A trip to the post office is not always fun usually get a lot of junk mail, bills, more crap, and the occasional book. I did pretty well in the contests for June and July and have been anxiously awaiting several books. My son really enjoys it when I get books in the mail, almost as much as I do, he always asks if I got a little orange key. The key means I have a package and he always gets to open the second mail box. If ever you were to be in the post office at the same time you might think we won the lottery with the way he behaves! Well here's my loot for the week:
Courtesy of Alaine at Queen of Happy Endings. I won both Fever and Burning Wild by Christine Feehan in her June Contest. She was really great! Thank you Alaine!
I won The Grand Sophy last week at Anna's Book Blog
Using the list randomizer on Random.org, Our lucky winner is:
There were 73 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
Timestamp: 2009-07-15 13:13:32 UTC
Julia Latham
Disguised as Lady Rosamond, Anne has embarked on a mission to save one woman’s life and thwart a plot to kill King Henry. When Phillip recognizes Anne in the disguise she has to find a way to protect her identity and the mission, and what better way than to have the Bladesmen protecting her invite him to help.
Anne and Phillip share a history that Anne would sooner forget, feeling the embarrassment of desiring a man she cannot have. Phillip becomes a distraction that could endanger the mission. They both must overcome their pasts and their background to find an end to the mission and eventual happiness in the lives that they both have chosen.
One Knight Only is a real cloak and dagger story set in the fifteenth century. Anne is a strong willed woman who is desperate to find a new life, one in which she chooses and has control of. Phillip is a daring Knight that is tired of living his life based on someone else’s dreams. He has finally decided that what he most out of life is not what he wants and is not that important any longer. What matters most is finding the love that only one woman can show him. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Anne and Phillip’s adventures and look forward to reading Thrill of the Knight and Secrets of the Knight; these books are not considered a series however they are linked by the characters in them.
4 stars
This week has been a slow week with receiving books. Which is probably for the best. I am in a reading slump and it is taking me forever to get through my book. I did get quite a bit read last night after I woke up and could not for the life of me go back to sleep. My husband was complaining that it was hot... well he needs to try sleeping with himself and feel how much heat he puts off at night. Anyhoo here is my list!
Bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries's enticing new series introduces the spirited graduates of Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies — unconventional heiresses who are more than matches for society's most irresistible rogues....
"Be careful, Amelia — you know how reckless you can be!"
— Mrs. Charlotte Harris, headmistress
Lady Amelia Plume has many admirers — it's too bad they're all fortune hunters and fops who can't provide the exotic adventures she seeks. But the ballrooms of Mayfair have become much more appealing since the arrival of Major Lucas Winter, an American with a dark past and a dangerous air. Lucas is brash, arrogant — and scandalously tempting. Every thrilling kiss sparks hotter desire, yet Amelia suspects that Lucas has a hidden motive in wooing her. And she intends to discover it, by any means necessary....
If love isn’t blind to past indiscretions, can absence truly make the heart grow fonder?
Judith O’Neil wants to keep her freedom – and her grandmother’s estate. But can she do both? Especially when her father demands she marry before he can give her an inheritance.
Andrew Dean is tired of being the stable help, and jumps at the chance of playing Lady Judith’s pretend husband. But he didn’t plan on falling in love … or discovering a secret that had been hidden in his memory for twenty years.
Romantic Times said this of Nicholas: “The leading man is the sexiest one this reader has seen in a long time!” Nicholas has won, placed, or finaled in 9 RWA regional awards, including the National Readers Choice Award. Lyon and Raine are both currently finalists for numerous RWA regional awards, including the 2009 Booksellers Best award and Passionate Ink’s Passionate Plume. All the satyr novels have received numerous five-star reviews, and are in multiple printings.
A Night Of Bliss
Emma anxiously awaits her husband's return home to Tuscany on Calling night. She hopes that the night-long copulation will draw them closer together for she questions whether they truly love one another. But when Carlo arrives, injured in battle and unable to perform, she learns she must mate instead with Dominic, a lusty, royal Satyr. It is a night of hedonistic passion that leaves her wanting much, much more...
