Giveaway for The Chocolate Rose by Laura Florand
Contests/Giveawaysgiveaway79 Comments
From Laura Florand:
I have a trait which I think is far from unique among writers, in that I write stories for the same reason readers read them—to escape. Not from anything bad, I just like to sink into them. And often I need to escape from my own stories.
So, for example, I have half a dozen novels set in seventeenth-century France and England that I dabble with from time to time, because I just need and enjoy that creative outlet. One that has no set goal. One that’s just for me, just play. I’ll get stuck somewhere in my “main book”, the one I’ve committed myself to finishing (whether to myself or for a publisher), and I’ll go play with another one for a while. Some of those books will never be finished, but every single one that is finished started off, at some point, as my play time.
THE CHOCOLATE HEART, which comes out in December from Kensington, is a very dark and angsty book compared to my usual ones. I weave a Hades-Persephone theme throughout, where Paris is hell (I know! I know! I’m hoping my Francophile readers forgive me), and the hero is a very tightly self-contained, uber-controlled, intense, driven man. And whenever I started feeling too stuck in this novel and couldn’t figure out my way forward, I would go work on another one. When you look at those two books now, you would almost describe them as the yin/yang of each other. The book I would work on became this one, THE CHOCOLATE ROSE, which is a bright, vivid, summer-in-Provence story, with a hero who just cannot contain himself for anything in the world, who is all out there, all the time.
By the time I finished THE CHOCOLATE HEART, I was dying to give THE CHOCOLATE ROSE my full attention and plunge into its world and particularly the hero, Gabriel Delange. He was a vividly compelling character for me, with his bright, intense energy. He redefines joie de vivre.
Now the thing is, I didn’t have any contract for THE CHOCOLATE ROSE at that time, and this is where it is so gloriously exciting to be a writer at this point in publishing history, because—who cared? I was going to write it, and see what it became, and then I would do whatever seemed best with it—let my NY publisher put it out, find another publisher, put it out myself. If it was good enough for me to be willing to publish it (and I am a severe self-filterer), then there was no question of it being “wasted”. Only a few years ago, authors would automatically think limiting thoughts when they came up with ideas: “Oh, but this doesn’t ‘fit’ with any publisher so I’m wasting my time.” They had to. Because that was the cage they wrote in.
That world of crushed ideas is over. We are done with it. If a story drives a writer, then it is never a waste of time to finish it. That’s one of the most beautiful things about the indie/self-publishing revolution. You have no idea how many great stories used to get shelved half-written or snuffed out of existence while they were still just flickering in the author’s head.
In THE CHOCOLATE ROSE’s original “finished” form, about four or five drafts in, it was about 60,000 words, only about 20% longer than a Harlequin Presents, and I worried that attempting to lengthen it would bog this bright story down. And honestly, if my heroine resisted Gabriel too much longer I would lose all respect for her. I was quite attached to him! THE CHOCOLATE ROSE did eventually grew another 20% longer in rewrites, as Daniel and Léa from TURNING UP THE HEAT became secondary characters and helped me work with the heroine Jolie’s worries more. But I didn’t know that would happen at the time.
So by the summer of last year, I had already begun to think more and more seriously about publishing it myself. You would have to be living on a deserted island not to be aware of the changes in the publishing world.
Still, Kensington had an option on my next book, so when THE CHOCOLATE ROSE was ready, around Thanksgiving, I sent it to my editor, saying, essentially, “Surprise! I don’t really think this is the best fit for Kensington, with the length, but legally need to respect the option clause, and anyway, it’s a Chocolate book, and I’ve been doing the Chocolate books with you.”
I was surprised by how interested they were in it. I really thought that discussion would be an easy, “Yes, you’re right, this is too short for us, let’s talk about your other next book, that Rose trilogy we said we were interested in.”
But my editor really liked THE CHOCOLATE ROSE, or was kind enough to say so, so we spent some time discussing options, of which the most tempting was that they bring it out in mass market paperback. All my books so far in my career have been in trade, and I would really like to see some mass markets on the shelves. I think trade paperbacks, as much as I love the look of them, make for a very high price barrier when readers are hesitating about trying a new author.
