Monday, June 30, 2008
I like Lisa Jackson's romanctic suspense novels. I have a lot of them and I bought her re-issue of 2 of her older novels that came out in 1984. I thought the description of the stories were interesting enough that I decided to buy it. I read it and I have to say it wasn't one of her best that I've read and I was a little disappointed with it. I had to force myself a bit to finish the book but it was an okay novel. There were parts that I thought dragged on and I had to skip those parts because I really wanted to finish it so that I could read the more interesting parts. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
SECRETS $ 6.99 (521 Pages)
New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Jackson enthralls readers everywhere with her irresistible blend of high-stakes passion and suspense. Now HQN Books proudly presents two of her classic novels, where the truth can ignite the most dangerous desires of all.
PIRATE’S GOLD
Maren McClure and Kyle Sterling are enemies in a cutthroat, fast-track industry. He’s threatening the company she fought to build; she’s endangering his empire. But their instant attraction will raise the stakes from risky…to explosive.
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
Ten years ago Andrea Monroe loved politician Jefferson Harmon, and watch helplessly as their relationship was destroyed by his brother’s lies. Now they are thrust back into each other’s lives, and their hardest challenge will be to trust each other—and resist their long-simmering hunger.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Today I went to Central Park today for the New York Book Festival. I went with my aunt and mother because Diana Holquist annouced that her book Sexiest Man Alive won the New York Book Festival Romance Award and she would be coming to NYC. She did a reading in Central Park at 2:30 on Saturday, June 28th, followed by a book signing. The event was being held in front of the Naumburg Bandshell, which is located near the Bethesda Fountain. Enter the park at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue and keep veering left. The site is about a half-mile in to the park and there were face painting and lots o' vendors. I was so excited yet very shy because I was meeting one of my favorite authors in person but I loved that I got to meet Diana and her beautiful daughter who I also met. I took a couple of pictures of us together and Diana signed both her books that I brought with me in the hopes of getting her to sign them. My aunt was awesome enough to get a couple of videos of Diana Holquist reading parts of her second book Sexiest Man Alive which won the award.
The first two books in her One True Love Trilogy series are really good reads that everyone should pick up. I loved reading them and I couldn't put them down until I was finished with them. I also found out that her next book in the series Hungry for More is coming out in September and I can't wait to read the conclusion for this series. Here is the description of the books from the back cover and pictures:
MAKE ME A MATCH $ 6.50 (Book 1)(353 Pages)
Cecelia Burns’s To-Do List:
1. Pick out wedding dress and ignore psychic sister who says I’m marrying the wrong guy.
2. Really ignore her when she says the right guy is some stranger named Finn Concord, who’s dying, and this is my last chance to experience my One True Love of a lifetime. Ever.
3. Okay, fine. Find this Finn guy, tell him he’s dying, and split. Quick.
4. Stop staring at him…even though he does look pretty good for a guy who’s on his last legs. Oh god, those unforgettable eyes…those strong arms. And those kissable lips…
5. Take a deep breath and remember that psychics lie too, just like everyone else.
Then again, maybe there is something to this One True Love business after all. There’s only one way to find out…
SEXIEST MAN ALIVE $ 6.99 (Book 2)(336 Pages)
Shy No More Worksheet
Name: Jasmine Burns
Name: Jasmine Burns
Imagine the person who intimidates you. Naked.I’m intimidated by Josh Toby, the world’s biggest movie star. Who has to imagine him naked? I’ve seen it on a forty-foot screen.
Breathe deep.
As Josh’s costume designer, I’m supposed to dress him. And undress him. Oh, and my psychic sister Amy, who has never been wrong, named him my One True Love. Breathing is completely out of the question.
Ask for what you want.
What I want is for him to stop being so…irresistible! I want not to fall in love with a man who’s stalked by the paparazzi and whose washboard abs that could cut glass.
Believe you can do what needs to be done. Then do it.
So, all I have to do is believe I can resist Josh Toby. Resist those deep violet eyes, those strong, muscular arms, and the way he makes me feel like the only woman on earth. Couldn’t be easier. Yeah right…
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Today is a special day because I have a special Guest Blogger, her name is Diana Castilleja and she has a release that she will be talking about today. She was lovely enough to stop by today so she can talk about her first book in her Shadowed Souls series called The Hanged Man: The Eternal Kiss. She has even given a lovely description of the book and an excerpt and video for the book too. You can visit her at her website, her blog and her MySpace.
The Hanged Man: The Eternal Kiss *Book one: Shadowed Souls
It's been almost a year since my vampire Diego has seen the light of ...er... night.... LOL
But I'm very happy say that he and his story is out by Tease Publishing as part of the Dark Tarot Imprint! I'm very happy to see this book be available once more!
It is available NOW! Woot!
As part of the imprint series, the covers are representations of a true Tarot deck, and Diego's story is of the Hanged Man. The card reveals sacrifice, selflessness, and solutions to problems that then weren't obvious through his travels. These solutions becomes clear as he acts and reacts to his world. This card lends its meaning to both Diego and Titania.
Welcome to their world.........
Diego Viteri has lived for centuries with only one real goal, to avenge himself against the one who destroyed the man that he was and created the creature he is now. He is suffering a growing loneliness that is becoming impossible to ignore. His only reason for not ending his life is to see that Brakka is served his justice and then, Diego can rest
The last thing he is expecting is to have an encounter with a human woman who is willing to jump between himself and Brakka during a harsh and bloody battle. Their one meeting changes everything for Diego, bringing to life emotions and wants that he has long believed to be as dead as he is.
As he follows Titania and her band, his needs reshape into something that he can't ignore. Before he knows what he has done, he bonds with her and sets into motion the very thing he swore he would never do to another person. He has shared his curse and in the process may have very well killed her. And there is only one choice to be made to try to save her.
EXCERPT:
He meant it only as a brush of skin, his lips to hers, an exclamation of his growing feelings for her, but the instant his lips found hers, all reasoning deserted him. She was sweet and hot, soft and seductive to his senses.
The earth moved beneath his feet, rocked him to his soul, and he held her tighter to keep himself from flying off into space. Her body matched perfectly to his, meeting his planes and hard angles with the curves and valleys of a woman's body. An unknown urge screamed in his head, and pounded at his temples. To claim her. To make her completely his. To be able to protect her, regardless of time or distance.
He shoved the thought far away. He would never pass on his curse. He would not condemn this woman of compassion to a life of death. Instead of dwelling on the impossible, he shifted his weight, bringing her flush against him. He pushed a hand through the thick weight of her hair, savoring every electric sensation on his skin.
He tasted her lips, nibbling at the corner of her mouth, feeling her breath against his skin, sipping at her lips until she gave in, and he burned.
For the full first chapter, please visit my website.
A little bit about the author:
With more than half a dozen ebooks currently to her credit and one book due to be released this year in print, Diana Castilleja has kept busy since she started writing professionally in late 2004.
