For more information, including locations and descriptions, see the UPCOMING EVENTS page. Know of others? Leave a comment!

1. Gary Paulsen (author of Hatchet)- Wednesday, June 3, 7pm
2. China Melville, The City- Friday, June 5, 2009 6:30 p.m.
3. Hugo House Write-O-Rama: Saturday, June 6th, 2009, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
4. Yasmine Galenorn signs Demon Mistress (Sisters of the Moon book 6) – Sat. June 6
5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem - Seth Grahame-Smith Saturday • June 13 • 4pm
6. New Author Showcase including Will North, Philip Marks, Deborah Schneider, Joe McDonald, Theresa Meyers, Curt Ebbesmeyer and others! Saturday, June 20, 2pm
7. Break Into Fiction, Powerplot Your Book workshop with Mary Buckham and Dianna Love
   Mercer Island Library, Saturday, June 20, 2pm
   Covington Library, Monday, June 29, 7pm (Mary and Dianna)
   Bellevue Regional Library, Tuesday, June 30, 7pm (Mary and Dianna)
8. Seattle Book Blogger/Author meetup
   Organized by Wendi of Wendi’s Book Corner: for book bloggers, authors and publicists -Monday, June 22, 11:00 am – 1:00
9. Anne Bishop signs The Shadow Queen – Thursday • June 25 • 7pm
10. Candy Tan (Smart Bitches who Love Trashy Books) signs Beyond Heaving Bosoms -Saturday, June 27, 2009 6:30 p.m.
11. Jacqueline Carey signs Naamah’s Kiss - Monday • June 29 • 7pm
12. Elizabeth Bear – Tuesday • July 7 • 7pm
    
13. Kat Richardson signs Vanished (Book 4) Sat, Aug 8, noon

I’m inspired by Susan Wiggs’s blog post about pre-teen crushes on characters from books later made into movies. (Local author alert!) I know what you’re thinking: Peter Pan, right? But no. My feelings for the fairy in green tights are completely platonic. (Tiger Lily, on the other hand, is hawt.) I also never liked Gilbert or the guy from Little Women.

What characters captured your heart growing up?

The rules: the books don’t have to be made into movies, but the movies do have to be based on a book. Your crush occurred between birth and age 18.

Here are mine:

1. Rufio! Rufio! from the movie Hook, loosely based on Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. BIG crush.
2. Prince Philip from the movie Sleeping Beauty, based on the fairy tale by the same name. (david kawena’s gallery on deviantart is even better!)
3. Mendanbar, King of the Enchanted Forest, from Searching for Dragons (sequel to Dealing with Dragons) by Patricia C. Wrede.
4. Wesley, from The Princess Bride. I doubt there’s a woman my age who didn’t have a crush on him. AS YOU WISH!!!!
5. Calvin O’Keefe (notably not from whatever movie has been made) from the book A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. I recreated his science experiment with the plants when I was in middle school.
   
   
6. Haakon Haakonsen (the kid) from the movie Shipwrecked, based on the book “Haakon Haakonsen. A Norwegian Robinson Crusoe” by author O. V. Falck-Ytter’s, published in 1873.
7. Robert Roy MacGreggor, from the movie Rob Roy, based on the book by Sir Walter Scott
8. Shang from Disney’s Mulan, loosely based on a poem. Look at those pecs! I confess to pausing this movie so that I could draw his rippling abs. yum
9. Connor from the book Trinity by Leon Uris. (Irish guys are hot!)
10. Ari Ben Canaan from the movie/book Exodus by Leon Uris.
11. Will from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (introduced in book 2, The Subtle Knife). A man who likes cats!
12. Aragorn, who is so much hotter than Legolas, from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. (I’m reaching. I read the books, but didn’t have a crush until the movie, which came out after I was 18. so sue me.)
13. Vidanric from Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, which I didn’t read until after 18, but it’s a YA and I should have. He’s hot.

Romance is the most maligned genre of literature, despite being the highest grossing. How do publishers afford multi-million dollar contracts for first time literary fiction authors? On the backs of romance. We, romance readers, are the most loyal fans. We are powering through the recession, earning even more profits for Harlequin despite the buying downturn through the rest of the economy. Unfortunately, most people who criticize the genre as “bodice-rippers” and “crotch novels” have never read one. I’ll leave the eloquent arguments to Smart Bitches who Love Trashy Books and Dear Author. Check out the stats on romance readers from the Romance Writers of America to see that we’re a highly diverse, highly educated bunch. Escapist fantasies? What book, besides a textbook, isn’t an escapist fantasy? That’s what reading is. That’s what TV and movies are. ENTERTAINMENT.

Romance novels are delicious. Nom…nom…nomnomnomnomnom.

