2T Repeat Performance - Wine, Books and Music—Stand Out!

I've done a number of blog tours over the years, posting on different sites. Now I'm bringing them to you!

Originally published January 10, 2013 for the Samhain Blog

Wine, Books and Music—Stand Out!

Touring California wineries on a recent trip to LA was a revelation. See, I grew up with German Rieslings and Liebfraumilch, and my usual table wines are crisp and fruity—and simple. What you taste at the beginning is what you taste all the way through.

California wines are intensely complex. Peppery, buttery; hints of leather or notes of raspberry and plum. There are overtones and undertones and starts and finishes—and that’s before aeration, which adds richness and nuance. Even a Muscatel that my husband and I bought in an LA grocery store was a medley of flavors.

Why all the complexity? One reason surprised me.

The wineries are trying to stand out. They’re competing with a globe’s worth of well-established, famous wines: French and Italian; German and Portuguese; Australian and Brazilian.

As an author and musician, I understand scrabbling to find your audience. A single voice, pushing to be heard in a choir of millions, is hard. Some books sell hundreds of thousands of copies while similar books languish. 

The wineries show us that the voices and books that impress aren't necessarily sweeter or better written. But they are different, new in a way that stands out from the rest. Many grab attention by being piquant or complex.

So how’s this for complexity? Biting Love—spicy stories with powerful vampires, overtones of action, notes of humor, under(the covers)tones of sex and a finish of music and love.

Hugs!
Mary

Strong men. Stronger women.
http://maryhughesbooks.com