Squeeeee!

I know, I should wait until TT is over, but I just noticed that the cover for Lessons In Love is finally live on the Samhain Coming Soon pages, and had to share. It's fabulous -- Scott C. has once again done a magnificent job -- and really captures the story perfectly. Here it is:

Isn't it lovely?

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Thursday Thirteen #25 -- Photo Edition

Thirteen Photos from my summer vacation!

The Maliboomer, at Disney California Adventure.

Parade of Dreams, Disneyland.

Electrical Parade, Disney California Adventure.

Sea lion on the docks in San Francisco.

A redwood, Avenue of the Giants, California.

Somewhere on the California coast.

One of the many art deco bridges in Oregon. Gorgeous!

View from Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Forest.

Ditto.

And, er, ditto.

Cape Flattery, Neah Bay, westernmost point in continental U.S.


Pacific Ocean/Straits of Juan de Fuca

View from the water!

Book BIN Tuesday -- for Stacy~

Guess what is being released today?

Yep, you got it in one. Force of Nature, by Suzanne Brockmann.

No, I haven't read it yet. No, I don't have a copy yet. (Dang small town-without-bookstore!) Yes, I'll be grabbing up a copy ASAP and reading immediately.

Because JULES is in it, man. JULES. As a point of view character and everything.

(Can you tell he's one of my favorites?)

And since I know Stacy~ is a mega-fan, too, I'll be looking forward to her take on the book. Because everyone I know in real-life-land takes FOREVER to read Suz books.

If you're a Suz fan, I know this book is already on your TBB list. If you haven't read any Troubleshooters books yet, I can't recommend them highly enough. So go. Head to the store. And Buy It Now. :)

Lovin' "The Kill Point"

So the DH and I just had our standing Sunday date -- watching The Kill Point on Spike TV.

I know, it's marketed as a guy series, on a guy TV channel. But I got sucked in, just like he did, the first night, and we haven't missed an episode yet.

We don't watch a lot of TV. The last time we both were regular series viewers, in fact, was CSI several seasons ago. (Long enough ago that there was only the one CSI out there.) I tend to turn on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report every night while working on the 'puter, just for my nightly dose of snark. And the DH likes to watch old movies and history/biographies. But putting the effort into a continuing storyline is tough with our schedules.

So what makes The Kill Point different? Well, in the first place, it's finite. Eight hours, six episodes, done. In fact, next week will be the final two-hour series ender. It's more like a mega-miniseries stretched out over a six-week period.

The acting is superb. Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo are both riveting, in different ways.

And the writing! Crisp, snappy, fresh, thoughtful. Plus, how could a former English teacher NOT love a scene where a hostage negotiator takes time out to correct the punctuation on a coffee shop sign? Grammar lessons! Be still my heart!

It's been fun watching the bank heist-turned-hostage-situation story arc, wondering what direction the actors and director are taking us next, and following the character development throughout. In some ways, I'll miss it when it's over next week. On the other hand, it's refreshing to know that it'll be done, tied up, finished, over. No long, drawn out storylines, no dropped threads (I hope!), no cancellation before the series can be completed.

If you're interested, it appears that Spike is posting complete episodes on its website. Enjoy!

Sigh...

So I got my hair cut today.

Big deal, right? Well, I'm known for going serious lengths of time between haircuts. As in, I can usually donate to Locks of Love once I get around to a trim. :) With three kids, a day job, and the writing, regular haircuts fall by the wayside. I go for classic, no-layer, easy to maintain looks that can survive a long time between cuts.

This time, though, was different. I'm going to my class reunion next week and wanted something that had some style to it, something more than my usual "put it up in a ponytail and call it good" look.

And so far, I hate it.

There's nothing actually wrong with the cut. The stylist did exactly what I asked her to do. I just realized, after leaving the salon, that I'm not that person anymore. The cut doesn't fit me.

It's not hideous. Actually, it's a classic mid-jaw length bob. It looks fine. It just doesn't look like me--at least not yet.

I'm hoping I'll grow into it. (Hah! Pun honestly not intended.) In any case, I'm not interested in going any shorter to change the look. And I have a feeling I'll get used to it pretty quickly.

