July Reviews

Before I forget, here are my July reviews from The Romance Reader.

First Date
Maybe Baby
The River Devil

I've finished one review that haven't been posted yet; two more are in progress. You'll see more from me in August now that I'm back from my trip and I'm not dying from lack of air conditioning.

How the Cart Led to a Possible Cable TV Appearance

This blog entry is all about the cart, which I first showed in this entry. When I decided to attend the literacy signing in Reno, I remembered about how difficult it was to hold all the books I bought when I went to a Nora Roberts signing. At that signing, I held piles of books in my arms; then after a while, I bought a tote bag to hold them. Even then, it was a challenge. The number of books made my shoulder hurt after only a short time. Since I was expecting to buy a number of books in Reno, I figured I would need something different. I remembered seeing a collapsible cart, so I went looking for one online.

Although it didn't fit in my suitcase (I ended up bringing it as a carry-on item), the cart was the best thing I could have had during my signing. It easily held all of my books, as you can see below.



This picture is actually more organized than it was during the actual signing, when it also carried my camera and a plastic bag that carried all of the author goodies. Still, it was very easy to use, although I did accidentally run over a foot or two. And it was so nice to keep my hands free.

The cart also helped people identify me. Many people apparently read my Romancing the Blog column where I mentioned it. A number of authors and attendees asked, "Are you Alyssa?" Megan found me this way, as did Wendy. Marjorie M. Liu, Jill Shalvis, and Suzanne McMinn recognized me right away because of my picture, the cart, or a combination of the two.

People who hadn't read the column saw the cart and said they thought it was such a great idea. Several authors said something like this. The cart also came in handy when I needed to drag two boxes of books to the mail center. I put the heaviest box on the cart (it wouldn't fit inside the cart). In fact, the box was so heavy it looked like it was bending the plastic. Yikes! The cart survived the experience, however, and appears to be suffering no ill effects.

My cart and I also caught the attention of a Canadian cable company, Bravo, during the literacy signing. As I was leaving Sherrilyn Kenyon's line, a woman asked if I would be willing to answer a few questions for a documentary they are doing about romance. Apparently they noticed my cart full of books and deduced that I'm an avid romance reader. Imagine that.

I agreed to the interview and answered their questions, although I have mixed feelings now. I sounded like a complete dork. Anyway, they asked where I was from, how long I have been reading romance, what I like about romance, why I think romance is so appealing, what kind of romances I enjoy most. She specifically mentioned paranormals, but I'm not sure if that's because they will be a focus of the documentary or because I was leaving the Sherrilyn Kenyon table.

I tried to be articulate, but I'm not sure I managed it. I talked about the escapism element, finding pleasure in reading happily-ever-afters, blah blah blah. I'm cringing even as I write this. The interviewer kept asking me to talk louder. I tried, but it was challenging enough to try to answer the questions intelligently, let alone to bellow my answers.

After the interview, I had to sign a release and provide my contact information. They will contact me to let me know if they use any part of my interview, and if so, when it will air. Part of me hopes they won't use any part of my interview, but we'll see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

Literacy Signing

The literacy signing is one of the most remarkable things I have seen. It was Wednesday, July 27 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. There were rows of long tables up and down the room where the authors sat with piles of books in front of them. The authors were seated in alphabetical order. I decided to start at the end and work my way up.

The Authors
The first author I saw was Evelyn Vaughn. I was disappointed that she didn't have any of her Bombshells. She said that her publisher didn't send any. She did, however, have a number of books from her backlist. I bought three of them. She gave me three excerpts from upcoming books. There is a fairly long excerpt from an upcoming Bombshell, which is coming out in February 2006. It will be a long wait.

Next, I stopped at Lisa Valdez's table. I mentioned that I had been hearing good things about her book, Passion. She seemed pleased about that, although she said there has been a very mixed response: people either put it on their keeper shelves or throw it away. I bought a copy. She told me to be prepared to read lots of sex. I think I can handle it.

Then I said hello to Vicki Lewis Thompson. I bought one of her books and chatted with her. I was amazed that she recognized my name from her newsletter and website. I won a contest several months ago, and it was cool that she remembered me. Her daughter maintains her site, and she said that she will tell her daughter that she met me.

Vickie Taylor's table was my next stop. She wasn't there for a couple of minutes, but when she arrived, I told her that I was looking forward to reading Carved in Stone because people have been saying how original it is. I forgot to have her sign Bite the first time I passed her table, but I came back and had her sign it. At that time, she had a picture of the cover of her next book, Flesh and Stone.

While I was waiting for Vickie, I talked to Shanna Swendson and then felt like I should buy her book. So I have an autographed copy of Enchanted, Inc., even though Angie is sending me a copy for a trade. What can I say? I got carried away. "This purchase will support literacy" quickly became my mantra.

Next was Roxanne St. Claire. One of her books has been on my wish list, and I decided to get it if she had it there. She did, so I waited in line to talk to her. She took time to chat with everyone in line, which was nice.

My next impulse buy was Susan Squires's The Companion. It's a good book, but since I own a copy, I hadn't planned to buy it. Still, it was great to get an autographed copy. She had a cool freebie, a small mirror in which people could see if they were vampires. Apparently I'm not one. I had wondered, since I'm such a night person. :)

Gena Showalter was next. I bought Awaken Me Darkly and mentioned that I visit her blog. She recognized my name, which is always fun. From her pictures, you can tell that she is slender, but you have to see her in person to realize how slim. I wonder if she would be willing to trade bodies for a day? Just for fun.

Then, I stopped to see Jill Shalvis. She recognized me and my cart. :) I bought a book, and she also signed Beach Blanket Bad Boys. It was great to finally meet her since we've been regular visitors at each other's blogs for a while. She gave me her number so I could call and meet her the next day.

Julia Quinn had one of the longest lines I stood in all day, and it wasn't really that long. There were 7 or 8 people ahead of me. Once I got to the front of the line, she signed the two books I brought along with a copy of It's in His Kiss. I showed great restraint by waiting until this signing to buy the book. She posed for a picture (below).



Next I stopped at Sophia Nash's table. I have autographed copies of two of her three books; I had brought the third with me to have it signed. Since it wasn't one of the five I brought in, I ended up buying it. She recognized me from her website, too. She also wondered if she had met me somewhere; she said my face looked familiar. This was the first time I've met her, however. She asked me to wish her luck on Saturday, since she was up for a RITA. I did. Her book won in the Best Regency category.

Joy Nash's table was my next stop. Celtic Fire sounded like such an intriguing setting and plot that I decided to get it. Like all the authors there, she was nice and seemed flattered when I mentioned that I had heard positive things about her book.

