Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Any reading goals for 2008? 🙂

Read Full Post »

Christie Craig Winner

We have a winner! The winner of Christie’s post is…..

Melissa!!! 

Congrats Melissa!

Please email me at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (no spaces) with your address so we can get prize out to you.

Read Full Post »

New Books! :)

Did some book shopping today at BAM. My oldest offered to buy me some books since she knows how books and I go together. She thought I’d pick 4 or 5 and when she saw my stack we had to negotiate what she’d pay for and what could wait until the next time we were at the bookstore. Needless to say, I came home with my full stack. LOL

MORNING LIGHT by Catherine Anderson (already started this one since I was in between books)
BEDLAM, BATH & BEYOND by J.D. Warren
THE STOLEN PRINCESS by Anne Gracie
CUTTING LOOSE by Tara Janzen
ENCHANTING THE LADY by Kathryne Kennedy (Love the cover!)
MARKED BY MOONLIGHT by Sharie Kohler
HIS FAVORITE MISTRESS by Tracy Anne Warren
SUCKER BET by Erin McCarthy
TEMPTED by Megan Hart
SHADOW MUSIC by Julie Garwood
BLOOD LINES by Eileen Wilks
NIGHT SEASON by Eileen Wilks

Read Full Post »

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from RRAH’s Novel Thoughts!

Hope you all have a fantastic holiday! 🙂

Read Full Post »

Christie Craig Guest Blogger

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

 

 

It’s the question I get asked the most. I generally tell people that I pick them up from WalMart on the clearance rack. But because it’s Christmas, because I hear that there’s a red-suited guy, (who by the way could use a membership to Weight Watchers) a man they claim knows if I’ve been naughty or nice and who they say can see me while I’m sleeping, (and that scares me a little) well, for that reason, I’m gonna tell the truth. And the truth is . . . I don’t have a freaking clue where those suckers come from. I’m just glad they come.

 

 

 

Sometimes they strike me when I’m in the shower. Why, just this morning, belting out tunes of Jingle Bells and lathered up with some soap that promised to reduce cellulite, I was blessed with an idea. A woman’s male poodle has been possessed by her ex boyfriend’s ghost who died from embarrassment when he got caught trying on the girlfriend’s panties. The heroine’s best friend is a pet psychic, who has an English Mastiff who pines after the heroine’s poodle. (Hey, I didn’t say all the shower ideas were usable. Sometimes they hold a kernel of a decent plot, other times they need to be spritzed with anti-bacterial soap and washed down the drain. Quickly.)

 

 

Occasionally, I believe that ideas are gifts received by those who are nicer than naughty. Which is why I went to see Santa at the mall and explained that the police did eventually drop those charges against me. The effort was worth the embarrassment. I mean, how neat would it be to wake up Christmas morning to find a New-York Times best-selling plot under the tree all wrapped up with a bow around it.

 

 

 

Only problem with my trip to see Santa was after I sat in the Jolly ol’ Soul’s lap explaining how I came to be crouched down in the middle of Pizza Hut, on a bad hair day, with thousands of dollars scattered around me, the would-be Santa suspiciously started looking less like Saint Nick and more something that should be chewing on some hey. But just in case plots could be delivered under the tree by a cow-impersonating Santa, I left my change of address and told him my name was Nora Roberts. Hey…she has to get those ideas some where.

 

 

 

However, digging deeper into my well of knowledge (which is sometimes pretty shallow) I decided ideas come from a writer’s paradigm. Sure, these stories can be sparked from a good-looking meter reader, who I’m sure is really a guy in the Witness Protective Program, to an article on the mating rituals of Black Widows—I always like a hero who attempts to beat the odds. But what makes my ideas unique is the way I view the world. And I guess that has a lot to do with the way I was raised to view the world.

 

 

And how was I raised? Well, besides just being down-right southern, meaning that I ate food that they now swear will kill you, ran barefoot during the day and caught lightening bugs in the night, I was reared by parents who looked at life a little differently. When my mother accidentally stole that car, or lost her teeth during her flight with Continental Airlines, and when my father accidentally built a bomb, we simply put on our humor glasses and got through the situations.

 

 

 

So my own paradigm leads me to write books that are little quirky with characters who find themselves in wacky situations—a lot like my parents and duh, even myself. And while I don’t exactly know where my ideas come from, I’m waiting for them to show up in the shower, bacterial soap in hand. I’ll be eager to see what presents arrive under my tree. And don’t worry, if one arrives with Nora’s name on it, I’ll do the right thing and return it…a beautifully ribbon-wrapped plot about a heroine and her possessed, cross-dressing male poodle. And oh heck, just in case, I’ll give those clearance racks at WalMart a good going over.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my humorous stories of romance and suspense. Divorced, Desperate and Delicious, my first single title, has gotten rave reviews and has even been taken back for another printing. I feel a bit like Sally Field in her Oscar speech, “They like me, they really, really like me.”

