Delayed, but not forgotten... Sylvia Day bookwatch

So, Sylvia Day has been a busy lady. She had 2 books release on 2 June: In the Flesh, a SF/Futuristic/Fantasy written as Livia Dare, and Eve of Destruction, the 2nd book in the Marked series, an Urban Fantasy written as S.J. Day.

But what I truly love more than anything are her historicals. I've seen so much press from her lately about her new releases, I wondered what was going on with her Sylvia Day persona. Turns out, there is a new historical on the horizon, just no release date. Amazon has it listed as 25 Aug 09; BN.com has it listed as Sept 2009. Sylvia's website has this to say: "This release date has been delayed. I'm so sorry. I promise to keep you posted on the new on-sale date as soon as I know more."

*sob*

Anyway, just to give me my fix, and whet your appetite, here's the blurb for Pride and Passion via SylviaDay.com: Wealth has its dangers…

There are disadvantages to being an heiress, as Eliza Martin knows well. Fortune hunters flock to her, acquaintances lie and pander, and lately, someone is engineering “accidents” to propel her to the altar. But Eliza will not be bullied, and she will get to the bottom of this plot. All she needs is a man to infiltrate her assemblage of suitors and find the culprit. Someone not easily noticed; a proficient dancer, quiet, and even-tempered.

…so do certain men

Thief-taker Jasper Bond is entirely too large, too handsome, and too dangerous. Who would believe that an intellectual like Eliza would be seduced by a man of action? But the combination of her stubbornness and the mystery makes the case one Jasper can’t resist. Client satisfaction is a point of pride and it’s his pleasure to prove he’s just the man she needs after all…

Does anybody know anything more about this one? I need my fix.

Sad Author News...

I was so sad to hear via DA that Suzanne Simmons/Elizabeth Guest passed away yesterday. She wrote some of my favorite contemporaries, always with a wonderful sense of humor and joy in her novels, and with wonderful heroes and funny heroines that I love so much.

She was a regular contributor on Running With Quills, and you can post over there if you like...

Why?

That's all I have to say is why? Why would someone DO something this DISGUSTING? BLECH.

Giveaway Goodness

While some of you fabulouso folks were at RT, I was home wallowing in terror at the possibility of getting laid off from my job, then the sheer joy at still having my job, then moving on to planning the bar mitzvah, and writing checks for the bar mitzvah (ouch!). I read all your wonderful posts, but hardly commented. So imagine my utter joy when I won not one, but two contests this last week... the fantabulous Pamela Clare sent me an autographed copy of Unlawful Contact, and the ever-so-awesome Beth Williamson sent me a bag of goodies from RT.

First things first, I don't know if you've heard, but Beth has just received a 3-book contract from none other than Kate Duffy at Kensington. Congratulations to Beth, and WOOT!!!

Now... being the dufus that I am, I forgot that I had Unlawful Contact on order at Amazon. So not only do I have a brand-spankin shiny new, personally autographed copy of it from the lovely, gracious Pamela Clare, but I have a brand-spankin new copy of it from Amazon. I really only need one copy. So.... just leave a comment for me and I will have Steve the Spaz draw a name from the commenters on Friday night, 10 pm pacific time to receive said copy. And did I mention, not only is Pamela Clare a fabulous author -- I love not only this series, and have you read Surrender? Loveloveloved it!!! --She is also a fellow CU Alum. Go Buffs!!!

*Tear*

RIP author Madeleine L'Engle, author of the famous Wrinkle in Time series. Ms. L'Engle died Thursday night in Connecticut. You can read the first obit here.

Those books had a HUGE impact on my early reading. I devoured the first book, then had to find the others in the series, and found that I might possibly have an obsession with series books. I laughed when Wrinkle was the class book in the 6th grade, as I had it almost memorized by that time, and most of the kids hadn't even heard of it. (Ironically, this also happened with Edgar Allen Poe. Tangent.)

I also think about the hours and hours hubby and I watched the movie version of Wrinkle on our honeymoon as the hotel had 4 movie channels and it was on all of them all the time. And I loved it. Loved Meg and Charles Wallace and Calvin and the twins... Classic.

So cheers to you, Ms. L'Engle, for the many hours and hours and HOURS of happy reading you gave me. May you rest in peace. You will be remembered.

“Why does anybody tell a story? It does indeed have something to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically.” ~Madeleine L'Engle, courtesy of NYT

OMG... I WON!!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I WON AND NOBODY TOLD ME! I'm sitting here all weekend, bummed out because I thought I lost for sure, but here I won!!! WOOT! I still can't believe nobody told me, though. LOL


STROKE OF MIDNIGHT Finalists

Contemporary:
1st - When Petals Fall Anne Rigoulot
2nd - BIG Trouble Robin L. Rotham
3rd - Secret Reflection Jennifer Brassel
Honorable Mention - The Amazing Sex Race Julie Hurwitz
Honorable Mention - Liar, Liar Julie MenschWellons