Lucy Monroe had a number of books available. Unfortunately, I had most of them. I ended up getting a Harlequin Presents title. She's very nice, and she signed Beach Blanket Bad Boys as well.

Then, I stopped at Tanya Michaels' table. I told her that I had bought several of her books during the fundraising effort for Jamie Denton. She thanked me for participating in the fundraiser and for stopping and introducing myself. I bought her latest Flipside.

I stopped to see Jess Michaels as I was on my way out. Since I didn't have enough books in my cart (LOL!), I bought the Secrets 12 anthology. I was pretty tired, so I didn't stop to chat.

Suzanne McMinn was another author I was very excited to meet. Like Jill, Suzanne recognized me. She took a picture of me with my cart, so that may show up online at some point. It was fun to stop and say hello. I already had an autographed copy of the book she had available, so I didn't get anything. She posed for a picture (below).



I've loved all of Erin McCarthy's books, so I was thrilled to meet her. I bought one book and she posed for a picture (below). We talked about the fact that she has three books coming out in October, and she explained how that happened. The short version: two different publishers, then one book was moved up on the publishing schedule.



Next was Marjorie M. Liu. I loved her debut book, and I read her blog regularly. She was very nice, and like many authors, recognized the cart. LOL! I bought her last copies of the two books she had available for purchase. Tiger Eye was one of the books sitting in the trunk of my car. :( In any case, it was nice to meet her. She is beautiful and friendly.

I had decided to buy Dirty Little Secrets by Julie Elizabeth Leto if it was available. It was, so I waited in her line. She had a number of freebies, including a notepad and pen (which I used to write in my travel journal). She also signed the copy of Dare Me I got from Jill Shalvis.

While waiting in line for Julie Leto, Tina Leonard gave me a couple of bookmarks. I read about the books and ended up buying one of them. Another impulse buy, but hey, it was for literacy.

Then, I moved on to Jade Lee's table and bought Hungry Tigress. The previous book in the series, White Tigress, was very memorable, and I told Jade that I was looking forward to reading this one.

By the time I got to Angela Knight, she had sold out of books. She did sign Bite as well as a poster of her artwork. I'll scan it and add the picture in the next day or so.

The first time I passed Sherrilyn Kenyon's line, it was packed. I figured I wouldn't see her, but the line was a bit smaller when I passed again. I had a moment of panic when it looked like the woman in front of me got the last book. Luckily, she had about a dozen left under the table. I wasn't sure what to expect when I met her, but she was very nice. She made a point of shaking each person's hand and talking for a moment. She also posed for a picture (below).



While waiting in Sherrilyn's line, I talked to Beth Kendrick and bought a copy of her latest book. I mentioned that it must be difficult because Sherrilyn's line was so long and tended to block traffic. She said that it did, but she also talked to several people like me who were waiting in the line. Still, I think it would be better next year if they put Sherrilyn's table in a different place, maybe at the end of a row.

The cover of Rita Herron's latest book has intrigued me during my last few trips to the bookstore. Since she had it there, I got it. I mentioned that I liked the cover. She said she wasn't sure she liked the woman's face on the cover when she first saw it, but she's gotten so many compliments afterward that she is pleased with it.

Lori Handeland had copies of Dark Moon. I've been looking forward to it. She also had a small table sign showing the cover of her next book in the Moon series. It was great to meet her. I told her that I really loved Blue Moon.

Next, I met Laura Lee Guhrke. She signed her latest book and also gave me a cute silver charm of a bed. It was the perfect giveaway to go along with her book. I told her that His Every Kiss was my favorite of the books I've read so far.

I love the Harlequin Temptations Jane Graves has written as Jane Sullivan, and I guessed that she would probably have copies of her latest Temptation. I was right, so I bought that and told her that I enjoyed her other books as well.

I've heard many good things about Susan Grant, so I picked up one of her books since she was next to two authors I was seeing. I picked Contact, since she said it was a stand-alone. I figured that would be a good choice to start with.

I visit Lori Devoti's blog, so I stopped at her table to say hello. When I told her that her book was one of the ones out in my car, she kindly gave me an autographed bookplate I could put inside the book. It was so nice to see her.

I've been reading Janelle Denison's books for years, so I stopped at her table and picked up the one book she had that I didn't already have. She gave me a ziploc bag stuffed with goodies.

I'm a recent fan of Jacquie D'Alessandro. I enjoy both her historicals and her categories. I hoped that she would have her upcoming Blaze title, but no such luck. I bought copies of the two books she had there.

Claudia Dain wrote one of my favorite medievals, The Marriage Bed, but I forgot to tell her how much I enjoyed it. I'll have to send her an e-mail. In any case, I bought a copy of her latest book.

The cover of The Seduction of Sarah is intriguing, and I decided to buy it when I saw that Cynthia Clement was at the signing. I ended up buying her last copy. This is her first published book, so it will be fun to try it.

Then, I stopped to see Pamela Clare. I told her that I had read and enjoyed Ride the Fire, which I checked out of the library, and wanted a copy for myself. She seemed pleased to hear that I liked it. She told me that it is part of a series, which I hadn't known; it doesn't read like one in a series. She was pleased to hear that it stood alone well, too.

Next came another impulse purchase: a book by PC Cast. I mentioned that I visit the Smart Bitches blog, and she said how much she loves that blog. I asked if I should find the other books in the Goddess series and read them in order, to which she replied, "Please." Looks like I've got some book hunting to do.

Lisa Cach's Dream of Me has been on my wish list for a while, so I bought a copy of it. She's a nice woman, and her smile makes you want to smile, too. She gave me a cover flat for an upcoming anthology.

By the time I got to Mary Balogh's table, she didn't have any books left to buy. This made me doubly grateful that I had chosen Heartless as one of the books I brought inside with me. She signed it and mentioned that it was an interesting book to write. She enjoyed writing about a hero who looked effeminate but was still very masculine. She had leather bookmarks available, so I got one and thanked her for signing my book.

