RWA Report and Book Giveaway

I've been back from my trip to the RWA National Conference for a week and a half, but it has taken me this long to get around to reporting on it because A) as usual, I was exhausted when I came back and B) I've been really busy.

But here, at last, is a quick report on my trip.

It was good.

Oh, sorry, you wanted a little more detail? I got in Wednesday late morning, checked in, and caught up with my roommate, the fabulous Maria V. Snyder. (I adore her books. If you haven't read them yet, go run out and catch up.) The two of us ended up going out to dinner that first night with two of my favorite peeps from the Coastal Magic convention, author extraordinaire Carrie Ann Ryan and copy editor extraordinaire and Official Woman with the Coolest Hair Chelle Olson. We went to a fun brewery restaurant and shared tastes of all the different beers made in house. Also, yummy guacamole.

Chelle, Carrie Ann, and Maria

 One of the best things about going to this particular convention is being able to meet up with people I never get to see anyplace else. I had a great lunch meeting with my agent Elaine Spencer (which I somehow completely failed to get a picture of, dammit), met the glorious Tawna Fenske in person at last

The glorious Tawna Fenske

 Had breakfast and then other meet-ups with one of my favorite people, Harlequin senior editor Patience Bloom (who has the best red hair evah and is also a sweetie of the Nth order).

Patience!

One of the reasons I decided to go this year was because one of my very favorite authors was giving the keynote speech at the luncheon. I love, love, love Susan Wiggs' books (they're an auto-buy for me) and while we follow each other on Twitter, I've never met her. She was a great speaker, and when I got to meet up with her later at the Berkley party, it was absolutely the highlight of my con. (And AGAIN, no picture! Argh!)

Susan Wiggs

At these cons, you tend to run into the same people over and over again. At this particular one, that person was the lovely and charming Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I kept swearing I wasn't stalking her, but I'm not sure she believed me. Either way, she was absolutely gracious about it.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips. And yes, that book came home with me.

At the "Cool Kids" table for the awards ceremony.

 One of the highlights of the convention is the RITA awards ceremony. I actually got to sit at the Cool Kids table between amazing author Kristan Higgins and my lovely pal Patience.

The last night, I had fun in a photo booth with Princess Alethea Kontis (who I also know from Coastal Magic--seriously, you people want to go to THAT convention) at Sherrilyn Kenyon's book release party. It is possible we got a little silly.

As always, I kept my goal to have bacon every day at the con. It's important to have goals in life, don't you think?

Dinner on the last night with roomie Maria. BBQ by the pool, yum!

Best roommate ever

 I always come home from these things with a million books. This time I swore I would limit it to ten, so I didn't have to pay to ship a big box home. Yeah. Not so much.

27 is the same as 10, right?

 Although in my defense, the three books in the middle are ones my agent brought me to read for inspiration on the current book I'm writing, and the pile on the right is for the cat sitters and some friends, and a giveaway. AND I had to mail home the rest of the swag I brought with me to give away.

 Oh, wait, did I say giveaway? I brought home a copy of Susan's last book, The Family Tree (I already have it in hardcover), plus a luggage tag with a picture of her upcoming book, A Map of the Heart. Plus, there are two tote bags! I'll probably also throw in some misc. bookmarks and such. Who wants to enter?

Goodies!

This is going to be a quickie giveaway, only on for a few days, so be sure to enter right away. Oh, and Magic the Cat would like you to know that she helped me pack.

She's never happy about me leaving, and you can tell.

Enter by filling out the Rafflecopter form. You get credit for anything you've already done, like following me on Twitter. (You've already done that, RIGHT?)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Next up, a blog about my visit to Animal Adventure Park to see April the giraffe!

Book Updates and My Review of MAKING WAVES at ChicklitRWA

Hi all--

I have to say, I have been BLOWN AWAY by the great response to the epub of my book, WITCH EVER WAY YOU CAN. *big smoochies all around*

For those who asked, the Nook version will be coming out soon--my poor webmistress/book midwife Robin came down with a cold, so it is taking a bit longer than we'd planned. I'll let you know when we get it up on B&N and another spot we're looking at. Also, for the folks who said they didn't have ereaders (ironically, neither do I!), if you go to Amazon's Kindle site, you can download free apps to read Kindle books on your computer, tablet, or even your phone. (And maybe you'll get a Kindle or a Nook for Christmas...) Don't forget that you can give ebooks as gifts, too... (hint, hint, hint).

I haven't forgotten I said I was going to do a giveaway, either. I plan to take all the names of those who said they bought the book or spread the word (both here and on FB) and put them in a hat. Just haven't gotten to it yet...maybe later today.

