1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?

(I’m guessing #1 is an easy question for everyone?)

2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

Mitchell here. I’m answering this for Susan, who’s ignoring me and trying to get through the 500+ books piled up in her office. Something about wanting to be able to sit at her desk and look out the windows, not at a wall of books. I tried asking, but she gave me a look dirtier than the ones I’m famous for.

Use this link. See if anyone’s busy reading The Demo Tapes, or if they’re just wishing they had the time for it.

I’m home from a couple of days of guest blogging. Ahh, this place is starting to feel like home, albeit one that still needs some paint in the walls. And furniture.

So to speak.

Let’s celebrate being home by talking about author Rhonda Leigh Jones. Her book, The Maestro’s Butterfuly, was lucky enough to be the first author published by new e-publisher Ravenous Romance, and I’m lucky enough to know (and like) the woman, so…

I asked her the standard question: What song makes you think of your book?

Her answer was short, sweet, and intriguing:

Song: “I Want To Be Adored” by Stone Roses. It just fits Claudio so well. He’s so wonderfully arrogant.

Here’s the blurb for The Maestro’s Butterfly:

The Maestro’s Butterfly by Rhonda Leigh Jones

Miranda O’Connell has just made a dangerous bet with her mysterious music teacher that will change her life forever – that she can stay at his estate for 30 days and still walk away.

She doesn’t know Claudio du Fresne is a vampire who keeps human slaves to feed from and use sexually, or that he is quick to punish with a sound spanking. Or that he has secretly brought his ruthless brother in on the bet.

Victoire “Jack” du Fresne wants a piece of the action. He will help Claudio ensure the survival of his risqué stage show, if Claudio agrees to his terms. If Miranda decides to stay after 30 days, she becomes Claudio’s property. If she decides to leave, she becomes Jack’s.

Those 30 days will open Miranda to a world of sexual possibility and dark desire, where fear and lust become one. If she can handle the intensity. Will she fall in love with the kinky vampire, le Maestro Claudio du Fresne…or will she escape the confines of his estate for the dashing, dangerous charms of his brother?

And here’s the YouTube link to the song(although now that I’m here on WordPress, I can probably figure out how to embed vids, huh?).

This week’s Booking Through Thursday made me really think…

1. Do you have a favorite author?

2. Have you read everything he or she has written?

3. Did you LIKE everything?

4. How about a least favorite author?

5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t?

So. Do I have a favorite author?

Actually, no, I don’t. (Well, other than me. And I’m in print now! I can become your favorite!)

I have a ton of authors I adore. Colleen Gleason (I just posted a giveaway featuring her first Gardella book over at Win a Book, so I’ve got her on my mind). Linda Fairstein. Pam Houston. India Edghill. Robin Hobb. Jennifer Estep. (Darn it, where are the men? Why aren’t any of them coming to mind?)

These are names you’ve seen here over and over again. There’s a reason for that.

In some cases, yes, I’ve read everything they’ve written. When I get a favorite author, I try to do that. You know it’ll be a treat to read; it seems like a no-brainer to me. Of course, it’s not always possible to catch up on a huge backlist, especially when the titles are similar. Then it becomes a question of “Did I read this…” — something that’s easy enough to check when you’re at home, but when you’re in the middle of a bookstore, it’s much harder. (No, I don’t print out the list and bring it with me!)

Know what? I just read my first Rhys Bowen. Loved it. Can’t wait to read more. But I’m not ready to count her as a favorite yet. Not based on one book. Same for authors like Don Bruns or James Alan Gardner (a-ha! The men have arrived!). I need more. More, I tell you! (and more time to read, too!)

Did I like it all? Probably. I know in some cases — like the Faye Kellerman series — I don’t love every book in the series, but I’m willing to keep reading because I liked the ones I didn’t love. There’s no reason to stop.

Now, the negative… do I not like certain authors? Yup. And yep, there are authors I’ve wanted to like, but failed in the attempt. Too many to count, really. Let’s not try, either. I like to be more positive than that. I’d hate to see my own name on someone’s list of authors they don’t like. So I’m doing unto others and not listing them.

By the way, if I’ve only read one book by a certain author, I’m generally not listing them here. For one, we’d be here until next week. For another, how can you call someone a favorite based on such a small sample size?

Well, boys, girls and groupies of all sizes, shapes, and genders.

In my hands is what I think is going to be the final version of The Demo Tapes. You’ve asked and I’m about to deliver… Wow. This is scary and exhilarating all at once. Sort of like I imagine how I’d feel if I were allowed to be the first person to try out a new roller coaster… with a blindfold.

No, maybe not. Blindfolds take the fun out of it, no matter what Trevor says. We’re talking roller coasters here, folks. And books. MY book.

