Blog Trek

More great news on "All That Glitters" and "The Sweetest Song"

Night Owl Romance gave "All That Glitters" a Reviewer Top Pick with a score of 4.5/5.  The reviewer said it "belongs on the list of superb suspense stories." 

For a look at the complete review:

http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=1262

(You may have to type in my name to get to the actual review)

"The Sweetest Song" is now listed under Best Sellers on the homepage of Romance at Heart Publications:

http://rahpubs.com/index.htm

Both are now available to be downloaded onto Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Glitters/dp/B0013L2BOS/ref=tag_stp_st_edpp_ttl

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sweetest-Song/dp/B00140FWKS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1203740958&sr=1-2

I'm pretty darn pleased this week!

"All That Glitters" has hit the virtual bookstore!

Yes, it's official: "All That Glitters" is available from Awe-Struck publications.  Here's the direct link to check it out, read an excerpt and favorable reviews, and maybe even purchase if the mood strikes you:

http://www.awe-struck.net/AUTHORS49/atglit.html

I had fun writing this book about a couple with a disasterous romantic history who are thrown together out of necessity and learn not only to work together, but to support and nurture each other.

"All That Glitters" is a romantic suspense, so there's plenty of action going on as well.  One reviewer said this book made her want to dust the sand off her jeans by the end of Chapter 1.  I take that as a great compliment.  I subscribe to the sparse background description way of writing, but I try to make my descriptions count.  Evidently, I was successful with that endeavor in this book.

And the great cover helps, too!

All That Glitters--One Week To Release Date

In one week, or 2/8/08 to be exact, All That Glitters will hit the virtual bookstore over at Awe-Struck. 

So far, I have three favorable reviews, which makes me very happy.  Interestingly enough, all three reviewers had a different take on the novel.  One focused more on the relationship between Crystal and Cody, one really liked the mystery aspect and the fun characters, while the other put aside her desire for a "red hot" read in the romance department and instead found the book a real page-turner. 

Isn't that what we all strive for?  Each reader to personalize the read and get into the book for the plot, the characters or the relationship.  Whatever it takes to keep readers engaged and yes, turning those pages.  Then The Sweetest Song may find a new audience who will in turn be waiting for my next book.

Speaking of The Next Book, Rose Tattoo is changing names.  In order to become the first of a series, I decided I had to use a theme.  The new title is Swift Retribution.  It will be followed by Swift Justice and a third with a working title of Maine Issues, which will change as the plot evolves.  I finally reached the halfway point of draft #2 of Book 1, after which I breathed a big sigh of relief, because the second half of the book needs fewer revisions. 

I had thrown out most of the second half and recreated it.  Meshing old writing with new writing proved to be the most difficult task.  It left me wondering why I didn't just throw out most of the first half, too, but I liked the framework and the pace.  So, I had to doctor the rest, and now it's mostly done.  The third draft will involve more clean-up than make-up.

I actually love revisions.  There must be something wrong with me.   

What's So Alluring About Drac Books?

I've been wondering why so many women are writing and buying books about vampires.  A whole new cult has sprung up, but what's the attraction of the undead? 

Dracula, coming through the window and sucking blood, has never seemed sexy to me.  Scary, yes, and probably extremely painful (being bitten isn't fun, and I should know--a patient's large sized rat-dog bit the back of my leg a few months ago as I was leaving the house) but definitely not something that would send shivers of anticipation up my spine, even if I was a good deal younger.

Then there are the obvious problems:

1.  "No, sorry Mom and Dad, but Drac and I can't make it to the family barbeque IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY."

2.  No lunch dates or mid-afternoon delight.

3.  No beach vacations or cruises that have day trips.

4.  No remodeling that old Craftsman bungalow, unless it's the basement or the attic (preferably not vented by a turbine or one of those cutesy eyebrow windows that let in the light.)

5. No monogomy, because you'd run out of blood pretty quick, even if you said you were in need of frequent transfusions.  After the first 2, there would be a lot of questions asked.  Therefore, Drac would have to go out nights and find new blood, and you know he only likes young, very attractive women, not old crones on their deathbeds.

6. No cruising in that bitchin' convertible with the top down through Malibu or the Hollywood Hills or any other upscale area where you want to impress everyone with your pale Lord of Darkness in his full caped regalia--at least, not during the day when anyone might actually notice. 

Need I go on?  I could, you know.  Probably for HOURS.

Review posted to Blogcritics on "Queen of the Underworld" by Gail Godwin

My review of "Queen of the Underworld" has posted to Blogcritics and was picked up for syndication.  Check out the link:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/28/100731.php

Review posted to Blogcritics on "Christine Falls" by John Banville writing as Benjamin Black

I managed to finish my review for Blogcritics of "Christine Falls" by John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black.  The link is: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/04/04/053044.php.

After 2 nights when I was up until midnight, I'm really bushed.  I'm just getting too old to do the burning the candle at both ends gig.  I found myself totally swamped by 5 new patients in 24 hours, along with their faxes, paperwork, scheduling and file set-up.  Afterwards, I completed the revisions to the review at about 11PM, because I needed to get that off my To Do List.  Now I have to get back to the tax prep., but I plan to spend at least 30 minutes tonight on "Rose Tattoo's" second draft.  I feel very deprived because I haven't been able to even open the file this week, much less actually get into a chapter and work on it.

Once tax season is over, I'm hoping I can get at least a couple of weeks to myself before I have to start planning surgery for my other foot.  I'll keep my fingers crossed, because inevitably something else of vital importance will come along in an attempt to make me veer off course.

My life is just like that.  Always.

My First Authors Chat

I'm participating in my first live chat tomorrow evening, for Romance At Heart Publications. 

Here's the info:

RaHP Author chat on December 20th at 8pm Eastern Standard Time.

Chat link: http://romanceatheart.com/en/cgi-bin/chat.pl

Please be advised that AOL is not chat friendly, so please, use IE or Netscape browser when entering the chatroom.

Hope to "see" a few people there.  I'm giving away a copy of my book as a prize.

VIDEO MAGIC'S REVIEW

Not only did I post the review on VIDEO MAGIC to Amazon, but I also became a contributor for Blogcritics (http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/08/073953.php).  My review got picked up, too(Advance.net).  Vikk should sell a slew of books after all this!

THE SWEETEST SONG hit the virtual bookstore April 19

THE SWEETEST SONG is now available from Romance at Heart Publications:

http://rahpubs.com/index.htm           (you'll find it under Contemporary.)

direct link:

http://rahpubs.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=60

Enjoy, and don't forget to add a review, if the spirit moves you.

Lemons and Franz Wizner

The week from hell is almost over.  It ended (hopefully) on a real up-swing.  I have the prospect of going to eat British Fish and Chips with a fellow AWG member, who has been perseverating on the thought ever since we emailed about it earlier in January.  My revisions, at least for this round, appear to be coming to the end, once I stopped reinventing Chapter 5 and just went on, to find out that the 2 pages I kept trying to fix didn't need it.  I had pursued that conversation later on, in another chapter, and in a much better place.  I had, indeed, also used better wording.

To complete the journey from The Pit, I also went to the Alameda Writers Group's monthly general meeting this morning.  I had been interested in hearing Franz Wisner speak ever since I heard about "Honeymoon with my Brother" on The Today Show.  Franz is as entertaining in person as on T.V., and I'd give a big thumbs-up to anyone who has the chance to hear his story.  Turning lemons into lemonade was the thrust of his talk this morning, and it was so appropos to my week that I am taking it as a positive sign. 

I'm always happy to whip up a batch of lemonade from my own experiences, to keep the demons at bay.