Guest Post and Excerpt: Sugarfiend by Caroline Burau
Thanks to Caroline Burau for stopping by with a guest post on her cover for Sugarfiend and an excerpt from the book! Please check out…
Sugarfiend by Caroline Burau
I received a copy of Sugarfiend from author Carolyn Burau in exchange for an honest review. I found this novel very interesting. This is the I think the third book I’ve read lately that has a unique format – more story-telling from the main character instead of a dialogue driven format. It worked for this book in my opinion. The heroine is Estelle Brown, a sugarfiend who just can’t say no to a box of chocolates…or syrup…or raw cookie dough. Her life starts to fall apart when her boyfriend dumps her for a bulimic model (again), her roommate and best friend leaves town suddenly, and her boss announces he is love with her. Estelle packs up everything and decides to chase after her best friend and bring her home but takes a detour, finds a hot mess duo of twin sisters who convince her to take a cruise with them, and hops aboard without looking back. While there, Estelle will learn lessons about life, love and if being skinny truly does mean being happy.
This book has a bit of everything – addiction, romance, sarcasm, love, and one woman being pretty darn confused in life. Sometimes it was a bit too all over for my taste; it was hard to keep up with everything that was happening. But Burau has a knack for story-telling, because even if I seemed a step behind Estelle, I still wanted to read fast to figure out what would happen next. If you don’t appreciate strong language or sexual scenes, this probably won’t be for you. But if you can find the lessons from the raw story that Burau gives us, I think you will enjoy this book too.
[Rating: 4]
On Tour: Sugarfiend by Caroline Burau
Caroline will be on tour September 24- October 25 with her novel Sugarfiend If her life is a box of chocolates, acid-tongued, sugar-obsessed Estelle Brown…
Future Tour: Sugarfiend by Caroline Burau
Caroline will be on tour September 24- October 15 with her chick lit novel Sugarfiend If her life is a box of chocolates, acid-tongued, sugar-obsessed…
Blog Tour Sign Up: Sugarfiend by Caroline Burau
Caroline will be on tour in September/October with her chick lit/humorous novel Sugarfiend. Print copies or eBooks will be available worldwide, and Caroline will also…
Guest Post by Caroline Burau
Self-publishing: The good news is, it’s all you! And the hard part is, it’s all you.
Having my memoir, Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat picked up by a well-respected publisher in 2006 was a huge thrill. I signed a contract, finished my first draft, and immediately the wheels started turning.
During the six months leading up to publication, someone other than me did a whole slew of things I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. A gorgeous cover was designed, drafts of the book were edited multiple times (some with, some without my input), advanced copies were sent out to numerous media outlets for reviews, and respected authors were picked to provide blurbs. As if this wasn’t enough, about a month before the release date, a lovely young lady name Jana called me and introduced herself as my publicist. My publicist? I have a publicist? Jana took care of booking readings, signings, radio, newspaper, and TV interviews.
In short, I wrote a book, participated in the editing process, then basically made sure I showed up when and where I was told to go. The pace got somewhat rigorous, and I fought my own nerves at every single appearance, but it was a wonderful ride that I know many writers would kill to experience.
And then it was over. One day, I called Jana about a request I’d gotten for a reading at a local library and she broke the news: “I’m not your publicist anymore.” I was aghast! But it was nothing personal. My time was up; she was on to the next new title.
Over the years, I continued doing occasional readings and appearances for Answering 911. In 2011, I completed a novel, Sugarfiend, and hoped that my status as a published author would give me an advantage. After querying more than two dozen agents and getting little to no response, I felt like giving up.
Novels, I was told, are more numerous and therefore harder to sell than memoir or nonfiction. I would have to be patient. I’m not big on being patient. Self-publishing seemed the logical choice.
And it’s been great . . . but it’s been slow. Why? Because I’m it. I’m the writer, editor, cover designer, marketing department, publisher, and publicist. If it wasn’t for my husband’s technical know-how and marketing background, I might truly be overwhelmed.
To start, I had to get over my biggest fear: that because the book hadn’t been picked up by a “real” publisher, it wasn’t any good. But over the course of four meticulous full edits, I at last reached a point where I not only liked Sugarfiend, but enjoyed it. That’s when I knew it was ready.
From there, I formatted the book for three different self-publishing formats: Kindle, Nook, and CreateSpace (for the trade paperback.) It was time-consuming and taxed my scant technical know-how. (Again, husband! To the rescue.)
Now that the book is available, the responsibility of getting the word out is all mine. Media outlets tend to look askance at self-published works. They get a lot of queries from people looking for publicity, and without a reputable publisher’s seal of approval, it’s hard to get them to pay attention.
So, while my royalties are much higher with my self-published book (70-50 percent versus 10 percent or less with a traditional publisher) the number of units sold will inevitably be much lower. But thanks to the power of social media, newspapers, radio, and TV no longer hold a monopoly on information. Plenty of self published authors have used Facebook, Twitter and other outlets to drum up huge word of mouth.
