Tag Archives: Book Talk

Random Guest: Ashley March

Today we have author Ashley March sharing a fun post with us. She’s got it all covered, so there’s no real other introduction for me to make. 🙂

5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Read My New Book

The truth is, we’ve all seen this type of blog post done by romance authors before. It’s the reverse psychology gimmick turned cute to try to convince you that you really DO want to buy and read my new book. I would hope you wouldn’t I would stoop to such a level. But if I were REALLY trying to trick you into buying my new Victorian historical, Romancing the Countess, I would at least attempt to butter you up first before playing the gimmick card.

I might show you cute pictures of my daughters to make you feel sympathetic toward me. Like these.

You might want to buy my book afterward, if not because they’re so darn cute, then because you feel bad for me when the baby wakes up in the middle of the night and the toddler starts getting up at the ungodly hour of four o’clock each morning. You might think that reading Romancing the Countess would make me happy. And you’d be right. 😉

Or, you might be like my fellow author Tiffany Reisz and be frightened of children. If that’s the case, then I would offer you a picture of Richard Armitage because, if you’ve seen BBC’s North and South, you’ve already got the hots for him and you’d be forever grateful to me for perking up your day with RA.

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And if you haven’t seen North and South, then I would probably try to gain your favor instead by showing you a picture of Gerard Butler (yes, I’m a historical romance writer with novels set in England. I have a thing for British guys, and you should, too).

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Once I buttered you up with the proposed pictures, THEN I would roll out the gimmick, such as the following five reasons why you shouldn’t read my new book, Romancing the Countess:

5) You only like to read romances where the hero and heroine fall instantly in love or lust. Romances where the hero and heroine instead fall in love gradually over the course of the novel and build a deep and lasting relationship just aren’t your thing.

4) If a romance novel features a hero and/or heroine who’s had a spouse in the past, then you only like it when the hero and/or heroine didn’t like their spouse. Or the previous spouse was abusive. Or it turns out that the hero and/or heroine thought they loved their spouses but then realize later on that they were just in lust. If that’s true, then you don’t want to read Romancing the Countess, because both the hero and the heroine truly did love their spouses.

3) You think death is too serious a topic for a romance novel. Well, Romancing the Countess is about an earl and his best friend’s wife who are drawn together after their spouses—who were having an affair—died in a carriage accident. Yup, they died. The book has death in it. Of course, it also has love and some really hot sexual tension, but if the topic of death—and yes, adultery, too—bothers you, then you might want to skip over this book.

2) You don’t like getting emotionally connected to the hero and heroine. You don’t like angsty books. You don’t like that feeling of your chest compressing so tightly that your heart physically HURTS for the hero and heroine because it makes you uncomfortable. And when you get uncomfortable, you reach for the antacids. And a lot of antacids taken over a short period of time can get expensive. Well, maybe not that expensive, but please be warned that if you do decide to read Romancing the Countess, there’s a possibility that you might hurt for the hero and heroine. And there’s even a possibility that you might cry.

1) And the number one reason? Well, to be honest I could give you probably twenty more reasons for why you shouldn’t buy this book if I were going to pull such a gimmick. But instead I’m going to give you the one that I know would keep me from buying Romancing the Countess. When you have a mountain of books in your TBR pile, it’s difficult to take a chance on a new author, and yes, this is only my second romance novel. Even more than that, who’s ever heard of a widow and widower getting together after the deaths of their cheating spouses? It’s just not done—it doesn’t fit into any single romance trope I can think of. So if you don’t like taking chances on fairly new authors and you also don’t like trying out romances that have never been done before, then this book definitely isn’t one you want to read.

Now, if I were to continue such a gimmick and try to actually get you to read Romancing the Countess, I would tell you that you can read the first chapter excerpt on my website here and see if it intrigues or disgusts you: www.ashleymarch.com/romancing-the-countess.

But instead, because I’ve still retained quite a bit of dignity after changing countless dirty diapers over the past two years, I’m not going to pull this gimmick. Instead, I’m going to tell you about something I started earlier this week on my website. It’s a fun new reader-interactive experiment where readers get to help me write a novella. Over the next 10 weeks, you can vote for how you want each chapter to develop, and then get to read the chapter based upon your vote the following week. At the end of the experiment (which hopefully you’ll will find as much fun as I believe it will be!), I plan to edit the novella and self-publish it. The idea behind this is for it to act as a preface to a new project of mine I plan to start in 2012 called Romance with Heart.

