Sara Reyes | Search for the Best Books in 2008

Our book club assignment is to list the best book we've read in 2008 -- so far -- because one of our members is trying to put together a list to share at our annual Holiday tea next week. So everyone has put on their thinking caps. In some cases, those with tidy and ordered minds, they've pulled out reading journals to consult, who knew about such things? While others of us are just trying to remember what we read last week. It was almost amusing if not painful to watch reactions of members when assigned at the last book club. There was even a follow-up on-line note which is unfortunate because I missed the pained reactions of others. Ah well.

This week, I asked M how the list was going and she sighed...heavily...and told me she wasn't very successful, not too many books were being forwarded to her. She reminded me that I hadn't listed any either. So, I got to sigh in return. It got a little sad for a few moments. Then I confessed. I was one of those who "read so much I couldn't remember anything except what I read in the past few weeks." And I blamed my age as well. You know I was grasping there! It's embarrassing to be part of a book club and not be able to name books off the top of one's head.

Seriously, I've read some good books this year and some "other" books as in "not-so-good" but outstanding? Maybe my measurement is too high? A book to be outstanding has to be one I finish in one seating, no matter how long it takes, it has to be fast-paced, make me cry AND make me laugh. I have to be so enthused by it I annoy everyone for the next month about this "fabulous book I just read!" And yes, I have annoyed people in the past. I can tell from the glazed eyes. So, obviously, I know good books I just can't remember one that got me in 2008. Sigh. I'm a failure and it's sad to have to admit that to M. She has high expectations.

So, I thought I might cheat and ask readers to suggest books that were outstanding reads in 2008. Here are the rules (M did them so don't blame me):

1. has to have been bought and read in 2008, so the copyright can be anywhere after September 2007. An arbitrary number, but as I said, M has rules. Mentioning that I did re-read LORD OF SCOUNDRELS by Loretta Chase one of my all-time favorite historicals since it was re-issued did not fly. Just warning you. I still think that rule is arbitrary since I can't include my annual re-reads. Sigh. But I loved reading A SIMPLE GIFT by Karyn Witmer and MEMORY by Lois McMaster Bujold!

2. has to be available for sale by "ordinary" people. Another rule which limits me as I do get advanced copies of books and some of the ones in 2009 are going to be really terrific. And of course, when I have to make a list next December, I'll have slept and forgotten the great books I read in 2008 which were really 2009 and, well, you see where I'm going...(Note to self, THE RED-HEADED STEP-CHILD by Jaye Wells is a keeper.)

3. has to be fiction. Sigh. So I read outside the genre and our book club is limited to just fiction books.

So if you have any books that follow the rules mentioned and you'd like to help me out, I'd be EVER SO GRATEFUL! Honest!

Sara Reyes
DFW Tea Readers

Allyson Roy | Crime & Comedy

Are you one of those people who tend to crack a joke when you’re in trouble? Is it because fear brings out the urge to laugh, or is it that laughter helps us get though the worst of times?

And maybe it depends on who’s in it with you. Like a good buddy you can count on to watch your back.

Our heroine, Brooklyn sex therapist Saylor Oz, and her sidekick, Benita Morales, are buddies who race through crime adventures bickering and bantering, sometimes blaming, and always forgiving.

Kind of like our marriage. Being a husband-wife team writing under one pseudonym, we sometimes feel like we’re living a reality TV buddy movie. Aside from combining our opposite qualities -- a guy who loves boxing and a woman who loves perfume -- we use the roller coaster dynamics of a relationship between two strong-willed people to help shape the fun and exciting relationship of our characters.

Not that we’ve ever been given a deadly ultimatum by a hit man called “The Monster.” Or that we’d go poking into dangerous situations. Like Saylor does, only to find herself knee-deep in trouble against some slimy, nasty dudes. But we love combining a gritty, urban environment with an oddball cast of characters, a dash of romance, plenty of suspense, and of course . . . laugh-out-loud fun.

Come read an excerpt of APHRODISIAC, the first book in the Saylor Oz series.