What I want to share with you now is the time honored wisdom: Don’t Knock it till You’ve Tried it

Here are 13 recommended books (all of which I’ve read and loved) in each subgenre of your reading persuasion. Go ahead, try one. I double-dog dare ya.

1. Contemporary: This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
2. Paranormal: Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione
3. Historical: It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
4. Regency: The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne
   
5. Science-Fiction: Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair
6. Fantasy: The Moon Witch by Linda Winstead Jones
7. Suspense: Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard
8. Young Adult: Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (sigh, or Twilight…but who’s left who hasn’t read it?)
9. Women’s Fiction: Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
10. Erotica: Go Fetch! by Shelly Laurenston
11. Contemporary Category Romance: Marriage at the Millionaire’s Command by Anne Oliver
12. Paranormal Category Romance: Raintree Inferno by Linda Howard
13. Suspense Category Romance: Strangers in the Night by Kerry Connor

Yesterday the Romance Writers of America announced the finalists of the coveted RITA award. Winners of the awards will be announced July 18th at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 29th Annual National Conference in Washington, D.C. (Photo is of Regency romance author Julia Quinn with her RITA win last year for THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS MIRANDA CHEEVER.)

There are 12 categories and multiple Seattle finalists. The full list of GSRWA member finalists in both the RITA and Golden Heart should be up on the website soon. Congrats to Yasmine Galenorn, Susan Mallery, Anthea Lawson, Vivi Andrews, Cherry Adair, Julia Quinn, Susan Wiggs, Janice Kay Johnson, Debbie Malcomer and Lisa Kleypas (unsubstantiated rumor says she moved to Bellingham). Seatown represent!

So many books, so little time. How will you decide which finalists to read? Here are the 13 you should choose first (in order as they appear on the RITA finalist list):

1. Passionate by Anthea Lawson
   Kensington Publishing Corp., Zebra Debut
   Finalist: Best First Book
   
2. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
   Bantam Dell Publishing Group
   Finalist: Best First Book, Historical Romance
   
3. Strangers in the Night by Kerry Connor
   Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Intrigue
   Finalist: Best First Book, Contemp. series suspense/adventure
4. The Man Behind the Cop by Janice Kay Johnson
   Harlequin Enterprises, Superromance
   Finalist: Contemp. series suspense/adventure
5. Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas
   St. Martin’s Press
   Finalist: Historical Romance
6. The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne
   Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
   Finalist: Historical Romance
7. Dragon Wytch by Yasmine Galenorn
   Penguin Group USA, Berkley
   Finalist: Paranormal Romance
8. Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh
   Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
   Finalist: Paranormal Romance
9. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn
   HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
   Finalist: Regency Historical Romance
10. My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne
    Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
    Finalist: Regency Historical Romance
11. “Only You” by Jacquie D’Alessandro in It Happened One Night
    HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
    Finalist: Romance Novella
12. “Thicker Than Blood” by Meljean Brook in First Blood
    Penguin Group USA, Berkley
    Finalist: Romance Novella
13. “The Fall of Rogue Gerard” by Stephanie Laurens in It Happened One Night
    HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
    Finalist: Romance Novella

Has Sookie Stackhouse spurred your appetite? Do you find yourself craving stories of tough chicks who solve crimes and kick butt in dark paranormal worlds where vampires and werewolves roam? Charlaine Harris has won a legion of fans with her Sookie Stackhouse series, starting with book 1: DEAD UNTIL DARK, recently brought to your living room by HBO in the show True Blood.

The genre is called Urban Fantasy, and is typically told in the first person with a female protagonist. UF should not be confused with Paranormal Romance, even if some bookstores incorrectly shelve UF in the romance section (the horror!). There is no guarantee of a Happily Ever After or any love-true-love. UF is more akin to horror than romance.

Here are thirteen Urban Fantasy series recommendations for you to sink your teeth into:

1. Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
   (featuring werewolves, vampires and the fae).
   Book 1: MOON CALLED
2. Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
   (featuring magic users, shapeshifters and vampire-like beings).
   Book 1: MAGIC BURNS
3. Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong
   (featuring werewolves, and later other supernatural beings).
   Book 1: BITTEN.
4. Riley Jensen series by Keri Arthur
   (featuring shapeshifters and vampires).
   Book 1: FULL MOON RISING.
5. Hunter Kiss series by Marjorie M. Liu
   (featuring demons).
   Prequel novella: “Hunter’s Kiss” in WILD THING anthology, Book 1: THE IRON HUNT.
6. The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost
   (featuring vampires).
   Book 1: HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE
7. The Phoenix Chronicles series by Lori Handeland
   (featuring everything under the sun).
   Book 1: ANY GIVEN DOOMSDAY
8. Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.
   Book 1: STORM FRONT
9. The Hollows series by Kim Harrison
   (featuring every magical being under the sun).
   Book 1: DEAD WITCH WALKING.
10. Georgina Kincaid Series by Richelle Mead
    (featuring succubi).
    Book 1: SUCCUBUS BLUES
    
11. The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason
    (featuring vampires).
    Book 1: THE REST FALLS AWAY
12. The Otherworld series by Yasmine Galenorn
    (featuring magic users).
    Book 1: WITCHLING.
13. Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton
    (featuring vampires, shapeshifters and lots of…stuff).
    Book 1: GUILTY PLEASURES

Thursday Thirteen Meme

Use these clues to solve today’s

Haiku Book Challenge!

