Well, Dang!

My precious boxes o' books weren't here when I got home. So instead of a list of them which will make everyone turn green with envy, I'm doing a review - or a series of reviews - I'm not sure exactly what it is.

I haven’t managed to read a book since I got back from Dallas. I started one, but it wasn’t working so I started another one last night and the light bulb struck. I was trying to read a paranormal when I was in the mood for a western!

But I did read a few books before I left for Dallas and was in the midst of one while there.

First off, I don’t think these books can be read out of order. In order to understand and appreciate each one, you need to have read the preceding one. It’s not often I say this and I’m constantly reading series out of order and it never bothers me, but this is more of a story arc that starts in Virgin River and continues through to Whispering Rock.

Title: Virgin River

Blurb: Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against the backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal-clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included.

When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she's made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning.

But a tiny baby, abandoned on a front porch, changes her plans…and a former marine cements them into place.

Melinda Monroe may have come to Virgin River looking for escape, but instead she finds her home.

Level of Steam: Pretty Hot

My Thoughts: I really liked this one. It was the only one in the series I bought at the time and it wasn’t long before I picked up the second two.

Although I did find a few things odd, for example I don’t think the writer did transitions very well – see – I did learn something in my writing classes, still the characters really seemed to come to life.

Jack at first seemed like a very laid-back almost beta type hero. But it wasn’t long before we discover that in his case still waters run deep. He was patient with the heroine, Mel, and let her work through her grief.

This book was rather close to my heart, in being able to identify with the heroine. I thought she was well done too. I also thought the author did a good thing in not demonizing her husband. He really was a good man and that was refreshing.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Title: Shelter Mountain

Blurb: Shelter Mountain continues the story introduced in the author's [Virgin River], and introduces Paige, who, after fleeing her battering husband, arrives at Jack's bar in the midst of a downpour with her three-year-old son, Christopher. Preacher, big and scary looking, shows his tender and nurturing side as he and others protect Paige from her drug-crazed husband.

Level of Steam: Again nice and steamy

My Thoughts: I thought this was another good book. I read this series back to back to back with no books in between and the second story was just a natural extension of the first book. I enjoyed Preacher and Melinda's story. I did have a few reservations though about a secondary story that was going along with it. I just couldn’t buy into the young teenager Rick’s story-line. He just seemed to good to be true and I may be wrong but somehow he seemed to age just a tad too quick and it drew me out of the story. Maybe part of it was because we didn’t see a POV from his young love, but this just didn’t work for me. But I did enjoy seeing John and Mel again and they were an integral part of the story.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Title: Whispering Rock

Blurb: In Carr's third Virgin River novel, Mike Valenzuela is on his way to visit family in L.A. when he learns that Brie, Jack Sheridan's youngest sister, has been raped and beaten by the defendant in a high-profile rape case she had unsuccessfully prosecuted. Mel, Virgin River's midwife, begins to suspect that a serial date rapist is preying on the girls of the community after plying them with drink and drugs, and soon Mike is on the case as Virgin River's constable.

Level of Steam: Not as steamy as the first two

My Thoughts: I don’t know if it was because I read them all together or not, but I had a lot of issues with this one. There wasn’t nearly enough time spent with the two main characters. Instead the story jumped here, there and everywhere - all over the place with way to many characters set up as sequel bait. In addition, we also had another young teenager in love and I had even more issues this time. The dialogue he had just didn’t work at all. Being the mother of two young men myself, I found myself rolling my eyes at many of the lines.

By the time I came to the end of this one, I was real ready to move onto something else where the men weren’t so perfect and the heroines weren’t all so wounded one way or another.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5

Series overall: I took the 3 grades, added and then divided by 3. See - I still remember a bit of public school math. The final grade: 3.333333 (and so on)

For those who like Catherine Anderson, these will probably work very well. They are Catherine Andersonish without the overabundance of sweetness.

I liked them, I’m glad I read them, but they aren’t keepers for me, although I can see the appeal for others.

I’m just too jaded I think to buy into this almost perfect Utopia that is Virgin River.

'til later

Books, books, wonderful books

You notice I haven't listed the books I picked up in Dallas yet. It isn't because I don't plan to. Oh, no. I plan to alright. The reason is because I shipped most of them back home. There were just too many to carry through the airports with, especially when I won that suitcase full. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will be there when I get home from work tonight.
Oh the fun and joy I will have cataloguing them in my own handy dandy spreadsheet and on LibraryThing. That should keep me happy and busy for hours.
I just hope that there isn't a nasty book thief lurking around the house ready to abscond with my treasures!

'til later

I'm at a bit of a loss

I've reached a bit of block as far as blogging goes. It's a week since Dallas - hard to believe it was that long ago now. I haven't really been reading much since I got back. I'm trying to get into one book but it's just not holding my interest that much. Not sure if it's the book or me. I hate when that happens.
I still don't have my books that I had shipped from Dallas yet. I'm not concerned though because the UPS guy did call and said it would be maybe Friday but probably Monday.
I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books so I haven't been to that party.
So this is really a blog post about not really blogging.
I do have a book I want to post about, but I'm not sure where I put it to reference.
I could do housework, but I'm not in the mood for that either.

I am at a stalemate.

Hopefully the creative juices or the reading urge or whatever it takes will be back shortly because usually I can ramble on endlessly but I've nothing to ramble about.

'til later

I think I overdid it blogging

But I wanted to get everything down. I still have one final thought, but it's Friday night and the brain goes to sleep on a Friday. It's even sleepier than normal this week so I should be back to normal tomorrow

'til later

And in other news

When I got back to work - on Tuesday - I was a bad little worker bee on Monday, I had an email from the HR department. I had passed my probation effective June 26!!!!!! That was such excellent news. Although I was pretty sure they would keep me on after, there is always that little niggle of doubt until it's a done deal.
And - with it effective June 26, that means I'll get paid for the week I went to Dallas. I wasn't sure if I would or not since I knew it was close to my probation date. And I get sick days so I'll also get paid for the bad little worker bee day. And now I have benefits.
The optometrist! The copious amount of drugs that old(er) age cause me to take. The dentist! I'll be making visits to all of them now!

