LOTTERY Cyber-Launch Tomorrow!

Don't forget Patricia Wood's Cyber-Launch Book Party this coming Thursday, August 2nd! That's also the release date.
The party runs all day Thursday and Friday, so everyone has a chance to pop in. ;)

For the drawing, Pat's giving away a t-shirt, pen, and floatie. I think Junior's throwing together a surfing competition.

Sunday's Oldies but Goodies...

Good morning!
This week's oldie but Goodie is....

Crazy For You

by Kate Angell

Released April 2005

In 1925, aboard the SS Majestic, a tragedy occurred. Randolph St. Croix, head of St. Croix Cruise Lines, was murdered below decks, and a young woman by the name of Daisy Alton was believed to have killed him in a fit of passionate rage before taking her own life.

Daisy's spirit has remained trapped on the Majestic ever since.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Randolph's great-great nephew, Sexton St. Croix ("call me Sex") had invited a group of over 100 psychics on board for a 5-day cruise to try and rid the Majestic of the ghost. The psychic who succeeds will win $100,000 .

Enter Bree Emery.

She is clairsentient - she sees things and senses emotion when she touches objects. She also has the occasional vision, and she is determined to uncover the truth about the so-called 'murder-suicide' of Randolph and Daisy.

From the first moment Sexton meets Bree, he can't stop thinking about her. He had invited her personally to his ship based on her reputation, but he had no idea Bree would be so real. Bree was excited to join the cruise, and she needed the break after catching her recent ex snacking on some edible underwear. Unfortunately, they weren't in the package at the time. Luckily, Sexton was proving to be an interesting shipboard companion.

As the story progresses, we get to met Sex's sister, Cecilia, and Jackson Kyle, Sex's right-hand man, bodyguard, confidant, best friend, and man who is desperately in love with Cecilia. Their story makes for a nice side-plot, and is woven in nicely without being distracting. Add into the mix a ship full of psychics, and a secret that is about to blow and reveal the truth of Randolph and Daisy's death, and you have an urban fantasy that makes for one humorous and poignantly bittersweet story.

Ms. Angell's writing is the perfect companion to a lazy Sunday curled up in a lounge chair by the pool, or cured up on your couch, iced tea at hand. You will have a lot of fun with this book. The heat level is sensual, and is integrated well into the storyline without being over-the-top.

You can find Ms. Angell's book list on her website http://www.kateangell.com/

Happy Reading!

Author News

Marva has a new interview with Michelle Moran at her blog. http://mgddasef.blogspot.com

Pat has a hilarious story about her first radio interview posted at her blog. It was conducted from the glamours surroundings of her local laundromat!

http://pkwood.blogspot.com

CONTACT by Susan Grant

HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS is new on the bookshelves today, Blog Buddies. Since Lady Bronco reviewed the ARC on June 9th, I’m reviewing an older release, CONTACT, to celebrate this momentous occasion.

For me, the beauty of CONTACT is that it showcases all of Susan Grant’s strengths as a writer and it plays to what I like in a story too. It starts out behind the eyes of Jordan, a First Officer on a red-eyed flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. I know a little about this because I’m married to an airline pilot myself. Of course, my husband never tells me the scary stuff. He only tells me the funny stuff like having to chase bald eagles off the runway with the jet. Don’t worry – no eagles were hurt. We love our eagles. That’s why they’re as plentiful as pigeons here in Alaska. Oh, sorry, I’m digressing.

Susan expertly weaves Jordan’s thoughts of her daughter in and out of what she’s actually doing in the cockpit. This is very real. I used to be a nanny. I was trained to know this. Let me tell ya, there’s nothing sweeter than a high-powered attorney going all gushy over the phone with her baby! “Oh, my baby! Oh, baby!” Jordan is blessed with an excellent caregiver for her daughter - her own mother - and that enables her to stay focused on the job. This leads to another real-feeling aspect. The daughter senses things about her mother. Babies and young children are so in tune with their mothers that they do pick up on things. Experts say it’s a leftover biological function from the womb when Baby heard Mother’s every heartbeat, but I’ve seen it go beyond that. Human beings are spiritual beings, regardless of religious affiliation. Leave that dimension out of a story and you’re only meeting part of your reader’s needs.

So, the story kicks off with the Intimate Adventure of Jordan, airline pilot and single mom. What happens next would have really freaked me out a year ago, but I think I’m finally toughening up a bit. (Shh! Don’t tell my husband I said that or he’ll laugh his head off!) The plane gets hijacked, in a manner of speaking, and of course that’s what Jordan and everybody else on board thinks. The captain has a heart attack and croaks. Now, this part I love too – Jordan has to take over. I looove heroes or heroines who are a bit unsure of themselves, going along minding their own business, and BOOM! They get shot out of a cannon and have to deal or die.

