Romance Novels

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• Here!

  Reading, Writing, & Stuff That Makes Me Crazy

  16 May 2012 | 4:20 am

  I'm alive.I feel awful for not having blogged in so long, and am going to make a concerted effort to find time to do so regularly again.  The biggest thing, I think, is that I simply don't have time to do it in the mornings so I'll need to rearrange my brain patterns, and start doing it in the afternoon or evening.Yes, I'm still buried with work, insanely behind and treading water.  It's one of those double-edged swords.  I'm thrilled to be this busy, on the one hand, but would sure love ten minutes to take a breath.I did manage to get my garden in (more detailed post later)…

• Shiny Razorland Give-a-palooza

  Ann Aguirre

  Ann Aguirre

  25 Apr 2012 | 10:25 am

  First, the shiny: To celebrate my long-awaited cover reveal, I’m running an epic contest. Details below:   a Rafflecopter giveaway You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway. And that’s it, really. Just follow the instructions to enter. Winners will be announced on Cinco de Mayo. (And if you don’t win the ARC, you can always pre-order OUTPOST.) I’m so excited! I hope you guys love this cover as much as I do. I adore everything about it. ETA: Here’s a link to the free Razorland novella, Endurance, featuring Thimble & Stone, now on Heroes and…

• Audio Editions of the Mackenzies (first four books)

  Writer's Blog: Blog of romance author Jennifer Ashley

  27 Apr 2012 | 3:07 pm

  As you know, the audio book of Madness of Lord Ian is already out.I see by Tantor Audio's website that the audio versions ofLady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage will be released in JUNEMany Sins of Lord Cameron will be released in JUNEThe Duke's Perfect Wife will be released in JULYAngela Dawe is narrating all of them.These are up for pre-order on Tantor's website. They're released by Audible and iTunes a couple weeks after Tantor's release, from what I understand.I am beyond thrilled that the entire series will be in audio!!OK, so now I need a movie. Rights are available.... :-) Mmm hmm.

• 2 May 2012 | 9:19 am

  The Crayon Box

  2 May 2012 | 9:19 am

  Posted at TRS: http://ping.fm/TibYo

• Let's Go to the Mall!

  Melly's Spot

  7 May 2012 | 9:58 am

  My son and I went shopping for a suit this weekend. That's what he wants to wear for his graduation, so that's what we're getting! We ended up at the mall. The mall!Sadly, my son thinks malls are actually just for shopping. It's not the 80's where the mall was THE hang out place. Maybe once in awhile one of your friends had babysat or had a parent who would give them enough money to buy a tape or record, but most of the time you had a little bit of money for the eatery or the arcade. That was it. No shopping at the mall! I asked him if he'd seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High and he hadn't.

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  Reading, Writing, & Stuff That Makes Me Crazy

• Here!

  16 May 2012 | 4:20 am

  I'm alive.I feel awful for not having blogged in so long, and am going to make a concerted effort to find time to do so regularly again.  The biggest thing, I think, is that I simply don't have time to do it in the mornings so I'll need to rearrange my brain patterns, and start doing it in the afternoon or evening.Yes, I'm still buried with work, insanely behind and treading water.  It's one of those double-edged swords.  I'm thrilled to be this busy, on the one hand, but would sure love ten minutes to take a breath.I did manage to get my garden in (more detailed post later)…

• Post-its Post

  30 Apr 2012 | 3:00 am

  A few days ago, the kidlet decided to help me clean as a surprise... I was upstairs working and didn't know what had happened until I went downstairs for something and found: On the storm door: On the dining table near the door out back: On the sliding glass door:On the kitchen counters:On the throw rug by the back door:On the kitchen floor: The cat checking out the post-its:The Tupperware cabinet:On the fridge:And the stove:The basement steps:It was adorable.  I guess I'll keep her.=============================

• Spring Break

  25 Apr 2012 | 5:37 am

  Sorry ... a little late posting. But it's the kidlet's spring break AND the week of her thirteenth birthday. I'm taking the week off everything that isn't mandatory in order to spend more time with her. Back on Monday!

• Public Service Announcement: Beware the Spawn of Satan

  18 Apr 2012 | 3:00 am

  What spawn of Satan you ask?These:I know, I know ... the little blue toilet tablet cleaners LOOK innocent enough. I was lulled into a false sense of security when I bought mine a couple weeks ago.Then it happened...Three of our four toilets (yes, I really have that many -- bet YOU wish you got to scrub four toilets) started flushing weird. Slowly. Not clogged, exactly, but not always getting everything down and acting like they were sort of clogged.At first we thought it might be our septic tank -- but why would ONE toilet still be working okay?Today, I googled it to see if there was anything…

• I Really Dug My Weekend!

  16 Apr 2012 | 5:54 am

  Honestly, the weather was lovely, so I spent most of it on outdoor chores. Take a walk with me...This is going to be our strawberry patch (this picture was taken on Saturday morning): This one is as far as I managed to go before I ran out of steam (I don't use a tiller for many reasons too numerous to list -- plus I wanted some of the grass):Here's what I wanted the grass for -- to plug some spots where the Japanese Beetle grubs attacked last year (we're investing in milky spore this year -- it's been ten years since we applied it last time, and it's clearly run its course):I found a mama…

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  Ann Aguirre

• Shiny Razorland Give-a-palooza

  Ann Aguirre

  25 Apr 2012 | 10:25 am

  First, the shiny: To celebrate my long-awaited cover reveal, I’m running an epic contest. Details below:   a Rafflecopter giveaway You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway. And that’s it, really. Just follow the instructions to enter. Winners will be announced on Cinco de Mayo. (And if you don’t win the ARC, you can always pre-order OUTPOST.) I’m so excited! I hope you guys love this cover as much as I do. I adore everything about it. ETA: Here’s a link to the free Razorland novella, Endurance, featuring Thimble & Stone, now on Heroes and…

• The Last Jax Cover Reveal Ever

  Ann Aguirre

  13 Apr 2012 | 9:11 pm

  Typing those words made me a little sad. This is a bittersweet revelation, but I’m so happy for Jax, and so moved by all you readers who tell me how much you love her. Thank you for sticking with us through six books, but do come back for the Dread Queen series in 2013, okay? It’s a spinoff set in the Jax universe, so you won’t want to miss it. Now, without further ado, here’s the final Jax cover, my lovelies. Squee! Isn’t it AMAZING? Scott Fischer has done all my Jax covers, and he outdid himself on the last hurrah. This might be my favorite cover of the whole…

• Corine Solomon Extravaganza

  Ann Aguirre

  4 Apr 2012 | 11:15 am

  If you’ve wanted to start this series, now’s the time. I’m giving away three sets of the first three books. That’s nine copies, three winners. Enter below. Simple! I’ll contact you on April 9th if you win, so make sure you use a valid email on your entry. a Rafflecopter giveaway You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway.

• Winner

  Ann Aguirre

  2 Apr 2012 | 8:12 am

  The signed copy of OUTPOST goes to: Madiha Assegaf   You have one week to email me. If you haven’t contacted me in that time, I will draw a new name. Congratulations! My email is ann.aguirre at gmail dot com.

• YA Scavenger Hunt: Red Team Go!

  Ann Aguirre

  29 Mar 2012 | 1:00 pm

  Today kicks off a spring YA Scavenger Hunt, and there are tons of great prizes to be won. You decide how much effort to put into it, but the rewards will definitely be commensurate with the time you spend visiting various sites and gathering clues. There are three teams: RED, YELLOW, and BLUE. I’m on the RED team, myself. If at any point, you get stuck, there’s help here. Between all of us, there are a total of 60 books being given away. You can enter all three loops so you have a chance at all of them, or you can just do one team giveaway for a total of 20 books. Either way,…

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  Writer's Blog: Blog of romance author Jennifer Ashley

• Audio Editions of the Mackenzies (first four books)

  27 Apr 2012 | 3:07 pm

  As you know, the audio book of Madness of Lord Ian is already out.I see by Tantor Audio's website that the audio versions ofLady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage will be released in JUNEMany Sins of Lord Cameron will be released in JUNEThe Duke's Perfect Wife will be released in JULYAngela Dawe is narrating all of them.These are up for pre-order on Tantor's website. They're released by Audible and iTunes a couple weeks after Tantor's release, from what I understand.I am beyond thrilled that the entire series will be in audio!!OK, so now I need a movie. Rights are available.... :-) Mmm hmm.

• Meet the Staff

  23 Apr 2012 | 1:50 pm

  I hear these days that most, if not all, authors have a professional assistant or even a staff that takes care of the day-to-day  things (like blogging and posting and other time-consuming chores), while the writer gets on with the creative work.I thought I'd introduce readers to my staff (all male), because I find them very helpful.This is Tall Guy. He answers, when he's in a zany mood, to Minion. Or to Sweetie. As in "Sweetie, would you do me a huge favor, and . . .???" He obligingly takes packages to the post office, buys office supplies, and reads drafts of my manuscripts for that Y…

• Audio Book Giveaway! Madness of Lord Ian

  16 Apr 2012 | 10:00 am

  This contest is now closed! The winners have been contacted, and I'm waiting to hear back from them. Thank you!I have two (that's 2), CD copies of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, available for giveaway to two winners. All you have to do is post in the comments why you want to win it. And please leave an email so I can find you!! (You can be cryptic: jenniferashley (at) cox (dot) net).Madness of Lord Ian's audio book has been reviewed at Speaking of Audio today: http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=8063  (about halfway down the blog).I'll take names until midnight Saturday the 21st, and…

• Duke's Perfect Wife, Pirate Next Door, Audio Books!

  3 Apr 2012 | 12:46 pm

                 Yay! Today, April 3, is the official release date for The Duke’s Perfect Wife. This is Book 4 of the Mackenzies series, Hart’s story. I loved being able to at last delve into Hart’s character and give him his happy ending. You’ll see a lot of Ian in this one. Look for the print books in B&N’s, BAM’s, indie bookstores, Walmart, etc. It’s also available online and in ebook form (Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, et al).Nook…

• Exclusive Four-Chapter Excerpt of The Duke's Perfect Wife

  8 Mar 2012 | 8:38 am

  To celebrate the upcoming release of The Duke's Perfect Wife (Hart's story, April 3), I've put up the first four chapters of Duke's--Free! You can read it on the web or download the chapter for your Kindle, Nook, or PC:Click here to read the excerpt on the Web: http://jennifersromances.com/dukesperfectwifeexcerpt.htmlClick this file (or right click it) to download for Kindle:http://jennifersromances.com/TheDukesPerfectWifeExcerptKindle.prcClick this file (or right click it) to download for Nook:http://jennifersromances.com/TheDukesPerfectWifeExcerpt.epubClick this file (or…

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  The Crayon Box

• 2 May 2012 | 9:19 am

  2 May 2012 | 9:19 am

  Posted at TRS: http://ping.fm/TibYo

• 22 Mar 2012 | 9:55 am

  22 Mar 2012 | 9:55 am

  Happy Spring! It's been very warm here, leading to thoughts of serious spring fever!

• 9 Mar 2012 | 8:21 am

  9 Mar 2012 | 8:21 am

  I blogged at TRS about Daylight Saving Time: http://ping.fm/mkPwm

• 17 Feb 2012 | 10:48 am

  17 Feb 2012 | 10:48 am

  Anyone else glad it's Friday? Oh and I blogged for the first time in ages. http://ping.fm/SV942

• Friday Five

  17 Feb 2012 | 10:41 am

  1. Yes, it has been a while. Life keeps getting in the way. I really need more hours in a day.2. I'm finished with Beyond the Fire. I need to edit it, on tap for next week, and get it submitted. 3. I have no idea what to write next. I've been contemplating a young adult novel...I have an idea about drag queens...and I have oh, three books that I really need to edit and find a home for. What to do, what to do.4. Big Bang Theory makes me LAUGH. We watched the new one last night and I cracked up about Sheldon. Then the first episode of BBT aired on TBS. I'm really astounded at how the show has…

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  Melly's Spot

• Let's Go to the Mall!

  7 May 2012 | 9:58 am

  My son and I went shopping for a suit this weekend. That's what he wants to wear for his graduation, so that's what we're getting! We ended up at the mall. The mall!Sadly, my son thinks malls are actually just for shopping. It's not the 80's where the mall was THE hang out place. Maybe once in awhile one of your friends had babysat or had a parent who would give them enough money to buy a tape or record, but most of the time you had a little bit of money for the eatery or the arcade. That was it. No shopping at the mall! I asked him if he'd seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High and he hadn't.

• Catnip Mom's

  4 May 2012 | 8:43 am

  This morning I was pulling away from my house when a cat passed in front of my car. It was the baby mama of the kittens, who we haven't seen in weeks now. Well, she hasn't LET us see her in weeks. She stopped and looked at me and I looked at her and this is the conversation I imagined happened:Her: "What are you looking at?"Me: "I don't know. I guess the cat that had four babies and then LEFT THEM AT MY HOUSE." I swear she's like one of those crack moms’s who has a bunch of kids and then leaves them with her mom so she can get more crack. But I'm not really sure what the cat equivalent to…

• Things that make you grrr....

  16 Aug 2011 | 4:31 pm

  As I go through this thing called life, I've noticed that, although I'm a pretty laid back person, there are things that will anger me for no real reason whatsoever. There's no rational reason for it. It just is. So I wrote them up in a list.Things that anger me for no rational reason:1. Those family stickers on people's cars. You know what I mean. The mom, the dad, the kids... The other day, I shit you not, I saw a turtle and a fish on someone's car. Yes, even the fish rate a sticker now. Whenever one of those people cut in front of me or even gently change lanes in front of me, I just want…

• The List

  4 Aug 2011 | 12:59 pm

  Do you remember the episode of Friends when Ross and Rachel agreed to the list of celebrities they could sleep with if they met them in person? Then Ross laminated his list? lol That was an awesome episode. Well, the other day I got to thinking about who would be on my list if me and my husband agreed to one. Which I'm sure he would. If I asked him. Which I probably won't.Anyway, I also wondered if I would even be able to narrow it down. I tend to be like a teenager who crushes on every celebrity she sees. Will I ever grow out of that? Do I even want to? But I am going to try to narrow it…

• Huh?

  3 Aug 2011 | 2:14 pm

  My son has joined a Christian death metal band, which he loves! On the way home from work yesterday, I picked him up from his band members house and he was chattering away. But lately there has been kind of a disconnect between us so our conversations usually end with me going, "Huh?" More so than usual. Here are some examples.Him: "I have the best girl-scream out of all of them."Me: "Girl scream? Isn't that bad?"Him: "No, that's good. You want that."Me: "Oh... Huh?"Yeah. Girl screaming is good in a death metal band. That and growling, I guess.Him: "I want Toms (the shoe) for my birthday!"Me:…

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  Ally Blake Romance Author - Blog

• ebook of the month :: nice things people had to say

  15 May 2012 | 6:00 pm

  MILLIONAIRE TO THE RESCUE ::  ebookThe awards:WINNER - Cataromance Reviewers' Choice Winner BEST HARLEQUIN ROMANCEFINALIST - RomanticTimes BOOKclub Reviewers' ChoiceBEST HARLEQUIN ROMANCEFINALIST  Booksellers Best AwardBest Traditional Romance The nice reviews:Millionaire to the Rescue is a beautifully written story of an unrequited love finally coming true after so many years. This book had me laughing, crying and enjoying each and every second of it."5 stars, CataromanceAlly does a fantastic job of fitting many emotions into the HRomance format.  Wonderful read." 4 1/2…

• Happy Birthday Bright Eyes!

  14 May 2012 | 8:57 pm

  Today my middle child is three.  Bright Eyes seems like she was born 2.  She was an early walker, a quick talker and born with a glint in her eye.  She's chock full of mischief with chocolate spiral curls and big brown eyes that let her get away with anything.  She's graceful and athletic, has an amazing ear for language and memory games.  And is the sweetest, most loving kid you could imagine.Love you bub!  Hope you have a super fun day and can't wait to see what being three brings you and us.Love MumxXx

• must watch TV: true blood

  10 May 2012 | 6:00 pm

  There's nothing better than finding a new author you love who has a huge backlist you can glom to your heart's content.   (My current is Rachel Gibson - faaabulous!)But for me there's something that comes close.  Discovering an awesome TV show with five seasons down before you even see the first episode.  Right now, for me that would be True Blood. Set in a made up Louisiana town of Bon Temps, and based on the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris I'd avoided it til now mainly because of vampire OD.  (Hero's a vampire, heroine can read minds, and the third i the love…

• ebook of the month :: collaging

  7 May 2012 | 6:00 pm

  MILLIONAIRE TO THE RESCUE ::  ebookThe collage:I've always "cast" my hero and heroine, from right back at my first ever book.  But the first time I had a go at "collaging" was at a Romance Writers of Australia conference when Barbara Hannay asked us to bring magazines, scissors and glue, and those of us doing the talk proceeded to, well, act like a bunch of joyous kindergartners!  Ripping out pictures we loved, and slapping them together on a big bit of paper.Here's what I came up with.The hero & heroine inspiration images changed in the writing - Danny needed to be darker,…

• the blonde bombshell has been launched

  3 May 2012 | 6:00 pm

  Always a great relief when a book is finished.  And sent to my editor.  An no longer "I'm so close I can smell it" which this one felt like it was for weeks.This one was great fun to write.  There's a rogue lift, a flamingo motif, and wedding dress that just doesn't know its place.  I want to live in the heroine's apartment and as for the hero, well, a picture says a thousand words and all that so...Fingers crossed my editor likes it too!

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  Elizabeth Boyle Blog

• Winners

  Elizabeth

  14 May 2012 | 9:10 am

  What a jam-packed busy weekend. Hope you had a lovely weekend and a Happy Mother’s Day. I finally had time to pull winners of the Along Came a Duke arcs, as well as autographed Julia Quinn novels, this morning and now I am going to post their names: Barb Ritchie, Jenn H, Linda Mc, and Mary Falls. There were a 112 of you to choose from, so I truly put the Random Number generator through its paces this morning. Poor thing nearly fainted from exhaustion. And if you didn’t win an ARC of Along Came A Duke, don’t despair, there is only three weeks until it releases. And if you…

• Focus, Focus, Focus

  Elizabeth

  12 May 2012 | 3:40 am

  When it comes to writing, it takes a lot of focus. There is no way around it. The writers who write book after book after book have some the most enviable focus I have ever seen. And at times I need to renew my own focus and determination to not let the distractions in this business (and yes there are many) and the freedom of working at home (which affords its own diversions) from cutting too deeply into the time necessary to write a book. Earlier this year I put together a writing workshop in motivation–not character motivation, but motivating the writer to chain her butt to the chair…

• Five Things about Grace Burrowes

  Elizabeth

  10 May 2012 | 3:22 am

  Grace Burrowes is one of the lovely members of the Washington Romance Writers who I had the pleasure to meet at their retreat the first weekend of this month. I knew immediately that I needed to introduce her to all of you! Without further ado, here are Five Things about Grace Burrowes: 1. Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 2. If you could go on a date with any superhero, who would you choose and why? Wonder Woman. I want to know how she does it, where she got her boots, and what all the good gossip is in Superhero Land,…

• Rhymes with Love ~ A New Series

  Elizabeth

  7 May 2012 | 3:19 am

  Maybe you’ve heard, but my new book, Along Came a Duke, is part of new series, Rhymes with Love. I thought I’d share with you a bit of insider info and get you ready to jump into the world of Kempton, England. I started this new series for a variety of reasons–I had felt that the Bachelor Chronicles had run its course. While at first, I thought about doing another spin-off series with Lord Andrew and his band of misfits from Lord Langley is Back in Town, but then I got hit with another idea: a village in England that is cursed. Before you get to alarmed that this series is…

• $4.99 Digital Sale!

  Elizabeth

  6 May 2012 | 7:40 pm

  Have you heard? Thirteen of my digital backlist romance novels are on sale for $4.99! This gives you a chance to pick up an old favorite or fill in a series that you haven’t finished yet. Hurry and download yours soon in your favorite format: One Night of Passion Stealing the Bride Once Tempted It Takes a Hero His Mistress by Morning Tempted by the Night Something About Emmaline This Rake of Mine Love Letters from a Duke Confessions of a Little Black Gown Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress Lord Langley is Back in Town No Marriage of Convenience Danvers Series One Night of Passion ·…

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  heidibetts.com » Blog

• the next great “Project”?