Warm wishes to all for the upcoming holidays!

Allyson Roy -- Alice & Roy
www.allysonroy.com/
MySpace
Our Crime Comedy group

Lisa Plumley | Christmas Confessions

To me, the holidays have always meant family and friends, togetherness and good cheer, peppermint mochas and gingerbread cookies. But increasingly, the Christmas season can also mean traffic and crowded stores, stress and anxiety, heartburn and credit-card bills. Now more than ever, we're feeling the pinch. Our wallets are lighter. Our worries are many. But our hearts are still full.

And that gives me hope.

At the risk of sounding like a character from a Hallmark Channel TV movie, I believe it's possible to have a fantastic time at Christmas...even without miles of blinking LED lights, candy canes, and a huge pile of gifts under the tree. Because those things are all extras. They're just accessories. They're optional. You don't really need decorations or gifts or goodies at all.

A freaky idea? Not really. Because what matters right now is being with the people you care about--and all the extraneous Christmas stuff can actually be a distraction from that.

Think about it. Have you ever plowed through the mall, searching for exactly the right gift for someone special, only to come home exhausted...and snap at that special someone? (Oops.) Have you ever gotten so obsessed with pulling off a Martha Stewart-worthy tree-trimming that you sneaked one of your less show-worthy (but sentimental) ornaments to a hidden location in the back? (Guilty.)

Have you ever dragged yourself to a "Black Friday" sale at 4 AM, stayed up past midnight to assemble a new bicycle or pretend you were Santa, slaved over a fancy holiday feast with all the trimmings...then fallen asleep with your face in a basket of dinner rolls because you were too tired to keep going? (Umm...yes, mm-hmmm, and whoops.)

I've done a few of those things and more. Believe me, I'm not proud of it. But, like the heroine of my new book, Home for the Holidays, I've learned my lessons and I've moved on. I've discovered that there's a way out of the Christmas insanity! For me, it starts with lowering my expectations. It continues with making myself do less instead of more. It ends with me doing my best to stay, Zenlike, in the moment as it happens. Because while we're busy creating the picture-perfect holiday, sometimes the real substance of Christmas slips right by us. And nobody feels jolly about that.

So this year I'm scaling back, ramping down, and taking a few deep breaths. I'm planning to savor this Christmas--even the chipped, flawed, and otherwise imperfect parts of it. (Hey, that's how you snag the broken cookies. Bonus!) I hope you'll join me! Please tell me how you deal with Christmas craziness--how you find the joy in the everyday moments, even when you're trying to track down the last quart of eggnog within fifty miles for your holiday party and being blasted with "Last Christmas" by Wham! for the 2,497th time. Let's share!

Lisa Plumley
http://www.lisaplumley.com/
lisaplumley.wordpress.com

Cathy Maxwell | The stress of the holiday season is already upon us!

And it has always been that way. Not because we are doing anything stressful. What can be stressful about seeing family and friends? Okay, let me rephrase that—what can be stressful about seeing friends?

The truth of the matter is that it isn’t a bad thing to try and do too much. It isn’t bad to push ourselves a bit or do a little extra. These shorter days beg for us to do something especially cheerful. But what is bad to not take our time and enjoy the doing of it.

One of the ways I de-stress is with books. Hey, books are the best entertainment bang for under twenty dollars—many times less than five. If you go to your library, they are free. Reading helps you keep real worries and fears in perspective or gives you insights into other people’s lives that you can apply to your own, even in fiction. Perhaps I should say most always in fiction. I always feel revitalized after spending time with characters I love. Plus, I’m one of those read-at-bedtime people. It’s “me” time at the end of a long day.

Right now, I’m helping Sid Halley solve a murder in a Dick Francis book. I’ve just finished Kristan Higgins TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE which will be out soon. Delicious contemporary romance. Sort of a Gilmore Girls meet Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She has three other books on the shelf now that you can enjoy before her new one is out and I suggest you do (look up CATCH OF THE DAY). I also devoured an advance reading copy of a Tracy Anne Warren historical romance that is classic Beauty and Beast titled TEMPTED BY HIS KISS. Warren always delivers a great read.