The Books
And that was it. I ended up buying:

• The Player by Evelyn Vaughn


• Buried Secrets by Evelyn Vaughn


• Forests of the Moon by Evelyn Vaughn


• Passion by Lisa Valdez


• Hero Gone Wild by Vicki Lewis Thompson


• Carved in Stone by Vickie Taylor


• Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson


• Killer Curves by Roxanne St. Claire


• The Companion by Susan Squires


• Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter


• Dare Me by Jill Shalvis, Julie Elizabeth Leto, and Cherry Adair


• It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn


• A Passionate Endeavor by Sophia Nash


• Celtic Fire by Joy Nash


• Blackmailed into Marriage by Lucy Monroe


• Spicing It Up by Tanya Michaels


• Secrets 12 by Jess Michaels (and others)


• A Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy


• Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu


• A Taste of Crimson by Marjorie M. Liu


• Dirty Little Secrets by Julie Leto


• Unzipped by Tina Leonard


• Hungry Tigress by Jade Lee


• Return of the Warrior by Kinley MacGregor (Sherrilyn Kenyon)


• Exes and Ohs by Beth Kendrick


• A Breath Away by Rita Herron


• Dark Moon by Lori Handeland


• The Marriage Bed by Laura Lee Guhrke


• Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke


• One Night in Texas by Jane Sullivan


• Contact by Susan Grant


• Men at Work by Janelle Denison (and others)


• Love and the Single Heiress by Jacquie D'Alessandro


• We've Got Tonight by Jacquie D'Alessandro


• The Fall by Claudia Dain


• The Seduction of Sarah by Cynthia Clement


• Ride the Fire by Pamela Clare


• Goddess of Light by PC Cast


• Dream of Me by Lisa Cach

During the first hour or so of the signing, I gave some thought to the idea of buying the books, then going back out to my car to bring five more books in and have them signed. Time didn't allow for that. There were only 15 minutes left when I was done shopping. The line to buy books was thankfully short. Two women added up my books, then I took the receipt to another table to pay. While the two women were adding them, one said that I had really diverse tastes, which I thought was interesting. All three women expressed amazement over the number of books I bought.

Now for the information you really want. The total. Are you ready?

$300.47

Good thing I've been saving for a while, huh? I ended up with 39 books, 8 of which I already own, 4 of which I actually had in my car.

All in all, the literacy signing was wonderful. I was disappointed about the books I brought that weren't signed, but I got so many other books and had so much fun meeting authors, that my disappointment faded into the background. I was also pleasantly surprised that I was able to get to most of the authors on my list. I hadn't thought I would have time to meet them all. I'm glad I was wrong.

Authors I Missed
There were some authors I was hoping to see but missed for a variety of reasons. When I got to Jaci Burton's table, there was one Ellora's Cave book on her table but she wasn't there. I was planning to see Susan Carroll, but I missed her table somehow in the crowd. I missed CT Adams and Cathy Clamp (just saw a pile of books at Cathy's table). I don't remember seeing Kimberly Dean, but again, I might have missed her in the crowd of people. Linda Lael Miller had a number of books at her table, but I never saw her.

The biggest disappointment was missing Jennifer LaBrecque. I missed her the first time because the Kenyon line was blocking her table. The second time, she had stepped away from her table. The third time, she had packed up and left. Just bad luck.

Next topic: adventures with the cart.

Upcoming topics: author giveaways, other days of the Reno trip, Rendezvous in Reno, and more.

About Reno and a Disappointment

Reno's motto is "The Biggest Little Town in the World," and after being there, I can understand why. It has a big city feel, but it is fairly small for a city. My hotel was on the opposite side of town from the Hilton (where the conference was held), yet it was only a five-minute drive away.

I arrived in Reno Wednesday morning, made a stop at a local used bookstore because it was too early to check into my hotel (really!), and made sure I could find the Hilton. It was not hard to find. In fact, I could see it from my hotel room window. The view was not particularly scenic otherwise, but oh well.

I've blogged about the number of books I was taking to the literacy signing. I arrived about 45 minutes early for the signing and was toward the front of the line as a result. I had my bag full of books as well as my cart (of course), and when a woman came by with stickers to mark the books we were bringing in, I did something very, very stupid. I asked if the stickers I had would be OK.

This, in turn, prompted a flurry of activity in which I was told that I COULD NOT have more than five books signed. So I was going through my books when another woman came back and told me that I had to take all but five books back to my hotel room. I told her I wasn't staying at the Hilton, so she said to take them out to my car.

Nice.

I understand that they didn't want all kinds of people bringing in dozens of books. That could get real complicated real fast. And I understand that they didn't want to hold up the lines for Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Suzanne Brockmann, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Debbie Macomber, all of whom had huge lines. But I didn't bring books from any of these authors. The woman who talked to me wasn't very nice about it, either.

Moreover, I didn't see people walking up and down the line making sure people only had five books. I feel like I got nailed because I was trying to be helpful by asking about the stickers.

As you might imagine, it was challenging to narrow the 31 books to 5. There is a reason I took 31 books in the first place; selecting 5 was difficult. Here's what I ultimately chose:

• Beach Blanket Bad Boys anthology: It was already autographed by Alison Kent, and I figured it would be a good way to get a few more autographs.


• Bite anthology: This one had been signed by Charlaine Harris.


• Heartless by Mary Balogh: I went through a great deal of effort to get a like-new copy of this Mary Balogh novel, so it was an easy choice.


• When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn: This is my favorite of Julia Quinn's books; in fact, it is one of my favorite books read last year.


• Brighter Than the Sun by Julia Quinn: This one was next to When He Was Wicked, so I grabbed it on impulse.

After I returned from my car, which seemed like it was parked 1/2-mile away in the huge Hilton parking lot, there were about 10 minutes before the signing opened. I was allowed to return to my original place in line, but my face was red from rushing out to the car and being in the heat. My face tends to get red when I sweat. This is not an especially attractive look for me.

Luckily I had time before the signing began to calm down and let my face change from bright red to a healthy pink. I was still pretty upset until I walked into the actual signing; then, I was too busy to be upset about not having the other books signed.

Next post: the literacy signing. Be patient; it will take time to write. In fact, it may be my longest blog entry ever.

Half Dead, but Home

The title of this blog says it all. I'm home from Reno at last, but I'm half dead, too. I had a great time in Reno, although the flight home was awful. I have pages and pages of notes in my travel journal, so I will start writing about the trip once my brain cells start to function again.

1, 2, 31, 5, 9, 23

The title may look like the combination for a safe, but no. Each number has an individual significance.

1
The number of days until my air conditioning is installed at last. I'm very excited about this or would be, if it seemed real. I've been without it for so long that it seems amazing that I'll actually have it tomorrow. How nice it will be to sleep in an actual bed again! I have just one more night on the couch in the cooler basement

2
The number of days until I leave for Reno. I'm flying out early Wednesday morning and will be back Saturday night. I've decided to leave my laptop at home, so you won't hear from me until Saturday night or Sunday.

31
The number of books I'm taking to the signing. Yes, I know that there is a stated limit of five, but I'm bringing a cart (as you know; it will hold a lot of books) and I've been saving money so I can do some serious spending. I've put stickers on the books I'm bringing, so people will know I brought them from home. If people get upset that I'm bringing 31 books when more than 400 are signing, I've decided that's their problem. This number excludes the books below.

5
The number of books I'm bringing for Suzanne McMinn to sign. I'm hoping to catch her during another time at the conference so she can sign them. It will be so nice to finally meet her, Jo, and Jill, who are all regular visitors at my blog.

