way, I click the little red X in the right hand corner and try them again another day. I don’t enter the fight. I’m not out to crusade for someone who may or may not have their feelings hurt by something they’ve written. Because who has the mental energy or time to fight battles with strangers in this day and age?

When I read authors on the internet it makes an impact on me. Since I can’t and probably won’t know most authors out there on a personal level, what I see on the internet is part of my mental “picture puzzle” of these people. Could they be all pink hearts and candy online while all the while kicking their dogs under the computer table? Absolutely! But the candy and hearts is what I see and and what I process.

For instance, Nora Roberts pops around the internet and she’s always polite, direct and sometimes shows a bit of razor sharp humor. She doesn’t seem to take any crap from anyone, but she never resorts to name calling and the like. Another author whom I feel comports herself with grace and dignity is Shiloh Walker. Jordan Summers is another funny lady. As well as Sarah McCarty. And that sticks with me! And yes it does influence my money spending.

And on the flip side, authors who put themselves out on the net in a negative way make me want to spend my money elsewhere. I do my best to stay away from author sites in general because I don’t want to lose an author I enjoy and I don’t want to have a stigma about new authors that I might possibly enjoy. This happened about a year or so ago with Mary Janice Davidson. She seemed to be at all the sites I was visiting and in my opinion was waaaaaay too vocal and sometimes quite rude. It made an impression on me and I’ve not bought a single book by her.

Should an author have to change herself to suit the masses? Absolutely not! But, being on the web, being visible, puts authors out there in a way they couldn’t have been before. And when I read posts such as I Always Like to Begin With An Apology and Toxic Criticism Being Labeled As Snark it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The bottom line for me is this. People like Karen, Jane, the SBs, etc, etc may not be Mary Sunshine and filled with all that is light and good all of the time, but they don’t have books out there that I could be spending my money on.

And that’s my 2 cents worth today.

Book Synop: In her latest book, Green tells the story of a group of people who haven’t seen each other since they were best friends at school. When one of them dies in a terrible tragedy, the reunited friends work through their grief together and find that each of their lives is impacted in ways they could have never foreseen. Warm, witty, and as wise as ever, this is a story of friendship, of family, and of life coming full circle.

Has anyone read it yet? I have it on the TBR pile, but it may take me a little bit to actually get to it. I’m terribly curious. Anyone else out there Jane Green fans?

News from Suz Brockmann
February 18, 2007
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Happy Valentine’s Day (late!) and Happy Almost Spring! Yeah, I’m certain that some warmer weather is going to get here soon. (She said hopefully… )

Here are this month’s headlines:

1) My next book, FORCE OF NATURE, will be coming out this summer from Ballantine Books. Mark your calendars for August 14, 2007 — but do it in pencil, because there’s still time for the publisher to move things around!

2) Bantam will be reissuing another of my hard-to-find Loveswepts!
FORBIDDEN will hit the stores on September 25, 2007.

3) Christmas is in the air in my office here in Florida! I’m currently writing a Troubleshooters Christmas novella, with a release date of October 30, 2007! (Yes, that’s a mere two and a half months after the August release of FORCE OF NATURE! A double dose of the Troubleshooters in 2007!) (Check out the purposely vague catalog copy below!)

4) APPEARANCE ALERT! Florida readers! I’m going to be speaking (and signing books) with my husband and fellow author Ed Gaffney at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival in Ft. Myers on March 16th and 17th. The event on the 17th is free and open to the public! Details below or here.

5) Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer’s (author of WARRIOR SOUL and the screenwriter of US NAVY SEALs) incredible first novel, KILLING CHE, will be out on April 3rd, and I’m holding a CONTEST to give away three signed (personalized by Chuck!) advance copies of this amazing book. (Details below!)

6) Two more recommended reads: Alyssa Day’s ATLANTIS RISING (in stores SOON on March 6th), and my husband, Ed Gaffney’s DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER (in stores on March 27th!).

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Okay, here are the details!

1) FORCE OF NATURE, book # 11 in my Troubleshooters series will be out in hardcover on August 14, 2007 from Ballantine Books. It features former Sarasota police detective Ric Alvarado (he appeared briefly in GONE TOO FAR). FBI agent Jules Cassidy is back in FORCE OF NATURE, too. Check out the cover and blurb on my website homepage.

And definitely mark August 14th as FON’s release date in pencil on your calendars — it’s still early enough for the exact date to change. (I’ll keep you posted!)

