Mad’s Year in Review

 

I usually have this whole questionnaire that I use for my End of the Year post but I’m screwed this year because my PC crashed twice this year and both times needed to have the hard drive replaced, then my external hard drive crashed and took all my book notes in BYRON with it. I seriously mourned that because I had my notes and lists of books read going back to 2000 and now they’re just…gone. That hurts just thinking about it. I loved that questionnaire because it helped me break down the books, authors, characters, etc every year.

Since the double hard drive crash, I splurged and bought a MAC laptop but it wasn’t until after I bought it that I found out BYRON is not compatible with MACs. Huge bummer as I used that program almost every day since I bought it back in 1999 and I honestly feel lost without it. I hope Randy can come up with a version that will work with MACs. I would be all over that.

On to my list of reads. I had to do a lot of searching of the loops to find my monthly reads.

1. DRAGON ACTUALLY by G.A. Aiken
2. ABOUT A DRAGON by G.A. Aiken
3. WHAT A DRAGON SHOULD KNOW by G.A. Aiken
4. LAST DRAGON STANDING by G.A. Aiken
5. HER LAST CHANCE by Michelle Albert
6. NO MERCY by Lori Armstrong
7. BILLIONAIRE’S CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT by Maya Banks
8. COLTERS’ WOMAN by Maya Banks
9. COLTERS’ LADY by Maya Banks
10. SWEET TEMPTATION by Maya Banks
11. THE DARKEST HOUR by Maya Banks
12. GUARDING JEANNIE by Beverly Barton
13. BEAR NECESSITIES by Dana Marie Bell
14. THE PANTHER’S LAIR by Esmerelda Bishop
15. A STORM OF PASSION by Terri Brisbin
16. A STORM OF PLEASURE by Terri Brisbin
17. A STORM OF LOVE by Terri Brisbin (UNDONE anthology)
18. BOUND, BRANDED & BRAZEN by Jaci Burton
19. RIDING THE NIGHT by Jaci Burton
20. ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS by Jaci Burton
21. SECOND TO NONE by Rhyannon Byrd
22. RUBY TUESDAY by Mari Carr
23. THE RELUCTANT DOM by Tymber Dalton
24. COMING UNDONE by Lauren Dane
25. INSATIABLE by Lauren Dane
26. REVELATION by Lauren Dane
27. SECOND CHANCES by Lauren Dane
28. BELIEVE by Lauren Dane
29. A CERTAIN WOLFISH CHARM by Lydia Dare
30. LEAVE ME BREATHLESS by HelenKay Dimon
31. IMPULSIVE by HelenKay Dimon
32. EVERYONE LOVES A HERO by Marie Force
33. LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force
34. LINE OF SCRIMMAGE by Marie Force
35. TRUE NORTH by Marie Force
36. THE HIGHLANDER’S SWORD by Amanda Forester
37. THE STOLEN PRINCESS by Anne Gracie
38. HIS CAPTIVE LADY by Anne Gracie
39. TO CATCH A BRIDE by Anne Gracie
40. THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING by Anne Gracie
41. PRECIOUS & FRAGILE THINGS by Megan Hart
42. IMMORTAL WARRIOR by Lisa Hendrix
43. IMMORTAL OUTLAW by Lisa Hendrix
44. HIGHLAND DESTINY by Hannah Howell
45. COMPROMISED HEARTS by Hannah Howell
46. SOMETHING ABOUT YOU by Julie James
47. IN SCANDAL THEY WED by Sophie Jordan
48. STOLEN PASSIONS by Crystal Jordan
49. THE JAGUAR PRINCE by Karen Kelley
50. MINE TILL MIDNIGHT by Lisa Kleypas
51. SEDUCE ME AT SUNRISE by Lisa Kleypas
52. TEMPT ME AT TWILIGHT by Lisa Kleypas
53. MARRIED BY MORNING by Lisa Kleypas
54. LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON by Lisa Kleypas
55. CHRISTMAS EVE AT FRIDAY HARBOR by Lisa Kleypas
56. BEAST BEHAVING BADLY by Shelly Laurenston
57. NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE by Sarah MacLean
58. BOSSMAN’S BABY SCANDAL by Catherine Mann
59. SEDUCING THE DUCHESS by Ashley March
60. THE CHRISTMAS CLOCK by Kat Martin
61. THE BEST LAID PLANS by Sarah Mayberry
62. THE SHY BRIDE by Lucy Monroe
63. THE GREEK’S PREGNANT LOVER by Lucy Monroe
64. MARKED by Elisabeth Naughton
65. ENTWINED by Elisabeth Naughton
66. THE OMEGAS by Annie Nicholas
67. THE ALPHA by Annie Nicholas
68. TOUGH TO TAME by Diana Palmer
69. WILL OF STEEL by Diana Palmer
70. RAVISHED BY A HIGHLANDER by Paula Quinn
71. SEVEN DAY LOAN by Tiffany Reisz
72. DANGEROUS PASSION by Lisa Marie Rice
73. INTO THE CROSSFIRE by Lisa Marie Rice
74. THE SEARCH by Nora Roberts
75. MISTRESS BY MISTAKE by Maggie Robinson
76. A SAFE HARBOR by Moira Rogers
77. TEMPTING EDEN by Margaret Rowe
78. HER WOLF by Rebecca Royce
79. MASTER OF THE MOUNTAIN by Cherise Sinclair
80. THE DOM’S DUNGEON by Cherise Sinclair
81. CLUB SHADOWLANDS by Cherise Sinclair
82. HOLIDAY SPARKS by Shannon Stacey
83. THE WISH LIST by Gabi Stevens
84. ALL OR NOTHING by Dee Tenorio
85. ALL OF YOU by Dee Tenorio
86. SHAKEN by Dee Tenorio
87. WELCOME TO HARMONY by Jodi Thomas
88. SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY by Jodi Thomas
89. BLONDE WITH A WAND by Vicki Lewis Thompson
90. BEG ME by Shiloh Walker
91. A TOUCH OF MAGICK by N.J. Walters
92. ANASTASIA’S STYLE by N.J. Walters
93. UNMASKING KELLY by N.J. Walters
94. TEMPTING TORI by N.J. Walters
95. JESSAMYN’S CHRISTMAS GIFT by N.J. Walters
96. DRAKON’S TREASURE by N.J. Walters
97. LASSOING LARA by N.J. Walters
98. EMBROIDERING FANTASIES by N.J. Walters
99. PIECES OF SKY by Kaki Warner
100. OPEN COUNTRY by Kaki Warner

