Life with a new baby means no time to write. Heck, I’m lucky if I can eat and take a shower. Blogging, sadly, falls at the very bottom of my list of things to do.

Books I’ve managed to read or am currently reading:

MAGIC BLEEDS by Ilona Andrews

I picked up my autographed copy at Powell’s and read it in a record two days. LOVE THIS SERIES. Another great addition. Kate! Curran! Magic! Pretty writing. Deep characters. Sarcastic and funny dialogue. What’s not to love? If you haven’t read the Kate Daniels series yet, get on it.

THE FORBIDDEN ROSE by Joanna Bourne

I’m only halfway through, but I’m loving it.

REBELS AND LOVERS by Linnea Sinclair

I’m only halfway through, but then Andrews and Bourne’s books came out. I think scifi romance might be too complicated for my current sleep-deprived state of mind.

SOULLESS by Gail Carriger

Fun and flippy Victorian paranormal romance with steampunk elements. My book club read this one and we all enjoyed it. Loved the idea of a heroine born without a soul, and vampires and werewolves have an excess of soul. Very unique.

TSUNAMI BLUE by Gail Williams

This debut novel by SHOMI contest winner and Seattle RWA author Gail Williams hooked me from the beginning. I love the post apocalyptic setting and the hero is dreamy. Loved the dog, wish he appeared more. That said, if Tsunamis rocked the world, the San Juan islands would be the first to go. They are small and low in elevation. If the United States turned into a bunch of islands, only the mountains would be left above sea level. We would be living on top of the Cascades. Also, if you can see the tops of the Pike Place market buildings, the Space Needle would not be under water. It is on a hill. Details, details…which the average reader probably won’t care about. The bad guys could have used another layer or two. We know the hero and heroine are Good People because they have a dog–the kids didn’t add much to the story. I’m looking forward to reading more from Ms. Williams.

What have you been reading? What is so good you can’t put it down?

There are two auctions for readers and writers going on now, both raising money for good causes.

Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research

Advanced readers copies (ARCs), autographed books, critiques, lunches with editors and agents, gift baskets, one of a kind trips around the world…there is something for everyone in Brenda Novak’s annual auction. In past auctions I’ve purchased critiques of my first (sadly abandoned under the bed) novel from authors Candice Hern and Lori Handeland, and lunch in San Francisco at the RWA National Conference with author Jenna Peterson. This year I bid on a critique or two, but was outbid. The main item I’m excited about is the Brenda Novak mentorship contest. (Did someone say contest? sign me up!) With a $50 entry fee, the first fifty pages of one’s completed novel will be judged by Barbara Freethy, Cindy Gerard, Dianna Love, Susan Mallery, Karen Rose, Karin Tabke, Debra Webb, and C.L. Wilson. The winner gets a six-month mentorship by Brenda and a read by her agent and editor. As of today 65 people have entered. Better odds than the Golden Heart thus far, but the month is still young.

Do the Write Thing for Nashville Auction

The 2010 RWA National Conference was supposed to be in Nashville this year at the Gaylord Hotel, but flooding has moved it to Orlando. To raise money for flood relief, a bunch of writers and publishing people have banded together to auction off more books, critiques and the like. Every three days a new set of items goes up for bid.

Check these great opportunities out. Great prizes for a great cause. Bid high and bid often!

This Saturday is the second annual Romance Extraveganza! sponsored by the King County Library Association. Jayne Ann Krentz gave last year’s excellent keynote speech about the heroic journey in genre fiction. This year the always entertaining Cherry Adair is speaking. Don’t miss it!

Saturday, May 1, 11am–4pm
Covington Library

Meet some of your favorite best-selling romance authors on a day dedicated to romance readers and book lovers.

11:15am
Keynote Address by Cherry Adair

Noon
Book Signing Party with all participating authors

12:30pm
Paranormal Panel featuring Katie MacAlister, Cherry Adair and Shannon McKelden

1:30pm
Historical Panel featuring Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle and Margaret Mallory

2:30pm
Contemporary Panel featuring Susan Andersen, Gina Robinson and Ann Roth

Books will be available for purchase.

Refreshments provided by The Covington Friends of the Library, the Greater Seattle Chapter of Romance Writers of America and Cherry Adair.

The Oscars of the Romance Industry, the RITAs, were announced yesterday. Books published in 2009 were eligible, but authors had to submit them to the contest to be judged. Seattle authors made another strong showing among the finalists: Alexis Morgan, Julia Quinn, Margaret Mallory, Susan Wiggs, Jane Porter, and Lakeside alumna Marjorie M Liu (Class of ’96). There were, as usual, many great books of 2009 that didn’t make the cut. Who knows if the authors submitted their works. RITA winners will be announced at the Romance Writers of America national conference in Nashville in July.

