Guild Hunter Series Contest

If you'd like to win a signed set of the Guild Hunter series, go forth and enter this Dear Author contest (international entries ok). This doesn't included Archangel's Legion (but there'll be an ARC contest coming soon for that :-)).

Also at the same Dear Author link is a giveaway by Julie James, whose books are AWESOME, so enter that too! (All of the contests have different rules, so just look at terms and conditions to find out if it's international or not).

Have fun :-)

Julie James - About That Night

Julie James is one of my go-to authors for smart, sexy contemporary romance and About That Night was no exception. I raced through Kyle and Rylann's story - and spent much of the book with a smile on my face.

If you're looking for a great contemporary romance, definitely check out Julie's books.

Here's the blurb for About That Night:

He’s playing games.

Though Rylann Pierce tried to fight the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face-to-face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she’s stunned. More troubling to the beautiful assistant U.S. attorney is that she’s still wildly attracted to him.

But she’s making the rules.

Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn’t thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case—but when Rylann comes knocking at his door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can’t say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn’t mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won’t give up on something he wants—and what he wants is the one woman he’s never forgotten. 

You can also read an excerpt on Julie's site.

We often talk about paranormal authors on the blog - how about discussing your favorite contemporary romance authors/books today? Which authors do you love?

p.s. I know there's an issue with some of you being unable to comment - we're working on it, and hope to have it sorted soon!

Friday Book Club

It's time to talk books! 

I want to mention Julie James' A Lot Like Love, which has just been released. I was lucky enough to read it early, and absolutely loved it! Julie writes the most wonderful characters. If you like contemporary romance, definitely check this one out.

Here's the blurb. You can read an excerpt on Julie's website.

The FBI wants her cooperation.

As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city’s top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there’s only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother’s release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.

Agent McCall just wants her.

As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This “date” with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment—one they’re both determined to pull off even if they can’t be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick’s investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they’re a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more. .

Okay, your turn! What are you reading and loving this week?

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books!

Recently, I read ARCs of Julie James' A Lot Like Love and Meljean Brook's The Iron Duke. Both are fantabulous books that I loved to pieces, so keep an eye out for them! More closer to their release dates.

Talking of ARCs, you might want to make a note to drop by the blog next week. Just sayin'... :D

Okay, your turn, what've you been reading and loving this week?

Guest Author: Julie James - Something About You

Winner: Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments, and thanks Julie for the great post. I've run the random numbers and the winner of Julie's giveaway is:

Mujerluminosa

Congratulations! Please email your mailing address to nalinisinghwrites AT gmail DOT com so I can pass it on to Julie.

I'm delighted to have Julie James on the blog today! You all know how much I love her work - fun, sexy and smart, and with fantastic characters, they're wonderful reads.

Julie's not only talking about the inspiration behind her latest release, Something About You today, she's giving away a copy of the book, so don't forget to enter.

Please welcome Julie to the blog everyone!

Julie James
on
Something About You

First, I wanted to say thanks to Nalini for inviting me to guest blog! Nalini, you know I’m a big fan of your books, so I’m delighted to be here.

As both an author and a reader, I’m always fascinated by the things that inspire an author to write a particular book, those behind-the-scenes elements that fuel the original story idea. So I thought I’d share a few of the things that helped bring my recently-released book, Something About You, to life.

Noisy hotel neighbors. Alfred Hitchcock. Jason Bourne.

Quite an eclectic mix, I know. I’ll explain.

First, the noisy hotel neighbors. The idea for Something About You came to me in the middle of the night during the RWA San Francisco conference. Around 1am, the people in the hotel room next to me decided to have a party. (Not so much fun for me.) As I lay in bed, cursing the Fates (and my neighbors), an idea for a book struck me: a woman, by herself in a hotel, who is woken up in the middle of the night by strange noises coming from the room next door. Only in the book, instead of a party, those noises turn out to be the sounds of a murder.

This is where the Alfred Hitchcock influence comes in. One of my favorite Hitchcock themes is that of an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time who becomes swept up in some kind of murder/suspense intrigue. It’s a theme that works well because everyone can identify with it. We watch the movie thinking, “Hey—that could be me. What if I walked into that bar at just the wrong moment and accidentally saw X that got me in a whole load of trouble?”

Instead of a bar, in Something About You I used the aforementioned hotel room. And instead of an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s a woman. My heroine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde, is treating herself to some much-needed pampering at the luxurious Peninsula hotel when she’s awoken by noises from the room next to hers. At first the noises sound like some kind of crazy sex marathon, but then things change. . . and what Cameron ends up overhearing is a murder that involves a U.S. Senator and a call girl. Watching through her peephole, she sees a man leave the hotel room next to hers and thus becomes the sole witness to the high-profile crime. And just like in Hitchcock’s films, that’s where the trouble begins. Trouble, that is, in the form of FBI Special Agent Jack Pallas.