I may even like it. Who knows?

So, anyone else having a bad hair day?

Thursday Thirteen #24 -- Movies, 1939 Edition

It's often argued that 1939 was the golden year for motion pictures. The best films, the best performances, the best overall. Is that true? Well, take a look at this list of thirteen films released in 1939 and judge for yourself.

Gone With The Wind. Because frankly, my dear, I *do* give a damn.

The Wizard of Oz. I always wonder what it would have been like to be in that audience as Dorothy opens the door to Oz for the first time -- that switch from B/W to Technicolor. Brilliant!

Stagecoach. One of many pairings of John Ford/John Wayne, and one of my favorites.

Goodbye Mr. Chips. When you watch this, you totally understand why Clark Gable didn't win the Academy Award for best actor this year. Robert Donat was amazing.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Errol Flynn -- need I say more?

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. I loved Jimmy Stewart in this film.

Gunga Din. A great epic adventure, starring Cary Grant, among others.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Probably the most famous version, with Maureen O'Hara and Charles Laughton.

Love Affair. The precursor to An Affair to Remember.

Ninotchka. "Garbo Laughs."

Wuthering Heights. Star-crossed lovers! English moors! Olivier and Oberon!

Young Mr. Lincoln. Henry Fonda in one of his best roles.

The Roaring Twenties. James Cagney in one of his many fine gangster roles.

What's your opinion? Any thoughts on these films? Does 1939 live up to its reputation?

Scarlet Boa 2007

It's time for the 2007 Stella Cameron Scarlet Boa Contest!

I have a soft spot for this contest. I entered it back in 2005, and it changed my life.

No, really! :)

I finalled in the contest, and after the excerpts were posted on the web, the contest coordinator forwarded me an e-mail from an editor for a new e-publishing company. She was interested in seeing the manuscript.

As it turns out, Angie didn't buy that particular book, but I did end up sending her a couple of novellas. Three weeks later, I received an e-mail with contracts attached, and the rest is history.

Who knows? I may have tracked down Samhain on my own. Heaven knows it's become a real powerhouse in the short time its been in business. But at the time, I'd only been targeting print pubs, and knew very little about the e-publishing side of things.

I can honestly say that Stella's Scarlet Boa contest directly led to my being published. So thanks, Stella! And for all you authors out there -- published and unpubbed -- looking for a venue to try out your work, I can't recommend it highly enough.

Here's a little info on it. And good luck!

2007 Contest: a paranormal interlude.

The revelation that a human character is enmeshed with a vampire, werewolf, or the other-worldly and highly dangerous but completely magnetic character of your choice.

Pour on the emotion, but keep control of your characters. This is your chance to rip the throats out of your competition, heh-heh!

The Scarlet Boa contest is open to published and non-published authors alike. Submit your entry (approximately 500 words). We'll accept submissions until September 1st and start posting links to them below.

So who's going to judge this thing? You are! Scenes will be judged by readers—who knows better what makes them tingle?

The author of the winning scene will receive (apart from kudos, bragging rights and press coverage) the coveted Scarlet Boa, a gorgeous red feather boa that will simply scream "I write Romance!" (well, it will scream something). And since we can't leave out the judges, one lucky voter's name will be drawn at random and they'll receive a sumptious white boa to wear while reading their new romance novels.

Important dates:
August 1 through September 1:
Submissions accepted
September 6:
Submissions posted online
October 15-28:
Voting (first round)
November 1:
Finalists announced
November 1 thru November 10:
Voting (2nd round)
November 14:
Winner announced in a LIVE chat at Writerspace!

Book BIN Tuesday -- Devil May Cry

I'm a big Dark- (and Dream-, and Were-) Hunter fan. You may already know this about me.

So the release of Devil May Cry is cause for celebration! I can't wait to get my hands on this book. Even if it is in hardcover. (sigh)

See, I'm one of those people who likes books in series to be the same size on the bookshelf. Otherwise, it looks off to me. So why is it my fave authors get bumped to hardcover halfway through a series? And why is it I have no willpower to wait a year to buy it in paperback? :)

In any case, if you're a fan of Kenyon's books, this is definitely one to Buy It Now. (And if you haven't read her stuff yet, you should start! At the beginning, of course. Then work your way up.)

