Hi! In October, USA Today and I launched a blog devoted entirely to romance novels, the readers who read them and the writers who write them. Lots and lots of author interviews and book reviews, ranging from inspirational to erotica to self-published e-books.
Some of the authors featured include Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvez, Kresley Cole, Debbie Macomber, Kristan Higgins, Cynthia Eden, Cindy Gerard, Marie Force, Brenda Novak, Beverly Jenkins, Virna DePaul, Jenny B. Jones, Jayne Ann Krentz, Bella Andre, Tina Folsom, Desiree Holt ... and so many more.
I hope you'll stop by and say hi! You can find Happy Ever After at happyeverafter.usatoday.com. You also can follow us on Twitter at @HEAusatoday and "like" us on Facebook: Facebook.com/usatodayhappyeverafter.com.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I don't know which to read first
Today would be the perfect day to call in sick so you can curl up with not one but TWO new books from top-notch (and personal favorites!) authors Christy Reece and Elisabeth Naughton.
First, Christy: Sweet Justice kicks off a new trilogy. Thank God each book comes out bam-bam-bam (and I don't mean in a Flintstones kind of way) rather than making us wait six months to a year for each new installment.
From Christy's Web site: Honor Stone is a young, idealistic FBI agent when her path collides with Seth Cavanaugh. For a girl who has never walked on the wild side, the dark and dangerous Seth is a temptation she can’t refuse. But then Seth walks out the door and out of her life. Five years later, Honor is an operative with the elite Last Chance Rescue organization and Seth is a desperate ex-cop searching for his missing niece—one of many young women who have mysteriously vanished from college campuses. Going undercover, Honor will attract the maniacal cult leader behind the kidnappings and find a way to work with Seth—while steering clear of the passion and need that’s just one touch away from explosion. Seth knows he had all the right reasons for the wrong he did five years ago. And from the moment he sees her—and takes her in his arms again—this former undercover man will risk everything for one more chance with Honor.
Publisher's Weekly clearly loved it: "Bestseller Reece (Second Chance) kicks off a romantic suspense trilogy with this gripping read featuring members of the Last Chance Rescue organization. Reece nicely balances steamy encounters with the slow unraveling of clues that lead to a chilling pattern of missing girls. A truly frightening, twisted villain and an action-packed finale make this one a page-turner." Yeehaw! (The "yeehaw!" is mine, not PW's, just FYI.)
And if a new Christy Reece book weren't exciting enough, Elisabeth Naughton has a new paranormal romance!
From Elisabeth's Web site: DEMETRIUS—He’s the hulking, brooding warrior his fellow Guardians avoid. Too dark. Too damaged. And given his heritage, he knows it’s best to keep everyone at arm’s length. Isadora is missing. The words pound through his head like a frantic drumbeat. For her own protection, Demetrius did all he could to avoid the fragile princess, his soul mate. And now she’s gone—kidnapped. To get her back, he’ll have to go to the black place in his soul he’s always shunned. As daemons ravage the human realm and his loyalty to the Guardians is put to the ultimate test, Demetrius realizes that Isadora is stronger than anyone thought. And finally letting her into his heart may be the only way to save them both.
Ohhhh, chills! Publisher's Weekly obviously has excellent taste in books, because its reviewer loved this one, too: "Naturalistic, snappy dialogue, endlessly twisting plots within plots, a cast of complex and eminently likeable characters, and a romance as hot as it is complicated make this an entertaining and smoldering read."
You can find out more about Christy at www.christyreece.com and Elisabeth at www.elisabethnaughton.com.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go call my boss. I'm feeling a little under the weather.
From Christy's Web site: Honor Stone is a young, idealistic FBI agent when her path collides with Seth Cavanaugh. For a girl who has never walked on the wild side, the dark and dangerous Seth is a temptation she can’t refuse. But then Seth walks out the door and out of her life. Five years later, Honor is an operative with the elite Last Chance Rescue organization and Seth is a desperate ex-cop searching for his missing niece—one of many young women who have mysteriously vanished from college campuses. Going undercover, Honor will attract the maniacal cult leader behind the kidnappings and find a way to work with Seth—while steering clear of the passion and need that’s just one touch away from explosion. Seth knows he had all the right reasons for the wrong he did five years ago. And from the moment he sees her—and takes her in his arms again—this former undercover man will risk everything for one more chance with Honor.
