Release Day!!

It's release day for Beth Williamson! Woohoo!!! If you haven't picked up your copy of The Education of Madeline yet, what are you waiting for? Go forth and buy, buy, buy!!!

Scream for Me by Karen Rose coming May 13!

(note - I'll post the cover image later - darn Blogger isn't cooperating right now)

So psyched about this. And as I mentioned with my last review, this one is in hardcover. Damn! BUT... I don't know how on earth they managed it, but her publisher is offering the book at $16.99. And, with Amazon's discount, it's only $11.55. Add to that, the 5% pre-order discount, and it's only $10.97, and of course, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Luuuuurve me some Amazon Prime! I'm willing to do that - it's only $3 more than the paperback.

And, can I mention, this book has a pre-pub review blurb from the great, fabulous, amazing James Patterson?! Here's his blurb:

"From the first rousing chapter to the last, SCREAM FOR ME is intense, complex, and unforgettable."
-- James Patterson, NYT Bestselling Author

You go, Karen!!

Here's the book blurb, courtesy of karenrosebooks.com: Special Agent Daniel Vartanian has sworn to find the perpetrator of multiple killings that mimic a 13-year-old murder linked to a collection of photographs that belonged to his brother, Simon, the ruthless serial killer who met his demise in DIE FOR ME. Daniel is certain that someone even more depraved than his brother committed these crimes, and he's determined to bring the current murderer to justice and solve the mysterious crime from years ago.

With only a handful of images as a lead, Daniel's search will lead him back through the dark past of his own family, and into the realm of a mind more sinister than he could ever imagine. But his quest will also draw him to Alex Fallon, a beautiful nurse whose troubled past reflects his own. As Daniel becomes attached to Alex, he discovers that she is also the object of the obsessed murderer. Soon, he will not only be racing to discover the identity of this macabre criminal, but also to save the life of the woman he has begun to love.

If you haven't read Karen Rose, you can read my reviews of the first 4 books here. I never did get around to reviewing the rest, but suffice it to say, they are excellent, and she is an autobuy for me. Y'all know I don't buy hardcover for almost anything!

Daughry Video Blog

Yes, I'm still a fangirl. He so totally rocks. Got an email with the link from my sister (thanks Shelly aka anonymous). Thought I'd share for anyone who cares. *G*

DUDE!!!!

It's too big, but I DON'T CARE! DUDE!!!!!!!!

MORE DAUGHTRY MUSIC VIDEOS & VIDEO CODES

Artist Site

More Videos

I have officially lost my mind... aka A money tree grows in Simi Valley

It is, after all, the holiday season, and isn't that the name of the movie? Forget Brooklyn, the tree grows in Simi, and it's definitely a money tree. And I just chopped it down. In one fell swoop. We heard on the radio today that James Taylor and Carole King are playing together at the Troubador in Hollywood for the Troub's 50th anniversary. With JT's original band. James Taylor and Carole King, people. To. Gether. In a tiny room. It's this Thursday - in two days!! And we managed to get tickets! How could we pass it up? Ho-ly shit. This is why I work 60 hour weeks.

"Holy spend all your holiday money on yourselves and leave nothing for your children, Batman!"

No kiddies for this one, no way - no how. Grownups only. (The kiddies just rolled their eyes anyway. Idjuts.)

Have I said how much I love my credit card?

and how broke I'm gonna be? *whimper*

The Van Halen concert

Just sayin... frickin' awesome. It's like the last 20 years never existed. I wondered how they would handle the "Sammy years". They didn't. They just ignored them.

So, we got to Staples Center, and pulled into the shiny new underground parking garage. We paid our *choke* $25 for parking, and were inside on the floor, in our seats in less than 10 minutes. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Especially considering Mary J Blige was also playing at the adjoining Nokia Theater on the same night.


The show? Fan-frickin-fabulous. And can I say? Dave and Eddie? Both pretty ripped for old farts. (Whaaaat? I can say that, being as I'm an old fart, too!). The guys looked like they were having the time of their lives, and it was so fun. We couldn't help but wonder if Eddie had that kind of fun with Sammy onstage. Dave is still as vaudevillian as ever. And Eddie still rocks like anything on the guitar. Steve was completely enthralled with Alex's drumming, especially the drum solo. He dug it. Jeff just stared at Eddie's hands the whole night with this bemused look on his face. Kind of a matched set of bookends with his dad, LOL.

Here's the lineup of songs - not a Sammy Hagar song among them:
You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Guitar Solo (incl. "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption")
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Encore:
1984
Jump

So, the boys knew about half the songs. Bob & I never thought we'd hear Somebody Get Me a Doctor in concert ever again, or Atomic Punk. We were stoked!

Poor Steve, though. About halfway through, he started complaining of feeling nauseous. We think it had something to do with the aroma in the air, if you get my drift. Then he laid down and promptly fell asleep (read: passed out). Luckily, he had gotten his souvenier T-Shirt before the show began. We felt so badly for him. At least he got to see the drum solo, but he completely missed Eruption. Poor baby. Jeff, of course, looked disdainfully down at him and said "What a child. Who could fall asleep at a concert?" Ummm....me? I raised my hand. (Side note: I didn't tell him it was because I was in the middle of 3 people and the joint was being passed back and forth, so for each hit the end folks took, I got 2. Needless to say, I missed about half of the Boston concert. Luckily, it was the entire 3rd album start to finish I slept through. Who's to say I wouldn't have slept anyway? What a snoozer that album was!... End side note). The concert was well worth the $150 per ticket we paid. God love MasterCard.

