Wildfire
would like to welcome author Cat Johnson and Bonny Kirby of Affaire de
Couer magazine, two dynamic women that have made a name for themselves
in the industry and can make "mucking the stables" sound almost
glamorous! Almost… Bonny Kirby ~ Affaire de Couer Angela: How did you get into the business
Bonny:
I have always been interested in books and publishing, but while my
education supports that direction in my life, I had never followed that
path until a couple of years ago. I started out reviewing books for
Affaire de Coeur
when a friend recommended me. I then moved into the position of
handling all of the advertising and promotion when offered the position
by the owner, Louise Snead.
Angela: Tell us about your site. What makes it unique?
Bonny: The interesting thing about the
Affaire de Coeur
site is that by the time this interview is complete, we should have the
bright shiny new site up and running. We will have a members only area,
including a bulletin board where the authors and readers can interact
with each other and us. We will have the best reviews featured on the
site along with contests, promotions, short stories our exclusive "What
Would Venus do" column and so much more.
Affaire de Coeur
has been in business for 26 years and our site is designed to be a
compliment to our print magazine and all of the fun and interesting
things you find there. We have a strong batch of reviewers that are
fair and very reader friendly.
Angela: If you could recommend one book that you reviewed in the past
month or so, what book would it be and why?
Bonny: Wow, this is really hard. I read some really good books! If I'm pinned down, there is Charlaine Harris' new book
All Together Dead, and Jeffrey Deaver's
The Sleeping Doll.
Each of those books are excellent in their own genre. Harris' book is a
paranormal and the continuation of the popular Sookie Stackhouse
series; and Deaver's is a hard core, nail biting mystery that keeps you
guessing to the end.
Angela: How do you choose what books to review? Is there a particular
sub-genre that you like? Author? Publisher?
Bonny:
I receive the books that I review both from the main office of the
magazine and some directly from the publisher. Essentially we have
agreements with the publishers and they send the galleys to us to
review. We pretty much review what we are sent. Each reviewer has their
own favorite sub-genres that they enjoy as well as authors. I love
mysteries of all sorts and paranormals. I have so many favorite authors
that it is hard to list them all. I read a large diversity of books and
love James Patterson, Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim
Butcher, Simon R. Green, Jeffrey Deaver, J.D. Robb, Linda Fairstein, I
could go on and on. There are so many great authors out there these
days it is hard to narrow down.
Angela: Do you ever review a book before it's been completely edited or do
you require the final copy?
Bonny:
We pretty much always review them before they are completely edited.
The galleys we receive are mostly un-edited and come to us several
months before they actually come out for sale. We get very few final
copies and they are usually too late for review. The goal of a review
is to come out in the same time frame the book is released so that it
is fresh in the mind of the reader when they are looking for new
reading material.
Angela: What kinds of trends are you seeing in the industry? What's popular now?
Bonny:
The current trends are leaning towards paranormals and erotica,
including paranormal erotica. Those are really popular right now.
Erotica should not be confused with pornography, there is a big
difference. There is a large population of today's women who read and
enjoy this genre. There are many publishing houses adding divisions to
meet this trend and to provide diverse and quality choices in the
genres.
There is also a great push to the "Cozy Mysteries"
rather than the hard core mysteries. Cozies are a more lighthearted,
geared towards women, mystery with a heroine that the average women can
identify with. They are a fun approach to the mystery without the
graphic violence.
Angela: Finish this sentence: "Please, don't make me read one more book about..."
Bonny:
Oh goodness, this is one that could get me in trouble! If I could
revise the question a little bit and address not so much the subject
matter of a book but the stories themselves. I have read a lot of books
that have the potential to be a really good book but the author does
not visit credibility. Even in a completely fictional story such as a
paranormal, there needs to be credibility. You have to believe that
within the context of those circumstances, this could really happen. I
have seen so many books that do not have that, historicals that ignore
what actually happen, situations that are completely unbelievable and
such. In order for the reader to really enjoy the story, they have to
be able to picture the situation happening within that story.
Stories need to flow in a logical, clear manner and they have to be believable.
Angela: What books are currently on your nightstand?
Bonny: There are a bunch of books on my nightstand, all in line to be reviewed. Judith Kelman,
The First Stone; Alan Gordon,
The Lark's Lament; Jon Talton,
Cactus Heart; Hunter Morgan,
Are You Scared Yet; C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp,
Touch of Madness, and so many more.
Angela: When you aren't doing this...what are you doing? Hobbies, special
interests, other jobs, etc.?
Bonny:
There is the ranch. This is baby season, so I have baby horses being
born and needing to be messed with, as well as rebreeding. I have 4
babies born as of this date, and 7 more coming. I also paint when I
can, which is not often anymore with the magazine and the ranch. I have
plenty to keep me busy.
Angela: What do you see as some of the challenges of the eBook industry?
Bonny: The
biggest challenge I see is the mobility of the books. People love to
take books with them where they go and eBooks are often not friendly to
that. With the new technology where you can download them to readers
and PDA's it helps, but often the initial cost of these things make it
difficult for the average reader. I think that the problem of cost will
eventually work out, since technology tends to get less expensive as
time goes by.
With that problem, format is an issue. There is
a certain amount of battling going on in order to get a standard format
for these books which would make them friendly to all readers. I think
that is also a problem that will be worked out within in the industry.
eBooks have a great potential for a lot of people. There are the
die-hard readers who want paper and pages in their hands and they will
always be there. The potential for people who are handicapped and
elderly on eBooks is limitless. Readers can control the size of type
and so many other things that it opens up current books to an audience
that might not otherwise be able to enjoy them.