So even if you don’t read Romancing the Countess because you don’t want to be immersed in a terrific love story 😉 I hope you’ll still join me for my reader-interactive novella experiment.

And now I’d love to hear what you really do think! Is there anything mentioned above that would make you not want to buy a similar romance novel? What hot buttons do you have that would make you absolutely refuse to buy a certain book?

One random commenter will win a copy of Romancing the Countess (open internationally)! Which I hope you truly do enjoy. Also, find out how to win the Romancing the Countess Book Tour Grand Prize of 50+ romance novels by visiting www.ashleymarch.com! 

*Ashley had me [sadly] remove the images of Richard Armitage, and Gerard Butler, because she discovered she was hotlinking them, and had no other ones. Anyone else, feel free to step up here. 😉

Guest Author & A Giveaway: Larissa Ione

Today we have one of my most favorite people visiting with us – Larissa Ione! I think Larissa is all kinds of awesome, but shh – don’t tell her. It’ll go to her head. And then she’ll be all mean and insulting. 😀 Actually, no, Larissa is super nice and has a great sense of humor. You might have noticed we totally like needling each other as well. Between the two of us, it actually is joking and friendly. The fact that we can do that only makes her more fun. >.> Maybe. I keep forgetting I shouldn’t be nice to her. 😛

Larissa is also swamped so instead of her coming up with a creative post to entertain all of you, she opted for the interview feature in my GA&AG series. More fool her. 😉

Which “place” would you most like to go to? Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, Africa, or South America? Why? Ooh, tough one! I’d love to visit pretty much any of them, but ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and China would be my first choices. If I have to pick just one…Egypt, I guess. Or Greece. Gah…I don’t know! I’ve been to Greece and absolutely fell in love with it. Egypt would be fascinating, though. Okay, let’s go with Greece. Because it’s gorgeous, I love the food, and the ancient architecture is amazing. I’d love to see it when it was new.

Which fairy tale would you most like to be in? Least? Why? Which character would you want to be? (You can change the tale if you want… if so, how?) Um…I guess Little Red Riding Hood. I’d be the wolf. A werewolf. Who eats bad guys. I have no doubt grandma was a bad guy…

Did you ever imagine your stuffed animals might come to life as a child? Or that they had their own adventures? Can’t say that I did. I grew up on a farm, so I had lots and lots and LOTS of real animals to play and go on adventures with. And when I wasn’t doing that, I was writing about animals having adventures!

Who is your favorite artist? [painter/scuptor, singer/composer, dancer/choreographer?] George Strait. I love almost everything he does. Plus, he’s just a good guy.

What was your favorite book as a child? The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

What kind of toothbrush and toothpaste is on your bathroom counter right now? I have a Sonicare electric toothbrush and Crest cinnamon toothpaste. I hate mint, so I always go for the other flavors. LOVE cinnamon.

What’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you in school? What about your adult life? I honestly can’t narrow any of this down. I have done so many stupid things in my life, and for some reason, stupid things just happen to me even when I don’t do them, that there have been a lot of embarrassing moments. In my adult life, a big one sticks out, though — I was 21, standing in line to get into a nightclub, and my drunk friend fell. As she was falling, she grabbed my dress — which was strapless. She tugged it down to my waist…and naturally, I wasn’t wearing a bra. Yeah…that was a bit humiliating.

If you had to become a bear, which type would you choose? Gummy. (OMG hahah I love that answer!) What? Not an option? Fine then…grizzly. If you’re going to be a bear, might as well go big!

