Layout Image
Layout Image

Archive for May 2007 – Page 2

Summer Reads

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
Dianne Castell Icon

It’s nearly here…summer that is. Yippeeeee! Thank heaven! I am so tired of winter and snow and ice and cold and gray. Cincy gets lots of gray. But now the sky is blue, I’ve planted a bazillion flowers and summer is right around the corner. So, as seasons change does your reading preference?

What about those summer books. You know, the books for the beach or baseball books or roadtrip books? Do you read summer theme books in the summer? Does it put you in the mood to be more summery or doesn’t the season matter all that much what season is in the book. Do you read Christmas books anytime and beach books in the dead of winter? I do this, reminds me that it will…some day…be summer again.

Have you ever gotten a season idea from a book? Like a vacation book and you thought, Gee I think I’ll go there for vacation? What about a tradition? Ever make a family tradition from a book one of your own? I’ve done this. I can’t remember which book but the whole family went back to mom’s and dad’s for Sunday dinner. Now I do that with my own family. It’s worked out great. 

So, are there summer reads in your future? Trips? Traditions?

Hugs, Dianne
www.DianneCastell.com

Comments (10)
Categories : Dianne Castell

The search is on.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
Amy Garvey Icon

So far, in just a few days, we’ve managed to obtain Shrek, Gingie, and Puss in Boots from McDonald’s. Sara desperately wants Fiona and Donkey, so we’ll be on the trail as long as this Happy Meal promotion lasts. I foresee many Chicken McNuggets and cheeseburgers in our future.

I adore Happy Meal toys. They’re the perfect size to stick in a backpack for playing with in the car or in a waiting room, and they’re exactly the right price for passing fads, like the brief Flushed Away fascination of a few months ago.

Plus, Shrek! The new movie is coming out May 18, Stephen’s birthday, and I swear he’s as excited as the kids are.

Categories : Amy Garvey

Happy Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 13th, 2007
Amy Garvey Icon

…to all the moms out there. I hope it’s a day full of flowers and laughter and homemade cards and misshapen pancakes in bed and lots of hugs.

And a belated “Happy Birthday!” to [info]denisef — sorry to be late, sweetie. Hope it was at least a little bit happy.

Categories : Amy Garvey

Man Covers

Friday, May 11th, 2007
Jennifer Apodaca Icon

This is my first Man Cover

Cover for EXTREMELY HOT November 2007

Look, my very own hunk for my November 2007 book! Pretty cool for a Man Cover Virgin, huh?

Well I did have a man on my first book DATING CAN BE MURDER:

Cover for Dating Can Be Murder 2002

The only problem there is the guy was DEAD. That works for a mystery, but not a sexy romantic mystery. Dead is so NOT sexy, right?

Men are really popular on covers. My sister and I were in a book store last week, and we were picking out men on covers that we thought were hot. We were just playing around (although both of us ended up buying a stack of books) but it got me thinking, would a MAN on a cover get me to buy a book?

No.

However it would get me to pick up the book off the shelf and take a look. But we all know, looks don’t last. What counts is what’s INSIDE the book.

Just an aside here: The most unusual title I’ve had on any of my books is NINJA SOCCER MOMS. The Extraordinary Editor, Kate Duffy, came up with that. I got quite a few emails from fans telling me they picked up the book because of the title.

But back to MEN. So what about you? Does a hot guy get you to pick up a book? Or am I just that shallow????

Comments (16)
Categories : Jennifer Apodaca

Double the Sneak Peek, Double the Fun!

Thursday, May 10th, 2007
Donna Kauffman Icon

So, okay, maybe this is cheating in terms of blog writing, but my first two Black Sheep series covers are in and I’m dying to share. First one is out this August, second one in January…and I have covers and back cover copy to share with you! Woot!

