This past weekend I updated my websites to reflect the new books that will be coming out, and in the process I decided to scrap the old home page of my C.S. Harris site.
When I first put up the Harris site, I subscribed to the adage that one should have a home page that loads onto the screen in its entirety. But in practice that proved to be very restricting, and in time it also just began to feel static. The new format enables me to showcase both books--What Remains of Heaven, which is coming out in trade paperback this week, and Where Shadows Dance, which will be released in hardcover next March. The new format also makes great use of the new book videos. I'd been questioning the time I spent to make them, but seeing them on the website reassured me. One of these days soon I'll probably redesign the C.S. Harris site; Shadows will be the fourth book released under this design, and while I still like it, I also have a yen for something new. Sort of like that itch you get to buy a new coat, or redo a tired garden bed.
Also, I have an interview up at a wonderful site called Paperback Dolls. As more and more newspapers cut their book sections, on-line sites like this one are becoming increasingly important sources of news about books and reviews of new releases. I've done a lot of interviews in my life, but I think the "Paperback Proust" section of this one definitely ranks as the most unique! I also must apologize because in rereading it, I realize I can't add or subtract. I started trying to get published eleven years after I first attempted to write a book, not sixteen years. (You'd think a mother would remember when her own children were born...) Anyway, you can read the interview here.
19 comments:
Very nice interview. I actually still own most of your romances. If you ever write another one, would you go back to using Candace Proctor or stay with the C.S. Harris nom de plume?
Also, now that you're writing the sixth book in the St. Cyr series, is it proceeding as you originally envisioned or have there been any major surprises? Can you give the Team Kat members any hope that all is not what it seems? I know I'm in the minority, but as I've said before, I like Sebastian with Kat.
An interview? *excited*
...now that you're writing the sixth book in the St. Cyr series, is it proceeding as you originally envisioned or have there been any major surprises?
Great question Kim! And WRT Team Kat/Team Hero - LOL!
*off to read the interview*
That is one great interview! I love that Huckleberry goes with you to the lake house. Any particular reason why him?
Kim, I actually have a rather strange romance my agent is going to start shopping around soon. Whether it will come out under the name Candice Proctor or not would depend on whatever publisher buys it--assuming someone does!
As for whether the current book is going as I envisioned, they NEVER go as I envision. In my dreams, everything flows smoothly; in reality, there are always all kinds of problems I didn't foresee. And as for Kat, I can't give anything away, but I can say that she will be happy. The eighth book will focus on Kat a lot.
Orannia, whenever I go away, Huck sulks, refusing to eat or bathe, so he comes with me whenever possible (when I went to Morocco for those three weeks, he was half dead by the time I got home). He also loves it up there, because he's a spoiled baby and it gives him a chance to be an only cat, which as far as he's concerned is the way life should be!
Hi Ms.Harris! I'm Kitt from PBD. :) I just wanted to say thank you soo much for taking the time to answer all of our questions! Also, thank you for the praise, because our "Paperback Prouts" are my favorite feature we offer. It really lets us get to know the author, instead of just asking the same old questions. And as for the retraction - you may not be able to, but I can and I did. If there's anything else, don't hesitate to ask! We absolutely loved having you!
[Oh and I can't believe you actually burned your first two books! I would think you'd have kept them if for nothing more than souvenirs of becoming a published writer.]
kittn.paperbackdoll AT yahoo DOT com
I don't believe I'm really that obtuse a reader, but what is this Team Hero/Team Kat thing?! I've seen it at Amazon, DearAuthor, goodreads and now here. Where did it come from, can anyone explain? Thanks!
Interesting interview (love the Lymond books and that quote by Thoreau)
Candy,
Just to add to what Kitt said - we loved having you, our interviews are only as fun and wonderful as the authors who participate!
We loved having you on the site and would welcome you back anytime!
Thank you for the kind words,
Noa
Thanks for answering my questions snd best of luck shopping the romance. BTW, how many years has it been since you last released a romance?
To answer confused but willing to learn's question, I think Team Kat and Team Hero is analogous to Team Jennifer and Team Angelina. Basically, the premise is a man has a romantic relationship with two women and the public (readers) take sides. Hope that explains it.
Kitt, thanks for having me; it was fun. And thanks for fixing my oops.
As for the two books I burned, I do think they were publishable, if they had been the first books I published. But they were definitely inferior to the work I've done since then, and I was afraid someday someone would get their hands on them and publish them. I read an article about how Georgette Heyer refused to allow some of her earlier books to be republished, but after she died, her heirs published some of them. I read one--I think it was Simon the Coldheart--and thought, Yep, Heyer knew what she was doing when she refused to allow this to be reprinted. That's when I burned the manuscripts!