Diana currently resides in central Texas with her husband and son. When not focusing her energy on her family and her writing, she loves to travel and haunt bookstores. She's lived in several states across the south and midwest, as well as traveling to Mexico. With moving every year or changing schools since the fourth grade to her sophomore year, she learned reading was a fast escape. The freedom to read about anything and everything has fueled her adult imagination. She also enjoys romance, horses, and yes, still loves to read. She is a proud co-owner in Sweeter Romantic Notions, as well as a member of the writing resource forum Romance Divas.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Today is a special day because I have a special Guest Blogger, her name is Linda Mooney and she has a recent release that she will be talking about today. Linda was nice enough to stop by the blog and talk about her recent release Sandeflay. I'm happy that she had enough time to stop by and tells us about how Sandeflay came to be written and what it is about. Linda Mooney writes Sensuous Romance with a Sci-Fi or Fantasy Flair! You can visit her website, her Blog and also you can visit her MySpace for the video book trailers.
*****
Sometimes Real Life Gives You a Fantasy
I have a very close, very dear friend who has MS, and has been confined to a wheelchair for the past 12 years. She and I often sit in her garage and talk about my books, among other things. Every so often, I’ll broach the topic of her disability, but the prognosis of MS is never favorable. Yet, this woman is always cheerful, always upbeat, always cheering for me.
One evening, she was down in the dumps after suffering through a particularly rough day. I was so depressed after talking with her, I got it into my head to create a heroine who was as brave as my friend. But I also wanted to give her a happy ending, which meant I would allow her to walk again.
What started out as a simple idea became SANDEFLAY. And with the help of another friend who works as an LVN at a veteran’s hospital, I was kept on track with regards to spinal cord injuries and therapies. Of course, I also write fantasy and sci-fi. Before I knew it, SANDEFLAY had blossomed into a novel that reads like a motion picture. Here is a description of the book and the cover:
"Miranda Sayers's best friend is her wheelchair. It has been her refuge for most of her twenty-six years. But the time has come when her grandmother can no longer help take care of her. Now Randi is faced with having to survive on her own, and unfortunately that future doesn't look promising.
Collin First's job on Earth is to find the Ducts between his world and this one. As an Extinguisher, he has to eliminate those passageways before any of the dangerous creatures from Sandeflay can pass through and harm any humans. The last thing he expected when he took the assignment was to find was the beautiful, crippled woman living one floor below his apartment.
Before either of them can contend with the impossibility of their relationship, Randi and Collin are thrown together, seeking each other's love and help. And when circumstances force Randi to follow Collin to Sandeflay, danger and the greatest miracle of all awaits them both."
SANDEFLAY by Linda Mooney
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
Buy Link: Buy it Now!
Size: 121K (super novel), 440 pgs.
Genre: sci-fi/urban fantasy erotic romance
Heat rating: sensuous/explicit
And Right Now At 15% Off!
To find out more about Linda Mooney and her books visit her website at www.LindaMooney.com.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Today's Thursday Thirteen edition I will be writing 13 things about my favorite author Charlaine Harris. All of this information is quoted from her website, Charlaine Harris.
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1. Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over twenty-five years. 2. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Now she lives in southern Arkansas with her husband, her three children, three dogs, and a duck. The duck stays outside. 3. Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry and plays. 4. After holding down some low-level jobs, she had the opportunity to stay home and write, and the resulting two stand-alones were published by Houghton Mifflin. 5. After a child-producing sabbatical, Charlaine latched on to the trend of writing mystery series, and soon had her own traditional books about a Georgia librarian, Aurora Teagarden. Her first Teagarden, REAL MURDERS, garnered an Agatha nomination. 6. Soon Charlaine was looking for another challenge, and the result was the much darker Lily Bard series. The books, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, feature a heroine who has survived a terrible attack and is learning to live with its consequences. 7. When Charlaine began to realize that neither of those series was ever going to set the literary world on fire, she regrouped and decided to write the book she’d always wanted to write. 8. Not a traditional mystery, nor yet pure science fiction or romance, DEAD UNTIL DARK broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who just enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic Louisiana barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, has drawn more readers. 9. The southern vampire books are published in Japan, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Thailand, Spain, France, and Russia. 10. In addition to Sookie, Charlaine has another heroine with a strange ability. Harper Connelly, lightning-struck and strange, can find corpses . . . and that’s how she makes her living. 11. In addition to her work as a writer, Charlaine is the past senior warden of St. James Episcopal Church, a board member of Mystery Writers of America, a past board member of Sisters in Crime, a member of the American Crime Writers League, and past president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance. 12. She spends her “spare” time reading, watching her daughter play sports, traveling, and going to the movies. 13. Charlaine has a few favorite Causes and Charities that you can find more about here. |
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Well here is the interview with Jessica Andersen that I promised to post. Jessica Andersen was nice enough to grant me an interview about her writing. Even though she was busy with her writing she was nice enough to answer the following questions as soon as she could possibly get them done. You can visit Jessica's Skywatch Forum where you can chat with her about her books, contests, writing and much more. Here is the link to the review of her first novel in her Final Prophecy Series called Nightkeepers that I wrote. Here is a little bio that Jessica said I could use from her website so you can get to know her a bit better and I even have the picture she has on her website too:
Jessica Andersen: I’ve always been a voracious reader, mostly of fiction (romance, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, etc.), but didn’t even really think about writing for publication until grad school, when I was working at the New England Eye Center, helping search for the genetic mutations responsible for certain types of glaucoma. It was very cool work, but the writing aspect of science suited me far better than the labwork. It wasn’t until the head of my thesis committee complimented my thesis by saying it “read like a mystery novel” that I admitted I was… um…writing a romantic suspense novel in my free time. Soon after, I left the lab and spent the next couple of years freelancing as a scientific editor while I worked on getting my writing career off the ground. Writing for a living is backbreaking, heartbreaking work for uncertain returns, but I love it.
Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?
Jessica: I’ve sold comedic romances, romantic suspense, and now the big paranormal romantic thriller series that’s kicked off by NIGHTKEEPERS. I’m still writing the romantic suspense for Intrigue while working on the subsequent books in the paranormal series, and while I feel that the paranormals are the best fit for my voice and interests, the suspense are a fun change of pace, and I will probably keep writing them, as well.
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
Jessica: I’m pretty sure the first fiction I ever wrote, aside from school projects and the like, was an unfinished sci-fi-type story about humpback whales receiving a signal from outer space and traveling to a meeting point in the middle of the ocean somewhere, where their racial memories said they would receive a great gift (something to do with saving the earth’s ecosystems). I wrote probably seventy or eighty pages in a lined notebook, realized it was going to take me forever to get to the end, and moved on to other things.
Phoebe: How much research did you have to do for your intrigue novels and your new series Final Prophecy and did it take you a long time to gather that research?
Jessica: For the Intrigues, I do as much or as little research I need to make the scenes and characters’ backgrounds come alive to me, and hopefully, to the reader. Since these books are mostly scientific in nature, I have a pretty good well of knowledge to draw from. My formal training as a researcher definitely helped me track down the information I needed and wanted when I was working on NIGHTKEEPERS. I keep both hard copy and spreadsheet information files, and have a bookcase stuffed full of references, all of which are cited on my website. I love the history and the science of the Nightkeepers’ world, so the research has become as much a hobby as a job. That’s the good news. The bad news is that as I write, I keep wanting to include all the cool details I’ve learned about...and usually wind up with a 700-plus page manuscript. Thus, as I’m cutting down the story, I keep in mind one of my mottos as a scientific editor: This is an interesting detail, but how does it specifically relate to the matter at hand?