 

 

 

My second book, Wedding Can Be Murder, will be out in June of 08. In December of 08, I’ve got the sister book to DDD, which is titled, Divorced, Desperate and Dating.

 

 

 

 

And because I love to hear from readers, I’m offering a prize of a Christie Craig Sexy, Suspenseful & Seriously Funny T-shirt, to one lucky poster on this blog. So go ahead, leave me a comment, ask me a question, or tell me about some of your wacky situations you’ve found yourself in. Hey, I could always use them in my next plot.

 

 

 

 

Thanks…and I hope everyone has a very merry holiday.

 

 

 

Christie Craig

www.christie-craig.com

www.killerfiction.net

Read Full Post »

Barbara Pierce Book Winners

We have winners! 🙂

Barbara picked a couple names earlier and the winners of her book are

Wendy!!

&

Fedora!!

Congrats ladies!

Please email Barbara your snail mail addy at piercebarbara @ aol.com

(without the spaces) so she can send out your prizes. 🙂

Read Full Post »

Barbara Pierce Guest Blogging

I’m a night person. My husband is a morning person. Of course, this didn’t stop me from shaking my DH awake at two o’clock in the morning a few nights ago, so he could watch the Geminid meteor shower with me.

Squinting at me, he asked, “Define shower?”

It was a legitimate question. This wasn’t the first time I had awakened him in the early dawn hours to watch the night sky with me. In October, I woke him up for the Orionid meteor shower. That night we saw two shooting stars. In November, I dragged him out of bed to watch the once in a lifetime event, when comet 17P/Holmes flared dramatically, and was visible to the naked eye. From our view, it looked like an overly bright star in the sky. I thought I saw a hint of the comet’s tail. Then again, the blur just might have been a smudge on my glasses:)

Unimpressed with our last two nocturnal outings, I wasn’t too surprised that my husband needed a little convincing. “Do you remember the ending to Independence Day?” I asked him.

My husband yawned and nodded. “Yeah. So?”

“Pretty much the same deal,” I replied.

My husband snorted at my blatant lie. However, he’s always been a good sport. He threw on some warm clothes, and soon we were sitting on the chilly concrete of our driveway, staring up at the stars. We risked hypothermia to see five shooting stars in forty minutes.

Strangely, we always have a great time on our little outings. These nocturnal hunts for elusive meteor showers is more about spending time together and sharing a common interest, rather than besting our shooting star count.

That line of thinking had me dwelling on my heroes. On the surface, many of my heroes have little in common with their future soul mates. Their personalities (and basic stubbornness) usually creates minor clashes and sparks between the couples. It isn’t until the hero and heroine can look beyond their prejudices and private fears that they realize that they truly complement one another.

My current December release, Naughty by Nature features a hero and heroine who are opposites in many ways. A tragedy costs the hero most of his family. Trusting the wrong person causes the heroine to lose her family. When they meet, both have very differing views of what family means to them. It is one of several conflicts that they must confront and overcome, if they hope to have a future together.

 

TWO LOVERS WILL RISK EVERYTHING…

Patience Rose Farnaly was easily lured away from her wealthy family by the false love of a dangerous man. Rather than face a grim future on the streets, Patience struggled to find honest work as an actress. But when the irresistibly charming Earl of Ramscar offers her legitimate employ in London as a lady’s companion to his sister, Patience snaps up the chance…although her attraction to Ramscar leaves her on shaky ground.

FOR A MOMENT OF PURE CARNAL BLISS…

Ever since a devastating fire left his sister brutally scarred, Ramscar vowed to protect the little family he has left. Now that Patience has been hired to be his sister’s companion, his conscience is clear—even if his imagination won’t let him rest. Haunted by fantasies of the beautiful, beguiling Patience, it’s only a matter of time before they enter into an illicit affair—one that might threaten Ramscar’s status among les sauvages nobles if Patience’s dark past comes to light…and could destroy them both.

http://www.barbarapierce.com/BookExcerpt.aspx?bid=15

 

If you are new to the series, you’ll want to pick up the first two books in the Carlisle series . . .

Book #1

A WICKED BARGAIN…Handsome, ambitious, and newly wealthy, Maccus Brawley has severed ties with his dangerous past and is close to securing his place in polite society. All he requires is some guidance in fashionable manners—and who better to instruct him than a young lady with breeding, brains, wealth…and a scandalous reputation? Lady Fayre Carlisle needs his help as much as he needs hers, but their scheme soon gives way to unbridled bliss. And although Maccus is known for his daring, dallying with the fiery, vulnerable beauty might be his riskiest venture yet.

