Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Book BIN Tuesday: Just Right by Erin Nicholas


To be a good bad boy you have to find just the right girl...

ER nurse Jessica Bradford is a good girl. Okay, more like a reformed bad girl, determined to be the woman her late father wanted her to be. And she's sworn off bad boys. Definitely. Instead she wants someone like Dr. Ben Torres: responsible, dedicated, selfless. The tall, dark and handsome part is just a bonus.

What a difference twenty-four hours can make. Yesterday Ben was incredibly handsome, too sexy for words and definitely one of the good guys. Now he's just incredibly handsome and too sexy for Jessica's own good. Yet she still wants him like ice cream wants hot fudge.

Ben's done being everybody's hero. What's being a trauma surgeon ever gotten him but late hours, patients who don't remember his name and a whole lot of frustration? He can't even seduce Jessica, and her bright red thong, because of work rules. So he quits. Or to be more exact, gets suspended.

Jessica can't believe Ben is acting more like a kid in a candy store than a man who's about to throw his career away. When she's manipulated into babysitting him, she does her best to keep him out of trouble—except "trouble" is all Ben's interested in. And suddenly Jessica's having trouble remembering why that's a bad thing...

Warning: Contains hot love in a store dressing room and in the front seat of a car—at the expense of a very nice strawberry patch, unfortunately—oh, and hooker boots. Can't forget the hooker boots.
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Sounds fabulous, doesn't it? So why not hop on over to My Bookstore and More and Buy It Now!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Leaving On A Jet Plane

I'm in love.

My husband isn't worried, though, because he's in love, too.

We've discovered our new favorite thing – Mauna Loa macadamia nut Hershey's kisses.

Perhaps not unrelated, I'm writing this on a Hawaiian airlines flight. Weird coincidence – my ob/gyn is about ten rows behind me. (A great woman – it was fun to see her outside the office!)

Anyway, I'll be spending spring break on a beach, slathered in SPF 50, taking a little time to relax and enjoy family time together.

I'll be back in a week or so with pictures and maybe a present or two, so be sure to stop by the blog for my afterparty. In the meantime, I'll be posting updates to Twitter when I can (translation: when I'm able to slip away from the family long enough to post), so if you're interested be sure to follow me at http://twitter.com/kate_davies.

Enjoy the week!

Friday, March 26, 2010

No Horde Left Behind



So.

I may have mentioned a certain German soap opera once or twice.

Well, if you're at all curious about it, this is the weekend to dive on in.

See, this weekend is the Gays of our Lives fan event in New York City, where Dennis Grabosch and Igor Dolgatchew from Alles Was Zaehlt, along with actors from several other soaps both German and American, will be getting together with fans.

But because not everyone who enjoys the show can afford to go to New York for the party, some fans are throwing a stay-at-home party titled No Horde Left Behind. (Fans of DeRo and AWZ refer to themselves as the Eskimo Hordes. Long story.) There will be contests, fanfic and fanvid celebrations, links to blogs and twitter feeds of attendees, and more.

Best of all, for those who've never watched the show, there's going to be three sets of Essential Playlists, one for each time period -- DeRo 1.0, The Dark Years, and DeRo 2.0. If the thought of trying to catch up with a show that's at 895 episodes and counting is a little daunting, this is an opportunity to check it out, a couple dozen episodes at a time. (Remember, these are YouTube-length episodes, so a maximum of 11 minutes each.)

The party starts here at noon EDT today. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Build Your Book Boyfriend


I'm pretty sure everyone has either seen or done this meme already, since I'm usually on the tail end of these things. But Lucy Monroe tagged me, so I'm jumping in! In return, I'm tagging Maia Strong and anyone else who wants to play along.

Originally, it came from The Gutter Girls and here is their blurb:

We all have our favourite book boyfriends and now you have the chance to create one just for yourself and your fantasies! How do you play? Fill out the quiz below, post a picture of a sexy man and tag five (5) other book addicts to do the same. Don't forget to pop to their blogs as let them know they have been tagged! Once tagged... you have to do the same, grab the button, answer the questions, and keep it rolling! But don't forget the picture of the sexy man! It doesn't have to match your fantasy man, just a little eye candy for the rest of us... heheheee! - The Gutter Girls (a blog)

So without further ado, here's my Book Boyfriend:

*Hair Color & Style

Dark brown, on the shorter side, with a hint of curl at the edges.