A Moment Of Rapture
Like other Satyr lords, Vincent is driven to mate from dusk to dawn every Calling night. But as a bachelor, Vincent must conjure a female from the mist who will satisfy his sexual needs. While his brothers summon a different partner with each full moon, Vincent calls upon the same one time after time. He wants her to experience the same erotic pleasure he feels and one night she does the magic is real...
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Heather: Welcome, Elizabeth. Let’s get started with my first question: Why do you write alpha males?
Elizabeth Amber: Hi Heather. Thanks so much for having me! In answer to your question…
An editor once asked me, “What kind of man do most romance readers want?” My reply was, “an alpha male.” She countered with, “Women want a man who’ll commit.” I replied, “How about an alpha male who’ll commit?” She laughed, but I definitely meant it. That’s my idea of the perfect romance novel hero.
The satyr brothers are physically strong and dominating, but disguise this beneath civilized veneers that allow them to move in the highest social circles of 1800s Italy. They have enormous appetites for pleasures of the flesh, which are unleashed in a sacred gathering place ringed with statues of Bacchus, nymphs, dryads, and fauns. Yet each satyr lord is searching for the one woman meant for him.
Heather: I recently read that you are an Art Historian who specializes in Greco-Roman artifacts. Did this have any influence on The Lords of Satyr series? How much?
Elizabeth Amber: Yes, that’s what gave me the kernel of the idea for the series. According to Roman myth, satyrs are the male followers of the wine god, Bacchus. (Dionysus in Greek myth.) They were portrayed on ancient objects used in the consumption or storage of wine, such as amphorae and urns.
Because they are unapologetic in their relish of any number of sexual acts, they’re often depicted in pursuit of nymphs or maenads, and are usually shown in a blatantly aroused state. Who better to showcase as the hero of an erotic romance?
I updated this mythology to create The Lords of Satyr. This is a family of half-satyr half-human men who own an ancestral Italian vineyard, where they guard ancient secrets. A deathbed decree sends them on a quest for endangered brides in Rome, Paris, and Venice.
There was actually a blight that nearly destroyed all of Europe’s grapevines and the entire wine industry in the 1800s. That comes into play because this threat has will have dire repercussions for the satyr brothers and their families.
Heather: I read somewhere that some authors start their book simply with the hero or heroine. They allow the H/H to lead them in the right direction. Was this the case for you, or did the ideas come before the H/H?
Elizabeth Amber: I think the very first scene I thought of was the erotic one in chapter 22 of Nicholas, the first book. So right away I had the scene and the characters of Nicholas and Jane. I’m not sure if I thought of this first or thought of the whole satyr/vineyard idea that I described above. I think they sort of happened together.
Heather: Which Lord is your favorite? What about the wives, which heroine captured your heart?
Elizabeth Amber: Of course, I love them all. Each satyr lord harbors some sort of wound from the past. Raine was rejected by a human family and later by a human wife, but he’s determined to do the right thing. Lyon has a sense of humor and is beloved by the ladies. Dominic is the hero of his people, yet they fear and scorn him.
But I’d choose Nicholas from the first book as my favorite because he’s the eldest brother and has a strong sense of family duty. His goals are to sire an heir, safeguard ancient family secrets, and watch over his brothers. He’s charismatic and is a very creative lover. All the satyrs are inventive when it comes to lovemaking, but the sex scenes evolve organically from their characters and the plots.
My heroines are all strong, some more than others. Jordan, the heroine in Raine has garnered the most attention. She’s a hermaphrodite, who is living a lie. I didn’t write her to shock anyone. I wrote her because I had come across some information about the plight of hermaphrodites in the 1800s. I empathized with them and was driven to write an unapologetic hermaphrodite heroine. I love the fact that Raine’s love for her is truly complete and unconditional.
Heather: Did you model any of the heroes/heroines after anyone close to you?
Elizabeth Amber: No, I think all the characters I write are some sort of amalgam of character traits we all come across throughout our lives.