Publisher's Weekly clearly loved it: "Bestseller Reece (Second Chance) kicks off a romantic suspense trilogy with this gripping read featuring members of the Last Chance Rescue organization. Reece nicely balances steamy encounters with the slow unraveling of clues that lead to a chilling pattern of missing girls. A truly frightening, twisted villain and an action-packed finale make this one a page-turner." Yeehaw! (The "yeehaw!" is mine, not PW's, just FYI.)
And if a new Christy Reece book weren't exciting enough, Elisabeth Naughton has a new paranormal romance!
Ohhhh, chills! Publisher's Weekly obviously has excellent taste in books, because its reviewer loved this one, too: "Naturalistic, snappy dialogue, endlessly twisting plots within plots, a cast of complex and eminently likeable characters, and a romance as hot as it is complicated make this an entertaining and smoldering read."
You can find out more about Christy at www.christyreece.com and Elisabeth at www.elisabethnaughton.com.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go call my boss. I'm feeling a little under the weather.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Marie Force is one busy author
Hi! Marie Force, one of my favorite-of-all-time authors, has yet another e-book out! I can't keep up.
Today's release is book three in her Fatal series. Which is kinda appropriate to me, cuz if I keep missing all this sleep to read her books, it might kill me. Oh, OK, I'm being melodramatic. That's what I do. But enough about me. Here's the scoop on Fatal Consequences:
The murder of two members of the Capitol Cleaning Service might’ve been just another homicide investigation—that is If one of them hadn’t been romantically involved with a married senator from Arizona. Lt. Sam Holland and her team are plunged into another complex case that at first seems open and shut. But as Sam tugs on the threads of the investigation she uncovers a deep, dark Washington secret that threatens the careers of some of the government’s highest-ranking officials. Racing to catch a killer before he can strike again, Sam and her fiancé, U.S. Senator Nick Cappuano, attempt to plan a wedding while her colleague Detective Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales faces life-changing news.
You can get it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/qLh4XJ
And B&N: http://bit.ly/nM9NAo
And you can find Marie online at http://www.mariesullivanforce.com
Now I'm off to get some of my own writing done now that Marie's productivity has shamed me into turning off the TV.
Today's release is book three in her Fatal series. Which is kinda appropriate to me, cuz if I keep missing all this sleep to read her books, it might kill me. Oh, OK, I'm being melodramatic. That's what I do. But enough about me. Here's the scoop on Fatal Consequences:
You can get it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/qLh4XJ
And B&N: http://bit.ly/nM9NAo
And you can find Marie online at http://www.mariesullivanforce.com
Now I'm off to get some of my own writing done now that Marie's productivity has shamed me into turning off the TV.
Monday, July 11, 2011
What I did on my summer weekend
What do Avatar, Twelve Monkeys and Juno have in common? I’ll give you a minute …
Giving up already? OK, here goes: I lounged on my sofa on Saturday and watched all three movies back to back while I was being majorly lazy. Yeah, I know you had no hope of guessing, but it was fun to make you try. Don’t ask me why I picked those three – except that my DVR was telling me it had only 19% remaining capacity, and Avatar is a long-ass, capacity-hogging movie.
First, I watched Juno. I’m hanging my head in writerly shame for not having seen this movie way sooner. I mean, it came out in 2007. But now that I’ve seen it, I can say it was worth the wait. The dialogue and actors were amazing – and I loved that Juno’s stepmom was not a hateful bitch. How refreshing!
I also created a non-hateful-bitch stepmom for my heroine in Cold Midnight and was proud of myself for being super non-cliché. Juno writer Diablo Cody got there first (and won an Oscar), but I wasn’t far behind. I’m sure there are plenty of books and movies out there with rad stepmoms. I just don’t remember them. Wait. Rad? How old am I anyway?!?!
Next, I watched Twelve Monkeys from 1995. “Why?” you may ask. Three reasons: 1) Bruce Willis, 2) Brad Pitt and 3) A good friend told me it was pretty good. I remember catching glimpses of it a long time ago when my dad was watching it on DVD, but I didn’t pay much attention. It looked like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Blade Runner. Not my idea of a good time then. But I’m older now (remember when I used the word “rad”?) and better able to appreciate movies about crazy people. See, Brucie’s a time traveler sent from the future to stop a virus from wiping out the human race. But when he arrives in the past, he ends up looking like, well, a nutjob. Brad Pitt is there, too, also looking like a nutjob. Amazing how well these two actors portrayed insane characters who weren’t actually insane. At least in Brucie’s case. Brad really was looney tunes – but in a good way. Brad just wanted to free the animals, not end the world as his co-characters assumed.