100 books read for 2010, which means I did meet the 100+ Book Challenge I had joined at the beginning of the year. Yippee!!

(ETA: Have discovered I did not include the Monroe and Naughton books with my original list so have added them now.)

A little breakdown —

New To Me Authors: 16, in bold above.

Biggest Glom: N.J Walters (8), Lisa Kleypas (6), Maya Banks (5), Lauren Dane (5).

Best Find: Marie Force. I’ve had her books in the TBR for a couple years now, since her first book came out, but it wasn’t until a few months ago, when I received an early copy of EVERYONE LOVES A HERO, that I read her. Read ELAH & loved it so much that I went searching through the TBR for her other books because I was sure I had some buried treasures in the TBR. I spent a weekend reading whatever Marie Force books I had and they were all so wonderfully written and so emotional that I wondered why I hadn’t read her before. I’ve still got a couple in the TBR but I’m spacing them out because I don’t want to finish them just yet. 🙂

Books others loved that didn’t work for me: THE RELUCTANT DOM by Tymber Dalton. I’ve seen this one mentioned a lot on blogs, loops, Twitter, etc so I decided to check it out. It didn’t impress me. I felt Seth was being pushed into something he wasn’t and because he wanted to be with Leah, he did it. But I could feel his struggle that he felt he wasn’t enough for her without all the Master/Slave stuff. I felt he did all the changing while Leah did nothing but take take take. There was no give in her. She said she loved him and cared for him and wanted to take care of him but he was the one who had to do all the changing, not her. No compromise that I could see.

Another one that didn’t work for me was THE DOM’S DUNGEON by Cherise Sinclair. I couldn’t get past how the heroine associated being loved with being spanked. If she was loved, she got spanked but if she wasn’t spanked, that meant she wasn’t loved. One thought just kept flashing through my mind when I finished the story…would the hero still have to spank her to show her she was loved when they were in their 70s? 80s? Older? When would she finally “get it” that the hero loved her?

Non-Romance Read: PRECIOUS & FRAGILE THINGS by Megan Hart. I read this knowing it wasn’t a romance or erotic and was sure it wouldn’t grab me but once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. It did leave me with questions and also had an Ick Factor when a secret was revealed but it was also gripping and different…I thought of it long after I finished reading it and had moved on to other books.