Phoebe: How did you come up with the Final Prophecy series after having written all those Intrigue romance novels?
Jessica: My first Intrigue came out in late 2003; my eighteenth and nineteenth are out now (TWIN TARGETS, 5/08 and WITH THE MD…AT THE ALTAR? 6/08). While working on the Intrigues, I kept submitting single title proposals that never really went anywhere, I think because I was trying to write a medical romantic suspense that was longer without really being bigger. It wasn’t until I stumbled on the Nightkeepers’ world that a storyline really grabbed me and demanded that I write it. As for how I found the idea, it was more that it found me. One of my most vivid early memories is being on a family vacation and climbing up inside the big pyramid at Chichen Itza to see the jaguar throne. People were packed nose-to-butt, crouched down in the narrow stairway, with everyone on the right side going up and the ones on the left coming down.
It was dark and cold, the stones were slippery, and I’m claustrophobic. But dude, seeing the jaguar up close and thinking about the people who’d carved and worshipped it… that’s something I’ll never forget. Years later, I was working on a suspense proposal that involved poisonous snakes, and had a total “ooh, shiny!” moment when I pulled up a website on Mayan serpent rituals. From there, I found a reference to how the Mayan Long Count calendar is going to end on December 21, 2012, coinciding with an astrological event that scientists think could trigger sunspots and magnetic reversals, and maybe even knock the earth off its orbit. And I sat there thinking: Holy crap, this is it. This is what I have to write about.
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write one of your novels? And is it the same or different with each novel you write?
Jessica: Because the books of the Final Prophecy series are interconnected (each is a stand-alone with a complete romance, but they add to each other within the larger save-the-world story arc) I plan and outline prior to writing. For each book, I know where each of the characters and plot lines begins and approximately where each should end up, and I’ve got some major scenes and turning points sketched out.
However, when I’m actually writing the story, I often find myself getting to a point where I’ve planned for something to happen, and realizing that because I’ve planned it that way, I’ve made it too obvious. I’m a huge fan of being surprised in books/movies/TV shows, and I’d like to give readers the same experience. Thus, when I get to a point where the next step seems obvious, that’s exactly where I say to myself ‘What else could happen?’ and go with that option as long as it makes sense with the character and situation. Life is unexpected, so as far as I’m concerned, stories should be unpredictable within the rules of the world.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?
Jessica: My first sale to an RWA-approved publisher (as they were called at the time) was to Harlequin Intrigue in 2002. It was my third completed manuscript. I had pitched the project to Melissa Jeglinski during an editor appointment at the New England Chapter RWA’s annual conference, and she’d said to send her the full manuscript. Less than two weeks later, the phone rang, and it was Melissa on the other end. Figuring she was calling to tell me the thing had gotten mangled in the mail, I stupidly said, “Oh, did you want me to send you another copy of the story?” She laughed and said, “No. I’m buying it.” In a nice sort of full circle moment, I’ll be giving the luncheon speech at the 2009 NEC-RWA conference.
Phoebe: How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book came out in print and how do you feel about your other novels being published?
Jessica: It’s an amazing feeling, really, holding your first actual book. Then there’s the first time an actual stranger comes up and says ‘I love your books.’ That still surprises me, in fact! I think somewhere in the back of my head, even though I know the Intrigues have sold more than 1.5 million copies total, I have this feeling like only my friends actually buy them, just to placate me.
Phoebe: How many books are you planning to write for the Final Prophecy series after your second novel Dawnkeepers comes out next year in 2009?
Jessica: I have basic plots and hero/heroine pairs planned through the entire story arc, which carries us up to 12/21/2012 and consists of somewhere between seven and ten books total. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that NIGHTKEEPERS and the subsequent books, DAWNKEEPERS (1/09) and DEMONKEEPERS (6/09) find an audience that will keep reading the books through to the end!
Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?
Jessica: Well, in one way or another, almost all my published novels are tied to another novel in some way or another. The majority of my Intrigues have all been set in and around the mythical Boston General Hospital or in the mythical area of Bear Claw Creek in Colorado. Those that aren’t (Bullseye, Meet me at Midnight, Classified Baby, With the MD…at the Altar?) have been continuity books written as part of a larger story arc involving books by four to six other Intrigue authors. Then there’s NIGHTKEEPERS, which is also part of a series. In each of these cases, the book has a single, contained romance that gets to its happily ever after by the end of the story. So in that way, they’re stand-alones. But in another sense, they each have characters and storylines that can span multiple books. Personally, I really enjoy the challenge of the intertwining plotlines, as they make the stories feel more reflective of reality to me.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule, your book signing appearances, and your personal life without going insane?
Jessica: I think my sanity is fairly questionable. LOL! Seriously, right now I’ve got a very heavy writing schedule, so I’ve consciously put other pieces of my life on hold. Once this round of deadlines is over, I’ll look at slowing down a little, largely because I need more time to research Mayan history, mythology and ritual for the Final Prophecy books.
Phoebe: Have you had anything strange or funny happen to you at any of your book signings or even when you go out?
Jessica: I can’t think of anything off-hand. I haven’t done much in the way of in-person promotions for the Intrigues, because they’re largely sold through the book clubs. In terms of appearances for NIGHTKEEPERS, so far, so good!
Phoebe: Do you take certain amounts of breaks in between your writing and book signing appearances to have personal time with family and friends?
Jessica: Not right now. I’ve got that penciled in as something I’d like to make more time for next year J.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing?
Jessica: I own a small farm, and I find farm chores very relaxing. I weed, mow, paint, muck… the mindless physical activity is a real stress reliever for me.
Phoebe: Do you have any hobbies?
Jessica: I ride horses, which is another huge stress reliever. Okay, so it can cause stress, too, as horses are complicated beasties, both physically and mentally, but it’s a different sort of stress than what I get from the writing career.
Phoebe: J.R. Ward is your critique partner. How was it that you two got together for the first time and became critique partners?
Jessica: JRW and I met through our local RWA chapter back when she lived in the Boston area. Since then, we’ve stayed in pretty close touch, reading each others’ stuff, talking about the industry and the marketplace, that sort of thing. We have very different styles and voices; I think that’s why we work so well as CPs…that, and because we have a really high level of trust with each other.
Phoebe: Are you and Ward still critique partners and how has your critiquing relationship developed since your first started critiquing each other’s work?
Jessica: We are still CPs, and good friends. I would, however, say that our definition of ‘critique partner’ is pretty open-ended.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Jessica: Hm….You know? I’d have to say ‘not really,’ largely because Romance Writers of America (RWA), and particularly the New England Chapter of RWA, prepared me so well for the process. I’ve certainly made my mistakes, but I’ve learned from them and moved on.
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Jessica: I don’t know that I would’ve listened at the time, because I suspect some of my friends may have hinted at this, but I’d warn an aspiring writer that once she sells that first single title, she should block off an equal amount of time for promotions as she does for writing. Where the readership for the Intrigues has been fairly well established by Harlequin’s branding, I’ve spent a ton of time guest blogging, giving interviews, growing the very cool community at my message board, and generally being available to readers and media outlets.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer looking to find a critique partner and/or critique group that you think would be beneficial and wish someone had give you the same advice?