I think that
the eBook publishing industry is the future of publishing. They still
need to remember to walk within the bounds of conventional promotion
and advertising. This is where the average reader looks for what to
read, their audience for the time being will come from the conventional
means of advertising and promotion. Eventually, I think that eBook
publishers and standard books publishers will merge and become all
encompassing. eBooks are a large part of the future of publishing, and
that acceptance by the professional community will also be key.
Bonny
Kirby handles advertising and promotion for Affaire de Coeur magazine,
a magazine that brings you twenty-six years of honest reviews…and so
much more! Website Cat Johnson Angela: Did you always know that you wanted to be writer?
Cat:
Definitely! I have always seemed to have a talent for writing and
always loved doing it. I was contracted for twelve YA (Young Adult)
novels right after college graduation. After completing them, I tried
the corporate world for a long while until I finally realized I
wouldn't be happy until I came back to my first love—writing.
Angela: What do you hope readers get from your books?
Cat:
I hope they get a few hours to escape from everyday reality and have
fun. Life is so all consuming today, particularly for women who must
try to do it all. Everyone needs an escape. I hope I can provide that.
Angela: Do you prefer writing series books over non series books or does it matter?
Cat:
I love writing series books or at least spin-offs. I get attached to
each character I create and if I can bring them back in a later book,
it is like reuniting with an old friend. I think readers feel that way,
too. Judging by the success of my military series, they seem to.
Angela: Do you belong to any professional writing associations?
Cat: I am a proud member of EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection).
Angela: What genre do you want to try your hand at but haven't?
Cat: I
have had in my head (it even made it onto paper in a few forms) a
pseudo historical (possibly with fantasy elements) novel waiting to be
told. Maybe one day…
Angela: What have you found to be the best experience(s) since you began writing?
Cat:
Knowing that people are not only paying hard-earned money to read my
books, but also enjoying them. And most importantly, being able to
communicate with these readers from all over the globe thanks to the
Internet.
Angela:
Most people envision an author's life as being really glamorous.
What's the most unglamorous thing that you've done in the last week?
Cat:
Putting on my rubber mucking shoes and old barn coat to go walk through
mud and manure to feed my horses is pretty non-glamorous. Also
conducting this interview with you while still wearing my big red
flannel pajamas, although I consider that a perk of writing.
Angela: The pajamas are lovely, by the way.
Cat: <g>
Angela: What do you do when you aren't writing?
Cat:
There is always the marketing side of writing that many aren't aware
of. I can write a million books but if no one knows about it, what is
the sense? Besides promoting my writing, I am a professional harpist.
I'm also the Sustainer president and serve on two boards for my chapter
of the Junior League. I spend as much time as I can reviewing requests
from deployed military members through on-line troop support sites and
then gathering and shipping what they need, in addition to sending them
letters and emails. They are so grateful, I wish I could do more. On a
personal note, I am very close to the friends I've had since fifth
grade (they sometimes make appearances in my books as 'fictional'
characters). We vacation as a group and try to get together for dinner
once a week. It provides me with much fodder for my storylines. And of
course, there are all the responsibilities of everyday life such as
cooking, cleaning, taking care of the animals and husband, etc.
Angela:
When you write, is atmosphere important? For example, do you use mood
music or candles? Do you need complete quiet to concentrate?
Cat:
I write best with the television on but can't stand music playing. I
spend 90% of my time writing in bed on the laptop while wearing my
pajamas. There are usually at least two cats and a dog sleeping on my
legs as I write. I am sure I would be doubly productive if I would turn
off my automatic email alerts but I just can't do it. I would feel too
cut off.
Angela: What's next for you?
Cat:
Ask anyone at my publisher Linden Bay Romance and they will tell you I
am the self-proclaimed Queen of the Trilogy. After publishing 6
trilogies with them, I feel like I've earned the title, deserved or
not. But I am currently working on a full-length single title
contemporary military romance to follow up the two military trilogies.
It is a big departure for me to go from three intertwining 15-20,000
word short stories that make up a trilogy to one 50,000 word story. We
will see if I finish it as such or bail out and turn it into another
trilogy. I would be very interested to see which my editors, reviewers
and readers like better from me. I feel I grow with each book. Anything
is possible.
Cat Johnson
has been writing since she won a first grade essay contest and got to
ride in the Chief of Police's car in the Memorial Day Parade. However,
as an adult, she generally tries to stay out of police cars. Cat
has been published under another name in the young adult genre, but
today focuses on contemporary erotic romance featuring in particular
red-hot military men, sexy firemen, an occasional computer geek, and
the women who love them. Cat
has horses, far too many cats, a dog, assorted fish and fowl, and one
husband—and is not sure which of those gives her the most grief.
Needless to say, she is very busy at her 18th century farmhouse in New
York State. She plays the harp professionally and stresses this does
not mean she plays well, only that she is paid for it. A past tour
guide, bartender, marketing manager, and Junior League president, Cat's
life is quite the dichotomy and on any given day she is equally as
likely to be in formal eveningwear as in mucking clothes covered in
manure. Websites: Cat Johnson MySpace Backlist:
Trilogy No. 102: Opposites Attract, Linden Bay Romance
Trilogy No. 103: Red Hot & Blue, Linden Bay Romance
Trilogy No. 105: Smalltown, USA, Linden Bay Romance
Trilogy No. 106: Nice & Naughty, Linden Bay Romance
Trilogy No. 107: True Blue, Linden Bay Romance
Trilogy No. 108: Just Desserts, Linden Bay Romance
Witches Night Anthology, Linden Bay Romance
Heroes Unwrapped Anthology, Linden Bay Romance
He Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Phaze
If you would like to request an interview, please send a query to info@allromanceebooks.com Until next time!
Angela Lovell
Wildfire Interview Coordinator
All Romance eBooks
