Author Spotlight for April

This month’s author spotlight is another author who started in romance and moved onto another genre. Probably more readers have read her books as she started writing in 1997. Sadly she left romance behind in 2003 after only seven romances, but she still remains one of my top authors and in my opinion a great writer for April’s Author Spotlight.

The author in question:

Candice Proctor

I discovered Ms. Proctor when her first book was released in 1997.

Night in Eden

Bryony Wentworth's life is shattered when she is convicted of manslaughter and transported to New South Wales in 1808. Sentenced to indentured servitude, she is given to Hayden St. John. A hard, embittered man left with an infant son by the death of his gentle wife, Hayden has little but contempt for the muddy, vermin-ridden convict on whom he must rely. But Bryony is a survivor. As they journey through the outback to Hayden's rugged station, Bryony rediscovers her own strength even as Hayden finds his salvation and rebirth in a love as forbidden and dangerous as the land that surrounds them.

Against the sweeping panorama of a harsh, gorgeous, and unforgiving land, two hungering souls learn to trust, to love, and to triumph over the danger that will shadow their lives--until destiny and desire become one.

I was captivated by Ms Proctor from the first. Night in Eden is a haunting kind of tale with a very damaged heroine. Byronny Wentworth was transported to New South Wales on the charge of murder. Pregnant while on route, during the voyage, she lost her baby. Not only that but she was forced to leave her other daughter behind. Her indenture is purchased by Captain Hayden St. who needs her as a nursemaid to his young motherless son.

If I had to compare Byronny to another heroine, the closest match I can think of is Rachel Wade from Patricia Gaffney’s To Have and To Hold. Both heroines start off their stories pretty defeated.

I loved this book and I knew after I finished it that this was an author I would be watching out for. And I wasn’t the only one blown away by this debut. Both The Romance Reader who gave it 5 stars and All About Romance who gave it an A and DIK status loved it too.

So when I spotted her next book in 1998:

The Bequest,

I couldn’t buy it fast enough. Much to my surprise, it was a Western.

What's a girl to do?! When the mother she never knew bequeaths a boomtown bordello and a too-sexy, too-cynical business partner to convent-bred beauty Gabrielle Antoine, she does what any sensible woman would do--she plays the piano in the parlour while her "girls" entertain their "guests." Determined to send the virtuous Gabrielle scurrying back to New Orleans, her new partner, gambler Jordan Hays, embarks on a mission to open her eyes to the seamier, steamier side of life found on the frontier, shocking her to the core with his fiery kisses and caresses that stir unfamiliar, but far from unpleasant feelings in Gabrielle. Much to everyone's surprise, especially Jordan's, Gabrielle refuses to sell out to the unsavoury rival who operates a string of gambling dens and whorehouses under deplorable conditions and who murdered Gabrielle's mother to get his hands on Celeste's Place, the grandest brothel in Central City, Colorado. Now in danger, Gabrielle finds herself under the protective wing of Jordan, the loner whose heart has been locked away since experiencing unspoken atrocities during the Civil War. But Gabrielle's innocence and determination stir Jordan's long-lost sense of chivalry, while her beauty stirs his slumbering libido. And Gabrielle is swept away by the depth of her passion for the rugged Jordan. The gambler and the ingénue join forces to fend off a hostile takeover and to search for a lost gold mine, falling in love along the way.

While this one didn’t strike quite the same chord as Night in Eden, I did really enjoy it and Ms. Proctor was firmly on my auto-buy author list.

Her next book published in 1999,

September Moon

once again was set in early Australia

The Englishwoman... Accepting a job as governess in the wilds of the Australian Outback is the only way Amanda Davenport can earn passage home to her beloved England and away from this rugged, frightening place she hates. Despite her fears, Amanda finds herself gradually drawn to this wild, primitive land as she rediscovers the joys of laughter and love and the irresistible passions of the heart.
The Australian... As he struggles to bring up three irrepressible, motherless children on an isolated station plagued by all the dangers of South Australia in 1865, the last thing Patrick O'Reilly wants is a prudish spinster complicating his life. But it's not too long before he begins to suspect that Miss Davenport is not exactly what she seems.

