Saturday Links

Dear Author has the wonderful Sharon Shinn's first sale story. Her Archangel is one of my favorite books - here's a link to her website, where you can read excerpts of her books.

Over on Word Wenches, Mary Jo Putney has up a great post celebrating the 20th anniversary since the publication of her first book - she talks about the changes she's seen, as well as what makes a writer hold on for the long haul.

The AAR Top 100 Romances Poll is open, and the first set of interim results have already been posted.

Are you in a book club? Nancy Martin has up an interesting post about book clubs over at The Lipstick Chronicles.

And if you like contests, check out these Fresh Fiction ones - links on the Knight Agency blog.

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!

Weekly Catchup

I'm working on a few things. I think I mentioned I was doing a historical novella? Well, there's been a slight change in plans and the novella is now going to be about someone you kinda, sorta meet in Mine to Possess. Who can it be?

Also, my tbr pile is calling my name. There's a Julia Quinn on top and I sooooooo want to read it! And I have a couple of ARCs I need to get to. Sometimes, I think it would be awesome to read by osmosis - put the book to your head and download the story. But that would take all the fun out of it, wouldn't it?

So, what have you all been up to? Any plans for the weekend?

A Special Guest

I saw this gorgeous man hanging out at Lora Leigh's forum and just had to invite him over. Treat him nice!

Hmm, what do you think he's thinking right now?

Dorian's Book & Heroes

Dorian's book now has an official title: "Hostage to Pleasure" Oooooh ;)

I know Dorian is a favorite with many of you, so today, I thought we'd talk about favorite heroes. Who are some of your favorites? And why do you think you love them so much?

I think my favorite heroes have a number of things in common, one being that while they might be dangerous to everyone else, they'll do anything for the heroine. Sigh...

In one of those weird coincidences, right after I put up this post, I checked my blog feed and found an article up at RTB about heroes. It's very interesting and discusses some of the archetypes, so swing by and check it out.

Reader Interview: Shannon

Tuesday is reader interview day. If you'd like to participate (you know you want to), the details are here. Today's interviewee is Shannon, traveler extraordinaire! So Shannon, tell us the places you've been, the things you've
done. :)

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm another one of your readers in danger of being "that crazy cat lady" - but I've managed to stay with just 2 cats so far. I'm single, in my mid-30s and live in North Carolina. I'm a doctor - I specialize in diabetes and hormones (like thyroid) and it's exactly what I should be doing. Even when my patients are driving me crazy I'm still having fun. I like to travel - I have 3 trips out of the country planned in the next 7 months (there are some advantages to being single!) and I love to read.

2. Are you a hoarder or do you give your books away?

I'm a hoarder. I have stacks everywhere. I give books away if I hate them, but otherwise I keep every one.

3. What author might tempt you into turning stalker?

Nalini (there's got to be a way to convince you to tell me what's going to happen next in your Psy series!), Nora Roberts, Judith McNaught and Marjorie M. Lui are the first names that pop into my head.

4. How susceptible are you to chocolate?

Very. That's why I exercise 6 days a week! I'm not sure I've ever met a piece of dark chocolate I didn't like.

5. Favorite book? Why?

"The Blue Sword" by Robin McKinley. I read it over and over again in high school and I still re-read it at least once a year. The story is wonderful and the characters unforgettable - this was the book that introduced me to fantasy *and* romance.

6. If you knew you were going to be stuck on a desert island, what three things would you take with you?

Diet Coke.
Chocolate.
George Clooney.

7. What did you eat for breakfast?

An All-Bran cereal bar. Yum!

8. How many books in your current to-be-read pile?

I have no idea. Over a hundred I'm sure. I keep on buying, and then I forget which ones I've read and which ones I haven't, so I go out and buy more.

9. Describe your idea of a perfect hero.

Confident, aggressive and successful without being too cocky. Funny, caring, intelligent, absolutely devoted to me, athletic and good in bed.

Hmmm....looking at that list I suddenly have a pretty good idea why I'm still single. LOL

Me & Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter

I picked this up because the book description sounded interesting - it’s my first book by this author. (The cover on the left is the British/Commonwealth one, while the one below is the American one. Any preference?)