What would you put in your ideal candy bar? What’s your favorite candy bar in existence? Along those lines, what’s your favorite dessert? What about the *best* dessert you’ve ever had? My ideal candy bar would be milk chocolate with caramel and marshmallow inside. YUM. Love marshmallow and caramel. I’d say my favorite candy bars are probably Marathon bars (just chocolate and caramel,) and when I’m in the mood Reece’s Peanut Butter cups. They used to have my VERY fave…Reece’s PB cups with caramel. OMG, I loved those. I think they stopped making them because I can’t find them anymore. Favorite dessert? Honestly, I’m not a dessert person. Okay, I love cupcakes, but for the most part, desserts just don’t get me going. I have to really be in the right mood. I will say that when that mood strikes, I LOVE Edwards Key Lime Pie. Holy cow, that’s the best key lime pie ever. So rich and creamy…insanely good for a store-bought frozen pie! (I asked Larissa what her favorite/ideal snack would be then since she’s not so into sweets… and she said something with cheese. Melted cheese. Fitting considering where she lives…)

What is the super power you would most like to have? Least like to have? I think I’d like to fly. Would be cool to get around easily and fast. What would I least like to have? X-ray vision. Because seriously, when would you use it, unless you were a doctor or something?

Would you shave your head for $50,000.00? If yes, would you do it for a lesser amount/what’s your minimum? If no, how much would it take for you to go bald? And then… would you do anything with your hair? I’d do it for 50K. Minimum would probably be 10K. I’d give my hair to charity, though I think it’s too short for the requirements.

Who do you think would be the ultimate deadliest warrior match up? Godzilla vs. Gamera! Oh, wait…that’s been done. I dunno, but I’m seriously looking forward to the episode of zombies vs. vampires!!!

What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?  I write romance…but I hate weddings. Seriously. They make no sense to me. All that stress, and then spending all that money…mostly on other people. I’d rather spend it on a luxury honeymoon. One of my characters in the Lords of Deliverance series, Regan, has my same attitude about them. 🙂

What’s your favorite word in the English language? What about your favorite word in any language? Amok! I love amok. Amok, amok, amok! Favorite word in any language? Whatever that language’s word for cheese is!

If you could wake up and become a world class athlete in any sport tomorrow, which would you choose and why? Well, I’m really not a sports person. At all. I LOVE the winter Olympics, but that’s about as sporty as a I get. And the one competitive sport I’d like to do — horse jumping — well, the horse is really the athlete, you know? Though I wouldn’t mind being a world class martial artist. Yeah, let’s go with that! (I have to admit, Larissa in a MMA match is definitely something I’d pay to see…)

Larissa’s giving away a tote bag & swag – so what crazy questions do you want to ask her? I say we open it up to anything, but of course questions about her books are welcome too! So get to commenting!

Christmas in July!

As June turned into July all of my friends were either on vacation or planning vacations.  This year there will be no vacation for me.  I’ve spent my wad making improvements to my house, so I’ll have to look at my reflection in the shiny new stainless appliances and imagine it’s my reflection in a pool of clear cool water.

However, the talk of vacations always has me wondering what people do when they are in transit (provided they’re not doing the driving) or at the hotel room either before beginning the day or ending it.

I read of course.  In the olden days…like maybe 5 years ago (how long has Kindle been around anyway?) I packed a slew of books.  Now I pack my Kindle.  I used to teach and would save the summer for reading a hardback book because they were harder to lug everywhere.  Now with the wonders of modern technology I can read on my Kindle and the print version of the book doesn’t matter.

What vacation book are you planning on reading?  How many can you read while on vacation?  Several years ago I was on a trip with just my oldest and I managed a book a day…haven’t quite managed that again!   Since as I typed this it was the beginning of the 4th of July weekend I plan on starting my summer vacation reading with Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr.  (Yes, I was lucky enough to get an ARC!)

Special Guest: JenB!!!!!! <3

Today, we have Jen B visiting with us! I know I say this a lot (or do I? I think it a lot…) but she’s one of my favorite people [ever]! She’s one of the first few people I started talking to online. I’m not even sure how it happened – I think she visited TGTBTU? And then it was twitter, emails, and instant messaging. We’re very similar, but also very different, and it works. Although we don’t talk as much now because obviously she doesn’t love me anymore and is too good for me. *sobs* It really has nothing to do with her job, or being pregnant (congrats, future mommy! <3) … Hee. Anyway, I obviously need more sugar. Or less. O_o Enough of me. [No really, I’m sure Jen B expected me to do and say something absolutely crazy for her post… she’d be disappointed if I didn’t!]