This book was another winner for me and I’ve read it more then once though not for a while and it kept her firmly on my auto-buy list. I’m not the only one who loved this one. TRR gave it a great review as did AAR.

With her next book in 2000:

The Last Knight,

Candice Proctor once again took a bit of a detour and wrote a Medieval. As I love medievals, when I saw this I was delighted.

A betrothed young noblewoman fiercely loyal to her family and king, Attica d'Alerion is forced to disguise herself as a courtier and ride bravely into danger to warn her brother Stephen of a political betrayal that could lead to war.

Damion de Jarnac is the black knight, a rogue horseman bound by no code of honor except his own ambition. Working for the aging King Henry II, Damion scouts the hills of Brittany on a dangerous mission to expose the treachery of Philip of France. There he joins forces with a courageous lad—who turns out to be the most intriguing woman he has ever met. But to win the beautiful Attica's love, Damion must slay the demons of an unforgivable past. And to save his doomed King, he must make a deadly decision that could break his lady's noble heart.

A haunting tale of passion and redemption as one man's quest for glory becomes an unexpected crusade to save his soul...

With some of her books, it’s been a while since I’ve read them, but I did reread The Last Knight a couple of years ago and l loved it just as much as the first time. Again, both TRR and AAR gave it excellent reviews.

And then we come to 2001 and…..

Whispers of Heaven

After years of schooling in England, Jesmond Corbett returns to her family's estate along the coast of Tasmania. Betrothed since childhood to a wealthy neighbour, Jessie comes home determined to conform to the expectations of her family. But nothing in Jessie's life has prepared her for the mysterious stranger who works in the stables, a man with searing eyes who haunts her dreams and awakens passions she never knew existed.

Irishman Lucas Gallagher arrived on the island in chains, a convict sentenced to a lifetime of labour for the English gentry. For four years he has lived a dead man's existence, using every spare moment to plan his escape. But when he meets Jessie, she touches his cold, angry heart. And although their love has no future, he finds himself unable to deny the longings that threaten to destroy what may be his last chance to reach for freedom ....

If you look to the left on my sidebar, you will see that Whispers of Heaven is on my all time top five book list and considering all the books I’ve read, that speaks loud and clear on what I think of this book. I’ve read and reread it a number of times now it’s one of those books calling me to read it again. Now I’m sure it will be shouting at me as will all her other books. In polls of favourite heroines, Jesamond Corbett is always the one I choose. I can’t begin to tell you how much I adore her and how brave I think she is. Whispers of Heaven is one of those rare books I hated to see end and in my head I couldn’t let it end and have a few more adventures of Jessie and her Lucas. This one wasn’t reviewed at AAR – a tremendous oversight and I’ve been tempted for a while now to send in one of my own to them. But TRR have a wonderful five star review and capture many of my thoughts on this, one of my all time favourite books.

Her next book in 2001,

Midnight Confessions

again takes another detour in it’s setting.

The year is 1863, and in occupied New Orleans, a young French widow and confirmed pacifist devotes herself to the sick and injured of a grand city now under the heel of a harsh enemy. Then a bizarre death in one of the city's cemeteries puts Emmanuelle de Beauvais at the center of a murder investigation and under the watchful eye of Yankee provost marshal Zachary Cooper. As much as she despises the man's uniform and the war of which he is a part, Emmanuelle finds the man himself difficult to resist.

A career cavalry officer sidelined by a battle wound, Zach Cooper has never been so intrigued by a woman. Even as Emmanuelle veils every truth with layers of lies, Zach finds himself undeniably drawn to her. Torn between passion and duty, Zach must uncover the dark secrets behind a series of murders that threaten to ensnare Emmanuelle in a menacing web...

