2006 November | Brava Authors | Sensual Romance Fiction

Archive for November 2006

Lost in a Book

By Sylvia Day · Comments (3)

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

Today is my day to blog here (obviously *g*) and I struggled all morning and much of yesterday trying to think of what to blog about.

That is something that’s become the norm for me in 2006, as I’ve been writing non-stop for over a year now. The result is that I have 8 releases in 2007–4 of them being Bravas–and I’m super excited about that, but it also means that my brain is pretty much focused in the worlds I’m writing about. Thinking about “real world” stuff to share with you on the blog is hard.

Every author has a different process for writing, I think. I hear of some authors who write for set hours of the day — like from 5-Noon they write, then take the rest of the day off to do other things. I can’t do that. Once I’m in “the zone”, I can’t get out. There are pluses and minuses to this. I can complete books quickly, that’s a plus. I have no life when I’m writing, that’s a negative. *g*

I have two books that need to be turned in ASAP, so my mind is locked up at the moment. I couldn’t think of anything to share, so I hope you’ll forgive me. The most exciting bit of news for me today is that The Stranger I Married just received another fabulous advance review and the new range/oven that my hubby bought for me last week was delivered today. Sadly, the delivery guys dinged my front door hauling the old one out, so I’ll have to deal with that eventually. But in the meantime, I’ve got these two stories to finish so that I can share them with you!

I hope you all have a fabulous day!

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Categories : Sylvia Day

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Meeting our Heroes

By Jennifer Apodaca · Comments (7)

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

A couple years ago, I met Dean Koontz. The first Dean Koontz book I ever read was WATCHERS. I was an instant fan.

A few years after that, my brother-in-law broke his neck (he’s fine now). While he was in the hospital, we traded Dean Koontz books and talked about them. I’ll always remember Koontz for that, for giving my brother-in-law a much needed distraction with his books.

Years later, I was the co-president of my local Romance Writers of America chapter. By this time, I’d had the privilege of meeting a lot of authors and always enjoyed it.

But this was DEAN KOONTZ! I was really excited. I brought my sister with me, and we had about two hundred people at the meeting. During the morning, we did our business as usual. Then I was standing with my co-president when I looked up and there he was—Dean Koontz. Walking in all by himself just like a regular guy. I walked up and welcomed him, then took him over to meet my sister.

Dean was really nice, shook her hand and asked her how she had broken her foot. She stammered a bit so I helped and said, “She fell in the bathroom at work.”

Oddly enough my sister still hasn’t forgiven me for telling him (it’s the truth). I feel absolutely no remorse and laugh every time I think of it. My poor sister puts up with a lot from me!

Dean did an amazing workshop for us. Everyone was impressed. Then when we announced that we had raised a nice chunk of money for the Women’s Transitional Center with Dean’s visit, and Dean matched the donation. After that, there was a line around the entire room to get books signed. Dean stayed until every book was signed and every picture taken.

He was exactly what we want our heroes to be—kind, generous and genuine.

What about you all? What was your experience meeting one of your heroes?

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Categories : Jennifer Apodaca

My Kind of (Anti) Hero

By Amy Garvey · Comments (6)

Monday, November 27th, 2006

It’s surely a sign of the apocalypse—over the long weekend I actually got to see a movie in the theater. And not an animated one!

With the grandparents watching the kids for free, I wanted to see a true big-screen picture, and I knew it had to be Casino Royale. I’ve seen almost all of the Bond movies over the years, and the chance to find out how Daniel Craig would do as 007 was irresistible.

Be still my heart. I hope all the naysayers who booed the idea of Craig taking the role are eating nasty, undercooked crow, because he rocked the part so hard, the theater nearly shook. This is not your grandfather’s Bond. And that’s a good thing, if you ask me.

I know Bond may not be for everyone. The eye-popping gadgets, the cartoon villains, the improbable escapes from certain death—Bond has always been over the top, unstoppable, and unbelievably suave at the same time. But Casino Royale is the first step in reinventing the franchise, and I was absolutely won over.

Yeah, yeah, there’s no denying that Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan are hotter than the surface of the sun. (Roger Moore? Not so much. And let us never speak of George Lazenby. Or Timothy Dalton, to be honest.) They had that smooth, predatory sexiness down pat. But there was something a little unreal about them, not to mention the villains they were chasing.