Hi! I’m Jen B, former blogger/reviewer extraordinaire. 🙂 Lime invited me months ago to come up with a post, and I completely forgot till this week. Eep! Fortunately Lime gave me a gentle reminder. :X (and if you know Lime, you know just how gentle that reminder was) [*Gasp!* I am hurt and outraged you would so malign me on my own blog! Defamation! Libel!]

She said I could talk about anything, be it books, tea, makeup, editing, pregnancy, or gardening. I’ll spare you the pregnancy talk, though it was tempting to describe how it feels to have a fetus using my bladder as a trampoline and my intestines as punching bags. 😉

So I think today I’ll talk about how I became a romance reader.

I’ve always been a reader, and I’ve pretty much always gravitated toward love stories. Even in elementary school, my favorite books were the ones with a boy and a girl who liked each other. If they held hands or kissed, even better! I gobbled up Sweet Valley books like candy. Though I also considered Flowers in the Attic a romance, which might explain my warped reading tastes now… Something for a psychologist to investigate later, I guess. 😉

In college I took a hiatus from pleasure reading. I was a language major (English and Spanish), and all that homework in two languages kept me away from “fun” books for a few years.

In 2007 I got back into reading for enjoyment, and I owe it all to AT&T (I wish they’d pay me to say that). My husband and I were going to convert over to U-Verse, and AT&T “accidentally” disconnected our TV and internet service a week earlier than planned, with no way to reconnect it. No TV! No internet! What were we to do??? We gave it some careful consideration and dragged our grumpy butts down to Half Price Books. Someone had recommended Deveraux’s A Knight in Shining Armor, so I picked it up and took it home… And devoured it. I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t move from that couch until I’d finished it. Then I went back for more! I consulted the same pal who’d rec’d AKISA, and she listed a few more titles. I think I picked up 10 more books on that return trip to the UBS, all Deveraux and Lindsey. For about a year, I was reading an average of 5 paperbacks a week. I spent hours combing Amazon reviews and discussion boards for my next read, organizing and reorganizing my virtual and physical bookshelves, and for a while my husband and I were spending whatever extra cash we had on books. It was a wonderful time. *happy sigh*

I discovered reviewing during this time too, and I got a lot of enjoyment out of posting my thoughts on Amazon. I discovered m/m romance and e-books as well, and I started a discussion group just for m/m romance fans. Through them I was introduced to my first book blog, which led me to hundreds more. By May 2008 I had my own blog for reviewing and discussing all the books I loved.

In 2008 I also started beta-reading and proofing for a few e-published authors, and by early 2009 I’d snagged my first freelance copy editing job for a m/m romance e-publisher. In March of 2010 I quit my day job and started editing full-time. All romance, all the time. What more could a romance reader ask for?

Reviewing dulled my passion for pleasure reading a little, and editing takes up a lot of time, so I’ve been through several slumps and dry periods, but I’ve never stopped loving romance novels. I still browse Amazon for reviews and recommendations (though nowadays I stay away from the wackadoodles on the Amazon discussion boards). I follow several of my favorite authors and bookish pals on Twitter and Facebook, and I try to keep up with gossip and new releases. And of course I’m still reading an average of 3-5 books a week for work. I still love nothing more than to browse a used book store on a slow afternoon or hit Borders with my husband on the weekend. Sometimes I don’t buy anything. Sometimes I just pick up books, smell them (Don’t look at me like that. You know you do it too!), read the back copy, and put them back.

It’s been so interesting to see how my tastes have changed over the years, and how my preferences cycle. Just recently I gave 5 stars to an urban fantasy romance that had been a DNF for me a year and a half ago. And lately I find myself grabbing books off my shelf that I’d ignored for a year or more—and loving them! It’s been a really fun hobby that’s broadened my horizons and introduced me to many good friends, people I think I’d continue to talk to even if I stopped reading altogether.

These days my pleasure reading has been reduced to about one paperback every 10-14 days, and I’m okay with that for now. I wish I had the time and energy for a paperback a night, but I really can’t complain. Maybe someday I’ll have that old hunger back. I keep thinking I’ll have more time to read in November after the baby gets here and I’m off work for a month, but people keep telling me I’m crazy. 😉 We’ll see!