9
The number of books I'm bringing for Jo Leigh to sign.

23
Jill Shalvis foolishly graciously said she would sign anything I brought. Still, she might take one look at this number and run for the hills. If she doesn't make an appearance at the conference, you'll know why.

This may be my last post before I leave. If so, have a great week! I'm bringing my travel journal with me, so I'm sure I'll have a lot to post when I return. I'm also (of course) taking the digital camera.

My Mythological Form

I saw this quiz at Angie's blog. The results might help explain my love of vampire romances.


You are Form 9, Vampire: The Undying.

"And The Vampire was all that remained on the blood drowned creation. She attempted to regrow life from the dead. But as she was about to give the breath of life, she was consumed in the flame of The Phoenix and the cycle began again."

Some examples of the Vampire Form are Hades (Greek) and Isis (Egyptian). The Vampire is associated with the concept of death, the number 9, and the element of fire. Her sign is the eclipsed moon.

As a member of Form 9, you are a very realistic individual. You may be a little idealistic, but you are very grounded and down to earth. You realize that not everything lasts, but you savor every minute of the good times. While you may sometimes find yourself lonely, you have strong ties with people that will never be broken. Vampires are the best friends to have because they are sensible.

Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Foiled

It's Saturday evening; guess what I'm not reading? I bought my copy of Harry Potter, but I can't bring myself to start it. I wish I could say that I'm showing restraint, but that's not it. It's just too hot without A/C to think about reading a book that long.

Instead, I'm reading an anthology I was sent for review, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? by Gemma Bruce. Since it's an anthology, I can read a few pages and put it down if I want. Harry Potter will have to wait until next weekend.

Another Book Signing Story

My column will be up soon at Romancing the Blog, and the topic is book signings, something I've blogged about here before, but not quite from this angle.

The column includes a picture of a cart I'm taking with me to the signing in Reno next week.



It's collapsible, so I'll toss it in a suitcase. One thing I learned at the Nora Roberts signing is that you don't want to have to worry about carrying/juggling books, especially when you're planning to make a bulk purchase. I'll have to remember to take a picture of it when it's full.

I thought I'd share another book signing story here. I wanted to include it in the column, but the column was long already, and I wanted to keep it focused.

Last year, I walked into Media Play to do some shopping and saw that there were signs out that an author was having a signing right then. I can't remember who it was, but I believe it was a local author. The book was being marketed as young-adult fiction, a genre I'm not particularly interested in, so I skirted the table and went back to the book section. I have been known to . . . okay, I quite often buy books at signings like this to show support for local (or lonely-looking) authors, but since it was a genre I don't often read, I wanted to think about it while I looked around.

So, I was back in the book section of the store, I had a book in my hand that I was thumbing through, and a man approached me. He was in his mid-30s/early-40s. He asked, "Are you looking for something interesting to read?" I thought he was an employee, so I said something like, "Yes, I'm just browsing this section," which would cue an employee that I don't need help, so he can back off now.

That's not what he did, however. No, he said, "Let me share this book with you." About halfway through his monologue, I realized that he was the author of the book signing, and he was pitching his book to me. He told me that it's a young-adult book, but it also had fantasy elements, and it was inspirational, and so on. I can tell that he was trying to cover as many bases as possible so that I would buy it, no matter what genre I like.

In the meantime, I was thinking that I'm on my lunch break, I need to get back to work soon, and I'm just here to get the next three books in the In Death series. This guy probably needed my money more than Nora does, but for once, I didn't have time or money to browse, and the fact that he approached me while I was browsing made him seem kind of desperate. It made me more determined not to buy his book.

How should he have handled it? Well, he obviously wasn't busy, because I saw him pitching to two more people before I left the store. Nevertheless, an employee could have walked up and down the book aisles with the author's book flyer, saying, "We have a special treat today--author xx is here to sign copies of his book!" Then hand out the flyer, point out the table, and go on his way. I can't prove that this would have resulted in more sales, but I think that approach would be less likely to make people angry.

Origin in Death

I consider myself to be a fan of J.D. Robb's In Death series. I've enjoyed all of the books to varying degrees. Today I finished listening to Origin in Death, and I think it's one of the stronger books in the series. It's certainly the strongest book in the past few years: 5 out of 5.

NYPSD lieutenant Eve Dallas discovers a nearly spotless record when she investigates the past of Dr. Wilfred Icove. Then, she finds data disks at his home that are not only password-protected, but encoded. Once deciphered, they hint at medical experiments that may have led more than one person to want him dead.

The In Death books are futuristic, but Origin in Death feels more futuristic than many installments of the series. I was fascinated by the multilayered mystery. Every time I thought I had figured things out, the situation twists. I liked the fact that this story is very different from the one in the other books.

While I enjoy the In Death mysteries, I read the series primarily for the interaction of the characters. If that's the case for you, you'll love this book. There are several terrific moments with the characters. One in particular, where Eve mimics an Irish accent, is particularly funny when listening to it. This story is full of amusing and memorable moments. In fact, I like the book so much, I am listening to it again.

Here's a story that might amuse you. I received the audiobook first (in fact, I'm still waiting for the hardcover), so I've been listening to the book to and from work and in the evenings. Yesterday, I had to drive downtown for work, and I pulled up to a parking garage. The audiobook was playing fairly loud, but since Roarke wasn't in this particular scene (and therefore, he wouldn't be getting it on with Eve right then), I figured I would be fine leaving the audio on. So, the guy asked for $5, and as I dug in my wallet, with the window rolled down, Mavis said, "Check out these t*ts!" Then I was digging in my wallet and fumbling to lower the volume. Oy!

To Read or Not To Read

I finished Origin in Death today. I'll write a book review either tonight or tomorrow.

On tomorrow's list of things to do is pick up my reserved copy of the new Harry Potter book. I have to decide whether to read it immediately or not. Once I start reading, I won't stop until I'm done. If I start tomorrow, that means I'll spend the whole weekend reading it. I don't know why this is such a dilemma, but there it is.

I don't actually know why I'm debating. I have zero faith in my ability to abstain once I finally get my hands on the book.

Quick Update

This will be a quick entry. Sorry I don't have time to blog about a book just now, but I thought I'd provide a quick update.

• Seven days until air conditioning. It doesn't seem quite so long now that the number is in the single digits. It helps that I've abandoned ship, so to speak. I'm staying with a sister. Her swamp cooler works incredibly well.
• Eight days until Reno. Ack! How did that happen? I'm excited about the signing and about getting away, but I need to start packing. I also need to figure out how many books I should really take with me.
• My next Romancing the Blog post is scheduled for Saturday. I'm very glad I wrote it earlier this month, since I haven't had the time or interest to write much of anything lately. My topic is one I've spent too much time on and written several drafts. Now I can get it out of the way. :)
• I've almost finished a review for The Romance Reader. It won't go online until late July, but at least it's done. The heat was really making it difficult for me to want to read and write a review.
• I received Origin in Death on audio before receiving it in hardcover. This is a first for me, and I've set everything else aside to listen to it.
• My favorites page seems to be working better now that it's been going a few days. I can see this being a wonderful time-saving resource, since I can go one place to see what blogs have been updated instead of checking all of them one or more times a day. Yay!