I have a book out now, too—A SEDUCTION AT CHRISTMAS—that has been, thankfully, flying off bookshelves. It’s the beginning of a new series for me that we are calling “Scandals and Seductions” and will give you a glimpse of how the Regency celebrated Christmas which was very much a family holiday and meant it had to have a few stresses! Avon Books has also repackaged YOU AND NO OTHER, the third book I wrote and my take on the Sleeping Beauty story. I think the covers for both of these books are absolutely divine. Each would make a great stocking stuffer. If you’d like an autographed bookplate, email me your mailing address http://www.cathymaxwell.com/. Let us not forget what great reading weather we’ll find in January and February!

But whatever you do this holiday season, please focus on the people you love. They alone give life meaning. And, yes, they are worth the stress.

So share with me, what books have you been reading? You know I have a radio program titled “Books!” where we operate under the belief folks like talking books and we haven’t been proven wrong. I’m always looking for books (even classic ones) to recommend . . .

Cathy Maxwell

Karin Tabke | The Holidays Are Here!

And I’m still full from my turkey induced coma of last week, have done no shopping and don’t plan to. What am I going to do this holiday season? Read. And read some more. Funny thing that. Thanksgiving night I was going a bit stir crazy wanting a good book. One with a hot alpha, who had hot alpha friends, and who meet up with a heroine who was like no other woman any of them had ever encountered. I was stumped because this story also had to have mad passion, conflict and angst. I looked over my to-be-read pile and still could not quite find what I was looking for. Then I looked down at the box that had arrived from my publisher Simon and Schuster the day before. I knew what was in it, and I smiled. There in that box was a true love story that still haunts me almost 8 months after I wrote it: MASTER OR TORMENT, book two in my Blood Sword Legacy series. This story is of Sir Wulfson and Lady Tarian Godwinson. It is without exception a story of my heart and soul, and it transcended the pages. Reviewers love this story, readers are panting for more, and well, I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed a copy, went downstairs and stayed up until 6 the next morning reading. I loved it more. While I love writing my contemporary hot cops, there is something different about the Blood Swords, something more primal. More is at stake and these brave proud men must fight not only their own longings for love and acceptance in an era where bastards were looked upon as less then whole men, but they must carve out a place for themselves and their lady love and begin a legacy that will transcend time. They always make me sigh. What is the Blood Sword Legacy?

The Blood Sword Legacy

Eight mercenary knights, each of them base born, each of them bound by unspeakable torture in a Saracen prison, each of them branded with the mark of the sword for life. Each of their destinies marked by a woman.

‘Twas whispered along the Marches that the demon knights who rode upon black horses donned in black mail wielding black swords would slay any man, woman or child who dared look upon them. ‘Twas whispered their loyalty was only to the other and no man could split them asunder, nor was there enough gold or silver in the kingdom to buy their oath. ‘Twas well known each of them was touched not by the hand of God but by Lucifer himself.

‘Twas also whispered, but only by the bravest of souls, that each Blood Sword was destined to find only one woman in all of Christendom who would bear him and only him sons, and until that one woman was found, he would battle and ravage the land...

If you love proud, handsome knights in black armor whose passion runs deep and swift and the ladies who bring them to their knees, this is the series for you. I love writing the stories of these eight Blood Swords. Each knight is unique but bound to the other by blood and suffering, and to their ladies they are bound by their hearts and souls. Set in the tumultuous time of William the Conqueror’s England the stories are gritty, hard hitting with passion woven throughout every scene and through the hearts of the heroes and the heroines who love them. I sigh each time I think of them and their stories. Whether you love contemporary or historical romances, the stories of each Blood Sword is a testament to love conquering all. I invite you to pick up a copy of MASTER OF TORMENT, and see for yourself.

