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    Conference schedule for 2014 …

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    We’re well into spring now, which means that it’s time for book conference season to get under way. Here are the conferences that I will be appearing at in 2014:

    RT BOOKLOVERS CONVENTION — MAY 13-18 — NEW ORLEANS

    I’ll definitely be going to RT this year. You can get all the details about the convention here. If you go here to the agenda and type in your favorite author’s name, you can see the events that she is supposed to be at.

    I’ll be doing several panels and a YA speed reading event, along with Kensington’s Karmic Carnival (there will be free books at that event). I’ll also be at the big Saturday book signing, sitting in the general section with the majority of the authors. If you’re in the New Orleans area, the Saturday book signing is open to the public.

    AUTHORS AFTER DARK — AUG. 6-10 — CHARLOTTE

    I’ll also be attending AAD this year. You can go here to get all the info about the conference, including the list of authors who will be there.

    AAD is a great, reader-friendly conference, and I’ll be participating in several panels and other events. And, if you’re in the Charlotte area, there will be a Saturday afternoon book signing that is open to the public. You can see the schedule of events here, and the registration information is here.

    If you’ve never been to a book conference, AAD is a really good one to try. About 500 people usually attend AAD, so it has a small conference feel, and it is easy to find/hang out with the authors, bloggers, and readers that you’ve chatted with online. Plus, there are always a ton of book giveaways, food, and other treats. Last year, there was ice cream social one afternoon, which was really cool. 

    OTHER CONFERENCES

    As of right now, these are the only two big conferences that I plan to attend in 2014. I have a couple other events that I’m considering, but it just depends on how things shake out with my writing deadlines this year. So we’ll see what happens.

    And, of course, something could always come up at the last minute that prevents me from making it to RT or AAD, but these are the two cons that I’m planning on attending. Hope to see you there!

  • Changing seasons, changing reads …

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    I talked about this over at Magical Musings last week, but I thought I would share it here on my blog too.

    It Happened One WeddingSpring officially begins on Thursday, March 20, and I know a lot of folks are ready to put the winter weather behind them. Far, far behind them.

    The cold temperatures have kept a lot of folks indoors over the past few months, including yours truly, and have certainly made curling up with a good book more appealing than ever before. But I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve been reading over the past few months and how my tastes and temperament often change with the seasons.

    In the fall and winter months, I find myself turning to fantasy reads, whether it’s epic fantasy, young adult fantasy, or paranormal romance. Some of my reads this winter have included The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson and the Healer series by Maria V. Snyder, to name a few. Books with worlds and magic and characters and adventures that offer an escape from the unrelenting cold temperatures. And we’ve all had our fair share of those this winter. Thank you, polar vortex.

    But as spring (and then summer) rolls around, I find that I’m in the mood for lighter, more contemporary reads, especially contemporary romances. One of my many anticipated reads for the spring is It Happened One Wedding by Julie James. Books where the heroine and hero meet cute and have their ups and downs before realizing that they’re crazy about each other. Stories that are as charming and hopeful as the unfurling of the spring leaves (but without all the woes of allergy season).

    So I’m looking forward to the changing seasons and the changes in my TBR pile too.

    What about you guys? Do you find that your reading preferences change with the seasons? Why or why not? What are some of the books that you are looking forward to this spring?

  • Checking out the e-TBR pile …

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    So I have a shiny new tablet/e-reader now, which I really like. And one of the best things about the tablet is that I can now read e-books.

    Y’all. Downloading e-books is totally addictive. The books! The sales! The money I’m saving!

    Okay, okay, so maybe that last one isn’t quite true, since I could easily download e-books until the cows come home. LOL. But it is really tempting to download an e-book for a couple of bucks … even if I still have about 30 print books in my TBR pile. So far, I’ve been pretty good about sticking to my budget. I only download a new e-book after I’ve read one that’s either on my tablet or one of the print ones in my TBR pile.

    Today, I thought I would share some of the books waiting in my e-TBR pile. Note that the descriptions are from Goodreads:

    Planning for LovePlanning for Love by Christi Barth

    Amazon / iTunes

    I met Christi at the RT convention in Chicago in 2012, and we talked about her Aisle Bound series. I thought this one sounded like a fun, contemporary romance.

    Hopeless romantic Ivy Rhodes and anti-Cupid Bennett Westcott request the pleasure of your company for their disaster of a courtship

    Wedding planner Ivy Rhodes is the best in the business, and she’s not about to let a personal problem stop her from getting ahead. So when she’s asked to star in the reality TV show Planning for Love, it doesn’t matter that the show’s videographer happens to be a recent—and heartbreaking—one-night stand.

    Bennett Westcott admits he didn’t handle his encounter with Ivy very well. But looking at her beautiful smile—and great body—through a camera lens every day? He can’t be faulted for suggesting they have some no-strings fun.

    The more time they spend together, the more Ben realizes Ivy isn’t the wedding-crazed bridezilla he’d imagined. But if he doesn’t trust himself to make a relationship last, how can he convince Ivy to give him another chance?

    Suddenly RoyalSuddenly Royal by Nichole Chase

    Amazon / iTunes

    I saw this book reviewed over at Supernatural Snark a few weeks ago. It sounds like a cute, contemporary, new adult read.

    Samantha Rousseau is used to getting her hands dirty. Working toward a master’s degree in wildlife biology while helping take care of her sick father, she has no time for celebrity gossip, designer clothes, or lazy vacations. So when a duchess from the small country of Lilaria invites her to dinner, Samantha assumes it’s to discuss a donation for the program. The truth will change the course of her life in ways she never dreamed.

