Shelli Stevens is the president of my RWA chapter and a friend, so please help show her the love by spreading the word about her contest! Shelli is celebrating her first Aphrodisia book release, Take Me. First prize: $75 gift certificate to Amazon. Second prize: $25 gift certificate to Lush. Throughout the month of July, Shelli is giving away books on her blog. For full contest details, click on the link below.

TAKE ME AWAY contest!

ENTERING THE CONTEST (short version)
To enter the contest, share the sprout widget from her contest page (it isn’t wordpress compatible) on one of your social networking pages. Leave a comment in her contest post with a link to your blog entry or wherever you’ve posted the graphic and your answer to the following question: If you could close your eyes and just be Taken Away somewhere at this moment, where would you go?

Does your dream vacation include walking in Edward’s footsteps and photographing Bella’s truck? A jaunty, five-hour drive from Portland or Seattle, up the coast to the farther, rainier side of the Olympic Peninsula will get you your fix. Despite the distance, twilight fans are descending upon the sleepy little logging town of Forks. A woman at the post office told me tourism has gone up 700% since Stephanie Meyer’s internationally bestselling Twilight Saga came out. I can believe it. Before this Forks was mostly famous for being the last place to buy matches and bandaids before entering the Hoh Rain Forest.

Mr. Wonderful and I traveled to Forks this past weekend for a little Twilight action and some hiking in the beautiful Olympic National Park. I’d been to Forks as a child. As a literary tourist, it was much more entertaining.

The truck to the right is parked outside the Forks Visitor Center. It isn’t the same truck as in the movie (little of the real Forks appears in the movie), but it’s a picturesque landmark to get your picture taken with. Every business in town has joined the fun. Local motels announce, “Welcome to the Twilight Zone” and “Edward didn’t sleep here,” (vampires don’t sleep). A gas station on the road to La Push warns “No Vampires Beyond this point,” referring to the dividing line between the Quileute werewolf and Cullen’s territory.

Stay tuned for a list of things to do in Forks.

Title: Bound by Your Touch (advanced readers copy)
Author: Meredith Duran
Publication Info: Avon June 2009
Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Ms. Duran’s sophomore try is even better than DUKE OF SHADOWS, and that’s saying a lot.

Plot:
Lydia Boyce manages all the affairs for her egyptologist father, so when some of his artifacts are exposed as fakes, she is determined to uncover the true villain and save her father’s reputation. Viscount Sanburne is the man who purchased the fake. Lydia accuses him of perpetrating the fraud. He is just as determined to uncover the truth. When a blue-stocking spinster and notorious rake go head-to-head, someone’s reputation is bound to be ruined.

Sanburne is plagued by guilt over failing to save his sister from an abusive marriage. As he accompanies Lydia to the darkest parts of the city in search of clues, she slowly discovers that the irresponsible rake has a deeper side to him. But she’s been burned before, and she hesitates to become another notch on Sanburne’s long list of conquests. They search the dark streets of London for the missing jewels with assassins hot on their heels. Neither is willing to risk his or her heart again.

Discussion:
An excellent adventure filled with rich prose, sparkling wit, and period details. Ms. Duran’s historic commentary makes this a book you can sink your teeth into. Clever and passionate, with a hero and heroine equally matched in stubborn determination, Bound by your Touch is sure to delight all readers of Historical Romance. (Especially fans of Loretta Chase!) I look forward to watching Ms. Duran’s star hit the New York Times best seller list and capture a RITA or two in the near future. Her third book is due in July: WRITTEN ON YOUR SKIN.

The new NEW MOON cover featuring the man who should have been Bella’s hero. Much more handsome, more loyal, better cuddle-er….not to mention alive. Besides, he takes showers. We can’t say the same for Robert Pattinson.

Calling all aspiring authors with polished manuscripts to sell! The lovely ladies at BookEnds Literary Agency have joined twitter. To celebrate, they’ve announced a new opportunity to pitch your book in 140 characters. Follow @BookEndsJessica and @BookEndsKim this week and be ready for the windup when they ask you to “Start Twitching!” Respond to the agent who announced it with your pitch. Remember, you can use no more than 140 characters and must complete your thought. @ replying to the correct agent takes up valuable space, but you can’t reply to Kim when Jessica sent out the call. Check out their blog for more info.