'til later

Doing Dallas - The Good, The Not So Bad, and The We're All Jealous of Her Books

Sybil's turn! Warning - this is going to be mushy
Of all my roommates I 'knew' Sybil the best before I met them all. We are in a couple of the same yahoo groups and although it's been a while now, we used to 'talk' for hours on end. Ron was working afternoons and my evenings were so quiet. I'd would get on the computer and see if Sybil was around and if she was we'd while away the hours. Often times others would be there too. Nicole was there and Jay and sometimes Angie too. Candy often showed up and Maili, who we all miss like the devil. The fun we had teasing Angie about the ending of Passion by Liza Valdez.
Ron would come walking in around 11:30 and I'd still be talking. He'd watch TV for a while and I'd still be talking. He'd go to bed and I'd still be talking. I've always known I could tell her anything and it would stay between just us.
Sometimes we'd email each other back and forth at work although I always felt a wee bit guilty doing that at work.
Sybil, more than anyone else I knew online knew what I was going through.
So when I decided to go to Dallas, it was just as much to meet Sybil as it was to go to the RWA. I didn't tell her any of this stuff while we roomed together - I'm not good at being mushy and I'd probably cry through it anyway.
So when I saw that she and Jane were going to the RWA, I did something very unlike me. I kind of invited myself. And she made me feel welcome in joining them.
We were talking a few days before it was time to leave and she told me she had something to tell me. Me, being me, asked if it was good or bad. She replied it was bad, very bad. Naturally I believed her. I think she got quite a kick out of that *g*
They she said, no - it was that she had arranged for us to go out for lunch with Lisa Kleyas. I'm surprised she didn't hear me squeal all the way from Texas when I read those words. And it was Sybil that asked if I could come the the party.
Meeting Sybil, and Jane and Wendy was just as exciting as anything else that happened in Dallas.
My first impression of her - she was shorter than I imagined - heh heh. And I thought she would be blond for some reason. As you now know by Jane's pic's she's not.
I've always admired her boldness - I've never had that much. And she is honest and will tell it like she sees it. I greatly admire that too.
I don't know how many people who were at the RWA know this, but she was suffering from Migraines for a few days. Now I haven't had migraines but Ron did and I know how much he suffered from them. Yet Sybil carried on like a trouper. She was such a delight to hang around with and meeting her and the other roomies was Most Excellent!
On Sunday morning Jane and Wendy were the first to go. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Jane - she slipped out - I think that's her style. I gave Wendy a big hug as she left the room. That left Sybil and me together for a while. We didn't talk about anything earth shattering. I don't even remember what we talked about. But as it came her time to leave, I hugged her and didn't want to let go.
If I don't see you before, I sure hope we can hang again next year in SF - all of us. You guys all made the trip what it was.

Love Kristie

Doing Dallas - Those Special Moments

By the lack of posts today you can tell I went to work, back to the life of the little worker bee.

I had so many of those special moments I'd be blogging til midnight if I did each one separately so I'll try and get them all here. And probably continually editing as I remember more things!

Special Moment
Meeting Sybil (whose own post coming up shortly), Wendy and Jane. I couldn't have asked for better roommates and the fact that four of us shared a room for almost 6 days and didn't run into any kind of hogging the bathroom moment? Priceless.

Special Moment
I don't have a what I would consider a friendship with very many authors but there are two I've been emailing for a while now. When I decided to go to Dallas, I emailed both of them (with a bit of reservation - after all this was their time and their place and I didn't want to intrude) saying if they had time, I'd love to meet them. They both emailed me back almost immediately saying they would love to meet me. They are good friends with each other and we all got a chance to sit down and talk about all kinds of neat stuff. They are both envious of me 'cause I'm going to see Loreena and they're fans. So to Bonnie Vanak and Pamela Clare (I love also meeting your Mom - and right - Old Blind Dog) I loved meeting both of you!!!!

Special Moment
Going up to Tara Janzen at the publisher signing and after clearing my throat a couple of times, saying rather timidly "I don't know if you remember me...."
You see, I was reading her Crazy series when Ron was going through his chemo and radiation. While immersed in her Steele Street books, for a while I was able to forget what was going on around me. I sent her an email letting her know how they helped me cope. She emailed me back and then sent me an ARC of Crazy Love. It's front and centre on my bookcase upstairs with all my other Very Special Books.
When I said who I was, she said of course she remembered me, jumped out of her chair, hugged me and reached into a box at her side and gave me an ARC of On The Loose. She said she still had the email I sent

Special Moment
At the Random House party that Jane had an invite to, I worked up the courage to talk to The Judith McNaught. I told her she was an icon to us romance readers. We then talked for a while longer and she wanted me to go with her to get some finger foods. Someone else came up and started talking to her, and we never did go to get food together, but the fact that she wanted to with me was special.

Special Moment
At the same party, it was getting pretty crowded so I moved towards the back where it was a bit cooler and not so crowded. Suzanne Brockman was there with her husband and another gentleman. I didn't get a chance to talk to Suzanne, but I did have a very interesting conversation that lasted until we left with her husband.

Special Moment
Running into Alyssa at the bar and offering to buy her drinks for her. She refused although I wouldn't have minded at all. She was drinking water. I had also emailed Alyssa about getting together sometime, but alas, I was so busy for the whole thing it just didn't happen. But the time we did spend together was lots of fun.

Special Moment
Being invited to the Samhain breakfast and meeting Angie in person. She is so cute - just as cute as she is in all her pictures!

Special Moment
Getting to talk to Jaci Burton at the Samhain breakfast, the Random Publisher Party and then later having a real nice chat with her and Angie.

Special Moment(s)
The Harlequin Party. I almost wasn't going to go - I was pretty beat by that time. But I decided what the heck - this is a once in a lifetime time. There were so many incredible moments at that party. Making Wendy dance to Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield. You may recall I just put that video on the blog not long ago. I was hoping they would play Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams. I was going to make her dance to that too. But I don't think wild horses could have made her dance to Everything I Do by said Bryan. It was the first time I'd danced in over 2 years and if I do say so myself - I sucked big time at it.
Having Pamela Clare introduce me to her mother - that was special.
At one point I was sitting in a chair, chilling out when Jane came running over and grabbed me by the hand. She pulled me onto the dance floor where they were a number of women all dancing in a circle. And NORA ROBERTS was one of them!! (I'm still hoping for the day she will make a comment on my little 'ole blog. I showed a number of people the picture of us at work today that Jane took!)
Riding back to the hotel in a white stretch limo. I've only ridden in a limo once before and it didn't hold a candle to that one!

Special Moment
Learning how to use Jane's I-phone by the time the Rita Finalists were announced. I think the scaredest I was the whole week was when Jane said "You can do it, I know you can!" She obviously hadn't seen me try and work a cell phone - a simple one at that. And the sweet justification when Sarah who was sitting next to me leaned over and said she'd just got an email that the official RWA site had crashed and we were the only two giving live updates.

Special Moment
Meeting Leah Hultenschmidt an editor at Dorchester. She thinks Romantic Advances is a great idea and offered to help in whatever way she can. One of the reasons it was a special moment is because I have a real hard time finding many of the Dorchester books here in Canada. I've got quite a list of books that I want to buy but will have to order online. Now for me, it's not that big a deal because I do a lot of research on what is coming out so I can see what's up. But for readers here who don't go online, who buy on impulse, if the books aren't there, the books can't be bought. And what a loss for the reader (cause Dorchester has some mighty fine books and they are willing to publish in a number of genres), the author, whose sales will reflect that. Canada is a pretty big country! One time I checked out the biggest cities all across the country from Toronto to Vancouver just out of curiosity and the book in question wasn't anywhere, and let's face it, it's a loss for the publisher too. I waxed passionately about this.
One good thing about the conference was I did find the latest books I've been wanting to get at the RWA's so I went home a happy camper over that. But being able to talk to someone at Dorchester about that issue and Romantic Advances was oh so fun!