Jessica: My best suggestion would be to communicate as much as possible. So many of the problems I’ve seen between CPs seem to come from differences in the partners’ expectations, whether in terms of speed, level of criticism, positive feedback, or whatnot.
Phoebe: Again thank you so much for giving me the chance to interview you.
Jessica: You’re very welcome, and thank you!
Now here is how the interview went between Jessica Andersen and me:I was born and raised in eastern Mass (go, Sox!), and have lived my whole life in New England. I did the public school thing, surviving the 80s with no lasting scars aside from a few photos of me with spiked hair and a rat tail (and no, I’m so not posting those). During the 90s, I did a double stint at Tufts University for an undergraduate biology degree and a PhD in genetics, with a year-long break in between that can best be described as: “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up; I think I’ll do some landscaping”… followed by “um, okay; I think I’ll go back to school now.”
During grad school and for a year after, I worked at the New England Eye Center, helping search for the genetic changes responsible for certain types of glaucoma. It was very cool work, but the writing aspect of science suited me far better than the labwork. It wasn’t until the committee head complimented my doctoral thesis by saying it “read like a mystery novel” that I admitted I was… um… writing a romantic suspense novel in my free time. A year later, I left the lab and spent the next while freelancing as a scientific editor and riding instructor while I worked on getting my writing career off the ground.
Read more.
* * * *
Phoebe Jordan: When did you know that writing romance was going to be the thing that you would do with your life?
Jessica Andersen: I’ve always been a voracious reader, mostly of fiction (romance, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, etc.), but didn’t even really think about writing for publication until grad school, when I was working at the New England Eye Center, helping search for the genetic mutations responsible for certain types of glaucoma. It was very cool work, but the writing aspect of science suited me far better than the labwork. It wasn’t until the head of my thesis committee complimented my thesis by saying it “read like a mystery novel” that I admitted I was… um…writing a romantic suspense novel in my free time. Soon after, I left the lab and spent the next couple of years freelancing as a scientific editor while I worked on getting my writing career off the ground. Writing for a living is backbreaking, heartbreaking work for uncertain returns, but I love it.Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?
Jessica: I’ve sold comedic romances, romantic suspense, and now the big paranormal romantic thriller series that’s kicked off by NIGHTKEEPERS. I’m still writing the romantic suspense for Intrigue while working on the subsequent books in the paranormal series, and while I feel that the paranormals are the best fit for my voice and interests, the suspense are a fun change of pace, and I will probably keep writing them, as well.
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
Jessica: I’m pretty sure the first fiction I ever wrote, aside from school projects and the like, was an unfinished sci-fi-type story about humpback whales receiving a signal from outer space and traveling to a meeting point in the middle of the ocean somewhere, where their racial memories said they would receive a great gift (something to do with saving the earth’s ecosystems). I wrote probably seventy or eighty pages in a lined notebook, realized it was going to take me forever to get to the end, and moved on to other things.
Phoebe: How much research did you have to do for your intrigue novels and your new series Final Prophecy and did it take you a long time to gather that research?
Jessica: For the Intrigues, I do as much or as little research I need to make the scenes and characters’ backgrounds come alive to me, and hopefully, to the reader. Since these books are mostly scientific in nature, I have a pretty good well of knowledge to draw from. My formal training as a researcher definitely helped me track down the information I needed and wanted when I was working on NIGHTKEEPERS. I keep both hard copy and spreadsheet information files, and have a bookcase stuffed full of references, all of which are cited on my website. I love the history and the science of the Nightkeepers’ world, so the research has become as much a hobby as a job. That’s the good news. The bad news is that as I write, I keep wanting to include all the cool details I’ve learned about...and usually wind up with a 700-plus page manuscript. Thus, as I’m cutting down the story, I keep in mind one of my mottos as a scientific editor: This is an interesting detail, but how does it specifically relate to the matter at hand?
Phoebe: How did you come up with the Final Prophecy series after having written all those Intrigue romance novels?
Jessica: My first Intrigue came out in late 2003; my eighteenth and nineteenth are out now (TWIN TARGETS, 5/08 and WITH THE MD…AT THE ALTAR? 6/08). While working on the Intrigues, I kept submitting single title proposals that never really went anywhere, I think because I was trying to write a medical romantic suspense that was longer without really being bigger. It wasn’t until I stumbled on the Nightkeepers’ world that a storyline really grabbed me and demanded that I write it. As for how I found the idea, it was more that it found me. One of my most vivid early memories is being on a family vacation and climbing up inside the big pyramid at Chichen Itza to see the jaguar throne. People were packed nose-to-butt, crouched down in the narrow stairway, with everyone on the right side going up and the ones on the left coming down.
It was dark and cold, the stones were slippery, and I’m claustrophobic. But dude, seeing the jaguar up close and thinking about the people who’d carved and worshipped it… that’s something I’ll never forget. Years later, I was working on a suspense proposal that involved poisonous snakes, and had a total “ooh, shiny!” moment when I pulled up a website on Mayan serpent rituals. From there, I found a reference to how the Mayan Long Count calendar is going to end on December 21, 2012, coinciding with an astrological event that scientists think could trigger sunspots and magnetic reversals, and maybe even knock the earth off its orbit. And I sat there thinking: Holy crap, this is it. This is what I have to write about.
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write one of your novels? And is it the same or different with each novel you write?
Jessica: Because the books of the Final Prophecy series are interconnected (each is a stand-alone with a complete romance, but they add to each other within the larger save-the-world story arc) I plan and outline prior to writing. For each book, I know where each of the characters and plot lines begins and approximately where each should end up, and I’ve got some major scenes and turning points sketched out.
However, when I’m actually writing the story, I often find myself getting to a point where I’ve planned for something to happen, and realizing that because I’ve planned it that way, I’ve made it too obvious. I’m a huge fan of being surprised in books/movies/TV shows, and I’d like to give readers the same experience. Thus, when I get to a point where the next step seems obvious, that’s exactly where I say to myself ‘What else could happen?’ and go with that option as long as it makes sense with the character and situation. Life is unexpected, so as far as I’m concerned, stories should be unpredictable within the rules of the world.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?
Jessica: My first sale to an RWA-approved publisher (as they were called at the time) was to Harlequin Intrigue in 2002. It was my third completed manuscript. I had pitched the project to Melissa Jeglinski during an editor appointment at the New England Chapter RWA’s annual conference, and she’d said to send her the full manuscript. Less than two weeks later, the phone rang, and it was Melissa on the other end. Figuring she was calling to tell me the thing had gotten mangled in the mail, I stupidly said, “Oh, did you want me to send you another copy of the story?” She laughed and said, “No. I’m buying it.” In a nice sort of full circle moment, I’ll be giving the luncheon speech at the 2009 NEC-RWA conference.
Phoebe: How did you feel when you finally saw your first published book came out in print and how do you feel about your other novels being published?
Jessica: It’s an amazing feeling, really, holding your first actual book. Then there’s the first time an actual stranger comes up and says ‘I love your books.’ That still surprises me, in fact! I think somewhere in the back of my head, even though I know the Intrigues have sold more than 1.5 million copies total, I have this feeling like only my friends actually buy them, just to placate me.