Basically, Me & Mr. Darcy is about an American bookstore manager, Emily, who has been on one disasterous date after another (as an aside, I really loved the opening pages – where her date calculates exactly how much she owes for her half of the pizza, since she did have extra toppings). Not one of these men have been anything close to her ideal man…Mr. Darcy. Brooding, chivalrous, romantic, Mr. Darcy is perfect as far as Emily’s concerned, so when a chance comes up to go on a tour of Jane Austen’s England, she packs up and heads off across the Atlantic.

That’s when something weird happens. She actually meets Mr. Darcy…but is he a fantasy or reality? And what about Spike, the obnoxious reporter on the trip? Can Spike be any more not like Mr. Darcy?

That’s a really rough summary – you can see the backcover copy on Amazon.

My verdict: Fun, entertaining and definitely makes me want to pick up the author’s other books. I really enjoyed Emily’s internal monologues, and she was just a cool character to ride along with – she made me grin more than once. Also if you’re a fan of Pride & Prejudice, you’ll probably enjoy the subtle retelling of the story.

Okay, since this book begins with a bad date, anyone want to share a bad date story? Come on, we won’t tell anyone. *g*

Thanks & Winners

I want to say a huge thank you to all the guest authors for posting this week, and to all of you who made them feel so welcome. I hope everyone had fun. We might have to do this again sometime!

Also, re the giveaways - all the winners were announced in the comments, but here's a recap. If you haven't already emailed me, please contact me via this email: nalinisinghwrites @ gmail.com (without the spaces).

Gena Showalter's winner: Shari C
Jennifer Lewis's winner: Dawn Epton
Patrice Michelle's winner: acdaisy95
Shelley Munro's winner: Angie-La
Winner of one of my books: Lisa Scar

Guest Author: Linnea Sinclair!

Today's guest is the otherworldly Linnea Sinclair, whose hero Branden Kel-Paten is one of my faves. Not only does Linnea write awesome books, she has written the a very unique blog for today, so check it out.

~

To thank everyone for making this week of guest bloggers so awesome, I'm going to give away one of my books (winner's choice) to a random commenter on this post. (Winner will be announced in the comments.)

LOLAUTHORS

I've become totally addicted to LOLCats and icanhascheeburger. For those of you scratching your heads in wonder, those are the sites where people upload photos of cats doing just about anything you can imagine, along with baby-talk-type titles for the photos that are either snarkily funny, overly cutesy or just down right bizarre.

One of my favorites is Happy Cat has Run Out of Happy:


more funny pictures

I can so relate. It seems whenever I'm asked to blog or respond to interview questions, this witty author runs out of witty.

That never happens with my characters. Well, okay, rarely. But when I'm writing about my characters it's so much easier to find this turn of phrase, that snarkism, that jolly-ha-ha. Or that intense, scary moment.

When I want to write about being an author, the creative mind becomes disgustingly business-like. I start thinking about print runs or cover art or how I can promote the genre. Which most readers just don't want to hear.

Sometimes I think readers would prefer if authors were more like their characters: swashbuckling, larger-than-life (if I keep munching on any more Fritos, my thighs may certainly achieve that goal), exuding a certain authorly je-ne-sais-quoi.


more funny pictures

The thing is, an author's day is usually fairly bland. Wake up, read emails, work on chapter, read more emails, get coffee, work on rest of chapter. We write about these buffed-out, seductive people--while we're sitting there in old sweatpants, a faded t-shirt and lime-green crocs.

At least, I am. Nalini, I suspect, wears well-oiled fighting leathers, stiletto-heeled boots, and swigs three fingers of Jack Daniels, straight, as she dictates her novels to an equally-as-well-oiled-near-nekkid-stud-muffin.

Or something like that.

See how easily the imagination kicks in? See how easily the author slips behind the scenes and lets The Wild Thing out on stage?

That's why I think authors are LOLAuthors. Until you put the words around us, we're just ordinary people. But give us an image and let us pad it out with words and we shed the dingy sweatpants and icky t-shirt and launch lustily out into the wild blue yonder.

Well, not literally, of course. I have this large glass sliding door in my office and a sight like that would likely annoy the neighbors.

But we are, for the most part, unassuming folks.