  Heidi

  15 May 2012 | 12:00 am

  So here’s a little secret most authors don’t talk about—I’m currently flying with out a net.  Out of work.  No longer under contract. The last book I turned in was the last book I was contractually obligated to write.  And while I’m rather enjoying the sensation of not being under deadline for a change, it’s never smart to wait too long before going after that next sale.  The distance between actively published & unpublished, employed & unemployed is entirely to short & precarious in this business, sad to say. Luckily, I had a lovely…

• a Southern delight

  Heidi

  14 May 2012 | 12:00 am

  A yummy Southern dessert recipe that ON THE VERGE OF I DO‘s Kara Kincaid definitely would have made if she hadn’t been so busy being seduced by Eli Houghton. Deep-dish Layered Southern Banana Pudding with Pecan Streusel Topping Ingredients: 46 Nilla Wafers – divided 3 tablespoons butter – melted 1⁄2 cup chopped pecans 1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 packages (3.4 oz. each) Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding 2 cups cold milk 1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping – thawed, divided 4 bananas (1 lb.) – sliced 1 pkg. (8 oz.)…

• Happy Mother’s Day

  Heidi

  13 May 2012 | 12:00 am

  And now to announce the winner of our extra-special Mother’s Day Free Book Friday giveaway—1,003 Great Things About Moms & a “Beary Best Mom” teddy from the Boyds Bears collection… Angie M Congratulations, Angie! Please contact me with your full name & mailing information, & I’ll get your prizes out to you as soon as I can!

• Sexy Fail Saturday

  Heidi

  12 May 2012 | 12:00 am

• Free Book Friday (with a side of Funny) – Mother’s Day edition

  Heidi

  11 May 2012 | 12:00 am

  A FRIDAY FUNNY FREE BOOK FRIDAY An extra-special giveaway today—1003 Great Things About Moms by Lisa Birnbach, Anne Hodgman, & Patricia Marx, plus a “Beary Best Mom” teddy bear from the Boyds Bears collection. But special rules for a special holiday… To enter the giveaway for this book, leave a comment to today’s post that includes the code FBF—for “Free Book Friday,” of course—to let me know you’re interested in the drawing…AND tell us one thing you really love about your mom. U.S. residents only for the prize, please, but…

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  JEN BLACK author

• Requiem for a little laptop

  15 May 2012 | 5:40 am

  A nasty headcold drove me  to my bed on Saturday morning where I shivered for most of the day. Today, Tuesday, is ny first day out of bed, still coughing and with my husband crossing his forefingers against me everytime I do it. It's his birthday today, and the poor man is sanding skirting boards prior to painting them instead of having a jolly day out.Still, we have our new chairs to sit in, and though they took twelve weeks to arrive, they are lovely. Beige leather and wood, so comfortable, and so good for the spine. Our living room looks very different without the big…

• Beautiful Things

  10 May 2012 | 7:00 pm

  I’m a hoarder. Tonight, turning out a cupboard in preparation for a little home decorating behind it, I found all sorts of wonderful things. An old Sunday supplement from the seventies with an interesting piece about Beautiful Things caught my eye. Since paper carries so much weight, I flipped it onto the throw away pile, and then couldn’t resist peeking at a paragraph or two about the crown jewels.All goneThe Imperial State Crown of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, begins the piece, “combines history, beauty, rarity and value in a way which is unique.” At the front of the crown…

• Reading

  8 May 2012 | 6:30 pm

  harvest mouse on a fat ballOnce upon a time, I used to work in a public library and had access to zillions of books. I read the reviews and put in requests (which were free back then) and read all sorts of novels on the basis that they sounded interesting. It was the best and probably the only perk of librarianship! I would not hesitate to admit that my reading matter was eclectic when I was in my early twenties. I barely covered the classics because I thought they would always be around and I could get to them later. Something more interesting was always just coming up on the horizon. I…

• Here it is...

  6 May 2012 | 6:30 pm

  This may not look like a book trailer for a romance, but I assure you it is. Reluctance is the story of Frances, said to be the richest widow in England, and her struggles to remain a widow. Yes, she wants to stay single, while fortune hunters abound, and simply will not give up trying to persuade her otherwise. In 1803, when a woman married, most of her  wealth went into her husband's hands. Not only that, but Frances, young and pretty as she is, does not wish to marry at all, for Marital Duties loom far too large on the negative side of…

• Socialising

  4 May 2012 | 4:50 am

  Durham Cathedral from the eastThis week I have done no writing at all. Six social engagements in one week and  everything has gone to the dogs! The meetings were all great fun, (and I've just remembered there is another one tomorrow - a coffee morning to support someone who is cycling from Panama to Costa Rica for medical charity) but I couldn't do this amount of socialising on a regular basis and write as well. Dorothy Dunnett once said that she couldn't write if she was doing a lot of socialising - after all, she said, it all comes out of the same tap. I am full of admiration…

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  Jenna's Romantic Notions

• Recovering

  Jenna Bayley-Burke

  14 May 2012 | 2:21 pm

  One of the cheeses at my publisher wasn't in love with the original For Kicks cover. And I agreed with her. So, we got a new image for the print edition, out in time for the holidays.Now I wonder... if I start using this one will readers get confused? Thoughts?

• BrewCycle!

  Jenna Bayley-Burke

  13 May 2012 | 2:45 pm

  With my brother and his squeeze in town, we wanted to do something special. We want them to like P-town, and we wanted to have a good time! Really, none of us get out enough. We found BrewCycle on Facebook and thought it was the ultimate Portland way to experience the breweries. Bikes, brews and quirkiness are what we are known for.The BrewCycle is a bicycle built for 15. Twelve people sit around a picnic table-like contraption and ten pedal, with room on the bench for three or so more. We had Randy sit inside on the cooler, you know, to keep it safe. Once we had our…

• Drive Me Crazy 1st Review

  Jenna Bayley-Burke

  11 May 2012 | 8:28 pm

  Google Alerts brought me the first reviews for Drive Me Crazy, which comes out May 29th. Single Titles gives it 4 stars, "Wonderful story about not sweating the small stuff and enjoying life."Love Romances and More gives it 4 hearts, "The sexual attraction between the main characters is sizzling"

• Deadline Dinners

  Jenna Bayley-Burke

  4 May 2012 | 1:14 pm

  So many things slip away from me when I have my brain wrapped around a new book. Cleaning is the first to go. Then I start looking for fast, easy dinners. I need them anyway with the kids in scouts, swim, & martial arts. I can totally understand how families resort to drive-through dinners. I would, but I have four conferences this year, so my pennies are going to that. (I'll be in Cincinati for the Lori Foster Reader Author weekend later this month.) So to keep the kiddos fed, I've turned to the crock pot.I know, it's a 70s institution. And I am not saying everything that comes out of it…

• Pinterest Storyboarding

  Jenna Bayley-Burke

  28 Apr 2012 | 7:55 pm

  I spoke at the Write To Publish conference today and had some great conversations with aspiring authors about social medai and how to use it to build platform and interact with readers. It's something I struggle with as an author, balancing having an online presence while still ensureing I have enough time to spend on writing the next story. One of the tools I've been using lately is Pinterest. It's not just for collecting recipes, craft projects or photos of places you yearn to travel to. As I was filling out the cover art sheet for Drive me Crazy, I collected some links to picture that…

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  JESSICA BURKHART

• #1k1hr

  10 May 2012 | 5:08 pm

  Had a lot of fun writing MASQUERADE today! I can only write for about an hour at a time before stopping to ice my arm, but I'm seeing a doctor again soon. Hopefully, I'll either have surgery in the fall or have a plan so that I can write all that I want! Eeek! It's something I used to take for granted--being able to write allllll day and not even think about it.Since 2006, though, what started as carpal tunnel (and still is present) has progressed to tennis elbow and/or thoracic outlet syndrome. Basically, it's too much pain for OTC pain relievers to touch and braces only help a teensy bit.

• Back to Brooklyn!

  6 May 2012 | 5:59 pm

  Man, 7 weeks is a LONG time to be away from home! It's been taking some serious adjusting to get into a routine that doesn't revolve around crazy hospital schedules. I slept until almost 4 today and gave myself the weekend off, except for copy edits, since K and I just got back mid-week. *ignores giant suitcases that need unpacking*I'm starting MASQUERADE tomorrow and am SO excited about it. K and I outlined most of it in Minnesota and it might be my fave LT book to date. It's going to be soooo fun to write! I want to share the cliffhanger with Team Canterwood right now, LOL, because it's…

• Popular releases tomorrow!

  30 Apr 2012 | 4:25 am

  W-O-W--WOW!I can't believe the *fourteenth* Canterwood Crest book releases on Tuesday! This was a series that started with one book in mind that I wrote in 2009. Ya'll know the story, but I'm feeling nostalgic. I was 19, a senior in college with a full course load and I heard about National Novel Writing Month. It was late October 2006, and NaNo is November 1-30, so I had no ideas, no outline--nothing. I jumped into it and started writing my first ever novel.Tidbit: It was a YA novel called "High Jumps at Collins Academy" first. :)I wrote my butt off and actually crossed the 50,000 word mark…

• Personal time

  18 Apr 2012 | 4:10 pm

  Hi, all,Still in Minnesota with K. Taking some personal time. But I DO want to say how excited I am for POPULAR's upcoming release!! It's almost 2 weeks away! Eeek!Going to walk to the Barnes & Noble this week and sign stock copies. I'll let you know when they're signed in case you want to snag one. :)xx

• The POPULAR countdown begins!

  9 Apr 2012 | 6:31 pm

  Hi, Team Canterwood!Happy Monday to you all. If you celebrated it, I hope your Easter weekend was fun! Anyone get amazing candy? I want to hear about it! What's your fave kind?Kate and I are at a hotel in Rochester, MN (for Mayo) and the hotel was sweet enough to give us Easter eggs with jelly beans inside. Yum!My fave candies are: Strawberry Twizzlers, malted milk chocolate eggs, Junior Mints, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, and...ooops, LOL, went off on a candy tangent!Kate and I have been away from home for more than a month. It's been extremely hard on her, but she's doing everything she can…

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  Joely Sue Burkhart

• Vicki Around the Blogosphere

  Joely

  14 May 2012 | 7:57 pm

  There are several places you can win a free copy of Yours to Take.  Don’t forget to enter the $100 gift certificate giveaway! Books-n-Kisses Delighted Reader Reviews: Cocktails and Books, 4 Cocktails Pearl’s World of Romance, a perfect 10 out of 10! “YOURS TO TAKE is the kind of book that took my heart, broke it and then put it back together, leaving it whole and satisfied. If you love erotic romance that’s both scorching and emotionally brilliant and you haven’t read Joely Sue Burkhart’s Connaghers series yet, you are seriously missing out!”

• A Busy Mother’s Day

  Joely

  14 May 2012 | 7:01 am

  I meant to at least post here over the weekend to wish all the moms who might stop by Happy Mother’s Day, but I was too busy celebrating our Moms’ days to make it! Saturday we celebrated with That Man’s parents at my BIL’s house.  The last time we were over at the lake, MIL took me in to show me the sad state of her closet.  So I was determined to buy her some clothes.  However, what I’d picked out from Catherine’s didn’t suit, so BB and I convinced her to jump in the car while we were waiting on the chickens to smoke (for dinner) and took her back…

• Lady Blackmyre’s Final Stretch

  Joely

  11 May 2012 | 11:49 pm

  I’m well into Act 3 now.  Queen Majel has made her appearance.  Lady Blackmyre has visited with Wellington and survived without killing the old hag.  Really, the only thing left is the huge happily-ever-after threesome.    Yes, it will be epic. My pace has slowed to about 1K a day with Vicki’s release, but I’m definitely in the home stretch!  Shooting for 35-40K before it’s all said and done. Snippet:  this pretty much follows the last one where Arthur ignored Lady Blackmyre’s commands and she turned her back on him. As though she didn’t have a care in…

• Yours to Take Giveaway

  Joely

  9 May 2012 | 5:02 pm

  In honor of Vicki’s book, YOURS TO TAKE, I’m offering a $100 gift certificate to any online book retailer of the winner’s choice.  You can tell me to split it up among stores too, so if you’d like $50 at Samhain and $50 at Amazon, or $100 at B&N — whatever you want! To enter, comment on this post ONLY before midnight CST, May 21st.  I’ll be using “Pick Giveaway Winner” to randomly select the winner from this post.  Anyone on the planet can enter, even if you’ve won something from me before.  Multiple comments are encouraged! Ways…

• Vicki Around the Blogosphere

  Joely

  9 May 2012 | 12:49 pm

  For a chance to win a free copy of Yours to Take, stop by: The Book Lover’s Inc where they interviewed me.  Learn about one of my phobias! The Book Pushers for some “Writing BDSM” 101s. More reviews: The Book Pushers “I don’t know that Burkhart has changed my mind about most FemDom books I’ve read, but by the end of the story, I enjoyed the dynamic between the three of them. One of the things I really like about Burkhart’s writing is that when it comes to the BDSM, she is very honest and realistic and true. I enjoyed watching Vicki struggle with wanting to be a…

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  Beth Ciotta

• Steampunk Cover Reveal!

  11 May 2012 | 8:11 am

  Clearly the Cover Gods are smiling on me. First I received that awesomelly gorgeous cover redesign for FOOL FOR LOVE. Then yesterday I got the official cover for the launch book in The Glorious Victorious Darcys series--HER SKY COWBOY  What can I say except.... WAHOO! Oh, and STEAM-A-LICIOUS!Ready for a romantic adventure?

• New Cover and a Collectible Cupcake Recipe Card

  9 May 2012 | 6:10 pm

  Even though I've been in the publishing business for several years, every now and then something still trips me up, stuns me, or pleasantly surprises my socks off. This is one of those 'pleasant surprise' deals. If you follow me here or on FB or Twitter... or if you've been to my website lately, you know I've had the cover for my August release--FOOL FOR LOVE--for a few months. However a funny and wondrous thing happened.Recently this story caught fire internally at my publisher, St. Martin's Press. People within the company are reading and loving the story and after much…

• Let the Bids Begin!

  1 May 2012 | 10:33 am

  Today marks the launch day for the month long on-line auction sponsored by awesome author and humanitarian, Brenda Novak. All proceeds benefit Diabetes Research! Please do visit Brenda's auction, skim the hundreds of items and services up for bid and take part in this incredible cause. if you glance over to the right column of this blog you'll see the direct links to items I have donated. I hope you'll see something of interest, but know there is so, so much more to bid on. Please spread the word and thank you for your support!

• Genius

  29 Apr 2012 | 8:25 am

  This video is genius on so many levels, I just HAVE to share it with you. I smiled and laughed throughout. So clever (and hot!). Kudos to the advertising team, writers and actor. Enjoy!

• Fly-by Photos and a Fabu Link!

  19 Apr 2012 | 8:17 pm

  I've been home from the Romantic Times Convention for four days and have yet to fully recover. Much to share, but short on time just now. Stay tuned! I did however want to provide you with a link that offers a slice of the insight gleaned from one of the contemporary panels I moderated. A panel that featured awesome bestselling authors, Louisa Edwards, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Christina Skye, and Jodi Thomas, as well as dynamo author//commentator Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches,Trashy Books. Moderating this panel, and a second contemporary panel featuring wildly popular authors…

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  Life Write Now With Cindy Carroll

• Most annoying show ever finally cancelled!

  Cindy

  14 May 2012 | 9:00 am

  Okay so maybe the title is an exaggeration. Maybe it wasn’t the most annoying show ever. There could be a more annoying show in the future. I am happy dancing today because the show that would not end was finally cancelled! CSI: Miami is no more! Horatio is gone! Could that character be any more annoying. Writers, what were you thinking? The only thing that would have got me watching that show would have been killing off Horatio. For some this is not a good day in TV for them. Some good shows got the axe. I loved Unforgettable. Alcatraz was pretty good too and had tons of potential. Over…

• Social media for the writer

  Cindy

  2 May 2012 | 10:26 am

  As a writer do you hate social media? Love it? Are you indifferent? No matter how you feel about it social media for writers is a necessary evil. Do you need ALL of them? No. Do you need some of them? Yes. Well, yes if you want to connect with readers and sell books. You can also connect with agents and editors. Not to mention other writers. It’s a digital age. Most of your potential readers are probably online. They probably have more than one social media account. Don’t you want to find them? I have to admit when I first started on social media I stuck to Facebook. It seemed…

• H is for…Homicide

  Cindy

  9 Apr 2012 | 9:48 pm

  Homicide. The act of a human killing another human. So murder is a type of homicide. But not all homicide is punishable. There is justifiable homicide. A homicide committed without evil or criminal intent, for which there is no blame. This could be self-defense to protect oneself or someone else. There is also criminal homicide which takes several forms and includes certain unintentional killings. When it comes to homicide the state of mind of the defendant is taken into account. Murder is usually intentional. Certain types of murders automatically qualify for capital punishment in the U.S.

• G is for…Graphology

  Cindy

  7 Apr 2012 | 7:00 pm

  Graphology is the study of handwriting and how it relates to personality. It’s not an exact science. Is it reliable at all in telling you anything about the person who wrote it? I don’t know. From the examples on one of the websites I found it says I’m broad minded and procrastinate. At least they got those right. So why would anyone want to study someone’s handwriting? Some businesses use it for potential candidates in order to do a personality profile. They can then see what job be right based on the candidate’s personality. Handwriting analysis has also been…

• F is for…Fingerprints

  Cindy

  6 Apr 2012 | 7:00 pm

  They say no two fingerprints are the same. Even identical twins (who have the same DNA) will have different fingerprints. Fingerprints make it easy to identify a person, if prints have been left at a scene. And if the police have anything to compare it to. As far back as 1686 an anatomy professor at the University of Bologna, Marcello Malpighi, noted the spirals, ridges and loops in fingerprints. He did not mention anything about their value in identifying people. Jump ahead to 1823 and another anatomy professor, John Evangelist Purkinje, from the University of Breslau, discussed nine…

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  Dawn Chartier's Blog ~ Lagniappe for Readers and Writers

• Bitter Sweet Mother's Day

  14 May 2012 | 8:17 pm

  I can always tell when Mother's Day is approaching. I start feeling mellow and blue. I know this is not how Mother's Day should be, but to be honest it is.Two years ago on Mother's Day my mother took a trip to visit my sister. I sort of pushed her to get out the house and head on over to see my sister's new place. So I went to my Mom's house early that morning, and helped her get ready for the trip. My Dad was hesitant, but I wasn't. I thought it would do her good to get out. (She had RA, and stayed home due to her illness.)While my husband's family came over my house, and we celebrated with…

• 4th Annual U.S. Military Wives Contest - Open for Entries...

  8 May 2012 | 11:10 am

  I met author, Sara Humphrey's recently in New Orleans, and could tell right away that she was a very generous and genuine author.So when I saw her blog event that she had on her website(blog), I knew I had to share her wonderful contest. This contest is just for Military Wives. Know any? Then please help pass the word... My father and brother both served in the military, and although I was too young to realize the impact it had on families, I do remember missing my brother a lot...So here's Sara's contest!For the past couple of years, as a special thank you to our service members and their…

• Failing My April Goals...

  1 May 2012 | 10:35 am

  Sometimes we set goals and achieve them, but sometimes we don't reach them. (at least not right now) Sure I'm disappointed with myself. Sure I'm a little blue for letting my peers down. Does this mean I'm giving up? Heck no! This just means I have a lot of catching up to do. So look out May because here I come. I will finish a book. (Not sure which book though. lol. I hope Buried Magic.) So have you reached your April goals or come close to it? I did write 7000 words in April, not a lot, (Buried Magic rewrite #3), but that's better than zero words, right? Okay, back to the day job...and then…

• Royal Street book signing! (Tuesday 4/10)

  9 Apr 2012 | 9:44 pm

  For those of you in the New Orleans area, come on out and support Suzanne Johnson for her very 1st book signing tomorrow 4/10/12.She'll be signing ROYAL STREET at 5:30pm - 7pm at the Garden District Book shop off of St. Charles Ave. (you'll have to look up the address)If you can't make it, don't forget to download it. I promise you'll love it!I did!DawnDIAMONDS, OUT NOW! KINDLE, NOOK, SIREN BOOKSTRANDNOT AN ANGEL, OUT NOW! KINDLEDawn Chartier Not An Angel, May 12, 2010 www.thewildrosepress.com www.dawnchartier.com

• Nominated for the 2nd Annual Boogity Boo Awards...