But, despite the mass market temptation, the more I thought about it, the more I just had to do it myself. Partly, it was just curiosity. I feel about publishing these days about the way you might feel on the first page of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! There are so many paths, and I get a huge creative kick out of exploring new paths. I’m a world traveler by nature, the person who spent most of her twenties abandoning stability regularly to go live in other countries. And it’s not like I’m chopping my way through virgin terrain here—quite a few trail-blazers have gone before me and proven what a valuable path self-publishing is to take.
Plus, besides my own enjoyment in new ventures, there were some other advantages: I could release it a 12-18 months earlier than I would be able to with a NY publisher, I love having absolute control of my work, I like choosing covers, I want to know my sales figures in an up-to-the-minute way, and I very much think it’s a good business decision to gather more information about self-publishing. And it’s not as if they were offering me millions of dollars I would be insane to refuse, right? I was pretty sure I could make more than they were offering in a few weeks, and that if I couldn’t, I needed to find that out, too.
So we agreed not to join forces on this one and went on to talk about some other books, a sixth Chocolate book and the Rosier family trilogy to which THE CHOCOLATE ROSE is a prequel. We’re still talking about those now, and I’m still gathering information from THE CHOCOLATE ROSE reception itself, so I can’t say more about what publishing road I might go down for those.
I do know that having the option of self-publishing has been an incredibly empowering one for me. I feel freer, stronger, more inspired, and all of those things lead to better writing, because writing stays an adventure.
And for authors who ask me how it is my publisher “let me” do this, or similar questions, I really, really want to offer every one of us a copy of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Because I think that would sum up my attitude toward the author in the current world of publishing entirely. But I’m happy to answer any questions I can, too, although the amount of authorial experience lurking on this site far, far exceeds mine.
What about readers? As a reader, are you happier or less happy because of the growth of self-publishing?
And how many books do you think I can get away with about French chocolate before someone realizes how unfair it is to pay me to do that kind of research?
Her father’s worst enemy…
Top chef Gabriel Delange never forgave his old nemesis Pierre Manon for all the other chef had cost him.
One stolen rose…
And he most certainly couldn’t stand the sight of his own most famous dessert, the legendary Rose, claimed as Pierre’s own on the cover of his new cookbook.
A beast’s substitute victim…
But even Gabriel could hardly go through with a lawsuit when he learned the older chef had just had a stroke. Especially not when Pierre had one very cute daughter willing to be Gabriel’s victim instead.
A fascinated beauty…
As a child, Jolie Manon had seen her family torn apart by her top chef father’s obsession with his work. As a food writer, she might be fascinated with a chef’s work, but she knew how to guard her heart. She would never allow another chef into her life.
Unless he blackmailed her into it…
Welcome to the heat and sun of Provence, where jasmine and roses climb up old colored walls, where fountains play in ancient stone villages, and where even a beast can prove he is a prince at heart
My favorite dessert is creme brulee breading pudding.
Dear Laura Florand,
You complete me.
Love,
Gwen
C’est magnifique. J’ai hâte de le lire! :-) Best of luck with your self-publishing endeavor, Laura!
No need to enter me in the giveaway — I bought the book and started it last night — I just wanted to say that you have the most impressive ability to write dialogue in English that retains the cadences of French. Jo Bourne can do it too, but otherwise, I’ve never seen done before or so well. Thank you for sharing the book’s journey!
I like pandan chiffon cake….
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/pandan-chiffon-cake-recipe.html
@Gwen Hayes: Thank you, Gwen. You would be an example of someone with far more expertise than I have in all this! :) It’s such a wonderful time to be a writer.
I loveeeed The Chocolate Kiss and have been slowly trying to read other books by Laura. This one sounds awesome as well!
@Bren: Ah, un peu de français! Merci, Bren!
@Emma: Thank you, Emma! I hope you enjoy it. I really have a lot of fun working with language. I’ve always been fascinated by issues with translation from early, early on in graduate studies, so the representation of French characters primarily through English in a way that is easy and natural for the English reader and lets the English reader feel completely comfortable in their POV is an interesting challenge. Or more like a fun game for me; I just like that kind of thing!
Two of my favorite desserts are German chocolate cake and Black Forest cake…yum!
My mom’s Shahi Tukra (Indian Bread Pudding) is unparalleled.