The airplane actually gets picked up by a spaceship and taken right in whole. The command crew thinks they’re rescuing the humans. The humans think they’ve been abducted by Darth Vader. Jordan extends an inflatable escape slide from the aircraft and knocks the hero right on his butt. Oh, I loved that part! Shoom! Wham! I throw my head back and laugh haughtily into the rafters.

Of course, Jordan and company can’t stay on the aircraft long. Things are getting pretty stinky. Kao (the hero) tries diplomacy, but when that takes longer than expected his trigger-happy subordinate sedates all the humans. Jordan wakes up first and she’s not at all happy. A couple men die and all the pregnant moms miscarry because of the sedation. And she gets the news about Earth being destroyed.

No survivors. That includes her daughter.

Not exactly the best way for a guy to impress a girl he likes. But, Kao knows the pain of loss and he knows what it means to sacrifice self for a loved one. He’s real and worthy.

You’ll have to read the book if you want to know more. ;) Before you do, you must swear the Enduring Romance oath first because this is an older release. Raise your right hand and repeat after me- "I (insert name here) do solemnly swear to always buy my favorite authors' books new." Congratulations! You're now a member of the tribe.

Susan Grant's Top Ten

Some people think once a writer becomes a published author, they’re set for life. All they have to do is sit back and wait for the royalty checks to roll in, go on book tours, and answer masses of fan mail. Well, it just ain’t so. All the authors I know work their tail feathers off. Most can’t quit their day jobs.

One of them is Susan Grant. She holds down three full-time jobs – Mom, airline pilot, and novelist. Getting that first novel published does not mean that a second novel will be published. Even if you land a two book deal (rare for a first-timer,) things can happen to nix your career before it hardly gets off the ground. Considering this, I think Susan’s release of her 10th novel on Thursday, July 26th, is a monumental achievement.

To celebrate Susan’s achievement, I’ve decided to provide ya’ll with a commentary of her ten published novels. Considering that there are ten, there’s a wide range for preferences. I’ll note my own with * and encourage her readers to talk about theirs in the comments.

1) ONCE A PIRATE – I’ve never been into the Pirate Fantasy thing. Well, okay, there’s that thing about Johnny Depp and Han Solo, but forget that for now. What I love about PIRATE is the living, breathing heroine who’s flying along, minding her own business as a fighter pilot, and gets sucked back in time and right (well, eventually) into the arms of a hunky pirate. What’s not to love? Oh, that and it’s Susan’s first published novel. I’ve found it highly educational to read an author’s book list in order of publication to observe how she grew as a writer.

2) THE STAR KING* - I’ve already yammered about this one quite a bit. I love spaceship stories anyway, but this one has a hero who adores the heroine’s stretch marks. Hey, after four pregnancies, that ranks high on my list of necessary qualities in a man!

3) THE STAR PRINCE* - I love series. I love reading them and I love writing them. I get emotionally attached and have a hard time letting go. The hero of this one is the son of the Star King’s heroine from her previous marriage. He’s believable, honorable, and irresistible to alien royalty. Must be genetic.

4) CONTACT* - I said this one is my third favorite, but I’m in the middle of reading it for the second time. I’ll be reviewing it this Thursday right here. This bumps it up a notch. First Officer Jordan ends up the captain when her 747 airliner is abducted by an alien spacecraft. I loved the part when she extended the inflatable escape slide from the aircraft to knock the hero on his butt. Well, hey, she didn’t know he was going to be the hero at that point.

5) THE STAR PRINCESS – Egads, I missed this one! Please don’t pummel me with Tribbles. I’ll get to it, I swear!

6) THE LEGEND OF BANZAI MAGUIRE – First, you’re on a routine patrol of the air space over Korea, next you’re a pilot-popsicle, and then you’re thawed out only to be taken in as the treasured pet of an Asian prince. This one is the first in the 2176 series, which several authors contributed to, and the action will give you whiplash if you’re not careful.

7) THE SCARLET EMPRESS – This is Susan’s second contribution to the 2176 series. This was the first one of her novels I was ever aware of. I found it on a mad dash into the grocery store for milk. Of course, I always take the scenic route through the book aisle. At that time, Scarlet Empress was shelved in Science Fiction or I never would have found it. Like many readers, I’d been burned by too much silliness in the Romance genre many moons before and had sworn never to set foot in that aisle again.