Here are the few I’ve read that I can recommend:

Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl
Contemporary Single Title
Harlequin Enterprises, HQN
Editor: Tara Parsons
ISBN: 978-0-373-77356-5

Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle
Historical Romance
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books Romance
Editor: Lauren McKenna
ISBN: 978-0-4165-9492-5

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
Paranormal Romance
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books
Editor: Lauren McKenna
ISBN: 978-1-416-58094-2

The Fire King by Marjorie M. Liu
Paranormal Romance
Dorchester Publishing, Leisure Books
Editor: Chris Keeslar
ISBN: 978-0-843-95940-6

Scandal by Carolyn Jewel
Regency Romance
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
Editor: Kate Seaver
ISBN: 978-0-425-22551-6

How many have you read? Which do you plan to add to your TBR pile? Which books from 2009 do you wish had made the finalist list?

DABWAHA (Romance Novel March Madness) has kicked off and my bracket…isn’t doing so hot. I am consoling myself by reading some of the great  contestants, such as Carolyn Jewel’s SCANDAL. Highly recommended. Other additions to the To-Be-Read list:

1. Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James (Contemporary. Her latest book, Something About You, was the subject of the Smart Bitches and Dear Author’s “Save the Contemporary” campaign.)
2. Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle (Historical. I really enjoy Carlyle’s Regencies.)
3. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley (Historical. This book was highly hyped when released. Can it live up to the high expectations?)
4. Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione (Paranormal. Her Demonica series is a favorite of mine, though the last one had too much BDSM IMHO.)
5. Ash by Malinda Lo (Young Adult. Lots of award nominations. Paranormal and LGBT. How could I not be curious?)

I realize the Friday 5 is supposed to be questions, so here you go:

1. Have you read any of the above books?
2. What were your impressions?
3. Which DABWAHA contestants have you added to your TBR pile?
4. How is your bracket holding up?
5. Which books from 2009 do you wish had made the contestant list?

It’s that time again, eager readers. Dear Author and Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books have announced the third annual Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors…commonly referred to as DABWAHA. The grand prize this year is an iPad and there are multiple book prizes for intermediate bracket winners.

Contestants are 64 books published in 2009 in 8 different categories. Sadly, I have only read 10 of the nominees. Strangely enough, I’ve read 3 in the contemporary category. Normally I don’t read much contemporary, but what I do read I get from recommendations by DA and SB-TB and they are the ones who nominated the books. Books I’ve read:

Contemporary:

• Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy
• Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl
• Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

Historical:

• Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran

Sci-Fi Romance & Paranormal:

• Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh
• Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh

Young Adult: 0

Novel with Romantic Elements: 0

Series: 0

GLBT: 0

Urban Fantasy & Fantasy:

• Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
• Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs
• On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

I wish Ilona Andrews’ MAGIC STRIKES had made the list. Check out the DABWAHA.com website for the complete list of contenders.

Voting begins March 18th, so fill out your bracket now! (Or check out my bracket and vote for my books…because you love me and want me to win.) Have you filled your bracket already? How did you make your picks? Which books do you wish had made the list?

Seattle is a hotbed of writers and readers, which means book signings and craft workshops galore. I’ve got my eye on the Valentine’s Day Victorian Tea–tea and romance novels? How can you go wrong? Also, Patricia Briggs will be signing the latest Mercy Thompson book in March. If I haven’t gone into labor, I’ll be there with bells on.

PNWA Craft Workshop: Story, Structure, Subplot, Scene, Style: Keys to Rewriting Your Novel by Robert J. Ray
Thursday, February 11, 7 pm
The key to rewriting your novel is a workable plan: Story first, then Structure, Subplots,  (Key) Scenes, and Style. The toughest rewriting task is fixing your subplots. Before you can fix a subplot, you must peel it away from the novel, using tools like Character Arc, Character Grid, Scene List, Scene List, Scene Profile, Scene Template, and Core Story. Learn how to use these tools and make your rewrite hum in a hands-on workshop (with writing in the room) led by Robert J. Ray, using techniques from his latest book, The Weekend Novelist Rewrites the Novel.
Participants should bring a prose sample, two pages, double-spaced.
Chinook Middle School. Non-PNWA members are allowed to attend two meetings. Please see the PNWA website for more information.