The Most Special Moment(s) of all
Going out for lunch with Lisa Kleypas. I already blogged about that - it's a time I'll always remember. And after that, whenever she saw me, she would stop what she was doing (once she was talking to Julia Quinn) and come over and hug me. I was at the Nora Roberts party when claustrophobia hit again and I had to go outside for a bit. Lisa was out there and she introduced me to her husband and her agent.

There are dozens more moments like that; each one of them frozen in my memory that I can take out and remember.

'til later

Doing Dallas - Dear Author

Jane's turn.
I was a little bit in awe at the thought of meeting Jane. I mean she is part of Dear Author - a powerhouse of a blog for it's short time in existence. And to be sharing a room with her - wowzers! But she is sweet and warm and generous and it was an honour to get to meet her. She left her computer running for any one of us to use.
And she has the most beautiful little girl in the world! And her hubby is pretty darn fine too!
And she actually trusted me with her I-Phone. And had the faith that I would be able to use it too! Me!! Ms don't get electronic devices! More on that later.
As Wendy (who is now reading Dreaming of You - LOL) mentioned we had a real fun late night discussion on the soul mate theme in romance. Jane and I both like it if done well.
It was wonderful meeting you Jane. And thanks once again for everything!

'til later

Doing Dallas - The Proof

This is the one and only pic I will put on the blog with me in it. Until and unless I loose a certain amount of weight that is.
It's only to prove that I did indeed meet The Nora.
Thanks Jane for sending it!

Doing Dallas - Networking

When I knew I was going to Dallas I wanted to do something important - not just be a tag-along kind of person. Although I did do great at doing tag-along. Then came Romantic Advances and I thought what a great way to get this website known!! The four of us debated back and forth about having business cards. I was strongly for it since (selfishly) in real life I'm just a little peon at work and I don't have business cards and I just wanted them and I thought at the RWA they would be a great tool. We discussed different ways of doing them and I'm pretty sure (and Jane can confirm this since she was the one had them made up) that she had Jennie's sister Julie Ree - AKA Twin, a graphic designer by trade as well as a fabulous sewer and other crafty things person, design the cards. This is the card and each of us had a bunch with our own names, email addy and our own blog as well as the Romantic Advances. Didn't Julie do a great job on them?
So one of the things I wanted to do in Dallas was tell as many people as I could about the Romantic Advances website.

**side note here**
Thanks to Wendy for adding it to the template on the sidebar. I'd been wanting to do this for a while but didn't know how - being the tech ignoramus that I am. I had no idea how to do it so she did it for me. Mucho gratis!

So I broke out of my shell and approached people and talked about the site. It helped that as a reader who likes to research what is coming out in the future, I adore the idea of a one-stop internet shopping place. Somewhere you can find everything you want without having to hop here there and everywhere. Everyone I mentioned the site to also thought it a great idea and eagerly took the cards.
It was a grand experience and even though I had my heart in my throat at everyone I asked if they wanted a card, I think, as a newbie at this kind of thing, I did a pretty decent job at networking and plugging Romantic Advances.


'til later

Doing Dallas - the bad

There is very little bad to say about the conference. In fact only one thing. I lost my digital camera on the second day. I tried not to panic about it and apply the Kristie rule - as long as I don't look to hard, it's not really lost. But by the fourth day I was looking hard and couldn't find it. I thought at that point I had two choices, continue to have a great time, or get totally upset and let it ruin my trip. I went for option 1.
But I am really upset about it for a number of reasons. I didn't get pictures of Dallas or any of the people I met. It had all my previous pictures still on it, all my Zina pics, those of Arthur the Dog, the library, the weather - every picture I've taken using it. Thank goodness I already downloaded them all to the computer. But still. Also that was a very expensive little camera. When I got it I purchased extra insurance but I don't know if that covers losing the whole thing or just if it's damaged. It wasn't quite expensive enough to put through on insurance though. If I do make a claim what with paying the premium and then paying higher insurance for just making a claim it's not worth it . I'll have to keep my fingers crossed when I go to Future Shop.
I did leave them my name, phone number and address at the hotel in case it shows up, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
So *sigh* those hoping for pics will have to check out other blogs like Dear Author or SB's.

'til later

Done Dallas

I'll get back to the Doing Dallas posts but this is something that happened after that I want to write down while the emotions are still fresh and tender.
Anyone who reads this even on a semi-regular basis may have picked up that I have two sons. Alas no daughters I could relate too - just strange alien males.
They are 26 and almost 29 now. I love them both equally but differently. I love them for their own selves each as different as night and day.
When they were little Ryan, the youngest, was the snuggler, the one who would hug and kiss his mama whenever I wanted/needed him too. But as he grew older and it slowly became apparent that he was the jock of the two and he was more like Ron while Brent was more like me, he slowly grew closer to his dad.
Ron and I split for a year while still working on our relationship. Ryan took it very hard. I was the one to leave and without going into detail, Ryan held some deep anger towards me and with justification I might add. Had I to do over, I would have still left for that year, but I would have done it differently. It was something I needed to do for me and when Ron and I got back together it was with a greater understanding for each other and a stronger better marriage. But Ryan didn't let go of his anger and there was a distance I couldn't seem to break through and inside I was devastated that I had lost that and always hoped we could get past it and build our mother/son relationship again. It's been slowly building since Ron's death, building one brick at a time.
Ryan was the one who picked my up at the airport when I got home. He asked if I had a good time and I started telling him about it. He said he wanted to hear all about it, but he'd left a party or something in order to pick me up and had to get back so he couldn't stay. He said he'd come back later and I could tell him all about it - once he had his earphones on because he really doesn't get my mania for romance. I said fine - that works, but I just had to tell him one thing. I'd been invited to an exclusive party Nora Roberts through. He was impressed by that since even he's heard of Nora. In fact not long ago he bought me a Nora Roberts book - just because.
Then (get out the kleenix) he asked if I had a good time and if I was planning on going to the next one in SF. I replied, yes, I think I will do that.
Then he said good, he wants me to travel and go to those conferences. It was something he didn't get but he knew how much I enjoyed it.
And then he said those magic words that make me cry.
"I'm proud of you Mom, I'm real proud of you for doing this for yourself"


(moment to recoup)


I can't begin to express how much that meant to hear that from him.