Thanks for letting me share my story. I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe yours is similar. I’d love to hear all about it in comments. 🙂

Isn’t she adorabubbles? I heart JenB. Who really actually goes by Jennifer, but everyone online calls her “Jen” or “JenB.” Probably because we’re lazy and don’t like typing out 4-5 additional letters. That or we’re a crazy affectionate bunch and like nicknaming everyone. I actually refer to her as “jtgk” often due to her screen/twitter name.

Anyway I’m curious too! What got you started on reading romances? Got a favorite romance to share? Ever give a book a second chance and be glad you did?

TEAM LIME FTW!

Or, that’s the idea anyway. Actually, it’s really all about SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS!

Have you ever read a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips? If you have, you know why I’m excited. If you haven’t… well you’re missing out. I’ve even written a post for Heroes & Heartbreakers about “Rockstar Authors” and why I love so many of her books. (I’ll of course link you when it goes live. Ironically, it was the first post I ever wrote for H&H.)

So… BookPerk which is like the Groupon of book things, is having a “tell your friends about Susan Elizabeth Phillips.” The winners – which would be largest team get books. Each member gets a SEP book. And… the winner gets a $500 shopping spree. I’m thinking… If I win it, I’ll split it up – give my mom a GC (my mom constantly needs buttering up…) and I’ll have giveaways for the remainder amounts. Sound good? And since it’s now in print you have to hold me to it! Well, if you want to.

Please join my team here! Oh and if you wanna check the status of our team? I’ve got the link right here! So far, we’re number one!

In summary- join the team! Spread the word! Get a free SEP book if we win! Along with extra prizes! Whee!

Special Guest: Sandi S!

Sandi is one of my online buddies, and I :X actually don’t even know when I “met” her… but we – along with others- chat about twice a week, and have for some time now. (I wanna say at least two years?) She’s also a blogger a Fresh Fiction, and I imagine many people – or authors at least, as you’ll see – know her, or at least of her. She also attends a number of events, as she’s one of those lucky readers that lives in Texas, where they have events galore. 😛 Anyway, I approached Sandi about doing a guest spot here, and she kindly agreed, and is here to talk… well, what else but books with us all!

I’m truly fortunate to live in a large metropolitan area.  At any given time I have my choice to attend a sporting event, a foreign film, a concert, a theatrical production, or perhaps a show at a local museum.  How do I choose to spend my spare time, with my book friends of course!

My book friends are not just the paper or electronic variety, but a very eclectic group of readers who make up the wonderful DFWTeaReaders.  The group has been meeting for more than 10 years, and I’m really not sure how long I’ve been a member.

The best thing about being a member of this group is the wonderful author signings that we get to attend, and the number of times that we get to do special events with the authors.  I’ve had the opportunity to be up close and personal with so many authors, and from a variety of genres that I wouldn’t normally read, but after talking with the author I get inspired to branch out.

It was after hearing Sherrilyn Kenyon talk and her story having me in tears that had me picking up my first Dark Hunter novel.  It was meeting Lauren Willig and seeing what a fun bundle of energy she is that had me picking up The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and getting hooked on the Napoleonic Era.

I’d been a huge fan of Robyn Carr for a long time, and am a friendly stalker of hers.  (Yes, she knows, and thankfully can even joke about it.) [Really. Sandi straight up loves Robyn. We all tease her about restraining orders ;).] If you haven’t yet made a journey to Virgin River I think you need to.  It was due to my association with DFWTeaReaders and Fresh Fiction that I got to meet her in person.  What a dream come true!

It’s that same association that has allowed me to have dinner with Carolyn Brown, not once but twice! [Oh and heads up – the kindle version of Love Drunk Cowboy, which is a book cover Sandi asked me to use, is only 99 cents  right now!]  I got to meet and talk with Mary Alice Monroe twice as well.  As I sat to write this post I was getting ready to help host a dinner for Karen White.

So yes, where I live makes a difference in the activities I can enjoy.  What about where you live?  Does it allow you a vast variety of activities? If not what is special about where you live?  If you could live anywhere where would it be?  See I’m full of questions, and quite hopeful you respond.