Phoebe: How many books are you planning to write for the Final Prophecy series after your second novel Dawnkeepers comes out next year in 2009?
Jessica: I have basic plots and hero/heroine pairs planned through the entire story arc, which carries us up to 12/21/2012 and consists of somewhere between seven and ten books total. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that NIGHTKEEPERS and the subsequent books, DAWNKEEPERS (1/09) and DEMONKEEPERS (6/09) find an audience that will keep reading the books through to the end!
Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?
Jessica: Well, in one way or another, almost all my published novels are tied to another novel in some way or another. The majority of my Intrigues have all been set in and around the mythical Boston General Hospital or in the mythical area of Bear Claw Creek in Colorado. Those that aren’t (Bullseye, Meet me at Midnight, Classified Baby, With the MD…at the Altar?) have been continuity books written as part of a larger story arc involving books by four to six other Intrigue authors. Then there’s NIGHTKEEPERS, which is also part of a series. In each of these cases, the book has a single, contained romance that gets to its happily ever after by the end of the story. So in that way, they’re stand-alones. But in another sense, they each have characters and storylines that can span multiple books. Personally, I really enjoy the challenge of the intertwining plotlines, as they make the stories feel more reflective of reality to me.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule, your book signing appearances, and your personal life without going insane?
Jessica: I think my sanity is fairly questionable. LOL! Seriously, right now I’ve got a very heavy writing schedule, so I’ve consciously put other pieces of my life on hold. Once this round of deadlines is over, I’ll look at slowing down a little, largely because I need more time to research Mayan history, mythology and ritual for the Final Prophecy books.
Phoebe: Have you had anything strange or funny happen to you at any of your book signings or even when you go out?
Jessica: I can’t think of anything off-hand. I haven’t done much in the way of in-person promotions for the Intrigues, because they’re largely sold through the book clubs. In terms of appearances for NIGHTKEEPERS, so far, so good!
Phoebe: Do you take certain amounts of breaks in between your writing and book signing appearances to have personal time with family and friends?
Jessica: Not right now. I’ve got that penciled in as something I’d like to make more time for next year J.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing?
Jessica: I own a small farm, and I find farm chores very relaxing. I weed, mow, paint, muck… the mindless physical activity is a real stress reliever for me.
Phoebe: Do you have any hobbies?
Jessica: I ride horses, which is another huge stress reliever. Okay, so it can cause stress, too, as horses are complicated beasties, both physically and mentally, but it’s a different sort of stress than what I get from the writing career.
Phoebe: J.R. Ward is your critique partner. How was it that you two got together for the first time and became critique partners?
Jessica: JRW and I met through our local RWA chapter back when she lived in the Boston area. Since then, we’ve stayed in pretty close touch, reading each others’ stuff, talking about the industry and the marketplace, that sort of thing. We have very different styles and voices; I think that’s why we work so well as CPs…that, and because we have a really high level of trust with each other.
Phoebe: Are you and Ward still critique partners and how has your critiquing relationship developed since your first started critiquing each other’s work?
Jessica: We are still CPs, and good friends. I would, however, say that our definition of ‘critique partner’ is pretty open-ended.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Jessica: Hm….You know? I’d have to say ‘not really,’ largely because Romance Writers of America (RWA), and particularly the New England Chapter of RWA, prepared me so well for the process. I’ve certainly made my mistakes, but I’ve learned from them and moved on.
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Jessica: I don’t know that I would’ve listened at the time, because I suspect some of my friends may have hinted at this, but I’d warn an aspiring writer that once she sells that first single title, she should block off an equal amount of time for promotions as she does for writing. Where the readership for the Intrigues has been fairly well established by Harlequin’s branding, I’ve spent a ton of time guest blogging, giving interviews, growing the very cool community at my message board, and generally being available to readers and media outlets.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer looking to find a critique partner and/or critique group that you think would be beneficial and wish someone had give you the same advice?
Jessica: My best suggestion would be to communicate as much as possible. So many of the problems I’ve seen between CPs seem to come from differences in the partners’ expectations, whether in terms of speed, level of criticism, positive feedback, or whatnot.
Phoebe: Again thank you so much for giving me the chance to interview you.
Jessica: You’re very welcome, and thank you!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I love reading Katie MacAlister's books because she writes romance either contemporary, paranormal or historical and they have a way about it that makes me laugh when I read. Her books are always fun to read and I enjoy them. I really loved reading her novel The Corset Diaries because it was funny and romantic all in one, which I think is a good combination together. This book was one of the many that I have bought of Katie MacAlister's and I loved reading it even though I'm not much into reading books in the first person. This book is not about a skinny heroine, which I have to say most novels are about, but about a good sized heroine who meets this great guy with a very spoiled daughter. I have to say that it was a very good read and that is why I like reading Katie MacAlister's novels, even though I like to read about more than the heroine's point of view, she writes in a way that you can still get the full affect through the heroine. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
THE CORSET DIARIES $ 6.99 (344 Pages)
“I HAVE TO WEAR WHAT???”
No woman in her right mind would consent to wearing a corset for a month. Especially a “skinny-challenged” woman like myself. But dreams of being debt-free danced in my head when I received the offer to appear on a reality TV show. A Month in the Life of a Victorian Duke is about real people—like me—pretending to live on an English estate, circa 1879. Sounds fun, no? Well, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. We’re talking no televisions, no cell phones, and no PMS medication. And did I mention the corsets? No breathing for a full month. Luckily, when I met the real-life duke who was to be my pretend husband, he took my breath away…. In a manor in which everyone must strictly follow the Victorian lifestyle, things were bound to go wrong. Like when some harmless lust turned into the other thing…Love was definitely not in the contract.
Monday, June 23, 2008
I love Catherine Coulter. I've been reading her books since my mom's friend gave me her daughter's old books and Catherine Coulter's Warrior Song was in the mix with my first Nora Roberts book Three Fates. I have almost all of Catherine Coulter's books and I've read all of them. The Devil's Duology series is the first two books that I bought by Coulter after I read her book Warrior Song. I loved reading the second book in the series called Devil's Daughter more than the first book called Devil's Embrace because there was just one part of that book that didn't sit right with me, I won't say what scene it is because it's well towards the middle of the book and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read the book. I thought that one scene was horrible and I had to force myself to continue reading because I knew that there would be a HEA. I did finish read the book and I have to say that beside that one scene the book was very fun to read and the second one was just better because I read it through without a problem. Here are the descriptions of the books from the back and the pictures:
DEVIL’S EMBRACE $ 7.99 (Book 1)(404 Pages)
Dear Reader,
Welcome to my very first historical romance, Devil’s Embrace, titled by my husband, and first published in 1982. I’ve updated it stylistically, edited it, trimmed it just a bit, and the art magically includes some of the original artwork.
Welcome to my very first historical romance, Devil’s Embrace, titled by my husband, and first published in 1982. I’ve updated it stylistically, edited it, trimmed it just a bit, and the art magically includes some of the original artwork.
Cassie Brougham and Anthony Welles, Earl of Clare, are my favorite characters of all time, Cassie has known the Earl of Clare all her life, but she’s in love with a soldier she’s been secretly writing to since she was fifteen. Now he’s home and they’re going to be married. But the day before her wedding, Anthony Welles kidnaps her aboard his yacht and sails away with her to Genoa, Italy; his stated intentions to make her his wife. Cassie is not happy about this.