Since this is mine, thanks to the good folks at Lulu, I get to make the rules. One of which is that you’ll be able to buy The Demo Tapes from me. You’ll be able to buy them through Lulu. You might be able to buy them through Amazon, but I’ll only earn 66 cents per copy once Amazon gets their cut, and that doesn’t leave me much to pay off my (limited) expenses and still have enough profit to donate to charity.

What I need to know right now (Yes, this instant!) is … would you like an autographed copy? The only way to get one is to get it directly through me for a million reasons, one of which is that this book is being produced Print on Demand, so until someone places an order, there’s nothing for me to sign.

Tell me in the comments. Lay it all out; I have comment mod only only to get rid of the spammers who leave links to obnoxious spam sites.

Here’s the back cover copy:

A band’s demo tape is intended to introduce listeners to their music. Likewise, this collection of short pieces allows readers into the fictional world of Trevor Wolff and his band, ShapeShifter.

Originally published online between April 2006 and March 2007, The Demo Tapes: Year 1 brings together the moments that parallel — but never encounter — Susan Helene Gottfried’s debut novel, Trevor’s Song. Arranged chronologically and with introductions to each, this is a must-have volume for anyone who’s ever wanted to hang with a rock band.

As Frigga asked, the book is priced at $9.98 and there will be shipping costs involved. I need to figure them out yet (think three bucks for US addresses, tops). And yes, PayPal is a FINE form of payment.

More details on all this to come. Stay tuned.

This week’s Booking Through Thursday asks us:

What, if any, memorable or special book have you ever gotten as a present? Birthday or otherwise. What made it so notable? The person who gave it? The book itself? The “gift aura?”

With few exceptions, people don’t give me books for presents. Maybe it’s the 500+ stack that refuses to shrink, no matter how fast I read, that scares them off. Maybe it’s that many of those 500+ come from RABCKs — Random Acts of BookCrossing Kindness. That’s when a fellow BookCrosser decides to look up my address and pop a book in the mail to me, just because. As someone who loves to do this, herself, I love getting RABCKs in return.

There’s one book that sticks out immediately. That’s The Plucker, an illustrated novel by Brom. Yep, one name. Brom. Awkward at first, it takes on a beauty of its own after a bit, doesn’t it? Brom.

So does the man’s art.

Anyway, the Tour Manager bought me a copy of The Plucker last year for my birthday. Horrible wife that I am, I haven’t read it yet. I’m waiting, you see, for a day where I can curl up with something I can get lost inside, where I can lose all the pressures I’ve been facing lately, trying to get The Demo Tapes done — along with everything else that my ambition is dictating.

I think, truth be told, I’d rather have a gorgeous new pen (I prefer rollerballs) or an account at Roberta Weissburg‘s and time to devote to having her make me a gorgeous new dress coat. Or time to play with the washable suede pants I’ve recently discovered. Or… Yeah, you get the idea. Time and money for this rock and roll writer’s rock and roll wardrobe.

Which, of course, explains why I’m wearing a too-big pair of Levi’s and a t-shirt from WPTS-FM, the radio station where I had so damn much fun on Sunday afternoons…

I can’t believe I haven’t done a Book Talk since August, when I raved about The Kommandant’s Girl. Granted, my reading’s (regrettably) slowed since then, as I’ve had other things in the works and all of us adjusting to the new school year.

I’ve been reading great books, though. In fact, of the 14 I’ve read, there have been only 2 that I haven’t finished. That’s a pretty good ratio.

I’m not going to go through all 12 that I finished. I don’t want to bore you — I want to point you to the great reads. There have been plenty.

Let’s start with George and the Virgin. This was my first romance written by Lisa Cach, and it’s easy to see what everyone is raving about when they talk about Ms. Cach. I really liked the heroine, but even more, it’s a good reminder of what can happen when our lives are ruled by fears.

Sweet Man is Gone is Peggy Ehrhart‘s fiction debut and a definite don’t miss. I reviewed it over at Front Street Reviews — look under mysteries. I’ve also swapped a few e-mails with Ms. Ehrhart and she’s wonderful.

For a long time now, I’d heard mixed reviews of both War for the Oaks (Emma Bull‘s classic) and Parable of the Sower (Octavia E. Butler‘s classic), and had been dragging my heels about reading both of them. It was time to suck it up (see my comment about George and the Virgin for that lesson on being ruled by fear). I’m glad I did. Both books are incredible. Both have very dark visions of society, which is fine. I like a good dystopic society. Parable is perhaps the darkest book I’ve ever read. Oaks shows the power of music.

I reviewed Parable for Breeni. Check it out.

