Jessica Inclan: O, Canada!

They are here among us…

Far from home, gifted with special abilities, hunted for their powers. And they are desperate to find their other, the one who completes them… before it’s too late…

SOMETIMES, TIME REALLY DOES STAND STILL

Mila Adams has always known she was different. It’s not just that she’s a Mission District bohemian artist in rarefied San Francisco society. No, it’s that for as long as she can remember, she has had the ability to shift time, and who would believe that? Certainly not the obnoxious blind dates her mother keeps foisting off on her. Mila can’t help feeling there’s someone out there for her, a soul mate who might understand her unique ability. And when she looks into the dark eyes of financial whiz Garrick McClellan, time feels as if it has opened up on its own—and this time, Mila has nothing to do with it.

Any man would lust after a beauty like Mila, but the moment Garrick touches her—feels her shifting time just as he can—he recognizes her as his partner in power. Their connection is immediate, passionate, raw, and beyond anything either has ever experienced. But who are they? What is this gift that joins them so intensely? Are there others like them? And why do they feel that time is running out?

Being With Him is the third title in Ms Inclan’s second romance trilogy, and it will be released in October 2009

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Often when I am bored and without a good, solid lead on my life’s progress, I Google myself. Yes, and worse, sometimes I check to see how things are going with my books on Amazon. These are a couple of my little obsessions, and I’m trying to come clean about them.

So yesterday in ten minutes between nothing and leaving the house for a night out with friends, I thought I’d check out Amazon for the day, and much to my amazement, I found this book that I had written:

Trade Negotiations In Agriculture: A Future Common Agenda For Brazil And Canada

by Jessica Barksdale Inclan
Paperback: University Of Calgary Press (January 1, 2006)
List price: $51.76
ASIN: B001VAZXTG [ detailed view ]
Amazon sales rank: n/a
Availability: This item is currently unavailable (Subject to change)

My god, I’d forgotten that study and intense writing I did on trade negotiations in between writing romance novels and teaching fulltime. But slowly, it all came back to me, as though it were from a past life. How remarkable, that time in those two countries. It seemed, so, well a dream, that time in Brazil and Canada, those days with the vast plains of each country. As I peered at the computer screen and read more about my academic writing history, dribs and drabs of that experience came back to me. There I was as I stood on the hilltops, overlooking the areas either devastated for agriculture or forced into it. Driving my ramshackle cars about both places, I conferred daily with senior politicians and economists. My hair grew long, my face tanned. I bought a lot of sunscreen. My frequent flier miles were all but depleted.

I supposed that’s why my teaching went a little downhill in 2006. And I did have a hard time keeping to schedule with the novels. It wasn’t the divorce, no. It wasn’t my new relationship. It wasn’t the fact that my youngest had flown the coop. No, it was all the cows in Brazil and the soy bean fields in Canada. It was all about goats. Or sheep. Or maybe it was about the rainforest.

All that work, and for no Amazon sales rank. All that work, and this item is currently unavailable. If I only knew what that work was, really.

It’s my dream, though, and I hold onto it. Trade. Negotiations. Agriculture. O! Canada!

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Visit Ms Inclan’s website at www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com for excerpts–and leave a comment to this thread for a chance to win a signed copy of Intimate Beings, the second title in her second romance trilogy.

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Hitting Close To Home —

Just saw on Twitter that Book Binge is looking to help a reader, Scooper, who lost all her books in a home fire. This hits way too close to home for me.