8) YOUR PLANET OR MINE? – I loved how this one started out in the heroine’s point of view as a nine year old when she meets her future hero and thinks he’s Peter Pan. Of course, he’s actually an alien. She grows up to be a senator, meets up with her love again, and saves the world. This was my favorite of this trilogy.

9) MY FAVORITE EARTHLING – Queen Keira is wicked with the daggers. If her Earthling husband survives the honeymoon, we might all live to see tomorrow. Keira is definitely over-the-top. Since I love over-the-top characters, we were a good match.

10) HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS – I’m not sure if the actual release starts in the Hero’s point-of-view, but the Advanced Reader’s Copy does. This made it difficult for me to get into at first because I like to start out in the Heroine’s skin. So, I skipped ahead to Evie’s starting page and then I got into it. The first part made sense when I went back to it. Like several of Susan’s previous heroines, Evie’s going along, minding her own business when the universe throws her a curve ball. This one’s in the form of a cybernetically enhanced alien assassin. Can the healing power of love save this man’s soul? Considering Susan’s track record, I think we all know the answer to that one. ;)

Personally, the thing I like most about Susan’s books is that her heroines are mothers or end up in the motherly way by the end of the story. Maybe my memory is foggy, but I can’t remember one who didn’t. I’m a retired Certified Professional Nanny. I worked for several powerful women who are mommies. It annoys me to no end when its assumed mothers can’t also be powerful in fiction. Heck, they are in Real Life and right now! And sexy? Let me tell you, whether you come to motherhood by adoption or pregnancy, it’s an act of unconditional and unselfish love. The man who supports his woman and remains faithful to her through all that is a true hero. From my point of view, there’s nothing sexier than that.

Way to go, Susan.
;)

Sunday's Oldies but Goodies...

Good Morning!
This week's Oldie but Goodie is...

Once Upon a Dream

by Jennifer Archer

Released January 2001

I love the first line on the back of the book. "Robin Wise wanted to meet the man of her dreams, not the man in her dreams."

And that's exactly the dilemma facing Robin. She has been dreaming about a cowboy/gambler, a man who has all the right moves, and says all the right things. Problem is, the guy looks an awful lot like her new next-door neighbor, Alex Simon, college professor and klutz extraordinaire.

There are a few things in Robin's life that hamper her search for Mister Right - she has agoraphobia (she is afraid to leave her house and her backyard, and hasn't done so for more than a year), and all the women in her family die between their 29th and 30th birthday. Alex has his own issues. He broke up with his ex-fiance because she kept trying to change him and mold him into something he was not, and now he doesn't trust the female species.

Robin and Alex can't stand each other from the moment they meet, but something keeps making sure the two of them have plenty of reasons to interact. And then there's the dreams. Alex has bee dreaming he is a cowboy/gambler who is hired by a kooky woman with purple toenails to help keep her great great grandmother safe. A kooky woman who looks an awful lot like Robin. Both recognize the other in their dreams, but neither says anything to each other, for fear of looking like a weirdo.

Oh, and there is a secondary set of characters in Robin's uncle Ethan and Millie, the woman she looks upon as her honorary aunt. The two of them will have you grinning. This story is nicely woven around superstition and old wives tales - the basis for Ethan believing he can break the curse, as he sees it of the women dying in his family. Time is running out, though, because Robin will be turning 30 very soon.

Ms. Archer writes a very fun story in 'Once Upon a Dream.' You will be smiling and the interaction between Robin and Alex and their pets, as well as the bickering between Ethan and Millie. I was hard-pressed to try and classify the heat leave in this novel, because it is neither Sweet nor Sensual. I decided to call it Sweet with a Kick. There is a bit more detail that a Sweet description would warrant, but not enough to call it Sensual, and there is no actual 'action' described. So, Sweet with a Kick it is.

You can find a complete listing of all of Ms. Archer's novels on her website - http://www.jenniferarcher.net/


Happy Reading!

NEFERTITI book trailer

LOTTERY by Patricia Wood

LOTTERY, the debut novel by Patricia Wood will hit the shelves on August 2nd, but you can reserve your copy now! http://amazon.com/
Pat's blog: http://pkwood.blogspot.com/

See Pat.

See Pat's cat.

See Pat signing foreign rights to her debut novel, LOTTERY.

See Pat run to the laundromat for her radio interview because there's no landline telephone on the sailboat she lives on in Hawaii.

:o)

Run, Pat! Run!