What books are you looking forward to this week?

Halfway there...

So I hit the Samhain Coming Soon pages today, hoping my cover for Lessons In Love has been approved and posted so I can share it with you. It's not up yet, but the back cover copy is, so I thought I'd share with you the official description of the story:

Move over, Mary Poppins! A free-spirited teacher is about to give a buttoned-up royal something he never expected—a lesson in love.

Hungry for adventure and eager to break free of her snobby home town, Brynn Dexter takes a teaching job in a foreign country, sight unseen. But when she arrives, she discovers the Laurivenia Academy doesn’t exist. And neither does the teaching job.

Alex du Charbonneaux, crown prince of Laurivenia, is tired of intense media scrutiny, and wary of social-climbing women who stoop to feigning interest in his vulnerable five-year-old daughter in order to get close to him. So if he fudged the details of the “teaching job” to protect his child—and his privacy—who can blame him?

His careful plans begin to unravel the moment Brynn appears on his doorstep. She is beautiful and free spirited, nothing like the dowdy, obedient nanny he ordered.

While being a nanny to a princess is a far cry from the teaching position Brynn expected, she quickly realizes the child is in dire need of a little fun in her life—as is her stuffed-shirt father. As she sets out to teach both of them how to live a little, sparks fly and unexpected passion burns between her and Alex.

But Alex’s deep-rooted suspicions linger, and Brynn struggles with the feeling that she is not good enough for him. So when the paparazzi discover their affair, all bets are off.

Can the prince and the nanny find common ground—and learn to trust in love?

*****
As you may be able to tell, I'm REALLY excited for this story to come out. I've always been fond of royal romances and modern twists on classic fairy tales, and had an absolute blast writing my own prince-and-nanny story. I'm thrilled that it's found a home at Samhain, and can't wait to see it on the virtual shelves.

Oh, and for those of you asking when I'm going to write something longer than a novella -- here ya go. :)

Thursday Thirteen #22 -- Thirteen Things I'm Looking Forward To

It's August!

Here are thirteen things I'm looking forward to this month:

1. My high school reunion. I can't believe it's been twenty years already!

2. The release of my first print book, Tease Me, Please Me (which is already up on barnes&noble.com and borders.com -- woo hoo!) on August 21.

3. Being home. We spent almost half of July on the road, on one trip or another. I really just want to collapse in a familiar spot for a while.

4. The start of soccer season. I love watching my kids play soccer -- that transition from swarm ball and "ooh, look, a butterfly" to head down, full-out competition play.

5. School shopping. Something about buying classroom supplies puts me in a nostalgic, happy mood.

6. Not having to water the plants every day. (Of course, most of them are dead, due to the Summer Of Road Trips. But I persist, because I feel badly for them anyway.)

7. The release of Force of Nature, by Suzanne Brockmann. August 14. Not that I'm counting down the days or anything. Have I mentioned that I'm a total, raving fangirl? Love, love, LOVE her books!

8. The rodeo. Every year we go to the rodeo with the extended family at the end of the summer. (Technically, Labor Day weekend, so it's actually in September, but who cares, right?) Loads of fun, lots of great family memories.

9. Blackberries. Love to pick them, eat them, make pies with them -- yum! Plus, the scent of blackberries on warm summer evenings is one of my favorite things.

10. Having a few weeks off from the day job before orientation/registration season hits.

11. Spending some time in the gardens. I know, I know, seems counterintuitive considering #6, but I really do want to get the exterior of the house back in shape.

12. The release of Lessons In Love, my newest book from Samhain, coming September 4. (That's close enough to August, right?) I'm anxiously waiting for the official okay to share my cover, because it's SMOKIN'! Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

13. Enjoying the remaining time with my kids before school starts. I'm sure it'll be over in a blink, so I'm going to make a conscious effort to make this time special.

What are you looking forward to this month?