I hope you come back to share your thoughts on this compared to your traditionally-published books further along the way, and I am so excited for you to take such a big step (and glad you can do both!). I absolutely loved Turning Up The Heat and The Chocolate Thief, so I clearly need to read more. You capture Paris perfectly, and even though it’s been over a decade since I was there, your books bring everything back to life with stunning clarity. Thank you!
My favorite dessert is cheesecake, with chocolate or without.
Favorite dessert? All of them. That you wrote “deserted island” instead of “desert island” made me a fan. Thank you for the giveaway. I enjoyed reading about your journey to self-publishing.
My fave dessert has to be Gulab Jamun (an Indian sweet), as well as milk cake.
I like eating (super-)sugary cereal for dessert because I can’t justify eating it for breakfast.
I make a mean carrot cake – and: CARROTS…so it’s healthy, right? :)
Desserts are my favorite course. The more sugar, the better!
anything with seasalt caramel and dark chocolate!
Love chocolate, but cheesecake is my all time favorite dessert!
Any kind of fruit based pie! I’m so ready for fresh summer fruits and all the baking that accompanies them.
Also, Laura, I LOVE your books — I read the first one a couple of weeks ago, and have glommed onto them. You have such a fun, unique voice!
Hmm…favorite dessert? Pretty much any dessert ever, including all of the ones already mentioned.
For the sake of your health I think you should invite others to help with the chocolate research. I volunteer!
I’m not sure how to pick only one dessert, but I’m a huge custard fan, so maybe flan, or vanilla creme brulee.
@j3nny: Thank you! :) I hope you enjoy it! I have a soft spot for this one. I think because I just had so much fun with the world and characters, particularly the hero.
Chocolate lava cake. YUM!
@Lindsay: Thank you, Lindsay! It’s been really fun trying to get at the magic of Paris in all her moods. Although I am really loving working with the Provence setting now, too. All that heat and those scents!
@Jen G.: Thank you so much, Jen!
@kathybaug: Kathy, you are a brave and generous soul. :)
I’m enjoying all these desserts people are talking about! I still say we need a cookbook of them.
Oh two of my favorite things in the world, chocolate and roses!
It’s hard to narrow down a favorite dessert. I love Tres Leches cake, a specialty around Texas. I also love bread pudding with warm brandy sauce… warm apple crisp with ice cream melting over top, strawberry shortcake… I hardly ever eat dessert, but these on a menu will always tempt me to take the plunge! Thanks for sharing your story!
Gemma
I enjoyed The Chocolate Thief and would love to read The Chocolate Rose. 9 years ago I did a walking tour of the Provence, and would love to revisit it in your story:)
Chocolate desserts… yum! Do I get banned as a heretic, though, if I say my absolute favorites are a little more vanilla–like creme brulee? I also made a fantastic tres leches cake last night that is currently calling my name from the fridge. Super easy, plus there is something very therapeutic and stress-relieving about punching holes in the cake for the milk sauce!
http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/sweetsanddesserts/r/treslechescake.htm
It’s hard for me to say my favorite dessert since I love all kinds. Probably a dark chocolate lava cake.
I think self publishing has allowed a lot of new and more established authors gain some exposure or control, and that it has a place in publishing.
Red velvet cheesecake. Unfortunately, I have no ability to cook, let alone bake, so it’s always purchased : )
Chocolate gets me through the day, just like good books.
Love Laura Florand’s books. Love all things chocolate! Dark, of course!
I absolutely loved the phrase “If a story drives a writer, then it is never a waste of time to finish it.” The creativity which fuels your writing also drives readers to indulge in the sweet joys of reading your work. I love your characters and their milieu of chocolates, pastries, and France. Like a chocoholic, I look forward to your latest creation, all the while savoring the memory of the ones I have already enjoyed.
Self-publishing provides an excellent avenue for both authors and readers to get more of what they want, so I celebrate your decision to launch “Chocolate Rose” on your own.
For nostalgia reasons, strawberry shortcake the way my mom used to make it when I was a kid. Otherwise I’m happy with a big slice of classic chocolate cake.
My favorite dessert is ice cream, especially on a hot summer day. Yum.
I really appreciate the variety of stories self-publishing has allowed. Sometimes I want a traditional romance but other times I want something new and different and I think its great self-publishing is a platform for authors to publish their work.