Now - to get away from weepy.
Sybil and Jane had gone to a luncheon where they were giving away cowboy hats. Neither one of them took them with them and when I asked Sybil about them, she said go ahead - take them. So I put them in my carry on luggage. When Ryan and I were driving home I routed through and pulled them out and gave him one. He put it on the dashboard of his truck. Back moment here. Ryan is always telling me about he and the ladies, how they all want his body and he's happy to oblige and that kind of thing. I think he does it to try and get me discombobulated or something, but I don't let on it doesn't work. So I thought what a hoot to turn the tables.
I picked up the cowboy hat and said "This will work great with the ladies. Keep it in the truck and they will all be wanting to try it on."
Then I told him that it would work another way. When he has one of his ladies in his bedroom, to use the cowboy hat as a prop to do a strip tease to get them going. Keep the brim down low; it's more mysterious like that and be sure to get a leather vest to go along with the outfit. And pick the right sultry country music to strip by. His ladies would love it.
He turned and looked at me and said he couldn't believe I was saying this to him.
I howled!

Now - back to further posts on Doing Dallas

'til later

Doing Dallas - Hunting Linda Howard

There's so much to tell about the week, I'll be rambling adnauseum I think. I planned to be methodical and do a daily report, but by now the days and events are all jumbled together in my head so it's almost impossible to itemize them by day. So this will be all a jumble up, mixed up series of fortunate events.

One of the things I wanted to do while I was there and after I had checked the author roster was at least say high to Linda Howard. I mentioned before that I rode up in the elevator with Ms. Howard. It was quite amusing though. There were a number of us in the elevator and one person asked Ms. Howard if she was Lisa Kleypas. Having already lunched with author Lisa, I knew it wasn't and was kind of scratching my head at the question. I mean Linda Howard is blond and author Lisa has dark hair. Someone else in the elevator knew it wasn't and when they recognized who she really was, said it was an honour to ride in the elevator with Linda Howard. I blurted out 'ditto' and then the elevator doors opened and I went down the hall mentally smacking my head.
"Ditto? You idiot." I thought. "You were in the same space with Linda Howard and all you could come up with was ditto?"
So after that I was determined to say something more rational if an opportunity arose. I was at the literacy signing when I walked by her but she was talking to too other people and I didn't want to interrupt. Another opportunity blown.
The next day or two days later - they are all blended - I was at one of the publisher signings when she walked by me. I was so tempted to turn around and follow her like a puppy dog and say something. By the time I went back and forth on what to do, I couldn't find her anymore. Nuts!
Finally though, I had my opportunity! I was sitting in a chair in the lounge area on the second floor when none other than Elizabeth Hoyt and Kalen Hughes came and asked if they could sit down with me. Does the sun come up in the morning??? There was also an agent or editor and my deepest apologies for not remember who or exactly what she did.
I had an opportunity to remind Elizabeth that I was the dufus who made a fool of myself in the elevator days earlier and she laughed. I then told Kalen how somehow I had managed to buy two of her latest books - so while I was thrilled to pieces to meet her, I didn't think I would pick up a third *g*. We then had a great discussion on the time period, the clothes, the fashions, reenactments which apparently Kalen participates in. My parents took us all to a fort when we were young - we live in an area where they have a number of preserved historical forts from the American Indian wars and when the States tried to attack Canada (they lost/we won, I'm over it now) and those were some of my favourite trips. That's why Colonial romance is one of my very favourite time periods and settings. That and Last of the Mohican's with DDL. (and another plug for Pamela Clare, one of the few authors publishing books in that time and setting)
It was a fascinating discussion and one I contributed too.
Another thing I loved about it was Elizabeth told me in more detail about her next series after The Serpent Prince comes out.
Well, as we were there who should come by but Linda Howard.
MY GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY - AND I TOOK IT BABY.
I told her, in a good non-gushing way I hope, how much I enjoyed her books and how very much I loved Blair Mallory. She smiled and said most readers either loved her or hated her. I replied I was in the 'love her' group. I then told her about my hardware visit where I asked the rather puzzled clerk if they had any pink hammers.
She laughed and said she does have a pink hammer.
So there you have it! Patience paid off and I talked to Linda Howard. I even made her laugh.

'til later

Doing Dallas - Wendy, Wendy, Wendy

See - I'm doing it!

I'm a bad little worker bee today. I'm supposed to go to work, but I'm just too exhausted to do it and on too much of a high. But I will interrupt this morning of sleep to do a quick post, then back to bed, then back to mega blogging.

One of the bestest thing about the conference was meeting, getting to know and spending time with Wendy, Sybil and Jane. I figure they each deserve their own post. Wendy - you're up first.

One of the most astonishing things about Wendy is she somehow escaped my Derek Craven radar. I spent the week asking if she had read such and such book and was surprised, amused and slightly horrified that she hadn't read them and I started a Wendy, Wendy, Wendy list. First off - SHE HASN'T READ DREAMING OF YOU!
One of the first reader blogs going and she hasn't read it. She promised me it would be her first book up when she got home, so everyone head over there and be sure to remind her of her promise. Tell her Kristie sent you. (boy it feels so good to link! It's so much easier on a computer I'm familiar with, no more hunting and pecking)
A list of other books contributing to the Wendy, Wendy, Wendy list
Ride the Fire by Pamela Clare
Lord of Scoundrels - Loretta Chase
Any Elizabeth Hoyt books
After the Night by Linda Howard
There's a whole bunch more but I really am tired and I'm headed back for more ZZZZ's (or what we would say here Zed's) soon.

Wendy really is a Super Librarian. She's a powerhouse as she orders fiction for 33 library's back in Orange County.
It didn't take long for me to appreciate her being so much taller than me. It made it so much easier to find her when I was looking for her.
I envied her that she didn't have to try and jump up to get into bed.
She didn't try and snuggle at night (at least with me) Wendy and I were bed mates - strictly platonic though.
She looks great in a black halter dress.
It was a thrill to meet her in person.

Well - I'm headed to my cozy little bed now but I'll be back later today.

'til later

Doing Dallas - Workshops

When I decided to go to the RWA conference, I downloaded the schedule of workshops and marked quite a few I thought I would visit.

Big Snort

I made one! That's it. One. There was just so much to do and so much to see. I think Sybil and Jane found the same thing. But the one I did get to was very interesting. It was a workshop on Author websites and how to make them work. The speaker was interesting and quite good. I think he started off with a bit of a problem though. He started off saying people could ask questions any time and there were a few questions that were pretty silly IMO. Someone asked if they should have separte sights if they wrote YA and Romantica. Daah. It was starting to get off track a bit until one brave soul suggested that maybe we should keep on track and after that it went very well. I didn't take notes but here's what I remember. Keep in mind this is for authors - not readers. But as a reader, I thought it was interesting.

Point 1
Have a blog.
Now I may be different from many readers but I don't follow author blogs very much at all. There are two that I visit on a regular basis and a couple that I visit from time to time. So I'm not sure about that one if you are trying to attract readers, at least for me. But if you are trying to attract agents or publishers, it might be a good idea. I am much more likely and I do, visit author web sites. It's not like I don't like author blogs, but I care more about the books than I do the author. I don't mean that in a negative way. But it's like say - a chocolate bar. I love a good chocolate bar, but I don't pay all that much attention to who makes it. So if your target for a blog is readers, I'm split. I, myself, don't go to them much, but some readers do. If your target is other authors and a networking tool - go for it.
He did caution though if you do start a blog, be careful it doesn't drain too much of your creative energy keeping up a blog that could be used in writing.