Time to change gears and finally take the plunge and read a book by Lauren Dane! I’ve been reading her blog for years and I like her. I won a copy of Making Chase in a contest held at her blog and while it took me a little bit longer than I’d intended to get around to reading it, it was worth the wait. Ms. Dane creates wonderfully real, complex characters. She’s about to have a few new books released by a major publisher; look for them.

To tie the romance and the alternate society together, I finally picked up my very-badly-treated copy of Stray (really, the person who sent it shouldn’t have, despite the vague rules at PaperbackSwap. This poor book can’t be sent back out again — and before you suggest it might be ME who treated it so badly, I challenge you to ask Bridget, who borrows all my books. She’ll tell you how gentle I am with a book. She’s been known to ask if the copy I’m handing her is the one I read.). Rachel Vincent‘s debut is another book I’ve heard negative things about. With one minor exception, I disagree. Read what I thought over at Breeni’s. (It made me feel good to see the comments, where someone says they’d steered away because of the negative talk, but I’d changed their mind.)

And last night, I finished a humdinger. I’ve read Anita Diamant‘s The Red Tent. I’ve read Good Harbor (a book which continues to resonate with me, years later). I’ve even read some of her nonfiction books “about contemporary Jewish practice,” as her bio describes them. The Last Days of Dogtown trumps them all.

The friend who’d handed me her copy said “Eh,” as she handed it to me, but I loved this series of interlocking stories that collectively tell the tale of a small New England town (that actually existed, according to the back cover) as it breathes its last. Well-drawn characters it’s impossible not to care for make this another book that’ll stay with me a long time.

So there you go. Seven books — that’s half of what I’ve read in the past two months. I’m on a roll. I hope it continues; it’s much easier to tear myself away from the screen (and impending burn out) when there’s a good novel waiting on the couch for me.

At first glance, this week’s Booking Through Thursday is a great question:

“Name a favorite literary couple and tell me why they are a favorite. If you cannot choose just one, that is okay too. Name as many as you like–sometimes narrowing down a list can be extremely difficult and painful. Or maybe that’s just me.”

Well, of course my favorite couple is Mitchell and Kerri. That goes without saying. I created them. (And wait until you see the couple I’m working on now!)

But then I began to think a little more deeply about the books I’ve read lately. Know what?

I can’t name any relatively recent couples.

There are a bunch of triangles — and I like triangles — roaming around out there. Colleen Gleason‘s got Max and Sebastian. I haven’t read Stephanie Meyer, but it sounds like there’s a triangle with Edward and some other dude.

Notice something else? Those are both series I’ve just named.

There hasn’t been a great epic novel in a long time — epic like Gone with the Wind epic. Those are the novels that let us really get to know a couple, to allow us readers to spend enough time with them that they become alive. So now we need the series novels to make that happen.

Except…

A lot of the series I’ve been reading — Kim Harrison comes to mind, as does Rachel Vincent, although I’m not current on either series (and what does that tell you about how frequently books are being pumped out lately?) — don’t have couples in them, per se. They feature women and men and yeah, there’s some attraction and chemistry, but the characters don’t couple off. Not permanently, and at least not up through the books I have gotten to (so many series…).

Yet then there’s Queen Betsy, and Sookie Stackhouse… (Although again, I’m far from being current on either series)

Another exception to this rule that isn’t holding up worth a dedication page: Jennifer Estep‘s Bigtime series. These three novels all feature the classic romance formula: boy and girl meet, boy and girl make the long-term commitment. Boy and girl also return in the other books in the series, albeit in limited roles, so that we readers can revisit old friends. (But not, you’ll note, continue to get to know them)

But as for couples like Rhett and Scarlett, I just don’t think we’re seeing as many of them anymore. Society’s changed. Our wants as readers have changed.

Or have they?

I really shouldn’t be surprised at the demand to find out what the banned book in the previous outtake was.

And okay, you caught me. There is a book in mind. The book that inspired this whole outtake, in fact.

I don’t remember the entire story, as I’ve done my best to block out most of my high school years (despite running into a former classmate yesterday on her way to her wedding), but here’s what I do recall:

It was senior year. One of the most popular teachers was the wrestling coach, who taught two classes for seniors: government, which was for the higher-thinking students, and survival skills, which was for the kids who weren’t going to college. It was a class about how to get a car loan, how to manage a credit card… you know. Survival skills.

I took government and loved the teacher. Loved his style: energetic, demanding, and never ever humiliating. If you fell asleep in his class, he didn’t make a big deal of it. He just handed you a detention slip on your way out the door. (although I remember him giving one to Gorgeous Jimmy during class. Woke the poor guy up, too, when that paper slid under his arm.)

So I took survival skills the next semester, even though it was “beneath” me, everyone said. Like learning how to be financially responsible is beneath ANYone? (Nope, not going to get all political here. Sorry.)