LEADS TO A WILD DESIRE With one false step, Fayre lost both her honor and her heart, thanks to her father’s scheming ex-mistress. Others might retreat in shame from the ton’s gossipmongers, but Fayre is determined to pay back those who humiliated her, and Maccus Brawley is proving to be an unexpected and seductive ally. With all that Fayre has learned about temptation, how can she risk her heart a second time? Yet with every illicit encounter reaching new heights of passion, how can she resist?

2006 Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Nominee for Best Sensual Historical

http://www.barbarapierce.com/BookExcerpt.aspx?bid=1

 

 

Book #2

Fayne Carlisle is not yet ready to assume the title of Duke of Solitea, but his father’s sudden death means that his lusty bachelor days are numbered. Is the fabled Solitea Curse to blame for this stroke of ill luck? Or is Lady Kilby Fitchwolf the poison? A violet-eyed beauty with a family scandal of her own, she has just arrived among the ton…and soon becomes the object of the Duke’s wildest fantasies. But are the rumors true? Was Fayne’s father really found dead in Lady Kilby’s very bedchambers? And if so, should that preclude the duke from keeping her company? Surely there’s no more pleasurable way to perish. But as the duke comes to know the beautiful siren, it seems she couldn’t be less interested in seducing him—and what begins for the Duke as romantic sport escalates into a do-or-die courtship that brings the two lovers dangerously close to falling in love.“Pierce weaves a Regency tale studded with intrigue and steamy love scenes . . . a plot rich with unexpected twists, witty dialogue and charming characters.”–Publisher’s Weekly

http://www.barbarapierce.com/BookExcerpt.aspx?bid=7

 

 

 

So what’s next in the series? On July 29, 2008, Everod’s story will hit bookstores. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:

 

 

Thanks, Fatin for allowing me to drop by and share my lastest news on the Carlisle series! As a “thank you” for stopping by today, I will draw two names from the list of comments and mail the winners autographed copies of my current release, Naughty by Nature.

Have a Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Barbara

http://www.barbarapierce.com

Read Full Post »

Maggie Shayne Guest Blogging

Happy Holidays Everyone!    

It’s the time of year for gift giving, and don’t tell me I’m being un-PC.  I’m Wiccan, I celebrate the Winter Solstice, not Christmas.  And yet, I do it with the evergreens, the Santa figure, the mistletoe (which we got from the Pagans, the Lapland Shamans, and the Druids, respectively, by the way).  It all symbolizes the same stuff, when you come right down to it.  Life trumps death.  Even at the darkest time of all, the shortest day of the year, the light (in the form of the renewed sun or the newborn son) is born.  Life wins out.  Death is an illusion.  And best of all, gifts are exchanged!

 

 

  

I love this time of year.  Love it, love it, love it!  And because I love it and all it stands for, I’m going to give you a gift–the best gift I can think of for the holiday this year.  It’s a gift that will either make sense to you or it won’t.  Some people can get it, and others can’t.  I first heard of this gift a decade ago, and thought it was so much hooey.  So to me, it was.  Today, it has changed my life.  It fits with my needs now.  It didn’t then.  And when it didn’t fit with my needs, I couldn’t hear it or make sense of it. 

  

So take it or leave it.  Or follow up and do a little more research.  None of those choices is right or wrong.  Do the one that feels best to you.

  

So are you ready?  This gift I’m about to share with you is the secret of life.  It’s the reason we’re here.  It’s what all life is about, and it’s so incredibly simple you’ll die laughing once you get it.  (Not literally, although, really, what better way to go, than laughing?) 

  

The secret is this: (drumroll please….)

We are here to have fun.

  

That’s it.  Big secret, huh?  In spirit form, we choose to come into the physical for the sheer joy of experiencing life in this miraculous, passionate, wonderful, solid, earthy form.  We come knowing that we’ll experience all manner of things, things that will feel a way we humans think of as “good” and things that are what we’ll call “bad” and that we’ll be able to sort the things we want more of, from the things we want less of, and each time we do that, we’ll get more of what we want and less of what we don’t, because we know how.

  

We didn’t really plan on one thing, though.  Once we get into physical form, we tend to forget how to go about getting more of what we want and less of what we don’t.  As spirit beings it never occurs to us that that could happen.  I mean, it’s the easiest thing in the world!   How could anyone forget it? 

  

You get what you think about.  You get what you focus on.  You get what you expect, what you believe in, what you pay attention to. 

  

So here we come, bouncing happily into our physical bodies, and we get things we love and we smile and laugh and sing and dance, and think happily about those things and talk endlessly about those things, and are right on track to getting lots more of them, because of our focus being so thoroughly on them, and then—BAM!

  

We get something we don’t like.  A broken heart.  A stubbed toe.  An illness.  A debt.  A punch in the groin.  Whatever.

