Month: February 2012

Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He’s captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother’s crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father’s abuse, battered and alone.

Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything’s on the line . . . streamline.

Stay tuned for the release 3-27-12! Please contact me at jenniferlanebooks at gmail dot com if you’re interested in joining the Launch Party that day.

Sign up for the Blog Tour May 7-11 with Julie from A Tale of Many Reviews HERE.

Add Streamline to your Goodreads shelf HERE. 

A big thanks for JULIE and the participating blogs for the cover reveal:

With the Academy Awards just around the corner, I’m gearing up for my annual Oscars party. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE movies. Camped out in a dark theater as the opening credits roll, chewing on popcorn or Junior Mints, hearing the music swell . . . there’s nothing like it.

Movies inspire me to write, too. If I could ever craft a romance as soft and tragic and beautiful as the one between Rose and Jack in Titanic, I wouldn’t stop smiling for days. And if one day one of my novels became a movie . . . THAT would be incredible!

I try to see most of the best picture nominees before the show. What’s been your favorite this year?

When I first wrote Bad Behavior, I titled the novel Couples Counseling due to its focus on couples therapy sessions for Grant and Sophie. Dr. Hunter Hayes obviously has his hands full with these two. Before publication we changed the title so it sounded less self-help!

As a romance author, I’m obviously fascinated by romantic relationships. What attracts one person to another? What makes romantic relationships succeed or fail? Why is communication so hard sometimes? How can a couple heal their fractured marriage?

There are some helpful answers out there I want to share today. The guru of couples counseling is Dr. John Gottman, researcher and author. Here’s one of his best books:

John Gottman’s research methods are intriguing: he has couples live in his lab for a few days while hooked up to heart rate monitors and other physical measurements. When couples argue, they become physically distressed, making it difficult for them to work together to resolve the conflict. During an argument, if one partner’s heart rate goes over 100 beats a minute, they both have to retreat to their corners to calm down before resuming the discussion. LOL!

Gottman’s research has focused on heterosexual couples but there is some evidence his principles can work for homosexual couples too. He found that although the woman may appear more distraught in an argument, often times the man is more distraught (pounding heart, tense muscles, adrenaline rush). He becomes flooded by distress, has no idea how to handle it, and may view fleeing as his only recourse. Sometimes the woman pursues him, which makes him withdraw more, and a pursue/withdrawal pattern can ingrain itself.

Women can help lower men’s distress by using “soft start-ups” (e.g. “Remember that light fixture you were planning to replace, honey? When are you thinking of doing that?” instead of “You never do anything you say you’ll do!”) and by making repairs (apologizing, bringing up a private joke, compromising).

For the couple to be happy, men need to make repairs too, and accept influence from their wives. Problems in a relationship can be solvable or “perpetual”–enduring unsolvable problems for which it helps to have some dialogue to understand each partner’s perspective.

This book is chock full of more interesting findings, and I encourage you to check it out. My characters Grant Masden and Sophie Taylor certainly learned many of these strategies from their psychologist Hunter in Bad Behavior. How will their relationship endure the challenges I throw their way in book three, On Best Behavior? Mwa ha ha!

Now it’s time for Omnific’s Author Blog Bounce! Join in HERE.

Nicki Elson is the coolest author! She wrote the fun & sexy 80’s Romp Three Daves, and today is hosting the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest.

Who was my 80’s crush? Here are some hints . . .

“Your ego’s writing checks your body can’t cash!”

“I feel the need . . . the need . . . for SPEED!”

That’s right, my crush is MAVERICK, otherwise known as Tom Cruise.

I think I saw the movie Top Gun like 20 times in the theaters, and I was the first in line at the Blockbuster store to order my VHS tape of the beloved flick.

Hot men in their dress whites? *thud*

And then there’s the volleyball scene (ah, Iceman, you freeze me with your charms):

Even though little Tommy comes up to my collarbone, back then I thought he was a dreamboat. Then he got all Scientology on me and bashed psychiatric medication, and I became a bit disillusioned. But my teenage self really fell for that showty with the cocky bravado and charming smile.

Can’t wait to check out all the 80’s crushes on the Blogfest. And don’t forget to enter my giveaway below for the Follower Love Giveaway!

Do you ever wonder why it takes so long for a novel to hit the market after the author finishes writing?

One of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon, answers this question on her BLOG. She describes the lengthy editing and marketing process involved with her eighth novel in the Outlander series, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (I can’t wait!) I just finished her novel The Scottish Prisoner and loved it (see my review HERE).

Omnific Publishing is much smaller than Random House but I’ve marveled at the lengthy process from the inside. I wrote Streamline in 2007 when it was over 200,000 words (gulp). I edited the story in 2010 to see if I could get it to a place where it might be publishable. In 2011 I edited it some more to get it down to 160,000 words.

Then I sent a query letter to Emma Taylor, Acquisitions Editor for Omnific, and she gave Streamline the thumbs up for publication. That started the arduous work with my lovely developmental editor, Jessica Royer Ocken. We decided to go from third-person-omniscient to third-person-limited, which involved a LOT of rewriting on my part. We involved some Navy experts and a native Spanish speaker to increase the authenticity. We also changed the title to reflect Leo and Audrey’s efficient glide through the resistance of their lives.

Jessica is the master of tightening my word diarrhea and we got the manuscript down to 129,000 words (longer than your average YA novel but still preserving the integrity of the murder mystery). My little baby’s next stop was with the managing editor Kathy Teel who praised our diligent work. The copy editor Coreen Montagna now holds the manuscript as we wait for the cover design.

Kayla Watson is the marketing associate for Streamline. We’re planning a launch party as well as a blog tour, and she’s put together a fantastic video trailer. The novel that started in 2007 is slated for release on 3-27-12!

When it’s all on the line, STREAMLINE.

Anyone who really knows me is already aware of my love for competitive swimming. I truly am wet behind the ears. If they made a perfume that smelled like chlorine, I’d wear that scent everyday! (And I wonder why I’m still single.)

I started swimming at age 8 on Coney Island’s swim team in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The team needed another girl for the 8 & Under relay and my older sisters dragged me to practice one morning. Diving into the crystal blue water, thrashing about with little technique, joking with teammates . . . it’s where the love affair began. That autumn I joined a club team and swam year-round until I graduated from college, often practicing twice a day.

Even my shoe size (12) indicates that swimming is the sport for me. God gave me flipper feet!

(I’m on the left with my friend Katie. Look at the size of those toes!)

Here’s what swimming has given me:

1) Friends. I’ve met so many quality individuals in this sport.

2) A strong work ethic. My coach Tim once told us, “Get ready for a tough practice. Are you a man or a mouse? A woman or a wouse?” I learned how to be a WOMAN, not a wouse!

3) Perseverance. Not everyone can swim four hours a day all year long.

4) An amazing college experience. I wouldn’t have heard of Kenyon College if not for its swimming success (due to Coach Jim Steen, a wonderful mentor).

5) A career. How can I cope with anxiety before races? That question and others drew me to the field of counseling psychology.

And now swimming has given me one more gift: the upcoming Young Adult novel, Streamline. They say “Write what you know” so my first novel is about my favorite sport, mixed in with family drama, therapy, and a military murder mystery. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance to write and edit this story, and I can’t wait to share my love of swimming with you.

Streamline is slated for release on 3-27-12. Stay tuned for the reveal of the cover and the video trailer, as well as giveaways!

What’s YOUR favorite sport? Why do you love it?

Congratulations to Alicia and Lindsey, the big winners of the Young Adult Giveaway Hop!

Join us for the Author Blog Bounce, hosted by Omnific Publishing.