Congrats to Laura B., who won a copy of A Hint of Wicked in Japanese!

Check out my new contest to win a book by the incomparable Tessa Dare!

If you’d like a signed bookplate plus some extra goodies (including one of my beautiful new bookmarks), just go to my Freebies page.

A little update here–it’s been a busy, strange summer. Last week I went through my last round of chemo. When I recover from that, it’s on to radiation. I’m pretty home-bound, but enjoying the time with my family and dreaming up lots of new ideas for stories while I’m at it!

I want to thank everyone who has supported me along this journey. This experience has reminded me of how wonderfully kind and generous people can be. Thank you so very much…I appreciate every single one of you more than I can say.

I’ll check in again soon. Big hugs to all of you!

The winner of my holiday contest was Denise Y! She’s getting a copy of A HINT OF WICKED, a copy of A HIGHLANDER CHRISTMAS, and lots of yummy-smelling holiday bath and body goodies. Congrats to Denise!

I lied about that being my last contest of the year, lol. I have another one up–you can enter to win a copy of Elizabeth Hoyt’s amazing Prince Trilogy. Go on over to my Bonus Features pages and check it out!

I’m heading off to City Hall right now. We’re in escrow both to sell our house and buy a new one, and it just came to our attention that the new house lot might be entirely in a flood zone (which means we can’t build or make improvements–very frustrating). So I’m off to the city to clarify the situation. I tell you, it’s one thing after another when you’re in a real estate transaction. My husband and I were completely crazy to start this process during the holidays.

Come check out my blog over at Popculture Divas, where I’m talking about tattoos, piercings, and elf ears today.

I’m also working on edits for A SEASON OF SEDUCTION–this is the story of the young sister, Becky, from A HINT OF WICKED. I’m loving this story…Becky has learned a lot since her naivety during A HINT OF WICKED, and she has lots of surprises in store for her hero, Jack. I can’t wait until it comes out next October!

Come check out my new contest. It’s my last contest of the year, and I have lots of cool stuff to give away for the holidays, including a copy of A HINT OF WICKED!

Congrats to Denise B., who won the Fun Fridays contest today (per random.org)!

Okay, since I’ve been deep in this dark, dank writer’s cave and I’m late on this today, I feel like making up for my lack of timeliness to y’all by doubling the winnings for next week. So for next week, I’m going to give four books–yes, four!–to the winner! They just need to be chosen from the remaining books listed over on the bonus features page.

Here is this week’s question: What are the titles of Jennifer’s 2nd and 3rd books? (Hint: Both are sequels to A HINT OF WICKED, and both will be released in 2010! And did you know the third book has a Christmas theme? I’m so excited! Bigger Hint: You can find the answers on the FAQ page!)

So head on over to my bonus features/contest page to enter to win four books–winner will be drawn on October 9!

Hi everyone! I’m over at Romantic Crush Book Junkies today! I’m talking about A Hint of Wicked and its sequels, where I get ideas for my books, and lots more! I’m also giving away a copy of A Hint of Wicked to one responder. Please come stop by and say hi!

http://romanticcrushjunkies.blogspot.com/

In honor of my husband’s birthday today, the winner of this week’s Fun Friday contest was entry #28!

First Name: Gail

Last Name: H.

Email: ghurt110@b….

Congrats! Gail, please go to my contest page and select the two books you’d like. Then email me with your books and your snail mail address.

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered! And…everyone had the right answer! LOL! Here is the question for week #3:

Book #2, A TOUCH OF SCANDAL, features one of the heroes from A HINT OF WICKED as its hero. What is his name?
(If you haven’t read A HINT OF WICKED, you can guess! I won’t penalize you if you get the wrong answer, as long as it’s a good guess! )

So head on over to my contest page and enter! Have fun!

As my hero prepares to undress my heroine in my current book (A SEASON OF SEDUCTION starring Lady Rebecca from A HINT OF WICKED!), I am researching stays (corsets) and how they were worn in the 1820′s, and I came upon a story of a mother who has three children, like I do.

Matilda is a fine woman of good breeding, great sense, and much religion. She has three daughters that are educated by herself. She will not trust them with any one else.

Gee, so far Matilda sounds like the kind of mom I am. So I read on:

Matilda never was meanly dressed in her life; and nothing pleases her in dress but that which is very rich and beautiful to the eye.

Okay, I’ll admit to being attracted to nice clothes. In fact, just today I bought my daughter a very cute outfit at Gap Kids…

I continue reading on:

She stints them in their meals and is very scrupulous of what they eat and drink and tells them how many fine shapes she has seen spoiled in her time for want of such care. If a pimple rises in their faces she is in a great fright and they themselves are as afraid to see her with it as if they had committed some great sin.

Oh dear! My kids aren’t at pimple age yet, but I sure hope if they ever get pimples, I’ll not blame *them* for it! Now I’m beginning to worry about this Matilda…

It goes on to say that if the girls begin to look flushed, she calls in a doctor to keep their complexion from becoming too “coarse and ruddy.”

Uh. Okay.

By this means they are poor, pale, sickly, infirm creatures vapoured through want of spirits, crying at the smallest accidents, swooning away at anything that frights them, and hardly able to bear the weight of their best clothes.

This is seriously beginning to depress me. And then I read this:

The eldest daughter lived as long as she could under this discipline and died in the twentieth year of her age. When her body was opened it appeared that her ribs had grown into her liver and that her other entrails were much hurt by being crushed together with her stays which her mother had ordered to be twitched so strait that it often brought tears into her eyes whilst the maid was dressing her.

Wow. Just wow.

From A serious call to a devout and holy life: adapted to the state and condition
by William Law – Religion – 1821 – 346 pages

To win a copy of A HINT OF WICKED plus a pre-release copy of my alter-ego Dawn Halliday‘s brand-new hot Highlander book, HIGHLAND OBSESSION, just visit my CONTEST page and let me know your favorite site to go to to find great new books to read!

Here’s the cover of HIGHLAND OBSESSION. Isn’t it…yum?

Congrats to Marie C., who won my “Wicked” contest with Christine Wells. Marie wins signed copies of A HINT OF WICKED and Christine’s WICKED LITTLE GAME! Here are Marie’s favorite wicked characters:

“Wicked-yum! — Right now I’m lovin’ two men, Lucas from Nalini Singh’s ‘Slave to Sensation’ and Viscount Vale from Elizabeth Hoyt’s ‘To Seduce a Sinner’.

Wicked-eeeuuuwww! — Prince Humperdinck (from the ‘Princess Bride’)”

LOL! I love the “Wicked-eeeuuuwww” answer! Congratulations, Marie!

Wow, what a month. Between baseball, end-of-school craziness, and the book release & blog tour, I think the dust is finally beginning to settle. Well, except for the fact that my agent called to let me know book #3 is now due a month earlier, because my publisher would like to schedule 2 books for me in 2010! Yay! But…eek! For the next few months I’m going to be The Little Engine That Could…

I have a GREAT contest in the works! (Hint: It involves my agent and/or a barrel of awesome signed books!) So please check in often! I don’t know exactly when we’re going to get started, but I do know it’s going to be a blast.

I’m holding a contest with the amazing Christine Wells, whose next book, WICKED LITTLE GAME, is releasing in July. I’ve had a sneak peek at this story, and it is absolutely fabulous. If you’d like to be entered in the drawing, just visit my extras page.