  

And immediately, our attention shifts to that bad thing.  And our minds are on that bad thing, and we talk about it, and think about it, and complain about it, and tell the story of it to all we meet, and we wallow in it, and get pity for it, and take vengeance on it, and fight against it.

  

And doing all of that puts our focus on it, on that bad thing, which in turn attracts more bad things to us. 

  

You get what you focus on.  The key?  When something happens in life that shows you “I don’t like that, and I don’t want that,” then let it go.  Don’t keep it close to you by focusing on it.  Just relax and gently turn your attention to the things in life you do want, and that thing you don’t want will fall away, and goodness and well being will come flowing in to replace it.

  

When you see something you love and shout YES at it, you are attracting more of that thing.

  

When you see something you hate and shout NO at it, you are attracting more of that thing. 

  

It’s your attention, you see, that creates your reality.  Make a conscious decision to always do what feels best to you in life, to do the things that make you happy, to focus on the good and not the bad, to home in on the one thing about that special person you love, and ignore the one thing about them that drives you crazy, and so on and so on.  And life will fall beautifully into place. 

  

And that, my friends, is the secret to life.  For more information on this secret, known as The Law of Attraction, you can fill your well at www.abraham-hicks.com and also through the wonderful programming at www.hayhouseradio.com.  It’s the principal on which the book and film “The Secret” were based, however, those projects seem to barely scratch the surface of the power of this law. 

  

Explore and enjoy!

  

Now that I’ve given you the gift to end all gifts, I’ll talk about me and my work just a bit.  I’m Maggie Shayne.  I’m a Wiccan High Priestess and a bestselling Author, and yes the two are intrinsically intertwined, but if I tell you how I’ll have to kill you.  <wink>

  

In the past three years I’ve been through the darkest, deepest, most thorough transition of my life.  The youngest of my daughters grew up and left home, when raising the kids had been my entire life for most of my life, from my mid-teens on, in fact.  My mother died.  My marriage dissolved.  I went from being the hub in the center of a huge, bustling family and constantly chaotic household, to living alone in a big farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.  I lost my ability to write for awhile.  But I found something far more precious.  I found me.  And I set about rebirthing myself in the midst of my darkest hour, which is probably why I so love the symbolism of the mid-winter holidays. 

  

And now I’m back on top. Writing again, better than ever.  Happy again.  Healthy again.  Thriving again.  Passionate again.  I’m more alive than I’ve ever been, in fact.  There is life after death.  I’m living proof.  And come to think of it, during those transition years, during my dark journey in the underworld, my heart was stopped three times, very very briefly, to “reboot” it and correct an inexplicable tachycardia.  It really was sort of a death and rebirth.  And that issue, too, has vanished now.

  

Okay, so in keeping with all that stuff, I’ve re-invented the Wings in the Night series, (known to some as the “Twilight” series) my ongoing stories of the undead.  The new chapter of the series, DEMON’S KISS, introduces a new group of vampires, an ensemble cast, a bigger set of stories, and a whole lot of new potential, while retaining ties, connectons, continuity with and guest appearances by, the vamps from the other books.  We even stopped calling the books “twilight” this and that.  We were just running out of titles, and once other vampire authors decided to start using that key word in their titles, it became entirely too confusing to my readers. 

    

DEMON’S KISS is on sale now from MIRA Books, and will be followed by LOVER’S BITE in May 2008 and ANGEL’S PAIN in October 2008.

 

 

  

Also on sale now is a holiday anthology with a touch of magic, AN ENCHANTED SEASON from Berkley Publishing, and my story, “Melting Frosty” is accompanied by novellas by fellow authors Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, & Jean Johnson.

  

To top off my November/December releases are ETERNAL LOVE and IMMORTAL DESIRE, the trade sized collector’s edition reissues of my immortal Witch series from Berkley.  The first includes my groundbreaking novels Eternity & Infinity, and the second, Destiny & Immortality.

 

 

 

 

  

You can read excerpts on my website, www.maggieshayne.com, and you can also catch me on my group blog site, www.storybroads.com where I post a new blog every Thursday. 

  

Have a wonderful, peaceful, blissful, joyous holiday season, and I sincerely hope 2008 is your best year yet.

  

Maggie

Read Full Post »

Schedule of the Week

Make sure you join us this week at Novel Thoughts. I’ve got some great authors popping in and giving out prizes.

December 17: Maggie Shayne Guest Blogging (Check out her author blog at Storybroads too)

December 18: Barbara Pierce Guest Blogging

Make sure you drop in and say hi! 🙂

Read Full Post »

Robin T. Popp Book Winner

 

We have a winner! The winner of Robin’s book is…

 

Kimmy L.!!! 

 

 

Congrats Kimmy!

 

Please email me at mad @ romancereaderatheart.com (no spaces) with your address so we can get the book out to you.

Read Full Post »