“News” + Winners

First, what you all care about… (I know!) is the winner of Bethany Kane’s giveaway! By the way? I’m insanely jealous. I wanted to rig it so I could win. One of these days… I need someone to take over this blog so I can win something sometime… 😉 Ah well, it’s all about sharing the book love, right?

So hoping I dragged that out sufficiently… the winner is… Susan R! Susan, you have until Saturday to send me your info, otherwise a new winner will be drawn. And I’ll do it because I want someone to have this book!

Is it really sad if I’ve forgotten my news? 😛 So, I finally wrote another Heroes & Heartbreakers post… and I’d really like it if you’d read it please. In it I share some of my most favorite quotes/books ever. Especially the first. Seriously. It’ll enrich your life. And I can talk up the post, because most of it is quotes, and not “me.” I’ll even do full text of the link! http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2011/06/i-never-asked-you-to-give-me-your-heart-the-quotes-that-slay-me#

Oh and “Smart Bitch” Sarah of SBTB, and Jane from DA have chosen another book in their “Save the Contemporary” campaign… and… it’s Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey! Sound familiar? Yeah because she just guested here. TODAY!

Otherwise… I’m going to be gone from June 26/27 until July 6/7. I’ll have posts scheduled *crosses fingers* but just, expect me to be pretty quiet. That’s all, for now!

Olivia Waite’s Winners!

So, you all remember when Olivia guested here, and shared stories about gardening/her yard, right? I really liked that post. It was heartfelt and sweet. Anyway, she also hosted a giveaway, and her lucky winners (courtesy of randomizer.org) are…

Barbara Monajem and Amy P.!

Ladies – please use the contact form, and let me know which book of Olivia’s you’d like – and which format as well. (We’ll do it first come first served…) Your choices are Generous Fire, or Hearts and Harbingers. Please get back to me by next Thursday, June 9th, otherwise new winners will be drawn. Thanks!

Now – I’ve been in a major reading slump, but while trying to organize books (it’s where I always start in my attempts to clean…) I decided to do a re-read of The Playboy & Plain Jane by Leanne Banks. I absolutely adore Leanne Banks’s stories (and she the author seems incredibly nice as well). I’d forgotten how much I’d enjoyed it the first few times I read it. (It’s out of print now, but I picked up an e-copy. Have I mentioned how much I love the fact that Harlequin is digitizing old titles?!)

So my question to you is – do you re-read books? And if so, have you ever rediscovered a [nearly] forgotten gem? But if no… why not?

Special Nalini Singh Giveaway

Today, Kiss of Snow is available to the general public. Finally, us little people who have been writhing with jealousy at all those advance reviews can get our hands on a shiny new copy! And even more exciting, the e-copy is available the same day as the paper copy! As someone who has turned entirely to digital reading… that’s a big deal 😀

Anyway, I’ve been waiting for Hawke and Sienna’s book for at least two years. I remember checking Nalini Singh‘s webpage in either ’08 or ’09 and having this reaction: Nnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

So anyway, all those little excerpts that have been posted that I couldn’t resist now fit as parts into a whole. I’ve steadily ignored all reviews – but everyone has been saying this book is awesome, and worth the hardcover price. (Yup, this book is hardcover, the first in the series in this format.)

I asked Ms. Singh about doing a “Guest Author & A Giveaway” post, but at that point I was scheduling into 2012 and she declined, based on the variables of her schedule and I was asking her about something over a year in advance. However, she’s super generous, so she’s offered a giveaway here! What’s the prize? A super swanky copy of Slave to Sensation. (My apologies – it’s not a copy of Kiss of Snow, as way back in February Nalini told me the list publicity had was already super long, so I figured, a sure thing is better than no thing, yes? Anyway we can go out and buy our copies of KoS “together.”)

There’s also a reason for this, actually, Nalini offered Slave to Sensation because it’s the first book in the series. So if you haven’t read any of the Psy/Changeling books, here’s your chance! Or, if you love the series that much, and really like signed copies of books… it’s a golden opportunity!

So leave a comment today for your chance to win! (And of course if you already have a copy, I hope you’ll chat with us anyway, and just let me know you already have the book.) Quick note – the winner will be chosen via randomizer.org and posted on Saturday – it’s your responsibility to check back at the blog.