Confused, Some of my readers love Hero, some love Kat. I love both women!
Noa, again, it was fun, and thought-provoking. Thank you.
Kim, my last romance was Beyond Sunrise, published in 2003.
I'm off to check out the interview.
Huck sounds like a cat that knows what he likes :) Although the not eating when you're away thing...scary!
To answer confused but willing to learn's question, I think Team Kat and Team Hero is analogous to Team Jennifer and Team Angelina. Basically, the premise is a man has a romantic relationship with two women and the public (readers) take sides. Hope that explains it.
Ah, I see! as in Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie? (Being a non American, I don't follow US celebrity news that much). Thanks for the explanation re: where the team thing originated from. So I guess my next question is: this Team Hero/Team Kat thing, what is its relevance to the st cyr books and where does it fit into? Textev would be much appreciated and which book & chapter does it refer to? Which version would also help (Because I've recently found out that apparently for one of the St Cyr books, there is a mini-difference between the hardcover version and paperback version).
Confused, Some of my readers love Hero, some love Kat. I love both women!
Thanks for the additional explanation, Ms Harris! This Team Hero/Team Kat is really cropping up a lot that there is something here that I just fail to see. I hope to be enlightened more!
So I guess my next question is: this Team Hero/Team Kat thing, what is its relevance to the st cyr books and where does it fit into? Textev would be much appreciated and which book & chapter does it refer to?
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Do you want Sebastian to wind up with Kat or with Hero? After reading all 5 books, many readers have formed an opinion. That's really the only relevance to using the term "team." The Jennifer Aniston/Angelina Jolie story became so big in the US that people actually printed up shirts stating which person (team) they preferred. So now, many readers have adopted the concept for this series. Therefore, you won't find the actual word "team" in any of the St. Cyr books. It's more reader inspired than author driven.
Not to sound arrogant or boastful, I'm fairly an alert reader (you can't come out of, to use an example, Dunnett reading world, however scarred, without improving your internal reading alert system that serves in parrying tricks and noticing authorial winks in the texts, those sorts of things!)
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After reading all 5 books, many readers have formed an opinion.
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Therefore there must be something in the St Cyr books that must have triggered this 'teams' opinion. It can't possibly have occurred without evidence from the books because majority of the St Cyr readership talk about it! It crops up a lot in majority of reviews and comments after the latest two books were published so as to become a necessary point to bring up, that there must be something in the books that I must have missed! Hence my request for textev, who knows if there are some language-nuances that I missed, being a non native English speaker you know, or there are genre-shortcuts that I'm not aware of, whatsoever. I don't believe that this textev request is that rare; in fact it's quite the norm in book discussions I think.
It really frustrates me that I just fail to see it (blind spot in my alert system) and I hope both teams' members could help in pointing me to which St Cyr books & which chapters does it refer to. That's all! Thanks.
Charles, sorry the book burning horrified you!
Orrania, he's quite a character. One of these days I'll have to do a Huckleberry post.
Less Confused, I personally did not know that the whole "Team" thing started with the Jennifer/Angolina championship, which I guess shows I don't read enough celebrity news. The first I head about it was with the Twilight series, so I really did not set out to do this deliberately. And I can't believe you caught the changes between the hardcover and paperback versions of Serpents! You're the first person who has.
Kim, thanks for your explanation.
Less Confused, Like I said, this whole Team Kat/Team Hero thing isn't something I planned/tried to set up, so there aren't any textev. But there certainly are clues about where the two relationships are going in the books.
Good stuff!
You indeed have gone and done it.
Many apologies for the hijacking of this blog topic by Confused, Ms. Harris. The damage has been done and it cannot be rolled back. However, it is hoped that nothing of a similar nature will occur here again.
p/s: Ms. Harris, I actually intended to clarify on Confused's statement pertaining to the 'mini-difference' in one of the St. Cyr books so as not to cause a panic among your other readers but you have taken care of it. I have to admit though while I'm still here, that I found it jarring when I saw a particular character's name being related to the mystery in SERPENTS in the hardcover version. It it good to know/be confirmed by you that it has been changed in the paperback release. :)
All the best for the trade paperback of HEAVEN as well as your future releases.
One would have to be terribly interested in the status of celebraties and the tabloids which thankfully I have to say, I'm not!! And I would I must admit, hate to think that the whole team theory for Hero and Kat came from that quater! Perhaps it can be a bit ambiguous if one has not read your books in order. However, having said that, as the reader continues with this truly delightful series, (in order or otherwise) it soon becomes glaringly obvious (in my humble opinion) that Hero and not Kat is the right woman for Sebastian St Cyr. Roll on March!
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