Point 2
Ways to increase readership
Have contests. I agree with this 100%. I love entering contests. But I actually did hold up my hand and make a point. If an author does hold contests, please, please, please be willing to ship internationally. There are a lot of readers around the world who would just love to win books but some authors only will ship to the US. I see this on a contest and I am really turned off. Pay that extra in postage if needed. You will gain more readers that way and it will be worth it in the long run.
He agreed with me *g*.

Point 3
If you do have contests, make it part of the contest to add a mailing list and make sure readers who enter it are aware they are also being added. I am starting to get a number of updates on authors in my email from entering contests and while I sometimes ignore them, sometimes I will click and read what they are sending. One person asked about making it a members only thing. He was neutral on that point - if you want to. But speaking for me - bad idea. If I have to join something(?) I won't. I don't mind automatically being put on a mailing list when entering a contest, but I won't if I have to submit passwords and all that other kinds of stuff.

Point 4
Update
He didn't have time to get into that very much. I wish it could have gone longer than an hour; I would have put up my hand again, brave soul that I was, but as a reader, it's vital to update.

Point 5
A lot of techincal jargon that I didn't understand about hosts and domains and stuff. But I do remember he said it was a good idea to have separate ones.

There's more, but it's after midnight and I'm almost asleep as I sit here so I'll edit and add in the am.

Doing Dallas - Day II continued

I'm not sure whether this should be Doing Dallas or Done Dallas since I'm home now. I'll probably have a shit load of posts so keep scrolling.
Since I've been wanting to blog about Day II I'll finish that one and then ramble about all kinds of other thoughts and stuff.

Before I begin settle down for a bit of back story - I'm going to ramble so grab a coffee or a drink - I myself have a been while I do this.

On Monday - getting ready before I left day, I procastinated with the best of 'em and didn't start packing until 3:30 at which point I noticed I had a problem. My big piece of luggage has a screw in handle instead of one of those ones that just pulls out of the top. I went to pack and noticed the handle was missing. I hadn't used it fpr a few years and it would have been like looking for a needle in a haystack. The basement is a mess with lots of the boys things. I could have spent hours looking for it instead of packing. After discussing the problem with sister Lisa she suggested I just go out and buy another cheap piece of big luggage. She'd been urging me to take a smaller piece but I knew I'd have books to bring back so I didn't want to do that. So I headed out in a huge thunderstorm to get the luggage. I got home packed, puttered around and headed to bed early as I had an early flight. I couldn't sleep though so I got up and gave one last look inside the first piece of luggage for the handle. And there is was *sigh*, the handle.

Now back to Day II
After the wonderful, special, Moment in Time, never to be forgotten lunch with author Lisa (and even that isn't enough to say - Jane, Sybil and I spent the rest of the conference marvelling about how down-to-earth, warm and friendly she is), I went back to help the set up for the literacy signing. They got a lot down while we were lunching with Lisa (I'll probably get obnoxious about that) but there were still books to be set up.
Once that was all finished I headed back to the room to freshen up, get a bag to carry them in and headed down with Wendy. I think she's blogged about it too. It was incredible. It was a ballroom sized room with I think over 450 authors signing books. We stood in line for a very long time, chatting with those around us. There were also people selling raffle tickets so we all bought some of them. The doors finally opened and we headed in en masse. I threw my raffle tickets into only a couple of prized that looked good. See - I'm not sure exactly what everyone calls it - I know it as a secret raffle where you put tickets into draws for prizes you'd like to win. I knew soon enough that it would pose a problem for me. It was such a huge event and there were so many people there and I suffer from claustraphobia in large crowds. I did pick up a few books but I didn't get very many since I was starting to feel the need to get out of there. I did go around a talk to some authors I had wanted to chat too, Pamela Clare and Bonnie Vanak (more on them coming up) and Alison Kent being three. When I had helped put out books I made note of a number I wanted to get, Amie Stuart being one of them since she was so nice when I'd met here earlier. But I knew I wouldn't be able to get them all. I stood in line to pay for the books I did get with a great deal of sadness knowing I didn't get more. But it was either get out asap - or have a nasty anxiety attack. I'd been standing in line for Quite Some Time and was almost at the check out when I heard my name over the loud speaker announcing I'd won but I didn't catch what. Since I only put in for two I knew I had a 50/50 chance of it being the one I really wanted. Just hearing my name made me giddy! I never win at those kinds of things. I paid for the books and headed over to claim my prize. Lo' and behold - it was the good one - the one I wanted the most. I wanted to do a happy dance right there but my happy dance it not a good thing to watch.
The prize? A mid-size piece of luggage. (giggle) I already have one that size but I figured it would be good to hold all the books I'd snagged so far and the ones I would be getting at the publishers GIVE-AWAYS - yep - that's right - give aways. I claimed my prize and headed outside for some fresh air. I looked at the luggage and noticed a piece of paper attached. It was a list of books.
"Couldn't be." I thought. I pointed it out to a couple of women out there, one of whom Really Wanted to win the same prize.
"Yep," she confirmed. It was filled with books!. I giggled like a mad hen. The luggage I wanted to win to fill with books was full of books. It was a prize valued at over $500 US which would be even more Cdn. It was the big prize of the night.
I headed up to the room to check it out more thoroughly and it was filled with 'em. Books and other neat stuff. At that point I knew I'd be shipping books home by courier.

So - Lunch with Lisa and winning the big prize all in one night. And this was only Day II!

It's the door story all over again. I now have two pieces of large luggage and two pieces of mid-size luggage.

More coming very soon!

Doing Dallas - Etc.

I still plan on doing a more in depth post of some of the stuff going on here and what I've done. But I have a moment quiet moment here so I thought I'd drop in. We're all in the room at the moment, Sybil and Jane are asleep and Wendy is reading and I'm - well - I'm blogging.
You see we are all resting up for the next big event. We are going to a - are you ready for this?
Special By Invite Only cocktail party hosted by non other that
Nora Roberts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jane told me yesterday that Sybil had arranged to get me in. The first thing I did was call sister Lisa, but damn! She wasn't in. So I had to leave a squealy squee on her voice mail. She called me back today and even she was excited for me and she doesn't read Nora.
I'm having SUCH a blast here!! I had a bit of a happy cry moment last night at a party held by Harlequin - more details on everthing coming soon.

And the books!! Sweet Betsy - the books!! I have So Many there is no way I could carry them all in luggage so I went to the courier place here in the hotel and had 2 big boxes shipped home. I don't know what it's going to cost - since they are crossing the border it works a bit different, but man oh man is it worth it. Am I going to have some great book give-aways since a lot of what I've picked up are books that don't appeal to me or I already have.

Well, I'm going to rest a bit now too - gotta look good at The Partee.

'til later

Doing Dallas - Miscellaneous

One of the toughest things is not being able to blog daily (or two or three times a day) about everything that is going on here. A very small part of me is dying to get home in front of the computer and get it all out and have everyone's eyes water at the length of the posts!

