Tales, Veils and Rails
Romance
writers descend
on Oldham County, Ky.
Shop
local is theme
of new weekend event at library
By
Helen E. McKinney
Contributing Writer
LA GRANGE, Ky. (January 2011) – Local author
Kim Jacobs has been pursuing a romance novel writing career since the
mid-1980s. After making her first book sale in 1997, she has become
an established author and is participating in a new event for Oldham
County, Tales, Veils and Rails.
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Photo
provided Kim
Jacobs has been |
For Jacobs, the draw toward writing romance novels “at
first came from reading romance novels. I became hooked on them in college
and even my college roommates, and I played around with writing one
years ago. Romance novels pull me into the story for the emotional connection
the reader gets to the characters,” she said.
A good romance novel is “about the developing relationship between
the hero and heroine, their conflicts, the emotional twists and turns,
and the resolution,” said Jacobs, 54.
In addition to writing under her real name, Jacobs writes under several
pen names and has published a number of non-fiction articles, book chapters,
manuals and novels. She writes romance under the pen name, Maddie James,
and erotic romance under the pen name, Mia Jae.
Jacobs has worked with Discover Downtown La Grange Executive Director
Linda Goin to plan Tales, Veils and Rails for Jan. 28-29. It is an event
designed to appeal to brides-to-be and anyone who loves romance, fashion
and getaway ideas.
Jacobs’s contributed to the “Tales” part which involved
“gathering some of our local romance authors and getting their
commitment to be part of a Friday night book signing and Saturday reading
event at the library,” said Jacobs.
The weekend event will include participation from 15 romance writers,
15 poets, wedding vendors and a fashion show for brides-to-be and their
wedding party. On Saturday afternoon, Jan. 29, at the Oldham County
Public Library a fashion show is planned to show residents that “you
can plan a wedding and actually outfit everyone in it in La Grange,”
said Goin.
This includes the honeymoon, too, since there are great places in Oldham
County for newlyweds to stay such as Bluegrass Country Estate Bed &
Breakfast, she added.
Local businesses participating in the fashion show include The Couture
Closet and Grandeur Station. “You really can plan a whole wedding
here,” said Goin. Discover Downtown La Grange looked around town,
gathered sources such as local florists, eateries and businesses that
sell wedding apparel, to make this annual event “part of our Shop
Local campaign.”
Many businesses will participate and vendors and musicians will be set
up at the John Black Community Center as well, for brides-to-be to get
planning ideas.
Discover Downtown La Grange is trying to tie the Oldham County Public
Library and Community Center into upcoming events, Goin said, because
many people are not aware of these resources. Goin hopes to be able
to add a shuttle service for the event and said a large draw is the
fact that “there are tons of romance writers in Oldham County.”
Jacobs agreed, saying, “Kentucky does have several chapters of
Romance Writers of America and it seems that once authors get together
and network, there are more to be found. The romance genre is quite
a popular genre and the book sales are not slacking off, particularly
in the e-book format.” Jacobs has been a member of Kentucky Romance
Writers since 1990.
On Friday evening, Jan. 28, there will be a book signing at Karen’s
Book Barn and Java Stop in La Grange. Several local authors, including
Jan Scarborough and Elizabeth Beverly, will be signing their books.
On Saturday, more authors will be reading passages from their books
and will have copies on sale at the library during the fashion show.
“We’ve also discussed an author-publisher “pitch”
session to be held at some point in the event,” Jacobs said.
She recently began a new venture by forming a publishing company in
February 2010. Turquoise Morning Press allowed Jacobs to take her first
submission in April, sign her first author in May, and launch the first
book in August.
“To date we’ve published 19 titles, some full-length novels
and some novellas,” she said. She has assembled more than 25 authors
and books scheduled to be released, one a week, throughout 2011.
Jacobs quit her day job in December 2009 to “find a way to devote
more time to my writing.” After receiving the rights back to six
of her earlier novels she decided to research the self-publishing business.
“Along the way, an author friend approached and asked me if I’d
be interested in working with her. And before I knew it, Turquoise Morning
Press was born, and I never looked back,” Jacobs said. She will
apply her experience to the author-publisher “pitch” session
during Tales, Veils and Rails.
Turquoise Morning Press does not publish only romance novels; it is
open to looking at almost any kind of novel or non-fiction book. “We
have children’s and Young Adult offerings, mainstream fiction,
memoir and some non-fiction coming up in 2011,” she said. “I’m
also looking to build more mystery-suspense into the list.”
• For more information on Tales, Veils and Rails, visit: www.DiscoverLaGrange.org or contact Linda Goin at (502) 269-0126 or linda@discoverlagrange.org. For more information on Kim Jacobs or Turquoise Morning Press, visit www.TurquoiseMorningPress.com.