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work quite as well for me as her previous books. I’ve only read it the once though when it first came out and I feel I need to read it again sometime – to see if it was just the mood I was in when I first read it. And it did still garner a B- at AAR.

And then we come to her final romance book published in 2003

Beyond Sunrise.

Can life ever be a real adventure without falling in love?

Ever since she can remember, India McKnight has craved adventure and dreamed of lands past the horizon. Following her calling, she becomes a travel writer, vowing never to risk her freedom by falling in love. But when she sails to the exotic and unknown regions of the South Pacific, a rugged man brave enough to be her guide just may be the one who can lay claim to her heart.

Having turned his back on the "civilized" world long ago, Australian Jack Ryder lives in seclusion, hiding from the pain and betrayal buried in his past. When a hardheaded Scotswoman arrives at his hut looking for a guide, he agrees to take her to the island of Takaku—despite the challange—just to prove her stubborn theories about native life wrong. But when their journey turns dangerous, their fates become forever entwined. Chased by cannibals and the British army, forced to rely on each other for their very survival, they soon discover that passion and even deeper peril await them...just beyond the sunrise.

But the good news is it was a return to the earlier style that I loved – and I loved this book!! India is a great heroine, but it’s really Ryder that made this book so special and along with just about all her books, I highly recommend it – as does AAR who gave it another A grade and a DIK.

Now as an author, Candice Proctor is still around but these days she is writing as C.S. Harris and is writing a rather intriguing sounding historical mystery series, the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries.

And once again – what can an Author Spotlight be without a chance to win a couple? I have a copy of the wonderful Whispers of Heaven and the delightful The Last Knight.

I will make the draw a week from today, Thursday, April 23.

I saw this last night

And it's truly heartwarming!!! It's making the rounds and well deservedly so.

As this is my favourite musical and this song in particular - you can imagine how much I love this.

It's embedded by request so instead I'll just post the link - go see

It's my turn

I'm up at Reader's Gab over at Access Romance today. And since I'm on the early shift and I slept in - gotta run now.

And the winner

of the first Oopsie book is....

I'm doing this live here. I know that makes no sense if you aren't sitting right beside me, but I've entered all the names in Random.org and whichever name comes up Number 8 ('cause that's the month I was born in and everyone seems to pick seven for some reason)

Now I'm about to hit Randomize and......

Number 8 is.......

Rosie!!

Email me with your addy and the book will be in the mail lickity split.

Recent Reads

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

Why this one: It’s Lisa Kleypas – nuff said

Level of Steam: I might put it back in the microwave to make it hotter – but not for the required length of time

Blurb: As advice columnist “Miss Independent,” Ella Varner thought she had all the answers, but when her sister, Tara, leaves her brand-new baby with their mother and then disappears, Ella discovers that problems in the real world are not quite as easy to solve as those in print. Ella’s mother insists that she come and deal with the situation, since the very idea of her being a grandmother will ruin her social life. When Ella arrives in Houston, her first goal is to find the baby’s father—one of Tara’s friends believes it’s millionaire Texas real-estate developer Jack Travis. When Ella shows up at Jack’s office, she is surprised to discover that not only is Jack more considerate than she imagined—especially since he insists the baby is not his—but way sexier than she thought possible.

My Thoughts: I loved the first two books in this series Sugar Daddy and Blue Eyed Devil and I loved this one, but it didn’t give me the same kind of emotional punch that the first two did. And for the first time in the series, I missed Jack’s POV. In the first two, the heroine was dynamic enough and interesting enough that I didn’t notice the lack of the hero’s POV but not so in this one.

Don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed it – but not quite as much as the first two. You can find all kinds of reviews in blogland so I thought I’d go different and just post my ‘what worked’ and ‘what didn’t work’ thoughts.

What Worked

Jack. Another great Travis hero, I loved how he stepped right up and helped Ella out with baby Luke. Even though he knew Luke wasn’t his son, he was more than willing to do anything Ella needed.