I would feel a lot better if I could go to reader conventions and do book signings in costume. I think then I'd be a better fit to what my readers expect to see. I certainly have had my share of… “You write that?” from strangers when I've handed (okay, when I've forcefully shoved) my bookmarks in their direction.

I suspect part of that reason is I write science fiction romance. I'm not quite sure if it's the romance image I don't meet or the science fiction one, but which ever, I get raised eyebrows and that question. And yeah, I write that.

Like I said, it might be easier in costume, perhaps the Beam Me Up kind, where the image of the author fades into that of the character or story.


more funny pictures

I think the Wizard of Oz had it right when he told Dorothy, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

It's really all about the story, the characters, the conflict, the will-they or won't they, the holding your breath as you turn the page.

That's what we're all about.

Words on a page. And even captions.



BSP: The Down Home Zombie Blues will be out November 27th. If you like a bit snark, a big dash of adventure, some major romance and want to know how a Florida cop would handle one kick-butt outer-space babe, check it out.

Until then, here's something for you LOLCat and Star Trek fans to enjoy: click here .

~Linnea
www.linneasinclair.com

Guest Author: Patrice Michelle!

Today's guest is my new friend Patrice Michelle, who I totally accosted into coming to do a blog post. Patrice is talking about covers - and she definitely has some stunning ones. She'll also be giving away a cowboy *grin*. Read on to find out more. (Just leave a comment to enter the contest. Winner will be posted in the comments.)

“Never judge a book by its cover."

That saying has been around for a long time, but the reality is something more along the lines of “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.”

Ha! I’m all philosophical this morning, because as much as we’d like to “think” we follow the first saying, the truth is…in a lot of cases, we do judge a book by its cover.

That’s why authors sweat bullets waiting for their book covers. They know that a very compelling book cover could garner them new readers by the fact that the book’s cover was intriguing, unique, beautiful, etc. An arresting cover will draw the reader over. They pick up the book and then…

It’s up to the blurb on the back and the writing inside to “keep” the reader interested. ;o)

Did you know most authors don’t have any true say so in their book covers?

One of the nice things about starting my writing career off with a small publisher was that I had a large say in what my book covers looked like. I wanted to project a specific image for my books and I knew the book covers could go a long way in helping with that. So I was detailed and diligent in my requests, and for the most part, I got exactly what I wanted. Yey!

Now that I’ve sold to a larger NY publisher, the ability to have true input into my covers is very minimal. I know that the marketing department is going to go with a cover they know is proven to sell books. So it was with much trepidation and holding of breath that I opened the email with my first NY book cover.

And it was beautiful!

And no, nothing of what I asked for was on the cover, except the cave in the background. :) But the cover gods smiled on me. And I was happy. All was well with the world.

So tell me, do you judge a book by its cover? Have you been known to buy a book just because the cover was so gorgeous? Did you ever regret such a purchase? Or did the book live up to that fabulous cover on the outside?

And what about the opposite? (The one we authors worry about the most) Have you passed over a book because you didn’t like the cover? Did you ever go back and buy the book once you heard rave reviews on it?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I’m going to be giving away a download up my upcoming cowboy release ANTICIPATION coming out October 23, 2007, so get involved and tell us your thoughts on book covers. :)

Guest Author: Shelley Munro!

Today's guest is my good friend, Shelley Munro. We've known each other for a looooooong time, so I'm very excited to have her guesting with us today. Shelley is giving away one of her books - read on to find out which one. Just leave a comment to enter. (Winner will be announced in the comments).

Dressed for Success

My name is Shelley Munro. I live in New Zealand and love our casual, outdoorsy lifestyle. Like many New Zealanders I enjoy sports and getting out to play in our beautiful countryside, cycling, walking and sometimes boating or swimming. I dress accordingly, love jeans and have a huge collection of T-shirts. During the summer I live in shorts and a T-shirt. When it’s time to dress up, I go smart casual, which usually means trousers and a fancy T-shirt, although I have a couple of formal dresses in my wardrobe.

Dressing my characters can be a problem because some of them plain demand posh and formal. In other words, they venture into places I don’t. Take Kate Fawkner from The Shadow. She attends lots of balls and wears designer gowns and shoes. Let me tell you it was a relief when she got into the cat burglar business and moved into coordinating black. Much easier for a befuddled author!