Craig’s Bond is—gasp—a real man. A smoking hot, absolutely buff man, yes, but one with a brain. One who actually gets hurt. One who doesn’t have to depend on disappearing cars or shoe phones to beat the bad guy, but who uses his head, and only the technology available to any one of us. (With one little exception, but it is a Bond movie, after all.)

What’s more, this Bond is determined to stop the bad guy because it’s the right thing to do, not only because it’s his job, or because it makes for a string of exciting action sequences. This Bond has a moral compass! Again I say, be still my heart.

Is Bond a hero, though? The kind of hero we’d find in a romance? I don’t know about that. His cumulative body count is pretty high, and he’s not above lying, cheating, and stealing to get the job done. Historically, he’s not exactly a one-woman man, either. That’s a pretty tall order when it comes to redemption.

The thing is, Daniel Craig’s Bond makes me believe he’s open to it. This Bond has a heart, as well as a soul. This Bond had me on the edge of my seat, because I knew he wouldn’t pull a cartoon gadget out of his back pocket. This Bond made me care about what happened to him. And that’s the kind of (anti) hero I can really fall for.

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Categories : Amy Garvey

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

By Lucy Monroe

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

Categories : Lucy Monroe

One of My Favorite Things

By Gemma Bruce · Comments (3)

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006

I was at my aerobics class yesterday, doing that last minute burst of Make-room-for-the-pumpkin-pie shuffle, and wishing there was a machine you could plug yourself into to get in shape. You know, like you step out of the shower and while you’re drying your hair with one hand, you could stick the index finger of your other hand into a socket and ten minutes later you’d come out of the bathroom coifed and buff.

Alas.

The instructor booted up the music. She’s always really perky, which is good when you’ve just sat for three hours at a computer and feel like your bod’s stuck in the H position. Yesterday, she played a mix of jazzed up show tunes, starting with “A Few Of My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. That’s another thing I like about my aerobics class. They don’t play those loud, make it burn cds. And everybody wears sweats or spandex warm ups and not those little leopard print thong leotards. Those leotards are another good reason for inventing an instant exercise machine.

So I’m stepping, hopping, kicking along to the music and singing along with as many words as I can remember, and my mind starts wandering into my own favorite things. Mind wandering is also good for keeping your attention off the number of knee lifts you have to do before the end of the song.

I have to admit that aerobics is one of my favorite things. Especially when it’s over and I feel like I can now have lunch and sit down at the computer in better shape than when I left it an hour or so before.

But it isn’t just physically. Sometimes my thoughts and ideas get stuck and just need shaking up a bit. Literally. And shaking it up with music makes it fun.

I have a lot of favorite things and most of them are people and places. Even my favorite things are simple and free. Which is good. And since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, it seems like a perfect time to think about my favorite things and be thankful.

So before I run off to my last aerobics class, (Actually, today is Total Toning, an optimistic name if ever there was one.) I want to wish us all a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

What are some of your favorite things?

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Categories : Gemma Bruce

Get ‘em while they’re hot…then wait.

By Donna Kauffman · Comments (12)

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006

So…about connected stories. Love em? Or not so much? I know a lot of readers (myself included) love a series. And by that, I mean a number of books that are connected together by the characters within. I’ve done a bunch of them. In most cases, the connection between the books has been a family one (such as the four stories I wrote about the Morgan brothers. And the four more I wrote about the Chisholm brothers.) But I’ve also connected a series of books with secondary characters, such as my four fairy godmother books for Bantam.

I am diving in to a new series for Kensington, this time not familial or secondarily connected, but a series based on a group of guys who work for a firm called Trinity, Inc. They are my Black Sheep bad boys and I can’t wait for you to meet them. Although, I must say, for the time being, I am very much enjoying having their exclusive attentions on moi. (Hey, there have to be some perks to being the author.)

But as I dive, I ponder. And this brings up a question. I know there are readers who eagerly devour the next book in a connected series (hello, Stephanie Plum) the instant it hits the stands. And then there are those readers who eagerly buy the book when it hits the stands, but tuck it away until the series is complete so they can read it all at once. (Which wouldn’t work for an endless series, such as the Plum books, or, say, Nora’s In Death series, but does happen with her trilogies.)

So…which one are you?

I’m a devourer. I want it, and I want it now. (Greedy little wench that I am.) Plus, I have absolutely no will power. Which the empty Edy’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream container in my kitchen trash will attest to. If it has been eons from one book to the next (hello Harry Potter, hello anything by George R R Martin) then I do, at times, feel compelled to re-read the previous release to get my head back in the game, but most often, I can pick up the needed reminders as I dive into the current release.

