I have winners for the Tessa Dare/Evie Byrne contest! They are: RF Long, Aileen Fish, and Wanderer. Congrats!

It was really fascinating reading everyone’s responses. Sometimes I was nodding my head thinking, “Yes, yes, yes!”, and sometimes I was thinking, “Well, I took a little time to warm up to that author, but I’m a big fan now!”

Some other authors mentioned who had me at “hello”:
Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, Elizabeth Hoyt, Julia Quinn

Some of the mentioned authors I adore now, but might have taken me a few pages to warm up to:
Laura Kinsale, Julie Garwood, Nicole Jordan, Joanna Bourne, Stephanie Laurens, Shelly Laurenston

But see, my evil plan in this post was to get some suggestions for new-to-me authors. And now (insert evil cackle) I have several to add to my TBR pile. So thanks to everyone for your responses!

Looking above at my list, I’m seeing a pattern, at least in my own response to authors. All of the “had me at hello” authors have very strong, witty voices. The others on my “favorites” list have characters and plots I found ultimately compelling and memorable.

Would you say your keeper shelf consists of books with stronger characterization, stronger plots, or stronger author voice? (I know they’re probably mostly “all of the above,” but which element do you find to be most important?)

One commenter will win an early signed copy of A HINT OF WICKED! I’ll post the winner on Monday.

It’s Mother’s Day weekend, right? Which means surely, surely, I can take a few hours off to finish Jackie Barbosa’s upcoming release, BEHIND THE RED DOOR! Jackie was kind enough to send me an early copy of the book. I’ve read the first novella, and let me tell you, this is one steamy, romantic, and beautifully written anthology! I hope to have Jackie as a guest here on my blog sometime this month, and I’m hoping she’ll give away a copy of her book, too, so make sure to keep an eye out for that.

In the meantime, I’ve gotten a list of 15 more stops on my blog tour from my publicist. Yikes! I don’t think I’ve ever been so social (even internet social!) in my entire life!

AND…last but not least, I received a wonderful early Mother’s Day present from my publisher. Real, beautiful copies of A HINT OF WICKED! Wait…I have to go take a picture of myself holding one of these new and shiny books…be right back…

Here it is:

Because I’m so excited, I’m going to give away a free copy to a random person who signs up for Freebies! Just go to my Bonus Features page, and sign up to receive some freebie promo items from me and a bunch of my favorite authors (Anna Campbell, Kris Kennedy, Christine Wells, Emma Wildes, and Dawn Halliday), and one person who signs up before Sunday at midnight will receive a shiny new copy of A HINT OF WICKED!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND, everyone!

In my two visits to London since I started writing A HINT OF WICKED, I spent lots of time staring at the Saudi Arabian Embassy. Only slightly intimidated by the guards bearing gigantic automatic weapons and casting suspicious looks in my direction, I’ve paced back and forth in front of the place for hours, studying it from all angles. The embassy is located at Crewe House, built in 1730 and one of the few remaining old mansions standing in Mayfair.

The Saudi government purchased Crewe House for 37 million pounds in 1984, but in my imagination, it’s the home of Sophie, Garrett, and Tristan from A HINT OF WICKED.

If it was worth 37 million pounds in 1984, I wonder how much it’s worth now? I’d sure like to make the Saudis an offer…

Here it is on a dreary London day. Sigh. Pretty, no?

I can’t believe A HINT OF WICKED is set to release in just three weeks’ time! My schedule is crazyinsane for the next few weeks. Not only do I have a book due soon & expecting edits on another & copyedits on yet another, I have a full blog tour schedule planned as well. (Not to mention baseball playoffs, end of school madness, my mom flying into town, and everything else…oh, my blood pressure is rising just thinking about it all!). But I did want to share with you some of the stops I’ll be making on my “tour” because there are going to be TONS of opportunities to win signed books and lots of other goodies. Ready? Okay, here we go:

5/9: Grand Central Cafe
5/18: Visiting with Jackie Barbosa
5/25: Lust in Time
5/28: I Do Not Want to Wait, I Want the Book Now!
5/29: RR&H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk
6/1: Fran Lee’s Romance Blog
6/1: Visiting with Beverley Kendall
6/2: Romance Bandits
6/3: Reading Romance Books
6/5: Feature at Single Minded Women
First Week in June: The Good, The Bad, The Unread
6/7: Risky Regencies
6/9: Grand Central Cafe
6/13: Signing IN PERSON at Orange County RWA
6/14: Signing IN PERSON at Encino Barnes & Noble (12 noon)
6/19: Spotlight at Dark Diva Reviews

Yes…a little busy!

The winner of the ARC is…Lilah Rune! Congrats…I hope you enjoy the book!
Thanks to everyone for commenting on my new cover! I’m so excited…two month until release day!

Now off to deal with the whimpering, whiny (sick) 4-year-old…