O, JULIET is Published!

I'm thrilled to announce that my eighth baby has finally and officially come into the world. Many times, just after I've finished writing a book, I experience a sense of loss and a bit of free-floating anxiety. I've lived in the world I've re-created and been intimate with my characters for so long that I feel at loose ends and hardly know what to do with myself.

With O, JULIET, I extended my "pregnancy" for a full six months while I created and pursued this "extravaganza of shameless self-promotion" (a big virtual book tour, this new blog, the "Love Games," an updated website, and a newsletter), all of it focused on the web. You can read about this experience in my latest blog for The Huffington Post, "Publishing Revolution: Historical Fiction Evolves in Digital Age," right here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-maxwell/publishing-revolution-his_b_444851.html

But now that the bun is truly out of the over, it's reckoning time. O, JULIET will hit the front tables at Barnes and Noble and Borders next week (the Barnes and Noble chain has agreed to feature it for a full 4 weeks!). A blog ad campaign sponsored by my publishers, Penguin/NAL, will begin soon, and O, JULIET will be getting its very own "iPhone app" - a sneak peek at the first chapter - starting February 15th.

It's all in the hands of the Publishing Gods now.

Love Poetry Contest Deadline Extended

It's been exciting to read the heartfelt poems you've been posting here on my blog, but they've been trickling in veeeeery slowly. I've been thinking that once people have a chance to read O, JULIET, they might get inspired by the brilliant verse of the great Dante (whom I so liberally quote in the book), or they might become brave and take a chance like I did, (sharing my amateur poems in Romeo's and Juliet's voices with the public for the first time). So to give my readers some more wiggle room, I'm extending the deadline for the O, JULIET Poetry Competition for another two whole months -- till April 1st. Please take a chance and share your love!

Love Made Her Crazy!

I'm happy to announce the randomly selected winner of the third and final "O, JULIET Love Games Giveaway." Laura Robinson's wonderful story about the craziest thing she ever did for love -- separating from her beloved for a time to study abroad -- turned out to be the best thing the couple could have done for their relationship. The time apart gave them a sense of strength and independence and when they came together again, they realized just what a great team they were. They've been married now for ten years.

Laura has won a signed copy of O, JULIET and the beautiful hand-crafted, solid silver heart necklace...just in time for Valentine's Day!