Best Series: Lisa Kleypas‘ Hathaway Series, Sweet Series by Maya Banks, Wild Riders by Jaci Burton, Anne Gracie’s Devil Riders Series, Lauren Dane’s Brown Siblings Series

Top 10 Reads —

SWEET TEMPTATION by Maya Banks
LOVE AT FIRST FLIGHT by Marie Force
ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS by Jaci Burton
COMING UNDONE by Lauren Dane
SECOND CHANCES by Lauren Dane
IMPULSIVE by HelenKay Dimon
SOMETHING ABOUT YOU by Julie James
LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON by Lisa Kleypas
HOLIDAY SPARKS by Shannon Stacey
SHAKEN by Dee Tenorio

Here’s hoping my list for 2011 will be just as great as this one. 🙂

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Lillie’s Top 10 of 2010

Wow, this was a hard list to make. It has been a fabulous year for books! After fighting with this list for 2 weeks, I have finally narrowed it down to my favorite 10 books published in 2010.

Sin Undone by Larissa Ione – The Demonica series started off great and has continued to get better with every book. A female demon assassin and the dhampire who can’t decide if he loves her or wants to kill her = Perfect.

Crossroads by Moira Rogers – Shapeshifters, spellcasters, crazy politics, forbidden love, family loyalty, waffle batter, and a scene that left me a big sniffly mess means that Crossroads must go on any “best of” list I make.

Riding The Night by Jaci Burton – Jaci Burton (an author I love) writes a book about a menage relationship (a theme I love) that has biker heroes (who doesn’t love bikers?!) It goes on the list 😉

Lion’s Heat by Lora Leigh – Watching the most manipulative bastard ever created by the council be brought to his knees by his secretary and her baby was a thing of beauty. When he started purring to calm the baby, I melted.

Colters’ Lady by Maya Banks – The long awaited sequel to Colters’ Woman was well worth the wait. Filled with heat and emotion, this has become a comfort read for me.

Shaken by Dee Tenorio – I’ve never fan-girled over a short story before but Shaken just worked for me. It is a seamless blend of heart and heat that didn’t feel like a short story.

The Darkest Lie by Gena Showalter – I have to give props to an author who can write an entire book of dialogue for a character that can’t speak the truth and not leave me completely confused. I never thought that seeing a hero say “I hate you” would be so sweet.

Hold On Tight by Stephanie Tyler – SEALs!! The conclusion to this trilogy kicked ass and left me panting for more books.

Second Chances by Lauren Dane – This is the only book that has ever caused me to walk away for a while just so I could gain some emotional distance. This isn’t the first time Ms. Dane has made me cry (hello Laid Bare) but Second Chances was at a different level. I connected with this book like I have few others and it left a lasting impression.

The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks – When I read an early excerpt for this book over a year ago, I fell in love with Ethan and anticipated his story more than I have any other book.  When I finally got to read it, it was official. All the angst and turmoil of this couple finding their way to a HEA makes The Darkest Hour my favorite book of the year.

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Kindle Lending

Book loaning is finally available with the Kindle! Right now only a few publishers are allowing their books to be loaned, but that is better than what we had before. And it is easy.

Let’s say I buy Pack Challenge by Shelly Laurenston from the Kindle store. I read it, love it, and think Fatin will too. Since this is a book from Samhain Publishing, it is available for loaning. I go to the Manage Your Kindle section, click on the “Loan” button,  and enter Fatin’s info. Now Fatin has that book for 14 days. When the 14 days are up, the book returns to me. Easy-peasy and an excellent (and legal) way to share the ebooks you love.

This also works with the Kindle for PC app.

*Edited to add: It appears that there are geo restrictions being applied to the UK readers 😦

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Kat Martin – Where do story ideas come from?

Secrets don’t stay buried long in cattle country. Sarah Allen,the beautiful girl who humiliated Jackson Raines in high school, is back in town. Not so long ago, she couldn’t wait to leave Wind Canyon, Wyoming, in her dust. But recently widowed, she has nowhere else to go and finds herself on Jackson’s ranch.

Despite everything, Jackson is reluctant to get rid of her. He can’t resist trouble, and Sarah brings her own special kind. Enemies of her dead husband show up on the ranch making threats, thinking she has something they’re owed. They’re not taking no for an answer, but what they will take is the one thing she has left—her daughter—and Jackson may be the only hope she has of getting little Holly home alive.

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It’s amazing the places an idea for a story can come from.  Years ago, my first book, MAGNIFICENT PASSAGE, started swimming around in my head as I watched a TV show called The Quest, a tale about two half brothers.  I’ve actually had people ask me if that is where my story idea began.