Heather: Nicholas and Lyon have both won in the Houston RWA’s Judge A Book By Its Cover contest and Raine finaled. The covers for this series are to die for. I did notice a slight change though. With Nicholas, Raine, and Lyon the face of the model is mostly hidden. Dominic, on the other hand, the entire face is visible. I know authors have very little say in the cover art, but do you know why they changed it?
Elizabeth Amber: I’m one of those authors who don’t see the covers until they’re printed and I’ve never discussed them in-depth with my editor. I’ve heard from many readers asking who the cover models are and jokingly pleading for them to “drop their drapes.” :o) I remember how thrilled I was when I saw the first one--the Nicholas cover. It’s gorgeous, sexy, and classy, and gave the series a boost right off the bat. Kensington made sure it got seen in bookstores and things took off well from there for the series. I have loved each cover, but I admit I prefer covers where the face isn’t seen. I like to imagine it.
Heather: Elizabeth, if you like, please tell us about your contest, which runs through December 2009.
Elizabeth: I haven't included a dedication in any of the satyr novels so far, but I'd like to dedicate DANE #5 to readers. So, I'll be giving away one dedication and a satyr novel--choose from Nicholas, Raine, Dominic. I'm out of Lyons. The monthly winners through December will be included as a group in the front matter of DANE, as in something like this:
This book is dedicated to my readers --
Heather Brewer, Mippy Carlson, Your Name Here . . .
~ Elizabeth Amber
To enter, join my enewsletter group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ElizabethAmber and email me at elizabethamber1@aol.com with Dane Contest in the subject line.
Tuesday Sabrina at Cheeky Reads featured author Delilah Marvelle. I thought the letter below was a worth reposting. I have not read this author yet, but the series sounds really interesting and right up my alley. I am helping to spread the word by reposting the letter, who knows maybe this author will be able to save this series with enough of our support. There is also a great contest that will take place.
FEARLESS IN BATTLE
His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.
TENDER IN BED
Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she’s keeping secrets and dares not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.
So head on over to Anna's Book Blog for your chance to win!!
From Book:
Soviet Union, 1956. Stalin is dead, and a violent regime is beginning to fracture- leaving behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent. A secret speech composed by Stalin’s successor Khrushchev is distributed to the entire nation. Its message: Stalin was a tyrant. Its promise: The Soviet Union will change.
Facing his own personal turmoil, former state security officer Leo Demidov is also struggling to change. The two young girls he and his wife, Raisa, adopted have yet to forgive him for his part in the death of their parents. They are not alone. Now that the truth is out, Leo, Raisa, and their family are in grave danger from someone consumed by the dark legacy of Leo’s past career. Someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance.
From the street of Moscow in the throes of political upheaval, to the Siberian gulags, and to the center of the Hungarian uprising in Budapest, THE SECRET SPEECH is a breathtaking, epic novel that confirms Tom Rob Smith as one of the most exciting new authors writing today.
Review:
Leo feels guilty for his past as an MGB officer under Stalin and in an attempt to right the wrongs that he has committed, at least in his own heart, he opens up shop as a private investigator. After the speech comes out all hell breaks loose so to say. His daughter is abducted, his wife his critically injured, and his youngest daughter is in denial. Several deaths have taken place, all with one common denominator. Now Leo must attempt to right this wrong he was ordered to commit in the face of these deaths and the danger to his family.
The Secret Speech is gripping and intriguing. I could not wait to get back on the road in order to finish listening to this audio book; if it were a print version I would say “a real page turner.” This is not normally a book that I would have picked up and read, but had it been a movie I would have been all over it though. It is intense with espionage and non-stop action. The characters are well developed and pull you into their lives. I was thoroughly shocked by how consumed I became while listening to the audio book.
Dennis Boutsikaris did an awesome job narrating this story; the dialect and accents of the characters that he portrayed (read) were very believable.
Happy 4th everyone! I don't have any grand plans for today. My son and I will spend the day together doing whatever he wants and tonight we will shoot off some of our own fireworks in the street. For some reason my son doesn't want to go see the big ones, which is fine for me I won't have to fight with the traffic again.