At any rate, I was entertained, if a little lost at times. And it turns out that what I perceived as a terrible, sad ending was actually quite hopeful. I didn’t figure this out until a friend explained it to me. I’m going to say I didn’t catch the hopeful note at the end cuz I was distracted by Brad’s freakishly rolling left eye. But it could just be that I have the attention span of a bored cat.
Last, I watched Avatar. At nearly three hours long, it freed up lots of space on my DVR when I deleted it. Bottom line: I liked it. I wasn’t crazy about it. I don’t want to watch it again. But I liked it. As everyone knows, the special effects are rad. I totally bought that the Na’vi people exist and that a paraplegic Marine could have his consciousness inserted into a Na’vi avatar so he could fall in love and save the world. Well, the world of Pandora, anyway.
Lots of cliches in this one. White guy puts it all on the line to save people of color. Dad’s not happy his daughter has fallen for the enemy. Misguided military guy blows shit up to gain control of lucrative resources. So while I was entertained, I felt as if I’d seen a lot of it before -- just not looking so damn cool.
It was derivative all over the place: Gee, there’s Romeo and Juliet. And Dances With Wolves. And The Wizard of Oz. Oh, look, it’s How to Train Your Dragon! And whenever Sigourney Weaver was on screen, I kept expecting an alien to come out of the ventilation system. I could already hear her screaming, “Get away from her, you bitch!” But, hey, that might have more to do with the fact that Avatar writer James Cameron also wrote Aliens, which I hadn't remembered until just now. Funny how the brain works.
So, did you watch any movies this weekend? Recommendations?
Giving up already? OK, here goes: I lounged on my sofa on Saturday and watched all three movies back to back while I was being majorly lazy. Yeah, I know you had no hope of guessing, but it was fun to make you try. Don’t ask me why I picked those three – except that my DVR was telling me it had only 19% remaining capacity, and Avatar is a long-ass, capacity-hogging movie.
First, I watched Juno. I’m hanging my head in writerly shame for not having seen this movie way sooner. I mean, it came out in 2007. But now that I’ve seen it, I can say it was worth the wait. The dialogue and actors were amazing – and I loved that Juno’s stepmom was not a hateful bitch. How refreshing!
Next, I watched Twelve Monkeys from 1995. “Why?” you may ask. Three reasons: 1) Bruce Willis, 2) Brad Pitt and 3) A good friend told me it was pretty good. I remember catching glimpses of it a long time ago when my dad was watching it on DVD, but I didn’t pay much attention. It looked like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Blade Runner. Not my idea of a good time then. But I’m older now (remember when I used the word “rad”?) and better able to appreciate movies about crazy people. See, Brucie’s a time traveler sent from the future to stop a virus from wiping out the human race. But when he arrives in the past, he ends up looking like, well, a nutjob. Brad Pitt is there, too, also looking like a nutjob. Amazing how well these two actors portrayed insane characters who weren’t actually insane. At least in Brucie’s case. Brad really was looney tunes – but in a good way. Brad just wanted to free the animals, not end the world as his co-characters assumed.
At any rate, I was entertained, if a little lost at times. And it turns out that what I perceived as a terrible, sad ending was actually quite hopeful. I didn’t figure this out until a friend explained it to me. I’m going to say I didn’t catch the hopeful note at the end cuz I was distracted by Brad’s freakishly rolling left eye. But it could just be that I have the attention span of a bored cat.
Last, I watched Avatar. At nearly three hours long, it freed up lots of space on my DVR when I deleted it. Bottom line: I liked it. I wasn’t crazy about it. I don’t want to watch it again. But I liked it. As everyone knows, the special effects are rad. I totally bought that the Na’vi people exist and that a paraplegic Marine could have his consciousness inserted into a Na’vi avatar so he could fall in love and save the world. Well, the world of Pandora, anyway.
Lots of cliches in this one. White guy puts it all on the line to save people of color. Dad’s not happy his daughter has fallen for the enemy. Misguided military guy blows shit up to gain control of lucrative resources. So while I was entertained, I felt as if I’d seen a lot of it before -- just not looking so damn cool.