I won't be online at all tomorrow because I'll be working a 15-hour shift. Oy. Wish me luck.

Favorites

Several months ago, I blogged about some features I wish Blogger provided. One was a way to have all of my blogs in one place like riemannia has with LiveJournal. This weekend I discovered Kinja, a service that allows you to create a page with your favorite blogs. Yay!

There are ads on the page, but that's a small trade-off for something that will be (I hope) a big time-saver. I've noticed a few glitches--when you collapse the list of blog entries so that there is one per blog, it doesn't always show the latest entry. If you don't collapse them, you see multiple entries in a row organized by author rather than chronologically. I think this may not be a problem as more time goes by. As far as I can tell, there's no limit on the number of blogs you can add to the list. That's a good thing, since I have more than 30 on the list with more still to add. Here's the link:

http://kinja.com/user/thracian/default/top/

I'll let you know if I continue to like it.

10 Days

Ten days now until the air conditioning is installed. Not that I'm counting. LOL! I am working long hours at work this week. I wish it were already July 27.

I went to a friend's house last night and did some scrapbooking. It was a lot of fun, and I really like the pages I created.

Fabulous Fourth, Page 1
Fabulous Fourth, Page 2

Finding Bones, Page 1
Finding Bones, Page 2

Sea, Sand, Sun, Page 1
Sea, Sand, Sun, Page 2

It's hard to believe that the new Harry Potter book is out. I have it reserved, but I probably won't pick up my copy until next week. I'm surprisingly unexcited to start reading it. I may or may not get to it before my vacation.

Suzanne Brockmann's Breaking Point is also out. I bought a copy through her website that I will pick up in Reno. This is Gina and Max's story, and I have to admit that I haven't been especially anxious to read it. In past books, I've been annoyed by the way Gina keeps pushing and pushing Max. Max hasn't helped matters; he doesn't talk to her about things that matter. My expectations about this book aren't very high, but obviously I'm still interested enough to buy the hardcover.

I'll probably do my usual Saturday routine soon and go shopping--to a store with air conditioning. I may pick up Harry Potter today after all.

The Honeymoon Man

After getting about four hours of sleep last night due to the heat, tonight's experiment has me downstairs on the laptop (yay for the portable laptop!). I will also attempt to sleep downstairs on the couch. I'll let you know how it goes. I have an appointment for the air conditioning installation, but it's not until July 26. Will I survive another 12 days? I can only hope. It strikes me as somewhat ironic that it will be installed the day before I leave for Reno. I'll have less than a day to enjoy it, but it will also be nice to know that it will be there when I get back.

I received The Honeymoon Man by Suzanne Dye (McMinn) by responding to her blog. When I received it, it didn't stay in my TBR pile long. I love the childhood friends (or enemies) become lovers plot. I wasn't disappointed; this was a fun, quick read, just what I needed at the time: 4.5 out of 5.

After her fiance elopes with another woman, Hayley Beck turns to her best friend's brother, Matt Dryer, for help. She won a honeymoon trip to Hawaii, and although the wedding fell through, she wants to enjoy the honeymoon. Therefore, she needs a groom. Matt agrees to play the part, and they find that they share a sizzling attraction.

I like this type of plot, and McMinn uses it to create a light, yet compelling, story. Hayley is pragmatic while Matt is adventurous, so it's easy to see why they were at odds as children. These same things make them a nice couple now. There's also that great chemistry . . .

The Honeymoon Man is a nice story. Looks like I'll be adding more of McMinn's Precious Gem romances to my wish list.

Last Girl Dancing

Apparently late evening is the best time to blog, since it's now cool enough for my brain to think a little bit. Sort of. We'll see how this goes.

This week I finished Holly Lisle's Last Girl Dancing and really liked it. I read the previous book, Midnight Rain, and I liked this one just a little better, although Midnight Rain was more chilling.

Last Girl Dancing features Jess Brubaker, a cop who is going undercover as a stripper to track down a serial killer. Her unofficial partner is Hank Kamien, a martial arts instructor who is also a psychic.

I liked so many things about this book that I don't know where to start. It's cool the way this book takes a cliche and turns it around. For example, the skeptical cop and genuine psychic are tried-and-true characters, but I can't remember the last time the psychic was a man.

Hank and Jess don't fall into common stereotypes. Jess has a secret that drives much of her life. While she keeps it to herself a while, I like the fact that she tells Hank when she realizes that he needs to know everything. This avoided an overdramatic and cliched revelation scene. Hank has reasons for being wary about beautiful women, but he quickly realizes that beauty is only one of Jess's qualities. It's nice to see him take an adult approach to the matter rather than sinking into the she's-beautiful-and-will-betray me mire that's all too common in romance.

I liked reading the details about the night club and the dojo. It's clear Lisle researched them well. I did guess one aspect of the mystery but not everything. As usual, I'm being vague to avoid spoilers.

I enjoyed the romance very much, though I wanted more. It tends to take a back seat to the mystery in the second half of the story, which is understandable because of what's going on, but I still wanted more. In any case, there is a terrific scene with Hank and Jess in the middle of the story. Hank says something at the end of a chapter that is so sweet--I loved it.

If you enjoy romantic suspense and haven't tried Holly Lisle, I encouarage you to do so. Last Girl Dancing is excellent: 4 out of 5. The book is difficult to put down.

Too Hot to Blog

It's too hot to blog. Literally. The temperature is upwards of 100 degrees these days, and it's just no fun. I've arranged to get central air installed if the financing goes through. Of course, I needed a new furnace, too. I was expecting that, because I'm using the original furnace, but it doesn't diminish the cost any. It's a bit of a bummer that I repaired the furnace last winter, but such is the way of life.

I'll find out tomorrow if the financing is approved. Keep your fingers crossed, will you? Then, I'll schedule a day for everything to be installed. They are a week to a week and a half out on scheduling, so it looks like I'm in for at least seven days--and probably more--of this. While I do like being online, the heat limits my patience for focusing on a blog topic. If I don't blog much in the next week or so, you'll know why.

Just Call Me Elinor

This is a bit of a surprise, actually.



You scored as Elinor Dashwood. As Marianne's older sister, Elinor lives at the other end of the emotional spectrum. She rarely reveals her intense feelings and is more concerned with being honest and loyal than having what she deserves. Even though her intentions are pure, she sets herself up for loss by constantly placing other people before her own needs. Overall, Elinor is gentle and rational but is just as capable of radical emotions despite her withholding them as her sister.