That even though he said Texas men liked missionary – he also liked it other ways – heh heh heh

Ella. I thought she was a great heroine. She seemed to be the opposite of every other woman that Jack dated and I like that she wasn’t taken in (too much) by his wealth and position. She was practical and I liked that about her. I love how much she loved Luke.

I like how she overcame her past. Living with a mother like hers wouldn’t have been too easy.

And I loved her reaction to the steak dinner she had with Jack *g*

What didn’t work

I was somewhat uncomfortable with the whole set-up of Luke’s father. They hypocrisy of it all bothered me and the fact that despite what was planned, he was going to get away with it all.

Tara. I just did not like her character. I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to feel for her; whether we were supposed to dislike her or feel sorry for her and I would have liked to be either a little more likeable or a little less likeable. And I really despised her plans for the future.

I know I’m being very vague here but I don’t want to give spoilers and hopefully those who have read the book know what I’m talking about and those who haven’t plan to some time.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Once an Outlaw by Debbi Rawlins

Why this one: It’s a Western and a Time Travel and a Blaze which are hotter than some of the other lines Harlequin has to offer. I love both those genres so I snapped it up. What put it on the top of the list was the review I read at Dear Author and the fact I’m way behind in my reading and reading a Harlequin books is nice and quick.

Steam Level: Though it takes this one to come to a boil, once it does, it’s nice and steamy.

Blurb: In the rough-and-tumble town of Deadwood in 1876, cowboy Sam Keegan is about as hard as they get. Considered a real sexy piece of man by the local womenfolk, Sam runs the town livery stable. And he was last seen in the company of a pretty gal in a wedding dress, Reese Winslow…who escaped one of the local brothels!

The little lady claims to be a doctor—from the future, no less! Beware of her, as she's causing no end of problems. Mostly for Sam, who is real skittish about the law. But trouble or not, the man can't seem to stop himself from wanting Reese…and learnin' firsthand what women from the future like to do with hot, hard cowboys!

My Thoughts: First off – who on earth wrote that back cover blurb? It’s awful and doesn’t really portray the book at all!!!

Series books are shorter and as Wendy pointed out in her review of this one at The Good, The Bad, The Unread, it really could have done with about 20 more pages, but nevertheless, I really enjoyed it.

When Reese finds herself back in the past, in the Western town of Deadwood, in a brothel no less, she finds it hard to take in at first. That only makes sense. But once she escapes from the brothel, she is offered sanctuary by Sam Keegan. What a yummy hero he was. And no – there was nothing in the book about all the womenfolk considering him a real sexy piece of man. That part is just made up on the back and stupid as far as I’m concerned. Sam is a great, typical, Western kind of hero and an example of why I love the genre so much. He is tormented still by the actions he was forced into at the end of the Civil War and as a result sees himself as a bad person. But Reese and the reader know that he isn’t; that he is a caring, protective, gentle and a very fine hero.

While it takes him a while to believe Reese and her wild story of coming from the future, eventually he believes it.

For the shortened length for me this one really packed a nice wallop. This is the second Blaze book in a row that I’m giving a high grade on. And since it was out in March and this is now April, the sequel dealing with Ellie, Reese’s younger sister is out and is my current read. Although written by a different person, I am enjoying it too – and best of all there is a third book in this ‘Stolen from Time’ line coming in May.

So if your are looking for a pretty good Time Travel, a pretty good Western and a book that can be read in a day and up your reading numbers, then this is the one for you.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

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And while playing with the new blogger - and with Lea's poll in mind, I have a poll on the right. Boy are they ever easy with this new blogger layout!!

Crusader Alert!! Crusader Alert!!

Leah of Closetwriter has a contest going for the best kissing scene and Crusaders - guess what movie is in the running?? So head on over and cast your vote. I'm not saying anything against the competition - but, well, North and South is one of the contestants.

There is a reason........