I wasn't sure whether to continue with my Dallas Days or take a detour and do some obnoxious name dropping. I haven't much time so I'll be obnoxious and everyone can live vicariously through me. I have quite a list and not much time - book signing were the books are FREE is coming up shortly but here is just a few names to drop - a taste as it were.

Jane, Sybil, Wendy and I sat for quite a while talking to Nalini Singh. She is a doll and such fun. She's on a month long tour of the US having come from New Zealand (along with an adorable accent). I wanted to ask her to bring me home with her. Not long after that Sandra Schwab dropped by and hung with us for a while. Now she had contacted me earlier, having noticed on Keishon's blog (sorry for the non-links - between little time and a lap top it would take to long) that I wasn't able to get her latest here in Canada and offered to send me one. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to it yet :( She also is very friendly and great to talk to. So once I told her my name, she knew who I was.
Sarah (of SB) sat down and joined us and Candy (of SB) breezed by for a bit.

I rode in an elevator with Linda Howard. I've walked by her a couple of times but haven't quite got up the nerve to say something to her.

I was outside talking to Jane Graves for a while. I had just finisher her latest book - Hot Wheels and High Heels and really enjoyed it.

Gotta run now - but I'll just a bit of a downer. These beds in this room are soooo danged tall! I'm quite short and I'm having a bit of a problem climbing up on them!


Now an upper -I look around the room and see all of the books we've all acquired and it is a truly awesome sight

I'll be back and do more Doing Dallas posts as soon as I can. I still have a whopper of a tale to tell about Day II



'til later

Doing Dallas - Day II

Do you ever have those days that are just so special you know you will remember them for the rest of your life? Day II was such a day.
Warning - gushing time coming
I didn't mention anything - one of those I didn't want it jinxed things, but Sybil - dear wonderful, extraordinary Sybil arranged for a lunch with Lisa Kleypas. This is what Sybil told me - that when Lisa heard I was coming to Dallas she wanted to take Sybil, Jane and I out for lunch. You probably already know we went from Jane or Sybil blog so this is just my thoughts. I was beyond excited at the thought. The day before I left I went out and bought a meet Lisa outfit. Of course I needed jewellry to go along with it. And a new faux blingy watch. I brought make-up specifically for lunch, perfume, the whole kit and kabudle!
Jane and Sybil were volunteering setting up the literacy signing in the am. I had told Sybil I would help to but she said the thought they had enough people so I just hung around and chatted to strangers and got up the gumption to hand out our Romantic Advances business cards (everyone thought what a great idea!) when Sybil called and said things were running slow and they could use my help.
Now keep in mind the people who told me Dallas has DRY heat lied! They lied, they lied, they lied. Dallas is like a blanket when you step outside. The hotel is wonderfully air conditioned but humidity does seep in. I went to help and it was hot, sweaty work.
We were supposed to meet Lisa (I can hardly believe I'm even typing these words) at noon, when Jane told me it was getting real close. And here I was hot, damp, sweaty - blech. I rushed up to the room, changed into my Lisa clothes, Lisa bling when the phone rang. Ack!! Now I was even more sweaty and I hadn't had time to put on makeup or perfume. But I couldn't make them all wait so I headed down feeling vastly unarmed.
What followed was a Moment in Time! Lisa was SO nice and SO kind and a truly special person. She is warm and unpretentious and it was such a wonderful time. We had wine and talked for a long time about all kinds of things. She even brought me a special gift that I keep looking at and smiling giddily over. The food was delicious and the restaurant was very elegant. I didn't say a whole lot - just took it all in. It was just a very special moment in my life.

More to follow 'cause the day stayed great and more stories to come

'til later

Doing Dallas - Day 1 continued

I thought I'd come back here for the rest since Jane is doing lot's of blogging on DA and doesn't really need me *g*.

Let's' see. When I left off I hadn't even hooked up with Wendy, Sybil or Jane yet. Wendy's flight was delayed so it was actually Sybil who got here first. I'm going to run out of adjectives - so bear with me for a bit. Sybil is a delight!! She's the kind of person who just says it like it is. I always admire that and wish I had more spunk like that without having to release Krisite. Her hair is gorgeous and she's as funny in person as she is on her blog.
Then about 5 minutes after she arrived at the room, Wendy showed up. Wendy is down to earth and oddly enough (I can say this because I already told her) has the strongest accent of all of us and she lived for years in Michigan which is why she cheers for the Tigers and isn't all that far from where I grew up.
And she is much taller than me. I didn't expect that *g*. But she's fun to talk to and never at a loss for words.
We went down to the bar after a while and waited for Jane. Her flight had been doubly delayed so she was quite late arriving. In the meantime, Alyssa walked by and Sybil recognized her and called her over. It was a great time all talking and getting to know each other.
Then finally Jane arrived. Now I'm going to be honest here and say I was a bit intimidated about meeting her. I mean this is one half of Dear Author - a power in the reader blogging world. Nora Roberts herself often comments there. But Jane is as sweet and honest and funny as can be. Right off the bat all intimidation disappeared!
So I'm happy as a clam (and never doubted it anyway) but I have really great roomies while I'm here in Dallas.
I'm signing off for now - I'm on Jane's laptop and Wendy and I are headed for lunch shortly.
The rest of the evening went very well. I made Alyssa laugh which is always a good thing when people thing I'm funny. That's what I aim for. It was a wonderful first day in Dallas.
I haven't had a check to check Wendy or Sybil or Jane's posts yet, but when I blog about Doing Dallas - Day II it's going to be a good one because yesterday (this is day III now) was a Very Special Day.

'til later

I'm guest blogging at Dear Author today on my experiences at the RWA conference. Jane very kindly is letting me borrow her laptop.
See you there.

All my bags are packed
I’m ready to go
I’m standin here outside my door
I’m glad to wake this morn to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin'
Its early morn
The taxis waitin'
He’s blowin his horn
Already I’m so happy
I could cry

Chorus

Cause I’m leavin' on a jet plane

Dont know when I’ll be back to blog

Oh babe, I’m glad to go

'til later

Squeeee!!!!! And it just keeps getting better!

I called my sister at work this morning - almost dancing in excitement. We talked for a bit and then hung up.

She just called me to see if I would be interested in going to see Loreena McKennitt in concert in September.

OMG, OMG, OMG Yes!!! I LOVE her music!!

Here's a sample

Oh shit!! I'm bouncing!!

'Tis my turn at Reader's Gab over at Access Romance

'til later

Accckkk - I can tell I'm getting excited! I can't seem to concentrate enough to play Free Cell anymore! I'm down to Solitaire.