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2) Bantam is reissuing FORBIDDEN, another of my hard-to-find Loveswepts! This book, originally published in 1997, will hit the stores with a new cover (but the same title!) on September 25, 2007. You can see FORBIDDEN’s original cover and read a blurb about the book (plus an excerpt) here.

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3) CHRISTMAS NOVELLA: So I’m writing a Christmas novella featuring some of the characters from my Troubleshooters series. This book is as of yet untitled — although we’re tossing around things like JOYFUL NOISE: A Troubleshooters Christmas, and WONDERFUL LIFE: A Troubleshooters Christmas, or GLAD TIDINGS: etc. (Note the pattern. )

We may not have settled on a title yet, but we do have catalog copy. This is for an in-house Random House catalog, but someone always manages to find it and post it to my BB, so I thought I’d just give it to you all right here and now! LOL! Here it is:

“Suzanne Brockmann steams up the season with her first holiday novella, an exciting addition to her bestselling Troubleshooters series.

When a popular Troubleshooter gets married, what was supposed to be a
low-profile ceremony for family and friends snowballs into a thrill ride featuring a nosy reporter, a dashing personal assistant, and a stalker determined to claim the object of his obsession.

In (JOYFUL NOISE or WONDERFUL LIFE or GLAD TIDINGS or…) Brockmann delivers another passionate and electrifying classic, this time featuring an unforgettable Christmas wedding, and an insatiable, unexpected romance. ”

A Ballantine Hardcover (Note from Suz: It’s going to be packaged in what publishers call a “gift hardcover” — one of those smaller sized hardcovers. It should be cute. And the price is nice, too.)
Category: Fiction
5-1/4 x 7-7/8 240 pages
$16.95
ISBN 13: 978-0-345-50109- 7
ON SALE October 30 (that’s 2007)

We’ve purposely been vague in our description of the story, so please don’t go emailing me looking for answers to questions like “Who is this novella going to be about?”

Cuz I won’t tell!

I WILL tell you this — you’ll meet at least one of the major characters for the first time in FORCE OF NATURE.

And I’ll also say that Sam & Alyssa will both be back — they’ll be major point of view characters in JOYFUL NOISE or WONDERFUL LIFE or GLAD TIDINGS or whatever this novella turns out to be titled. (I’m having a great deal of fun writing it, whatever it’s called!)

Let me anticipate another question. Novella? What the heck is a novella?

Well, in my case it’s a book that’s shorter than my usual books. My books usually run somewhere between 140,000 to 150,000 words. I’m aiming to make this novella about half that length, but you know me. I’m always writing long. I’ve been telling people it’ll be between 70,000 and 80,000 words (which is longer than the books I used to write for Bantam Loveswept, and not quite as long as my Silhouette Intimate Moments) — give or take 20,000 words.

This book is going to be lighter than my usual romantic suspenses, but it will have suspense elements, a brand new romance, and some steam heat generated by some favorite characters, too. (See comment above re: Sam & Alyssa…) And hey, this novella features a wedding! I’m always getting emails from readers who complain that even though I write romance novels, I rarely write wedding scenes. Well, to those readers, let me say this: Have I got a wedding for you!

Like I said, I’m having a huge amount of fun writing this book!

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4) FLORIDA APPEARANCE:

Here’s the scoop:

Southwest Florida Reading Festival
Harborside Event Center, Ft. Myers, Florida
March 17, 2007
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

I will be speaking with my husband and fellow author Ed Gaffney, and the writing team/sisters that are Dixie Cash. We’ll be doing a panel called “All in the Family” and talking about the pros and cons (and humor!) of having two authors in one house.

“All in the Family” will be at 10:30 a.m. on March 17th, in Room A-1.

This event is open to the public and free!

Books will be signed immediately following the presentation in the Galleria.

For more details and a complete list of other authors (including David Baldacci!) visit the reading festival’s website.

Also note: There is an “Evening with the Authors” fundraiser connected to this event, on Friday evening, March 16th, from 6 – 8 p.m. For more details about that, visit here.

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5) I’m holding a contest to give away three (3!) signed advance copies of Chuck Pfarrer’s amazing first novel, KILLING CHE.

I’ve got to tell you, this book rocked. Former SEAL Chuck Pfarrer has blasted one out of the park with KILLING CHE, which goes on sale on April 3rd.