It’s no secret to my editor that I have problems in this area. She threatened to report me to the fashion police because I mismatched shoe and dress colors. I write mainly for Ellora’s Cave these days. Yes, there’s lots of sex, which means no clothes a lot of the time. You’d think this would be easier, but no. I get these little notes from my editor. Did he take off his boots? Of course he did, I mutter. But, oops. My wonderful editor is right. He’s doing the deed and he’s still wearing his muddy boots! In my defense characters who whip clothes off and on so often can cause confusion.

Luckily, most of my characters are like me. They like casual or wear casual to fit in with everyone else. Here’s a snippet from my Ellora’s Cave release Talking Dogs, Aliens and Purple People Eaters. Janaya, the alien heroine has stowed away on her aunt’s spaceship and they’ve just crash landed on Earth.

Hinekiri pulled a small control box from her low-slung Earth trousers. Jeans, she’d called them when she’d handed a similar pair to Janaya. “Camouflage on.”

“Something wrong, dear?”

“This damned G-thing you gave me to wear is right up my—”

It seems aliens have similar problems to me with their clothing! I don’t care for G-strings either.

Clothes are giving Nikolai, my hero from Summer in the City of Sails fits as well. He’s promised his friend and next-door neighbor he’ll keep an eye on Summer. Unfortunately, Summer is taking exception to a bossy military man and is exerting her independence while enjoying life in the big, bad city. She wants to seduce him but Nikolai is fighting the attraction.

Son of a bitch.

He did a double take. His eyes narrowed while shock punched him in the gut. What the hell was the girl wearing? He eyed the long expanse of tanned leg beneath the short hem of the tight black skirt, the strappy heels on her feet. Then his gaze lifted and paused to savor the two inches of creamy skin at her waist before he hit cloth again. What had happened to the baggy sack thing?

When Summer turned to face him his mouth emptied of every trace of spit. Her black top was sheer and lacy. And low. His gaze fastened on the swell of luscious curves before he had time to veto the move. She might be nine years younger than him, but she was fully grown. Not a shred of doubt there.
I’ve been watching Murder She Wrote and Charlie’s Angels recently. The clothes and hairstyles have really dated and make me laugh. So my question to you is do you notice clothes and shoes in a book? Do you think about reporting the author to the fashion police? And finally, just because I’m nosy…ah, curious!...what is your everyday style? What clothes do you feel comfortable wearing?

Everyone who comments will go into the draw to win a print copy of Summer in the City of Sails or if you prefer a non erotic romance, The Shadow. Your choice!

Shelley has recently completed the third book in her Middlemarch series. The heroine is an assassin and wears lots of black while the hero is a leopard shifter. When he’s not naked he’s a kitty, which makes clothes less problematic. You can visit Shelley at www.shelleymunro.com

Guest Blogger: Jennifer Lewis!

Today's guest is the very Desirable Jennifer Lewis! Not only is she talking about one of my favorite subjects (alpha men!), she's giving away a signed copy of Seduced For The Inheritance. Just leave a comment on this post to enter the draw (winner will be announced in the comments).

Naldo de Leon is the most arrogant hero I’ve ever written. Since his book Seduced for the Inheritance is out this month, I’ve been thinking a lot about alpha males, and when Nalini asked me to guest blog, I thought it would be a fun subject to tackle.

(Anyone who’s read Nalini’s books knows she’s an expert in alpha males :::Jen fans self::: )

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, alpha males have been around since the beginning of time and in romance novels they’ve dominated the genre since it began. In real life, a gentle, considerate Beta man who always wants to do what you like might seem appealing, but in romance?? Not so much. Though sometimes you may want to slap them, there’s something about an alpha male that calls to us at a primal level.

What is the appeal of the alpha male?

I think it can be summed up in one word: Confidence.

The alpha male knows he’s right. He doesn’t have any doubts. If he sets out to do something, he’s sure he’ll achieve it.

Of course this can be incredibly annoying, as my heroine Anna discovers when she inherits a small cottage and one acre of land in the middle of Naldo’s vast citrus estate. Naldo is determined to buy it back and keep his estate whole—as it has been since his conquistador ancestors first set foot there—regardless of what Anna wants.