Several years ago my family lived in a townhouse that was connected to others. In all, our building had seven families in it. One of the neighbor’s started a grease fire. She had left chicken frying on the stove while she went upstairs to change her baby’s diaper. When she came back and saw the flames, she threw water at it. Oil + water = raging inferno that went out of control and wiped out the whole building in less than twenty minutes. It was a weekday and when it happened, most of the residents weren’t home. The only residents home that day were my family and this neighbor and her son. Thankfully no one was hurt and we were able to get everyone out before the fire department arrived. I can still remember standing away from the building and watching how fast the fire spread throughout the building. It was horrible. I remember thinking that as long as no one was hurt, things could be replaced. Lives couldn’t. So even though we lost everything, we were OK because I still had my husband and my girls. The neighbors all had their lives, despite thinking the neighbor who started the fire was an idiot , (who throws water on a grease fire?) I was still glad that she and her son survived that fire. What did it matter that everything else was gone? We were alive and that was the most important thing.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I thought enough to let some online friends know what had happened. I’ll never forget what happened next. Boxes and boxes of stuff starting arriving at the post office. Boxes filled with house stuff. And the books. Lord, boxes and boxes filled with books for me. Books for my girls. So many boxes. All filled with books. From friends. From authors. From people I didn’t even know but because the word had gone out online about what happened to us, they found it in their hearts to send someone they’ve never met books to help start a new collection to make up for all the books lost in the fire. This has been something that I’ve never forgotten because without the generosity and love of so many online people, people I probably will never have the chance to meet face to face to thank them, I was able to rebuild my TBR. Yes, it’s kind of out of control *now* but then, it was one thing I didn‘t have to worry about in between getting a new place to stay, making sure the girls stayed in the same school they were in even though we lived out of the district, bills that needed to be paid, etc.

So I’m asking you (OK, begging works too, if needed *g*) to look through Scooper’s list here, here and here and see if you have an extra copy of a book she’s read or a book you think she’d be interested in, and email Holly at Book Binge (holly @ thebookbinge.com without the spaces) for details on where to send the book and/or books.  Let’s help Scooper rebuild her collection, please!

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Marie Force: When Friendship Turns to Love

What if the guy in the airplane seat next to you turned out to be the love of your life?

Juliana, happy in her career as a hair stylist, is on her way to visit her boyfriend of ten years who’s working out of state. She’s wondering why they’re not engaged yet. Michael is going to his fiance’s parents’ home for an engagement party he doesn’t want. A states’ prosecutor, he’s about to try the biggest case of his career, he hates the distraction, and he’s having doubts about the relationship.

They sit together on the plane, and discover they’re on the same flight coming back. When the weekend is a disaster for each of them, they bond on the plane ride home. But life is full of complications, including their exes, who don’t want to let go, and when Michael’s trial turns dangerous, the two must confront what they value most in life…

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Thanks for having me today! As a reader of romance, I love turning points. Don’t you just live for that moment when these two individuals leave their separate selves behind and become one? Sometimes, one of them realizes the significance of this new relationship before the other. That’s what happens in my new book, Love at First Flight, in stores this week.

My characters, Michael Maguire and Juliana Gregorio, meet at the Baltimore airport on a Friday evening when they are on their way to visit their significant others in Florida. After they each endure a disastrous weekend, they meet up again on the flight home, striking up an unlikely friendship that leads to love. One of the things I love best about this book is the way Michael and Juliana are friends first and lovers second. Their love blossoms slowly and sweetly as they support each other through difficult breakups and challenging work and family situations.

I thought I’d share an excerpt from one of Michael and Juliana’s turning points, when he puts his heart on the line to tell her how he’s feeling . . .

Michael kept an arm around her as they went outside. Once they were in the car, he turned to her. “I’m not looking for a rebound, Juliana. That’s not what this is.”

“Then what is it?” she asked softly.

He ran a finger over her cheek to brush away a lone tear. “It’s not a rebound.”

“I don’t want it, Michael. Whatever it is. I love Jeremy.”

“I know you do, but you see, the thing is, I’m falling for you, Juliana.”

“What?” she asked, flabbergasted. She pushed his hand away from her face. “You can’t mean that!”

He kept his eyes locked on hers. “In the five days I’ve known you, you’ve given me more, been there for me more, done more for me than Paige did in four years. I knew I would care for you from almost the first moment I saw you. When I found you crying in the airport on Sunday, all I wanted to do was scoop you up and take you home with me.”

New tears wet Juliana’s cheeks. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

He took her hand. “On Friday night I tried to get Paige to marry me right away. Do you know why?”

Juliana shook her head.

“Because I was terrified after I met you. I already knew everything was about to change, and I guess a part of me thought I should try to stop it. But I was powerless to stop it. In those first moments with you, I knew I wouldn’t marry her.”

“Michael,” she sobbed. “Stop. Stop saying these things.”

“Juliana, any man who would let you think, for even one minute, that you aren’t enough for him doesn’t deserve you.”