Okay, so this the Jason Bourne part. See, Jack, the hero of the book, is this tall, dark, and smoldering tough-guy FBI agent who can pretty much kill people with his thumb—normally the type of hero you would find in an action film or dark, edgy romantic suspense or thriller.

But not this time.

Jack is in charge of investigating the murder that Cameron overheard and—wouldn’t you know it—the two of them don’t get along. They worked together three years earlier on a case that ended badly with Jack mouthing off to the press about Cameron and consequently getting transferred to Nebraska. And if it’s not bad enough that the two of them have to work together as Jack tries to solve the crime, things get even worse when it turns out that the murderer may be after Cameron next. . .

When writing Something About You, I wanted it to be a lighter, funnier contemporary romance, like my first two novels. Sure, there’s a suspense element, but that’s just a subplot—a device that brings these two strong-willed characters who allegedly can’t stand each other together. At first I thought to myself, “You can’t put an edgy, action-hero in a light-hearted story!” But then I wondered, hmm... or can you? I realized there’s a lot of potential for humor in that scenario.

I like to think of Something About You as my “What if somebody dropped Jason Bourne into a romantic comedy?” book. Which means that my hero, FBI Special Agent Jack Pallas, is running around all dark and scowling and trying to save the day, while everyone else is cracking jokes. What’s fun about Jack is that we get to see him slowly warm up throughout the course of the book as he begins to fall for and trust the heroine.

With that, I think I’ll turn it over to you guys, and to the giveaway. Maybe you have suggestions of other books or movies that balance suspense and humor. Or you could talk about your favorite tough-guy hero. Or maybe you have a question about me or my books. One person who leaves a comment below by 8 a.m. Friday 26th March 2010 (New Zealand time) will win a copy of Something About You.

Happy reading everyone!

Link to Julie's Website

Friday Book Club

I read Julie James' Something About You this week and loved it! It's smart and sexy, and with an awesome cast of characters. Julie James is rapidly becoming one of my go-to authors for fabulous contemporary romance.

Right now, I'm reading JD Robb's Fantasy In Death and trying to figure out the howdunnit!

Okay, your turn. What're you reading and loving this week?

Friday Book Club

I'm back home via a couple of days in Hong Kong! I have so many pictures and so many cool facts to share that I've decided to inflict a few on you all every Snapshot Monday for a little while.

I did tons of reading while I was gone, including several books I've been saving up to read like Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle, Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs and Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James. All three were fantastic!

Now, your turn - what are your reading recs this week?

p.s. My in-box is overflowing, so apologies in advance for any late replies!

Countdown to Branded By Fire: 3 days to go!

Winners: And the random winners are:

Pissenlit - Touched by Light by Catherine Spangler
Katie S. - Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Congratulations!

____________

The things I do for you guys. Today, I went on a daring raid and *borrowed* Curran from Ilona Andrews' Livejournal. Under no circumstances is anyone to tell Ilona. We'll give him back...maybe *grin*

Oooh, look at those eyes.

Branded By Fire featuring another hot and brooding male, officially hits the shelves on Tuesday, woohoo!!

To celebrate the cyber-launch, today I'm giving away a copy of Touched By Light by Catherine Spangler, and a copy of Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James. We chatted about Just the Sexiest Man Alive at this Friday Book Club :)

Entry rules are the same as Monday! Leave a comment answering the day's burning question and you're in. Bring a friend or spread the word about the party and I'll give you an extra entry or entries. Also, don't forget to let me know if you've already got one of the books.

And today's burning question - well, with all this testosterone on the blog today, it can really only be this: Who do you consider the sexiest man in the world?

Friday Book Club

It's Friday book club time - all about recommending books you've enjoyed.

I've got a great rec for you today - Julie James' Just the Sexiest Man Alive. Here's the blurb:

COOL. CALM. COLLECTED.

Nothing fazes Taylor Donovan. In the courtroom she never lets the opposition see her sweat. In her personal life, she never lets any man rattle her–not even her cheating ex-fiancé. So when she’s assigned to coach People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for his role in his next big legal thriller, she refuses to fall for the Hollywood heartthrob’s charms. Even if he is the Jason Andrews.

CONFIDENT. FAMOUS. IRRESISTIBLE.

Jason Andrews is used to having women fall at his feet. When Taylor Donovan gives him the cold shoulder, he’s thrown for a loop. She’s unlike any other woman he’s ever met: uninterested in the limelight, seemingly immune to his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him. She’s the perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to realize that she may just be his perfect match. . .

It's a smart, funny, romantic book - I enjoyed every moment of it. I picked it up and raced through it in one sitting, and I'm still smiling as I write this.

You can check out an excerpt on the author's website.

Okay, your turn - what are your recommendations this week?