  2 Apr 2012 | 1:25 pm

  One of my writer friends is up for the Rita (Farrah Rochon) and one friend (Pamela Kopfler) is up for the Golden Heart. Well, they got nothing on me. Take a look at this nomination. I'm up for the 2nd Annual Boogity Boo Awards from the I Smell Sheep Blog. And get a look at this amazing trophy. Isn't it the best! I love it! LOLI would love your vote. (just click the text above "I Smell Sheep") I'm under the catagory: Best Response Taken Completely Out of Context. :-)Have fun voting! And thanks I Smell Sheep!Hugs,DawnDawn Chartier Not An Angel, May 12, 2010 www.thewildrosepress.com…

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  Dee Carney

• Six Sentence Sunday

  Dee Carney

  13 May 2012 | 7:28 am

  #sixsunday is more from my unnamed #momrom, where Owen is discovering his wife’s wilder side due to some naughty erotica she’s written. You all can thank (or despise) me for not posting the really dirty parts of this story. And there are lots of them. Owen stood abruptly, a haze covering his vision. Lust for his wife was riding him hard and he still had no idea where reality tip-toed into the territory of fantasy in this story. The words were so explicit. They left no room for questioning just what she wanted and how she wanted it. He’d been making love to this woman from the…

• Wednesday Words – What I’m doing now

  Dee Carney

  9 May 2012 | 9:15 am

  Holy hell, I am busy lately. I’m not quite sure what happened. One minute nothing, and in the next, there was this explosion. So, just in case you’re wondering why I’ve dropped off the face of the earth, here’s what’s going on with me: Just finished PASSION AROUSED at 86,000 words. It’s out now with beta readers for feedback before I send it to my editor. Keep your fingers crossed that all of them like it. I’m participating with other authors in writing for #momrom. I’m hoping to get this one finished by the end of the week, so that I can focus…

• Six Sentence Sunday

  Dee Carney

  6 May 2012 | 7:30 am

  #sixsunday is from a new piece of erotica, currently untitled. (Yes, @Karla_Doyle, this does mean that PASSION AROUSED is done!) Owen’s discovering that his wife knows a little bit more about sex than he’d previously given her credit for. Make that a lot more. Owen blushed deep, the heat carrying through his neck and ears. He didn’t think Gail even knew the word “pussy”. Another sharp reminder that perhaps he didn’t know his wife of fourteen years the way he thought he did. She’d taken the time to write down this piece of…erotica. Fantasy. Both, maybe. For more…

• Six Sentence Sunday

  Dee Carney

  29 Apr 2012 | 7:36 am

  #sixsunday is torn on how to take care of a sick Alice in my vampire romance, PASSION AROUSED. Poor Sebastian… “I wish I didn’t have this weight here.” He thumped a fist against his chest. “This thing that tells me that I have to do any and everything in my power to keep you safe. Especially when I don’t know how to do it. Every instinct is screaming at me to keep you surrounded by people who know what to do and how to take care of you. But then the pain tells me that no one will or can care for you better than I will or can.” For more authors who know how to take…

• Guest Blogger – Kerrianne Coombes

  Dee Carney

  25 Apr 2012 | 8:00 am

  I am here to celebrate my new release called ‘The one That Got Away’ And as part of the celebration, I am offering one commenter a chance to win a copy of the novella. I had the idea of The One That Got Away when I was watching a T.V programme, and it made me wonder what it must be like to live your life in the shadow of a lost love. Would the thought of that person be with you constantly? Or would you—in the end—get over it? Is the heart fickle? Is the saying ‘out of sight—out of mind’ true when it comes to love? I will never know for sure, because I married my first love, and…

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  Diane Craver's Blog

• Special Cookbook Price for Mother’s Day!

  Diane

  10 May 2012 | 7:56 am

  Special price for a fantastic cookbook. All the proceeds go to special children, the Sunshine Foundation www.sunshine.ca None of the authors receive royalties for this wonderful selection of recipes and much more. Click here to buy either print or ebook format! Print reg: $14.99 now $7.99 Ebook reg: $6.99 now $3.99 Sale runs from May 11th til May 14th Mother’s Day weekend

• May Spotlight - print book giveaway!

  Diane

  6 May 2012 | 3:15 pm

  To be eligible to win any of this month’s giveaways, subscribe to the Jewels of the Quill newsletter if you’re not currently a member. Only members of our newsletter are eligible for giveaways, prizes and offers. Here is the link: http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/jewelsofthequill2.html#Fansnewsletter I’m the author featured this month for the Jewels spotlight. Scroll down on this page, http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/jewelsofthequill2.html#spotlight) to read my interview! I’m giving away an autographed print copy of NEVER THE SAME! Here is a short…

• Interview & Giveaway!

  Diane

  24 Apr 2012 | 8:55 pm

  Wednesday, April 25th, I’ll be interviewed at the http://www.mybookaddictionandmore.com/. I’ll give away a download of my contemporary novella, YOUR PLACE OR MINE, this weekend. To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment on My book addiction and more blog. I’ll be scoring on the Louisiana project so won’t be home during the day. I’ll be sure to check in the evening! Thanks ahead! Genre: Contemporary Romance Rating: Adults - Highly Sensual Length: Novella - 20,400 words Publisher: Rebecca J. Vickery Available here: Smashwords Lulu Amazon Barnes & Noble…

• Agent requested a full!

  Diane

  16 Apr 2012 | 8:15 pm

  Last week an agent requested a full manuscript of my Amish romance, A JOYFUL BREAK. She asked for an exclusive read and said to give her two months. Of course, I hope to hear good news! Last Friday, my team leader wanted to talk with me. I was afraid I’d scored a test incorrectly or maybe it was a validity paper which is a big deal, but here it was to tell me she recommended me for the high school Louisiana reading project. I had to go to a meeting about it. It will be a small select group of us this time - only 23 and will last a week. It’s extra money because my next assignment…

• HAPPY EASTER!

  Diane

  7 Apr 2012 | 9:46 am

  I haven’t been around because I started a scoring project on March 26th. It’s a 3 week high school reading project. It was nice getting my paycheck yesterday for the first week of work. While raising our six children, the only outside job I did was some marketing surveys plus did substitute teaching one year. I make more from my scoring job than I ever did from subbing, and I didn’t care for filling in for absent teachers. Scoring projects start in March and usually end in July or August. Then there are a few small projects in November and December. I’m not going to do…

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  Lori Devoti, Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Author

• Free Vampire Romance Thursday, Friday!

  Lori

  10 May 2012 | 11:42 am

  Today and tomorrow only, Trust Me, the first book in my Vampire Hearts series is FREE at Amazon! Go get it, and tell your friends! “Devoti delivers a tantalizing read.” – Eve Silver, National Bestselling Author Dhamphir Harry Bisson has been hunting the female vampire who turned his father for over a century. The vampire, who has been building her power by feeding off her own family, thinks her bloodline has run out, but Harry has found one last relative–Lindsey Dennis: beautiful, trusting and the perfect bait. With no knowledge of vampires, Lindsey thinks Harry is her…

• April Winner and May Contest!

  Lori

  6 May 2012 | 11:39 am

  Kim Giardina is this month’s winner! Kim won a copy of Vampire Vendetta by Alexis Morgan and a fun vampire Pez! For a chance to win these upcoming prizes, make sure you sign up for my newsletter or update your listing for my newsletter. You can use the form in the sidebar or  visit the Contest Page for all the details. May Contest The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt June Contest Autographed copy of The Naked Marquis by Sally MacKenzie If you are looking for other contests to enter, check out Contest Girl.

• March Contest Winner Announced, New Prizes!

  Lori

  11 Apr 2012 | 9:56 am

  First, apologies for getting to this so late in the month! Spring break got in my way a bit. I was also busy finishing up Cut Loose, book 2 in the Dusty Deals Mystery series which is available now at Barnes & Noble. (Coming to other outlets in May.) And now for the winner! Drum roll… Angela Bartlett! For a chance to win these upcoming prizes, make sure you sign up for my newsletter or update your listing for my newsletter. You can use the form in the sidebar or  visit the Contest Page for all the details. May Contest The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt June Contest Autographed…

• Top Pick for The Witch Thief from Romantic Times Magazine!

  Lori

  26 Mar 2012 | 3:30 pm

  It’s only a couple of weeks now until the 6th book in the Unbound series hits stores. It is a May release but will actually be out mid-April. The good news– aside from that– is that The Witch Thief got a Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine! TOP PICK, Romantic Times Magazine “Devoti packs nonstop action and excitement into a riveting and quickly moving plot.  Additionally, the characters are quite well drawn.  Joarr is an irresistibly sexy hero, and Amma is the perfect strong female archetype.” –Alexandra Kay, Romantic Times Magazine The bad news is that almost…

• The Witch Thief, Excerpt

  Lori

  26 Mar 2012 | 3:20 pm

  “Where is the chalice? What did you do with it?” Joarr Enge picked up the dented metal lantern and peered through the glass. Amma, the witch whose spirit was trapped inside, refused to answer. He shook the lantern. The needle that he’d used to pull Amma’s spirit from the body she’d occupied rattled against the glass windows. The body hadn’t been Amma’s. A misguided princess, thinking she would gain the witch’s powers, had forced Amma’s spirit into her body, but she had underestimated Amma’s stubbornness. Just as Joarr had. Amma would…

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  Delilah Devlin » Blog

• A Winner…and a New Contest!

  Delilah

  15 May 2012 | 8:58 am

  It’s morning, and I just caught myself in mid-yawn. Yesterday was cram-jam-packed with work. Today will be more of the same. I’m determined to get a couple of things off my humongous list this week! So no time for a lot of chit-chat. Here goes. Out with the old, in with the new. The winner (by random number generator) of The Glass Art Pendant Contest is…Rana Adams! Congratulations, Rana! Be sure to send me an email with your snail mail address so I can get this into the mail for you! * * * * * The Two Book “Two-fer” Contest What can you win? The following two…

• Reminder: Call for Submissions — SMOKIN’ HOT FIREMEN

  Delilah

  14 May 2012 | 8:54 am

  Just a reminder! The deadline for submissions is a month away! Please pass this along to all your writer friends out there! ~DD Smokin’ Hot Firemen: Firefighter Romance Stories Editor: Delilah Devlin Publisher: Cleis Press in Summer 2013 Deadline: June 15, 2012 (although sooner is better!) Smokin’ Hot Firemen is open to all authors. Editor Delilah Devlin is looking for hetero firefighter stories for a romantic erotica anthology tentatively entitled Smokin’ Hot Firemen: Firefighter Romance Stories. A firefighter is one of those iconic heroes who inspire a jumble of sexy images at just…

• Guest Blogger: Suleikha Snyder (Contest)

  Delilah

  13 May 2012 | 6:54 am

  Thanks so much, Delilah, for having me as a guest! And, don’t worry, I came alone — I didn’t bring my voices! Many authors talk about how their characters “speak” to them, and there’s frequently that teasing back-and-forth argument you have with a scene you’re currently writing: “Stop that. I’m in charge. Go sit in the corner.” I’ve certainly felt that way on more than one occasion. But I also have other voices: when I’m reading aloud! Recently, I engaged in my first-ever public appearances as an author — reading from my debut Samhain novella, Spice and Smoke. Set…

• Snippet Saturday: Shame, Shame, Shame

  Delilah

  12 May 2012 | 6:03 am

  Sometimes, heroes and heroines don’t behave well. In the last story I wrote for Kensington, “Hot Blooded”, both hero and heroine have some baggage to turn loose. You can get a sense of how the heroine’s mistake is eating at the hero in this scene. Enjoy! Tough and rough, tall and dark, these are men a woman never forgets. Experience pleasure like no other in the arms of a cowboy… “Hot Blooded” by Delilah Devlin Rancher Adam Youngblood is always happy to help a damsel in distress. But before he’ll pull the sweetly curvaceous and fiercely independent Cass…

• Guest Blogger: Rachel Kramer Bussel

  Delilah

  11 May 2012 | 6:04 am

  Why Hotel Sex Is Hot I love hotels, and I love hotel sex! That’s why I edited Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories and the new anthology Suite Encounters: Hotel Sex Stories. To me one of the greatest things about a hotel is one of the most obvious: it’s not your home. Probably you’ve never been there before. There are all sorts of things to explore and examine and indulge in. I took a staycation with my boyfriend earlier this year at the Gansevoort Park Hotel, and it was fabulous because we ate dinner at the delicious restaurant Asellina downstairs and never even had to go…

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  Dreaming in Daylight

• Strange dreams

  19 Apr 2012 | 11:33 am

  I had one the other night that still lingers. This one was more bittersweet than funny (like the cows at the high school).Just before I left town to go stay with my daughter and babysit for two weeks, my cousin Scott died. He was the first of our generation to leave us, and he was only four months older than me. That year was the only year that my mother and all three of her sisters had a baby. Scott was the last child of the oldest sister, and I'm the first child of the youngest sister. Paul's a month older than me, and David is two weeks younger. (My mamaw told Mama they'd better never do…

• Steel City times

  11 Apr 2012 | 4:45 pm

  I'm up visiting the daughter, helping out with the chilluns while she tries to get her PhD finished. I'm filling in for the nanny until she comes back from having her new baby. (I don't know if the baby will come too or not.) and baby grandgirl is now 1 year old and wants to help me. I have to keep her from typing with her feet, standing on the table, falling off the bench, and putting her apple in the crayon box. She's absolutely adorable. :)I'm having adventures in driving in Pittsburgh again, too. I dropped my daughter off at Carnegie Mellon so she could go to her seminar and I could come…

• Catching up

  29 Feb 2012 | 1:59 pm

  Okay, this was back in September, but it's not a whole lot different now.Okay, trying to get back into the habit.I'm trying to get back into lots of habits. The habit of writing every day. The habit of walking nearly every day. All those other daily things that need to be done--and I'd rather write than --oh, dust or wash mirrors. Than wash pretty much anything. (Hmm, reminds me--I need to wash knives.)I have been in a non-writing, non-reading, non-pretty-much-everything mood for a while now. Not sure why. But I went to Valley Mills for a writing weekend with three friends, and found the…

• Etouffee and Mardi Gras (mostly etouffee)

  10 Feb 2012 | 10:07 am

  Typical me. I set a goal of posting blogs more regularly, and then I don't. But I'm back. Don't everybody get all excited at once.I have to get up and find a box to pack my grandbaby's birthday present in (she's almost one!) and wrap it and mail it, but it's raining and I don't want to go out. Not even into the garage, the retirement home for boxes. But I will, because grandgirls only have a first birthday once. Before I do, though, I'm going to post this blog. I am determined to post it.This is Mardi Gras weekend in Galveston. I don't think there are any parades tonight, but there will be…

• Life with Alzheimery parents

  12 Nov 2011 | 7:42 pm

  Alzheimer's is a disease that continues to progress. And you just have to continue to cope.It's been almost a year since Daddy had to go to the nursing home, closer to a year and a half since he was told he needed to stop driving. Mama's now failed her driving test. And she's just as stubborn about refusing to stop. She completely missed a stop sign and a yield sign, couldn't remember passing a school-zone sign...but she doesn't remember any of it now, though she acknowledged missing them at the time. So, we will have to take away her car and keys. Sigh.And, at the nursing home, Daddy has…

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  HelenKay Dimon

• Today In The Writing World

  HelenKay

  15 May 2012 | 2:57 pm

  I have a deadline on May 30th and am writing, writing, writing. I’m also still guest blogging at a few places throughout the month and giving away copies of my newest release, WHEN SHE WASN’T LOOKING. Today I’m at The Book Reading Gals – stop by and say hello. Also, know that while you’re enjoying a lovely spring where you are, in my head I’m writing about Christmas and snow and…well, that’s not easy when you’re sitting in the sunshine, sipping an iced coffee. Just saying.

• Snippet Saturday

  HelenKay

  12 May 2012 | 7:41 am

  Today’s topic is shame, shame, shame. This seemed like a good time to introduce you to the heroine in my October release. It’s tentatively titled LEAN ON ME and is related to my novella, IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU. The book is a contemporary without suspense and here’s an early (unedited) peek: The steady buzz of conversation and bustle of people walking up and down the wide aisles of Thomas Nurseries ceased when Cassidy Clarke walked through the door. She stopped after a few steps, waiting for her hair to frizz to ten times its normal size thanks to the shift from…

• Contest Winner

  HelenKay

  11 May 2012 | 2:27 pm

  We have a winner of the April Blog contest. It’s Robin (comment #2 on the April 6th blog). Congrats!!! Email me so I can get your gift certificate to you.

• Guest blogging

  HelenKay

  8 May 2012 | 12:09 pm

  I’ve been guest blogging for the last few days and will continue to do so throughout the month. A calendar is here. Today I’m at the awesome Lauren Dane’s blog talking about characters who are survivors. Stop by and say hello and you could win a book.

• Snippet Saturday

  HelenKay

  5 May 2012 | 7:54 am

  Today’s topic is “it’s raining men” – hunky heroes and secondary characters. This seemed like a good time to highlight the hero from my new release, WHEN SHE WASN’T LOOKING, and his best friend. Richmond Tobin, Jonas’ first friend in Aberdeen and a fellow police officer, walked in. He stood six-feet and wrestled in college. Six years out he looked like he could battle a train and come out ahead. “You’re supposed to be lying down. You know, resting,” he said. “Tell me about it.” Jonas rolled his shoulders and had to fight back…

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  Kate Davies Blogs!

• Inspiration Friday - Paul Leyden

  27 Apr 2012 | 1:13 am

  It's all Suleikha Snyder's fault. She mentioned the former Simon Frasier (ATWT) on Twitter yesterday, so when I started looking for a subject for today's post, he was on my mind.(Note: this is not a bad thing.)And yes, I agree with everyone who thinks Katie should have ended up with Simon at the end of the show, not the megadouche. ;)Have a great weekend!

• Guest Blogger Kelly Jamieson - For The Love of Hockey!

  25 Apr 2012 | 2:06 am

  I grew up watching hockey with my mom and my grandma (her mom) on television every Saturday night – Hockey Night in Canada. Strangely my dad wasn’t all that interested in hockey and used to nap on the couch during games. As a teenager, my first boyfriend played hockey and I used to go watch some of his games. He also liked to go to live games, and our local team was the Brandon Wheat Kings (yes, we lived on the prairies J). I remember sitting in the Keystone Centre watching the Wheat Kings while my boyfriend patiently explained what icing was, why they just gave a penalty and what made a…

• Book BIN Tuesday - a Two-fer!

  24 Apr 2012 | 8:36 pm

  TWO of my lovely author buddies have books out this week! First up, Jennifer Bernard: Fearless, smoking hot and single: meet the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel. These firemen might be heroes, but it's their bad luck in love that makes them legendary. News producer Melissa McGuire and Fire Captain Harry Brody couldn't be more different, though they do have one thing in common: they're both convinced they're perfectly wrong for each other. But when Melissa's matchmaking grandmother wins her a date with Brody at a bachelor auction... Sparks fly. Passion flares. Heat rises. (You get the…

• Book BIN Tuesday - Spice and Smoke

  10 Apr 2012 | 4:00 am

  You guys. YOU GUYS. I am so excited about this release, I can't even. Bollywood? Forbidden passion? I'm so there. And you should be too! Just check it out: When the cameras stop rolling, the real scene begins.To their adoring public, Avi Kumar and Trishna Chaudhury are Bollywood’s sweethearts. Behind closed doors, their open marriage lets them freely indulge in all manner of forbidden passions. The arrangement suits them both, but as they begin filming on the set of their new movie, the heat of new and rekindled flames singes the pages of what they thought would be a fresh script.When…

• Meet The Author Monday - Suleikha Snyder

  9 Apr 2012 | 2:16 am

  NAME:  Suleikha Snyder BLOG: http://suleikhasnyder.blogspot.comTWITTER: http://twitter.com/suleikhasnyderTITLE OF FIRST BOOK: Spice and SmokeRELEASE DATE:  April 10FAVORITE WRITING STORY/SAYING/MEMORY: “Brevity is the soul of wit,” from Shakespeare’s favorite windbag, Polonius. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said it — both to myself and to people whose (nonfiction!) work I’ve edited. Whether it’s short, sweet, sexy or funny, never underestimate the effectiveness of getting right to the point. FAVORITE NON-WRITING STORY/SAYING/MEMORY: I’ve never watched the…

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  Margaret Daley

• Hero Interview from Mistaken Bride by Renee Ryan

  Margaret Daley

  15 May 2012 | 2:58 am

  This week I’m hosting Renee Ryan with Mistaken Bride, Lacy Williams with The Homesteader’s Sweetheart and Cynthia Ruchti with His Grace Is Sufficient…Decaf Is Not.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (May 20th) evening. Interview with the hero from…

• This Week Renee Ryan, Lacy Williams and Cynthia Ruchti

  Margaret Daley

  14 May 2012 | 2:21 am

  Congratulations to Jennifer for winning Bonnie Calhoun’s Cooking the Books, to Jo for winning Cara Putman’s Rainbows End, to Sharon for winning Diana Brandmeyer’s A Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, TN and to Kim for winning Susan Page Davis’ Cowgirl Trail. This week I’m hosting Renee Ryan with Mistaken Bride, Lacy Williams with The Homesteader’s Sweetheart and Cynthia Ruchti with His Grace Is Sufficient…Decaf Is Not.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email…

• Heroine Interview from Cowgirl Trail by Susan Page Davis

  Margaret Daley

  11 May 2012 | 2:45 am

  This week I’m hosting Bonnie Calhoun with Cooking the Books, Cara Putman with Rainbow’s End, Diana Brandmeyer with A Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, TN, and Susan Page Davis with Cowgirl Trail.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (May 13th) evening.