Paranormal/TT:
1st - Burn for You Evie Byrne
2nd - Not that Innocent Susan Meier
3rd - Crime of Passion Holly Youngquist
Honorable Mention - Spell Bound Stephanie Mowery
Honorable Mention - To Find A Queen Nancy Liedel

Futuristic/Fantasy/Sci-Fi:
1st - The Captured Rose Shelli Stevens
2nd - Something More Than Sex Sher LeScott
3rd - Dream Traveler Adele Dubois
Honorable Mention - Eternally Three: Touching Perfection Lee Swift

Historical:

1st - A LORD’S OBLIGATIONS Elaine M. Powell
2nd - DANTE’S INFERNO Evie Byrne
3rd - THE VOYAGE Lori Schaefer
Honorable Mention - WHERE THE WOLF LIES Jennifer Begley
Honorable Mention - FOSSA’S DARE Sandy Storm

Breaking News... Sarah McCarty

Sarah has a post on her Yahoo group. You can go there and check it out if you wish. But here's the gist of it.

Ms. McCarty said there is nothing dramatic going on. It was just that neither side (she nor EC) were able to reach a compromise. "It's that simple," Sarah said. No sword clashing, bone crushing, flame throwing going on. Just a simple understanding on both sides. It's business, nothing personal... simple as that.

Long Time No Talk

Hey everyone. Sorry I've been so scarce, but I've been a little busy.

First and foremost, Bob is doing better. He can BREATHE. He went back to work already yesterday, but today he isn't feeling his best. I'm thinking it's partly due to dehydration. I totally know he's not drinking enough water (like he did after the heart attack in January), so I told him to drink more water and see if it helps. Sure can't hurt.

Today is my daddy's 60th birthday. Happy birthday, Dad. Wishing you many more!

Got the contract from my agent today. It's so pretty, even thought I have no clue what some of the wording means Wooo freaking hoooo!

Been reading a little in between working on revisions.

Read an ARC of Jaci Burton's Wild, Wicked & Wanton. Yowza! Can you say scorching hot? I'll be reviewing it in the next few days. Awesome read.

I also read a very surprisingly good book... a Silhouette Desire from Heidi Betts called Seven-Year Seduction. I grabbed this one off my TBR shelf one night when I couldn't fall asleep but was hoping to find a book that would put me to sleep... so NOT what I found. I found a diamond in my TBR stack... a FANTASTIC book that, to me, was not a typical SD. No siree. It was way more than I even imagined. Boy is girl's older brother's best friend, like one of the family, and girl has the hots for boy in high school. After a game one night girl and boy grab something to eat, go park and eat, then act on their attractions and have sex. Girl is thinking boy is just as enamored as she is, but boy never calls. Seven years later... girl is home for her brother's wedding, and boy is the best man. Girl and boy dance at wedding, and boy's live-in girlfriend(LIG) at the time sees there's more than meets the eye and confronts boy. Girl is the reason why LIG and boy aren't married but rather only living together, she sees it plain as day and breaks it off. Boy doesn't feel so bad because he knows it's the truth. Boy gets kicked out of and needs to find a place to stay, so girl's older brother/boy's best friend says he can stay at his place while he and the new wife are on their honeymoon. Girl gets slobbering drunk because of boy and their past, trying to forget it all. Girl wakes up the next morning goes into the kitchen and sees boy standing in her brother's kitchen. Heh heh. Sparks fly in more ways than one, and at first she wants to leave but then ends up staying. They spend time together, get their freak on, resolve the past. Girl leaves back to job in LA, boy realizes he's in love with her. Boy talks with best friend, best friend/girl's brother tells him to go for it. Boy tracks down girl in LA, declares his love, proposes, she accepts, wants to move back home, and they live happily ever after. SIGH. Lovely. One I highly recommend.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

I now have agented representation for my writing!!!! Laura Bradford of the Bradford Literary Agency is sending me the contract TODAY! WOOO FREAKING HOOO! As I told Laura... a bright ray in the gloominess. I couldn't be more thrilled!

*doing the snoopy dance*

I Have A Secret...

A really, really, really fabulous secret. Big. Huge. Squeal-worthy secret. One that had me bouncing off the walls and left me sleepless until my body couldn't help but succumb to exhaustion. I woke up this morning in sort of a daze/haze and am going to have to function doing transcription this way. Hee hee. How is that going to work.

What? Oh. Back on track. My secret. You really want to know? Okay. I'll tell you.



I am now an agented author! After a few revisions are made and a relationship established as well as contract signed, I will be represented by Laura Bradford of the Bradford Literary Agency!!!!

A few authors she represents are Lauren Dane and Anya Bast.

It still seems so surreal, and I can't believe it's true, that it really happened. But...

How freaking cool is that????

** SPECIAL THANKS**
Thanks to Sarah McCarty... I couldn't have done it without you showing me the PROPER techniques rather than the drivel of my first draft. Five versions later, we ended up with When Petals Fall.
AND with the assistance of Jennifer B with her lovely ability to find clumsy sentences and areas that just weren't working, When Petals Fall only has MINIMAL revisions to be done for Ms. Bradford.
Major gratitude to you, ladies.