*Eye Color & Facial Features

Brown eyes the color of dark chocolate, fringed with long dark lashes (side note: why do men always seem to get the gorgeous eyelashes? SO not fair!). Strong features, from sharp cheekbones to chiseled jaw. Full, kissable lips.

*Height & Body Type

At least 6'. Well-toned, but more on the slim and fit side than overly muscled. Swimmer's body, or skater's. :)

*Visible Age

30's.

*Bangability (kinky/bi/size)

A little kink is perfectly acceptable! He's not afraid to bring out his box of toys when it's playtime. And he's been known to appreciate male beauty as well as female -though when we're together, I'd prefer his attention be on me!

*Human or Other

Definitely human, unless Sex God gets its own category.

*Paranormal Skills

Ability to read my mind.

*Interests

Me! Oh, and music, ice skating, swimming pools, locker rooms, red couches, and making baklava.

*Special Skills

Multilingual. Skating skills = figure and ice hockey. Being absolutely adorable at any given point in time.

Enjoy!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Book BIN Tuesday - Anything at MBaM!


This week, I don't have a single book to recommend/pimp/drool over, but that's okay, because My Bookstore and More, the home for Samhain titles and so much more, is holding a sale to celebrate the launch of their website redesign!

It looks great and has a ton of new and exciting features, so head on over and check it out. And if any e-books catch your eye, pick them up - because for a limited time only, your entire order will be 20% off!

Here are the deets:

We are excited to announce the launch of the new and improved My Bookstore and More!

Under the hood, we have a brand new shopping cart operating system to help make sure you can get the books that you want when you want them. When we redesigned our shiny new look, we listened to your suggestions, and we've changed and reorganized our genres and themes to make our books easier for you to find... complete with an up-to-date bestseller list for each genre.

On the new and improved side, your bookshelf is searchable and sortable, and we once again offer gift certificates, so you can share the ebook love with your friends and family.

We have also added discount codes, so be sure to check your weekly newsletter from MBAM for a surprise sale. And... use the code SHINYNEW for 20% off your order (applied to ebooks only).

When you log in, you must use the email address associated with your account.

*****


Pretty cool, huh? Time for some serious shopping! At a loss what to look for? Why not try something by the Nine Naughty Novelists? Or check out some hot m/m titles from LB Gregg or Maia Strong? Or one of the new releases that sound so yummy?


See you over at MBaM!

Readers At Home Conference - The Details!



What do tons of authors, tons of prizes, tons of hotties and tons of readers have in common? They’re attending the first ever Readers at Home Conference! During the week of April 26-30, authors and readers will converge on Lucy Monroe’s blog, to celebrate their favorite genre – romance! We are giving away Swag Bags to the first 50 readers who register for the conference. To register, all you have to do is send an email to Lucy Monroe with your name and mailing address (for the Swag Bag) stating your intention to attend the RAH Conference. The Swag Bags are for conference attendees only and we are trusting that you truly intend to attend the conference and interact with the authors and other readers on the blog. :)


Lucy is shipping the Swag Bags at her own expense, but many authors have donated loot for you all, and each Swag Bag will have a free book inside. Yes, that's right - the conference is FREE. How cool is that? Every day there will be multiple authors visiting and guest blogging, with new posts going live every 3 hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. Lucy will post a hottie who is definitely hunky enough to be a cover model and there will be daily drawings for multiple prizes (more than 50 over the week!!!), including dozens of signed books, a B&N gift card, a t-shirt, 3 prize tote bags filled with books and goodies (from Sue G at BTRB and Becke Davis), free online subscriptions to Affaire de Couer magazine and 2 more Swag Bags given away each day. What could be better? Hope to see YOU there!


Readers at Home Conference Sponsors

~ Guest Blogging Authors ~




Leigh D'Ansey













Other Readers at Home ConferenceSponsors
(donated prizes, items for the Swag Bags, etc.)