• Hero Interview from A Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, TN by Diana Brandmeyer

  Margaret Daley

  10 May 2012 | 2:26 am

  This week I’m hosting Bonnie Calhoun with Cooking the Books, Cara Putman with Rainbow’s End, Diana Brandmeyer with A Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, TN, and Susan Page Davis with Cowgirl Trail.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (May 13th) evening.

• Hero Interview from Love’s Prize in Rainbow’s End (novella) by Cara Putman

  Margaret Daley

  9 May 2012 | 2:18 am

  This week I’m hosting Bonnie Calhoun with Cooking the Books, Cara Putman with Rainbow’s End, Diana Brandmeyer with A Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, TN, and Susan Page Davis with Cowgirl Trail.  If you want to enter the drawings for the books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (May 13th) evening.

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  Monique DeVere

• My Next Step In Learning To Write Fast

  8 May 2012 | 6:37 pm

  To follow through with my great endeavours to write faster, I've signed up to Candace Havens' Fast Draft and Revision Hell which starts on May 14. She promises to teach us how to write a complete first draft in two weeks--Yikes!I'll keep you posted...

• Fast Writer: Rachel Aaron

  3 May 2012 | 11:29 am

  Welcome to the Fast Writers blog series, Rachel. So lovely to have you here.Thank you for inviting me!·         First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.I like to think I run a very tight ship here at the Rachel Aaron Word Factory! My day is divided into two sections, morning and afternoon. I usually sit down to work around 8:30, 9:00 am and work until 11:00am. Because I have several books out…

• Fast Writer: Melanie Milburne

  27 Apr 2012 | 2:02 am

  Our fast writer today is Melanie Milburne who writer for Harlequin Mills and Boon Modern and Medical Romance lines. Welcome Melanie and thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed for my Fast Writers blog series.·      First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick snapshot. Do you have a special time to write? Or do you grab moments whenever you can? I guess I’d like to know how structured you are.My writing day is fairly structured. I’m a clear- the-desk-first type of person so I like to get other stuff out of the way so I feel free in…

• News

  24 Apr 2012 | 11:00 am

  I must apologise for not posting a Fast Writers interview last Friday. Blogger refused to allow me to write a new post. In the end I got frustrated and gave up.I will be posting this Friday, however. You'll be pleased to know that I'll have Harlequin Mills & Boon author, Melanie Milburne on the blog this week! She writes VERY fast!On another note. I've been busy getting my new RIVA story written. I subbed through Harlequin Mills & Boon's Romance Fast Track and got a request for the partial--yay! I'm hoping to send it off very soon. Will keep you posted.

• Fast Writer: Jean Joachim

  13 Apr 2012 | 7:56 am

  It's Friday again and that means another author giving up her secrets on writing fast! This week we have the lovely Jean Joachim. This woman makes me want to sit next to her while she writes so I can see how it's done. She can write 50K words in two and a half  weeks!! I couldn't believe it either, a book in just over two weeks--my-oh-my! Hi, Jean,  thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed for my Fast Writers blog series. Please tell us how you do it.·         First, I’d love to hear about your writing day in a quick…

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  Indulge Yourself

• Brown Bears and 11-Year-Old Vandals

  13 May 2012 | 6:42 pm

  Today I drove past a whole bunch of cars, including two cop cars, at a cemetery near my house. I couldn't see much, but two cops were crouching next to what looked like a black bear, unconscious on a tarp. I checked the local police blog, and sure enough, there were apparently two young, non-aggressive black bears walking around the area all weekend. They captured one for relocation, but it looks like the other one is still at large. NO idea where they could have come from. We're not far from rural farmland, but decently far from any comfortable bear habitat.Since I was at the blog anyway, I…

• Season Finales, Sunroper, and Bugs in My Eyes

  10 May 2012 | 7:48 am

  I love May. So much good stuff happens in May! Mother's Day, the City Islanders season opener (local pro soccer team), my chapter's writing retreat, and FINALLY a holiday from work, after months and months without one.But the sad part of May is the season finales on TV. WARNING: Some spoilers here about season finales that have already occurred.Well, there's really only one I want to talk about so far. Castle! I can't express my extreme bliss that they gave us that moment. Note to Bones writers: THAT is how you get a couple together. I thought overall they did a good job all season of setting…

• So Much Good Stuff Going On!

  1 May 2012 | 7:00 pm

  First, the Brenda Novak Annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes is underway! The auction goes through the month of May, and there are THOUSANDS of awesome things being auctioned. You can find smaller, affordable items, and some pretty incredible one-of-a-kind things, too.I'm part of both the Carina Press section and the Entangled Publishing section, both of which provide items for readers and writers alike.Over at Everybody Needs a Little Romance this week, I'm giving away one of Jason Manns' albums (winner's choice of album and format). Go post a comment if you want a chance to win. Like…

• Entangled Anthology for Autism Speaks

  29 Apr 2012 | 11:54 am

  Love Knows No Bounds, an Entangled Anthology supporting Autism SpeaksFollow the link to the post on the Entangled Publishing blog about this charity anthology. So many of the authors and staff of EP have been affected by autism, this is a very important cause for us. 100% of the profits will be donated to Autism Speaks. Click above and read about these three novellas:   

• Literal Addiction and This is Entanged: The Gag Reel

  26 Apr 2012 | 3:59 pm

  Tomorrow (Friday, April 27), I'm going to be featured at Literal Addiction and Book Monster Reviews. These ladies are AWESOME. They really do their homework and ask fantabulous questions. You get TWO chances to win (comment at each site) and can also ask me whatever you want. :)I'll be checking in very early, then mid-afternoon, then sometime over the weekend, because we have to go to Ithaca for an open house for Number One. I'll try to check in via my iPod if I can get a signal, but I can't do that while we're on the road. So please don't feel neglected if I'm slow to respond!Also, please…

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  Nell Dixon - Romance writer

• Passionate Harvest - releasing May 21st

  14 May 2012 | 4:37 am

  I'm getting quite excited now about the upcoming release for Passionate Harvest on May 21st. (A week today! eek!)To whet your appetites here's a little sneaky excerpt! Dominic paused on the step of Maggie’s house for a moment before pushing the bell. He’d lain awake half the night trying to work out all the different options for the future of the vineyard in his head. Despite sacrificing his sleep, he still had no answers. Whichever way he looked at it, whether Lucy decided to stay and work for a year or, if she decided to abandon her inheritance, the outcome couldn’t be good. He…

• Being busy

  5 May 2012 | 5:31 am

  My appologies for being absent for so long. Somehow I ended up copyediting four books all at once and I have a tight deadline for another short piece. The eldest belle has now passed her driving test and with all three of the belles sitting various exams and tests, rehearsing for plays and dance shows, running business (eldest)and the plumber being here ripping out our aged ensuite bathroom it's been a tad hectic. I promise I'll make it up to you all soon. In the meantime - hoist by my own petard and proving what a big fibber I am, go HERE to visit my writing friend Liz Fenwick's blog to…

• Passionate Harvest

  23 Apr 2012 | 5:15 am

  Here's the fabulous cover for Passionate Harvest, my upcoming release from E-Scape Press. I love this cover it has just the right feel for the story which is warm, passionate with a more women's fiction feel than some of my other stories. (For those of you who like my clean reads please be aware that this title isn't! :) My next clean reads title will be A New Bay Wedding out in June with Astraea Press.) Passionate Harvest will be releasing MAY 21st!

• Lucky 7 meme

  17 Apr 2012 | 4:38 am

  Have been tagged by my lovely friend Kate Hardy on a meme. Rules: go to p77 of your current work, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.Hmm, well Radio Gaga isn't edited so this may be dodgy but here goes!I could only hope that once Fred and Merv had witnessed my horrific mass slaughter of innocent veg they would change their minds. I arranged to come back later in the week armed with a trowel and wellies and said goodbye to Fred.I reckoned there was time for me to grab a coffee and a bacon butty to go from the corner café before I reported in to the radio station…

• Sunshine and showers

  16 Apr 2012 | 3:26 am

  Luckily we had more sun than rain on our few days break to Devon. Now I'm home I'm frantically trying to catch up. Hopefully I'll put some pics up later when eldest belle downloads them from the camera. We had a lovely time doing not very much. We went to Exeterand made some new friends at Marldon and also the lovely owner of Fables bookshop in St MaryChurch.I came back to the wonderful news of a new contract with Astraea Press for A New Bay Wedding - this will be the fifth book in the short and sweet collection of Cornish stories. A New Bay Wedding follows Noah's sister Emma's story. Noah…

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  Cynthia Eden

• I’m here!!

  Cynthia Eden

  15 May 2012 | 10:43 am

  I”m alive, I promise. I’ve just been quiet because I’ve been writing a whole heck of a lot. I’ve got news to share–some exciting, fun news, but I can’t post the specifics on that yet.  It’s news that is keeping me busy, and it’s news that will mean more books coming out soon!  So while I am being blog quiet, it truly is for a good reason. But I will be blogging more, and you’ll see some guest authors and giveaways here soon. So stay tuned!  For the summer, I really want to do something fun–hmmm…maybe I’ll even have a…

• Newsletter Winners!!!

  Cynthia Eden

  4 May 2012 | 11:20 am

  Are you a subscriber to my newsletter?  If you aren’t, then sign up!  Newsletter subscribers get extra, behind-the-scenes info about my books…and they also participate in special giveaways…like this one… The 15 newsletter subscribers who will receive autographed copies of ANGEL BETRAYED are: Deb McNabb Mary Chin Christina Madison Jen Phasouk Cassidy G. Barbara Valdes Elizabeth Bridges-Clark Terri Scott Joyce Slostad Daun Ann Korty Carole Thomas Kelly Scott Cheryl McCullough Valarie Clarke Michele Harper   Congratulations! I have just sent notification emails to…

• BOUND–Inspiration (Let’s talk fairy tales…and a giveaway!)

  Cynthia Eden

  1 May 2012 | 11:05 am

  Update: The winner of the Amazon.com gift card is…Khristine Stain. Congrats! Fairy tales inspired all of the BOUND novellas that I wrote.  What can I say? I am one serious fan of fairy tales. Though I’ll confess, sometimes, I wanted to twist things up a bit with those fairy tales, and that twisting? That’s how the BOUND stories came to be… For BOUND BY BLOOD, well, you may have guessed that one. It’s a classic tale, and I’ll confess, my all-time favorite fairy tale…Beauty and the Beast.  Our heroine is forced to stay with the hero in order to…

• BOUND BY THE NIGHT

  Cynthia Eden

  30 Apr 2012 | 12:58 pm

  Update: BOUND BY THE NIGHT is now available for the Kindle. Happy Monday!! Hope your day is off to a great start! I wanted to announce that BOUND BY THE NIGHT is now available on the Nook, at Smashwords, and at All Romance eBooks!     Word Count: 31,000 Blurb: For the last fifteen years, vampire queen Iona has been dead to the world.  Trapped under the power of a brutal curse, she has been helpless.  A prisoner, locked within her own still body. Then alpha werewolf Jamie O’Connell fights his way to her side.  After defeating the guards that surround her, Jamie gives Iona his…

• Guest Author Jacquie Johnson–Romantic Suspense Time! (And a giveaway)

  Cynthia Eden

  29 Apr 2012 | 7:00 am

  Update: The winner of the giveaway is Kerrie Strong. Congrats, Kerrie! Happy Sunday!! I hope that you are having a great weekend. Today, guest author Jacquie Johnson is here to talk about one of my favorite things…romantic suspense. Ah, the thrills! The chills! The reading fun. Jacquie, thanks so much for coming by! Why I Love Romantic Suspense I cut my “reading” teeth on Nancy Drew, the Dana Girls, Trixie Belden and a host of others.  Even as a child I enjoyed the hint of romance between Ned and Nancy and wished for more.  I did the same thing with Trixie and couldn’t…

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  Lilli Feisty

• Shades of Grey

  Lilli

  2 May 2012 | 2:43 pm

  Finally got to reading Fifty Shades of Grey. I definitely think it’s an interesting read, and I want to write more extensively about the book when I finish my proposal and get it off to my editor. Having said that, if you liked that book, you might want to check out my book Bound to Please. It’s a BDSM contemporary love story, and it seems to be a favorite with my readers. Okay, why am I so busy? Well, as some of you know I go to Burning Man and for the second year I’m working on getting a huge art project out there. This Saturday, May 5th, we are having a huge fundraiser…

• Lay it on me.

  Lilli

  13 Feb 2012 | 11:12 am

  Your worst Valentine’s Day story, that is. Seriously, I know I write romance, but trust me. My real life is seriously lacking in the romance department. Tomorrow I spend yet another V day single. I don’t really care that much. No, really. I don’t. Reminds me, I need to rent V for Vendetta and buy a bottle of vodka for tomorrow night. Anyway, I want to hear YOUR horrible Valentine’s Day story. And I will make it all better by sending you a signed copy of my latest release, Deliciously Sinful, and a $20 gift certificate to Amazon so you can buy yourself a little…

• My Top Ten Books!

  Lilli

  11 Jan 2012 | 3:36 pm

  I wrote an article listing my current favorite erotic novels. You can read about here on the Hachette Book Group’s website! What are yours?

• So how’s everybody dooooin? And my purple life in pictures.

  Lilli

  7 Dec 2011 | 3:29 pm

  Sorry, that’s my kid’s new favorite phrase. And he says it with a lisp. But I’m not judging. Would you? Just look at that attitude! Anyway, I went away to the ends of the earth for Thanksgiving and we had NO internet for SIX days. Then I came home and we had no internet for another WEEK because one of my housemates moved on the first and it took AT&T that long to get us hooked up. In fact, the AT&T box just came yesterday. Thankfully I live with two awesome chicks who work for Apple and got us hooked up last weekend. So I’m getting caught up. So I was with a…

• Five things Go! (also win free books and a pair of feather earrings!)

  Lilli

  22 Nov 2011 | 11:20 am

  Book release Day!   That’s my friend Marc. This picture  really has nothing to day with Book Release Day, but we look really happy. Or drunk. Probably both. I love Marc! So I LOVE book release day! Today my third book for Grand Central Publishing, Deliciously Sinful, is available for purchase from all major book retailers. Just in time for the holidays! While I would absolutely love for you to go buy the book (and I’m pretty sure my publisher would too), I’m gonna have a contest and give away FIVE free books! That’s right, FIVE books. Of Deliciously Sinful. All…

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  A WRITER'S LIFE WITH LIZ FIELDING

• THE MOVING CHRONICLES III

  15 May 2012 | 6:31 am

  Our moving date has been put back a month because one of the links in the chain is having a struggle to get everything done in time. It’s been a very long since we moved house and the last time we did it, we bought a piece of land and built our own, which means I had completely forgotten the frustrations. How slow it is. There are other things, too. Weird questions keep popping up. Do we live

• A WRITER'S LIFE WITH LIZ FIELDING: Six With Emmy...

  13 May 2012 | 1:46 am

  A WRITER'S LIFE WITH LIZ FIELDING: Six With Emmy...: For this Sunday Six I'm posting a snippet from my new eBook release, Eloping With Emmy. It was originally published as a mass market paper...

• Six With Emmy...

  12 May 2012 | 2:47 pm

  For this Sunday Six I'm posting a snippet from my new eBook release, Eloping With Emmy. It was originally published as a mass market paperback by Harlequin. Now it has a gorgeous new cover and the text has had a gentle update to take note of currency and transport changes. It's a bit of a romp, a romcom road story. Come along for the ride with Emmy - if you can keep up with her! Emmy had

• ELOPING WITH EMMY

  5 May 2012 | 2:26 am

  Long ago and far away, hot on the heels of the Beaumont Brides trilogy, I wrote my first book for Mills and Boon with dual viewpoint. I didn't talk to my editor about it first, I just found myself starting the book with Tom Brodie, my hero, sitting across the desk from a man he disliked, wishing he was having dinner with the silver-blonde barrister with whom he'd been playing kiss-chase for

• LOOKEE HERE!

  4 May 2012 | 1:47 am

  Now this is what I call a cover!  This is a German reprint of my Boardroom Bridegrooms trilogy - The Corporate Bridegroom, The Marriage Merger, The Tycoon's Takeover. Thank you, CORA!

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  Marie Sullivan Force

• Happy Mother's Day and Other News

  13 May 2012 | 1:45 pm

  Hope all the moms out there are having a wonderful day. My day began with breakfast in bed made by my husband and son, along with my daughter's special contribution: chocolate covered strawberries, which should, in my humble opinion, be their own food group. They are one of my all-time FAVORITE things. I also received some candy and flowers and a HUGE card declaring me the best mom ever. Since my kids are 16 and 13 I suppose I should count myself as fortunate that they still think so with all my many rules and restrictions that make their lives so miserable. Hey, that's my job, right?As a…

• Catching Up

  9 May 2012 | 3:04 pm

  So I had this big idea about blogging every day, and then I wake up to realize a month has gone by with no posts. I continue to be committed to blogging more often, but the best laid plans...It's been a busy month around here! In April, I ventured with the family to Spain, where our daughter was born nearly 17 years ago when my husband was stationed there in the Navy. We had a great time showing off our old stomping grounds to the kids. At 16 and 13, they were at the perfect ages to appreciate the adventure of visiting a foreign country. One side benefit I hadn't expect is that Jake, who will…

• Guest Blog with Vanessa Kelly/V.A. Sykes

  2 May 2012 | 2:04 am

  Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog today, Marie.  Some of your readers might know me as historical romance writer Vanessa Kelly.  In fact, I do have a new historical coming out in October, called His Mistletoe Bride.  But I don’t want to talk about my historical romances, but about the contemporary romances I write with my husband under the pen name of VK Sykes.Writing books with one’s hubby is an interesting experience, but it’s worked out pretty well for us.  Our first book, CaddyGirls, was released by digital-first publisher Carina Press, but our…

• Exciting News!

  10 Apr 2012 | 9:04 am

  I was very honored to learn yesterday that the book of my heart, TREADING WATER, was included the Joyfully Reviewed Best of 2011 listing. Of all the books I released in 2011, you all know THIS is the one I would've wanted to see on that list, so it was particularly thrilling to get this news. You can view the complete Best of 2011 list here.Here is what Joyfully Reviewed had to say about TREADING WATER upon its release in October of 2011:Jack Harrington’s life is pretty good.  He has a beautiful wife and three wonderful daughters.  Until one day when it all comes crashing down…

• I Would Tell You About My Anxiety, But I'm Afraid To...

  8 Apr 2012 | 4:02 pm

  For many years now, it's been clear to me that I am more anxious than the average person. My close friends and family tell me all the time that my worries are not "normal" worries. My anxiety issues first became apparent with an increasingly debilitating fear of flying. This was a true problem when you consider that for 13 years, I worked full time at home for a company headquartered 300 miles away. Thus I was required to fly--often. It's my suspicion that juggling two full-time jobs and two kids for more than five years contributed to my anxiety disorder. I was living in constant fear of…

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  Megan Frampton

• New Design?

  Megan Frampton

  24 Apr 2012 | 8:00 pm

  So with three books coming out next year, one a women’s fiction title as Megan Caldwell, and two Regency-set historicals as Megan Frampton, it’s time for a website redesign. I want to have both personas–and who knows what other personas I’ll come up with–hosted on the same site, but with two different doorways. Sorta Lady and the Tiger-ish, only not. Is there anything else I should make sure I have? All feedback and input is appreciated.

• First Revision Done

  Megan Frampton

  17 Apr 2012 | 10:11 am

  So last night I emailed the first round of revision on Hero of My Heart to two of my beta readers. One has read the book many times before, so she’ll know what’s been changed, and the other has not read any of it before, so she can tell me if something is completely off. Meanwhile, I have about a quarter of the next book written already, and very rudimentary plot details (like: They run off together, heading to his house. Conflict. Black moment. Etc.), so I should refresh my memory as to what I’d thought when I originally started that book. Thanks to the day job, I am…

• Big News!

  Megan Frampton

  14 Apr 2012 | 1:36 pm

  My new deal news: Megan Frampton’s new Regency-set historical romance, HERO OF MY HEART, the first in a back-to-back Soldier Series wherein an opium-addicted marquess suffering from PTSD and a vicar’s daughter enter into a twisted marriage of convenience to save each other, to Sue Grimshaw at Loveswept, for publication in early 2013, in a two-book deal, by Louise Fury at L. Perkins Agency (world). Which means that I will be returning to blogging regularly, if only to share deets on editing and stuff. And post the inspirational pix for the heroes and heroines.

• Monthly Update

  Megan Frampton

  9 Mar 2012 | 6:59 pm

  So I have admitted my failure in posting regularly, and now I have to accept it and move on. That which does not kill us makes us stronger, after all. Things are good! Sorta. I mean, for me, pretty darn good. I’ve been on Weight Watchers since January 1 (yes, I am that person), and I’ve lost seven pounds. More than ten to go, but it hasn’t been a hardship–I’m still eating what I want, just less, and way more fruits and vegetables. Plus cheap me doesn’t have to buy new clothes. I will have more good writing news soon. I am tired all the time, still, but the…

• Epic. Fail.

