I didn’t make this month’s TBR Challenge run by avidbookreader, even though I had my book picked out: Carla Kelly’s Beau Crusoe. Unfortunately, I didn’t read nearly as fast as I hoped to this past week, and I’m not good at reading two books at a time.
So next month’s challenge, which is Hero in Pursuit or Virginal Hero, must be read earlier, so I am prepared and able to post something!
This week from Samhain:
Best sellers from My Bookstore and More:
1. Tooth and Claw by Annmarie McKenna
2. Terms of Surrender by Becky Barker
3. Trust the Moon by Jamie Craig
Reviews:
Mrs. Giggles
I’ve been meaning to blog a lot more often than I have of late. I sometimes even begin a post, but don’t get far. Between having a cold that lasts forever and just being plain busy, I haven’t been able to focus enough to get something written here. Well, except for one whiney post about being sick which you were luckily spared.
I have been thinking of blog posts. Somewhere on Dear Author, now lost in the mists of time, or the mists of my mind, someone was talking about how isolated heroines often are in romance novels. I think that’s true in a number of books. I also think it’s can be a bit of escapism for author and reader. I do like to write of heroines on their own without some of the attendant responsibilities that go with extended family ties and/or jobs, etc. Not always, mind you, as my heroine in The Strength of the Pack quite definitely has family around her.
It reminds me a bit of the discussion of children in romance where some writers and readers want to escape childcare for a few hours, no matter how dearly they love their kids.
Oh, I found where this was mentioned: Janet’s review of Seressia Glass’s No Commitment Required. A book I now want to read.
Anyway, I am sure there are other reasons to have an isolated heroine than the one I mentioned—for one thing it can certainly increase angst and/or the importance of the hero and the romance—but I know I can enjoy identifying with a woman who does not share all the responsibilities I have.
I don’t mean to say this is the only heroine I like the read or write!
I read Agnes and the Hitman awhile back. Liked it a lot. Then read Ally Blue’s Untamed Heart. Loved it. Not much in common, given one’s a caper-comedy with a huge cast and the other’s almost a cabin romance and emotionally quite dark at times. But, they both have assassin heroes.
I like assassin (or ex-assassin) heroes, but rather like amnesia in fiction, I don’t think I’d like assassin heroes in real life. In fiction, they can do the right thing in a way that isn’t possible in real life.
Anyway, I recommend both books! Untamed Heart is still on MBAM’s bestseller list, so I’m not the only one who liked it.
I’m blogging at Beyond the Veil today. My topic? Doctor Who.
Also elsewhere, Joely Skye sold a futuristic novel, Poison, to be released in May. :)
This week from Samhain:
Best sellers at My Bookstore and More:
1. Beautiful Girl by Shiloh Walker
2. Into the Mist by Maya Banks
3. Magnetic Attraction by Mandy M. Roth
From last week, Into the Mist, Secret Obsession and Stripped Away made it onto the bestseller list.
Reviews:
Madame Butterfly gave high marks to:
The Good, The Bad and The Unread gave high marks to:
Book Utopia Mom gave high marks to:
Like a Thief in the Night is getting good reviews everywhere, or at least everywhere I visit. I must pick it up.
I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays, getting time with family and friends, and time to relax and kick back, too. Right now the most intense visiting is over for us, so I’ve been tripping around the internet and finding some lovely, wonderful things.
Book Utopia Mom mentioned The Strength of the Pack in her 2007 roundup! Lots of other interesting mentions there, by the way.
And la-la-ness wrote a lovely post about me, Joely Skye/Jorrie Spencer. While she’s most taken by Joely Skye work, she also mentions The Strength of the Wolf favorably.
Thank you so much!
And while I’m at it, I can’t help but point out that Marked is on the All Romance eBooks bestseller list at #3. I never hit that list before, let alone the top three :)
There’s a round robin going on at Beyond the Veil. This round robin will consist of short romance stories that take place in or around a ParaExpo convention set in the fictional Dunvegas casino.
First installment starts here.
All of the round robin can be found here.
I’m at the Samhain blog and Beyond the Veil, talking about TV and old childhood movies whose names I can’t remember.
Via Karen Scott:
Hell’s Eight
Bloggers are you ready?
(readers who don’t blog can win an arc by entering my .net site contest that will start later- 10/1/07)
My first NY Western Historical series is releasing from SPICE in just over one month. It’s a super-hot, fast-paced romance with a strong heroine, a hero to die for, and a happily ever after that will touch your heart. Like my Promise series, Hell’s Eight probably is not what a reader thinks of when they think Western Historical, but each of these stories is a slice of life rich with emotion, spiced with passion, and filled with moments I hope will make your heart twist. The men of Hell’s Eight are unpredictable and fascinating. They’re definitely a law unto themselves, as wild as the West in which they live. Determined, and single-minded, they’ve planned for every contingency that could complicate their goals except for the one they never saw coming: the extraordinary women that will capture their hearts.
Think you’re ready?
Okay, here it is, your chance to win one of the six ARCs of Caine’s Reckoning, first in the Hell’s Eight series.
The goal of this contest is to spread the word far and wide of the upcoming release of Caine’s Reckoning.
To enter:
1. Copy and paste this post on your website, blog, MySpace, or wherever you wish, including a link to the excerpt.
2. Once you’ve completed #1, email SarahMcCartyContests @ gmail.com (no spaces) with the link to your site and you are entered. It’s as simple as that.
3. If you are the lucky winner of an ARC, simply be ready to read the book and review it during late October. You can review it on your blog, MySpace, online websites like Amazon, etc.
That’s it.
Blog. Email. Read. Wait till the last couple of weeks of October. Review.
To enter, EMAIL me at SarahMcCartyContests @ gmail.com (without the spaces), with:
1. Caine’s Reckoning ARC in the subject line.
2. The link to your post about the ARC contest.
3. Your name and address.
4. Where you intend to review the book.
Contest (open to US and Canadian residents) closes September 30th, 12 midnight, EST US.
Good luck!
I realize this is small potatoes, but I still enjoy seeing that my blog hits have reached 10,000!
So who else is going to be up past midnight while their kids lay their hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? We’ve been lucky enough to have our kids grow up with Harry Potter. I think it’s been a fun phenomenon and I’m kind of sad it is ending this summer.
