Practice Makes Perfect–Readers’ Crown finalist!

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I’m back from the RT Convention–and realized I took no pictures!  I even have a camera on my phone.  Sheesh.  I had a great time hanging out with authors, bloggers, and readers, and am proud to say that I watched my first Mr. Romance competition. (The part where the Mr. Romance contenders act out scenes from different romance novels is priceless.)

I participated in a lively Save the Contemporary panel with fellow authors Louisa Edwards and Victoria Dahl, and bloggers Jane (Dear Author) and Sarah (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books).  It was fascinating to learn what readers like/don’t like in the contemporary subgenre and debated whether people like to see bare-chested men on contemporary covers, prefer small towns to big city settings, and all sorts of interesting topics.  (Feel free to chime in on either topic–or your own– below.)

On another note. . . on Friday I received some great news: Practice Makes Perfect was chosen as one of the finalists in the Long Contemporary category of the Readers’ Crown awards!  (The Readers’ Crown are the awards connected to the Borders RomCon convention.)  How exciting!!  I’m honored my book is included in such esteemed company.  Looks like I might be headed to Denver in July for the convention.

Here’s the list of all the Readers’ Crown nominees:

Best First

Anne Marsh  ~ The Hunt ~ Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Time Travel

Margaret Mallory ~ Knight of Desire  ~ Long Historical

Mary Sullivan ~ No Ordinary Cowboy  ~ Short Contemporary

Susan Gee Heino ~ Mistress by Mistake ~ Long Historical

Vanessa Kelly  ~ Mastering the Marquess ~ Long Historical

Erotica

Joey W. Hill  ~ Beloved Vampire

Livia Dare  ~ In the Flesh

Maya Banks ~ Into the Lair

Maya Banks  ~ Sweet Persuasion

Sunny ~ Mona Lisa Darkening

Long Contemporary

Carly Phillips ~ Lucky Break

Erin McCarthy ~ Hard and Fast

Jill Shalvis ~ Double Play

Julie James ~ Practice Makes Perfect

Susan Mallery ~ Sunset Bay

Long Historical

Anna Campbell  ~  Captive of Sin

Deeanne Gist  ~ A Bride in the Bargain

Elizabeth Hoyt ~ To Desire a Devil

Jennifer Ashley ~ The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie

Jodi Thomas ~ The Lone Texan

Long Romantic Suspense

Bella Andre  ~  Wild Heat

Catherine Mann  ~ Defender

Cindy Gerard ~ Whisper No Lies

Julia Harper ~ For the Love of Pete

Susan Crandall  ~ Seeing Red

Novella

Courtney Milan  ~ This Wicked Gift in The Heart of Christmas anthology

Emily Bryan   ~  My Lady Below Stairs in A Christmas Ball anthology

Erin McCarthy  ~  Undead Man’s Hand in Out of the Light, Into the Shadows anthology

Jade Lee  ~ Weekend Tigress in the Winter Heat anthology

Sophia Nash ~ Catch of the Century in the Four Dukes and Devil anthology

Paranormal

Carolyn Jewel  ~  My Forbidden Desire

Jory Strong  ~  Ghostland

Keena Kincaid  ~  Ties That Bind

Shannon K. Butcher ~ Burning Alive

Shannon K. Butcher  ~ Finding the Lost

Sci-fi/Fantasy/Futuristic/Time-Travel

Anne Marsh  ~ The Hunt

Jess Granger  ~ Beyond the Rain

Melissa Mayhue   ~  A Highlander of Her Own

Sandra Hill   ~  Viking Heat

Veronica Wolff  ~  Lord of the Highlands

Short Contemporary

Abby Gaines  ~  Her So-Called Fiance

Abby Gaines  ~  The Groom Came Back

Holly Jacobs ~ Unexpected Gifts

Linda Warren  ~ The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas

Mary Sullivan  ~  No Ordinary Cowboy

Short Historical

Blythe Gifford  ~  In the Master’s Bed

Bronwyn Scott  ~ The Viscount Claims His Bride

Robyn DeHart  ~  Seduce Me

Terri Brisbin  ~  A Storm of Passion

Terri Brisbin   ~  The Conqueror’s Lady

Short Romantic Suspense

Carol Snow   ~  Here Today, Gone to Maui

Delores Fossen ~  Christmas Guardian

Kay Thomas  ~  Better Than Bulletproof

K.M. Daughters  ~   Beyond the Code of Conduct

Sheri Whitefeather  ~ Protecting Their Baby

Urban Fantasy with Romantic Elements

Anya Bast  ~  Witch Fury

Jenna Maclaine ~  Bound by Sin

Julie Kenner   ~  Tainted

Lori Devoti   ~  Amazon Ink

S. J. Day    ~   Eve of Darkness

Off to the RT Convention!

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Whoo-hoo!  Last night I turned in A Lot Like Love to my editor.  Whew– glad to have that off my plate.  Here’s hoping she likes it.