This is an unusual love story, to say the least, that will make you weep and laugh and root for what you know is best for both of them. There is pain, doubt, captivation, and escape. But regardless of what happens, this is a love that is of the forever sort, something that is true and very real, and will stay close to your heart, I hope, for a very long time. If you missed Devil’s Embrace the first time around, do read it now.
Enjoy,
Catherine Coulter
DEVIL’S DAUGHTER $ 7.99 (Book 2)(407 Pages)
Dear Reader:
Devil’s Daughter is the story of Adam and Arabella Welles, the son and daughter of Cassie and Anthony Welles. I have updated the book, since, like Devil’s Embrace, it came out a while ago and needed some tidying up. It has a charming new cover, a blend of the old and new. Adam has enjoyed women but hasn’t yet found the woman created just for him. As for Arabella, she is as independent and strong-willed as her brother and her parents. When both brother and sister go adventuring in Naples to solve the mystery of their father’s missing ships and cargos, they discover that the person behind this thievery is an enemy form their father’s past. This enemy manages to drug Arabella and pack her off to a harem in North Africa, Adam in Pursuit.
Devil’s Daughter is the story of Adam and Arabella Welles, the son and daughter of Cassie and Anthony Welles. I have updated the book, since, like Devil’s Embrace, it came out a while ago and needed some tidying up. It has a charming new cover, a blend of the old and new. Adam has enjoyed women but hasn’t yet found the woman created just for him. As for Arabella, she is as independent and strong-willed as her brother and her parents. When both brother and sister go adventuring in Naples to solve the mystery of their father’s missing ships and cargos, they discover that the person behind this thievery is an enemy form their father’s past. This enemy manages to drug Arabella and pack her off to a harem in North Africa, Adam in Pursuit.
But Adam isn’t alone, there’s a stowaway with him he certainly doesn’t expect. Her name is Rayna Lyndhurst, daughter of a man who is dead set against the Welles family. But do children ever pay attention to their parents? Arabella finds the harem a frightening and fascinating place, a golden prison form which there is little chance of escape. Her master is Kamal, the Bey of Oran, a man who must be her enemy but who is unlike any man she has ever known. As for Kamal, he suddenly finds himself faced with a woman willing to fight him to the death—a woman who both bewitches and infuriates him. I hope you enjoy the adventures of Adam and Rayna, Arabella and Kamal. These are people I’ll never forget.
Enjoy,
Catherine Coulter
Sunday, June 22, 2008
I've never heard of this book The Painted Veil written by W. Somerset Maugham. But last year a friend of mine told me that I should really consider reading it because she thought I would like to read it. I thought I would give this book and author a try and I really regret that I bought this book because even though there were parts that I liked I really couldn't get into the story. I guess it didn't have any of the content that I'm use to reading in my romance novels and the HEA at the end, which I really didn't get in this book. But someone must have loved this book because it was even made into a movie featuring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts and it's out on DVD. I wasn't very interested in this book but that doesn't mean it isn't a good book. I'm in the opinion of that every person as their own taste in novels, music and movies and that you shouldn't let other people opinion on something influence your decision on what you may love but wouldn't have know without trying. So check the book or even the movie if you find it interesting. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
THE PAINTED VEIL $ 13.95 (246 Pages)
Somerset Maugham’s classic novel of a woman’s spiritual awakening was suggested to him by these lines of Dante—and is his only novel to be based on a story rather than an individual character.
Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but love-starved shallow Kitty Fane. When her bacteriologist husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic hoping that she will die. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, Kitty, bitterly unhappy, is compelled both by the desolation around her and by her awakening conscience to re-assess her life, past, and present. Slowly and painfully she learns how to love; tragically, she learns too late.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I absolutely love Teresa Medeiros' historical romances and she is also one of the many authors that I've stumbled upon while strolling around at Barnes and Noble looking for new books and authors to buy and read. I have a couple of her novels and this is one of many that I enjoyed reading so much that I have read it more than once. It was a book that I couldn't put down because the characters intrigued me because the herione Holly dresses up ugly so that no man would ever pick her as a bride but then comes along Austyn who is looking for a plan looking woman to marry. I just loved reading all of the things that they had to go through to understand each other more fully and in order to understand that what they had was long and lasting. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
FAIREST OF THEM ALL $ 7.50 (371 Pages)
She was rumored to be the fairest woman in all of England. But Holly de Chastel considered her beauty a curse. She had already turned away scores of suitors with various ruses, both fair and foul. Now she was to be the prize in a tournament of eager knights gathering form across the land, each more determined to win her hand. Holly had no intention of wedding any of them, and concocted her most outrageous plan yet: to disguise her beauty from their avaricious eyes. But she never planned on Sir Austyn of Gavenmore.
The darkly handsome Welshman had come looking especially for a plain bride and Holly seemed to fit the bill. Suddenly she found herself in the possession of this mysterious stranger, ensconced in his castle, and forced to keep up hr carefully planned illusion. Why did this electrifying passionate male, who could have any woman he wanted, desire a homely bride—and what would happen when he learned he’d been tricked? By the time Holly found out, it was too late to avoid the searing fires of passion—and the dark curse of Gavenmore….
Friday, June 20, 2008
Kresley Cole is an another author that a friend of mine recommended. I went to her website and even joined her message board and when I read about her books I thought I should give them a try. I went in search of her first book and I found that her first two books were a series named the Sutherland Brothers. I bought them and I loved them, so I went in search for some more of her books. Well I bought more of her books but for today I will be talking about her latest release in her Immortals After Dark series. This is an Anthology where the Immortals After Dark series first made their appearance. Author Sherrilyn Kenyon and Jaid Black also have their own short stories written in this anthology.
I loved reading it and I was fortunate enough to have gotten it autographed by one of the authors. I also had enough money to buy 2 extra copies and get those autographed by none other than Kresley Cole! Next month in July I will be having a contest right here on the blog where I will be giving away an autographed Playing Easy to Get to one lucky winner. But that is not all in August I will be having another contest which I will be annoucing at the end of July on how to participate and the lucky winner will get an autographed Playing Easy to Get. So you have two chances to win this remarkable and very exciting novel. Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
PLAYING EASY TO GET $ 14.00 (also including authors Sherrilyn Kenyon and Jaid Black)(329 Pages)
New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon and rising stars Jaid Black and Kresley Cole unlock the pleasures and perils of embracing the boldest and most powerful of lovers—100% alpha males—in three sensually erotic tales. Discover the physical rapture of his muscular arms…. Become a prisoner of passion, swept away by an encounter with his primal side…. And get lost in all-consuming thrill of white-hot pursuit by a relentless stranger who may be your most dangerous foe, the best lover you’ve ever had—or both. Let your fantasies run wild with these unforgettable novellas where bigger is most definitely better—and playing easy-to-get is the only way to go!
From New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon comes “Turn Up the Heat,” the story of an average woman who wins the vacation of a lifetime—a trip to Sex Camp. But what Allison George gets is a race for her life with none other than an ex-Mafia hit man who is now being sought by his prior employer. Vince Cappelleti knew the island was a risky proposition, but he’d run out of options. Now the only thing he wants in his sights is Allison, but in order to have a future with her, he must first deal with his past.