Then again, there’s an appealing side to this confidence. Do you want to hang around with a guy who says, “Uh, honey, I think I can snag a rabbit or two, but why don’t you collect some berries anyway…’kay?” Or the one who says, “I’ll be back soon with the buffalo! Keep the fire hot!!”

I know which one I’d want to depend on in a crisis :)

This self-confidence can make it hard for alpha males to see alternative points of view (or reason, depending on how you look at it…). But when they do start to listen to the heroine, or to show their soft side, I find that very moving. An alpha male might never come out and say “I was wrong”, but I had fun with Naldo showing his gradual awaking to Anna’s point of view in how he confesses things he’d rather keep secret, and in how he defends her—and his relationship with her—to others.

Ultimately Naldo finds he’s met his match in Anna. I’ll be discussing her—and other strong, proud, unsinkable women—in a guest blog I’m doing tomorrow on ‘alpha females’ over at the Fresh Fiction Blog

Do you like alpha males or do you prefer a more accommodating and easy-going male in your romance novels? What alpha traits do you like or dislike? Who is your favorite alpha male? Which one would you most like to spank???

Thanks Nalini for letting me stop by!

Jen
http://www.jenlewis.com

Guest Blogger: Jennifer St. Giles!

Today's guest is the lovely and talented Jennifer St. Giles, and she's talking about the Dark Side of Sexy. Oooooh... Let's welcome Jennifer to the blog everyone!!

When looking at the covers to my paranormals Touch A Dark Wolf and Lure of the Wolf, my friend Kathryn Caskie of Sexy Regency Fame, said that’s a whole lot of Dark Side of Sexy! And boy did those words resonate with me. I spent the last week on a thread at RomanceNovel.tv discussing that topic and I’m currently putting together a workshop for the Dark Side of Sexy. It’s just too funny what will strike creativity in a writer. I remember hearing years ago from a now southern mystery writer about the time she was deliberating about what sort of writer she would be. Being the wife of a pastor, everyone in her life assumed she would write in accordance to her religious upbringing, that she’d use her talents to inspire and uplift others. She had just one problem with that.

Every where she went, whether to tour a southern mansion, go to the lake, or just even cruising through a section of town, she saw in her mind’s eye, bodies. People murdered. Mysteries were her thing. So, as Kathryn said. The Dark Side of Sexy. I realized that was my thing. As Barbara Vey on Beyond Her Book Blog at www.publishersweekly.com put it. St. Giles knows her Alpha Furry Males.

My heroes more and more are going through the St. Giles 4-H litmus test. They are Hard, Hot, Heroic, and a Hell of a lot. Now I’m in no way claiming that I’ve mastered these Dark Side of Sexy Men in my mind, because nothing I envision ever comes to complete fruition onto the page, but every book does come a little bit closer. The month of Halloween is a good month for us to examine the Dark Side of Sexy. Those men who have got what it takes to face evil and win. They are Alpha, They walk the edge. But they learn how to love.

So tell me what your thoughts about the Dark Side of Sexy are and go to Romancenovel.tv and check out the Second Week of Kathryn Caskie’s Halloween treats and see what else I had to say about the Dark Side of Sexy. And don’t forget to check out all my Dark Side of Sexy and then email me at Jennifer@jenniferstgiles.com and tell me your ideas! Three cheers to Nalini for inviting me to come and share with you today and for writing kickass Dark Side of Sexy heroes too.

Happy Halloween

Jennifer St. Giles
USA Today Bestselling Author.
www.jenniferstgiles.com
www.betweenyoursheets.com

Guest Blogger: Gena Showalter!

To kick off the week of guest bloggers, we've got the fabulous and funny Gena Showalter, who is totally gorgeous and does not have hay hair. Read on to find out what I'm talking about. (Gena's also giving away a signed copy of Enslave Me Sweetly - just leave a comment to enter the draw.)

