• ·

    Hot Mama once more …

    mama_rough.jpgSybil and the other folks over at The Good, the Bad, and the Unread have been kind enough to do a fresh review of Hot Mama, in anticipation of the mass market paperback release on Aug. 5 — this upcoming Tuesday. Can you believe it?

    It seems like just yesterday the trade paperback version was coming out. But here we are, several months later already. Kids are already going back to school in my part of the woods, which means summer is almost over. Shaking head.

    In other news, there will be some excerpts from Jinx and some other info posted on TGTBTU sometime soon. So keep an eye out for that.

    And if you missed Hot Mama the first time around, I hope you can check it and the other books out — and get sucked into the zany, campy world of Bigtime, N.Y. :ww:

  • Cool books on pop culture …

    3 Comments

    Right now, I’m reading Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars.

    It’s a book of essays about the television show, Veronica Mars, published by BenBella Books. The company has an offshoot that does pop culture books, like the aforemention VM title. Why am I mentioning this? Because there’s everything from a James Bond book to one on Joss Whedon to Buffy and Serenity titles.

    I thought some of you guys might be interested in some of the books. Hope you can check it out! :ww:

  • Bonding again …

    3 Comments

    This James Bond tidbit is courtesy my friend Super Librarian Amy:

    Alicia Keys and Jack White will sing the theme song for the upcoming Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. The song will be called Another Way to Die. There’s a little more info here on CNN.

    Thanks for the heads-up, Amy! 😎

    This is an interesting musical pairing, and I’m curious as to what the song will sound like — and if it will actually have the words quantum of solace in it. I’m guessing no. Hard to rhyme something with solace.

    Of course, the best Bond theme song is the James Bond Theme. A close second is Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon. I also like Diamonds Are Forever by Shirley Baasey, For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton, and The World Is Not Enough by Garbage. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is cool too, although technically it’s not a theme song (it’s from the movie Thunderball).

    After that, well, some of the songs get downright ridiculous, like the aforementioned Thunderball. I have no idea what that song is supposed to be about, but Tom Jones does an impressive job holding the last note for what seems like forever. 

    What about you? What’s your favorite Bond song or movie? Share in the comments.

  • Fall events and more …

    I thought I’d take a minute to update you guys on the various book events I’m doing this fall and a couple of others set for 2009:

    Sept. 19-21: Lora Leigh’s RAW (Reader Appreciation Weekend) in Huntington, W.Va. I’ll be schmoozing with authors and readers all weekend long. There’s a booksigning from noon-4 p.m. Saturday for conference folks, then another one from noon-4 p.m. Sunday that’s open to the public. I’ll probably cut out of the public signing about 2 p.m., though, since I’ll have to drive back home and go back to the day job on Monday.

    October: I don’t have a firm date yet, but I’ll be signing books for a couple of hours one Saturday at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn., during their anniversary weekend. More details to come.

    Oct. 17-18: I’ll be at the Women’s Expo in Kingsport, Tenn. There’s going to be a meet-the-authors dinner Friday night at Bays Mountain Park, and then the authors will be signing books throughout the day on Saturday. Some folks will sign on Sunday too. Other authors (tentatively) scheduled to attend include Lora Leigh, Shirley Damsgaard and Julia Quinn (that’s the rumor – I don’t know if this is confirmed yet or not).

    April 2009: I’ll probably be going to the Romantic Times convention in Orlando, Fla., as long as the creeks don’t rise, as my grandma says.

    July 2009: I’m definitely planning on going to RWA Nationals in Washington, D.C. Again, as long as the creeks don’t rise. 😎

    So there’s my schedule for the next few months. Other events and book signings depend on a variety of things. So stay tuned for more! :ww:

  • If you’re going to San Francisco …

    5 Comments

    So the annual Romance Writers of America conference kicks off Wednesday in San Fran. I’m not going this year, mainly because of the cost. The conference fee was something like $425 this year, the hotel would have been over $1,000 for four nights, and I shudder to think what the plane tickets would have cost. Gulp! It was just too rich for my blood this year.

    I wish I was going, though. RWA Nationals is always a lot of fun. Book signings, workshops, face time with your editor and agent, publisher parties … there’s something going on all the time. It’s exhausting, but fun. Plus, there are lots of opportunities to get free books. 😎

    But basically, most agents, editors, and authors will be incommunicado this week as they make the trek to San Fran. However, some folks will be blogging during the conference so us poor slobs stuck at home can read all about it.

    Ah, well. Hopefully, I can get some work done on Assassin 2 in the meantime. Besides, next year the conference is in Washington, D.C., a place I’ve always wanted to visit. And the next year, 2010, it’s in Nashville, which is even closer to me. Yee-haw!

    What about you? Are you going to San Fran? Staying home like me? If so, how are you passing the time this week?