Have you read the books in this series? (I’m a book or two behind as of Mid-May, so I’ve got a little bit of time to catch up :D.) What do you think of shifters? Have a favorite type of shifter? If you’ve read the books, which character is your favorite?

Would you want to be Psy, Changeling, or Human?

And since I can’t ever be not long-winded… to explain: I also badgered poor Nalini about this because… tomorrow it’s June! And June is my Birthday Month. So I want everyone to love it as much as I do, so it’ll be giveaway palooza up in here. Stay tuned! 😉

Special Guest: Joy!

I met Joy at RT10 in Columbus, Ohio, and we’ve been fast friends since. She, Ali, and I are quite the trio, and they’re some of my favorite people in the romance community. (Incidentally, look forward to a joint post in June!) Joy is much more well known that I am in the romance community – she’s the co-owner of Joyfully Reviewed, so without further ado, what she has to say!

I been fan of romance books since I picked up my Barbara Cartland book at the age of 13, I know I am dating myself but there is no shame in showing my romance roots. LOL. (Personally, I don’t think that really dates you, Joy, because I picked up my first Barbara Cartland in high school… and many of her books are being released digitally now by her estate, so many more people can still be introduced to romance via her books!)

I progressed onto Kathleen E. Woodiwiss and never looked back. Romance novels appeal to me on many levels but today I will be discussing Books That Have Stuck With Me long after reading The End. These are the books that I can re-read over & over and they still have the same impact as when I first read them.

Whether it be a hot love scene, an unforgettable hero or heroine, a storyline that blew my mind or challenged me to read a genre to which I never thought I would, the following books hold a special place in my romance heart.

In Alphabetical Order:

Stephanie Burke: Keeper of The Flame

Jaci Burton: Summer Heat

Rhyannon Byrd: Waiting For It & Triple Play

Joey W. Hill: Branded Sanctuary & Make Her Dreams Come True

Dara Joy: Knight Of A Trillion Stars

Susan Kyle (aka Diana Palmer): Night Fever

Shelly Laurenston: Pack Challenge, Go Fetch! & A Pride Christmas In Brooklyn (I couldn’t find a link for this book. Gah.)

Lora Leigh: Wicked Intent & Marly’s Choice

Lena Matthews: Steven’s Salvation

Cheyenne McCray: Wildcard

Shannon McKenna: Something Wild

Bridget Midway: Corporate Seduction

Lisa Marie Rice: Midnight Man

Violet Summers: Velvet Submission

Kathleen E Woodiwiss: The Flame and The Flower

For Keeper of the Flame by Stephanie Burke: An alien male, from a planet that is run by women, that lands on Earth, about to give birth, yes I said give birth, need I say more? This was my very first e-book purchase ever. I was bored of the same old same old stories that I was reading in print at the time, went looking on the net for new authors and ran across a cover that looked like it had a black heroine on it. I said to myself, she must have a tan because I had never seen a person of color on a romance book up to that point. I ran across this thing called E-Books, intrigued I investigated further, low & behold, yes the heroine was black. Stephanie Burke had me at hello with the blurb and I have never looked back on e-books since. Flame is an Alpha Male but he’s vulnerable given his condition and he has to depend Kendall for his & his children’s survival. Stephanie Burke suspended my disbelief and took me into a world that I not only enjoyed but wanted to read more about.

And with Jaci Burton’s Summer Heat, Hero Aidan Storm (get it? I love it!) is from a family that can control the weather. Come on, how could you not want to read a paranormal with a storyline like this? Oh, the endless possibilities of naughtiness, teehee. Aidan uses his powers to get closer to Melissa Cross, our heroine, who is not prepared to handle this oh so sensual man. There is a scene in a casino that still makes me shiver. Jaci Burton pens heroes that make me melt, they aren’t afraid to admit to their mistakes and make it up to their women in ways that make me tremble : )

What are some of your favorite Romance Books That Have Stuck With You and why? (Isn’t this the perfect follow up to Thursday’s post? Joy went with something you’ve already been thinking about! Also, we may or may not be adding things, because Joy sent me this post, then was called away- friend emergency. :X)

ETA: Joy has generously decided to do a few giveaways, so comment comment comment!