:o)

Patricia Wood was one of my first mentor-type Blog Buddies. She told me I had great 'voice,' critted my query and first five pages, and posted cheerful pictures of Hawaii on her blog just for me when I felt sad after I lost my baby. I've read her blog from before she found an agent, was riveted with tension when LOTTERY went to auction, and cheered with her when she landed a deal. Her generous personality is transparent to all and, lemme tell ya, she's won a LOT of readers on that strength alone!

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Okay, enough gushing. On with the review!

LOTTERY is receiving lots of attention and high praise everywhere from BEA to Redbook magazine. So, I'm honored Pat sent an ARC to me, an amatear reviewer. I could NOT speed-read this book and that's saying a lot, because I'm an extremely impatient reader. When a book grabs me by the metaphoric throat, you know I love it!

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Pat made me love Perry L. Crandell on the very first page. Perry was handed over to his grandparents as a baby while his father ran off to God-knows-where and his mother did whatever the heck she wanted. His brothers and sister hardly say boo and they're all lawyers. Not all lawyers are bad, yanno. I nannied for some wonderful ones! But, these ones are nasty.

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Perry is slow, but not retarded. He has an I.Q. of 76, which a point above the cut-off line for being retarded. That doesn't stop people from treating him like crap or talking over him like he's not there. Gram doesn't merely take care of Perry. She's his champion. She tells him he can do anything anyone else can, but it just might take longer. She teaches him to go through the dictionary every day and write new words in his journal. By the time the story starts, Perry is taking care of Gram who is getting very old.

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What really struck me about the first part of the book was how wonderful Gram is compared to her children. I've seen this in real life before. The kids turn out awful, but the grandparents get a second chance at parenting by raising a grandchild.

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Gram dies. Better buy a new box of Kleenex for this part. Her children descend on her house like vultures with no regard for Perry, except to see him as a problem that has to be dealt with in a way that won't inconvenience them. They take all her good stuff. They dupe Perry into signing Power of Attorney over to them, so they can sell the house and take the money. Gram had wanted the house to go to Perry because her children were all lawyers able to make lots of money and he had only her and that house. Lesson: Always write a will!

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Now, Perry is homeless. Enter: True Friends. Perry's been taught to care for boats at the marina and he's very good at his job. His boss offers him the apartment over the shop. They take care of him when he's crying and get irate on his behalf with his family shaft him. There's Gary, his boss, Keith, co-worker, and Cherry, the cashier at the convenience store.

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Perry wins the Lottery. I think you can imagine what happens next! The family descends on Perry like a flock of buzzards onto a gut wagon.

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While Perry navigates that chaos with the help of these friends, he falls deeply in love with Cherry. I loved Cherry. She is so real. She's a plus-size girl and - trust me - you'll NEVER put up with another pencil-thin blond bimbo in your novels again!

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On second thought, better run to Costco and buy a shrink-wrapped lot of at least three boxes of Kleenex before you start this book. If you're a man and want to appear manly, just pretend you have allergies.

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There is some swearing in this book, but nothing more than you'd hear on the street. There is a little nookie, but it's not graphic and is well-supported by the story. There are no gimmicks or sensationalism in this novel. Just awesome storytelling.

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We will be throwing a Cyber-Launch Book Party for Pat right here on August 2nd. If you're unfamiliar with what that it is, scroll down to the ones we threw for Michelle Moran and Lisa Sheerin. Also, Susan Grant's cyber-launch is saved in the old archives of my Star Captains' Daughter blog under the link, Star Captains' Log.

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Way to go, Pat.

;)

P.S. I apologize for the goofed-up format. Blogger keeps jamming my paragraphs together today!

Science Fiction Romance column at the...

...Toasted Scimitar, courtesy of the dazzling Laurie. If you're an SFR author or reader, you might want to get in on the conversation. http://toasted-scimitar.blogspot.com

Coming Attractions!

Good morning, Blog Buddies! Here's an update of coming attractions on this blog:

On July 19th, this coming Thursday, I will be posting my review of LOTTERY, the debut novel of Patricia Wood. This is an astounding tale by a beautiful, generous human being. Don't miss it!

On August 2nd, LOTTERY will be officially released and we will celebrate that all day and all the next day in a Cyber-Launch Book Party right here! Word has it the pig is already on the spit.


The luminous Susan Grant releases her 10th novel on July 26th.

On July 24th, a Tuesday, I will list and talk about all ten novels right nere.