  Megan Frampton

  2 Feb 2012 | 6:08 pm

  So much for being more consistent about posting here–as you can see, I have not. I have no excuse, either. I am busy working at Heroes and Heartbreakers, where I post many times a day, and I tweet and do other social networking things–I just can’t seem to make it over here. Okay, to catch y’all up: –the recipes for Vanity Fare will be turned in tomorrow, then I am really, really done with the book–until it gets released. –hopefully some good news about other of my writings. We’ll see, the Fabulous Agent is being, well, fabulous in her endeavors.

• 

  Sonja Foust

• Start Spreading the News

  Sonja

  6 May 2012 | 10:36 pm

  Y’all, I’m in New York, and this place cray. This is only my second time ever in New York, and I have to tell you, I don’t remember it being quite this cool. It’s sort of like the stinky underbelly of Disneyland for grown ups, except with more taxis. (I don’t care how many taxis you think are here. There are more.) Imma have to get back to you on all the New York goodness, though, because I have places to see. If you must have more from me, I suggest reading the below and clicking all the links. So here’s what I’ve been up to: What I wrote: If you…

• The Case for Badassery

  Sonja

  13 Apr 2012 | 3:03 pm

  I have long suspected that I am a badass. I received proof this week. I’m not sure if I mentioned it here, but if you know me in real life, you have probably heard me say that my foot hurt a little sometime in the past 3 weeks. If you were in Iolanthe with me, you probably saw me sitting there with an icepack on my foot in the green room, dismissing concerned passers-by with a wave of my hand and saying something like, “Oh it’s nothing, just a little swollen.” And then I went out and danced when I was supposed to dance. I am in the green. Dancing like a badass. You…

• Different Busy

  Sonja

  11 Apr 2012 | 11:55 am

  Dudes, Iolanthe was a-freakin’-mazing. If you missed it, I’m sorry for you. Now that it’s over, my evenings have been filled with… well, I managed to fill them somehow. There was Easter music to learn and movies to watch and laundry to do and Day Job open houses to be hosted. So it’s not that I’m less busy now, just different busy, I guess. Me as a fairy with feathers in Iolanthe Here’s what I’ve been up to: What I Wrote I guess it’s moot now, but here are the top 10 reasons you should have come to see Iolanthe. I made myself an Orange Julius…

• Top 10 Reasons You Should Come See Iolanthe

  Sonja

  29 Mar 2012 | 1:07 pm

  If you have been ignoring everything I say, tweet, Facebook post, pin, or blog for the past 3 months, there’s a small possibility that you may not know that I’m part of the chorus for this year’s Durham Savoyards production of Iolanthe (pronounced eye-oh-lahn-thee, if you were curious). If you live in the Durham-ish area, I would love for you to come see the show! And here are the reasons why you should: 10. It’s at the Carolina Theatre, a fun, historic venue in a cool part of downtown Durham, near lots of great restaurants and a big parking deck. It’s also newly…

• Been Around the World

  Sonja

  26 Mar 2012 | 1:41 pm

  Ok, I haven’t EXACTLY been all around the world this week, but I did go to Salt Lake City for Adobe Summit. And now I am tired. The view from my hotel room in the two hours I was actually in it and not sleeping. Here’s what’s been happening in my life other than that: What I Wrote I redid my closet. It actually is not a Pintester fail. Imagine that. I bought an earring. My ear did not approve. I made sunburned pork chops. Yeah, I don’t know either. I had another hair fail. And also a rather inadvertent sweater fail. And I don’t care. I still like that sweater,…

• 

  Inside an author's mind....

• Fairy Tale Trivia!

  10 May 2012 | 9:17 pm

  Yep, that's right, it's Fairy Tale Trivia here at the blog.Do you think you know your fairy tales?Well, I don't profess to know everything about fairy tales, but I certainly have worked up a nice list of questions that revolve around the whole fairy tale theme. And not just the Disney fairy tale genre, though I have taken a few from Disney, but I went all over television and movies, as well as the original Grimm's Fairy Tales.But, I bet you're wondering why I would do this? After all, what do you get out of it?Prizes of course!In honor of my new book Rescuing Rapunzel, I have two prize packs…

• Something... very special

  30 Apr 2012 | 1:46 pm

  In honor of my adorable son (seen here, realizing the future of his hairline) I am doing something this week that is...Very...Special...This is in honor of my little boy, because "something very special" is the boy's new catch phrase.Whenever we give him a choice about something, that is currently his answer. "So, Brandon, what book do you want to read tonight?"  "Hmmm... Something very... very special, Momma." (And yes, we spell it "Momma" because "Mama" is not even close to how it's pronounced. It is literally "Mom" with and "a" on the end.)And usually it's a book…

• Guest Blogging Today

  23 Apr 2012 | 9:00 am

  I'm blogging today over at Lyrical Press's blog today about the release of Rescuing Rapunzel. Stop by and say hi! :)

• Tornadoes

  18 Apr 2012 | 9:00 am

  That time of year is upon us, and yes, I've already been utterly terrified by one tornado this season. I hope it's the last one.If you did not hear, almost 100 tornadoes popped up all over central Kansas on Saturday, April 14th, 2012, including a large, wedge shaped F3 (or some say F4) tornado, taking out a good portion of southeastern Wichita. This one appeared Saturday night--an unusual thing in itself, because tornadoes usually do not pop up after dark. Fortunately, due to good meteorology and early warnings, there have been no fatalities reported, and very few injuries from this…

• Inspiration

  17 Apr 2012 | 11:09 am

   Well, thought I would go looking for some inspiration today.I have a lovely cast of inspiration.But alas, I cannot seem to find an interesting story idea to work with these rather lovely pieces of eye candy.For those of you who don't know, the first picture is Batista from WWE wrestling. Then we have my lovely cowboy, and below him, is the always sexy Ewan McGregor. The last picture is a trainer, I believe, but I am not sure... He's very handsome, regardless. And I love his tattoo on his hip that says "for my brother."Though even with these lovely men here to inspire me, I'm having a…

• 

  LINDA GOODNIGHT

• The Barefoot Bride rereleased!

  14 May 2012 | 9:33 am

  Look what I saw at Walmart!   My very first book, a novella called "The Barefoot Bride" has been rereleased in a collection with 8 other historical romances. This is still one of my favorite books and I hope you'll like it too.Here's what a reader on Goodreads had to say:"The Barefoot Bride" by Linda Goodnight made me cry. I would have LOVED to read this in a full length novel."

• Perfect, East to Peel, Hard Boiled Egg Recipe

  6 Apr 2012 | 6:33 pm

  Happy Ressurrection Day!What's cooking at your house for Easter dinner? For us, we always have lots of eggs, some for the kids to color and others for me to devil and or to eat plain!  For years I struggled to boil eggs properly. They were either gooey in the yolk or green around the edges. Ugh. Worse, pealing them was a nightmare. I ended up with ripped, pitiful egglet things. But finally, at long last, and after many, many unpalatable eggs, I stumbled upon the perfect, pealable recipe for hard boiled eggs.Here ya go!1. Put eggs in a saucepan and add water-just enough to cover…

• THE LAST BRIDGE HOME

  12 Feb 2012 | 3:06 pm

  Available February 1, 2012, anywhere books are sold.This is book 5, the last book in the Redemption River series. Romantic Times Magazine gave it 4 1/2 stars. I hope you will too!

• Where the Wildflowers Bloom Review

  2 Jan 2012 | 2:32 pm

  I just finished Ann Shorey’s new book, Where Wildflowers Bloom, a gentle, smoothly crafted prairie romance from Revell perfect for reading on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The heroine, Faith, longs to follow the Oregon Trail and leave behind the sad memories of the loss of her brother and father in the Civil War. Though, at times, I was frustrated with Faith’s immaturity, the other characters, especially the hero, were endearing. Additionally, I appreciated the author’s subtle hand in addressing the prejudice against women prevalent at that time. I was also impressed with Shorey’s knack…

• Susan Mallery Cooks: Linda Goodnight's Light Chocolate Peanut Butter Ch...

  8 Oct 2011 | 10:00 am

  Susan Mallery Cooks: Linda Goodnight's Light Chocolate Peanut Butter Ch...: Linda Goodnight is the author of heartwarming, inspirational romance novels, including her latest, THE CHRISTMAS CHILD . Linda has won the...

• 

  A Writer's Diary

• Marketing Ploy Surprise

  cindy

  14 May 2012 | 2:16 pm

  When I brought up my marketing give-away of a free story here on the website, I didn’t have any idea how much work it would entail. But it is work I love, so I won’t complain. This post is more of a cautionary tale with a nifty bit of marketing thrown into the mix. After searching through my laptop Word documents, and looking at my old files from a previous hard drive, I realized I didn’t take the time at the time to cut and paste Sarah’s story into a document. I just deleted it, not thinking ahead. I knew I had a print copy of the novel with Sarah’s pov…

• Side Project Strategy

  cindy

  13 May 2012 | 2:19 pm

  Time to kick-start my marketing efforts. Reading the New York Times this morning, I saw an article about how print publishers are pressing their writers, who usually pub a book a year, into producing short stories or novellas for the e-publishing market in between books. The New York marketing departments are slowly catching on to what indie writers already knew. Offer a free or inexpensive piece of shorter writing six to eight weeks before the novel comes out, and the novel will sell better. The NYT article kick-started me into getting my free novella up on the website with a link to my…

• My Merry Merry Month of May

  cindy

  4 May 2012 | 9:09 am

  A few days ago, I had eye surgery to remove a lens full of cataracts and insert a nice pristine new lens with a special built-in something that made my eye 20/20. In two weeks, I’ll undergo the same procedure for my other eye. For now, I’m trying to rest my eyes and just in general not strain myself. I am not supposed to bend over because the blood will flow to my eyes and the stitches might tear. Yes, stitches inside my eye! Amazing. What’s even more amazing is that I’ve never had 20/20. I’ve had poor eyesight all my life. “Oh, Magoo, you’ve done…

• Fact into Fiction

  cindy

  27 Apr 2012 | 8:02 am

  Novelists often turn the facts of their lives into fiction. For me, there’s always some truth along with the fiction, and depending on what book, it can be more or less. My first novel started with the idea of what kinds of things happen when you find yourself, at a young age, with a new step-parent (or two), and sometimes siblings from the step as well. That idea alone is rife with conflict, something I’m always searching out to make my stories juicy. No conflict, no story. So here’s how I mined a situation of my own for the emotional truth in my story. When my two sons…

• The Lean +

  cindy

  26 Apr 2012 | 9:24 am

  I’m on Day 13 in my “leaning in” process of eating healthier and have not had sugar cravings. Some things are easy for me, since I’m already vegetarian. Getting off sugar was my main reason for reading The Lean, but I’m continuing just to see how it goes. My jeans are a tiny bit looser, but not much. I have “crowded out” all the bad-for-me foods, like chips and other low to zero nutrient foods, and my cravings are gone. Mostly. Today should be a challenge because I’m going out to lunch and today is the day I give up cheese. And because I am…

• 

  Heather Hiestand's Musings

• Writing and reading with the Seasons

  Heather Hiestand

  12 May 2012 | 11:21 am

  First, to get some business out of the way. Congratulations to Maggie, who wins a copy of "Captain Andrew's Flying Christmas" thanks to her comment on the S.G. Rogers guest post.Last night I finished critiquing a book set in Sept/Oct, and now I'm editing a book set from Nov-March. Talk about opposite seasons. It is May!Do you prefer to read/write with the seasons? Does reading a beach book set at the beach during beach season do it for you, or do you prefer reading about winter when it's hot? Or Alaska, when you are sitting in Hawaii? I've noticed myself attracted to books set in Alaska right…

• Welcome to guest blogger S.G. Rogers and The Druid! #amreading #ya #fantasy

  Heather Hiestand

  8 May 2012 | 2:11 am

  Welcome to S.G. Rogers, one of my new favorite authors. I love her creative spin on young adult fantasy. Norse mythology is one of her passions and she's been doing a great series about it on her blog. She agreed to visit today and share some information behind her latest release, The Druid.A Can of Wryms   Norse mythology isn’t warm and fuzzy. In fact, many of the legends are off-putting and gritty.  The creation myth involves a giant (Ymir) who births a man and woman from his armpits, and whose blood forms oceans. The more I did research on the subject, the less inclined I was…

• It is almost Monday!

  Heather Hiestand

  6 May 2012 | 9:35 pm

  I have a busy week ahead of me. I finished the tail end of my Victorian historical novel on Friday and will be busy editing this week. The first third is well-edited and clean. The rest? Probably not so much, but I have a great team to help me out. I want the draft to be a bit cleaner before I send it out though.First thing is I'm going to have to figure out is what I really want to do with my India-Afghanistan subplot issues. I seem to have started in India and ended up with Afghanistan by the end of the book. Now, parts of these countries went back and forth over the boundary lines, and a…

• An indie author in 1886

  Heather Hiestand

  23 Apr 2012 | 11:25 am

   Fergus Hume bio The Mystery of a Hansom Cab FREEThis is not the first era of indie publishing. One author who found great success was Victorian author Fergus Hume, who self published the mega-bestseller, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, in 1886. This novel went on to inspire the Sherlock Holmes series.I perused this novel on my Kindle recently, and was pleasantly surprised by its readability and interest for today's reader. The conversion into electronic form went quite well and there aren't many more typos than there are in any indie book. Not always the case when old books are…

• Visit me at Morgan Mandel's!

  Heather Hiestand

  17 Apr 2012 | 9:08 am

  Morgan invited me to her blog to talk about my writing journey with my sweet steampunk romance series, Steampunk Smugglers.Come visit me!Blog Link

• 

  Kate Hardy

• some really, really, REALLY good news...

  16 May 2012 | 4:23 am

  Current work: med/Vienna book tweaksListening to: Beethoven/Roberto AlagnaReading: Kristan Higgins, Somebody to Love (fabulous – her books are always a treat)I’m thrilled to say that my 52nd book – aka the Vienna book – has been accepted. Publication date is some time in early 2013; title to be confirmed. And the big news is that it’s to a different line. Bit of a sea change, but as from now I write for Harlequin Romance (Cherish in the UK) rather than Presents. Extra/Riva. And obviously I’m still a medical author!And yes, we went out to dinner last night to celebrate. Nothing…

• One thing I've learnt...

  15 May 2012 | 1:00 am

  Am over at lovely Liz Fenwick’s blog today, as part of her blog party for her debut novel, A Cornish House (I am so looking forward to this one!). Do come over and say hello, and wish Liz happy publication. She’s worked incredibly hard and her success is richly deserved.

• Bluebells, redux

  14 May 2012 | 1:00 am

  Current work: med (expecting tweaks on Vienna book later this morning)Listening to: BeethovenReading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda BrooksStarting with Friday – went out to dinner pre-theatre, but it was also a celebration as I’ve sold my 52nd book. (However, it’s a bit complicated and I need a chat with my editor before I can make a proper hoppy-skippy-bouncy announcement.)The Winter’s Tale was excellent – Tony Bell was fabulous as Autolycus, playing it almost in a Keith Richards way. The whole cast did a great job, but the star of the show for me was Paulina (always was my fave…

• the right decision

  11 May 2012 | 6:27 am

  Current work: med (and getting nervous about verdict on second revs)Listening to: Sheryl CrowReading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks So today was my induction at the gym. It was hard work (I’m unfit, and I am going to feel it tomorrow). What I wasn’t expecting was to enjoy it. Or to feel great afterwards. I saw a couple of people I’ve known since nursery, and I made a new friend (who came over to me in the changing room and asked how my first session went – that was SO kind – as well as reassuring me I’d made the right decision by sharing her weight/shape loss experience).

• making a big change

  10 May 2012 | 7:29 am

  Current work: back to the med (awaiting verdict on second revs)Listening to: Take ThatReading: Yesterday’s Sun, Amanda Brooks (really interesting concept)We all know I’m a ‘method’ writer (cough, just as well I don’t write crime… yet). And for the last few weeks I’ve been seriously thinking about a personal trainer. Not just for book purposes (though it does have a lot to do with the Med), but for me.The thing is, I hate exercise.I eat really, really sensibly (when I go on about stuffing my face with chocolate, most of that’s teasing – I’m too aware of the calorie count).

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  Nancy Henderson

• Plotting

  10 May 2012 | 8:10 am

  Sometimes I can't figure out what type of plot to write.  I typically write by formula.  Heroine meets hero, hero or heroine or both have a dark past, lots of emotional baggage to  work around, happy ending inevitable.  That sort of thing.  Sometimes I wonder if I've overdone each plot so much.  I think it's normal for writers to worry that they've run out of stories.  I once read that there are only so many plots, that it's up to the writer to figure out how to put a unique twist on each one.  I suppose that's true.  But what happens when all the…

• 6 May 2012 | 7:18 pm

  6 May 2012 | 7:18 pm

  Didn't get any writing done this weekend.  I did, however, do a good deal of work on my website Friday night and Saturday morning.  The rest of the weekend was spent working on yardwork, putting down mulch and digging a hole for the new pond.   Needless to say, I am going to be hurting in the morning.This week I need to start writing a new book I've recently outlined, even though I never end up with the same book that the outline dictates. Always something completely different. 

• I has a website!

  1 May 2012 | 8:19 pm

  First of all, today is Blaze Featherfeet's birthday.  She is one year old today.  And....drumroll please.....I have a new website.  An official pretty website.  And a new domain name.  Long story, I lost the domain with my name and dot com, so I had to tack the word "author" before dot com.  Anyway, my site is nancyhendersonauthor.com It's not quite finished, but if you have time check it out and let me know what you think .

• Long week

  27 Apr 2012 | 4:24 am

  It's been a very long and tiring week.  I'm looking forward to the weekend.  Nothing planned, other than getting ready for my May 19th booksigning and working on some upcoming promotions. I'm reading book two in the Hunger Games series, "Catching Fire".  It's very good, but really strange.  But very good.  Happy Friday everybody!

• Administrative Professionals Day

  26 Apr 2012 | 4:59 pm

  They gave me flowers yesterday at the day job for Adminstrative Professionals Day.  I love zinneas.  Made my day!

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  Cynthia Justlin » Blog

• Edge Of Light Giveaway!

  Cynthia

  14 May 2012 | 2:01 am

  In honor of EDGE OF LIGHT’s release, I’m holding an exclusive giveaway. What can you win? I’m glad you asked. Because I’ve got some special, one-of-a-kind items up for grabs. Oliver Shaw’s Journal This 1901 hardcover edition of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo was used as Oliver’s journal while in captivity.                                   Hidden throughout the journal are some of Oliver’s most revealing thoughts and drawings. Here’s a sample…

• First Friday Art Walk!

  Cynthia

  4 May 2012 | 2:01 am

  It’s time to show off some of my FAVORITE artwork around my house. These, hands down, delight me more than any Picasso, Van Gogh, or Renoir could! First, the paintings:                   This is J’s (son #1) Sonic-the-Hedgehog esque character drawing. I love the shoes and the scarf and the sword.               This is G’s (son #2) dot painting. My favorite part of this painting is the elephant off to the right and the trees. Kind of like a re-imagining of Dr. Seuss, combining Horton Hears A Who…

• Hunting down Spring!

  Cynthia

  30 Mar 2012 | 2:01 am

  So fellow romantic suspense authors Rita Henuber, Diana Layne and Autumn Jordon and I decided to get outdoors and find evidence of spring in our area. With my trusty camera and my favorite walking companion (my husband), I took to our yard and the forest behind our house. Living in Northern Arizona, the blue skies and pine trees are plentiful. So, of course I had to nab a picture, even though technically I couldn’t say either of those things were blooming. And once I grabbed this picture, I couldn’t resist grabbing a picture of a fort someone has been building in the woods.

• Loveswept Holiday Hop!

  Cynthia

  11 Dec 2011 | 1:11 pm

  The Loveswept Holiday Hop starts tomorrow! RULES: Happy Holidays to everyone – Romance At Random is celebrating their Loveswept line with a random e-book Giveaway to 25 winners plus an opportunity to win one Grand Prize from www.romanceatrandom.com. Enter here to be included in the FREE random e-book drawing (25 winners will pick up their FREE book from Net Galley) and then stop on by www.romanceatrandom.com and comment to enter the drawing to be the ”ONE Grand Prize winner, to win a selection of great books! Routing Number WESTERN BANK Good Luck & Happy Holidays to all!

• Separation Anxiety on the Book Lovers Buffet!