“Please,” she whimpered. “Please stop.”

With a hand to her chin, he turned her to him. “I knew I was falling for you when you jumped right in with Rachelle on Sunday night and did her hair. I knew it when I found you dancing in the kitchen when you were making me dinner. I knew it because my heart almost stopped when you told me someone hassled you on the street. I knew it when I heard you talking to Rachelle about what she saw, and you said all the right things—all the things she needed to hear.” He ran his thumb along her jaw. “And when I felt your fingers in my hair I knew I wanted them there always. Don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m saying.”

He leaned over to kiss her gently, without demand, and for one breathless moment, she let him. Then she pulled away. “Michael. My head is spinning. Please don’t.”

“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t a good time for you to be hearing this, but I couldn’t let you think this was about rebounds. I’m not going to pressure you or push you, so you don’t have to worry about that. I’m going to be so wrapped up in this trial for the next month or two I won’t have time for anything else. I just wanted you to know.”

“I can’t stay with you anymore. Not now.”

“Why? I just said I’m not going to do anything about it.”

“Because everything’s going to be weird between us.”

He took her hand again. “It won’t be weird because you’ll hardly see me. I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t know… I’ll only stay if you promise not to mention any of this again. I can’t deal with it on top of everything else.”

“I promise I won’t say another word about it until you do.”

She pulled her hand out of his grasp. “That’s not going to happen.”

“We’ll see,” he said, starting the car to drive them home. “We’ll just see about that.”

© Marie Force, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2009

What are some of your favorite turning points in romance novels or movies? What do you think of friendship that turns to love? I’ll give away a copy of each of my books—Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight—to commenters. If you’ve already read Line of Scrimmage, just let me know.

If you wish to discuss all the rules I broke in Love at First Flight, join me Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog (http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com) for a book club discussion. Warning, there will be spoilers, so make sure you read the book before the party! I’ll be giving away some great prizes to participants.

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Thank you, Ms Force!

Leave a comment to enter the drawing . (Limited to US and Canada residents, sorry!) Visit Ms Force at her website, www.mariesullivanforce.com

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:super sad sigh: Yet another unclaimed prize… Dakota Cassidy’s new winner!

Amy never came back 😦 so after much typing and a quick randomizing,  we have a new winner!

Qwill!

Check out Ms Cassidy’s website to choose one title from her backlist–then email me at azteclady1 at yahoo dot com within 48hrs with your mailing address so we can get your prize out to you.

Please post a comment to this thread if I don’t acknowledge your email; otherwise, you forfeit your prize.

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Deirdre Knight’s Gods of Midnight winner!

Colleen!

You have won your choice of a signed copy of Red Fire or Red Kiss, the first and second titles in Ms Knight’s Gods of Midnight series.

Please email me within 48hrs at azteclady1 at yahoo dot com with your mailing address.

Post a comment to this thread if you don’t receive a reply from me. Otherwise, you forfeit your prize and another winner will be chosen.

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Cynthia Eden’s “Midnight’s Master” winner

Once again à la random.org, the winner is…

Wendy K (aka highlandlove)

Congratulations, Wendy! Email me at azteclady1 at yahoo dot com within 48hrs with your mailing address so we can get your book to you soonest. Please post a comment to this thread if I don’t acknowledge receiving your email.

Otherwise, you forfeit your prize and another winner will be selected.

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Jaci Burton’s Demon Hunter winner!

And the winner is…

Tamsyn T!!!

Congratulations, Tamsyn!

Visit www.jaciburton.com for titles, blurbs and excerpts of Ms Burton’s Demon Hunter novels. Then email me at azteclady1 at yahoo dot com with your mailing address so we can get your book out to you. Please post a comment to this thread if you do not receive an acknowledgement of your email from me.

Remember that otherwise you forfeit your prize and another winner would be chosen.

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Christy Reece’s “Rescue Me” winners!

Via random.org we have three lucky winners!

Sue

Jody F

Gale

The three of you win signed copies of Ms Reece’s Rescue Me, congratulations!

Email me at azteclady1 at yahoo dot com within 48hrs with your mailing address so we can get your books out to you. Otherwise, you forfeit your prize and another winner chosen.