What about you? Do you devour? Or wait to savor the body of work as a whole?

(Oh yeah…for those who like a good visual to help sustain them while they wait…head on over to my home page where you can not only get a gander at the very amazing cover for the last Chisholm brother, Dylan, who graces the front of my next release, THE GREAT SCOT, but can also get a peek at the first Black Sheep cover as well. And bonus! There’s some back cover copy to tease you with, too!)

(And those first three Chisholm brothers? All of them have their stories told in one handy volume. BAD BOYS IN KILTS. On shelves everywhere now. )

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Categories : Donna Kauffman

Say You’re Stuck On An Island…

By HelenKay Dimon · Comments (27)

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Worse, pretend you’re moving across the country. This means all of your possessions – including your prized collection of books – are being packed away to travel in a moving van and arrive at your new home…well, someday. Further pretend that, for reasons only explained by a case of temporary insanity, you and your husband decide to gather up three pets (who have never been crated, let alone traveled in a car for more than the four minutes it took to drive to the vet) and a few non-pet items and take off from Maryland for California.

Think: circus.

Imagine how many “necessary” items you’ll need to stuff into that car for the approximate 3,000 mile trip and the first week (or so) when you get to the new house and prepare to wait for the moving van to arrive. Now imagine trying to pick the books that will make the car ride with you and the rest of the traveling circus. You can pick three – yes, only three!

This scenario happened to me. We safely arrived at our new home yesterday. After ten or so months of therapy and medication, I’ll be fine. It will take a bit longer to work off all that fast food we ate on the way, but I really only have myself to blame for that one.

When taking off for California, I grabbed the following books and stuffed them in the few open spaces in the car:

1. Ravished by Amanda Quick – This has always been my favorite Quick book. Probably has something to do with the fossils and The Beast of Blackthorne Hall and the hasty marriage. Irresistible.

2. You Don’t Know Jack by Erin McCarthy – I’m a big Erin fan and this is her newest Brava.

3. Billionaires Prefer Blondes by Suzanne Enoch – Never read Enoch before but the first paragraph of the publisher’s description was enough for me:

“Samantha Jellicoe has never met a security camera she couldn’t disarm. And even though she’s promised her billionaire lover, the irresistible Richard Addison, to walk the straight and narrow, she certainly can’t help it when trouble finds her.”

Think about it. If you somehow got tied up in this sort of driving adventure – and you wouldn’t since you are all much, much smarter than I am – which three books would you grab? And, in honor of the holiday week, give me your list between now and Thanksgiving day, and I’ll pick a person from those commenting to win a signed copy of one of my books – When Good Things Happen To Bad Boys or Viva Las Bad Boys! Your choice.

I’ll post the winner here on Friday…unless, or course, I’m still recovering from the recent road trip (or an overdose of Thanksgiving Day turkey) and sleep through Friday.

Good luck!

Comments (27)

Categories : HelenKay Dimon

This, That and the Other Thing…

By Lucy Monroe

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

Categories : Lucy Monroe

Guest Author and Really Cool Prize :)

By Lucy Monroe

Friday, November 17th, 2006

Categories : Lucy Monroe

Holiday Books…Love ‘em or Hate ‘em.

By Dianne Castell · Comments (34)

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Howdy, all.
Yep, it’s Thanksgiving again and not only is there lots to be thankful for, but this is the time of year for all those great Christmas romances reads and maybe some not so great.

Kisses under the mistletoe, the perfect present…like great sex under the Christmas tree. Naughty or Nice takes on a whole new fun way of looking at things.

I remember reading O. Henry’s the Gift of the Magi when I was in school. Totally loved it. What a neat story and I guess in the back of my mind it’s the perfect love story. A Christmas Carol and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas are the best stores ever. I think I have the Night Before Christmas nearly memorized…least the first part…from reading it to my kids so often. And this year BRAVA’s a Very Merry Christmas is wonderful. All these stores help get me in the Christmas mood and save me from going nuts in the real world, I can escape to theirs. Deal with someone else’s nutty Christmas problems for a while.

So, the question is… Did you pick up any holiday reads this year? Got a favorite holiday book from your past? Have you read any holiday books this year that were totally terrific?

We’ll talk about this for the next two days and I’ll pick two from the responses for an I’ll Be Seeing U tote bags.

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Categories : Dianne Castell, General

Archive for November 2006

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