NIGHT SECRETS was inspired by the old song “Brandy,” about the tavern maid who fell in love with a sea captain whose heart belonged to the sea.  Fortunately, the story was only loosely connected to the song–which saved me from a lawsuit by the people who wrote it!

Often my Contemporary novels blossom from something I’ve read in the newspapers or seen on TV.  SEASON OF STRANGERS was about a young woman and her sister who had an encounter with a UFO, a subject I’ve read a great deal about.

My new book, AGAINST THE WIND, began in a similar fashion.  I was cruising along the 90 Freeway crossing Montana, enjoying the crisp fall weather, the brilliant colors of the leaves, and listening to the country channel on the radio.  As I headed toward home, a Trace Atkins song came on, How do you like me now?  It’s a wonderful tune that tells a great story.  And it gave me the kernel of an idea for a story I was able to expand into a book.

In the song, a young girl humiliates a boy who has a crush on her.  Later that boy grows up to be extremely successful and he wonders how that girl feels about him now.

In my mind, that boy and girl became Jackson Raines and Sarah Allen, the hero and heroine in the book.  Years later, Sarah returns to the small Wyoming town of Wind Canyon, in trouble after her failed marriage.  Unfortunately for Sarah, the only person who can keep her and her little girl, Holly, safe is Jackson Raines, the boy–now a man–she humiliated in high school all those years ago.

Most of the time, my story ideas seem to come out of nowhere.  One day I’m looking for a plot for a book and then suddenly, I know that I want to write about Gabriel Raines and his struggle to find the arsonist who is trying to kill him.  Then I search for the woman Gabe is going to fall in love with, no easy task for a macho man like Gabe.  Lady architect, Mattie Baker, filled the spot perfectly, and the book became AGAINST THE FIRE.

AGAINST THE LAW, the third book in the trilogy, seemed to come fairly easily once I got started.  I loved Dev Raines, the sexiest and wildest of the Raines brothers.  Once Lark Delaney walked into his life, the plot began to roll.  The novel developed as I wrote it, which is unusual for me, and it turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.

I’ve discovered that readers seem to like trilogies.  I wonder how you all feel about them?  Like them?  Hate them?

I hope you’ll watch for the Raines Brothers trilogy, AGAINST THE WIND, AGAINST THE FIRE, and AGAINST THE LAW.  They’re coming January, February, March.  Till then, happy reading and all best wishes, Kat

Enter my Against the Wind Contest
Join my mailing list
Visit my website
View the Against the Wind Video
Read Excerpt for Against the Wind
Become a Facebook fan of Kat Martin

Purchase Links:

Amazon

B&N

Borders

Independent

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Many thanks to Kat for joining us today! For a chance to win an autographed copy of one of Kat’s books, leave a comment answering the question. Two winners will be drawn on Sunday. Good luck! 😀

 

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DEADLOCK by Moira Rogers – Review

Abandoned by her wolf shifter father and raised by her human psychic mother, Carmen Mendoza can’t deny she’s different. She craves things most women shy away from–and she has a trail of shapeshifting ex-boyfriends to prove it.

Working at a clinic for supernatural creatures, she’s escaped the notice of her father’s legacy-obsessed family. Until they need a pawn in their bid for power. Snared by a vicious spell designed to wake her inner wolf, Carmen’s only hope is to trust the one man strong enough to soothe her darkest instincts.

Alec Jacobson was once the heir apparent to the wolves’ ruling elite, until he walked away to marry the woman he loved. She paid with her life. He lives as a rebel, a black-sheep alpha who protects the supernatural residents of New Orleans from the wolves’ barbaric class system. Too bad he can’t protect himself from his need for Carmen.

Yet staking his claim on his enemy’s niece will turn his city into a battleground. Unless he can find a way to stop breaking the rules–and start making them.

Warning: This book contains a renegade alpha wolf, a smart empathic doctor, very dirty sex with psychic safe-words, the occasional dominance game in and out of the bedroom, and a group of supernatural citizens ready to take on the corrupt leaders of their world.

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DEADLOCK is the third book in the Southern Arcana series and I have been anticipating Alec’s story since book one. A bossy, grumpy, alpha shapeshifter that keeps a cage in his basement and has a tendency of kidnapping people that pose a threat to his friends? What’s not to love!

Carmen Mendoza has some pretty simple goals. Help the supernatural creatures of NOLA and to avoid all the political marriage traps her family keeps tossing in her path. Alec has a goal as well. To keep NOLA safe from the political games the shifters like to play. When Carmen is attacked by a spellcaster, it’s time for Alec to do what he does best.