In the meanwhile, I popped over to the Chicklit Writers of America blog and posted a review of one of the top 10 favorite books I read this year, Tawna Fenske's debut novel, MAKING WAVES. If you want to run over and see what I had to say (and maybe leave a comment so I don't look like a friendless loser...) that would be really nice!

http://chicklitwriters.com/2011/12/07/review-making-waves-by-tawna-fenske/

More news to come soon...

National Read A Book Day--What I've been reading!

Happy National Read A Book Day! Of course, around my house, EVERY day is read a book day. Which would explain why I had to buy yet another bookshelf last month...

I have a stack of books I've read recently that I liked even more than usual, and I've been meaning to blog about them. Seems like National Read A Book Day is the perfect day to do so. Some are books in series I've been reading and enjoying, others are new books by a few of my favorite authors, and I've got a couple of new discoveries in there as well. Every single one of them comes with  my highest recommendation, and I hope you'll go out and try one or two and come back to tell me if you liked them as much as I did.

Favorite Series:
GHOST STORY by Jim Butcher -- The Harry Dresden series (which I first discovered from the short-lived but wonderful TV show based on the books) is amazing, magical, clever, and funny urban fantasy. For these of you who might not be familiar with it, Harry is the only professional wizard in Chicago. This book has been eagerly awaited by fans of the series, since Butcher left us hanging at the end of the previous book. *shakes fist at author* And it doesn't disappoint. At all. If you haven't read these, I suggest you start at the beginning, with STORM FRONT.
THE SNOW QUEEN'S SHADOW by Jim C. Hines -- the final installment in the "Princess" series, this book features the same kick-ass heroines as the others, and winds things up very satisfactorily. Hines' take on the traditional fairy tales is second to none; these are NOT your childhood princesses, I assure you. Read this whole series, too. The first book is THE STEPSISTER SCHEME.
MAGIC SLAYS & MAGIC BLEEDS by Ilona Andrews -- I got behind on this series, which meant I got to read two in a row. Huzzah! Another urban fantasy series, this one is set in Atlanta, but in an Atlanta that is very different from the one we know. Kate Daniels is one of my favorite heroines, and the world-building here is second to none. The series starts with MAGIC BITES.

Favorite Authors:
I don't always read fantasy or urban fantasy; sometime I like a nice contemporary romance, especially one with a touch of humor or an exotic locale. (I'm actually very picky about the romance I read, however, so the few favorite authors I have are REALLY good.)
I have a weakness for British contemporaries, and my absolute top author there is Katie Fforde. I like her work so much, I actually order the books directly from England, rather than waiting the extra year for them to come out here. (Although I do usually wait until the hardcovers are available used through an Amazon seller.) I somehow got one behind on these as well, so I just read two and loved them both. These books are all stand-alones, so they don't need to be read in any particular order. If you're a fan of Jennifer Crusie's writing, you'll like SUMMER OF LOVE, A PERFECT PROPOSAL and everything else Fforde has ever written.
Mindy Klasky is another author whose work I love, whether it was her humorous paranormal series or her earlier fantasies. I don't normally read the Harlequin Special Edition books, but when Mindy came out with one, I made an exception. And I was glad I had, because THE MOGUL'S MAYBE MARRIAGE was sweet and charming and lots of fun to read.
Starhawk is a well-known Pagan author of nonfiction (THE SPIRAL DANCE is a must-read classic) but I'd had her novel THE FIFTH SACRED THING on my bookshelves for years without getting around to reading it. My writing partner Lisa recommended it, though, and she was right--it was amazing!

New Discoveries:
One of the best parts of reading is when you find a new author whose work you love. I just read three new or new-to-me authors, one of which I liked a lot and two of which I loved with a white-hot passion that had me telling everyone I know to run out and buy their books.
I've been in fairy tale mode, so I really enjoyed the YA fantasy THE AMARANTH ENCHANTMENT by Julie Berry. If you like charming stories set in earlier eras with likable heroines, you should definitely check this out.
I was lucky enough to get an advance reader's copy at RWA of Rosemary Clement-Moore's new book, TEXAS GOTHIC. Run out and buy this book. (No, really--I'll wait.) I love books that feature magic and witches, especially if the author finds a clever new approach. This YA has a terrific protagonist, Amy Goodnight, who is saddled with a charming but eccentric family and a lot of secrets. I read this book in two days, because I just couldn't put it down, and I can only hope that Rosemary writes another one with these same lovable and quirky characters.
And I just finished a fabulous debut novel, MAKING WAVES by Tawna Fenske. Another contemporary romance, with just the right amount of humor and spiciness, this is another book you should run out and buy immediately. If not sooner! I was laughing out loud by page five. Heck, it is worth reading it for the Jell-O salad alone. Fenske is my new favorite discovery and I can't wait to read her next one.

So, now that I've told you what I've been reading, what about you? Any new books by old favorites? Any great new discoveries you have to shout about? What are you reading for National Read a Book Day?