One last note about Wolfie. He totally rocked. He's really a fabulous bassist. And he did beautifully on the backup vocals. We hardly missed Michael Anthony. And Eddie obviously loved having him up there. But he's 16 years old. And in a very awkward stage. Eddie and Dave are looking very studly. He's ... a bit... chunky? Definitely taking after Valerie. Don't get me wrong - I love her! I always identified with her in One Day at a Time. But still. Poor kid.

Van Halen is tonight!!

It's tonight!!! OK, not the date that we won tickets for, but the night that we bought 4 seats for.

On. The. Floor.

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Christmahannakwaanza to my children. Talk about an expensive gift! Youch!

I'll let you all know how it was. And if I don't get around to posting about it before Thursday, I hope you all have an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving!

Woot! Van Halen!

I just won Van Halen tix on the radio! SCORE! The boys were in the car with me, and we were on the way home from Yom Kippur services. They got to hear my name announced on the radio and everything. Now they think I'm the coolest mom evah (at least for today). Oh yeah.

Although, we still have to buy tickets, because I only won 2, and we were planning to buy tickets as the boys' bigh Hanukkah/Christmas gift this year.

I've seen Van Halen several times over the years, but only once before with Diamond Dave, and he hasn't been with them in 22 years. Woot!

And does anybody else think that Wolfie looks just like Valerie Bertinelli? Wow.

Squeeing Fangirl Moment...

I'll keep it brief. Heh heh. One of my favorite authors of all time, THE Susan Mallery, is over blogging on Riding With The Top Down. Wheeeee! This is my SECOND interaction with her in a week! Woot! Over on The Midnight Hour, Alexis Morgan asked:

if you could meet any writer, past or present, and talk to them about their stories, who would you choose??? What would you say???

My answers were my usual... Nora Roberts and Susan Mallery. And Susan responded to my comment. Squeee! It may not mean much to you all, but I just love Ms. Mallery's work. (To paraphrase Karen) Love it like a fat kid loves cake... chocolate cake even, with bettercreme frosting! So this was a HUGE moment for me. Big squeeing fangirl moment.

Hey Bob... WOOT! LOL

And here's what I get to look forward to from Ms. Mallery very, very soon... Ordered and currently enroute from eHarlequin.com. THEN The Sheik and the Christmas Bride coming out in November! SHEIKS! WOOOOT!

My Daughtry Experience

I've heard it said a couple times in comments here that he snubbed someone at a concert when being asked for an autograph. All I can say to that is, he must have been having a really bad day because that is not the Chris Daughtry that performed last Friday, July 6th, at Summerfest.












The Chris Daughtry that performed was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anyone perform with so much heart. I mean, when I went to see Creed(before they split up), the singer, Scott Stapp, sang his ass off, rocked the joint, and at the time it was the best freaking concert I'd ever been to. But now, and this IS totally unbiased, Daughtry is the best damn concert I've ever seen. Oh. My. God. He rocked. Remember him on American Idol when he totally rocked the joint? How he gave 210 percent?













Well, he was exactly like that. He was incredible! Sang every song on the CD, and really, really rocked them, even ones that weren't as "rocky" as the others. He did "Home" and "Feels Like Tonight" and announced that "Over You" will be their next single. Woot! (There ya go, Kate). He also sang Fell On Black Days by Soundgarden a capella. Man. Fucking awesome.











He was soooo appreciative to the fans for us knowing the words and singing and screaming. He kept thanking us and telling us we were amazing and awesome and told us(lied) that we sang beautifully. Snicker. We were sooo awful. LOL But it was great, and I'm hoarse from singing and screaming like the rabid Daughtry fangirl that I am. He had the S-shaped sideburns and the soul patch and I sighed more than once. He is so fucking hot.










If he's coming into your area and you like his music, I HIGHLY recommend going to see him. You will not be disappointed.

Sending Out Huge Congrats!

All around sweetheart and fabulous author(one of my faves), Cindy Gerard, has three more books coming out and she's landed a HUGE deal according to Dear Author, and the series sounds like a fabulous followup to her Bodyguards series.

Author of the NYT and USA Today bestselling THE BODYGUARDS series, Cindy Gerard’s new BLACK OPS series, about a private contracting firm specializing in jobs even the military and the CIA won’t touch, to Maggie Crawford at Pocket, in a significant deal, in a three-book deal, by Maria Carvainis at Maria Carvainis Agency (World).

HUGE CONGRATS CINDY!! You go girl! Woot!

Guess Where I'm Going???

Squeeing fangirl moment...

(Don't you just wanna love him up? Sigh.)

Yes, oh yes... I'm going to see Daughtry in concert! Woot! Friday, July 6th, I get to watch Chris sing his heart out. Sigh. I'll be bringing a number of drool rags, for both myself and my sister.

God, I just wanna lick him all over. *sigh* (I warned you it was a squeeing fangirl moment)