To say I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. I loved it! The suspense in DEADLOCK is off the charts with many unexpected twists that kept me guessing. And the heat! Oh, the heat. Alec is a dirty, dirty boy. 😀

I could fan-girl gush for a while about this one but I’ll save you all from that. I’ll just say that this is definitely a recommended read. And I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from DEADLOCK.

“Couldn’t think of a more dangerous place to stick your dick? There’s a garbage disposal right here. I’ll give you two a minute alone.”

To read an excerpt from DEADLOCK, please visit the Moira Rogers website.

Available from Samhain Publishing on January 4, 2011

GIVEAWAY!

For a chance to win a digital copy of DEADLOCK, just leave a comment below. Good luck! 😀

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Setting goals with Mary Burton

Every Serial Killer Knows. . .

The vicious burns scarring the victims’ flesh reveal the agony of their last moments. Each woman was branded with a star, then stabbed through the heart. With every death, a vengeful killer finds a brief, blissful moment of calm. But soon it’s time for the bloodshed to start again…

The Perfect Time. . .

Ten years ago, Eva Rayburn and her sorority sisters were celebrating the end of the school year. That party turned into a nightmare Eva can’t forget. Now she’s trying to start over in her Virginia hometown, but a new nightmare has begun. Every victim is linked to her. And Detective Deacon Garrison isn’t sure whether this mysterious woman needs investigating—or protecting…

To Make His Mark

Only Eva’s death will bring peace. Only her tortured screams will silence the rage that has been building for ten long years. Because what started that night at the sorority can never be stopped—not until the last victim has been marked for death…

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Eva Rayburn, my heroine in my January release SENSELESS, has a standing motto—Eyes Forward.  Eva’s had a rough past and lots of reasons to give up or be bitter.  But she doesn’t look back, nor does she wallow in what went wrong or what might have been.  Her thoughts are to the future and the things she wants to accomplish.

This is about the time of year when we’re all looking ahead a little.  We’re thinking about New Year’s resolutions and the things we want to accomplish in the New Year.  For the aspiring writers, the resolution may center on starting, finishing or perhaps selling a book.  With my fellow writers in mind, I’ve broken down these larger goals into mini-resolutions.

Create your own office space.

I’ve had many different writing spaces.  First it was a card table in the corner of an empty living room.  Then I was able to furnish the living room with second hand office furniture.  And when my puppies came along and the house got just a little too noisy, I rented cubical space in a real office.  And when that got too noisy, I converted my tool shed (believe me it’s nicer than it sounds) to an office.  The main point is that I’ve always had a place that was mine where I could work.

Write five minutes a day.

Commit to writing five minutes a day.  This is the number one advice I give to beginning writers who are scrambling to find more time.  Once you start typing, five minutes quickly turns into ten minutes, a half hour and before you know it you’ve written a couple of hours.

Dig into our character.

Do a detailed character sketch.  Determine my character’s archetype.  Take the Myers-Briggs personality test for my character.  Create a collage of images that depict your character.  Knowing your characters is the first step to designing a great plot.

Join a local writers group.

Before I wrote my first chapter, I joined the Virginia Romance Writers.  For the first time, I found a group of folks who shared my goals and interests.  This group became invaluable to me as I struggled through several unsold manuscripts and was there to cheer me on when I sold my first.  And if there are not local groups in your area, check out some of the online chapters available.

Take a writing class

When I first started writing I was hungry for any information I could find on craft.  I would travel to conferences and sit in on every session I could.  Nowadays, I still take online classes.  No matter how much I think I know there’s always more to learn.

Send out that query letter or proposal

I’ve met many talented writers along the way, but some unfortunately were too afraid to send out their work.  So fearful of rejection, they simply could not work up the courage to show their work to the world.  If you want to be a writer, you’ve got to be willing to send out your stories and brace for rejection.

Celebrate the successes

Once a year I allow myself to look back over the last twelve months and take stock.  With all the baby steps it seems we take each day, it’s easy to loose track of the fact that we’ve covered quite a bit of territory.  So ask yourself: how many pages did I write?  How many times did I send out my work?  How many requests for more did I receive?  Did I get The Call?  A great review?  A wonderful cover.

Once you’ve taken stock, shift your gaze forward and set your sights on the next horizon.