It was derivative all over the place: Gee, there’s Romeo and Juliet. And Dances With Wolves. And The Wizard of Oz. Oh, look, it’s How to Train Your Dragon! And whenever Sigourney Weaver was on screen, I kept expecting an alien to come out of the ventilation system. I could already hear her screaming, “Get away from her, you bitch!” But, hey, that might have more to do with the fact that Avatar writer James Cameron also wrote Aliens, which I hadn't remembered until just now. Funny how the brain works.
So, did you watch any movies this weekend? Recommendations?
Saturday, July 9, 2011
New e-book by Marie Force!
This one sounds WAY darker than the others, with the heroine struggling to recover from losing her husband and kids. Yikes. That's got to be an emotional roller coaster -- and in the capable hands of Marie, I know it will be escapism at its best.
Here's a quickie description of Ready for Love:
For four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy's Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she's returned to Gansett to figure out what's next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?
You can find Ready for Love at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
iBooks
Smashwords
All Romance Ebooks
And you can find Marie online at http://www.mariesullivanforce.com/
Have you read any of Marie's books? I have a tough time putting them down. Which is not good when you need your beauty rest!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Horn tooting
Hi! True Vision has won some awards lately, so of course I have to share. I'm even going to do a bulleted list! Whee!!!
- The Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence in single title romantic suspense from the Kiss of Death chapter of Romance Writers of America. The other finalists were: Risk No Secrets by Cindy Gerard, Unforgiven by Laura Griffin, White Heat by Brenda Novak and Cover of Darkness by Kaylea Cross.
- The Holt Medallion for Best Book by a Virginia Author from Virginia Romance Writers. The other finalists: Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress by Diane Gaston, "Hearts Untamed" in Bitten by Cupid by Pamela Palmer, Rapture Untamed by Pamela Palmer and The Perfect Blend by Trish Perry.
- An Award of Merit in romantic suspense from Virginia Romance Writers. The other finalists: Broken Angels by Anne Hope (winner), Cavanaugh Reunion by Marie Ferrarella, Killer Heat by Brenda Novak and Cold Sight by Leslie Parrish.
- Finalist in The Readers' Crown by RomCon and sponsored by Borders Books. The other finalists: Risk No Secrets by Cindy Gerard (winner, tie), White Heat by Brenda Novak (winner, tie), Body Heat by Brenda Novak and Naked Edge by Pamela Clare.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
New release worth checking out!
You guys, you gotta check out The Look of Love by Bella Andre. It's the first book in a fun, sexy, and emotional contemporary romance series about the Sullivan family (six hot brothers and their twin sisters). Did I mention six HOT brothers? SIX of them! I can't wait to read this.
Carly Phillips called THE LOOK OF LOVE, "an emotionally compelling, thoroughly sexy, lovely read. I can't wait for more brothers!" Barbara Freethy said, "THE LOOK OF LOVE is the perfect combination of sexy heat and tender heart. This character driven romance has brains, brawn and the perfect bad boy to launch a whole family's worth of fun." And according to the fabulous Marie Force, "THE LOOK OF LOVE is pure sensual fun! I couldn't read fast enough. I loved everything about Chase and Chloe's story. I'm hooked on the Sullivans!" With endorsements like that, how could you resist?
A successful photographer who travels the world and has his pick of beautiful women, Chase Sullivan thinks life is great just as it is – until he finds Chloe and her totaled car in a ditch on the side of the road in Napa Valley. She's utterly lovely, both inside and out, and he's soon willing to move mountains to love - and protect - her. But will she let him? Unfortunately, a wrecked car is not the worst thing to happen to Chloe that day. The bruise on her cheek can attest to that. She's vowed never to make the mistake of trusting a man again. Surely, the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of a rain storm is too good to be true. Or is he? Because with every loving look Chase gives her - and every sinfully sweet caress - as the attraction between them sparks and sizzles, she can't help but wonder if she's met the only exception. Although Chase didn't realize his life was going to change forever in an instant, amazingly, he isn't the least bit interested in fighting that change. Instead, he's gearing up for a different fight altogether...for Chloe's heart.
I hope you get a chance to check it out -- and let me know what you think!
THE LOOK OF LOVE is available as an e-book here:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/
Barnes & Noble Nook: http://search.
Smashwords (all digital formats / international readers): http://www.
All Romance Ebooks: http://tinyurl.com/
Apple iBookstore and paperback coming soon!
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