Here ya go:

The Black Sheep & The Princess cover…

BlackSheepPrincess

And the back cover copy…

They’re the black sheep—the bad boys every good girl wants to have hold her, touch her, take her, love her. But being bad never felt so good…

“I have some spare beer, if you’re interested…”
I’d know that voice anywhere, and every time I hear it, it makes me sweat. Not that well-bred heiresses are supposed to sweat, but if you saw Donovan MacLeod, trust me, you’d need a change of clothes, too. It’s been eighteen years, but he’s got the same cocky swagger, silver-gray eyes, shaggy hair, and that sexy smile that promises a whole lot of trouble. Not that I’ll ever find out because he loathes me—thinks I’m some spoiled princess. So, there’s something I’ve just got to ask…

“Why are you here, Donovan?”
The lady asked a question, she deserves an answer. Well, Kate Sutherland, how about, I’ve fantasized about you for eighteen years? Or, I wanted to remember how it feels to need a cold shower every time you flick that perfect blonde hair out of your blue eyes? Or, why don’t you come over here and let me show you, baby? Yeah, good answers, but I’ll stick with this one—I came back to help, because I think you’re in some trouble. My bad boy gut says you’re gonna need me—in more ways than one…

Available August 2007!

Aaaand, The Black Sheep & The Hidden Beauty cover…

BlackSheepHiddenB

Back cover copy…

They’re back—the boys your mother warned you about, the black sheep her mother warned her about—the bad boys every good girl needs oh so badly…

Raphael “Rafe” Santiago may have left the streets years ago, but the street has never left him. A rough childhood in the Bronx taught him never to let his guard down, to keep everything in order, and always to trust that little voice in his gut that tells him when someone’s got something to hide. Horse trainer Elena Caulfield, is definitely hiding something, and Rafe intends to find out what it is and take care of it—his way.

But his way wasn’t supposed to include feeling an intense attraction to the tomboyish Elena. With her mud-caked boots, quiet strength, and gentle manner, she’s nothing like the flashy, seductive, overtly feminine women Rafe usually beds. The closer he gets to her, the harder it is to control that fiery passion he’s worked hard to keep cooled, the kind that can catch a man off guard and leave him open to danger—because whatever secret Elena’s protecting, it’s big…and worth killing for. Because when you’re from the Bronx, you take care of what you love—or die trying…

Available January 2008!

Hope you enjoy…and no, I don’t have their names and phone numbers. (Like I’d share. I mean, I love you guys, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do…)

Oooh, and speaking of hot men, if you’re a Ranger fan (and if you are, you know who I’m talkin’ ’bout) head over to my homepage and catch up on some fun Ranger-related news in my Reader Letter.

Happy Reading!

Comments (7)
Categories : Donna Kauffman

Awesome time waster!

Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
Amy Garvey Icon

And we can never have too many of those. Follow the link if you’re looking for a way to pass some time (with chirpy 1960s elevator music in the background!)

Walk, cats! Sit, cats! Why do I think cats will do what I say?!

Categories : Amy Garvey

And now for a musical interlude…

Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
Amy Garvey Icon

So I’m finally out of the deadline cave, and slowly trying to catch up with the rest of the world. While I do, I thought I’d post the soundtrack for the book I just finished. It’s eclectic and fun and sexy, which is hopefully what the book is, too.

One thing I’ve realized when I compile these soundtracks is that I need to have songs from both the heroine and the hero’s point of view, and sometimes secondary characters, as well. The Clapton and the Springsteen are definite Nick songs, while the Liz Phair and No Doubt are Grace’s.

Good Vibrations, Beach Boys
Just a Girl, No Doubt
I Can’t Make Me, Butterfly Boucher
Visa Cards and Antique Mirrors, The Windbreakers
Extraordinary, Liz Phair
My Ever Changing Moods, Style Council
Tenderness on the Block, Warren Zevon
You Can Do It, No Doubt
Junk Shop Clothes, The Auteurs
Bad Day, Daniel Powter
Motherless Children, Eric Clapton
Voodoo Cadillac, Southern Culture on the Skids
Dress Sexy at My Funeral, Smog
Animals, Nickelback
Sex-o-Matic Venus Freak, Macy Gray
Friend of Mine, Liz Phair
The Ties that Bind, Bruce Springsteen
Accidentally Like a Martyr, Warren Zevon
Just Because, Nikka Costa
Two Hearts, Bruce Springsteen

Categories : Amy Garvey

AI and….

Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
Karen Kelley Icon

Hi Everyone!
I’m a fan of American Idol. It’s getting down to the nailbiting. I love the 4 who are left so it makes it really hard come Wednesday night when one has to leave. I still have to say my favorites are Jordon and Blake. I think no matter who wins from the 4 who are left, they’ll get recording contracts–then it’s up to them to keep the ball rolling.