Since Lady Bronco already reviewed the new release, HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS, I will be reviewing my third favorite Susan Grant novel, CONTACT, on July 26th. I've already talked about my first and second favorite novels, STAR KING and STAR PRINCE, a lot. Actually, those two jostle for position on any given day.

That's it for now. Happy Tuesday!

Sunday's Oldies but Goodies...

Good Morning!
This morning's Oldie but Goodie is...

Released February, 2002

Historical romance novels often come with their own set of issues. When reading them, the ones done well manage to inject a certain level of independence into the heroine without making it unbelievable. The bad ones either have a simpering female that causes the hackles of the reader to raise at her timidity, or the heroine is so independent, so outspoken, you know darn good and well it would never have been tolerated way back then.

This novel falls under the first example.

Kassandra "Kitt" Wentworth is a 21 year-old headstrong woman in 1805 London. She is haunted by something that happened to her when she was younger, and for this reason she has not gotten married yet. Clayton Harcourt is the illegitimate son of a duke who is no stranger to having his own set of issues in his life.

After meeting Kitt at a party, Clay is doomed. He falls instantly for this woman, and finally overcomes her objections to getting married with a little help from her father. One problem, though. Kitt's past comes to haunt her in the form of a really nasty guy by the name of Stephen Marlow. As the story progresses, a showdown of sorts brews between Clay and Marlow.

Ms. Martin does a very good job of revealing Marlow's nastiness without having it overtake everything else in the story. He is elemental to Kitt's backstory and her reasons for how she behaves in the present, so I expected him to overshadow the other characters. Luckily, he doesn't. There are other smaller storylines woven in throughout this novel, my favorite being the one of Anna Falacci and Ford Constantine.

If you like a well-written historical, with a sensual heat level, you will like this novel. You can find a complete list of all of Ms. Martin's books on her wonderful website - http://www.katbooks.com/

Happy reading!

Legacy

You're a Kindergartener on the first day of school and no one has time for you. Mommy has already left. You're on your own. Are you going to throw a fit and demand that the teacher hand over your high school diploma NOW? Or, are you going to take a deep breath and try to learn?

The good news is if you're willing and eager to learn, you won't flail alone in the dark for long. There are people who will share their light to help you find your path.

For me on my path to publication, it all started with Gwyneth Bolton's encouraging words. Then, Susan Grant told me I sure could write, but I needed to learn the craft. So, I set out to do that. I sped-read voraciously.

I remember the first time I read Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair and how the Heroine grabbed me on the first page and dragged me right into it. I remember being electrified by that! This is what I love as a reader and I loved writing that way too. I was totally floored by Games of Command as Linnea built on her strengths. Like I said in my review, the heroine of Down Home Zombie Blues shoved my emotional nose right into the doo-doo. Awesome.

I followed Linnea over to the Alien Romances blog where I came to enjoy the way she and Jacqueline Lichtenberg played off each other in their columns. I followed Jacqueline to her website, Sime-Gen, and explored that too.

It was in Jacqueline's wisdom that things really started to gel in my brain. She talked about the Intimate Adventure and novel structure. So, I got my hands on her book, Dreamspy, and started reading. On the first page, the Heroine grabbed me and started dragging me along with her through the story. Not only that, but Jacqueline's telepaths were lightyears ahead of mine in the Star Captains' Daughter and they were portrayed clearly and effectively. I could see the structure. I could see the Intimate Adventure. I could see the influence on Linnea's strengths.

Yesterday, I started reading Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein on Jacqueline's recommendation. And again, I was grabbed on the first page and dragged into the story. For those who don't know, Heinlein is, like, the granddaddy of science fiction. He would be a hundred years old now if he had lived this long. Within his works, I found the roots of Jacqueline's 'Intimate Adventure.'

This all reminds me of something one of the ladies interviewed on the History Channel's show 'Legacy of Star Wars.' During the segment on mentors (Qui-Gon, Obi Wan, Yoda,) she said when someone offers a helping hand "don't look to see if the hand is green, just take the hand."

The links to all the authors' websites and blogs can be found on my personal blog http://starcaptainsdaughter.blogspot.com/ on the lower right hand side.

LOTTERY Book Launch Party!

Be here August 2nd to celebrate Patricia Wood!

NEFERTITI released today!

http://michellemoran.com

Sweet Reads

Just as great nookie doesn't equal true love, great nookie scenes do not equal true storytelling. We all know that and this is how the Enduring Romance blog and website came into being. We dig through the trash to find the gems and share them with you.

A Great and Terrible Beauty is a Sweet level novel I intend to read soon. I found it at the Clean Reads blog.