  Cynthia

  5 Dec 2011 | 11:14 am

  Hostages. Phobias. Bombs. Oh, my. Chock all three into one story and you have SEPARATION ANXIETY, my action packed romantic suspense novella available at the Book Lovers Buffet! From now until January 15th, load up on fabulous ebooks for just $0.99! It’s all you can read — and the best part is, you won’t gain a pound! Be sure to check out SEPARATION ANXIETY in the Mystery/Suspense category while you’re there! To save Becca’s life, hostage negotiator Jack Martello will have to break his top five biggest negotiation rules: 1. Never say yes to unreasonable demands, no…

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  Sandie Hudson

• Regency Research Links ~ Part 2

  27 Apr 2012 | 8:23 pm

  This is the second of my Regency research links post. As with the six I shared with you in my first post, I have found each of these sites useful in my writing Regency romance.Jean Ross EwingRegency LibraryLinore Rose BurkardNineteenth-Century LondonMichele Sinclair – Regency Era FashionRegency Fashion Glossary     In my next post I’ll share with you some of the remarkable Regency art works.Sandie

• ANZAC Day 2012

  24 Apr 2012 | 2:00 pm

  It is April 25th here in Australia, ANZAC Day. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is the day Australian and New Zealand families look back and pay homage to our fallen soldiers. To those who have gone before us, to those who fought for our freedom and the freedom of many around the world.In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the alliance with Great Britain to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula during the First World War. In what was expected to be a swift and unexpected strike turned into an eight month battle with heavy casualties for all the…

• A Collage for Lord Seabrook ~ Part 3

  21 Apr 2012 | 7:57 am

  Here is the 3rd of my collage's for my next Regency romance 'Lord Seabrook Take a Bride'. This collage is a all about the rooms, namely the sitting room, dining room and ballroom.  There are a couple of other rooms I've added to the collage, but haven't named as these are not well be shared in greater detail with my next collage post.Sandie

• Regency Research Links ~ Part 1

  20 Apr 2012 | 4:28 am

  Recently I’ve been posting some collages for my next Regency novel, ‘Lord Seabrook Takes a Bride’, but today I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite Regency research sites. I hope you might find them interesting and useful.The Republic of PemberleyJessamyn’s Regency Costume CompanionBritish Women's Novels: A Reading List, 1775-1818The Regency CollectionThe Regency Fashion PageCandice Hern – Regency WorldIt’s back to collages for my next post, than I’ll have some more research sites for you to visit.Sandie

• A Collage for Lord Seabrook ~ Part 2

  13 Apr 2012 | 10:20 pm

  Today I’m showing you four of Bella’s outfits with samples of the material and lace she has chosen.The morning dress will be made of light blue swirl muslin and chalk blue muslin three quarter jacket. Her walking dress is made from a slightly heavier material in red with cream lace trim. The evening gown is made from rich embroidered silk and silk lace trim. Bella has chosen deep navy blue for her riding habit with military piping and buttons. Her carriage dress is a small red floral with a patterned hemline  and eggshell muslin over coat.     Until next…

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  Stacy Dawn

• And you thought I was kidding

  30 Apr 2012 | 11:58 am

  When I say the men in my family are sportaholics, no, I'm not exaggerating LOL. This is what my front yard looks like. Baseball season started six weeks ago for us LOL

• My New Task Master

  9 Apr 2012 | 5:52 am

  I need to get my butt in gear and get some writing projects finished. When I saw this fella, I couldn't resist cutting him out and tacking him beside my computer....the perfect task master to remind me to sit up straight and keep my fingers moving LOL.

• 5 Apr 2012 | 5:54 am

  5 Apr 2012 | 5:54 am

  glitter-graphics.com

• 2 Apr 2012 | 5:41 am

  2 Apr 2012 | 5:41 am

  Finally I am getting somewhere with the second draft of my story....or rather, I feel like I am making a story out of it LOL.There is a lot of really cool things coming up in the next few months. I'm going to be blogging up a storm together with my fellow Honky Tonk Hearts authors. Dates and cool stuff to come!

• 30 Mar 2012 | 5:34 am

  30 Mar 2012 | 5:34 am

  I am working on a brand new newsletter. Don't forget to sign up!

• 

  Amarinda Jones

• Just so wrong...

  Amarinda Jones

  16 May 2012 | 3:49 am

  I saw this when I was out shopping today. How is this trashy bag hot and why on earth would any real woman aspire to be like her? Sucked, tucked, filled, pumped and nipped? How is that hot? And that she is advertising diet products? Just so wrong...http://amarindajones.blogspot.com/google0cbd4098fb476cec.html

• No photos please...

  Amarinda Jones

  15 May 2012 | 3:42 am

  So, I’m not a fan of having my photo taken. Why? I’m just not. Maybe it’s psychological – maybe I’m just psycho. Anyway, today at work they wanted a team photo. I declined. “But we’re a team.” Er, no, we’re not. We’re a bunch of people who turn up to the same place every day to get paid.  Sure, we dress alike but that’s due to the fact that it’s a hell of a lot easier wearing a uniform to work than wearing your own clothes. “But you have to.” Er, no, I don’t. “So you’re not going to?” No. “Really?” Really truly madly deeply with rainbow…

• Nice...

  Amarinda Jones

  14 May 2012 | 4:14 am

  I was working on a story at work in work time basically because I could. Anyway, I was writing about these characters and their feelings and the first time and I thought back to my first time. I was a pathetic, nervous wreck because I’m not good at doing up close and personal things. The lovely man who was with me was sweet, patient and bossy. I still smile when I think about it. I think that’s a good enough reason to do stuff in work time don't you?http://amarindajones.blogspot.com/google0cbd4098fb476cec.html

• From now on you’ll be known as the writer called X …

  Amarinda Jones

  12 May 2012 | 11:15 pm

  Okay, so there’s this singer called Adele who is world famous and has sold a gazillion CDs and has won numerous awards for what she does. She’s famous despite what some ebook writers may tell you. Then there’s another Adele who writes ebooks and I’m sure has a solid following of readers but essentially she’s not a JK Rowling but then who is in this business?  So, Sony who contracts the singer Adele and I reckon never knew that other Adele existed until a mass search of the name was probably done on Google, filed a complaint against our ebook writer saying cease and desist –…

• Pot Me Not...

  Amarinda Jones

  12 May 2012 | 1:00 am

  I had a friend say to me that he was going to set me up with – let’s call him Max. My friend looked at me like this was a logical idea and he explained the reason why Max and I should be set up together – we’re apparently exactly the same kind of person. I listened politely to my friend all the time thinking how little we know other people sometimes. Anyway, once he had finished the reasons why Max and I were an obvious couple, I asked him why did he think I needed matching up? Why would I want someone exactly like me? Did Max want matching up? And why did he need to match either of…

• 

  Belinda Kroll, Quirky Historical Romance

• Life as a Writer’s Block

  Belinda

  30 Apr 2012 | 3:16 pm

  Dear Reader, Sometimes, we need a break. After I graduated with my masters in 2010, I was dead-set on having my second book published within the year, which I did. It took me seven years to write Haunting Miss Trentwood (because I was a full-time student and a part-time writer). I put my hand and head to marketing, and did so for a year… so much time spent interacting on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc, meant I wasn’t reading or writing anymore. Just talking about things that I had read and written before Haunting Miss Trentwood was published. It was draining. Exhausting. It…

• Kentucky Unionist Slaveholders?

  Belinda

  5 Mar 2012 | 9:40 am

  Dear Reader, When you’re in school in the States, it’s really easy to make it seem as though the Civil War was Yankees vs Rebels, North vs South, Unionists vs Confederates, Abolitionists vs Slaveholders. As if Yankee = North = Unionist = Abolitionist and Rebel = South = Confederate = Slaveholder. Without question. It’s only after doing a (very little) bit of digging that I’ve realized this is not the case at all. You could be a slaveholding Unionist, i.e. supporting the federal Union that made the USA government. You could be a Confederate abolitionist, i.e. someone…

• Old Maps Online

  Belinda

  28 Feb 2012 | 9:19 am

  Dear Reader, I have been beyond busy practicing for a local swing dance/lindy hop team competition, which is exhausting, thrilling, stressful… but we won first place, so all the hard work was worth it! It would have been worth it had we not won, I became close to some really amazing people, but winning… yeah. It was indescribable. I might have almost started crying. In other news, I just found this awesome website called Old Maps Online, via Flowing Data. So of course, I had to look up Ripley, OH where The Rebel’s Touch is supposed to be located. They don’t have a…

• When Awesome Happens: To My Old Master

  Belinda

  1 Feb 2012 | 7:30 am

  Dear Reader, I have stumbled upon an amazing discovery where a letter from a former slave to their former master’s request to “return home” has surfaced in blog format.  This is such a great find for me as I continue to do research for The Rebel’s Touch, and I wanted to share the experience with you. Below is the first paragraph. So fantastic. Dayton, Ohio, August 7, 1865 To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you…

• Smashwords Gifts and Underground Railroad Stealth

  Belinda

  17 Jan 2012 | 9:50 am

  Dear Reader, I sit here at my desk eating a McDonald’s McGriddle and pondering the odd combination of a sandwich that uses pancakes for bread. The rain is pouring though it is the middle of January in Ohio. The world is an odd place. Last night, I decided I would redesign the cover for my short story, Mad Maxine. The first cover was, admittedly, thrown together. I thought I needed a photo-realistic cover for whatever reason, and that it needed to match my historical fiction covers. Fact is, Mad Maxine is a contemporary short story that is so different from my historical fiction,…

• 

  Beth Kery

• New Cover and Other News

  Beth Kery

  9 May 2012 | 10:45 pm

  I received the cover for my upcoming Harlequin book in the Home to Harbor Town series, One in a Billion. This is Deidre’s story, and one that I hope you’ll love. Look for One in a Billion in stores the last week of July and in ebook August 1st! In other news, I’ve been working on an as of yet still top secret, new project. Shhhh. I’m so excited about this innovative idea and have such high hopes that it will be a unique and very satisfying reading experience for you. Stay tuned for more news! The release of my first Berkley eSpecial in the One Night of Passion series…

• Bound to You Cover!

  Beth Kery

  3 May 2012 | 4:26 pm

  I have a new cover for my very sexy One Night of Passion novella coming out June 5, 2012! (Yes, just around the corner. This cover came late!) John Corcoran loved the isolation of the Shawnee National Forest with the crisp spring air, the sounds of nature, and the bracing scent of pine. Isolation is what movie star Jennifer Turner craved as well, an escape that only a weekend hike, a long and blissful distance from Hollywood, could provide. Yesterday, they were strangers—until a fateful accident, deep in the forest and far from civilization, throws them together and plunges them both into…

• Wicked Burn Re-releases!

  Beth Kery

  30 Apr 2012 | 9:09 pm

  I’m very excited that Wicked Burn re-releases today. If you haven’t read it yet, or if you take a re-read, I hope you will let me know your thoughts. Now, here’s a first taste of Wicked Burn! Excerpt His dark brown hair fell over his brow as he bent to retrieve a bottle from a lower shelf. When he stood, her gaze brushed appreciatively across his ridged abdomen, the sweep of his wide shoulders, and the hard, delineated muscles of his upper arm. Most of the men that she knew would have put on a shirt in this situation. But Niall was glad that he hadn’t. He was such a…

• The last two winners of Wicked Burn are

  Beth Kery

  30 Apr 2012 | 10:17 am

  StacieD and Michelle Wilson! Yay! Ladies, write to me at bethkery@aol.com with your address to claim your prizes! Thanks to everyone who participated and happy reading! Beth

• The fourth copy of Wicked Burn goes to

  Beth Kery

  29 Apr 2012 | 1:18 pm

  Erin! Congrats, Erin. Write to me at bethkery@aol.com with your address to claim your book!

• 

  Kristina Knight - Romance Author

• Free Read ~ The Beginning!

  15 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  So, this is so not a secret, but my first book, 'What a Texas Girl Wants' releases in just a few weeks. June 4 to be exact. But before this book starts, a little history must happen - it is a reunion romance, you know. Even if Kathleen and Jackson were more crushee/crush than actual lovers. I might call them star-crossed. Maybe.But I digress.As I was writing the book, the beginning of their romance kept bugging me. I didnt want to add in a prologue, and there are hints to their way-back story, but mostly those are just hints. But their beginning did make me wonder. And then a good friend…

• Happy Mother's Day!

  13 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  We disrupt this usual blog schedule to wish all you moms and soon to be moms and aunts and grandmothers and stand-in moms a very happy Mother's Day!I've been a mom now for just over three years and I have to say it's been the most fun time - and the most draining! - of my life. But I wouldn't trade bebe in for anything in the world. I might change her sleep patterns...but I digress. Mothers, whether ours by birth or choice, are the most important people in our lives. I've been lucky in my life. I have a great mom, a wonderful mother-in-law and a core group of strong women in my past who have…

• When the Good Just Gets Better

  10 May 2012 | 9:00 am

  So everyone is probably tired of hearing me say in blog comments or Facebook or even Twitter that writing the book was the easy part. Even though it was. Writing the book, I was on my own schedule. Now that it's sold and coming out in (gulp) less than a month, the real work has started. There are initial edits and then cover art sheets and marketing plans and galley edits and cover art to pet. There are blog posts to write and blog tours to start and more social networking to do and then the good news just starts snowballing because...I sold book two! Didja catch that? Yep, I sold my second…

• Welcome Rachel Brimble!

  8 May 2012 | 6:00 am

  Rachel Brimble (L) with Jodi PicoultHey, blog readers! So my guest is a new friend, Rachel Brimble. We met online - in the only place people meet nowadays, Facebook! She's a funny lady who writes wickedly good books, and she's here today to answer 5 simple questions. On with the interview!Kristina: Do you have (or do you aspire to have!) a writing process?Rachel: Yes, I do! When I’m starting a new book or story, I usually have a premise or maybe a problem the hero or heroine has to deal with. I then write a two to three page synopsis so that I have a clear outline of the entire plot in my…

• How Do You Create?

  3 May 2012 | 8:02 am

  I'm a naturally curious person. New book at the bookstore? I have to check it out. New show on TV? I"ll usually check it out. New designer who promises jeans will instantly slim you? You can bet I'll try a pair on. Curious. I have a need to know.This feeds nicely into my writing. A song or a snippet of conversation or a phrase in the newspaper will spark my imagination and I'll be off and running. I may not know the how or why of that song or conversation, but I'll figure out the how and why of my characters in a book. I'll fumble it a little and revise and edit and my characters will - at…

• 

  Once Upon A Time...

• Winner of Homefront Hero

  Ryshia Kennie

  13 May 2012 | 4:42 pm

  So the draw has been made - random as usual, and the winner of a copy of Allie Pleiter's latest release "Homefront Hero" is - insert drum roll here - or just some random fireworks... VICKI! Congrats Vicki! Ryshia www.ryshiakennie.com http://ryshiakennie.com https://twitter.com/#!/ryshiakennie

• Homefront Hero - A New Release by Allie Pleiter

  Ryshia Kennie

  7 May 2012 | 1:53 pm

  Spring is here and with it a new release by Allie Pleiter.  Today Allie is here to talk about her latest release, HOMEFRONT HERO and give out a copy to one lucky commenter (print if you're in the continental USA and e-copy if you're elsewhere).   An avid knitter, coffee junkie, and devoted chocoholic, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction.  The enthusiastic but slightly untidy mother of two, Allie spends her days writing books, buying yarn, and finding new ways to avoid housework.  Allie hails from Connecticut, moved to the midwest to attend Northwestern…

• NFL Draft, Not Quite - This One Is for Writers

  Ryshia Kennie

  6 May 2012 | 2:58 pm

  So this year I listened to bits of the NFL draft and it's been a revelation.  The surprise is really that it is a surprise.  I mean I've been married to an NFL junkie for, well we're not going to discuss how many years.  The thing is so far I've managed to escape the NFL draft.  Maybe it was satellite radio that was my undoing.  Our latest vehicle came with a trial run of satellite radio turned conveniently to the NFL.  So, I've been listening as I drive from one end of the city to the other to the NFL news.  Why don't I change the channel?  First I'd…

• Because "New York" Is Dragging Their Heels

  Ryshia Kennie

  27 Apr 2012 | 3:25 pm

  My original title was "Because New York Will Never Want You" - harsh, I know.  But that's what I thought getting published by anything but a traditional publisher was not so long ago.  My goals were fairly specific, they still are - write the best story I can and make a career publishing.  But it's self-publishing that I'm speaking of and I cringe when I read that original title now, but it's what I thought - then. Things have changed in the publishing world and by default that has all tumbled down to the lonely world of the writer - even to this writer currently propped on her…

• On Tour With - The Reason Is You - Sharla Lovelace

  Ryshia Kennie

  11 Apr 2012 | 11:26 pm

  Today I'm excited to welcome Sharla Lovelace with her new release "The Reason Is You." In addition to meeting the author and discovering another fascinating read, there's a chance to win a prize.  Sharla will be giving away a $20 gift certificate from either Amazon or Barnes and Noble to one lucky commenter over the course of her book tour.  So comment away, have a great day and good luck! So let's lead things off with the question who is Sharla besides the author of a book with what appears to be a very intriguing ghost?   Here's her bio: Sharla once hunted for crab in a…

• 

  Susan Says

• First Love Blog Fest

  14 May 2012 | 3:00 am

  Alex Cavanaugh has come up with another great idea for a blogfest. First loves in four categories. Movie, song/band, book, and person.  I'd love to link to all these but as I'm doing this blog on computer option C, I'll stick with basics.  It's difficult to pick a movie, but I grew up at a time when Westerns were very popular.  I used to love those reruns of Rawhide and that led to a desire to see very Clint Eastwood movie made.  The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was my childhood favorite.  My sister used to play the soundtrack constantly on my dad's old stereo. …

• The Good, The Bad and the Okay

  12 May 2012 | 12:58 pm

  The bad is not having my laptop. Difficult to believe the repairshop doesn't believe my computer should jump line and be taken care of first.  It's almost as if they don't think it is as important as I do. The good is that I've been getting a lot of work done on my editing for book #3 of The Futhark Chronicles.  After last months blog challenge, I'm getting back my writer mojo and feeling more like an author.  The okay is getting around to reading some of the books I have piled up both on my ereader and the corner of my desk.  I"m finding some time here and there to dive…

• A to Z Reflections

  7 May 2012 | 4:00 am

  Start with a bummer. I've been having some issues with my laptop and I finally had to take it to the doctor. I'll be trying to keep up with everyone on my desktop and smartphone but it's not nearly as quick or convenient.  It's been less than a year since my last laptop meltdown. Wish I could afford a new one.But to the point.  This was my second year for A to Z so I knew it would get tough at times.  This year I had most of my posts ready so I had no issues in that sense.  My biggest stressor during A to Z is the guilt of not visiting enough other blogs.  I have…

• IWSG: Time Management

  2 May 2012 | 3:00 am

  The past month has been hectic with the A to Z challenge. I've been happy with making new friends and picking up new followers.  But I've disappointed myself with my time management. I really let my writing take a back seat.  That brings me to my personal concern I'll share for this month's Insecure Writers' Support Group. Like most writers, I have a day job to pay the bills. And I have one child still in high school and one in college.  My daughter in high school keeps up pretty busy with her athletics and the various academic activities we've had the…

• Z: Zone

  30 Apr 2012 | 2:30 am

  Z:  If you've completed a writing project, you probably know what it's like to be 'in the zone.' Athletes, scientists, performers of all sorts, talk about being in the zone.  While in the zone, everything comes easily.  I've gotten back to my running habits and though I'm slower than I was twenty years ago when I used to enter races, I'm finally back in shape enough to experience being in the zone.  For runners, it's that second wind, when you feel like you could run forever.  Everything is in rhythm, your breathing, your strides, your muscles working smoothly, every…

• 

  Reading, Writing, and Life...Oh My!

• Life & Stuff In General

  15 May 2012 | 5:44 pm

  AWOL blogger, that's me. Things are going well.  I'm tired.  Work's been really busy, so that's a good thing.  Trying to get stuff done asap though, because we're kind of working on a deadline.Have you ever read something that, even though names weren't mentioned, you know that you're the one they're talking about?  That happened to me tonight.  I'm not sure what I think about it.  In some ways I'm horribly offended.  For one thing, why did this person feel the need to write about it for the whole world to see instead of just talking to me…

• A New Post

  17 Apr 2012 | 5:11 pm

  Huzzah!  I'm trying to be a better blogger.  Not so good at it, but I AM trying. I'm doing pretty good.  Kind of going through a bleh stage at the moment, but I think that's because I'm kind of stressing out about this whole writing thing.  *sigh*  I want to be done with this before the LFE in June.  Freaking out because I'm nowhere close. I'm the world's greatest procrastinator, which sucks.  I plan and it never works out the way I'd planned.  I pants and then I suck too.  It's so obnoxious.  *sigh* I am a HUGE fan of pandora…

• Life & Things & Such

  9 Apr 2012 | 2:49 pm

  There are days when I wonder if I should've even gotten up.  Today is sadly one of those days.  I started feeling peckish yesterday & it's just progressed today.  I did make it to work, but only for a half hour.  My brother sent me home & told me to get better.  We'll see how that works.Other than feeling yucky, I am doing good.  I bought a new desktop computer a few weeks ago & am enjoying it immensely!  I also bought an ergonomic keyboard so I can type longer with my tendonitis.  So far, it's working well.  *knocks on…

• Blerg

  18 Mar 2012 | 7:06 pm

  Well, I'm blogging again.  I know, I'm surprised too!  :PThings are good.  Busy.  Wednesday was my eldest nephew's 6th birthday.  We had his party on Saturday & had a great time.  I can't believe my little man is 6 already!  My other nephew's birthday is on the 2nd of April, so Auntie's been trying to figure out what to buy them both.  I'm not a boy (obviously), but thankfully they like very specific things, so it's actually pretty easy to buy for them.  *phew*My SIL came over today & helped me put my office together.  I'm sitting at…

• EEK!