Friday, March 19, 2010

Computer Woes


Sorry I've been MIA again. I've been fighting computer troubles for the past couple of weeks, accessing most online stuff via my iPhone (which has been a lifesaver, but has its limitations). I hope to be back full speed next week with my Build My Book Boyfriend post, thanks to Lucy Monroe's tag, as well as other fun stuff. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that I get things sorted soon!

Monday, March 08, 2010

Follow Me To Nine Naughty Novelists!

I'm blogging over at Nine Naughty Novelists today, talking about No Pain, No Gain. Stop by and find out how my Favorite German Soap helped me articulate what I love about romance novels!

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Reader's Block


I went to the library today with my kids, picking up some books that were on hold. They took off for the kids' section, each returning with multiple titles. One is working through A Series Of Unfortunate Events, and had the weekend planned out. ("I'm finishing book four today, have book five on hold at the school library, and here are books six through nine. That should hold me.")


As we walked by the information desk, I saw a familiar brochure. Every winter, the library system holds an Adult Reading Club event from January 1 to March 15. For every five books you read, you can fill out a flyer with the title, author, and a sentence about each book. Turn it in and you're eligible for prizes, from bookstore gift cards to audio books to overnight stays at nearby hotels.


Every year, I've participated gleefully, filling out form after form and turning them in to the info desk on a regular basis. I've never actually won anything, but that was never the point for me. I just wanted to see how many books I could read in the time frame allowed.


So here we are, less than two weeks to the end of the contest, and not only have I not been paying enough attention to notice it was actually happening, I realized with horror that even if I had been aware of the reading competition, so far this year I haven't read enough books to fill out even one form.


Not even five books read so far this year. In fact, I think I've read three books since January. One was a Harlequin that saved my sanity during the long hours waiting in the jury room to see if I'd been selected for a trial. Another was a travel guide to Hawaii, which will be put to good use in a few weeks. (Yay!) And one was Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl, which I adored (and promptly went out and bought her entire backlist at All Romance eBooks).


But that's it. Three books. For someone who can read a book a day if given the time and material, that's almost embarrassing.


The material isn't the issue; I've got a TBR pile (both physical and e-book) that's chock full of b0oks I can't wait to read. And my wish list keeps expanding.


So that brings it down to time. It's no secret that time has been in short supply for me this year; the day job won't stop expanding, eating every spare minute (and then some). In the past two weeks, though, I've found some changes that can be made to reduce the busywork, which should open up some hours in my day.


But I'm out of the habit now. So my question to you is: what book do you recommend to kick start my reading habit again? It doesn't matter if it's one I already own or not - I can either dig something out of the TBR pile, or go shopping. Both are equally appealing. :) So help me get out of my not-reading rut and find my groove again!

Monday, March 01, 2010

Book BIN Tuesday - Catch Me If You Can



Wow, I've really been hitting the jackpot with the Book BINs lately, haven't I? Here's another new release, out Tuesday (though word is it was released a little early), from Samhain:

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
by LB GREGG

The fear of getting caught is half the fun.

Romano and Albright, Book 1

Lowly art gallery assistant Caesar Romano is freely out of the closet. Now he’d just like to get out of his Nana’s guest room. Everything—his reputation and his financial freedom—is riding on the success of tonight’s gallery opening. If only he could shake free of the past so easily.

A mysterious gatecrasher, Dan Green, looks like a promising addition to his pending new life—until Caesar’s ex shows up and suddenly the opening disintegrates into a half-naked dance melee. When the glitter settles, a missing sculpture of Justin Timberlake has Caesar up to his eyebrows in extortion, intrigue and a wild sexual adventure underneath, inside, and on top of a variety of furnishings.

As the cast of suspects piles up, so do the questions. Like who’s really blackmailing whom? And what does a stolen paint-by-numbers clown matter when Dan is so outrageously capable of blowing Caesar’s resistance to smithereens?

Sounds fun, doesn't it? So why not head over to My Bookstore and More and Buy It Now?


(AND, because I know LB won't object, I'm adding a little message to our favorite actor as well:)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY DENNIS GRABOSCH!!!!