I think the fascination with American Idol is that people are living their dream. Getting the chance to say, Hey,world this is who I am. Then hope like hell the judges and voters like them. I keep thinking about Kelly Clarkson–I hope I didn’t spell her name wrong. Look at her career! Wow! She was working as what? A waitress or something. But I really admire her, she saw an opportunity and grabbed it.

In 2003 I was reading the e-mails on the Cataromance loop and someone mentioned something about a Brava contest over at Lori Foster’s site. I can’t remember who posted but I will be forever grateful. It was all done by e-mail so I didn’t even have to buy a stamp. I think it was three pages. Why not? What did I have to lose but a little time deciding what to send in.

I entered a snippet of a scene. It wasn’t one of the chosen ones that week. Darn. Oh, well, at least I hadn’t wasted money on postage. But then a few weeks later, Lori Foster e-mailed me. Wow! The Lori Foster had actually e-mailed me. She had liked my entry but there were so many good ones it had been hard to choose. She wanted to know if she could forward it to Kate Duffy and would that be okay. Would that be okay? Snort–ya think?

Kate liked it, too. I now have 16 books (anthologies and novels) either in print or contracted with Kensington. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had passed this opportunity by. When I entered this contest I was so close to giving up. I was making decent money as a nurse. I didn’t think I was good enough as a writer, though. You know what, Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind (my April release) received a 4 1/2 Stars Top Pick from Romantic Times and has garnered some other fantastic reviews.

The Brava contest is back. If you’re a writer why in the world would you let this opportunity pass you by? Who knows, you could be the next Brava author–and let me tell you, I love writing a lot more than I did nursing!
Hugs,
Karen Kelley
Available Now!!! Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind/Brava
Romantic Times 4 1/2 Stars Top Pick!
09/07 Double Dating With The Dead/Brava
09/07 The Morgue The Merrier anth/Zebra
10/07 I’m Your Santa anth/Brava
www.authorkarenkelley.com

Comments (4)
Categories : Karen Kelley

Ready For The Contest?

Monday, May 7th, 2007
HelenKay Dimon Icon

Since the Brava contest is in full swing, and since you are all out there working on your contest submissions…right?… I thought this might be a good time to post my novella finalist from the last Lori Foster Brava Novella Contest.

Disclaimer: Kate Duffy did not buy this novella. However, it was chosen as a finalist by the then-Brava authors who judged and by Lori Foster. Kate liked the writing but the workplace romance and potential for sexual harassment ickiness that comes with that sort of thing (as I had written the novella) made it a no-go for her. But, I do think I can someday move this around and make it work. Just haven’t found the time yet. I am determined to sell a single author anthology centered on a workplace to Kate Duffy day. Just not today since I’m on deadline on a single title, but one day.

Further Disclaimer: I have not edited this entry…though I was really, really tempted. I wanted to be fair and show you what sort of entry landed a finalist spot two years ago and the condition it was in at the time.

Further Further Disclaimer: The finalists in the last contest were all very different so this is just an example.

Excerpt from MANN TROUBLE copyrighted by HelenKay Dimon (more chit chat from me following the excerpt):

This had to be a joke.

Duncan Mann glanced down at his appointment book, trying to decipher the scribble. The handwritten note should have said something about a one o’clock with the new employment counselor. He didn’t see any reference to an afternoon meeting with a hot brunette who could double as a lingerie model.

He expected matronly. A long, shapeless floral skirt. Hair in a tight bun. Sensible shoes. Even a slight mustache, but not the scary kind. The faint can-barely-see-it kind.

What he got was a walking wet dream.

A pencil-thin black skirt, a form fitting white shirt that showcased every inch of her c-cup breasts and a delectable pair of strappy black heels. Not to mention wavy honey-colored hair that grazed slim shoulders and eyes the color of melting chocolate.

“Mr. Mann?”

The vision spoke. The way she said his name, all formal and proper, made him wonder if she had a whip and leather thigh-high boots hidden under her clipboard. Not his thing but he’d give it a try for her.

He choked down the lust clogging his throat. “Yes?”

“Are you listening to me?”

Not one damn word. “Of course.”

Those lovely eyes narrowed. “What did I just say?”