What a time for it to come back

For years I used to read a book in about a day and a half. The reason why my 'library' is so huge is because I could read that fast and it's full of books I whipped through in no time. But for the past couple of years my reading has slowed considerably. It's not surprising with everything, but it did bother me. I kept buying books - almost at a frentic pace - knowing they wouldn't get read for a long while. But in the past 3 days I've read 3 books - something I haven't done in a very long time. But the trouble is - I don't have time to do it now! I have to get ready to leave first thing Tuesday morning. There is all kinds of things I have yet to do, but all I want to do is read!
So - hopefully I'll be able to put the book down and at least wash my clothes, get my suitcase packed, get the garbage out, feed the cat, clean out the litter box, call the airport, call for a cab, clean the house, turn the air conditioner way down, pluck my eyebrows (andmychinhairseww) etc, etc,

Going back to the book now, I'll do those things in a few minutes. Right after I blog hop for a bit.
Procastination - *sigh*

'til later

A bit of a surprise

One of the great things about having my handy dandy spread sheet is I can tell in a blink of an eye different kinds of interesting facts that I would forget without it. Sybil recently asked about the last historical we read. I quickly looked it up in my spreadsheet and was surprised that so far this year I’ve only read three of them! When I first started reading romance that was pretty much all I read until I started branching into other genres. Out of curiosity, I did a breakdown of the books I’ve read this year and it looks like this:

9 – Romantic suspense

7 – Paranormal

6 – Westerns

3 - Historicals

3 – contemporary

3 – Harlequins

2 – Science Fiction Romance

1 - Medieval

1 - Funny

1 –1940's Setting

1 – Viking

What happened to me and historicals and why am I reading so few of them? It’s not that I’m still not buying them; I have a ton of them sitting in the TBR pile

First off – my reading is why down compared to previous years. There are a number of reasons – some of which I don’t want to get into.

But as for the decrease in the number of historicals I’m reading – it could be a number of reasons I think. I find it harder and harder to identify with the sweet young thing heroines as I get older. I tend to think 18 and 19 year olds a little hard to relate to now that my own sons are in their later 20’s. And I often find their innocence a bit, well, tedious.

Another thing keeping me from reading them at the rate I used to is so many of them just seem the same old, same old. By now the number of well of handsome eligible dukes etc should be just about run dry and that seems to take me out of a book.

Still – I should make more of an effort to read more of them considering I have them.

What did surprise me though is the number of romantic suspense books. I didn't realize I had read that many! And I need to read more medievals and westerns. Good thing I have them on hand

'til later

Recent Reads

The Templar's Seduction by Mary Reed McCall

Why this one: Dear Author had a recent post highlighting the good things that authors do. Karen S got in the act too.
Authors also do little things that don't get much notice. Such is the case with Mary Reed McCall. We got into a bit of a debate on a message board not long ago. She later contacted me and said she enjoyed it and would I like an ARC of her latest book? Never one to turn down a free book, plus being quite impressed with her offer since we did disagree on a certain subject, I said sure! And sure enough she sent me a copy. I have so many books that this one remained unread for a while. When I noticed that Jennie had purchased it jolted me into reading it.

Amazon Blurb: Only a lie will save his life....
Sentenced to the gallows for trying to sell the treasures of the Knights Templar, Sir Alexander de Ashby has one chance for survival. The scoundrel must impersonate the late Earl of Marston, to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance, and infiltrate the lord's border castle. But first he must convince the earl's beautiful Scottish bride that his rightful place is in her bed.

But only love can save his soul.

Relieved that the story of her long-absent husband's death was false—and enticed by a wild, sensuous side of him she had never experienced before—Lady Elizabeth cautiously welcomes "the earl" back into her heart, unaware that the breathtaking imposter intends to vanish. But escape may be impossible even after his secret is revealed. For now Alexander burns for the proud, remarkable lady . . . and desires nothing more than to live—and die, if he must—for a glorious love born of deception and sin.

Level of steam: This one boiled very nicely

My thoughts: When done right, a medieval is a wonderful genre to read. When done wrong, it can be dreadful. Ms. McCall really does this wonderfully right!!

Elizabeth was a terrific heroine. Left to defend her husband's castle for five years while he was held in captivity, she showed a wonderful ingeniousness that helped keep it out of the hands of those who would attack. Much of the time, I don't pay all that much attention to the heroine unless she is done badly - then the book is ruined for me. But in this one, I loved Elizabeth's spirit.

And Alex was a great hero. I haven't read her previous books in the series (and it didn't affect my enjoyment of this one at all) but Alex wasn't that great a guy when the book first started. He was pretty self-centered and a bit of a coward at dealing with mistakes he had made. But he slowly begins to find a conscious and seeing him transformed into a true hero really made this a Very Good Read.

I also thought she did an excellent job of getting down the 'feel' of the time. I find that more important in the medieval genre than in most others. And I 'felt' this one.

It was with a bit of a bittersweet feeling that I finished this one. You see the author is taking a hiatus from writing medieval romance. And darn it all - just when I found her! But she does have a number of other books and I will be seeking them out. In fact I was at Chapters the other day - they still have their buy 3 get one free sale going - and picked up the second one Sinful Pleasures.

Jennie - once you get moved and unpacked - you have to give this one a read!

Grade: 5 out of 5

Shadowhawk by Jill Shalvis

Why this one: I’ve mostly quite enjoyed her books. I love all her heroes although a couple of her heroines haven’t worked for me. And I didn’t buy it for the cover. Really – I didn’t!

Level of Steam: The burner won’t have to be on too long for this one

Cover blurb: When his latest mission turns into a bloodbath, ATF officer JT Hawk realizes he’s been set up by someone at the top. Wounded and on the run, he has no choice but to take beautiful Abby Wells hostage. After all, she’s in danger too. And if the only way to keep the fiercely independent communications expert safe is to cuff her and bring her along for the ride, he’ll do it. With pleasure even.

Only, given their close contact, it’s not long before Hawk’s thinking about a totally different kind of pleasure….

My thoughts: I’d say I was pleasantly surprised at this one - but I’ve read and really enjoyed her books before so I wasn’t really surprised that I really enjoyed this one.

For a Blaze, the sex wasn’t front and centre – but then that is one of the things I appreciated about this book. Instead Ms. Shalvis took the time to develop the character more than is done in some Blaze books.

Hawk and Abby share a mutual lust for each other but Abby was traumatized in an earlier incident and as a result keeps herself well buttoned up around Hawk to whom she is strongly attracted too. He is puzzled by this as most women find him pretty irresistible. But eventually she overcomes her issues and the love scene is quite fine.

There is also a nicely done secondary romance and I was quite impressed that considering series books have a smaller word count, it felt complete and I wasn’t left feeling it was missing something.

I don’t buy a lot of Blazes, but I will make a point to continue buying Ms. Shalvis’.

Grade: 4 out of 5

And in other news - it's not long now!! I'm trying hard not to think about the Upcoming Trip. I have to be able to focus at work and if I spend too much time thinking about it - well, I'll lose all concentration. But come tomorrow night baby - well - it will be time to let that anticipation run amok!