Let’s practice, shall we? Describe the last book you read in 140 characters:

“Regency star-crossed lovers reunite after botched elopement. Must forgive meddling fathers, realize big misunderstanding & risk hearts again.”

(EVERYTHING AND THE MOON by Julia Quinn)

Dorchester, the publishing house that brought you the American Title and Mr. Romance contests, is again looking to social networking for their next publishing contract. (Marie Claude Bourque, the winner of American Title V, will be published in February 2010.) Dorchester is bringing cell phone novels–popular in Japan–to America by inviting aspiring authors to post their novels in short increments online. Fans and readers will download, read and vote on their favorites. The winner of the NEXT BEST CELLER CONTEST earns a coveted publishing contract with a $2000 advance.

“Our increasingly fast-paced and chaotic lifestyles have created challenges for many individuals who can’t or won’t make the time to read.  Between fragmented attention spans, the enthusiasm and devotion cultivated by fan participation in reality television and the social networking revolution, we think the time is perfect to bring readers and writers together through Textnovel and we hope to discover America’s Next Best ‘Celler’.” -  Brooke Borneman, Dorchester’s Sales and Marketing Director

The serial novel was popular in the Victorian era, with now-famous authors Charles Dickens and Louisa May Alcott making a career out of it. Dorchester’s latest contest pairs Victorian romanticism and futuristic technology; Did someone say Steampunk?

Title: Some Like it Wild
Author: Teresa Medeiros
Publication Info: Avon March 2009
Genre: Regency/Scottish Historical Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

When I want a good dose of happily ever after with a dashing hero and a clever heroine I always turn to Ms. Medeiros. She never disappoints. Her latest tale is particularly excellent. Pamela and Connor are a matching set: both devious and crafty, but with hearts of gold. Their banter surprises and delights. Their chemistry sizzles.

Plot:

Pamela Darby and her younger sister Sophie are down-on-their-luck orphans who seek the long-lost son of a Duke to claim the reward money. Their mother trod the boards of Drury Lane before it burned to the ground with her inside it. All they have left is a letter that claims the son is in Scotland. They dress in their finest costume jewelry to search the Highlands, only to be set upon by a notorious highwayman. Pamela decides that with a little stage polish this prince-of-thieves could pass for a Duke’s son. Connor Kincaid is only too happy to swindle an English swine out of his money.

When they arrive at the Duke’s door, the feeble old man is won over by Connor’s charade, but his wily sister and her son (the displaced heir) are not so easily persuaded. Pamela hoped to get the reward and run, but Connor announces that she is his fiancee. What woman could say no to a devilishly handsome Scotsman in a kilt? In staying, she risks her neck to the handman’s noose if the ruse in uncovered. She may not have a choice; this thieving blackguard has already stole something far more dangerous: her heart.

**swoon!!**

Discussion:

I love Ms. Medeiros’ books because they always fill my chest with that warm glow of love, true love. Oh! Love. Connor and Pamela are my favorite pair yet, especially the dashing Scot. He’s like a much handsomer version of Liam Neeson’s Rob Roy. Medeiros even recreates the dueling scene between the broadsword and the epee. Connor is delicious, and Pamela is a smart heroine worthy of him. (No TSTL here, thank goodness!) Just when I think I know the dialogue she’s going to say, she surprises me.

I hope Sophie gets her HEA next with similar bravado.

If you want a great book for lounging in the summer sun, drinking mint juleps and dreaming about happily-ever-after, this is it!