Anyway, it was this teacher who told me that our school district had banned ONE book in district history. ONE. And he had a copy of it. If I didn’t tell anyone, he’d slip it to me and let me read it on the QT, at home. I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone where I’d gotten it, how I’d heard of it, or anything.

I should feel bad about breaking this confidence, but it’s been almost 20 years. (Yep, I’m that old) It’s also something I’ve — clearly — never forgotten. The whole experience had this much impact on me. It’s one of my few good memories of high school.

The book was Johnny Got His Gun. Here’s how Powells.com describes it:

Johnny Got His Gun holds a place as one of the classic antiwar novels. First published in 1939, Dalton Trumbo’s story of a young American soldier terribly maimed in World War I — he “survives” armless, legless, and faceless, but with mind intact — was an immediate bestseller. This fiercely moving novel was a rallying point for many Americans who came of age during World War II, and it became perhaps the most popular novel of protest during the Vietnam era.

Let me tell you, if I hadn’t been anti-war before reading this book, there’s no way you can put it down and still be anti-war. It WAS disturbing, and that was the reason it had been banned (I believe that the school actually used to teach it, which is something I think SHOULD be done with controversial books. Informed minds and all…). It was also excruciating to read. I mean, there’s little dialogue ’cause the main character has no face. There’s no action ’cause the guy can’t exactly walk around with no legs.

This story doesn’t end here, though. You music fans may recognize the book title. It inspired a rather famous song (and a band’s first music video, which set the entire world of videos on its ear and ushered in the Golden Era of Hetfield.). Yup, around the time I was reading Johnny Got His Gun, so were a couple of guys who played in a band you might have heard of: Metallica. The song? One.

You know, I’ve never been able to listen to One comfortably. It brings back memories of sitting on my mom’s couch with that book, thinking all these angry thoughts about how stupid war is, and how powerless I was to change the world and get rid of war. It brings back memories of that excruciating reading experience.

Hard as it was, it changed me.

And for that, I’d like to thank that wrestling coach-cum-teacher.

Since it’s October first, we’re not going to mourn the loss of my favorite temporary XM Radio station. Nope. Not gonna do it.

Instead, we’re going to focus on the good and exciting. Today, that means a new release from my writer bud, Shelley Munro.

The book is called Cat and Mouse. Here’s a blurb from Shelley’s website:

Every woman has sexual needs. Lana Sinclair, feline shapeshifter and widow, is more than ready for a fun night with a likeminded male. Hot lovin’ is compulsory because she’s determined to scratch the itch that’s driving her crazy. This time, career-girl Lana is picking a malleable male who won’t try to corral her into the housewife role.

Fellow shifter Duncan Ross is the perfect candidate. The cowboy follows the rodeo circuit and is only in Middlemarch for the bull riding. One night of mutual seduction, slick, naked bodies and pleasure then he’ll be on his way.

Duncan is astonished when Lana propositions him, but no one could ever call him stupid. He’s always desired Lana and now that she’s ready for sex, he’s all action. It’s time to lasso the woman of his dreams with some sweet lovin’ and charm, a sexy massage and ropes spliced together with addictive pleasure. He’ll seduce her to his way of thinking—a permanent arrangement. This is one go-round Duncan is determined to win.

Woo! Sounds like a good one, Shelley! (If you’re over 18, you can read an excerpt by following that same link listed above.)

And since this is a Featured New Release, I HAD to ask the question:

What song makes you think of this book.

Here’s what Shelley said:

When I think of Cat and Mouse I think of the Garth Brooks’ song Rodeo. In Cat and Mouse the tables are turned because my heroine wants one night with the hero. She doesn’t want the bother of having him around all the time and is happy for him to travel the rodeo circuit unlike the woman in the song. Duncan, however, has other ideas and he’s a sneaky feline shifter. Lana doesn’t know what’s hit her…

Here’s a link to YouTube and a video of Rodeo. Man, that opening riff is addictive…

Check out Cat and Mouse and think of Garth as you do…

I like this week’s Booking Through Thursday question. Here it is:

What was the most unusual (for you) book you ever read? Either because the book itself was completely from out in left field somewhere, or was a genre you never read, or was the only book available on a long flight… whatever? What (not counting school textbooks, though literature read for classes counts) was furthest outside your usual comfort zone/familiar territory?

And, did you like it? Did it stretch your boundaries? Did you shut it with a shudder the instant you were done? Did it make you think? Have nightmares? Kick off a new obsession?

You know what? I can’t answer that so easily.

I’ve got two degrees in English and while I like to laugh and brag about having managed to avoid many of the classics, I’ve also read things that, at the time, stretched my boundaries.