'til later

Recent Reads

Midnight Run by Lisa Marie Rice

Why this one: Well – I knew it was a series and I took a gamble that I would like them and ordered all three of the Midnight books

Amazon Blurb: Clair Parks has been very sick, but she’s fine now – just fine and ready to pain the town red. Well, pink. On her first excursion into the wild world of dating, she nets Bud, a tall, sexy, gook-looking lumberjack. She won him fair and square, her prize for not dying. But after a weekend of wild sex, she discovers he’s not what she thinks he is. Undercover police officer Lieutenant Tyler, “Bud” Morrison can’t believe his eyes. What’s a ‘princess’ doing in a dance club know for it’s rough trade? She needs rescuing, and rescuing women is what Bud does best. He saw Claire first-finders keepers. After a weekend of the hottest sex he’s ever had, he’s definitely keeping this one. When trouble comes her way, he pulls out all the stops to protect her. Except Claire doesn’t want Bud at her back. She wants him in her bed

Level of Steam: Whew! This one boiled the kettle dry in no time!

My thoughts: I liked this even better than the Midnight Man. It was hotter for one thing. The hero Tyler “Bud” Morrison is a cop undercover in a real dive. He’s instantly smitten and in deep lust with Claire Parks our rather innocent young heroine who after years of living as an invalid is ready to experience life to its fullest. And this includes loosing that pesky virginity.

“No, no!” You’re thinking, “Not a virgin heroine!”

Yes – she is a virgin, but I thought the reasons perfectly believable. Although she was innocent she wasn’t naively stupid.

And I liked Bud even better than John, the hero in Midnight Run. He was alpha without the slight obnoxiousness some of them can have. And he became a real dufus part way through, much to the annoyance of Claire. This one also had a couple of funny moments that the first one didn’t and I’m all for the funny spots.

So far I’m quite pleased with this series. I did start the third one Midnight Angel, but either I wasn’t liking it as much or the storylines were too similar because after barely getting started, I put is aside for a while to read something different. It’s not always a good thing to read back to back to back books in a series by the same author.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

In Darkness Reborn by Alexis Morgan

Why this one: I’ve read the first two in the series and really liked them. They are paranormal without the vampires

Back Cover blurb: Once a warrior for the Others, Barak q'Young is caught between two worlds—exiled from his homeland, and a pariah among his enemies, the Paladins. While hunting a betrayer who's selling the precious blue gems that light the Others' world, Barak must aid geologist Lacey Sebastian in her research for the Paladins. Barak is instantly drawn to the fiery, beautiful woman, but Lacey initially despises the enemy intruder. Soon she sees beyond his violent past, though, finding the dark warrior intriguing—and extremely sexy.

Though neither can resist the passion that blazes between them, Barak is torn between loyalties, hiding a secret gift that could prove useful to Lacey's research, at the sacrifice of his own people. But when Lacey is kidnapped and held hostage, Barak realizes that he will do anything to save her . . . even risk his own life.

Level of Steam: it would make a steaming cup of coffee – best with Bailey’s added

My Thoughts: I’d been looking forward quite eagerly to this one ever since we got to see Barak in the first book, Dark Protector. He came from the other side and supposedly is one of the bad guys. But he save the heroine in that one so he wasn’t as bad as they thought he was. He popped up again in Dark Defender and I think everyone who has read this series has been waiting for Barak’s book.

First off - I liked this book. I recommend it, and I will keep buying the series. But I was disappointed. Alexis Morgan has done a decent job of world building and explaining the purpose of the Defenders. But so far she has barely touched on the people the Paladins are defending the world against. We are three books in now and know nothing about them. I was hoping to learn more about them in this book but alas – we learned next to nothing. It wasn’t until fairly near the end of the book that we even got a glimpse of why Barak is willing to stay in this new world he has entered. She really gives us no insight into his history.

Still – as I said I enjoyed this book. Barak is kind of a sad hero. He is living in a place where he is despised by almost everyone and he is very much alone. He doesn’t think he is good enough for the heroine, Lacey Sebastian, in this one. Lacey is forced to work with Barak. After her initial hatred of hatred begins to dissolve, she begins to see him as a person in his own right – not just an enemy of the people she has grown up with. I didn’t think her character was quite as good as say Laurel Young in Dark Defender, but Barak more than made up for it.

As I said, I liked this one and I’m certainly anxious for the next one, which looks like it might take place on the other side where we may finally get some answers. But if you’re looking for insight into the Others – this book doesn’t give them

Grade: 4 out of 5

'til later

Tis Robin's turn at Reader's Gab at Access Romance and she has a great post that reminds us why we all love romance. Be sure and check it out.

There are always exceptions

I've made myself clear on my dislike of man-titty/heaving bosom type covers, but there are always exceptions.

This is one of those exceptions.

'Cause I can be shallow, I know I'll buy this one based on the cover.

Also - she is the perfect example of an author who needs to update her website. I went looking to see more on what the book was about so I could say it's not strictly shallowness. This is the only one I could find and it appears to be 7 YEARS out of date!!



And reason not to feel to shallow - I do have three other of her books. I haven't read them mind you - but I do have them.



'til later

Rant of the day

If anyone is a regular blogger in the romance world, they’ve probably been aware of some of the nastiness/nuttiness that goes on at times. I’m not going to link to any of the recent going-ons because to be honest, while I’ve kind of been following it, a part of me is annoyed that I do.

But one thing that really makes me crazy is all the anonymous posters – the people who don’t have the guts to give their names. If they are going to contribute to the train wrecks that happen every so often, at least don’t hide behind the spineless stand of anonymity. If they are people who are worried about any backlash, then they should just keep their thoughts to themselves instead of branding themselves gutless.

I don’t get that kind of traffic here as I’m pretty non-controversial but if I were, I know I’d be tempted to delete any comments that were posted anonymously.

If they have the convictions they seem to, at least have the cojones to put a name to their thoughts. It's pretty easy to sling their shit and not stand up to the fact that they did it.

If I have anything to say, I’m going to attach my name to it. I wish these cowards would do the same.

And that’s my rant for the day.

'til later

I got so many

that as Nath reminded me, I forgot to mention a few.

Here are a more that shoved out the shoes

I really enjoy her books so I'm always on the look-out for her back list. I thought I scored with this one, but I already had it so I passed it on to Ames







And this one I didn't realize until I got home that I already had it *sigh*









I used to read this author a lot and she sort of dropped off my list for no real reason. I know she is one of Ag's favourite authors so I had to pick it up. Right?








And I've really been enjoying this series so when I saw the lastes one, I just had to pick it up! I've already read it and I'll post my thoughts on it soon.








And in other news, it's a long weekend so I invited myself to Lisa's for the weekend. That means........dial-up. So if I don't get a chance to post for a few days - have a good weekend everyone.

'til later

BLOG ALERT!!!!! BLOG ALERT!!!!!!

Nath has the pictures and movies up that she took at Medieval Times.

Now remember - our knight was The RED Knight - the one who is throwing out flowers. And he's also the one in the final battle scene.