{Sweet Level Story: We define this as no sex or it takes place behind closed doors and the story skips ahead.}

Some readers don't want to read novels with any nookie scenes at all. Believe me, I know how they feel. I can handle up to the Sensual level, but after that the graphic descriptions of naked body parts remind me too much of childbirth and I just want to spew breakfast. The trouble is these readers often go unheard because they rarely buy new. At least, the ones I know stick to the used bookstore or the library where they can find books that have been thoroughly sorted out. As a result, publishers believe Sweet novels are no longer in demand and they don't publish them, or at least not as many.

For the Sweet Lovers among us, I have good news. I've just stumbled on a new-to-me blog which reviews novels with no on-the-page nookie. No gore or heavy swearing. Just fantastic storytelling. Pop on over to http://cleanreads.blogspot.com/ and check it out! Remember, if you want to see more Sweet level novels published, you need to buy them new. Authors only get paid when we buy their books new. If they don't get paid to write Sweet novels, they don't get their Sweet novels published!

Meanwhile, here at the Enduring Romance blog we will continue to dig through the trash to find the really great stories of every heat level (except Erotica).

Sunday's Oldies but Goodies...

Good Afternoon!
This week's Oldie but Goodie is...

Tallchief

by Dinah McCall Released April 1997

The more I read Dinah McCall, the more I appreciate her voice and her storytelling ability. Ms. McCall tells the story of Morgan Tallchief and Kathleen Ryder with such an air of wistfulness and love it breaks your heart.

Morgan and Kathleen are high school students in Mustang, Oklahoma. Morgan runs on the track team - not for the victory or the glory, but because he already understands at his young age that it is something he is meant to do. He loves Kathleen Ryder with all his heart, and she feels the same. The night Morgan sets a national record, Kathleen gives him her virginity, and Morgan knows they will be together forever.

However, fate has something different in mind for the both of them. For Kathleen and her family are in the Witness Protection Program, and their cover has been blown. As Morgan walks down the street after dropping Kathleen off at her home, he witnesses an explosion that changes his life forever. Kathleen's home has been leveled, and the one girl he knew was meant to be with him forever is no more.

Or so he thought.

Sixteen year later, Morgan is a shell of the man he thought he was destined to be. He paints to try and deal with the cruel blow fate delivered to him so long ago. Until one evening, he spies a woman walking towards his home - a woman who reminds his so much of his Kathleen.

Kathleen walks back into Morgan's life, not knowing where else to turn. Her father has died, and the feds close the books on Kathleen's need for protection. The problem is, the bad guys who were looking for the father have found her, and they believe she has whatever it was her father stole. Not knowing where else to turn, she heads to New Mexico, and the only man she ever loved. And she brings with her Morgan's daughter Trish - the child they conceived the night of the explosion.

All throughout this novel, my heart kept breaking over and over for these two. it seemed so very cruel to make the two of them go through so much, but In also came to the realization that both of them would appreciate the other so much more because of what they had been through. By the end of this novel, you will be rooting for these two. The heat level is sensual and necessary to the story.

You can find Ms. McCall's novels on Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

Happy reading!

Ardyth Wins!

The Dreaded One has won the drawing for the gold-wrapped, autographed copy of the NEFERTITI by Michelle Moran and the gold Nefertiti pendent! Woo-hoo! Thanks to everybody for such a fun party and thanks to Michelle for participating and writing such a wonderful novel!

CYBER-LAUNCH BOOK PARTY!!!

The glorious day has arrived, Blog Buddies! This is the Cyber-Launch Book Party for Michelle Moran's debut novel, NEFERTITI, which I was lucky enough to get an ARC of. Remember my review of it? It was the May 16th entry on this blog, if you want to go check it out. NEFERTITI hits the bookshelves this coming Tuesday, July 10th. However, if you participate in the party by leaving a comment for this blog entry, you will have the chance to win a gold-wrapped and autographed copy! The drawing will be held at the end of the party tomorrow night. Here's the important thing: Your comment must have your username which will lead me to info about how to contact you, whether through your blog, an email, or whatever. Otherwise, I can't enter you in the drawing. The other prize is a gold Nefertiti charm!

Now, read the interview. When you're finished, click on 'comments' at the bottom and you will be taken to my party room where the natural laws of time and space do not apply. Watch your step though. The mummies don't get out much, so they're a little rowdy.