I’ll also be giving away a signed copy of MASTER OF SURRENDER, book one that unleashes them all into your heart at my ONE DAY ONLY BLOG contest.

I also have a question: Does time period matter or do you always fall for the love story regardless of where and when?

And since ‘tis the season, I want to wish you all a safe and joyous holiday!

Karin

MASTER OF TORMENT, Pocket Star, Out Now!
HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, Pocket Star, Out Now!
www.karintabke.com/

Patrice Michelle | Ideas pulled from the air...

The other day I received a question from a reader who'd already read my latest release Scions:Revelation (December 1st) and the last book in my Scions trilogy. She asked if the prophecy--that has been an underlying thread through all three of the books in the Scions trilogy--was something I planned from the very beginning, or if the outcome of the prophecy had come to me as I wrote the books.

The answer is actually somewhere in between. :)

The idea for the first book in my Scions series came straight from a dream. I'd dreamed about a woman who was kidnapped by a vampire and they were being chased by gunmen. Lots of running, leaping across building rooftops and gunshots ensued. The scene in my dream was right out of an adventure novel and too surreal not to write once I woke up. But once I started jotting down notes, I then had to figure out how to turn that "one scene" into a novel. Hmmm...I ask the question: Why the vampire might want to kidnap the human woman and why the gunmen were chasing them....and all the reasons in between....and that's how the first five chapters in the first book in my Scions trilogy (Scions:Resurrection) was created. Once I'd completed those chapters, my agent read them and said, "This is more than one book, right?" I pondered some more and came to the conclusion...Of course there would be more than one book! and there's even a prophecy, which I promptly detailed out as part of the proposal to pitch to potential publishers.

In the summer of 2006, I'd written five chapters of Scions book one, a synopsis detailing the rest of that book and a one-page overview of the other two books in the Scions trilogy (including the prophecy). As I was writing the overview, the actual prophecy itself came to me easily, yet I wasn't "set" in how that prophecy would play out in the stories.

Ultimately, even when wearing my author "hat" I'm still a reader at heart--I want to be surprised and I discover the twists and turns in the stories as I they unfold before me. ;) I didn't know who would uncover each of the pieces of the prophecy, how the layers would all tie together, who would be responsible for the biggest reveal or how each of the characters would be impacted by all the revelations. All those unknowns were very exciting to unearth as each story was written and each of the main characters played out their respective parts.

So I guess the answer to the question is that the prophecy came to me in...equal parts intuition, guess-work and good old fashioned...jigsaw puzzling. It never ceases to amaze me how the muse works in inexplicable ways!

If you're interested in reading an action-adventure paranormal story where a suspenseful mystery is woven along-side a sexy romance, then I hope you'll give my Scions books a try.

Note: Each of the Scions books are written to be read as stand alone stories, but if you'd like to read the adventures of each of the main characters in order, then they are as follows: Scions:Resurrection, Scions:Insurrection and Scions: Revelation.

Patrice Michelle
www.patricemichelle.net

Sandi Shilhanek | Reading while Sick

I hope that everyone who is in the United States enjoyed their Thanksgiving, and had plenty leftovers so that there was plenty of time to curl up and read. My family always does Thanksgiving with Elizabeth, a long time friend. Since she’s the better cook all the cleaning and prepping is at her house, so I have plenty of time to read should I so desire or be able to.

However, as I write this I am stuck with a home in need of some good cleaning, and a cold attacking me and not letting me out of its nasty grip. My email often brings a message of someone’s illness and that the good thing that came out of it was how much they read.

I think if you’re sick and can read it’s fantastic. I however only want to hide under the nearest blanket and burrow into the best pillow and sleep until the illness has given up hope of something exciting happening, and moves on to its next victim.

Are you like me…a sleeping sick person or are you like others who can gobble up one book after another while fighting the cold, flu or other nasty ailments that come our way? If you can read do you read something new, or do you rely on a comfort read the way I rely on my favorite blanket and pillow?

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and that it was a spectacular start to a illness free happy healthy holiday season.