Which Jane Austen Character are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

I'm not sure I'm that selfless.

Bookplates and Book Stamps

Do you mark your keepers with bookplates or book stamps? I used to put bookplates in my hardcovers, but I haven't done it lately, mainly because I haven't found any bookplates I really love. I do have a book stamp that I use on the inside front cover of my keeper paperbacks.



I like it quite a bit, although I'm often foiled these days by publishers who put small pictures of book covers on the inside front cover, so there's no room to stamp. It's a great way to advertise an author's other books, I suppose, but can't they just leave an inch at the top of the inside cover so we can both be happy?

So, do you have a book stamp? Do you write your name in books you decide to keep? Do you mark them at all?

Speaking of bookplates, what do you think of autographed bookplates? I love autographed books. I've also received a few autographed bookplates, which I can't bring myself to put in books yet. I don't know why; it just doesn't quite seem the same. If you have an opinion, let me know what you think.

Mark My Place, Part 2

I found several more bookmarks over the weekend when I rearranged my TBR books.



Three of the bookmarks have sayings on them; they read:

• Second from left: God gives us richly all things to enjoy. I Timothy 6:17


• Second from right: Friends make everyday a day to celebrate love.


• Far right: Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. --Orison Swett Marden

The one on the far right is leather; it's my latest bookmark purchase. I now know where dozens of my bookmarks are. Hopefully I'll use one or two of them instead of resorting to using receipts or bills.

Ultimate Surrender

I've completed my rearrangement of the TBR books. Auto-buy books are on top of the bookcase by my bed. Non-auto-buys are in the TBR bookcase (which is now full). True-crime and Nora Roberts TBR are on top of the TBR bookcase. I'm pretty pleased with the new arrangement, although I worry that the auto-buys will crush me if there should be an earthquake. Oh well, I will brave the danger since the result is more organized books.

I recently read Ultimate Surrender by Jill Shalvis. It's one of her Loveswepts, and it's about a woman named Kayla who falls in love with her dead sister's husband, Ryan. She and her sister, Lauren, weren't close. In fact, the sister was a selfish woman who claimed that Ryan abused her. As for Ryan, Lauren told him that she aborted his child. He doesn't know that she never had an abortion, and Kayla is raising Lauren's one-year-old baby girl, Lindsay. Talk about built-in conflict. The conflict is evident from the first chapter and continues to build.

I have to admit that I don't usually seek out books with children in them, but I ate this story right up. There's plenty of angst on Kayla's part, as she gets to know him and realizes that he's not the person Lauren made him out to be. Now she must decide how to tell Ryan the truth. She knows that she's falling in love with him, and she believes that she will lose him and Lindsay when he learns the truth. For his part, Ryan is frustrated that Kayla seems to fear him and highly attracted to her all at the same time. The story brought tears to my eyes more than once.

For whatever reason, I love these kinds of stories, where characters fall in love with people they shouldn't. There's a forbidden love element I find appealing. Some of these kinds of stories are better than others, and this one is especially good: 4.5 out of 5.

Now I just have 13 other Jill Shalvis books in my TBR . . .

Book Move in Progress

After spending time at my sister's house, I came back and started to put the new TBR book organization idea into practice. I originally thought I would put books by auto-buy authors in my TBR bookcase; then, I would move books by non-auto-buy authors and authors I hadn't tried before on the bookcase by my bed. Well, that didn't quite work. It turns out that I had more books in the latter than the former category, so books by auto-buy authors didn't fill the shelves. There was a ton of room left over.

So, change of plans. The auto-buys are now on top of the bookcase by my bed. I've started to put the others on the shelves. I should finish that tomorrow. The good news is that they fit better this way. The bad news (if you want to call it that) is that the auto-buy books are all too easy to reach now, so I will have to make a conscious effort to read a book by a new-to-me author. That's where the TBR challenges come in, I guess. I could also try and read a non-auto-buy for every one or two auto-buys I read.

At any rate, my soul is pleased that the different book sections are alphabetized by author.

TBR Books and a Contest

I had a cunning idea about a new way to organize my TBR books. Actually, it sounds cunning in theory; now I need to put it into practice and see if it works. If I like it, I'll blog about it in the next few days.

In the meantime, enter Jo Leigh's contest! You can win a copy of one of her books. The only reason I'm not entering is that I already have this book. Go forth and enter!

Still Waters

Still Waters by Deanna Lee is my most recent e-book read, it's a futuristic story featuring New Orleans Inspector Kyra Moray, who is investigating the deaths of several women. While off duty, she meets the Alex Waters in a bar named Still Waters and discovers that he owns the bar. They quickly begin a passionate relationship.

I mentioned before that Still Waters invites comparion to the In Death series. The two are really quite different. Yes, Kyra Moray's world includes futuristic elements, but it doesn't mention drying tubes or autochefs. Kyra does have some similarities to Eve, but that's due more to the fact that they are both tough female detectives. Their personal backgrounds are quite different.

I liked Still Waters. Alex is a terrific character, and I liked him from the start. I was especially amused by his response to Kyra's statement that she dates men based on the size of their dicks. He sends her . . . actually, I think it's better to read this for yourself. The mystery is also interesting, although it has gruesome moments.

There are some aspects of the book that could have been stronger. Kyra is one of them. When I finished the book, I felt like I knew a lot of things about her, but I didn't really know her. If that makes sense. Also, I thought the mystery overwhelmed the romance at times. After a number of Alex-free pages, I found myself thinking, "Let's see him again." On one hand, that's a compliment.

I ended up liking and not loving Still Waters: 3.5 out of 5. I liked it enough that I plan to buy the next installment. It's still early days in Kyra and Alex's relationship, and I definitely want to read more.

Undead and Unappreciated

Before I jump into this book review, I thought I would give you an update: I'm online with my laptop for the first time (and it is, appropriately enough, on my lap). I'm loving it so far. The bad news is that my swamp cooler is dead. When we tried adding water to it today, a third hole developed in the bottom. So, I will be checking out central air options. I hope I can find something that won't put me in debt for life. In the meantime, I bought another fan. It's working pretty well, so I have hopes I won't completely melt. Yet.

On to Undead and Unappreciated, by MaryJanice Davidson. Although I've had mixed feelings about her other books--I've loved some and not loved others--I enjoyed the first two Undead books. The action of the third book picks up sometime after the second one ends. Betsy Taylor is still the reluctant vampire queen, Eric Sinclair is still living in the same house, and the cast of supporting characters is back.