I emailed some questions to Michelle and she was kind enough to send these answers back:

1) Can you share the journey you took in creating NEFERTITI? What first
inspired you?
The inspiration to write Nefertiti inadvertently happened while I was on an archaeological dig in Israel. During my sophomore year in college, I found myself sitting in Anthropology 101, and when the professor mentioned that she was looking for volunteers who would like to join a dig in Israel, I was one of the first students to sign up. When I got to Israel, however, all of my archaeological dreams were dashed (probably because they centered around Indiana Jones). There were no fedora wearing men, no cities carved into rock, and certainly no Ark of the Covenant. I was very disappointed. Not only would a fedora have seemed out of place, but I couldn’t even use the tiny brushes I had packed. Apparently, archaeology is more about digging big ditches with pickaxes rather than dusting off artifacts. And it had never occurred to me until then that in order to get to those artifacts, one had to dig deep into the earth. Volunteering on an archaeological dig was hot, it was sweaty, it was incredibly dirty, and when I look back on the experience through the rose-tinged glasses of time, I think, Wow, was it fantastic! Especially when our team discovered an Egyptian scarab that proved the ancient Israelites had once traded with the Egyptians. Looking at that scarab in the dirt, I began to wonder who had owned it, and what had possessed them to undertake the long journey from their homeland to the fledgling country of Israel.

On my flight back to America I stopped in Berlin, and with a newfound appreciation for Egyptology, I visited the museum where Nefertiti’s limestone bust was being housed. The graceful curve of Nefertiti’s neck, her arched brows, and the faintest hint of a smile were captivating to me. Who was this woman with her self-possessed gaze and stunning features? I wanted to know more about Nefertiti’s story, but when I began the research into her life, it proved incredibly difficult. She’d been a woman who’d inspired powerful emotions when she lived over three thousand years ago, and those who had despised her had attempted to erase her name from history. Yet even in the face of such ancient vengeance, some clues remained.

As a young girl Nefertiti had married a Pharaoh who was determined to erase the gods of Egypt and replace them with a sun-god he called Aten. It seemed that Nefertiti’s family allowed her to marry this impetuous king in the hopes that she would tame his wild ambitions. What happened instead, however, was that Nefertiti joined him in building his own capital of Amarna where they ruled together as god and goddess. But the alluring Nefertiti had a sister who seemed to keep her grounded, and in an image of her found in Amarna, the sister is standing off to one side, her arms down while everyone else is enthusiastically praising the royal couple. From this image, and a wealth of other evidence, I tried to recreate the epic life of an Egyptian queen whose husband was to become known as the Heretic King.

Writing the novel took years of research. I wanted to be sure that when I wrote Nefertiti I was extremely accurate, down to the color of the palace tiles and shape of the women’s beads. At the same time, however, I wanted to be careful not to weigh the story down in too much detail. There needed to be the same sense of urgency, danger, and passion as filled Nefertiti’s world.

2) Some of our guests are writers. Can you share your process for
taking a story from rough draft to submission-ready manuscript? What's your
best advice on how they can improve the craft of writing to meet publication
standards?
Nefertiti isn’t my first novel. In fact, it’s not even my second. The process of submitting a manuscript, finding an agent, then reaching publication didn’t happen overnight for me. Actually, it took fifteen years. My first attempt at getting published was in seventh grade, when I was twelve. I had written a full length book that was certainly pathetic but everyone praised it and my father hailed it as the next Great American Novel. My father was very good at ego-boosting. But no one knew how to go about getting published, so I went to my local Barnes and Nobles and asked them how. And instead of laughing, the bookseller took me to the writing section and I purchased the current edition of Writer's Market. From then on, no agent or publishing house was safe. I learned how to write query letters and regaled them all. And some of them sent personal letters back too, probably because I had included my age in the query letter and they either thought a) this kid has potential or b) this is sad and deserves at least a kind note.

Then, after going on an archaeological dig in my second year of college, I changed my genre from literary to historical fiction and found my calling. That summer I wrote a novel called Jezebel, and signed on with a prominent agent. His foreign rights department sold it successfully to Bertelsmann in Germany, and I had my first publishing credit with the company that owns Random House. But my agent in NY had a difficult time selling the novel, and when it was clear that he had done what he could for Jezebel and that there would be no sale in the US, I saw the writing on the wall. I would have to write another book.

So I began my research, and over the next few years I came to a slow and eye-opening realization. No mater how many times or how nicely I wrote, my agent never answered my emails. Even after I had finished the book on the subject that he’d suggested, he never took my phone calls. Did this mean I didn’t have an agent? Had I been dumped because Jezebel hadn’t sold? Did agents do that without telling their clients? Apparently, he did, and apparently, some do. So I took the high road and wrote a letter thanking him for what he had done for me (he did get my foot in the door), and I asked to be released from our contract. I sent the letter by certified mail and promptly never heard from him again.