It’s a wee bit intimidating, coming here. Nalini is a brilliant, insightful, amazingly talented woman. Meanwhile, I am known for my Hay Hair, Bitch Slapping, and Gnomes. So as not to humiliate myself all the more, I'll move on to a different topic quickly. Originally, I planned to discuss my upcoming release Savor Me Slowly. Rather than do so – because I want to talk about other people’s books -- I’ll just post a short mention of what it’s about:

Mishka Le’Ace was created to be an undercover operative . . . literally. Her beautiful body has been mechanically augmented to give her superhuman strength -- strength she’s going to need. Her latest mission sends her to rescue Alien Investigation and Removal agent Jaxon Tremain from torture and death. With him, she discovers a passion unlike any other. A passion she was forbidden to know. . .

From the moment they meet in a darkened cell, Jaxon craves her touch. But the machine half of Le’Ace forces her to do things she doesn’t always want to do. Even betray him . . . and ultimately destroy him. Now Jaxon must battle the man controlling Le’Ace and even Le’Ace herself to at last claim the woman he’s come to love.

Now then. My list of Upcoming Must Have Books:

Wicked Deeds On a Winters Night by Kresley Cole. This book comes out Oct. 30^th and it is absolutely amazing! I want to live the world Kresley has created, I want to date the men, and I want to be BFF’s with the women (otherwise they would bitch slap me).

Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich by Jill Monroe. A Nov. 1^st release. I absolutely adore Jill’s sense of humor. She’s one of those authors that can have me laughing out loud and sighing dreamily when I finish the book. And baby, she writes steaming hot love scenes.

Bloodfever by Karen Moning. This is book 2 in the Fever series, due out any day now, and I am drooling for it! I must know what’s going on with Mac.I want to learn all of Jericho Barrons secrets. Anyone else lusting for this mystery man?

I just read Lover Unbound by JR Ward and found it breathtaking and phenomenal. What I’m reading now is an ARC of Demon Night by Meljean Brook and I am loving every word!

What have you recently read? What are you reading now?

What's up next week?

Here's the lowdown for next week - I am in the process of lining up an awesome week of guest bloggers for you. There will be fun, perhaps some mayhem and there might even be a giveaway or three. *grin* Who are the guests? Fabulous, fabulous people...but you'll have to come back next week to see them!

Now that I've finished teasing you, I must admit that alas, there are no links this week. I've been busy working away on a number of things. I've also been thinking about names. To really sing for me, characters have to have the right names and one particular person is driving me up the wall right now - here's all I hear as I bring out names for her selection: no, no, no and no!

Join me in my insanity - what are your favorite character names, names that just seem to "fit" the person they are?

Weekly Catchup

I'm cooking up something fun, fun, fun for you guys next week, but I'll let you know the details once they're confirmed. Check back tomorrow and I should have things sorted...oooh, what can it be?

This week, I've been playing over at the Romance Novel TV forum. I couldn't tell you I was there because I was the Mystery Author. Seriously, you guys have to go over and play this game. Each week they have a new mystery guest and the aim of the game is to unmask the author by asking them questions. Of course, the author can be as mysterious as they like *grin*

And I can't believe I forgot to link to the AAR trivia contest and mini-interview with me. I think there are still a couple of hours left to enter the draw to win a whole pile of books, so hurry!

Okay, tell me your news, plans, raves and rants about the week and upcoming weekend.

Amuse me!

How about telling some jokes today? Know any good ones? I'm the kind of person who forgets the punchline. *grin* What about you guys?

Hand Art

I was thinking about what to post today when this fwd popped into my inbox. Apparently it takes the artist 4 hours to do a hand. The double handed eagle took 10. If anyone knows the origin of these pictures, enlighten us! (Clicking on the images should get you a bigger pic.)

The artist is Guido Daniele. Thanks to Dayna for the info!

Reader Interview: Jenny Schwartzberg

Tuesday is reader interview day. If you'd like to participate (you know you want to), the details are here. Today's interviewee is Jenny, whose breakfast report is making me hungry! Yum, croissants...

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Jenny Schwartzberg and I'm a rare book librarian in Chicago, Illinois, USA. I love books, history and languages so I have the perfect job at the Newberry Library, which has books and manuscripts from the Middle Ages to the present in lots of languages: http://www.newberry.org I'm also a part-time graduate student in library school and having a blast. I'd forgotten how much I love learning....