    Alex D’Lynsal is trying to keep his name clean. As crown prince of Lilaria, he’s had his share of scandalous headlines, but the latest pictures have sent him packing to America and forced him to swear off women—especially women in the public eye. That is, until he meets Samantha Rousseau. She’s stubborn, feisty, and incredibly sexy. Not to mention heiress to an estate in his country, which makes her everyone’s front-page news.

    While Sam tries to navigate the new world of politics and wealth, she will also have to dodge her growing feelings for Alex. Giving in to them means more than just falling in love; it would mean accepting the weight of an entire country on her shoulders.

    So those are some of the books waiting on my e-reader. What books are in your e-TBR pile?

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    Guest blog: Edie Ramer on Dogs, Dogs, Gryphons, and Romance …

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    Edie RamerToday, I’m happy to welcome my friend Edie Ramer back to my blog. Edie is the author of Christmas at Angel Lake, Crazy Sexy Love, and many other books. She’s also one of my fellow bloggers over at Magical Musings. Take it away, Edie:

    EDIE RAMER ON DOGS, DOGS, GRYPHONS, AND ROMANCE

    You know how you reread favorite scenes in books? The morning after I read Jennifer’s Midnight Frost, I went back and reread the scene with the baby gryphon. And then I reread the other scene with the gryphons … I won’t say more, in case you haven’t read it yet, but it gave me chills and, at the same time, made me feel happy. I also watch videos of people rescuing animals. Often when I should be writing. (I’m sure it’s research.) And I’ve been known to type with a cat draped over my arm.

    Christmas at Angel LakeSince I work from home, I spend more time with my dog and cat than people. So it’s no wonder I put cats and dogs in my books. In my Rescued Hearts series, the dogs and/or cats are secondary characters, but they’re important secondary characters. Like Jennifer’s gryphons, they matter to the book. In my second Rescued Hearts book, Christmas at Angel Lake, the dog’s storyline wrenches hearts. In Crazy Sexy Love, the third book in the series, a cat has an important role. In both books, the animals add unexpected twists at the end.

    Here’s the short excerpt from first scene in which the cat shows up in Crazy Sexy Love, about one-third into the book:

    Inside a smallish kitchen in downtown Eagleton, a cat lifted her nose.

    Her eyes that had gone dull sparkled. Her fur fluffed out.

    The humans who housed her and fed her, day after day, pet food as dry and spare as their hearts, were away from home, leaving her alone once again with just a bowl of stale water.

    Everything as usual since she’d been in this place, and she’d been in this place too long. The humans were gone most of the day and parts of the night. They fed her once a day and gave her water. When they were home, they ignored her.

    She wasn’t important to them.

    She didn’t matter.

    Even though she was young, barely two years in human time, she felt old in spirit. Weighed down.

    There had been a mistake. She knew it. She should be someplace else.

    But today, something was different. She smelled it in the air.

    She couldn’t say what was different; all she knew was that a change was coming. Lives would turn upside down. Including hers.

    Crazy Sexy LoveI’m giving away 25 cents from every book sold to the Washington County Humane Society in Wisconsin. My next book will have two Cavalier King Charles spaniels in it, and I’m already having fun writing their scenes.

    What book with an animal in it did you enjoy?

    WHERE TO GET THE BOOKS

    Christmas at Angel Lake is available at the following sites: Amazon / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Smashwords

    Crazy Sexy Love is available at the following sites: Amazon / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Google Play / Kobo / Smashwords

    MORE ABOUT EDIE

    Edie’s funnier on the page than in real life. A multiple-award-winning writer, she lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her husband, dog, and one important cat. She’s happy to be able to do what she loves nearly every day, and she’s grateful to all her readers.

    You can find out more about Edie at her website, Facebook, or Twitter.

    GIVEAWAY TIME

    Thanks for being here, Edie! In honor of her guest blog, Edie is giving away an e-copy (Kindle or epub) of either Christmas at Angel Lake or Crazy Sexy Love — winner’s choice. This giveaway is open internationally. To enter, use the form below.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

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    Elemental Assassin #12 title announced …

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    Today, I am pleased to share the title for Elemental Assassin #12.

    And the title is … Black Widow.

    Woot! I think it fits in well with the other spider-themed titles in the series. This is a title that my editor, my agent, and I have considered for some of the other books in the series, so it was just a matter of time until we finally used it. How could I write about an assassin codenamed the Spider and not use this title at some point? LOL.

    And just because I know somebody will comment on it, this book does not feature Scarlett Johansson or her superhero alter-ego.

    Spoiler warning: And here is the back cover copy for Black Widow. Please note that this does contain some spoilers, so if you absolutely do not want to be spoiled, you may want to skip reading the next few paragraphs.

    There’s nothing worse than a cruel, cunning enemy with time to kill—and my murder to plan.

    With wicked Fire elemental Mab Monroe long gone, you’d think I could finally catch a break. But someone’s always trying to take me down, either as Gin Blanco or my assassin alter-ago. Now along comes the Spider’s new arch-nemesis, the mysteriously named M. M. Monroe, who is gleefully working overtime to trap me in a sticky web of deceit.

    The thing is, I’m not the only target. I can see through the tangled threads enough to know that every bit of bad luck my friends have been having lately is no accident—and that each unfortunate “coincidence” is just one more arrow drawing ever closer to hitting the real bulls-eye. Though new to Ashland, this M. M. Monroe is no stranger to irony, trying to get me, an assassin, framed for murder. Yet, as my enemy’s master plan is slowly revealed, I have a sinking feeling that it will take more than my powerful Ice and Stone magic to stop my whole life from going up in flames.

    As of right now, Black Widow is scheduled to be published in December 2014, so that would mean that the actual release date would be Nov. 25. I’ll let everyone know when the book is up for pre-order. And of course, I’ll be sharing the cover art soon.

    Cheers!