Jaid Black’s sizzling hot “Hunter’s Oath” sends grief-stricken Sofia Rowley to the Arctic Circle, where her brother, a U.S. Army Officer, was lost in a deadly helicopter crash. She’s about to take a shocking journey into a secret underground world where Viking bride-hunters auction off their bounty…and where a strapping warrior vows to make this beautiful Outsider his.
Possession and passion entwine in Kresley Cole’s sultry story, “The Warlord Wants Forever.” Nikolai Wroth, once a ruthless human warlord in the 1700s and now a general in the rebel vampire army, needs to find his Bride, the one woman who can render him truly alive. As a turned human, he doesn’t enjoy a heartbeat or breaths and is consequently weaker than natural born vampires. He wants his Bride for the power she will bring him and can hardly believe it when his heart beats for Myst the Coveted, a mad, fey, mythological creature. Myst is known throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, part chillingly fierce warrior, part beguiling seductress who can “make you want her even as she’s killing you.”
She has devoted her life to protecting an ancient, powerful jewel and to fighting the vampires, and she now sees a way to torment one—for with Wroth’s heartbeat comes consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her. She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen the jewel which commands her, giving him absolute power over her. While he possesses it, he can make her do anything, and he plans to in order for her to experience firsthand the agonizing, unending lust she’d purposely, boastingly, subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Wroth realizes he wants more from her and frees her, will she come back to him?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Today's Thursday Thirteen edition I will be writing 13 things about my favorite author Laurell K. Hamilton. All of this information is quoted from her website, Laurell K. Hamilton.
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1. Laurell has always been fascinated with the darker side of things. Staying up late, alone, as a child to catch the Creature Feature on television. 2. When Laurell was 13, she discover a short story collection titled "Pigeons from Hell". "It was the first heroic fantasy I'd read. It was fights, swords, monsters I decided not only did I want to become a writer, it was this I wanted to write". She chanced upon another book in the high school library "The Natural History of the Vampire". She read it so many times she nearly memorized it. When it's suggested that her choice of creepy films and stories were unseemly when her friends' companions were dolls: "I wasn't like most girls" she said. 3. Laurell does not shy away from sex or violence in her books. "I was a kiss to be so believable it give the reader shivers. Two things I do well are sex and violence, but I don't want gratuitous sex or violence. The sex and violence is only as graphic as need be. And never included unless it furthers the plot, world building or character development. Everyone [in the book] has someone to lust after, but Anita is like me. She doesn't see herself as a lust object.". 4. A question that gets asked a lot is "What is Laurell really like?" Hmmmm.... She is not Anita, though you can see bits of Anita in her. She is the truly the warm, generous, friendly person you see at cons and signings. I am blessed by her continuing friendship. 5. Before her writing career kept her so busy she volunteered at an animal shelter. Not as a keeper but as a person who went out and shared time and love with unwanted pets. Unfortunately, she had to drop that from her busy schedule. She says that all work and no play makes the writer grumpy. But I have never seen her act that way. 6. She writes as fast as she can manage. And that brings up the topic of publication dates. Laurell does not set these, the publisher does. It is a complicated formula of length of time from last book by author, other authors who are publishing something, printer schedules and multiple bookhouses juggling. Laurell has little control over the when. 7. I know she wishes she could answer each fan mail herself. But if she did that we would get no books! She gets a lot of mail. And for those wondering, Laurell is a self admitted technophobe (read the computer confuses her), though she is learning to use the email with help from her friends. 8. The awe she generates often confuses her. She sees herself as an ordinary person, nothing special. 9. She writes because to not write even for her own enjoyment would be like not breathing. It is just something she has to do. Thankfully she is willing to share that wonderful talent with us all. 10. She lives in St. Louis County Missouri with her husband Jonathon Green, daughter, two pug dogs and one boxer/pug dog. 11. Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with GUILTY PLEASURES (now a hugely successful graphic novel from Marvel - the first sexy paranormal comic ever!) and continues with the BLOOD NOIR , number sixteen in the series, in which Anita's complex personal and professional relationships with a master vampire and an alpha werewolf continue to evolve. 12. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilton's Ballantine series features Fey princess and private investigator, Merry Gentry and there are now five novels exceeding one million copies in print. A LICK OF FROST, the sixth in the series debuted October 23, 2007. 13. She invites you to visit her website, her message board, her blog and her MySpace. |
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I love Brenda Joyce's books both her historical romances and contemporary romances, which there isn't a lot of but are very good none the less. Well today I will be writing about her Saint Georges Series. I bought the first book because the description caught my attention and it kept my attention while I was reading the novel. When I found out that there was another book after this I knew I had to get it because I knew it would be just as good as her first novel in the series. Here are the description of the books from the back covers and pictures:
BEYOND SCANDAL $ 4.99 (Book 1)(422 Pages)
BEYOND DUTYAdoring and innocent, Anne Stewart was seduced by Dominick Saint Georges, Viscount Lyons, then brazenly abandoned on their wedding night. Now four years have passed, and England’s most mysterious lord has returned to Waverly Hall.
BEYOND PASSION
Anne can never forgive Dominick for the shame he caused her. She is determined to resist his advances and ignore the gossip and speculation surrounding them. But shocking revelations and deadly intrigues are drawing her ever closer to her enigmatic husband, to whom she dares not surrender again—this secretive stranger who holds the key to her survival…and her heart.
BEYOND SCANDAL
FINER THINGS $ 6.99 (Book 2)(375 Pages)
The Pretender
An orphan from London’s East End, a fugitive from the poorhouse, Violet Cooper was tired of sleeping on stoops and being hungry and cold. But she dared to enter a world forbidden to her and her kind. Even marriage to a gentle, elderly knight and the title Lady Goodwin could not open closed doors, stop the cold stars, or hush the shadowy rumors of murder…
The Aristocrat
He was a man of the world. The rules of Victorian society did not interest him, nor could a gauche pretender with a Cockney accent possibly turn his head. Yet Theodore Blake, second son of the Earl of Harding, was immediately compelled to Violet—and soon found himself defending the vulnerable young widow in the face of a murder investigation. But wedding vows were the only way to save her from a certain hanging…
The Finer Things
Two people from different worlds were brought together by passion, bound together by whispered accusations, and torn apart by scandal and misfortune. The world claimed they should never love each other. Their hearts claimed otherwise.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Kathleen E. Woodiwis is another author that I stumbled upon on one of my trips to Barnes & Noble looking for new books to buy. I saw this book and I read the description of it and I knew I had to get it because it was everything I loved to read about. I'm glad that I bought it because I enjoyed devouring it as soon as I got home and spent the rest of the day reading it. I've read this book so many times since I bought it and I probably will continue to re-read this book many more times over and I don't I will become tired of this book. Here is the description of the book from the cover and a picture:
COME LOVE A STRANGER $ 7.99 (501 Pages)
Mere days after Aston Wingate’s wedding to the enchanting Lierin, capricious Fate stole the Mississippi plantation owner’s beloved from him. Now, three years later, his carriage has collided with a cloaked rider on horseback: a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the young bride who was swallowed up by the merciless river.