I enjoyed many things about this book. Readers who have thought Betsy too shallow will appreciate some character development when she is forced to take responsibility for some painful actions and to face her feelings about Sinclair. I liked these moments. I also enjoyed the subplot with Betsy's half-sister. It plays out in a fascinating way.

Despite all the things I liked about the book, I was a little disappointed in the romance element. Once Betsy made some decisions, it seemed like things came together a bit too easily. One conversation took care of it. And I definitely wanted to read more sex. :) All things considered, I rate Undead and Unappreciated as 4 out of 5. I'm not sorry I bought the book in hardcover, and I'm planning to buy the next one hardcover as well. But it wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped. I think I built it up in my mind a bit too much. Still, 4 out of 5 is very good.

Why I'm Over Budget

This is easy to answer: I have a huge auto-buy list. After reading Tara's list, I was inspired to post mine. Here goes:

Alison Kent
Amy Garvey
Carla Kelly
Catherine Mann
Charlaine Harris
Dawn Atkins
Donna Kauffman
Erin McCarthy
Evelyn Vaughn
Jacquie D'Alessandro
J.D. Robb
Jennifer LaBrecque
Jill Shalvis
Jo Leigh
Julia Quinn
Laura Lee Guhrke
Leslie Kelly
Marjorie M. Liu
MaryJanice Davidson (The Undead series only.)
Meg Cabot (Historicals and contemporary romance, not the YA books.)
Michele Albert
Nancy Warren
Rachel Gibson
Shannon McKenna
Sophia Nash
Suzanne Brockmann
Suzanne McMinn

And here's a list of authors whose books I often buy:

Alesia Holliday
Angela Knight
Connie Brockway
Holly Lisle
Janelle Denison
Joan Wolf
Justine Davis
Lisa Kleypas
Lori Handeland
Mary Balogh
Nora Roberts (I usually buy her books but don't always buy them new.)
Pamela Britton
Sylvia Day (I am so buying Bad Boys Ahoy when it comes out next year.)
Vicki Lewis Thompson

Is it any wonder I spend a lot on books these days?



P.S. I got my laptop today. Yay! It was stuck in the IT department, because any computer will be for them, right? Even if my name is on each package. Twice. Anyway, I took it home at lunch and also checked my mail. I realized how absurd it is for me to complain about not going to the bookstore again until August. There were four packages waiting for me. Two packages from people I've traded with, one with books I ordered, and one with contest winnings. I may not go to the bookstore, but I've got plenty to read and more books from the trade group and orders on the way. I hereby declare that I will not complain about not going to the bookstore.

Skip the Sex

Author Jill Shalvis writes about hearing that many romance readers are losing interest in love scenes. I have to admit, this baffles me. I read a variety of romances from sweet to highly explicit, and as long as sex contributes to the romance (and perhaps that's the key), I'm pleased to read it.

This doesn't mean that I think every author writes great love scenes. Some are more compelling than others. I've blogged about my top five love scenes, but the main thing I ask as I read the book is do the love scenes fit the story? If the answer is yes, then terrific. That's what a good love scene should do.

Thinking back on the books I've read, I can't say that I've skipped over sex scenes. On occasion, I have skimmed them, particularly when they are not well written or they are excessive. But skip them? Not me.

Bad Week

When I was young, I sometimes wanted to do my brother bodily injury. When I envisioned it, though, I didn't picture him falling off my roof after working on my swamp cooler. Oy! Yes, he came over and took a look at the hated swamp cooler. As he was coming down the ladder, it started shaking, and I could see that he was going to fall. So I moved beneath him to try and break the fall. It sort of worked. He fell about seven feet from the roof to my balcony (if you can call it that). His glasses flew off, but I don't think he hit his head, and I don't think he hit as hard as he could have. But I still feel terrible about it.

And what did he do? Well, he is a man. He got up, got his glasses, went to the store, returned with supplies, and went back up on the roof! This time we made sure I or my nephew anchored the ladder. I kept asking if he was OK, and he said he was. I wasn't sure what else to do.

As for the swamp cooler, he is coming back tomorrow after the water evaporates and the caulking cures (his words; I'm not entirely sure what it means). He think he can repair it enough to last through the year, but I'll definitely need something next year, he says.

As for the other weird news of the week, my laptop supposedly shipped June 30, and I received an e-mail message saying I should receive it in one to five business days. Tomorrow marks the fifth business day, and I have to admit I'm feeling extremely impatient. I checked the order status yesterday, then checked it again today. Nothing new besides the fact that it shipped.
So, I e-mailed their customer service to find out if I could get a tracking number. I received an automated reply asking if I wanted a tracking number. If so, I could (1) check the order status online and get the tracking number there, (2) call the 1-800 number to get it, or, if neither of those works, (3) do their online chat with a representative.

Here's my question. If they get enough requests for a tracking number that they need to set up an automated e-mail system telling people how to get it, then WHY don't they simply provide the number to begin with? By the way, calling the 1-800 number didn't help, as it was an automated system and gave me the same information as the online order status. The order has shipped. Um, duh.

The thing is, I would have been fine if I'd had a shipping number and knew that the order wasn't coming until tomorrow. I'd have been fine if it wasn't coming until Monday or Tuesday, as long as I knew about it. But the one to five business days thing along with the ridiculous process to try and get a tracking number is absurd. Did I do the online chat? No, why bother? Based on one to five shipping days, I'll get the laptop tomorrow and the case on Monday. Why waste time when even they probably won't be able to give me an answer?

OK, I hope I've finished complaining for now. Tomorrow I will try to return you to your regularly scheduled book blog. I've got some books to blog about.

Speaking Sorrow

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break.
--William Shakespeare

My sympathies to all those affected by today's terrorist attack in London. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Last Bookstore Trip?

After a pretty horrible day in which I left work early because my back hurt so much, I came home and took a nap, making sure to rest on my side so I could put a pillow between my knees. This helped a bit (knock on wood). After the nap, I got online and saw that Undead and Unappreciated was out, so I decided I'd better make a trip to the bookstore. Getting out would do me good, right?

Thankfully, I seem to have suffered no ill effects personally, though I can't say the same about my bank account. I bought three books, and while I was shopping, I realized that this would probably be my last bookstore trip before my trip to Reno. It's only a few weeks away, but I had a moment of panic at the thought. I'm so not used to showing discipline when it comes to buying books. There were three others I didn't buy because I thought I might get them at the book signing. We'll see. In the meantime, I will look at this as an opportunity to make a dent in the TBR pile.

Reading Still Waters

It's been a rough day. In addition to alienating friends (things are fine now, though), I somehow twisted my back (while sleeping? I don't know) and have felt like a hunchback all day. Due to my broken swamp cooler, I'm a sweaty hunchback. Ugh.