  11 Mar 2012 | 1:09 pm

  Boy, I went AWOL there, didn't I?  *sigh*  Sorry about that.  Things have just been really crazy over these last few months.  But, I'm good.  Here.  Alive...I think.  :PWent back to Portland last month.  It was a very surreal experience.  I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will NEVER move back.  Portland is beautiful & all, but it's just not home anymore.  Wow!  Never thought I would say that in a million years.It was wonderful to see my friends.  My family's mad that I didn't go see them, but in all honesty...I…

• 

  Daily or Not

• Study in Conflict

  5 May 2012 | 8:07 am

  Night Fire by Cait London*** ***I've written several historical romance western subgenre and still love them. But the other day, I was taking some veg time and watched this movie. It was a real jewel in the study of character conflict.Stagecoach to Thunder Rock 1964In conversations with other writers/readers, this comment comes up frequently, regarding quality of writing and that is depth of character, i.e. “while the storyline could have been great, there was nothing to grab me, no substance to the characters.”While just one of many western movies of its time, this one offers a great…

• Reviewers, Goodreads, etc.

  13 Apr 2012 | 12:52 pm

  RIP Arusha Loved this Yorkie. When my mother died in WA State, I flew her back to MO in the seat beside me. The stewardess just smiled as she passed. Arusha shook so badly in her cage at takeoff and landing, that I lifted her up in the seat and half covered her with my coat. Lovely little 3 1/2 lb friend who shared my daughters' and my life for years. I don't think I'd ever get another one that small, but truly loved this friend.As a segway, I also love my backlist books, some of which have been reverted to me. I've been busy placing them in epub format and am just now promoting a…

• Great Anthology of Bestsellers

  3 Apr 2012 | 8:16 am

  I belong to Ninc, which is Novelists, Inc.Novelists Inc. is the only writers organization devoted exclusively to the needs of multi-published novelists. This is our first fiction anthology and is on sale today.TWENTY-EIGHT LEADING VOICES IN FICTION – INCLUDING ELEVEN NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS – JOIN TOGETHER IN A CELEBRATION OF GREAT STORYTELLINGWe love fiction. It’s in our blood and it’s in our souls. Great stories thrill us and inspire us in a way that nothing else can. If you’re like us, then we invite you to revel in this anthology of all-original stories we’ve…

• Free Book and Scenery Shots

  28 Mar 2012 | 6:24 am

  Flash! Watch for my When Night Falls free at Kindle for 1 day, March 30.This ocean scene is the photo I used for my new Facebook Author Page. I'd love to live on the Pacific coastline, especially Oregon or Washington State, and these photos taken on driving trips really help.But Dogwoods are beginning to bloom here in SW Missouri. These trees are now little bursts of white upon the hills, just now turning green. The blooms lie horizontal.If your'e on FB, Please visit my Author Page? Meanwhile, here's more on When Night Falls, FREE, March 30 at Kindle:When Night Falls Blurb:As the town's…

• St. Pat's Drawings

  12 Mar 2012 | 7:23 am

  Let's have some fun!I have this envelope containing bits of numbers. Once a number is drawn, I count up or down to that number and Voila! a winner is chosen. This is High Tech. :)For St. Patrick's Day, I'm having several contests for Wild Dawn. For one and a paper copy of Wild Dawn, you'll have to subscribe to my free e-newsletter. Contest ending March 17. All Contests Ending March 17. Please check your account e-mail from which you can be gifted. If the following account e-mails are not correct, I cannot gift you.  Do NOT enter using the comments on this blog.KINDLE: For…

• 

  Jenyfer Matthews

• Now That’s Desperation

  Jenyfer

  14 May 2012 | 12:48 pm

  I just drank my first “dose” of apple cider vinegar. What can I say except ACK! That was nasty. You know I am tired of my ongoing stomach troubles if I am actually considering doing it again anyway. (Next time I’m going to add the vinegar after the water though because adding the water after made it all foamy!) Another inspector is going to the new house tomorrow so fingers crossed we’ll get some good news and progress out of that appointment. That would probably help my stomach as well. For now I’m distracting myself by excavating the rooms my children call…

• Silver Linings

  Jenyfer

  11 May 2012 | 11:18 am

  This week hasn’t gone as planned. We were supposed to have closed on our new house on Tuesday. By Monday, that looked as if it would be pushed back a few days because the seller’s title company wasn’t ready. Then our own bank called on Monday evening to ask for some addition documentation, which I very helpfully sent them ASAP in order to keep things moving. Only it didn’t work out that way because one of the items opened up a can of worms we weren’t expecting. Ugh. I am hopeful it will be sorted out by next week, fingers crossed. In the meantime, I took out some…

• Back to Basics

  Jenyfer

  9 May 2012 | 4:55 am

  Sorry I was MIA on Monday but what a weekend! My daughter and I played hooky on Friday and drove down to Indianapolis for her soccer tournament. The games themselves were fairly disappointing, but Indianapolis was fun. I was looking forward to jumping right back in to the week but Monday morning my daughter woke up sick: super congested and fairly limp. Since she goes from congested to ear infection in the blink of an eye I decided to take her to the doctor – and there went my day. When will I ever learn that there is no catching up, there is only ever unexpected occurrences and more…

• Any Excuse (for a Margarita) Will Do

  Jenyfer

  4 May 2012 | 4:38 am

  I have always wanted to master the art of making pie crusts. It is an art: though the ingredients are few, a successful pie crust lies in the hands of the baker. You’d think that as cold as my hands are, I’d be a genius at making pie crusts, but no. Somehow I always manage to over-handle them and they end up hard and the opposite of flaky. Crunchy? Brittle? I made one really good pie crust once – or two since it was an apple pie. I grated a stick of cold butter into the flour with a cheese grater instead of letting it soften first. I’ve tried that again since then and…

• Never Too Late to Learn

  Jenyfer

  2 May 2012 | 10:30 am

  I have a fairly expensive sewing machine – a Bernina Aurora 440QE (quilters edition). I bought it back in 2004 when we were living in the United Arab Emirates. I’d just finished a temporary part-time job and had a little extra cash and the price of the machine was approximately half of the manufacturer’s suggested retail in the US so I leaped on my opportunity. Truthfully, when I went into the quilt shop to make my purchase, I was aiming at the lower model because I didn’t think I required such a fancy machine – it has 379 stitches and also the new-at-the-time…

• 

  StephenieMeyer.com

• New Fickle Fish Project

  18 Apr 2012 | 6:59 pm

  Stephenie's comment on a story that ran today in Variety.

• The Host Movie Trailer Contest Winners

  19 Mar 2012 | 8:23 am

  Here are the winners of The Host movie trailer contest.

• Rumor Control

  22 Feb 2012 | 5:07 pm

  Click for a message from Stephenie controlling a new rumor.

• The Host Movie Trailer Contest

  17 Feb 2012 | 7:30 am

  Click to learn about a fan contest involving the upcoming The Host teaser trailer.

• Twilight eBook

  14 Feb 2012 | 5:40 am

  The Twilight eBook is being sold for $2.99 (USD) today only to celebrate Valentine's Day.

• 

  On Writing & Publishing by Robin D. Owens

• Opening with too many characters

  15 May 2012 | 9:36 am

  I am working on Glyssa Licorice's book, the public librarian, and best friend of Camellia Darjeeling D'Hawthorn, heroine of Heart Search. And I like the second scene (all right, I really opened with the hero). BUT, I think that if you forget who is who, or have never seen the series, I have too many people on stage. There's Glyssa at dinner with Laev T'Hawthorn and Camellia, and the women's other friend, Tiana.THEN I move to the starship the next day and there are all of the above PLUS the intelligent ship, Nuada's Sword, and Dani Eve Elder. Who are watching a video showing the hero and…

• Series

  14 May 2012 | 8:55 am

  Yes, I have one series finished and two running. The Heart books (should I sell more to Berkley, and that's looking very good), don't have an end in my mind (though they once did, but I'm still intrigued with the world and my cast. There were the five Summoning books, and I'm working on Mystic Circle (though I am at the end of my contract for that series and it's up in the air for traditional publishing, too), which I contemplate being nine books.I aspire to be one of those authors that people will love all my work, not just one series or another. A "trust me, baby" author. Trust me to…

• Arcs, Char Naming (brownie!), Critique on Brenda Novak's Auction

  12 May 2012 | 7:53 am

  If you like writerly stuff, you MUST visit Brenda Novak's auction to benefit research for Children's Diabetes. There are ARCS, meetings/critiques with editors and agents, trips... I am giving away an ARC of Heart Secret, and ARC of Enchanted Ever After, character naming in the Luna universe (probably a brownie, but you can talk me out of that...maybe the next heroine!), and a geographic name in the Celta universe. Since the next book (hopefully I sell) will be at the excavation of the starship, Lugh's Spear, it will show up there. Also giving away a critique.And editors/agents give away…

• More good news, Hearts and Swords!

  11 May 2012 | 10:08 am

  More good news, Hearts and Swords was chosen as Best Anthology of 2011 by Romance Reviews Today! It IS a collection, that is, all the stories are by yours truly. :)May you enjoy your day (it's cool and gray here).Robin

• Two gold covers this year! (and art notes)

  10 May 2012 | 7:19 am

  Luna gave me a gold cover with Enchanted Again. And Berkley gave me this awesome hunk cover for Heart Secret! Below find the notes I sent to the art department...more about how the cover influenced the story later!)I love both of them!And here are the art notes for Heart Secret...as you can tell, I talk to the art dept. pretty much like I talk to you. :)Tatts: If you are doing tatts: any kind of Celtic knot, or a heart shaped Celtic knot, or maybe a chain of hearts and daggers? Or a heart and a tear?Weapons: If you are doing weapons, a long dagger and a long sword, or a long dagger and a…

• 

  O Muse, Where Art Thou?

• Lucky 7 meme

  24 Apr 2012 | 1:00 am

  I was tagged by Julia almost 2 weeks ago to do the Lucky 7 meme but as I was knee deep in revisions, I couldn't get to it..So I thought I would play along today...Rules: go to p77 of your current work, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.My 7 (or maybe 8) sentences are from the revised manuscript I just turned in called 'A Hint of Scandal' and it's not dialogue, although it is quite an important moment where my heroine decides to kiss the hero knowing he ain't going to like it, or so she thinks...yeah, she's fun like that...:-)Every gaze in the banquet…

• What next?

  22 Apr 2012 | 10:19 am

  Having sent my revisions in almost 4.6763 days ago (no, I'm not counting to minutes), I'm now once again facing again the same question that is the biggest obstacle to my writing.Which WIP/idea to delve into next?I have one WIP written more than halfway through, one WIP with 3 chaps written and one in the planning stage and I want to write them all...the moment I pick one, I think next one is better, and so on....So, I'm making a decision today and sticking to it until at least I hear the verdict on the ms that is with the ed now..In the meantime, I am also catching up on reading and just…

• Celebrating

  12 Apr 2012 | 9:14 pm

  Come celebrate my CP Maya Blake's sale to Harlequin Presents here http://mayabauthor.blogspot.com/You're an inspiration, Maya.....

• March was a bust, almost....

  31 Mar 2012 | 9:52 pm

  As the post heading says, I spent the first three weeks of March being supremely unproductive. First, it was the fact that my WIP hadn't been going well. I was halfway through it, yet the niggle that I was writing myself into a hole wouldn't leave me alone. So, I climbed back out intending to pinpoint the error.A lesson I've learned the hard way. This is different from just being stuck which, in my case, I found out was a manifestation of not knowing enough about my own characters.Been there, done that, sistah!So, as I struggled to figure out what was wrong with that WIP, I entered the…

• February's Challenge...

  6 Feb 2012 | 10:56 am

  As you can see from my little word count bars-yes, they're a bit self indulgent but they motivate me in a 'you can do it' way- I didn't meet my January challenge. I planned to write 25k and ended up a little short of 20k...because I spent most of the month jumping from one wip to other, even considered a third one for a while....I've set myself the same goal for February and this time I have to meet it, because come March 1st, I'm going to know the fate of my SYTYCW full and I know it is going to send me into a downward spiral of dejection...so better to get as much written this month as…

• 

  Life in the Eververse

• Sex Scene Saturday: Ben and Minerva.

  12 May 2012 | 2:30 am

  Todays scene comes from the first in our American Satyr series, Of Crimson and Collars, a book about a hybrid demon/satyr who has no place in the world at large, until he finds out about his satyr side and meets the one woman that can calm his lonely heart.OF CRIMSON AND COLLARSStella and Audra PriceGenre: Erotic Paranormal RomanceLength: NovellaRace: SatyrsBUY NOW Warning: This scene is not for anyone under 18 years old. You have been warned.Watching her closely, he ordered her fruit and his breakfast along with a large amount of coffee. “So is that bath ready?” She nodded and licked her…

• Winner of the Fire In His Eyes Kindlegraph contest is...

  4 May 2012 | 2:46 pm

  KAT MCCARTHY!Yep... that's right Kat! you is the winner...Now, because I'm away from my compy for the next week (family is in town) Ill be sending you your GC probably after Mothers Day!...Thanks for Playing everyone that entered, and I hope when we do this again for a future book we will have even more entries and be able to give away a Kindle Fire!And thank you to everyone that left a review! the winner of the AAD 2013 registration (which you were eligible for if you were part of our FB page and left reviews before the 30th) is BRANDY SWAIN!Congrats to both of you and thank you so much for…

• Bloggers: Book available!

  23 Apr 2012 | 7:27 am

  Hey all you blogger types...So we (meaning me as Dagmar Avery and my cohort Charlotte Steele) have a novel coming out soon with Ravenous Romance called When a Dragon Lusts a Woman and it is the second in a series (the first being a short story called Antebellum.)Here is the Blurby: Looking forward to the nuptials of her best friend and charge Prince Declan, Sorcha Ilisse knows what’s in store for her: Sex, sex and more sex. The ability to see some favorite lovers and indulge in the debaucheries of the event riding high on her senses, she didn’t count on the one person she didn’t want to…

• New Release, New Promotion and New Contest!

  12 Apr 2012 | 9:11 am

  Ahoy All! So with the Release of Fire In His Eyes (yesterday) Audra and I have our first “New” book out in Kindle in over 2 years. While the book isn’t new per say, it is new on Kindle and that’s awesome. So we decided to offer it for free from Friday to Tuesday on Kindle, to introduce people to our books and our world… Which is awesome for you, I mean who doesn’t like free books? Exactly! And… We decided to start a new contest! Since the Kindlegraph thing has been started, we have been in awe of it. It’s an awesome tool and goes far to make ebooks more personal and helps to…

• Lots of things springing....

  28 Mar 2012 | 8:01 am

  because Spring has SPRUNG!So Audra is ready to pop, shes got three weeks till due date, and we are all on pins and needles here to welcome my niece into the world! Once the blessed event happens, then I will be telling the world everything!In other news, I wanted to mention that we sold the Duvall Inc. series to Resplendence publishing, and Wishes, with a new name and edit (including 2 new chapters!) will be out in September followed in October with Glamour(with a new name and edit), Gifts in November (new name and edit ) and London for the Holidays (new edit) in December. So Your fall and…

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  Riley's Ramblings

• 50,000 Talking Dogs

  Jess Riley

  11 May 2012 | 8:48 pm

  On Friday I made an author visit to my youngest crowd ever: the second-grade classroom in which my friend Leeann teaches.  It was pajama day, the last hour of the last day of one of the last weeks of the school year. After I had a seat in the reading nook, the kids gathered ‘round and asked lots of excellent questions, including: “What’s it like to be an author?” "Where do you live?” “Where were you born?” “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” “Do you have a dog?” “Does she have a goldfish?” (Whispered to the teacher.) “Do you have a husband?” “Did you…

• Something is Afoot. Or Anovel, actually.

  Jess Riley

  27 Apr 2012 | 9:39 am

  Edit, edit, edit, agree to more remodeling projects, neglect the blog AGAIN. Thank God this blog isn't a child, pet, or plant. It would have run away long ago (except the plant...the plant would have given a last, dusty gasp and given up the ghost). Two more grant proposals to go this season; when I'm not focused on them, I am drastically revising a novel I originally wrote in 1999. Originally called The Cool Side of the Pillow, it is now Mandatory Release, now undergoing its third or fourth major overhaul. I refuse to let it die because I love it, my agent loves it, and some of my…

• Dorothy continued, plus events

  Jess Riley

  10 Mar 2012 | 9:44 am

  Time for an update. First and foremost, Dorothy is recovering! Just DAYS after her surgery, she was back in our offices. She moved more slowly, and her speech was badly damaged, but … she’s taking speech therapy, and a month after her stroke, she’s making great progress. I’m starting to think that if we ever took a direct nuclear hit, Dorothy would be the sole survivor, slowly wading through the rubble looking for someone to ask whether it looked like it was going to snow …… nuclear ash.In other news, I will be busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest for the next…

• For Dorothy

  Jess Riley

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:35 pm

  Our office has for ten years contracted with an elderly cleaning lady named Dorothy. She "came with the building," essentially, and went door to door after the building was sold to sell her services to every individual tenant in the building. She was opinionated, feisty, and full of character, so of course we hired her.Dorothy is now 90. Every day she shuffles in around 2 pm to empty our office garbage cans and clean the office kitchen. You can usually count on having your concentration derailed when she arrives with her questions about whether or not it's going to snow or rain, but you smile…

• It's 420, Baby!

  Jess Riley

  3 Feb 2012 | 10:37 am

  My 420th post, specifically. Whoo-eee!I'm feeling really old and mortal these days. This morning I sent J this text: "I just counted 10 squirrels out the window, including a little blond one! :-)"J: "Wow, popular place!"Me: "They're racing all around. Lol."Yeah. I even added the 'LOL.' So it's come to this. This will probably be the highlight of my Friday. It's sad, is what it is.Last night while watching TV, a commercial for the Medical Alert system came on. I sighed and said to J, "If we don't have kids, one day I'll have to ask my siblings which one of them would like to be the primary…

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  Gena Showalter Unofficial Blog

• First thread

  16 May 2012 | 5:55 am

  Hello this is independent blog and will update soon

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  Camy's Loft

• There are times I don’t know where my brain was.

  Camy Tang

  15 May 2012 | 3:55 pm

  I just finished doing edits on devotionals I wrote for Mornings With Jesus 2013 edition (published by Guideposts) and most of the questions my editor had are stuff like, “I don’t really get how the conclusion of the devotional ties with the verse/first line.” And I looked at it, and I was like, “Hmm, I don’t know how the conclusion ties with the verse/first line.” Ever had moments like that?

• Completing cleaning chores fast

  Camy Tang

  15 May 2012 | 1:55 pm

  I’m rather annoyed at this article because the only tips for completing a cleaning chore fast are #s 4 and 5. The rest are simply reminders of things to clean that we don’t often clean. Any of you guys have tips for how to complete a particular cleaning chore fast? I could use all the help I can get.

• Now that CSI:Miami has been cancelled ...

  Camy Tang

  15 May 2012 | 11:55 am

  Is it bad to admit I stopped watching it a year or two ago? I was just kind of turned off by Delco’s character. He seemed a bit whiney. http://tv.yahoo.com/news/cbs-cancels-csi-miami-rob-unforgettable-gifted-man-184457568.html

• Preorder A Dangerous Stage, the 2nd book in the Protection for Hire series!

  Camy Tang

  14 May 2012 | 11:55 am

  I didn’t notice until yesterday that book 2 in my Protection for Hire series, A Dangerous Stage, is now available for preorder! Isn’t that cover awesome? Zondervan’s art team ROCKS! Back cover blurb: Tessa Lancaster worked for her uncle in the Japanese mafia until she was sent to prison for a murder she didn't commit. Now, after finding God behind bars, she takes odd jobs as a bodyguard to keep her distance from the family business. In A Dangerous Stage, the second book in Camy Tang's Protection for Hire series, Tessa gets caught up in the web of lies surrounding a shady singing…

• Healthy brunch/breakfast recipes

  Camy Tang

  11 May 2012 | 1:55 pm

  I downloaded this free ebook, Light and Easy Mother's Day Brunch Recipes from SparkPeople. It’s labeled for Mother’s Day, but I think a lot of the recipes are easy enough to do during the week or at least on weekends when I have a little extra time. If you download it, let me know what you think or if you have ideas for healthy breakfast/brunch recipes.