2. Are you a hoarder or do you give your books away?

Oh a hoarder, definitely. I have books packed away and stowed in every corner. I've been collecting books since I was very young and if I ever get a place of my own with enough room to unpack them all, I probably would have 20,000 plus books on my shelves. I very reluctantly give my books away since I always think, oh, but I want to reread this! I do have to clear some space so I have to go be ruthless, groan....

3. What author might tempt you into turning stalker?

You maybe *g*. I'd love to ask you all kinds of questions about the Psy/Changeling world.... I would happily have stalked some authors who are dead, such as L. Frank Baum, L.M. Boston, and Andre Norton.

4. How susceptible are you to chocolate?

I love Teuscher's chocolate, but most chocolate isn't that great. I tend to prefer white chocolate...

5. Favorite book? Why?

You did have to ask that? There's no way I can narrow it down to one book! Romances: Slave to Sensation; Marjorie M. Liu's Tiger Eye and Shadow Touch; most of Mary Jo Putney's books, current favorites by her are The Spiral Path and The Marriage Spell; Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover, Linnea Sinclair's Finders Keepers and Accidental Goddess; Georgette Heyer's The Tollgate, etc. etc. etc. And if you wanted me to start on children's books, fantasy and science fiction, mysteries...........

6. If you knew you were going to be stuck on a desert island, what three things would you take with you?

An e-book reader with an everlasting battery so I could pack zillions of books along with me *g*, an outfit in a super-duper space fabric that would last forever and be washable, dryable, and warm or cool as needed, and some kind of toilet setup that is hygienic, green and non-smelly!! I'd put in much more but you did say three....

7. What did you eat for breakfast?

A latte with skim milk (lots of foam), 4 packets of saccharin, and a croissant. There's a bakery next to the library and I love to stop there for breakfast.

8. How many books in your current to-be-read pile?

Gah. I buy too many books.... I also have books on interlibrary loan. I have about 15 books on ILL that I need to read and return, on history of children's literature, and 40+ children's books, romances and science fiction that I will definitely get around to reading. And way too many books I think I might read someday (hundreds....).

9. Describe your idea of a perfect hero.

Hmmm. I haven't met my hero yet *g*. Ideally though he would be compassionate, intelligent, capable, not lazy, a conversationalist, a family man, and yes, able to defend his family if necessary. Personal heroes are different from romance novel heroes though! I do think your Lucas is a great hero.

p.s. Think I should add any other questions?

So what would people think was a perfect heroine??

Currently I think Sascha fits the bill.... Or Abby from Mary Jo Putney's The Marriage Spell. If you haven't read that book, go read it right now.

Extra reader submitted question(s)! Answer at will :)

* Which character in a book do you relate most with?

The heroine of course *g*. But I have to be able to empathize with most if not all of the characters to read a book. If the characters are unlikeable, I stop reading....

Angels Fall & Northern Lights - Nora Roberts

Okay peeps, you have a few more hours to ask PC any questions and enter the giveaway. I'll update this post once we've drawn the book prize. The random numbers have spoken. The winner of one copy each of Marked and Betrayed is Shari C. Email me at nalinisinghwrites @ gmail.com (without the spaces) with your addie. :)

And onto today's post!

I'm a crazy, crazy fan of Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb, but for some reason, I haven't read a lot of NR's single titles. Well, I tell you, that is going to change! Last year I loved Blue Smoke, and just recently I read Angels Fall, and really enjoyed the characters, the mystery and the small town setting.

Afterward, I read some reviews (yeah, I do it backward) and a lot of people linked Angels Fall with Northern Lights, not in the sense that they're connected stories, but because they're both set in small, isolated towns. Since I loved that about Angels Fall, I immediately grabbed Northern Lights. I'm so glad I did.

They're two very different stories, with utterly different characters - however the sense of community in them both is so strong. But what really, really got me, is the way the locations are described. Angels Fall is set in Wyoming, and Northern Lights in Alaska. After reading these books, I had just such a vivid sense of time and place for both those locations that I could almost touch them. I'm not talking about chunks of description - it's all woven in so seamlessly into the story that the locations become characters, too.