She awakens from unconsciousness in his magnificent home with no memory of who she is. Yet the tenderness of this noble, caring stranger who lovingly calls her “Lierin” soon captures her heart and enflames her with wanting. Then anther enters their lives, threatening to destroy the happiness they have rediscovered in each other’s arms—the dark and dangerous Malcolm Sinclair, who claims the enigmatic beauty is, in fact, his own wife, Lenore. But Aston has sworn that he will not lose his adored one a second time, and he will risk any peril to preserve their newfound joy—no matter what the unremembered secrets of his lady’s past ultimately reveal.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
I absolutely love, love, LOVE Nora Roberts. I've been reading her books since my mom's friend gave me her daughter's old books and Nora Roberts' book Three Fates was in the mix with my first Catherine Coulter's Warrior Song. So now I'm going to say that the Irish Trilogy series is a very suspenseful novel about the Gallaghers Aidan, Shawn and Darcy who run an Irish Pub and are being pushed along by a Faerie Prince. I recommend this series for all romance readers and anyone who is not a romance reader read it anyway and you will become a true romance reader because it is that good. Here is the descriptions of the books from the back covers and pictures:
JEWELS OF THE SUN $ 7.99 (Book 1)(366 Pages)
Dear Reader,
Those of you who are familiar with my books know that Ireland is one of my favorite places to visit, in real life and in fiction. It’s a country of dramatic cliffs and quiet fields. One of myth and magic and legend. In Jewels of the Sun, I’ve borrowed from some of those myths and created my own legend. It could have happened. I’d like you to meet the Gallaghers of Ardmore: Aidan, Shawn, and Darcy, who run the local pub in this pretty seaside village in the county of Waterford. Not far from the village is a cottage, a place of magic where a lonely American woman comes to explore her roots and her heart.
She won’t be alone in the house, for there is another lonely woman in residence. She just happens to be a ghost. With the help of a faerie prince who loved well if not wise, Aidan Gallagher of Ardmore and Jude Frances Murray from Chicago will find their place, and take the first step toward breaking a hundred-year spell. I’d like to take you back to Ireland with me, through the doors of Gallagher’s Pub where the fire’s burning low and the pints are waiting. I have a story to tell you.
Those of you who are familiar with my books know that Ireland is one of my favorite places to visit, in real life and in fiction. It’s a country of dramatic cliffs and quiet fields. One of myth and magic and legend. In Jewels of the Sun, I’ve borrowed from some of those myths and created my own legend. It could have happened. I’d like you to meet the Gallaghers of Ardmore: Aidan, Shawn, and Darcy, who run the local pub in this pretty seaside village in the county of Waterford. Not far from the village is a cottage, a place of magic where a lonely American woman comes to explore her roots and her heart.
She won’t be alone in the house, for there is another lonely woman in residence. She just happens to be a ghost. With the help of a faerie prince who loved well if not wise, Aidan Gallagher of Ardmore and Jude Frances Murray from Chicago will find their place, and take the first step toward breaking a hundred-year spell. I’d like to take you back to Ireland with me, through the doors of Gallagher’s Pub where the fire’s burning low and the pints are waiting. I have a story to tell you.
Nora Roberts
TEARS OF THE MOON $ 7.99 (Book 2)(362 Pages)
Dear Reader,
Those who dream by day bring beauty to the world. The art and the music, the stories and the heart. Ireland holds its dreams dear. Still, along with its poets and artists, the Irish can be a practical lot. In one hand they hold their magic, and in the other the sweat of their labor. In Tears of the Moon, I’ve clasped those hands together with the dreamer Shawn Gallagher and the clear-minded Brenna O’Toole. Carrick, Prince of Faeries, has his work cut out for him with these two if he is to bring them together and take the next step toward breaking the spell that separates him from his own love, and his own destiny.
He has a gift for them, but they must accept it and each other with selfless hearts. Pride and ambition must be outweighed by love and generosity. Two people who have known one another all their lives will have to look at each other with different eyes. High able the tidy village of Ardmore, on a windy cliff near the well of an ancient saint, there is magic and music in the air. Have a seat on the bench here, and listen for it.
Those who dream by day bring beauty to the world. The art and the music, the stories and the heart. Ireland holds its dreams dear. Still, along with its poets and artists, the Irish can be a practical lot. In one hand they hold their magic, and in the other the sweat of their labor. In Tears of the Moon, I’ve clasped those hands together with the dreamer Shawn Gallagher and the clear-minded Brenna O’Toole. Carrick, Prince of Faeries, has his work cut out for him with these two if he is to bring them together and take the next step toward breaking the spell that separates him from his own love, and his own destiny.
He has a gift for them, but they must accept it and each other with selfless hearts. Pride and ambition must be outweighed by love and generosity. Two people who have known one another all their lives will have to look at each other with different eyes. High able the tidy village of Ardmore, on a windy cliff near the well of an ancient saint, there is magic and music in the air. Have a seat on the bench here, and listen for it.
Nora Roberts
HEART OF THE SEA $ 7.99 (Book 3)(386 Pages)
Dear Reader,
Lore and legend play a vital part in history of Ireland. Song and story have been written of the faerie rafts and the Good People who live in those silver castles under the green hills. So it is those stories and those songs that make up a charming portion of Irish cultures. Trevor Magee’s people sprang from this, though they traveled across the sea to settle in America. And made their fortune. But like many whose roots are in those hills, Trevor is drawn back to the land of his ancestors. He will come to Ardmore to build his dream, a theater to showcase the art of his heritage.
To do so he’ll work with the Gallaghers, and use their traditional pub in his plans. In Heart of the Sea, he will live in a cottage where a ghost walks and waits for her true love. He will cross wits with a faerie prince who is determined to have his way at last. And he will meet, deal with, and desire the intriguing and frustrating Darcy Gallagher. All of her life she’s wanted more, and made no secret of her hope to find a rich man to give her a lush and exciting life. Now that she’s met him, it’s a matter of hearts that must be won. His as well as hers. Until they are, the spell that separates lovers holds fast. Take a walk with me in the shadow of an ancient round tower. I’ll tell you what happened.
Lore and legend play a vital part in history of Ireland. Song and story have been written of the faerie rafts and the Good People who live in those silver castles under the green hills. So it is those stories and those songs that make up a charming portion of Irish cultures. Trevor Magee’s people sprang from this, though they traveled across the sea to settle in America. And made their fortune. But like many whose roots are in those hills, Trevor is drawn back to the land of his ancestors. He will come to Ardmore to build his dream, a theater to showcase the art of his heritage.
To do so he’ll work with the Gallaghers, and use their traditional pub in his plans. In Heart of the Sea, he will live in a cottage where a ghost walks and waits for her true love. He will cross wits with a faerie prince who is determined to have his way at last. And he will meet, deal with, and desire the intriguing and frustrating Darcy Gallagher. All of her life she’s wanted more, and made no secret of her hope to find a rich man to give her a lush and exciting life. Now that she’s met him, it’s a matter of hearts that must be won. His as well as hers. Until they are, the spell that separates lovers holds fast. Take a walk with me in the shadow of an ancient round tower. I’ll tell you what happened.
Nora Roberts
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