Do you ever......catch something out of the corner of your eye, look down and think some kind of weird and strange bug is making it’s way up your chest. You screech and start batting at it, only to discover it’s a piece of fluff?

Do you ever......start eating those teeny little cinnamon hearts that are so hot they burn your mouth – but you keep eating them anyway even though you hate spicy food?

Do you ever......notice when you forget to put the cap on the toothpaste for a few days and if you live by yourself with no one around to put it back on for you, that it dries up at the top? And when you go to use it – not because you haven’t brushed your teeth for a few days – but you felt like a change in toothpaste – you squeeze and squeeze the tube to get it out and sometimes instead of coming out the top, it squirts out the bottom?

Do you ever......get carried away so much by a book that you aren’t really paying attention to what you are doing when you make a coffee, and kind of forget to put the coffee mug under and when you hear that final gurgle and go to get your coffee, it’s all over the counter top?

Do you ever......find yourself running late and you just grab your purse, which is hooked onto the kettle and the kettle goes flying and you end up with water all over the floor and no time at all to wipe it up? So you just real quickly throw a bunch of towels and kind of stomp over them to absorb the water and then hope the floor isn’t ruined when you get home?

Do you ever......leave the back door open so your cat can look out the screen door and then kind of forget you did that and head off to bed – in the middle of winter – only to discover to your horror the next morning that you left the door wide open and unlocked?

Do you ever......keep track of your books in either an excel spreadsheet of an online book cataloguing system and still forget to add any new ones? And then you see the same book and think again it looks interesting so you buy it again? But by the time you discover you already have a copy, you’ve lost the receipt. You could turn them into a UBS but it would be ever so much fun to do something else.

At least I think so. And thus begins

Kristie’s Ooooo-psie Contest

The first book up is His Captive by Diana Cosby. I haven’t read it yet so I can’t give a thumbs up or a thumbs down. I got my first copy when it first came out and neglected to record it anywhere and kind of forgot I got it. Then when her second book came out, I figured I needed to get the first one - *sigh* and ordered it online when I needed a fairly inexpensive book to make the minimum for free shipping.

So – how do you win you ask? Well – let’s see, just leave a comment with anything dumb you might have done – big or small – so I know I’m not alone in my d’oh moments. I’ll pick a random winner on Saturday.

There will be no rhyme or reason to this give-away. I’m trying to get my books organized so I’ll have one whenever I discover a duplicate and think “ooop-sie”.

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And an update to the previous post, and thanks to the wonders of YouTube, if you listen to Eh Tu Tom around the 14 second mark you can hear him utter those words he obviously stole from Smart Bitches. If you want to keep watching, the dance is pretty good.

But if you want to see EXCELLENT and missed it last night, this one was the night’s winner.

Et Tu Tom???

I've mentioned that despite not planning on it, I've started watching Dancing With The Stars again. I tell myself this is only until So You Think You Can Dance comes back on, but I think I'm lying to myself with that one.

Anyway - I was watching it tonight and while most of the time I am amused at Tom Bergeron, tonight he made a pretty bad faux pas. One of the judges - Bruno - the 'animated' one was going on as he usually does and Tom made an off the cuff remark about 'trashy romance novels'. Grrrrrr!! When oh when will the stereotyping stop?????

I have a bet going on with a girl from work who also watches it. I suggested $5,000 but she nixed that and instead we settled that the 'losing' chosen dancer has to buy the 'winning' dancer a coffee. She is going for Melissa of Bachelor fame, whereas I chose Gilles - the naked Guy from Sex and The City. To prove I'm going to be getting that free cup of coffee me thinks - this was last weeks dance - The Argentine Tango. Prepare to swoon.



And....since they say a picture is worth a thousand words - heh heh heh, I think these five
should get me that $5,000 I suggested. So if you watch DWTS - vote for Cheryl and Gilles and help me get that free coffee!!

Updates of interest!!

