We have moved

Since setting up the new website, I've migrated this blog over there, as well. There will be no new updates on this blog in this location - and honestly, there'll probably be very few updates on the blog in the new location as well, since I'm not very good at blogging.

But if you want to check and see whether there's anything new and exciting going on, from now on you can find us over here:

http://jennabennett.com/blog/

Thanks very much!

The King is dead! Long live The King!

So I've been doing copy edits on the seventh DIY mystery, HOME FOR THE HOMICIDE - due out December 3rd and available for preorder HERE - and I ran into a conundrum about Elvis Presley.

You know, Elvis the Pelvis. The King of Rock'n Roll.

In the text, I referred to him as "The King."

The copy editor thinks it should be "the King."

I think "the King" could refer to any king of any country, including my own. I'm a Norwegian citizen, and Norway is a constitutional monarchy. We have a king. King Harald. Long live the King!

A statement which, to me, is quite different from "long live The King."

Of course, The King is dead. But still.

I took a Facebook poll, and most people agreed with me. Elvis is The King, not simply the King.

He's also The Pelvis, not simply the Pelvis. Unless he's Elvis the Pelvis, and then it's OK.

The Chicago Manual of Style disagrees, it seems. It says that "the," when run into a sentence (particularly with places, but also names), is lowercased.

I'm thinking rude thoughts about the Chicago Manual of Style right now.

In copy editing, there's something called STET, though.

Per Wikipedia, STET is a Latin word that means "let it stand," which is used by proofreaders and editors to instruct the typesetter or writer to disregard a change the editor or proofreader had previously marked.

In connection with this usage, STET is also sometimes used as a verb, e.g., "Stet that colon."

I'm so stetting The King!

A Cutthroat Update

I keep getting asked about more Cutthroat books, so I thought I'd clarify where we stand on those.

I'm currently about halfway through writing #7, which will be called KICKOUT CLAUSE, for real this time. I hope to have the book out by the end of the year, but I can't guarantee anything. Sometimes stuff happens, you know?

I have plans for books 8 and 9. Fairly sure I know exactly what'll happen in ...#8, and I have a good if basic idea for #9 based on what I know will have to happen in the series at that point. I'm working off a basic story arc here. The same way the first five books were planned together, these four (6-9) are planned as one long, over-arching storyline, too, with one book (hopefully) flowing seamlessly into the next. 

There may or may not be a wedding at the end of #9. I'm just not sure yet whether it'll fit there or not. It depends on length and how the end of #9 winds up. If there isn't a wedding in #9, I'll either write a book 10, or a novella or short story.

God willing and all that, of course. Again, stuff happens.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what'll happen. I could possibly foresee another book or novella, if things turn out the way I think they will, but it's hard to make a committed, settled relationship work in fiction, long-term. All the tension is gone, and it becomes sort of boring to read about. To write about, too. So I don't want to drag things out forever. I know you guys love Rafe and Savannah - I do too - but at some point it'll be time to wave goodbye and let them get on with their lives.

Not quite yet, though.

Quinn wins again!

I'm uber-excited to be able to announce - much after the fact - that Fortune's Hero won the
Wisconsin RWA's Write Touch contest for the Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal genre.

Here are all the winners, in the order they were posted on the WISRWA Facebook page on June 4th.

Yes, I really was very late in learning about this. The wonderful Anna Lee Huber congratulated me on Twitter earlier today. I told her she must be mistaken because I hadn't heard anything about winning, and she said no, I won. So of course I had to go see for myself, and lo and behold, I did win. Anna Lee won too, incidentally, for the Mainstream category, with a wonderful historical mystery called The Anatomist's Wife.

Without further ado, the WISRWA Write Touch winners and finalists; congratulations to everyone:

YA
Winner - Pushing The Limits Katie McGarry
2nd Place - Greta and the Goblin King Chloe Jacobs
3rd Place - Courtship and Curses Marissa Doyle
4th Place - Feyland Anthea Sharp
5th Place - Wishing You Were Here Catherine Chant

Short Series
Winner - Unlocking The Surgeon's Heart Jessica Matthews
2nd Place - The Long Way Home Cathryn Parry
3rd Place (Tie) - Something To Prove Cathryn Parry
3rd Place (Tie) - Once A Good Girl Wendy S. Marcus
4th Place - Taste For Temptation Phyllis Bourne

Historical
Winner - Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed Anna Campbell
2nd Place - The Saint Monica McCarty
3rd Place - The Recruit Monica McCarty
4th Place - Sweet Enemy Heather Snow
5th Place - Free Me Ann Brown

Inspirational
Winner - All Roads Lead Home Christine Johnson
2nd Place - Threat of Darkness Valerie Hansen
3rd Place - The Mouse Trap Caper Gaby Pratt
4th Place - Alaskan Hearts Teri Wilson
5th Place - Hannah's Joy Marta Perry

Single Title
Winner - When Snow Falls Brenda Novak
2nd Place - All I Want is You Sherrill Bodine
3rd Place - Take Me Home Nancy Herkness
4th Place - When Lightening Strikes Brenda Novak
5th Place - Seasons of Wine and Love Casey Clifford

Romantic Suspense
Winner - Blue Ridge Fear Robin Weaver
2nd Place - Shadow of Deceit Mal Olson
3rd Place - An Island No More Casey Clifford
4th Place - Sniper Shots Kathy Lane
5th Place - A Man to Trust Cheryl

Mainstream
Winner - The Anatomist's Wife Anna Lee Huber
2nd Place - Repossessed Sandy Parks
3rd Place - The Unfinished Garden Barbara Claypole White
4th Place - The Promise of Change Rebecca Heflin
5th Place - Better Than Dessert Casey Clifford

Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal
Winner - Fortune's Hero Jenna Bennett
2nd Place - Return to Celio Sasha Cain
3rd Place - Released Amber Polo
4th Place - A Soul For Trouble Christa McHugh
5th Place - Riever's Heart Renee Wildes

Erotica
Winner - Unbridled and Unjustified Elle Saint James
2nd Place - Unbridled and Unhitched Elle Saint James
3rd Place - Blood Fire Sharon Page
4th Place - Blood Secret Sharon Page
5th Place - Unbridled and Untethered Elle Saint James