Moby Dick and the Scarlet Letter. Two classics (and possibly what turned me off the entire genre of classics) that convinced me that I could read the damn things out loud and still not retain much of anything that I read.

In college, it was old texts like Beowulf, which I loved. That opened the door to Grendel, which was brilliant. (No, I have not yet seen the movies.) Those were all good experiences, but did they turn me into raving fangirls?? Nope.

Fast forward to grad school. Experimental writers like David Bowman’s Let the Dog Drive (a book still on my shelf). Carole Maso. Kathy Acker. Metafiction. Interesting, but not for me.

And literary writers, too. Anne Panning, who was a classmate. Susan Sontag. E. Annie Proulx. Sadly, like the metafiction and experimental stuff, it didn’t do much for me. It’s nicely written literature, sure. But not what jazzes me.

And despite how difficult most Latin American literature is, some of it is so achingly beautiful that it makes me cry. One Hundred Years of Solitude. The House of the Spirits.

But some of it? Ick. I may still have a copy of The Aleph on my shelf but that’s more because after all I went through to get it, I’m not parting with it so fast.

Now, as an out-of-school writer and mom, I read whatever makes me happy. Right now, it’s Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker. And a SciFi by Gregory Benford. I like to read all sorts of different things, not just the same old, same old.

Part of the fun of participating in sites that blog about books, be they blogs by authors or blogs by book lovers, is exposing myself to new stuff. The nice thing about a book you don’t like is that you can close it and give it away.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Sorry for the lack of buy links over to Powells.com. The kids got home from school as I was composing this and I need to go hang with them. If any of these titles grab you, head on over to your nearest independent bookstore — even if it’s an online one — and pick up your own copy.

This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for the good stuff!

It’s a good thing that what you post in the Internet is there forever. I’d meant to give this book away to celebrate the posting of my review of it over at Front Street Reviews, where all of my book reviews find a home.

So it’s a belated celebration, but one nonetheless.

You, too, can read Magnolia Belle’s Black Wolf on Tour. You can even read MY copy of it.

Here are the rules:
1. Contest open world-wide. Hand delivery to Mars, since I’m West of you.
2. Contest open to past winners.
3. Leave a comment WITH CONTACT INFORMATION.
4. You have until Thursday the 18th of September.
5. Winner will be announced via a random drawing on 19 September. Watch this post for the update.

That’s it. I reserve the right to disqualify you if you’re a jerk, a spammer, or otherwise unpleasant in a non-Trevor Wolff-ish way.

h/t to Janicu, who figured out that this is the permalink to my review.

Congratulations to Janel, who is our winner! (and thanks to #2, who picked the winner)

Kudos to my friend JM for asking this week’s Booking Through Thursday question:

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

Of course I’ve felt pressure to read something because everyone else is. Not just the best-sellers, either. Laurell K. Hamilton> comes immediately to mind; I had to find out what was going on with this Anita Blake chick.

MaryJanice Davidson (who is an absolute doll) is another. Charlaine Harris. Carrie Vaughn.

The LKH is the only one that disappointed, and then not until the third or fourth Anita book that I read (out of order, but that wasn’t my issue with the series).

(yeah, I noticed, too, that they are all paranormals. Shows you what my online peer group is into, huh?)

There have been few best-sellers that haven’t disappointed in one way or another. The Kite Runner bothered me with its brutality (and now my book club talked me into reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I absolutely do not want to read because I hear it’s even more brutal). Even The Secret Life of Bees let me down; I’d read that plot before. I’m expecting more of the same from The Time-Traveller’s Wife (which is near the top of Mt. TBR) and the good old DaVinci Code, which is still buried in the mountain.

Now, as for that last question… as a reviewer, do I feel compelled to follow the trends?

Absolutely not. In fact, I feel compelled to buck the trends and find gems that may have been overlooked. You can read all of my reviews over at Front Street Reviews, including my most recent one, for a book called Black Wolf on Tour.

After all, if everyone is talking about the same ten or twenty books, how is anyone going to hear about the thousands (literally) that are being overshadowed?

As a writer and a reader, it’s my quest to bring attention to those oft-overlooked books.

I had so much fun talking music with Christine D’Abo (here’s the link if you missed it) that I’d like to make this a regular feature.

Just as it felt natural to feature Christine, it feels natural to feature my next author: the way cool Jennifer Estep. I met her when I won a copy of Karma Girl somewhere online. I immediately offered to review it at Front Street Reviews — the first of three reviews I’ve since written about her books.

Let’s face it. I’m an Estep Junkie. The woman could probably write greeting cards and I’d buy them.

Like I said, featuring her today, on the day that her third book in the Bigtime series, Jinx, is released, feels natural.