Smack me on the head and call me stupid! I would have posted this earlier but I worked (and worked DAMN hard on the weekend and came home and vegged both nights - though I did have time for some reading of a Very Good Book)

I forgot to mention in my previous post - The Good, The Bad, The Unread has a fascinating interview with Jennifer Ashley, the author of The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie and as a bonus, has FOUR ARC's to give away.

And.... SandyM also has a great review of this book. I'm not the only one who adores it :)


And in other news of interest....we have us another Crusader!! Stacy - fellow good Crusader that she is, pointed me in the direction of Beth Kery, author of Wicked Burn recently watched North and South - and loved it!!

The Siren's Song

It started off as a whisper, barely audible over all the voices clamouring to be heard. I thought I heard it's siren's call but it was so soft as to go almost undetected. But still it’s effect was noticed. I really tried to go to the next one. It was time, its time was over. I was able to move on for one, but its voice slowly began rising; it was now slightly more then a murmur. But I ignored it, denying the call; the lure it had for me. But slowly all else began to fade into the background, even those I had sought to supplant it; those I had looked forward to with eager delight. I tried to move forward; into the next stage, but every time I tried to make a move, the voice that started off as a soft whisper would get louder, more insistent. It slowly became unrelenting. I would find myself thinking; remembering what was in the most unusual of times.

It wasn’t that this was a new phenomenon. I had experienced it before only a few short months ago. At that time things weren’t as frightful and I could indulge; I could listen and obey that unrelenting voice that called. But this addiction has only grown in the previous months and I didn’t have time to pander to that voice that wouldn’t stop.

But it wouldn’t stop; the compulsion to just give in and let the voice take over. I myself was weakening each day as the voice increased in volume each day until finally, this morning I admitted defeat. In order to go forward, I first had to go back. I knew I would feel no lessening until I did.

So I gave into the voice that started as a mere whisper and was now a soon to be conquering shout. The only consolation is I know how strong the gratification will be. Although I experienced the thrill only a short while ago, I can rejoice that in my weakness, I will once again experience that ecstasy that only reading a keeper can give me.

Yes; despite the number of books I just got and the ones I will be getting soon, ignoring the ones that have been sitting, lying, calling for an indeterminate amount of time, the only thing I can think of is rereading the book that hasn’t finished with me yet.

I’m rereading The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie.

It wasn’t that long since the last time I went through this. Broken Wing wouldn’t leave me alone until I’d read it four times in a row. So – am I alone in my weakness? Does anyone else ever have those books that won’t leave them alone? That whisper to them? That won’t allow you to move on to other books until you read that one particular book again? Please tell me yes.

The Latest - *sigh*

I haven't really been in that much of a reading mood lately so what did I do instead?
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Yes, I did it again. I went on a spending spree. I bought these ones at Chapters the other day.

Highland Warrior by Monica McCarty

Highland Outlaw by Monica McCarty

I have her books from her last series and quite enjoyed the one I read.







Never Deceive A Duke by Liz Carlyle

I have the books after this one - but really - what is a series without the first one I ask you?

~~~~~*****~~~~~

And then yesterday I put in my latest order at Chapters. In order to get free shipping, you have to order $35 worth of books. I *cough* kind of went over that











Giving Chase, Taking Chase, Chased, Making Chase
All by Lauren Dane. I saw how much Jessica enjoyed these and decided that I had to have them.
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OK - Maybe she only reviewed the one - but she liked the other ones she read!!


Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

This is the one I've really been waiting for!










Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

Nope - this one still hasn't shown up in the stores yet. I couldn't wait any longer.









The Lady and the Libertine by Bonnie Vanak

I really enjoy her books and a lot of Dorchester books don't show up for months - if at all - so I wasn't taking any chances on NOT getting this one.

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Lord Ruin by Carolyn Jewel

And I stopped at a UBS on the way home yesterday and found this gem!! I have Scandal still to read, but I was real excited to see this one!!









And speaking of Jessica of Racy Romance Reviews - um - If anyone is interested, I've been interviewed at Jessica's Racy Romance Reviews today