1. Chesapeake brothers
   build boats, find love and defeat
   new brother’s mother
2. Cursed incubus male
   beats demons out of forced mate
   f*ck-me pheromones!
3. Bruised, abused werewolf
   takes down crazed pack leader with
   help. Emotes peace, calm.
4. Flooded lift rescue
   for abused little rich girl
   Hot Texas redneck
5. Rich cruise ship owner
   stalked by crazy ex lover
   hits jackpot with twins
6. Regency PI
   teaches orphanage mistress
   all about passion
7. Wolf-pack coyote
   messes with vampires again
   accepts alpha mate
8. Hot Sherwood archer
   rescues dreaming blind woman
   fights evil sheriff
9. Ten year reunion
   at country inn, in these four
   Regency short tales
10. Wronged muralist runs
    to island home, Greek sailor
    steals house, knocks her up
11. Auction mix-up sends
    gigolo home with farm girl
    fake boyfriend for hire
12. One-legged soldier
    returns home to ranch, falls for
    hot small-town doctor
13. Widow with two kids
    can’t keep young race car driver
    from steaming up sheets

Steampunk books:

1. The Demon’s Daughter by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon book 1)
2. Prince of Ice by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon book 2)
3. Demon’s Fire by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon book 3)
4. Hot Spell anthology story by Emma Holly (Tales of the Demon short story)
5. Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti
6. The Diamond Age by Neil Stevenson
7. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
8. The Difference Engine by William Gibson
9. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
10. Steampunk by Ann VanderMeer
11. Whitechapel Gods by S.M. Peters
12. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore
13. Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers

Saturday I leave for Miami to board a cruise ship for a week of fun & sun in the caribbean with three girlfriends. This will be my first foray into that corner of the world and my first time aboard a cruise ship.

Saturday: Fly to Miami
Sunday : Explore Miami
Monday: Set sail aboard the good ship lollipop Carnival Destiny
Tuesday: Nassau – Swim with Stingrays
Wednesday: Half Moon Cay – Snorkel by Boat
Thursday: Grand Turk – Horseback riding and swimming with horses
Friday: Sailing, sailing over the ocean blue
Saturday: fly home

Of course I’m looking for romance novels set in the Caribbean or aboard a cruise ship to take with me!

Can you recommend any of these?

1. BABY BONANZA by Maureen Child (Silhouette Desire, Sept 2008)
   Millionaire owner of cruise line discovers his mistress is pregnant with twins.
   Read ebook FREE for Harlequin 60 year anniversary!
   Recommended by the Book Binge
2. TREASURE by Helen Brenna (Harlequin SuperRomance, No 1408)
   Treasure hunter searches for spanish gold from legendary shipwreck, finds something even more valuable.
   2008 RITA winner best Contemporary Series Romance
3. ISLAND HEAT by Sarah Mayberry
   Former lovers hired to give culinary presentations aboard cruise ship stir up passion in the kitchen and the bedroom. (Mediterranean Nights series is set on cruise ships)
   Recommended by Sayuri (via twitter)
4. THEN YOU HIDE by Roxanne St. Claire
   Heroine searches for missing friend on a cruise ship and through the caribbean, is saved from killers by retired assassin with a secret she doesn’t want to hear. Bullet Catchers book.
   Recommended by Ciaralira
   