Today I’m packing my bags, and then tomorrow… it’s off to Columbus, Ohio, for the 2010 RT BookLovers Convention!  This will be my first time attending the RT convention, and I’m very excited.  For those of you attending, or in the Columbus area, here’s where you’ll be able to find me:

*Friday, April 30th 10:00-11:00a.m. I’m hosting a Save the Contemporary panel with Jane Litte from Dear Author, Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and fellow contemporary author Louisa Edwards.  Here’s the description:

“Love the modern take on the age old romance tale? We do and we want to meet with other readers who love contemporary romances. What makes a great contemporary romance truly great? Come share your thoughts and favorites, and make suggestions on what could make contemporary romance even better.”

Oh– and I’ll be giving away 25 copies of Just the Sexiest Man Alive and Practice Makes Perfect during the panel.  So if you’re around, be sure to drop by for a fabulous, fun discussion on contemporary romance.

*Saturday, May 1, 11:00a.m.- 2:00p.m, Giant Book Fair.  I’ll be signing books, along with about 300 other authors.  Registered conference members can attend for free, and the event is also open to the public for a $5.00 fee.  The full lists of authors attending the signing can be found here.

Beyond that, I’ll be attending many of the workshops and author events–and of course the parties, too.  Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Tall, Dark and Smoldering?

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Quick question:

I need some opinions/suggestions for a A Lot Like Love (aka Book 4): what actor/celebrity would you describe as tall, dark, and smoldering?

Just for fun, I googled “tall, dark, and handsome” and this guy came up:

Would say his eyes are green?  Because the hero in A Lot Like Love has dark hair and green eyes, and I sure wouldn’t mind picturing this guy.  : )

By the way, his name is Eduardo Verástegui, and Wikipedia lists him as a model, singer and actor from Mexico. I think I need to do a little more research on him… for the book, of course.

Spring Fling and Chicago Booksigning

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Hey everyone!  Thought I’d mention that I’ll be attending the Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling Writers’ Conference, which is next Friday and Saturday, April 23-24th.

There’s a book signing on that Saturday (the 24th) from 4:30-6:00pm that is open to the public.  So if you’re in the Deerfield, IL area, drop by and meet some fabulous authors!  Here’s the list of authors who are attending:

CHERRY ADAIR MORGAN MANDEL
SHERRILL BODINE CHRISTINE MERRILL
KARLA BRANDENBURG COURTNEY MILAN
MARILYN BRANT LAURA MOORE
LAURIE BROWN ANNEMARIE ORTEGA
DEBBIE CAIRO NANCY J. PARRA
LYDIA DARE JENNA PETERSEN
AMY DE TREMPE JULIA QUINN
SIMONE ELKELES ALLIE PLEITER
DEBI FARR ABIGAIL REYNOLDS
ABBY GAINES ERICA RIDLEY
BLYTHE GIFFORD PATRICIA ROSEMOOR
ELIZABETH HOYT DEBRA ST. JOHN
JULIE JAMES JAN SCARBROUGH
MARGOT JUSTES ARIANNA SKYE
BETH KERY JUNE SPROAT
MARIANNE LACROIX ANGIE STANTON
DL LARSON JENNIFER STEVENSON
JADE LEE KAY STOCKHAM
CARRIE LOFTY KIMBERLY SULLIVAN
LINDSAY LONGFORD MARGARET WATSON
ANN MACELA SARAH WENDELL
MYRNA MACKENZIE PAT WHITE
KELLY MAHER S. K. YULE

The conference and signing will be held at:

HYATT DEERFIELD
1750 Lake Cook Road
Deerfield, IL 60015

Hope to see some of you there!

Book 4 Title (and my current comfort read)

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First, big apologies for the state of my blog these past couple of weeks.  Book 4 is due to my editor at the end of the month, and I’m currently working my way (feverishly) through the second draft.  I get this way near the end, and become totally absorbed in the book.  I promise to do better soon!

On days like these where I’m putting in those reeaaallly long hours, I find myself turning to my most comforting of comfort reads.  So earlier this week I read Morality for Beautiful Girls, book #3 in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.

Anyone else a fan of this series?  The books are about Precious Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana, and her “adventures as she navigates the cases of her clients and the complexities of her personal life.”  (from the author’s website)  The series is wonderful, charming, often humorous (with a dash of mystery), and captures Africa beautifully.  (I went on safari a few years ago and it was the most incredible trip.)  I highly recommend this series, particularly to women–Precious’s charming insights into men and their behavior never fail to put a smile on my face.  Oh! And they made a mini-series of the books, on HBO, which I plan to treat myself to as a reward for turning in Book 4.

And speaking of Book 4… it appears to be official… my editor confirmed that the title of the book is A Lot Like Love.  Wow–my first title that Berkley has kept!  And I can’t even take credit for it–many thanks to Elyssa Papa for the suggestion.  Hope to have more info to share on the book soon…

In the meantime, I’m curious–what are your most comforting of comfort reads?  Those books you want to sink into after a long day?