But publishing isn’t personal, and neither is rejection, so I began sending query letters out the next month, mentioning that my agent and I had recently parted ways and that I was searching for new representation. It was a matter of weeks before I had a new agent, the wonderful Anna Ghosh at Scovil Chichak Galen, and she took on the task of submitting the novel that my precious agent had suggested I write. But my heart hadn’t been in the book. It was set in the 20th century, and my specialty – what I studied in college and what I’ve since become an amateur historian on – is ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages. We had quite a few near misses with the novel, where editors wanted to purchase the book but were told no by the acquisitions committee, since all sales have to be approved by a committee. After Anna sent the novel to all the major houses, I began to panic that I’d be dropped as a client for a second time, and that is when I started Nefertiti, a project I was extremely passionate about. Anna waited for two years while I wrote the book, and eventually she sold the book and its stand-alone sequel for six-figures to Crown. After that, her foreign rights agent Danny Baror (who happened to be the same foreign rights agent who sold Jezebel) sold Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen to more than fifteen countries.

I do believe there is a moral to this story, which is to be persistent and not to be afraid of starting a new project. I have thirteen books that I’ve written, and just because they’re not published doesn’t mean I didn’t learn from them, or that I can’t publish them in the future (although I probably won’t). I think what aspiring writers need to understand is that if something isn’t right for the current market, that doesn’t mean they should simply give up. With each book you’ll get better as a writer, and eventually you will strike gold!

3) What experience do you hope readers will take away from reading
NEFERTITI?
I hope that readers will come away having felt as if they’d spent time in the ancient Egypt of 1350 BC. Nefertiti was the step-mother of Tut, the wife of the Heretic King Akhenaten, and a precursor to Ramesses the Great. She lived during a time of great wealth and power for Egyptian Pharaohs, and I believe that her story is one of the most fascinating ever to have come out of Egypt.

4) Can you tell us a little bit about your next novel? What's the
title? When is it due out?
Currently, I’m finishing the stand-alone sequel to Nefertiti. It will be in bookstores July 2008 and will probably be titled The Heretic Queen. It follows the destiny of Mutny’s daughter, Nefertari, and traces her transformation from a wild palace child to the strikingly beautiful and intelligent queen of Ramesses II.

Very cool, Michelle! Can't wait. (((Kimber hears the mummies chanting, 'Party! Party! Party!' again.))) Gotta go!

Cyber-Launch Book Party Tomorrow!!!

Be there to celebrate Michelle Moran's debut novel! Party starts by 6 a.m. Alaska Time and runs through Friday night when a drawing will be held. Winner gets a gold Nefertiti pendent and a gold-wrapped and autographed copy of the book. Pretty cool, huh?
;)

Sunday's Oldies but Goodies...

Good Morning!

This week's Oldie but Goodie is...

Legend of the Sorcerer

by Donna Kauffman

Released March 2000

Jordy Decker is a sculptor, and a pretty dang good one. Only problem is her partner has lied, cheated and stolen Jordy right out of her business. Feeling the extreme need to hid for a while and concentrate solely on her art, she winds up in Florida, where she meets Malacai L'Baan, bestselling author, and a man with his own issues right now. Namely, a crazy fan who's been sending him bizarre and disturbing letters.

After meeting Cai's grandfather, she agrees to stay on their little island hideaway, figuring it to be the perfect, secluded spot to get the muse jump-started again. What Jordy doesn't figure on is the pull she feels towards Cai, and the crazy letter writer taking grave offense to her staying anywhere near Cai.

There are secrets in Cai's family ~ secrets that have a way of revealing themselves when necessary. The books Cai has written ~ all about the mysterious Dark Pearl ~ have sprung from Cai's subconscious, but his grandfather insists the Dark Pearl is very real, and the only hope Cai has to stop the crazed fan from acting out some of the very disturbing things he/she has written about.

I like how Ms. Kauffman weaves the two story threads into one seamless tale. The main plot of the book, the story of Malachai and his history regarding the Dark Pearl is well-played against the story of Jordy and Cai, and their deepening feelings towards one another. Cai's grandfather is quit the character, and the interaction between them characters is always interesting. The heat level is sensual, but not just thrown in for the heck of it.

If you have never read a novel by Donna Kauffman, you are missing out one good storyteller. You can check out her entire booklist on her website www.donnakauffman.com

Happy reading!