So I dropped her a note: What song (new or old) best describes how you view Jinx?

Here’s what she said:

The song that makes me think about Jinx is “Under The Gun” by The Killers. The first lines of the song make me think of my main character, Bella Bulluci, since she:

A) Wears a small charm shaped like a pair of wings
B) Dresses up like an angel (with a halo) for a costume party in the book
C) Her house is full of angel- and halo-themed stuff
D) She’s “under the gun” in a number of ways, fighting her feelings for the hero and trying to steer clear of ubervillains and all the other craziness that takes place in Bigtime.

The song starts out like this: She’s got her halo and wings, hidden under his eye. But she’s an angel for sure, she just can’t stop telling lies …

It’s just a fast-paced song that I enjoy. I love The Killers, and this song is on “Sawdust,” which I think is their best album so far.

Here’s a link to a vid that includes the lyrics. Check it out. Read along. Think about Bella and the angel motif.

But mostly, make sure you buy the book. Let this song play in the background as you read it.

And while you’re shopping, pick up the other two Bigtime books, too. They’re light, they’re fun, and they’re worth your time.

Many of you who hang out here know that I’ve made friends with a group of writers I call the Eroti-chicks. They are a great group of women who write romances, often erotic in nature, for many of the e-publishers. I’m acquaintances with a few who’ve made the leap to print (like Lauren Dane, whose copy of Making Chase that I won in a contest a while back finally arrived. Yippee!) and to big publishing houses.

Now, let’s focus in one of my eroti-chick friends, shall we? Today’s focus is on the lovely Christine D’Abo, whose friendship toward me has touched me both personally and as a writer.

Christine’s got a new book out today, folks. It’s called Primal Elements, and I know you want to read it.

Here’s the blurb:

The last thing Jenna Robins wants for her thirtieth birthday is a trip to
the Perfect Match dating service, but she is given little choice from her
group of friends. What she doesn’t expect is to be “matched” with Ben
Hawthorn, her arrogant and handsome, ex-boss. Her opinion of Ben hasn’t
softened much since he sabotaged her research project by pulling the funding
at the last minute seven years ago.

But after a night of passion and the discovery of an alien artifact, Ben and
Jenna are forced to come to terms with their past relationship as the device
draws them closer together physically and emotionally. They must rely on
each other if they are to survive an attack from an old foe, and the force
of their own attraction.

Sounds good, huh?

Well, I thought so, too. So much so that I was inspired to ask Christine what song most makes her think of her book. I mean, heck. I write about music and rock stars, right? Let’s talk about books in the guise of music.

Here’s what she said:

I think the song that fits their relationship the best is Someday by
Nickelback. Their relationship seven years fell apart, things were said
and done that pulled them apart. Now they’ve been put together again and
want to make it work.

So. There ya go.

Christine’s new book, and the song that goes with it.

You know you want it.

For every clunker I find for my book club, I manage to find some absolute keepers, too. This month, we read The Kommandant’s Girl, Pam Jenoff’s debut novel. Here’s a blurb, taken from the author’s website:

Nineteen year-old Emma Bau has only been married for three weeks when the Nazis invade her native Poland. After her husband, Jacob, is forced to disappear underground as part of the resistance movement, Emma soon finds herself imprisoned in the ghetto with her parents. There she meets one of the resistance leaders and with his help, she is able to escape the ghetto and live under an assumed, non-Jewish identity.

Emma’s already precarious situation is complicated by her introduction to Kommandant Georg Richwalder, a high-ranking Nazi official who insists that Emma come to work for him as his assistant. In this position, Emma has the opportunity to provide information to the resistance movement and potentially help her still-imprisoned parents. To do so, however, she must become perilously close to the Kommandant, a troubled man with a dark secret whose romantic intentions are clear. Emma makes the difficult decision to become involved with the Kommandant and, as their relationship intensifies, she is forced to acknowledge her own undeniable feelings for him. Desperately, Emma wrestles with questions of loyalty and duty until at last she is able to locate information sought by the resistance movement regarding the Nazi liquidation of the ghetto. Spurred by this information, the resistance undertakes the fateful bombing of a Nazi café, unleashing a chain of events that will change Emma’s life, and the lives of those she loves, forever.

Based in part on actual events, The Kommandant’s Girl is a compelling tale of love and courage in a dangerous and desperate time. Unique in voice and evocative in historical detail, the novel’s widespread appeal stems not only from its eternally popular subjects of World War II and the Holocaust, but also from its timeless themes of hope, struggle and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Okay, how do I even begin to tell you guys about this book? Here are some thought fragments:

Utterly impossible to put down
Compelling
The sort of book you get lost in
Impossible to keep from identifying with Emma/Anna

See a trend here? I’m writing this before tonight’s meeting, but the members of the book club I’ve spoken with thus far have all spoken highly of this book. They’ve all agreed it’s the good kind of fast read: the kind that sucks you in and you just want to read and read and read until it’s over. And then, dammit, you want more.