5. GOING OVERBOARD by Christina Skye
   Cruise ship photographer saved by undercover Navy SEAL from assassination attempt.
   Recommended by Writers Write
6. THE IRON ROSE by Marsha Canham
   “Gender-bending tale of pirates, spies, and love on the high seas” set in 1610s Caribbean
   Recommended by All About Romance.
7. DAY DREAMER by Jill Marie Landis
   Regency heroine with paranormal skill fakes identity, enters into marriage of convenience with Caribbean-located husband.
   Recommended by All About Romance.
8. NERDS LIKE IT HOT by Vicki Lewis Thompson
   Murder witness hides on single-nerd caribbean cruise and tries to resist a “titanic attraction” to her bodyguard.
   VLT spoke at RWA San Fran last summer, but I haven’t read any of her books.
9. CARIBBEAN CRUISING by Rachel Hawthorne (AKA Lorraine Heath)
   On a Caribbean cruise, eighteen-year-old Lindsay’s to-do list includes having a one night stand, but when her wealthy new stepfather introduces his gorgeous godson as her traveling buddy, things become complicated. (Young Adult)
10. A PIRATE OF HER OWN by Kinley MacGregor (AKA Sherrilyn Kenyon)
    American revolutionary buccaneer kidnaps rebellious virginal miss. Kenyon’s first novel!
    What better place to read about pirates than the Caribbean? (I’ve read it)
11. PRINCESS CHARMING by Jane Heller
    “What do you get when you put three divorced women and one desperate hit man on a ship bound for the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean?”
12. ONLY WITH YOUR LOVE by Lisa Kleypas
    A bodice-ripping pirate and the virgin who tames his wild heart.
    I read this one. It was very silly. I think I gave it three hearts.
13. MIDNIGHT MOON by Lori Handeland
    Grieving mother searches for Voodoo priest who can raise the dead in dangerous jungles of Haiti, discovers shape-shifters and monsters. (Nightcreatures Book 5)

To tell the truth, I bought them for myself, but who’s keeping track? Today I spent a few glorious hours shopping at the library and the three bookstores here in Ballard: Epilogue, The Secret Garden and Abraxus. (We don’t like Abraxis’s snobby attitude toward romance novels.) My treasure haul:

1. THE TEXAN’S CONTESTED CLAIM by Peggy Moreland (Silhouette Desire, Jan08, A Piece of Texas series)
2. A COYBOY’S SECRET by Anne McAllister (Silhouette Desire, 2000, Man of the Month Series)
3. LEARNING CURVE by Terry McLaughlin (Greater Seattle RWA author!) (Harlequin Superromance, 2006)
4. IDENTITY UNKNOWN by Debra Webb (Harlequin Intrigue Romantic Suspense, Jul08, Colby Agency series)
5. HIS BOUGHT MISTRESS by Emma Darcy (Harlequin Presents, Jan05)
6. ROYAL HEIR by Alice Sharpe (Harlequin Intrigue Romantic Suspense, Oct07)
7. IN THE ENEMY’S EMBRACE by Mindy Neff (Harlequin American Romance, Jun02, Brides of the Desert Rose series)
8. JUROR No. 7 by Mallory Kane (Harlequin Intrigue, May07)
9. COLBY REBUILT by Debra Webb (Harlequin Intrigue, Nov07, Colby Agency series)
10. TIME TRANSIT by Kay Austin (Dorchester SHOMI JAN08 )
11. INTO THE NIGHT by Suzanne Brockmann (Ballentine 2002, Troubleshooters series)
12. PRINCE JOE by Suzanne Brockmann (MIRA 1996, Tall, Dark and Dangerous series)
13. THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger

Obviously I’m on a category romance kick. I can’t get enough! The Time Traveler’s Wife is this month’s Lusty Wenches Book Club pick.

Tonight, at midnight, the wait will finally be over. Doors will open to movie theaters everywhere for the debut of MTV’s TWILIGHT movie, based on the bestselling book by Stephanie Meyer. Have you bought your tickets yet? You can bet your last pair of fake vampire teeth that I have.

So what to do when you’ve seen the movie and you grow tired of rereading every book in the saga? There is a whole world of heart-stopping vampire romance out there just waiting for you to sink your teeth into. Really, there are a lot of fanged love stories that are a thousand times better than Twilight. *gasp!*

In a previous “IF You like the Twilight Saga” post I recommended books aimed at Young Adults, since TWILIGHT is a YA, but for those of us mature readers, here is a list of Adult Vampire Romance books for Twilight Fans:

1. DARK LOVER by J.R. Ward
2. A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER by Kresley Cole
3. THE REST FALLS AWAY by Colleen Gleason
4. HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE by Jeannine Frost
5. NIGHT PLEASURES by Sherrilyn Kenyon
6. HIGH STAKES by Erin McCarthy
7. IF ANGELS BURN by Lynn Viehl
8. HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE VAMPIRE by Kerrelyn Sparks
9. A QUICK BITE by Lyndsay Sands
10. AFTER MIDNIGHT by Teresa Medeiros
11. DEAD UNTIL DARK by Charlene Harris (inspiration for HBO’s True Blood)
12. DEMON MOON by Meljean Brook (but read book 1: Demon Angel first)
13. DARK PRINCE by Christine Feehan

Additionally, check out my list of recommendations for Black Dagger Brotherhood fans for a wider variety of awesome paranormal romance novels.

Happy Reading!