This book is a thriller that takes place in Boliva in 1967. The story is fast-paced, the characters are incredible (I loved Chuck’s main character, a former CIA operative named Hoyle) and the history is intriguing.

If you enjoyed Chuck’s Navy SEAL memoir, WARRIOR SOUL, you will absolutely love KILLING CHE. (And if you enjoyed the movie THE BOURNE IDENTITY, I also think you’ll love KILLING CHE. I liked them both for many of the same reasons, although there’s no amnesia in KILLING CHE…)

Here’s how the contest works. I’ve got three copies of KILLING CHE to give away, and two different methods for you to win one.

Here are the rules:

1) You can only enter each contest ONCE. (But you can enter both contests and have two chances to win.)
2) Contest deadline is February 28, 2007. All entries must be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 28th. No exceptions.
3) I’m not exactly sure what format the advance copy will be in — possibly either bound galleys or an early copy of the actual book. I can guarantee this, though: you will get KILLING CHE in some format — and it will be signed just for you, by Chuck.

CONTEST ONE:
The first contest is a simple drawing. Please enter Contest One only once! Multiple entries will be disqualified!
1) Send an email to SuzanneBrockmann@aol.com with the words “KILLING CHE by Chuck Pfarrer” in the subject header. In the body of the email include: a) your full name, b) your snailmail address, c) your email address.
2) We will be picking two winners randomly from all of the entries received by 5:00 p.m., Feb. 28, 2007.
3) Winners will be notified via email on March 1, 2007

CONTEST TWO — KILLING CHE on YOUTUBE
For this contest, you must visit YouTube.com, watch a brief trailer for Chuck Pfarrer’s KILLING CHE, and answer the question below. Please enter Contest Two only once! Multiple entries will be disqualified!
1) Visit youtube.com and search for “Killing Che Chuck Pfarrer,” and “Killing Che: The Trailer” will come up.

Or go to here to the direct link.

2) Watch the trailer for KILLING CHE and answer the following question: What is the 18-word sentence that follows the date “1967″ in the trailer for KILLING CHE?

Send an email to BrockmannS@aol.com (please note: this is a different email address than the one used in Contest One) with the words “Chuck Pfarrer’s KILLING CHE” in the subject header. In the body of the email, answer the question “What is the 18-word sentence that follows the date “1967″ in the trailer for KILLING CHE?” Also include your full name and your snail mail address.

4) We will be picking one winner randomly from all of the correct entries received by 5:00 p.m., Feb. 28, 2007.
5) Winner will be notified via email on March 1, 2007

Good luck, everyone!

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6) Last but way not least are my two recommended reads for March!

First, ATLANTIS RISING by Alyssa Day (the paranormal pen name for one of my favorite authors, Alesia Holiday!) The first book in Day’s “Warriors of Poseidon” series, ATLANTIS RISING has been getting rave reviews — and I’ve got to add my voice to them! I had the extreme pleasure of reading an early copy and it was a blast. If you enjoy JR Ward’s Brotherhood series (I’m a huge
fan, myself!), I can guarantee that you’l find ATLANTIS RISING to be a treat. Look for it in bookstores on March 6th. Check it out on line here.

Next, my husband Ed Gaffney’s third legal thriller, DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER, will be in stores on March 27th. This book once again features lawyers and friends Zach Wilson and Terry Tallach. (I love those guys!) DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER sounds scary, but the book has plenty of humor. It’s a fun, thrilling read that I highly recommend. (And not just because I’m married to the guy! LOL!)

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Ooh, one last thing! Readers in Alaska! My son, Jason, is currently in rehearsal for TOMMY at the Perseverance Theater in Juneau. (His first paying gig as an actor! I’m so proud!) The show runs from mid-March to April 23rd, and Ed and I are hoping to travel up that way to see it. Watch for news about a late April booksigning in Juneau, details coming soon!

Okay, that’s all the news for now!

As usual, please post this newsletter wherever romance fans gather! Please forward it to friends, post on BB’s and lists, and print out and post in your favorite bookstore! Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, for all your support!

To sign up for my email newsletter, visit my website to enroll.

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Love,
Suz Brockmann

INTO THE STORM, available in paperback, July 2007
FORCE OF NATURE, in hardcover, August 14, 2007
FORBIDDEN, a Loveswept reissue from Bantam, September 25, 2007
JOYFUL NOISE (working title): A Troubleshooters Christmas Novella, in hardcover from Ballantine, October 30, 2007