Are you a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER? (or Cross Stitch, if you’re across the pond.) Do you dream of six-foot, brawny red-haired men in kilts? Have you ever donned all your precious jewels and waltzed around the local standing stones after Beltane? Look no further, here is the vacation of your dreams:

The Diana Gabaldon Tour

“The novels of Diana Gabaldon have prompted a surge of interest in Highland life as it was at the time of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ and the 1745 Rising. The waves made by Jamie, a gentleman of Clan Fraser, and his alluring wife Claire, a stranger in the 18th century, have rippled through lovers of Scotland worldwide. If you have yet to visit Jamie Fraser country, then this is a suggested schedule. The cost for two people over the nine nights is £1950.”

Visit Fraser country and MacKensie land. See a potential inspiration for Lallybroch. Tramp “off the beaten track, and into the remnants of the Great Caledonian Pine Forest where Jamie and Claire wandered after their wedding.” Visit Lock Ness and wonder at the horror of Culloden Field. Though “It is not recorded that Jamie and Claire visited Skye,” you can go there too.

My favorite thing to do on vacation is visit the settings of great books. When I was in London, everywhere I turned was another scene from a Regency Romance: Half Moon Street—Oh! The Bridgerton’s live here! The Serpentine in Hyde Park–Hey! That’s where Kate fell in! Almacks, Whites, Covent Garden, Drury Lane Theater…the list goes on and on. I dearly hope someday to visit Scotland, and you can bet your knickers I’ll be visiting some of these Outlander landmarks. (As well as buying Mr. Wonderful a kilt!)

Title: The Dream Thief
Author: Shanna Abe
Series: The Drákon book 2
Publication Info: Bantam, August 2007
Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3

The sequel to the excellent SMOKE THIEF follows Rue and Christoff’s youngest daughter, Lia, who is born with the rare Drakon gift of dreaming the future. Her hero is Zane, her mother’s street urchin sidekick, who has grown up to be a dark, powerful criminal in London.

Plot:

There is a legendary diamond that has the power to enslave the Drakon’s minds. Lia hears it calling her from a very young age, accompanied by disturbing sexual dreams of her mother’s dangerous apprentice Zane. No one believes her, so she grows up hiding her future-telling dreams and her slow-to-come Drakon powers. Her parents learn of the diamond when Lia is off at finishing school in Scotland and send Zane–a human–to find it. He runs into Lia, who has escaped school to find the stone herself. She has dreamed this. Regency road trip!

After a number of misadventures, they find the legendary Drakon castle and its twisted lord. Lia knows that Zane cannot have the diamond, because she has dreamed he uses it to kill her parents and everyone close to her. But she is Drakon, so the diamond enslaves her. Is there enough goodness in Zane’s black heart to set her free?

Discussion:

Ms. Abe’s writing is very good. I have always been a big fan of road trip books, especially when the protagonists get stranded out in the middle of nowhere and must tough it in the wilderness.

There is a lot more of that airy, poetic narration in this book. In The Smoke Thief it was only a long prologue. In The Dream Thief it comes every other chapter or so. I skimmed it.

The hero/heroine age difference bothered me. Zane is 12 in The Smoke Thief, when her parents meet. Lia is 19 in The Dream Thief. Lia has dark, sexual dreams of Zane since childhood. Does she actually love him, or is she merely obsessed? Does Zane take advantage of her youth and inexperience? Should maybe he have woken her up first? These and more questions weighed on my enjoyment of the book. In the first book, I felt Ms. Abe did a good job on coming right up to the forced-seduction line, but not crossing it. In this book, well, you’ll have to make up your own mind. I enjoyed the book, but certain parts made me a little morally squeamish.

I enjoyed The Dream Thief and plan to read book 3. Ms. Abe is a masterful storyteller. I just hope the heroine in The Dragon Queen finds healing and psychotherapy from what she endured in book 2. Maybe she should talk to Hardy Cates?

Last night two friends and I ran our first 5K of the year in the Fremont 5K and Briefcase Relay. Maybe next year we’ll do the relay part. The course ran along the Ship Canal from the Fremont Bridge/Adobe Plaza, past Gasworks Park, and turned around before we got to the UW Campus. It was pretty flat and we had great weather. Our colorful costumes were a hit. My next scheduled race is the Danskin Triathlon, where I’ll be riding the biking portion with Team Brady Babes.