Mary Burton captivates readers with stories of mystery, crime and relationships–destined to keep readers on the edge of their seats.  Her January 2010 book SENSELESS is a romantic suspense set in Virginia.  When she’s not writing her latest novel, she is most definitely in the kitchen cooking.

A big thank you to Mary Burton for joining us today. To find out more about Mary and her books, please visit her website. For a chance to win SENSELESS, leave a comment below. What is something you would like to accomplish in 2011?

For those with e-readers, SENSELESS will be available for e-readers starting on January 1st.

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Favorite new author of 2010

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a habit of getting stuck in a reading rut. I have my list of auto-buys I stick to and I don’t search out new-to-me authors. Even when a trusted friend tells me that I will love an author, I hesitate. And when I finally give in to pressure, I open the book with a sense of dread. I expect to be disappointed. It’s not fair of me, but there it is.

I guess that last paragraph should all be in past tense because over the last 6 months, things have changed. I’ve started reading so many new-to-me authors. I don’t know what changed but I’m grateful it did!

As 2010 draws to a close, I wanted to share my favorite new-to-me author of the year but I can’t choose just one! So my favorite TWO new authors of 2010 are Vivian Arend and Dee Tenorio. (Now I have to wait on Fatin to say “I told you so”)

 

Have you discovered any new-to-you authors this year? Any I need to add to my TBR pile? 😀

 

 

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Ten Tempting Teasers with Maggie Robinson

Thanks so much to Mad and the gang for having me back! It’s a pleasure to close out the old year with new book releases. Even if you’ve spent all your money on Christmas presents, here’s a way to win two books…my Brava anthology Lords of Passion with Virginia Henley and Kate Pearce (December) and Mistress by Midnight (January)! My stories are pretty different from each other—one’s pretty funny, and one is…not. See if you can tell which is which. 🙂

Here’s the blurb for “Not Quite a Courtesan” in LOP:

Sensible bluestocking Prudence Thorne has been too busy keeping her cousin Sophy out of trouble to experience any adventures of her own. But when Sophy begs Prudence’s help in saving her marriage, Pru encounters handsome, worldly Darius Shaw. And under Darius’s skilled tutelage, Pru learns just how delightful a little scandal can be.

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Mistress by Midnight:

As children, Desmond Ryland, Marquess of Conover, and Laurette Vincent were inseparable. As young adults, their friendship blossomed into love. But then fate intervened, sending them down different paths. Years later, Con still can’t forget his beautiful Laurette. Now he’s determined to make her his forever. There’s just one problem. Laurette keeps refusing his marriage proposals. Throwing honor to the wind, Con decides that the only way Laurette will wed him is if he thoroughly seduces her.
Laurette’s pulse still quickens every time she thinks of Con and the scorching passion they once shared. She aches to taste the pleasure Con offers her. But she knows she can’t. For so much has happened since they were last lovers. But how long can she resist the consuming desire that demands to be obeyed?

Excerpts and reviews can be found on my website www.maggierobinson.net.

I bet you can guess already which book is angsty and which book is amusing, but can you guess which of the things below can be found in MBM and which are in NQAC? Take a guess on these teasers for a chance to win! (Hint: Several items are in BOTH books.)

• A love nest on Jane Street, AKA Courtesan Court

• A mock wedding in a circle of standing stones

• An auction of erotic objects

• A secret baby (no one was more surprised than I to discover I had written a secret baby story, LOL)

• A faux harem girl

• A wicked dark-haired hero

• An antique ruby and diamond ring that has mysterious powers…at least over the heroine

• A feckless brother (I love the word feckless)

• The Regency equivalent of a blow-up doll

• A flock of sheep (This is a trick, two-part question—one book has sheep, one book’s hero wants sheep)

Even if you guess wrong, you can still win. And spelling doesn’t count. 😉 Have a wonderful 2011 filled with love, laughter and lots of books!

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Many thanks to Maggie for joining us today!

One reader will win both LORDS OF PASSION and MISTRESS BY MIDNIGHT so don’t forget to take a guess at the teasers. Good luck!

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Book video: NOBLE BLOOD by Dana Marie Bell

This is the only series by Dana Marie that I haven’t tried yet but after watching this trailer, I’m buying the first one tonight.

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Coming from Samhain Publishing on January 18, 2011

NOBLE BLOOD

by Dana Marie Bell

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Tina Donahue winner

 

Colleen

wins the Tina Donahue giveaway

Congrats! Please email me at lillie80 at gmail dot com with the title you pick (see this post for book choices) and if you choose a print book, I’ll need your mailing address.

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