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  Terry's Place

• Win a Nook

  10 May 2012 | 9:37 pm

  In case you haven't found my new blog, you're missing a chance to win a NOOK. Head over and see how to enter.

• I've Moved!

  3 May 2012 | 7:39 pm

  It's official. Terry's Place has a new address. Please bookmark the new site. http://terryodell.com/terrysplace. To celebrate, I'm going to have a new contest with a Really Big Prize. Details will be announced over there in the very near future. Posts on this blog will stay here, but I hope you'll visit my new site and subscribe to posts over there.

• Terry's Place is moving

  1 May 2012 | 1:59 pm

  First, thanks to Bailey for yesterday's post. I remember Maypole dancing when I was in grade school. After over four years here, Terry's Place is moving. Although I'd been thinking about it for some time, the recent lack of support and customer service from Blogger has lit a fire under the move. I hope you'll bookmark my new site, and continue to follow.  Because I'm moving sooner than I'd planned, the new site is still in transition, and as I learn more about the features, I'll add them. Feel free to make suggestions. Some things I'm looking forward for: threaded comments, so we can…

• Happy Beltane!

  1 May 2012 | 5:59 am

  Bailey Cates writes the Magical Bakery Mysteries. The first in the series, Brownies and Broomsticks, releases today in mass market paperback and ebook formats from NAL/Penguin. She also writes the Home Crafting Mystery Series as Cricket McRae. The sixth in that series, Deadly Row to Hoe, will release in November from Midnight Ink/Llewellyn. There's a giveaway, so be sure to leave a comment. And check back this weekend to see if you won. Thanks for inviting me to guest here at Terry’s Place! I’m delighted to stop by, especially as today is Beltane, or May Day, which I’ve decided is a…

• Pikes Peak Writers Conference 3 - Series

  30 Apr 2012 | 6:00 am

  What I'm Reading: Breaking the Rules, by Suzanne Brockmann; From the Ashes, by Jeremy Burns (Nook) Okay, so the picture doesn't exactly evoke "series", although Robert Crais writes series, and so do I. Which hardly puts us in the same league. But he was on the series panel, and I was in the audience, so the picture sort of fits. Kind of. If you stretch the imagination. But he's easy on the eyes, so what the heck. It IS my blog, after all. I'm trying to mix up the workshop topics so there's something for everyone. I'll still have more on publishing, and that 1875 forensics post, so keep coming…

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  Laurie J. Edwards ~ Author, Artist, Dreamer...

• Trouble Staying Motivated?

  lje1

  8 May 2012 | 10:11 am

  Try some Tough Love. Check out Beth Brousil‘s post on The War of Art. Might be just the kick you need.  

• Why Editors Hate Rhyming Picture Books

  lje1

  4 May 2012 | 8:58 pm

  OK, so maybe they don’t hate all of them. Some rhyming picture books still get published, but they have to be exceptional. Many first-time picture authors believe stories should be told in rhyme. Not so. It’s so easy to trip up and make mistakes. The first and most glaring mistake is to use unnatural phrasing to make your lines rhyme. Would your phrases make sense if you wrote them out in prose without the rhyme? Convoluted sentences that lack flow drive editors crazy. Newbie authors almost always twist word order. The cat on a fence sat is not normal sentence order. If you want…

• What’s Your Excuse?

  lje1

  30 Apr 2012 | 10:11 am

  So many people let their dreams die because they focus on their limitations.  If only I’d done it when I was younger, single, thinner, not tied down. Now I have ____________(fill in the blank). A mortgage, a high-stress job, kids, debts, no time, no energy… The list of excuses is endless, but for every excuse there’s an example of someone who has conquered those odds. Some people complain that they’re past their prime. That it’s too late for them to go for their dreams. Recently, I met an 84-year-old man who’d always dreamed of being an entrepreneur.

• What Are You Doing to Help Mother Earth?

  lje1

  23 Apr 2012 | 7:58 pm

  I thought I’d devote some time this week to promoting a fellow author I admire not only for her writing, but also for her commitment to the environment. Her latest book, Stakeout, was a finalist for the Green Earth Award this year. Bonnie J. Doerr not only writes green, she lives green. Her home is a log cabin set in a patch of woods in North Carolina. Bonnie has carved out a space for herself to garden. You can see some of her lovely landscaping in this picture, but to truly appreciate what she’s done, you need to look at the before and after pictures of her garden space (see…

• Angel in the Mist is out

  lje1

  19 Apr 2012 | 4:38 pm

  All royalties go to support the Fredricksen Library. Just got a notice that the book featuring my story, “Angel in the Mist,” is up for presale. My story, a light paranormal, is an unusual twist on a love story. It begins in Ireland during the potato famine and crosses the ocean twice. If you love historicals, romance, or ghost stories, you might want to give it a try. Best of all, all proceeds benefit a library. Combine your reading with your giving or vice versa and allow others to do the same. Here’s a list of the other authors who are included: Hunting Season –…

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  Astraea Press

• Who’s Your Inspiration?

  14 May 2012 | 6:38 am

  Written by Ruth HartmanFor “Better Than Catnip” my inspiration are my two cats, Maxwell and Roxy. Not only did I name the main characters after them, the book itself is about a cat shelter. I’ve loved cats my whole life, so this book was a labor of love for me. I couldn’t think of better character names than those of my own furry kids. Every cat I’ve ever had has been a stray or a rescue. On top of the ones I’ve adopted and brought inside to live with us, I’ve live-trapped and had neutered/spayed at least a couple of dozen feral cats over the years. Yes, it’s costly, and…

• A Typical Writing Day

  11 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  Written by Joselyn VaughnWhen I saw the topic of a typical writing day, my first thought was I wish I had one. Get up in the morning, go for a run, shower, eat breakfast, then settle down at the computer for a good hour or so pounding out a couple thousand words.My days go nothing like that. Most days I crawl out of bed much earlier than I prefer because a little being has approached the side of the bed and announced, “I’m wet.” No sooner have my feet hit the floor than I discover that “I’m wet” actually means “My bed and all my bedding is wet as well as the pjs and diaper that…

• What's New?

  10 May 2012 | 6:24 am

  It's new release day here at Astraea Press. Check out the great book we have in store for you!Price: $1.99Buy it HERE.Blurb:Dark, creaking trees. Cracking thunder. A ghostly orb.Barbara Milanowski couldn't have picked a worse night for her amateur paranormal investigation, but she couldn’t let her longtime crush Elmer Derecho’s skeptism go unchallenged. When Elmer runs her off the road with his motorcycle and scolds her for being out in the inclement weather, her happily ever after drops with the barometric pressure and the loss of her keys and glasses. While spending time alone with…

• Partial to Pit Bulls

  9 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  Written by Kim BowmanIn my and Kay Springsteen’s new release A LOT LIKE A LADY , Kay and I have a lot of fun with the antics of Uncle Lucien’s bull dog, Lord Percy—starting with the fact that the unruly mongrel is named after a member of the nobility. So in honor of our new release, I thought I’d pay tribute to a couple of my babies and help raise awareness about what wonderful family dogs pit bulls can be. We’ve owned six and they have all been loving, intelligent, obedient dogs. These pictures are of our beloved Derby and Tess running the agility course in the 4-H dog show many…

• Writing Fever

  7 May 2012 | 7:00 am

  Written by Elaine CantrellI wrote my first story somewhere between the ages of three to five.  Well, I didn’t actually do the writing because I couldn’t write yet.  I dictated the story to my father who wrote it down and read it back to me.  It was a great story.  It must have been-I can still remember how my father laughed when he read it.  He kept it too.  After he died in 2002, my stepmother found it in the cedar chest where my parents kept important papers.  What was it about?  Oh, it was a story about Woody Woodpecker.  Where did I get the…

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  Susanna Carr's Blog

• Artist’s Date #11: Revisit a tourist attraction

  Susanna

  16 May 2012 | 3:00 am

  One of the first places I visited when I moved to the Pacific Northwest many years ago was Snoqualmie Falls. This weekend I revisited the national park and I was surprised by how many things I forgot about the experience. Like, I knew the waterfall was big, but it still made an impact when I saw it again. I forgot the sound of the waterfall and that the crashing waves at the bottom would look like smoke. And it was a surprise that I would feel the mist on my skin from the observation deck. It was only when I wiped the moisture off that I remember I had to do that the last time I stood on the…

• Monday contest

  Susanna

  14 May 2012 | 3:00 am

  I always see advertisements suggesting books as gift ideas, but when was the last time you received a book as a gift? (Not a gift card but a book.) I enjoy reading but I think that might be why people hesitate to give me a book as a gift. They’re not sure if I’ve already read it. If memory serves me right, the last book that was given to me as a gift was Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True by Elizabeth Berg. It’s a non-fiction book about creativity and writing exercises. A fellow writer gave it to me a few years ago because she found it helpful. I did, too!

• Naming Suddenly Sexy

  Susanna

  11 May 2012 | 3:00 am

  The working title for Suddenly Sexy was Bad Girl Fantasies. This didn’t really fit with Harlequin Blaze so I was asked to come up with some more title suggestions. Creating a title can be tough. You need to think of something that: is 5 words or less offers an idea of what the story is about suggests the tone of the story editors can use as a starting point when they write the back cover copy I’m a little shy to show my title suggestions. You never realize how dorky you are until you create a book title! I had to come up with a list very quickly and it developed into a…

• Countdown to the RITAs: The Doctor’s Deadly Affair by Stephanie Doyle

  Susanna

  8 May 2012 | 3:00 am

  Dr. Camille Larson is a surgeon and a germaphobe. She’s also prickly, difficult and socially inept. She wishes she didn’t have so many fears, but most of all she wishes she was normal. She has no idea why Dr. Wyatt Holladay would be interested in her. Wyatt used to like it things easy. It was only when he struggled with alcohol that he realized he had taken a lot for granted and had been living a shallow existence. Once he was surgeon but now he decided to work in diagnostics. He solves medical puzzles and Camille is asking for his help in understanding why two of her patients…

• Suddenly Sexy giveaway

  Susanna

  6 May 2012 | 4:42 pm

  Visit HarlequinJunkies Romance Reviews for a chance to win a signed copy of SUDDENLY SEXY! Contest ends tomorrow evening, May 7. ©2012 Susanna Carr's Blog. All Rights Reserved..Related posts: Naming Suddenly Sexy Suddenly Sexy exclusively on Harlequin.com A list of contests

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  Fierce Romance

• Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland

  Vonda Sinclair

  15 May 2012 | 9:35 am

  Kilmartin Glen in Argyll, Scotland has more than 800 important archeological sites in a 6 mile radius, 150 of them prehistoric. It is considered one of Scotland’s richest sites for prehistoric monuments. Some experts believe the area now known as Kilmartin may have been a very important center of activity to prehistoric peoples.In addition to the fascinating historical monuments, I wanted to show you some views of the beautiful scenery. It is a very green with lots of farmland with mountains in the background.one of the rain stormsThe day we visited, the weather was mostly sunny but at…

• Another Great Review for Plaything

  Natasha Moore

  14 May 2012 | 5:39 am

  Plaything, #4 in the Paolo's Playhouse series, released from Samhain on May 8th. I'm thrilled it has landed on the bestseller's list there and that it's getting some great reviews. Readers love Paolo :)From Guilty Pleasures Book Review:"THANK YOU Natasha Moore for writing Paolo’s story. After meeting him in the first book, I was intrigued by his mysterious personality and that voice……..sigh... Ms. Moore knows how to pack a short story with charming characters, fantastic writing, and smokin’ hot sex...I loved this series and is a must read for all who enjoy erotic romance at its…

• Sold! A SEAL Wolf Christmas!

  Terry Spear

  12 May 2012 | 4:26 am

  Not sure about the title, but Sourcebooks bought A SEAL Wolf Christmas!It all began with To Tempt the Wolf and Hunter and his wolf pack!You know how that began. Tessa finds a naked man on her beach. Hey, he's a SEAL...wolf. What can you expect?  Snowstorm coming. What's a woman to do???Then there's A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing.And a return to Hunter's pack, only this time with one of his SEAL team members, back at the Oregon coast, Finn Emerson intending to protect Hunter's sister Meara.Meara catches him before he covers himself with a towel, pretending to be her lover while she's intending…

• Blade of the Wolf review from Erotica Romance Writers

  Nicole North

  11 May 2012 | 5:00 am

  I have a fantastic new review for Blade of the Wolf from Erotica Romance Writers! :)RatingsOverall: 9Sensuality: 10Erotica Element: 8Reviewer Comments: Ronan Graeme is an immortal werewolf, one of the Sgian Dubh clan who were cursed years ago by 7 sorcerers. He spends his time protecting the world form evil in the hopes that one day he and his fellow werewolves will be able to regain their souls. He wants to be normal and to have a normal life again. When he learns that one of the sorcerers who cursed him and killed his wife and two children has returned as an incubus…

• Would You Feel Cheated?

  Esmerelda Bishop

  9 May 2012 | 8:01 am

  I’m in one of those writer’s lulls, where nothing big is happening, just spending my days doing life stuff and writing the first draft of the second book in my MMA series. I’m in that area of the book where I’m starting to wrap everything up and things are starting to get complicated (for me, lol). One of the biggest issues right now is the kiss. Yeah, you read the correctly. I’m starting to get toward the third half of the book and they haven’t even kissed yet. (Well, they have, but the first one doesn’t count.) That never happens with me. So I’ve really, really had to up the…

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  Keta's Keep

• Why Were 38 Dakota Sioux Hanged in 1862?

  15 May 2012 | 3:32 am

   Thirty-Eight Dakota Sioux Are Hanged at Mankato, MN THE GALLOWS Execution of thirty-eight Sioux on December 26, 1862 Harper's Weekly The picture above was sketched after the trials which condemned over three hundred participants in the 1862 Dakota Conflict. Only the unpopular intervention of President Lincoln saved 265 other Dakota and mixed-bloods from the fate met by the less fortunate thirty-eight.  What sparked the initial onset of the Uprising (one incident over eggs): On Sunday, August 17, four Dakota from a breakaway band of young malcontents were on a hunting trip when they…

• Words to Write By . . .

  14 May 2012 | 8:30 am

  And thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy today's word. Guiser noun - gīzər A person in disguise (performing arts or theatre); a mummer, especially at Christmas or Halloween revels. Origin: Late 15th century: from the archaic verb guise 'dress fantastically', from the noun guise. (Note: If you are playing scrabble you can use guise but not guiser.) Imagine reminder See you next week! And, remember, this is all

• Sacred Places to Read (or Write)

  11 May 2012 | 8:00 am

  My Dream Nook Almost everyone has their nose stuck in a book these days -- or a Kindle Fire or a Nook.  I'm always looking for a great place to read outside (weather permitting) and a certain criteria has to be met before I can put my thoughts aside and delve into a book. I'm interested in hearing about where you like to read. My Imagination at Work (I'm such a Shabby Chic girl) * Are you the kind of person who grabs a chapter or two on the subway? *  Must you have complete harmonic stillness to read? * Or do you spend your lunch break reading in the park? * Do you head for your…

• Do You Believe in Ghosts?

  9 May 2012 | 8:33 am

  We'd love to hear from you . . . Countless articles have been written about the sightings of ghosts ... or should we say, the invisible antics of spirits? The Palmer House in 1920 There's a hotel in the Midwest that's had it's own share of ghost antics and pranks -- the Palmer House in Sauk Centre, MN. The hotel is notorious for sightings, in fact, a 3-ring binder of several hundred personal accounts from guests and employees sits in the lobby for all to read. Several psychics and TV show hosts have documented paranormal activity in the Palmer House. I'm on the fence about my belief in…

• Amazon Reader LUVS Where The Rain Is Made

  8 May 2012 | 8:51 am

  Where The Rain Is Made on sale until the end of May - NOW $2.99 Here's one reason you should read WTRIM . . . Amazon reader V. Zander posted a FAB review and gave it five stars! "I also loved the characters that Keta created for this book. Francesca's (or Ceska, as most people called her) brother Marsh, his love and devotion to his sister was so heartwarming. Brown Wing was so funny and I loved the relationship that she forged with Cesca...and Good Looking Woman, she was such a great friend and a rock for Cesca during some rough and trying times. I could go on and on, but, what really kept me…

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  Falling In Love With Romance

• Has Your Story's Emotional Momentum Stalled?

  Suzie Quint

  13 May 2012 | 3:05 am

  So I've been reading Karen Marie Moning's fever series. Great series, BTW. I recommend it highly. It's also teaching me things about how NOT to drag out tension. The first four books are fabulous. I devoured them like I'd win the lottery if I finished and the size of the pot was based on how fast I could read them. Then I got into book 5 (Shadowfever). Almost 600 pages. For the most part, still good. Big climax looming on the horizon. And yet... I'm getting impatient with it. Here's the thing. Mac, our heroine, is having an identity crisis. Turns out she's not who she always thought she was.

• Thursday Writing Quote

  Suzie Quint

  10 May 2012 | 10:54 am

  When asked what was the most difficult thing about writing, Ernest Hemingway answered:  "Getting the words right."

• Thunder and Lightning - A review

  Suzie Quint

  6 May 2012 | 3:22 am

  Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft by Natalie Goldberg Bantam I haven't read this author's previous writing books, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Withinor Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life, so I can't compare this book to those. I'd heard of Writing Down the Bones and was mildly curious about it, so when Thunder and Lightning came my way, I was happy to give it a read. The book has some glowing reviews on Amazon, so obviously it appeals to some people. I'm just not one of them. In spite of the implication of the subtitle, this is more memoir that craft book.

• Thursday Writing Quote

  Suzie Quint

  3 May 2012 | 10:53 am

  About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment. - Josh Billings

• A Story is a Promise - A review

  Suzie Quint

  29 Apr 2012 | 3:49 am

  A Story is a Promise: Good Things to Know Before Writing a Novel, Screenplay or Play By Bill Johnson Blue Heron Publishing - 2000 There aren’t a lot of books out there that I consider advanced level books, but this slender volume (just under 200 pages) is one of them.That’s not to say that a beginning or intermediate level writer wouldn’t get anything out of it, but I believe that people don’t hear what they’re not ready to learn, so just as teaching calculus to third graders would not lead them to an understanding of E=MC2, I would expect an advanced writer to find more in this…

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  Fiction Vixen Book Reviews

• Review: Lover Unexpected by Brindle Chase

  Jen

  15 May 2012 | 2:00 pm

  Lisa lives a pretty boring life.  She works early and she works late with not much else to fill the hours between.  While she realizes she is bored that is probably all right with her because she isn’t the party girl crazy type anyway. When her friend Nikki tells her she is getting set up with a man from work Lisa is a little apprehensive.  Most of her blind dates from Nikki haven’t worked out.  The one catch to this blind date is Nikki won’t tell her who the man is.  All Lisa knows is that she works with him, he is handsome, successful, drives a BMW and think she is…

• Review: The Shifter by Jean Johnson

  Catherine

  15 May 2012 | 8:27 am

  Usually when I DNF a book, it’s because it’s just that bad, but that’s not the case here. I don’t mean to damn this book with faint praise, but I’ve read (and finished) a lot of books that I liked a lot less than I did this one. So why did I finish those and give up on this one? Sometimes it’s all about mood and patience. I usually ask myself, “How much am I willing to put up with to see if it’ll get better?” And, honestly, the answer is usually, “a lot.” So, once again, why not push through when I can usually put up with a lot in the hopes that the book will improve?

• Review: Cost of Repairs by A.M. Arthur

  Samantha

  14 May 2012 | 8:00 am

  Police officer Samuel Briggs is getting to know the people on his new, third-shift beat, but he’d prefer they not know too much about him—or the painful past that drove him away from New Mexico to start fresh in small-town Stratton, PA. All he wants is peace, a manageable routine, and time to fix up his project home. There’s no room in his broken heart for a new relationship. It’s crowded with too many memories. But there’s something about the Dixie’s Cup short-order cook, who’s flirty one minute, distracted the next, that piques Sam’s interest. Part-time cook, part-time…

• Weekly Roundup and Giveaway Winners

  Sophia (FV)

  13 May 2012 | 12:09 pm

  Happy Mother’s Day!! I hope all you mommas have a wonderful day! I’ll be spending the day with my lovely daughters. My mom is feeling a little under the weather so when she’s feeling better we’ll have a “ladies day” where we all go out to lunch and have a good time. It will be even more fun this year because we have a new member in our “ladies day” club. She six weeks old now so totally ready for a ladies day. In case you missed something, here is what we did at Fiction Vixen last week Review: The Hostage Bargain by Annika Martin Review: The…

• Weekend Spotlight + Giveaway: The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

  Sophia (FV)

  12 May 2012 | 12:39 pm

  She will not give up… Three months ago, governess Serena Barton was let go from her position. Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake. He cannot give in… Hugo…