Saint Valentine’s Day Victorian Tea book signing
Saturday, February 13, 2-4pm
Join local authors who delight in creating romantic stories set in the Victorian era at the Bellevue Library. Music, refreshments and a book signing will follow the program. Sponsored by Bellevue Friends of the Library. Books will be available for sale at this event. Organized by the King County Library System.

author of Prima Donna	author of All He Desires	author of Promise Me

I know, I know, it’s been a looong time since I blogged last. I have lots of excuses, but who cares? I promise to try to update more often. Here in Seattle it’s been cold, damp, and windy: perfect for snuggling up with a good book. Every day it seems like I discover another great local author. Today my high school news letter arrived in the mail and I was delightedly surprised to learn that Marjorie M. Liu is a fellow alumna. I wish I had known that when I met her at the RWA National conference in San Francisco. If you haven’t read Ms. Liu, her Dirk & Steele series is one of the best in the dark paranormal romance genre. Her urban fantasy series, Hunter Kiss, is set in Seattle (which should have been a clue that perhaps she had local ties). I highly recommend both.

My favorite recent read:

MUST LOVE HELLHOUNDS

Must read this book! Three of my favorite authors, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook, and Nalini Singh, dish up action packed urban fantasy novellas with hot heroes, kickass heroines, and monstorous hounds. Fans of Brook’s Sir Pup will enjoy an extra story featuring the mischievious shapeshifting canine, while Kate Daniels’ devotees will delight in finally finishing the Raphael-Andrea saga. Singh’s novella is set in her new urban fantasy world with archangels and vampires. I hadn’t read the single title books yet, but after reading this novella I’ve added them to my TBR list. Charlaine Harris’s addition was the only one that wasn’t a love story, which meant that it was least interesting to me personally. Highly recommended!

The first annual National Bookstore Day, organized by Publishers Weekly, is today. 140 independent book sellers around the country have signed up to participate, with giveaways, author signings and discounts to encourage readers to shop local. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like any stores in Seattle are participating. Even more unfortunately I’m still in bed sick and wouldn’t be able to participate even if there were. Sob!

Are independent bookstores in your neighborhood participating? Do they sell romance? One of my big pet peeves is that a lot of indy bookstores don’t stock romance, so I can’t support them even though I want to. My beloved Epilogue Books closed in August, taking with it the fabulous collection of used romance novels that I treated like my own personal library. All that is left here in Ballard is The Secret Garden Bookstore, which has an excellent collection of new children’s and YA books but very few adult romances.

I’d love to hear about your favorite local bookstores. Where do you buy books?

PS: For all you NaNoers out there — YOU CAN DO IT!!!

The Emerald City Writers’ Conference was a fabulous success, but it was still nice to rejuvenate from conference fever on the beach in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. I wrote by the pool, read a stack of books, snorkeled with colorful fish and sea turtles, hiked through Volcanoes National Park, viewed lava rolling into the sea, and got up close and personal with manta rays.

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

A few of the agents and editors at the conference were raving about this post-apocalyptic YA novel. I became so absorbed in the story that I didn’t notice when my shade moved and ended up with a toasty lobster-red burn on my chest. Classic. Hunger Games is a cross between SHADE’S CHILDREN (Nix) and COUNTDOWN (Maddox). It’s fast paced and enjoyable, though I wish it had more rebellion in it and less playing the system. Hopefully book 2, CATCHING FIRE, will deliver.

When her little sister is drawn for the lottery to be the next contestant in their district for the deadly Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. She is joined by Peeta, a seemingly easy-going, kind-hearted baker’s son, and together they take on contestants from the other 11 districts in a televised battle to the death.

WELCOME TO TEMPTATION by Jennifer Crusie

I’ve been hearing about Crusie, a giant of romantic comedy, for years, but hadn’t tried her until now. Why, oh why, did I wait so long?? Her books are funny, sexy and sweet. I’ve been devouring her backlist ever since. WELCOME TO TEMPTATION is still my favorite. I love the crooked Dempsey family and Phin, the seemingly straight-edged mayor, whose bent streak is revealed as he succumbs to temptation.

Sophie arrives in the one horse town of Temptation with her artistic sister and a video camera planning to shoot a come-back film for  Clea, an aging actress whose bombshell looks leave a trail of broken hearts starting here in her hometown. Phineus Tucker is the mayor of Temptation, as generations of Tuckers have been before him, and he knows with one look that Sophie’s arrival in his quiet town means Trouble with a capital “T”.

I also read Crusie’s BET ME, FAKING IT, GETTING RID OF BRADLEY, STRANGE BEDPERSONS and Lisa Kleypas’s A WALLFLOWER CHRISTMAS on the trip. Now I’m back in a rainy, gloomy Seattle autumn getting ready for my favorite holiday Halloween!