Best of all, part of the central conflict of this book is one that leads to such great discussions: if you were Emma (or Jacob), what would you do? How would you view Emma’s actions?

The ending is open. We don’t get to find out what happens to Emma, although the story of Lukasz, the rabbi’s son who the resistance passes off as Anna’s cousin, would make for a compelling story in its own right. Again, this will also make great discussion at the meeting tonight.

I’ve mentioned before that my book club tends to veer away from the Holocaust; when you get a group of Jewish women together, you’re bound to have someone whose ties cut a little too close to this period in history. But like A Thread of Grace, this is one book I’m glad we chose to read.

There is a follow-up that was just released in April. Called The Diplomat’s Wife, it’s the story of Marta, a secondary character in this book. I’ve already got it on my wishlist, even though from the summaries I’ve read, many of the themes parallel this book’s. We shall see…

In the meantime, don’t miss this one. I’m actually giving it to my vet tech next week, or I’d do a giveaway with it. Truly, I loved this book.

Congratulations to Claudia, who won a great package of excerpts! Stay tuned for more full-length reads.

In my never-ending quest to tell you about the books I’ve read that I simply adore, I’m back with one I knew I’d love even before I picked it up. And it’s got a great story behind it, too, as all great books should.

It started at the 2008 Romantic Times Convention in April. I was picking up all the free excerpts I could find (note to authors: free excerpts = new readers!) and reading them before I’d shut off the NHL playoffs in the background and the light beside my bed. I went through a bunch that were okay, a bunch that were good, and a few that were downright horrible.

And then I picked up this little book from Juno Press, featuring Carole Nelson Douglas on one side and Maria Lima on the other. As fate would have it, I started reading the Carole Nelson Douglas book first.

I finished it up the next morning before heading back to the Hilton from Hell to see if I could help the Mystery Chicks set up the breakfast they were sponsoring. I figured they were the same women I’d hung out with the night before — cool women like Hank Phillippi Ryan, and funny women like Lori Avocato — wait. I met her at breakfast. Didn’t I? And the woman I look to as a steadying presence, Nancy Martin.

Anyway, there was Carole Nelson Douglas in among this group of women. I went as fangirl as Susan can get and gushed about how I’d just read the excerpt and was hooked.

Let me tell you, Carole Nelson Douglas is an amazing woman. She’s clever, she’s funny, she’s smart, and she’s figured out how to survive in this business. Not to mention she’s got this amazing old-world style that I envy. When my good friend Ann mentioned her Midnight Louie mystery series, I recognized the name immediately. I’d be surprised if you don’t.

Luck was totally on my side in this scenario, because as a thanks for helping out, Ann and I were allowed to raid the freebie table. So we did. And there among the freebies was the first in Carole Nelson Douglas’ new series, Dancing with Werewolves. (Uhh, that’s the name of the book, not the series, which seems to have the boring name of Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator. Accurate, but not as stylish as I know Carole can get.)

Reading it was quite the treat. After reading the synopsis in the excerpt of Brimstone Kiss, I felt like I knew what was going on. But it still felt fresh and new and had me totally engaged — so much so that more than once, I woke up early to keep reading.

In a nutshell, Delilah Street sees herself on TV. That’s not unusual since Delilah is a TV reporter, but … this Delilah. She’s dead. Maggoty. Nasty and haunting.

A chain of events sets Delilah — now no longer Delilah Street, TV reporter, but Delilah Street, paranormal investigator — on the path of this dead doppelganger. Enter a man named Ric, another man named Nightwine (who eats living things), a weirdo named Cocaine, or Snow, or… and enough magic to set David Copperfield on edge.

Yet it works. The magic, the vamps, the werewolves, the Cine-Sims… Douglas manages to weave the familiar with the fresh in such a way that the world makes perfect sense and yet is totally foreign, without the reader feeling lost. In fact, I sort of wish Cine-Sims were real…

I want to share this goodness with you, but there’s no way I’m parting with my copy, which Carole so kindly autographed for me. Even if she hadn’t, there’s still no way.

So… I’ll part with my copy of the excerpt, and throw in a second from Juno Books, as well. That means you’ll get two volumes with three excerpts in them:

Brimstone Kiss, by Carole Nelson Douglas
Blood Bargain, by Maria Lima
Seaborn, by Chris Howard

The other two are good, but this new Delilah Street series? Tops it all. And then some. (but you may not agree, which is why I’m going to let you find out for yourself!)

