It's all about the books

Tired of alleged romance books "chat groups" that are really little more than venues for drive-by promo and contest junkies? Searching for a true chat group where the subject is books, books, and nothing but books? Search no more.

www.ireadromance.com and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/i_read_romance

Grand opening is Friday, Jan. 30. Stop by to chat with J.C. Wilder about her latest releases!

Historical Humor: Oh No They Didn't!!

Irreverent and funny (my favorite kind of humor!)

Click here, then click here for part 2.

I'm Thingin' It

So yeah, I really need to get this novella done. So what am I doing? Giving in to an uncontrollable urge to finally catalog my hundres, if not thousands of books.

Yes, friends, I am the Queen of Avoidance.

I've had a LibraryThing.com free account for a couple years now but haven't seriously logged much of anything. Only about 75 books, and just the ones I could remember off the top of my head - not really digging in, laying my hands on every book and writing every one down.

LT makes it pretty easy, though, and also easy to connect with people who have similar reading interests. And they don't spam you and your entire address book like certain other book networking sites. Ahem.

After my husband commented that he could no longer walk around my side of the bed, I knew it was time to face my addiction head on, climb on top of my pile of books and start chipping away at it.

191 books and 3 hours later, I've just covered what's on the floor on my side of the bedroom, and one shelf. There's still another shelf. And let's not forget what's stuffed under the bed.

After that, there's the 8 shelves in the upstairs office...and the four giant metal bookshelves in the basement...and boxes. Oh lord, the boxes.

Why did I do this again?

Because I forget what I have and have been known to buy 2 or even 3 of the same title. [hanging head] I literally can't go into a bookstore and be certain that the book I pick up isn't already somewhere in my house.

It's a sickness.

So how many books are beside YOUR bed? :) Want a peek at what's on my shelves? Scroll down and look for the LibraryThing widget in the sidebar. :)

Passing of a Legend

1920-2009

Featured This Week on "Isn't It Romantic"

Hey gang, check out my author feature on the Isn't It Romantic blog! It's even translated into Italian by the lovely Maria Rosa, who was a champion of Beaudry's Ghost years ago.

Leave a comment and get a chance to win a title from my backlist. Have fun!

Ciao! (I've always wanted to say that. LOL)

Thirteen Random Lines from A Ghost of a Chance

Thirteen random lines from my latest release, Legends, Book 2: A Ghost of a Chance. Have fun! :)

1. “If there isn’t a blond man in your life right now, there will be. And I daresay his entrance won’t be subtle.”

2. He narrowed his eyes as this new energy wavered and flickered, like a candle caught in a high wind. In danger of going out.

3. “Will you stop reading my mind?”
“I don’t have to. Besides, I’ve been in your mind. Cobwebs. Yeesh.”

4. “Your door’s open,” Lily remarked, and curled a lip in satisfaction when Ross’s gaze automatically dropped to his own fly. “Your car door, genius.”

5. Don’t breathe, don’t breathe, some last vestige of her conscious mind insisted. Hang on, help will come. It will. It will…

6. “I see,” she said slowly. “You’re not meanin’ her any harm, but you say there’ll be hell to pay if you don’t find her. Now I ask you, my fair fallen angel, how am I to interpret that?”

7. “I think it’s time for you to be havin’ a reading.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “You can’t do a reading for a dead man.”
She continued to lay out the cards, smacking each one down with a vengeance.
He swallowed. “Can you?”

8. “Carey Magennis. You have to let me go.”

9. “I was raised on the scariest ghost stories in the South ever since I was old enough to stay up past sunset. You aren’t missing any body parts, no bones sticking out. So, I’m sorry to say, but for a ghost you really aren’t that scary.”

10. I don’t belong here.

11. This is what I wanted. A safe, secure marriage, no surprises. Two kids and a Golden Retriever. But is it what I want, she contradicted herself in a flash of insight, or what is expected of me?

12. It was him.
His powerful presence bored into her back. As she stared, he leaned close to her ear, his eyes intense, his strong, straight lips moving.
“Carey, don’t take the pills tomorrow. We have to talk.”
A loud crash. She gasped as icy liquid splattered her feet and ankles. She’d dropped her glass. Her gaze flew back to the window. The man was gone.

13. “Lane, please. I need to disappear. Just for a while."

Thirteen random lines from Legends, Book 1: Beaudry's Ghost.

See more Thursday Thirteens!

Blogging today over at TRS

Today on The Romance Studio blog, I'm talking a little bit about the challenges of writing a series - namely, how difficult it is for one of a series to truly "stand alone", especially when the overall story and emotional arcs extend over the entire series. :)

Click here!

Help a sistah out!!

Voting is now OPEN for the first annual Ariadne Awards, hosted by eroticromancewriters.com. Click here to vote for your favorite books of 2008!

You'll need to enter the title, author and publisher in each category.

Ahem. If you feel so inclined, Beaudry's Ghost or A Ghost of a Chance belongs in the "Best Paranormal, Ghost/Psychic" category. [grin]

Voting ends Jan. 31, 2009.

BG Cover Nominated for P&E Award!

Let the shameless begging ensue! Vote for me! Vote for meeeeeee!! (Actually, for Tuesday Dube, my fabulous cover artist. :)