Flan de tres leches (three milk flan) is by far my favorite dessert. I haven’t made one in a good long while–now that the kidlets are adults attending college, the very idea of eating one by myself is daunting. (I’d probably end up in a sugar coma.)
I always loved dark chocolate. For a long time my favorite was the ones that were spiced with chili. After reading Chocolate by Joanne Harris I was curious how this combination could work so I had to try out and because I always loved spicy food (after all I am Hungarian) and chocolate separately it was not a surprise that I loved their combined taste too.
Lately I am starting to abandon chili and chocolate for the salted dark chocolate version. Which is surprisingly yummy too.
I was so thrilled when I saw that this was available, and at such a bargain! I adore your chocolate books and have been recommending them to my friends – even the ones who don’t really read romance. I just love the characters and the push & pull – they feel very true to life – though in a fairy tale, la vie en rose kind of way.
Not putting my name in the hat since I already own & read this, but I will say to others that I recommend it!
I love the Persephone/Hades theme. Can’t wait to read The Chocolate Heart!
The heroine’s name is perfect! My father used to sing me that old song ‘Jolie Jacqueline’ when I was a little girl. It’s one of my sweetest memories of him, so I feel attached to this Jolie already. PS I love apple crumble.
@Vi Dao: But will I ever be forgiven for making Paris the hell? :) I’m kind of buying shields in advance for December (when HEART is released), in case I get stoned. It was really quite intriguing, from an author’s point of view, to do that with Paris, though.
@Elaine: Thank you, Elaine! :) You are very sweet! Ah . . . no pun intended. :)
I love Pierre Herme’s lemon cream tart.
@Jen: Thank you so much, Jen!
@Carla: Oh, yes! The Infiniment Citron?
@Karen A: Thank you, Karen! :)
And thanks to everyone for all your dessert suggestions! :) You are making me very hungry.
Fresh raspberries. ‘Nuff said!
I no longer eat sugar, but I love these books so I’m entering anyway. :-) (If I ever make it Paris, all bets are off.)
I love lemon merringue pie and mint chocolate chip ice cream.
I love cheesecake, and I can’t wait to make this recipe for cheesecake brownies!
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/09/cheesecake-swirled-brownies/
cheesecake
I adore chocolate and marshmallow and the best ever combination of those two things is Nabisco’s mallomar cookies. I will take mallomars above any other dessert.
I’m just sitting here at home working on my own romance novel and just got back from a trip to the kitchen where I muttered repeatedly where’s the d*** chocolate. I need chocolate.
I already have the book which I loved so I don’t need to be entered. I am looking forward to the next books and this concept of Paris as hell. I do wonder if the other short stories will ever be published individually.
This is going to seem like a cop out, but my favorite dessert depends on my mood. Cakes are always good, as are cookies. I love cheesecakes, and ricotta is currently my favorite. When it come to cookies, I love this cookie that evokes summer camp for me. It’s the magic seven layer bars but in cookie form and it’s made from graham crackers. And chocolate? Why does it just have to be for dessert? I love sneaking some into my other meals. It’s a food for all time of day or night.
Apple shortcake, with lots of cinnamon and a generous crumble topping. Warmed up a little bit. A scoop of vanilla ice cream to go with it is also not a bad idea ;)
I’ve been making a wicked chocolate slice lately. It’s an Australian Women’s Weekly recipe (triple tested in the AWW test kitchen!!) and it’s really easy and quick. And yummy. I’m pretty sure it could even be served warm with ice-cream but I haven’t got that far yet.
My fave: tiramisu! :)
@Nikki: Nikki, do you mean the novellas? And if so, by “publishing” are you thinking a print copy of the book? Turning Up the Heat is out by itself but not in print, but the two with Kensington are in collections, both print and digital. (One already out and then one coming for Christmas.) I would like for them to be released individually at some point and have talked to them about it, but the lack of flexibility with traditional publishing can be one of an author’s frustrations that way. If they ever do get released individually, it would almost certainly be as ebooks alone. I do want to put Turning Up the Heat out in print, but I’ve hesitated about doing it separately (because the printed book would have to be sold around 10.00 to cover costs, and that’s a LOT for a novella) or waiting to combine it with another novella when one is ready, so that readers get more reading material for the cost they would have to pay. I know a lot of authors self-publishing are running into that dilemma and what to do about it. What do you think, from a reader’s standpoint?