Post a comment in this thread if I don’t acknowledge receipt of your email.

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*sad sigh* Unclaimed prizes: Alyssa Day’s new winners

Neither Cheryl nor Prue claimed their prizes this week *sob* so, after another visit to random.org, here are the new winners:

donthangupthequill

You win the coveted ARC of Atlantis Unmasked, which doesn’t come out until July 7th!

Gabbitron

You win a signed copy of Atlantis Unleashed, which came out on June 2nd.

Congratulations, ladies!

Please remember that your prize is forfeit if you do not contact me at azteclady1 at yahoo dot com within 48hrs of this post, with your mailing information.

If I do not acknowledge your email, leave a comment in this thread within that time frame or, again, your forfeit your prize.

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Jill Shalvis: What is sexy?

GETTING TO FIRST BASE IS CINCH…

BUT GETTING HOME WILL TAKE A GRAND SLAM.

Pace Martin is the ace pitcher for the Pacific Heat. He’s got the arm, the experience and the wins. He’s also got the pain, the pressure, and the possible end of his career looming over him. The last thing he needs now is a distraction, even if it comes in the form of a tough, beautiful,
tell-it-like-it-is writer who sees past his defenses.

Holly Hutchins knows a good story when she sees one, and the tall, dark and slightly attitude-ridden Pace Martin fits the bill. But when she realizes there’s more at stake than just the win, she starts to notice the handsome broad-shouldered jock in a different light.

Pace and Holly begin a seductive game in which neither wants to drop the ball, but in the face of an unexpected betrayal and challenge, they’ll have to find the courage to swing for the fences…

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There’s nothing more wildly sexy and appealing than a professional athlete, someone willing to put life and limb on the line for the win, someone so used to doing whatever it takes to save the game, that they don’t realize that they themselves need saving.

I love torturing my heroes with love. Not sure what that says about me, but there’s something about a watching a guy suffer before getting his happily ever after. With DOUBLE PLAY(7/09) I started with a big, bad sexy-as-hell major league baseball pitcher. Pace Martin is tough and edgy, a bit of a badass really, and doesn’t see a problem with that. Intensely private, he’s devastated to discover that what should have been a simple injury might well be a career ending one.

And then a reporter shows up. Holly Hutchins has a nose for secrets, and a free pass from the Heat’s management to travel with Pace’s team all summer and write about the guys in detail. From the very first moment with Pace, when he inadvertently abducts her, they irritate–and arouse–the hell out of each other. But certain life experiences have a way of bringing out the best in people, and the best between Pace and Holly is very, very good . . .

Poor Pace. He just wants to be left alone, and yet every single time he’s with Holly the oddest thing happens. He feels. He wants. That she drives him crazy is a problem, as is her ‘tude, but hey, he has his own bad ‘tude half the time so he can appreciate it. Especially when they’re kissing instead of banging heads. Pitting these two against each other was great fun. I’m only sorry it’s over.

As always, I’d love to hear what you think. You can find me on the web, along with my daily blog about my own adventures at http://www.jillshalvis.com.

Oh, and be sure to look for Pace’s best friend Wade O’Riley to get his own story in SLOW HEAT, out 2/2010.

Happy Reading!
Jill Shalvis

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Thank you, Ms Shalvis! Also, check out Instant Gratification, available in bookstores near you next Tuesday!

Wishful, California, is 3000 miles from Dr. Emma Sinclair’s last job in a New York City ER. It may as well be another galaxy. Here, running her father’s clinic for a summer, Emma treats bee stings, stomach flu, and the occasional pet cat. Plus, she has to contend with patients like Stone Wilder: gorgeous, laid-back, and irritating beyond belief. The man laughs at her. A lot. And Emma loathes him. All except that tiny part of her that wants to throw him on her examining table and break every doctor-patient rule in the book…

When Stone tries to help Emma learn to loosen up a bit, he pictures white-water rafting or scenic mountain hikes. Not a mind-blowing affair that shakes them both to the core. Emma’s sure she has no place in a town like Wishful, but Stone knows different. Emma belongs here, in this town, in his
life. And convincing this strong-minded, stubborn, sexy woman of that fact will be a challenge no Wilder man could resist…

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