In reading news, I am halfway through Deanna Lee's Still Waters. Since it's a futuristic story about a female cop, it invites comparisons to the In Death series, but it's quite different from the IDs both in world-building and characterization. I'll blog about it more once I'm finished.

The first thing that attracted me to the book was the cover. Then I noticed that it's by April Martinez, an artist whose covers I've liked in the past. I really like her artwork. I'd probably buy chocolate ice cream (which I hate) if she created art for the packaging. However, once I printed the cover of Still Waters, something jumped out at me (pun intended). It looks like his pants might be partially undone, so either (A) his belt is hanging in an awkward spot, (B) he has something in his pocket, or (C) he is very, very happy to see the heroine.

Public Apology

I was going to title this "Losing Friends and Alienating People." Sometimes I can be a real dork.

Rachel,

After this morning, I'm sure you'll never want to tell me anything again. ::Sob:: It's not your fault you have air conditioning, nor is it your fault that my life is pathetic. I am happy for you, and I mean it, damn it! You must tell me the details. Well, if you're still speaking to me.

I am going home at lunch in hopes that happy packages will be waiting for me. That, along with medication, should put me in a better frame of mind.

Apologetically,

Pitiful Excuse for a Friend

P.S. Rachel tells me I am forgiven.

It's a Hot One

With a title like this, I wish I could say I'm describing a great book I just finished. Sadly, that's not the case. The thing that's hot is the temperature, which I am all too aware of because my swamp cooler is dead. It's worked OK for a few days, but today I noticed it wasn't blowing air that was particularly cool. So I went outside to check things out and noticed that there is a hole in the bottom of the swamp cooler.

I knew when I bought the house that the swamp cooler was on its last legs, so I'm surprised it's lasted this long. Still, I now have to decide whether to get a new one or go for central AC. Either way, I also need to figure out who will install it. At times like this, it sucks being a homeowner.

In the meantime, it's a hot one.

More Scrapbook Pages

I did more scrapbooking. Here are some pages from the Target Tampa event I attended in January.

Signing in Tampa, Page 1
Signing in Tampa, Page 2

Obviously I like the metal-rimmed tags these days. I've used them on all six pages I created this weekend.

The Nerd Prince

My most recent e-book read is Ellen Fisher's The Nerd Prince.



If I continue to print the e-books I buy, I will have to explore buying a comb-binding machine.

Cade Ryan is frustrated by the strange music coming from the apartment of one of his neighbors. Once he's had all he can take, he turns on music of his own to drown out the noise. For her part, Shell Anderson can't concentrate on practicing her cello with the loud music coming from the apartment below hers. She goes downstairs to confront the neighbor and meets Cade.

I enjoy nerd heros, and Cade is terrific. This may sound strange, but I liked the fact that he was taking his divorce so hard. Often in romance land, people break up or get divorced and move on with their lives quickly and easily. That's not the case with Cade, and I appreciated this realism.

I also liked the fact that Cade admires Shell's curves, even though she's not very curvy. It's nice to see a hero and heroine that aren't perfect.

However, I was disappointed that he is so easily transformed into a good-looking man with contact lenses, a shave, and nice clothes. Shell is attracted to him before the transformation--and their love scenes are well written and passionate--but I would have enjoyed Cade's appearance to remain a bit nerdy.

For the most part, I enjoyed The Nerd Prince (4 out of 5) and will definitely read another of Fisher's books. I just have to decide which one . . . and whether I will buy a comb-binding machine.

Scrapbooking True Confession

Sometimes scrapbookers will decide what to wear (or what their children should wear) based on a paper they want to use when they scrapbook the pictures. This is 100% true. Scrapbookers reading this are likely to nod in agreement, while people who don't scrapbook are wondering, what the &#@*?

I finally scrapbooked my photos from Scottsdale, Arizona. My original plan was to use supplies from a recent Club Scrap kit, and yes, I selected my outfit to coordinate with the paper. I don't know what else to say besides it's a sickness.

At any rate, it didn't work out as I expected. I ended up needing to change my shirt, which blew the whole coordination plan, as I discovered when I got out the kit to scrapbook. But I scrapbooked the pictures anyway. My scanner is bizarre sometimes. I love it because it can scan items up to 12 x 17, but it doesn't always get colors right. Anyway, here are the pages.

Scottsdale, Page 1
Scottsdale, Page 2
Poisoned Pen, Page 1
Poisoned Pen, Page 2

The color besides yellow on the Scottsdale pages is actually lavender, though my scanner makes it difficult to tell. I haven't decided whether to add a title and journaling to the large tag or only journaling.

I used the same stamp set and tags on the Scottsdale and Poisoned Pen pages to reinforce the fact that they are from the same trip. The second color on the Poisoned Pen pages is a teal that leans more toward green. I tried blue, but didn't like the way it looked as well. Not that you can really tell from the scans. Sigh.

Luckily I have plenty of time to decide what to wear to the Reno signing. Ha ha.

Uh Oh

Now that it's July, I thought I would start gathering books to take with me to the RWA signing in Reno. You might remember my plan to bring one or two books by several authors to sign in addition to whatever they have there for me to buy. So I review my book shelves and pick out one or two books (um, or four, in the case of Evelyn Vaughn) for several authors. Eventually I look at the book pile, realize I'm still not finished, and think that at this rate, I'll end up bringing 40 books with me--and that's before I buy anything there.

Is it just me, or does this seem rather problematic?

TBR Challenge: Twice Burned

I finished this book a day late for the TBR challenge, but better late than never. Especially since I had a tough time finishing this one. I was ready to quit halfway through.

1. Title/Author
Twice Burned by Jan Coffey

2. Brief Synopsis
Lea returns to the town where she lived many years ago. Her brother lived there until he was convicted of killing his wife and children. Now he is on death row and Lea is determined to prove his innocence. She spends time with and falls in love with Mick Conklin.

3. Copyright Year
2002

4. Indicate if you liked or disliked it?
Unfortunately, I disliked it: 2 out of 5.

5. If it was designated a DIK or Five Heart book at any of the review sites?
No. I didn't check reviews before I read it. It received a C from AAR and four hearts from The Romance Reader.

6. Do you agree or disagree with the reviewers?
My opinion is closer to the AAR review. I definitely liked the story better when it was focused on the main characters, but even they don't have a whole lot of chemistry. The book jumps between about four sets of characters, which made it difficult for me to get involved in any one story.

7. Is this a new author for you?
No. I have read a historical romance by this author, written as May McGoldrick. I found it quite interesting that both books started slowly.

8. Would you read more by this author?
This makes two I've read by this author. One I liked, one I didn't. Both got off to a slow start. I have several more by the author on my TBR, but I'm not in any particular hurry to get to them.

July's challenge: historical romance. I have plenty of these on my shelves and hope to read two or three.