I'm now a total NR fan, no matter which pen name. Time to start going through the backlist (rubs hands in glee). If you want to check out book descriptions, have a look at the Publishers Weekly reviews on the Amazon pages for Angels Fall & Northern Lights.

What's your reaction to the same author writing different styles of books? Any favorite authors who you only read under one pen name and not the other?

Interview with PC & Kristin Cast

Today I've got something special for you - an interview with the writing team of PC & Kristin Cast, authors of the awesome House of Night series. You guys know I loved Marked (book 1), and I'm so excited to tell you that Betrayed (out now) was just as good!

PC is going to be dropping by the blog to answer any questions or comments you guys have, so hit her with them. She's also giving away a signed copy each of Marked & Betrayed. The post will be up all weekend - we'll draw the winners from the comments noon on Monday, New Zealand time, so feel free to bug PC till then!

1. How/when did the two of you decide to write together?

PC: Well, I was working on chapter 1 of MARKED and I kept screaming down the hall asking Kristin questions like, "KRISTIN! What do teenagers call being drunk?" and "KRISTIN! Is it revved or gunned an engine?" (This was her first semester in college before she moved on campus.) Somewhere in the middle of my shrieking I realized it would be way easier on both of us if she and I just co-authored. Kristin agreed - I ran the idea past my agent, and she thought it was great. And off we went.

2. I'm always curious about the technical aspects of collaboration. How do you write the books - do you do a chapter each? A scene each?

PC: When we first started writing together I would write and chapter, send it to her, then she'd rewrite and send it back to me. We're on our 4th book now and our system is much smoother. We discuss plots, conflicts, characters, etc., and then I write a draft of the book and send it to Kristin. She rewrites and sends it back to me. Sometime I call her in earlier and have her read sections and we discuss. Also, I often leave blanks in Zoey's internal dialogue and Kristin fills them in for me.

3. For PC: Is it easier or harder to collaborate with someone as close to you as your daughter?

PC: I've only had limited experience collaborating with another author (Gena Showalter and I have done some writing together - which was a very enjoyable experience), but I'd say it's much easier than I think an outsider would imagine. Kristin and I have always been very close and we're used to being honest with each other. Plus, I can beat her, which is a definite plus.

4. For Kristin: What's it like collaborating with your mother? Does she try to be the boss?

Kristin: Working with my mom is really easy, because she tends to be laid back and really wants and values my opinion. Also, I get to tell her when she sounds old and when she’s wrong (which is completely awesome!).

5. How many books in the House of Night series? Is it open-ended or closed?

Right now we're contracted for six books, but I'd call the series open-ended. I don't know how we're going to get done what we want to do in only six books.

6. I loved Marked and after reading Betrayed, all I can say is that you two are amazing! Did you know you were going to be writing a series when you began Marked?

PC: Thanks Nalini! Coming from an author I respect so much that's a wonderful compliment. When I began MARKED I was only planning two books, but St. Martin's wanted three in the original contract, which is a good thing, because no way did we get the story told in two books! Before we'd finished with the third they were already wanting three more - again, a good thing because the plot had just exploded.

7. In Betrayed, something earth-shattering happens. I want to ask you about it but I don't want to spoil it for your fans, so...do you want to make any general-will make sense after you read the book-comments about Betrayed?

PC: I'd say to trust us. We're going to make you cry, but just believe that there are some characters we love too much to actually kill off, even if it means creating a whole new species of beings.

8. What's book 3 titled and what's it about?

PC: Book three is titled CHOSEN, and it beings a month after the events of BETRAYED. It gets darker as the issues Zoey has to deal with become more serious. And keep in mind - teenagers tend to make mistakes, and Zoey is definitely a teenager.

Kristin: I think CHOSEN is amazing! It is my absolute favorite – well, so far.

9. You have amazing covers for this series. Did you have any input into that aspect of things?

We gave them a lot of input about Zoey's tattoos, which they translated into the amazing design on the cover.

10. Anything else you want to add?

PC: In October St. Martin's is launching the House of Night website,
www.houseofnightseries.com. It's going to be an interactive site, so we would love to get your feedback!

Kristin: I just want to make a general thank you to everyone for their support and emails!

(Don't forget to comment and enter the giveaway of one copy each of Marked and Betrayed!)