@Jolie Jacq: I love the story of your dad. :) I’m glad the name could bring back some happy memories!
My favorite desserts always include chocolate! I love a warm chocolate brownie covered in hot chocolate sauce with vanilla ice cream. Yummmm.
I like most chocolate desserts or pastries filled with custard.
I never met a dessert I didn’t like
I’ve been hearing great buzz about Laura Florand and have one of her books on order to try her out right now! Thanks to you both for the offering this contest!
Simple desserts are my favorites: Dates. Or a dish of frozen mangoes, pineapple and cherries. Or even warm blueberry or cherry pie (‘a la mode’ is good!).
I’m not a huge dessert person, but I can never ever say no to cheesecake.
Looking forward to two new titles by you, woot! RE: dessert… Sometimes I like making dessert more than eating it myself… I have made wedding cakes for 5 couples now: 1 shaped like Astro Boy and Astro Girl, 1 featuring the Pillsbury Dough Boy and DoughGirl (yes she exists!), one traditional stacked cake (yellow cake with rosepetal jam, green tea cake layered with pistachio marzipan, flourless chocolate cake with raspberries), one featuring George and Martha (yellow cake and rosepetal jam again, earl grey chocolate with chocolate mousse, and red velvet), 1 faked cake with Snoopy and Woodstock in a meringue airplane (borrowing from that japanese tradition where you just dress styrofoam with fondant and other decorations with just a tiny inserted cake for the wedding couple to cut- that flourless chocolate cake again. Then the Japanese just roll out the dessert tray instead of slicing up the decorative cake). Last wedding cake I did was for two friends who got married at SF City Hall on June 17, 2008, the first day same sex marriages became legal in CA and just beforeto the Prop 8 vote- it was a 3 tier cake with 2 layers per tier: pomegranate, orange, yellow, green tea, lemon lavender, and lavender cake. Of course you couldnt tell it was a rainbow until you cut through the traditional fondant. Dessert is great, but feeding people dessert? even better
I didn’t think I was a desert person but I also stress bake, so I am not sure how those two things go together. For example, today I made banana rum-cake bread. It’s a thing. I swear. I think my favorite desert is probably creme brulee though. I get to use the blow torch!
Love this guest post, Laura! It’s interesting to hear about The Chocolate Rose’s path to publication. I’m glad you decided to try a different route – hope everything goes well. :) The Chocolate Touch isn’t even out yet and now I can’t wait to read The Chocolate Heart, you keep teasing us with these bits of information that you bring up. Can I just say that it makes me happy that you have several books lined up for publication? I’m super excited to read all of them.
@joopdeloop: I think it’s official: You are amazing!!
@Chachic: Thank you, Chachic! :)
Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu, a really good ice cream. But right now I’m resisting the urge to go get candy, so candy bar.
Snickerdoodles and cheesecake. My total guilty pleasure.
Pots du creme, creme brulee, things in that line.
Yum, chocolate. No need to say more, chocolate, especially naimo bars……..
I ALWAYS have to make certain I have quality chocolate on hand before I start one of your books. As far as favorite dessert… anything chocolate, the darker, the better. (I’ve got a near-flourless chocolate-cherry brownie recipe I adore (4 oz. of flour to 32 oz. of chocolate).)
On self-publishing… I have mixed feelings. As a librarian at a public library, it’s certainly made my job harder. Self-published titles often don’t get reviewed in professional sources, they don’t have the marketing behind them that traditionally published titles do (so I don’t even HEAR about them half the time), and all too frequently, they’re not carried by our distributors, so even if I WANT to, I can’t even get them for our shelves.
As a reader, I’ve found self-published titles to be a pretty mixed bag. Some are just fine– fair price, decent binding, nice cover art, and a solid story that’s clearly had the touch of both an editor and a proofreader. Others… not so much, failing in one or all of those categories. I’ve had books literally fall apart in my hands. I’ve had a book so riddled with typos and continuity errors I literally threw it out unfinished. I just *don’t know* what I’m going to get ’til it’s in my hands, and that makes me all the more hesitant to buy.