In the R-rated version in his head, she mentioned something about peeling off her pastel panties and wrapping her long legs around his waist. Better to opt for the made-for-television version. The one that wouldn’t get his ass kicked by those pointy two-inch heels.

“You were explaining your role here.” He hoped that was close.

“Your company hired me to get your equal opportunity program up and running.”
Whatever that was. “Not to be dumb, but do I have an equal opportunity program now?”
She pursed those full lips together in a severe frown. A man didn’t have to be a Nobel Prize winner to know that wasn’t a good sign.

“That is precisely my point, Mr. Mann. You should.”

“Please call me Duncan.”

“No.” She started blathering on about equal something or other. He decided to stop her before he drifted into a coma.

“Wait a second. Did you just say no?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you said no?” Duncan had the sudden urge to run for cover. Marisa Carter was a scary woman and right now he was her prime target.

“Mr. Mann, let’s get something straight.”

The temperature in the room dropped thirty degrees in less than five seconds. She didn’t notice but his back teeth started chattering.

“I am here because your business is in trouble.”

“It is? As the owner and president of said business, you’d think I’d know that sort of thing.”

“You managed to establish a highly profitable computer consulting firm without having any women on staff.”

She certainly made that sound bad. “What about my sister?”

“I hardly consider her an employee. She’s family.”

He made a mental note to disown Jenna since this entire employment counselor thing was her stupid idea.

“My point is, Mr. Mann, you need professional help.”
###

Now, the first novella Kate did buy from me appears in the ’06 anthology WHEN GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO BAD BOYS with novellas by Lori Foster and Erin McCarthy. I wrote that novella specifically for Kate after we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of MANN TROUBLE.

Tell me your thoughts on novellas in general – like ‘em or no – and your favorite (if you have one). I’ll pick someone at random from those commenting to win a copy of WHEN GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO BAD BOYS.

In the meantime, get back to writing and polishing those contest submissions.

Comments (34)
Categories : HelenKay Dimon

The pen is mightier than the printer?

Friday, May 4th, 2007
Gemma Bruce Icon

I had to laugh at Amy’s post yesterday. I just finished watching the first season of Buffy. Okay I’m sometimes slow on the uptake. So when fiber optics came to my neighborhood, I signed up. First on my block. Cutting edge. It’s great. Fast internet, clear television. Only one little hitch. When they set it up, it disabled all my printers. Fortunately I ran a test while the installer was loading up his truck. He knocked around my computer for an hour and nothing. So he left.
Like a good ostrich, I went to dinner.

Needless to say the problem didn’t go away. In fact, not only did I not have a working printer, my entire computer queue was gone! I reinstalled. Nothing. I went to bed. A full day, three hours and ten minutes of which were on the phone to tech support, an hour at the computer store and I don’t know how many reintallations later, I still had no printers. I tried a USB connector. I was so over sharing my printers with anyone. I just wanted them back. Even the old slow workhorse that I complain about all the time, but never lets me down. (Are you wowed by all this computerese? Desperation makes you an expert fast)

That’s when I started really appreciating all those authors who wrote (and some who still write) with a pen. No changing around paragraphs and cutting and pasting for those writers, unless they used scissors and a scotch tape. All those strike throughs and rewrites made reading a nightmare I’m sure, but at the end of the day they held their work in their hot little hands.

I love hard copy, the feel of the paper, the way the pen moves across the page. I always edit from hard copy. Often if I find a scene moving too fast, I move away from my lap top and write it out long hand. It slows everything down and lets me savor the action, the emotion of a scene.

Imagine someone like Dickens writing installments of Oliver Twist for the newspaper. No getting to chapter twenty and deciding it should be where chapter four is, and chapter four should really be chapter seven, and with a few keyboard commands. Voila! The changes are made. Dickens was stuck with what he wrote as he wrote it.

It’s kind of mind boggling. And I bless my little laptop. But I still have to have that print out. And always will.

And if anyone wonders what happened next in my technology saga: today I have a printer. Not my printers, but a new printer with a USB connection. But I also have a new stack of spiral notebooks and a package of ball point pens. Just in case . . .

Do you love technology or long for simpler times? Am I the only person just catching up with Buffy?

Comments (5)
Categories : Gemma Bruce