And what the heck. I’ve got lots to give away over here, so I’ll throw in other stuff, too. I’ve got a bunch more excerpts, and I STILL maintain that there isn’t a better way to check out a new author than through excerpts. So I’ll make you a cute little package; you know you want it!

To enter your name, leave a comment here. Be sure to leave me a way to reach you, or you can’t win. I’ll pick a winner on . This is open to anyone in the world, even if you’ve won here before. And all the other usual rules that reign when I run a contest.

I’m out of town (or am I just hiding?), so I’ll pick a winner on Saturday, August 9. Like usual, the winner will be picked by my kids, so don’t yell at me if you don’t win. You guys know me: if there was a way to let you all win, I’d gladly do that.

Oh, how can I NOT answer this week’s Booking Through Thursday? It’s perfect for me!

Ready?

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?

Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?

What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?

C’mon… you know the answer to this. I’d live in Riverview, USA, of course! I think I’d be Kerri, only I’m not as cool as she is, so maybe we’ll have to create a character like her best friend or someone else who’s equally inside the world of ShapeShifter — and everyone else, like Boomer and Pam, who aren’t exactly part of ShapeShifter’s world, and Lyric, who is part, but in a different sort of way. (How’s THAT for a run-on?)

Come to think of it, part of the privilege of being the creator is that I DO fit into the worlds of all these characters (and the others I haven’t mentioned yet today, like Springer). They are diverse people who do things that don’t always revolve around the band, and I can’t imagine any one person being involved with all the characters I have created (many of whom I have yet to share with you guys. Oh, September can’t come fast enough!).

Which means that if I were a character, I’d want me to write about myself. Which sort of hints at a memoir, but I generally hate to read those, so maybe we should approach this from the incestual viewpoint of metafiction. I’m not sure.

This last concept has made my brain hurt. I think I’m glad I’m real.

Not a regular? Check out the links; they will take you to bio pages of all these characters I’ve mentioned. At the bottom of those pages, if you’re so inclined, you can click on links that’ll take you back here to the blog, and you can read the fiction I’ve created for all these people. Have fun!

I met Jade Lee at Romantic Times last April and loved her. What energy. What verve. And so darn smart and quick and totally together…

Really, she’s the sort you want to be like.

So when I saw this article about her, I had to spread the word. If it’s true that her book is going to be turned into a graphic novel… whoo-whee. What fun that will be. I can’t wait.

More when I know it.

It was a few years ago now that I first encountered Steven Brust via Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grille. I loved it; there’s this hipness to it that never makes the reader feel like the narrator is too hip for you. Instead, you’re part of the happenings.

Brust has a fantastic narrative voice.

But if I liked that one, I wasn’t prepared for what Jhereg did to me. Or what Yendi did, now that I’ve finished it.

These books are really hard to explain. For one, they’re science fiction, so they’re set in an alternate reality that’s intriguing as hell. (And must have taken Brust years to create; you guys commend me on my vision, but it’s nothing next to Steven Brust.)

All I can say is, “Go read it and see.”

My copy of Jhereg is long traded away, sad to say. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with Yendi yet, as I’m still away (or am I?) and thinking about books other than my own is low on my priority list right now.

Stay tuned. There will probably be more when I read Teckla. It’s also sitting here, waiting for me. After that, while there are more in the series, they aren’t in my house yet.

Must… fix… that…

So much for thinking about books being low on my priority list…

Lately, I’ve taken to posting about authors whose new releases cross my radar. There are plenty of them, of course — and I’m always looking for more. Since my latest update has thirteen authors with new releases (or re-releases), I figured I’d let the band party for another week and remind you of the good stuff that’s already out there. Buying a book in the first 90 days of its release is a great way to support your favorite author (followed only by buying up everything else they’ve published in the past). Here you go: Thirteen Book Blips on Susan’s Radar 1. Anna J. Evans Wicked Witch of the West Village Devil Take Me 2. RG Alexander Who Needs Another Superhero? 3. Carrie Alexander Nobody’s Hero 4. Donica Covey Tides of Maryna’s Love 5. Dakota Cassidy Accidentally Dead 6. Amy Wallen MoonPies and Movie Stars is now out in paper! 7. Christina Dodd Into the Shadow 8. Shelley Munro Price of Love 9. Jennifer Estep Karma Girl has been re-released in the mass-market-size format 10. Elin Hilderbrand A Summer Affair 11. Lorelei James Tied up, Tied Down 12. Stephanie Kuehnert I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone 13. Vanessa Jaye Felicity Stripped Bare Let me know if you’ve encountered anything great, rave-worthy, or just worth talking about. Yes, feed my small book problem! ** A lack of link in the book title simply means you can’t buy it via Powells. It’s no statement of quality.

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