To get the word out, I now blog regularly for www.women.com and as a guest blogger for anyone who will have me (like this awesome site). It’s fun, and it keeps my writing chops up. I stick to sites where I think my target audience will find me: women, sugar “addicts”, and lovers of humorous fiction. I also hired a web designer to set up my own author blog and web site (www.carolineburau.com) a central location for fans to check out both books, read updates, and link to my social media pages.
In short, the great part is that it’s all up to me. And the hard part is that it’s all up to me.
It’s too soon to tell whether I made the right choice. I still entertain fantasies of Sugarfiend getting the attention of some big exec at Penguin, getting signed to a 50,000-unit first-run, then being adapted for a major motion picture (which I’ve already decided must star Kat Dennings.)
But mostly, I’m glad I can say to fans of my first book and anyone else who asks, that Sugarfiend is out there and ready for the world to enjoy. And I didn’t wait for anyone’s nod of approval. I did it for myself.
Caroline Burau is a freelance writer in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and author of Sugarfiend http://www.amazon.com/Sugarfiend-ebook/dp/B0071BFKOW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328076456&sr=8-2 and Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat. http://www.amazon.com/Answering-911-Life-Hot-Seat/dp/0873516028/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328076456&sr=8-1
You can also follow her on Twitter (@carolineburau)
In My Mailbox: Week of February 12
In My Mailbox: Week of February 12
Title: Trashy Chick
Author: Cathy Lubenski
Received: From Hannah @ Vantage Point Books
Synopsis: Reporter Bertie Mallowan has drifted away from hard news stories and into the shallows of “fluff” features, the kind you find buried in the back of the newspaper. Writing about preschool fashion shows and the latest in designer garbage bags bores her so she amuses herself by inventing naughty passwords for her computer and pushing the envelope when it comes to creative lying to management types.
When she interviews greedy, nasty Robert Bellingham, the king of must-have luxury items for the rich of Southern California – like monogrammed airbags for “The Crash with Panache” and mink coats pre-streaked with red paint to foil PETA kamikazes. Over the years, his products have become de rigueur for the class that has two of everything and is seeking the one and only of something else. He’s made a lot of money and a lot of enemies.
Two days after Bertie’s interview, Bellingham’s body is found on the floor of the foyer in the family mansion; someone has aerated his skull with the stereotypical blunt object. Thanks to her interview, Bertie has inside information about the life and times of a rich and powerful murder victim and is thrust into a big story again.
Bertie is convinced that the family’s bizarre emotional ticks make them all uniquely capable of committing murder. A second murder and an attack on Bertie herself brings her face-to-face with the kind of danger she’s only ever written about, never experienced first-hand.
Title: The Baby Planner
Author: Josie Brown
Received: From Josie Brown
Synopsis: Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.
He’s adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he’s upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters’ precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.
While helping a new client—Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth—maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family: How we nurture is the true nature of love.
Title: A Year to Remember
Author: Shelly Bell
Received: From Shelly Bell
Synopsis: When her younger brother marries on her twenty-ninth birthday, food addict Sara Friedman drunkenly vows to three hundred wedding guests to find and marry her soul mate within the year.
After her humiliating toast becomes a YouTube sensation, she permits a national morning show to chronicle her search. With the help of best friend, Missy, she plunges head first into the shallow end of the dating pool.
Her journey leads her to question the true meaning of soul mates, as she decides between fulfilling her vow to marry before her thirtieth birthday and following her heart’s desire. But before she can make the biggest decision of her life, Sara must begin to take her first steps toward recovery from her addiction to food.
Title: Sugarfiend
Author: Caroline Burau
Received: From Caroline Burau
Synopsis: If her life is a box of chocolates, acid-tongued, sugar-obsessed Estelle Brown should learn how to pick them better. Her boyfriend’s left her for a bulimic hand model, her roommate’s skipped town, and her boss is in love with her.
In the middle of her latest of a lifetime of doomed diet attempts – cutting sugar cold turkey – Estelle decides to quit quitting for good, pack her bags, and lose herself on a 7-day Caribbean cruise.
But even on a floating monument to binge eating, the diet industry follows her. Across from every buffet is a studio full of treadmills. Next to every plate of fried calamari is a large diet Coke.
As a ship full of wary passengers ducks for cover, Hurricane Estelle wages her own personal war against moderation. But the consequences land her in the belly of the beast: broke, alone, and forced to take a job as –of all things– a detox consultant for the ship.
Is Skinny the answer to Happy? Is Sweet ‘n Low the new black? Is that Denise Austin chick … for real? No, no, and yes . . . oddly. But for a Sugarfiend, it’s not the destination that matters, it’s all the cupcakes you get to eat along the way.
