Guest Blog by Sharon S.

We all just love our romance covers. Why? Smexy man taffy*, duh! There are some popular trends out there when it comes to what body part appears on a cover. You can have just a head shot, which isn’t one of my favorites because I am an OMGABS kind of girl. So, a cover with just a torso or the whole man are my favorite. Jacki Burton has a contemporary romance series called Play-by-Play. Each book is about a different kind of athlete. Her latest release is a hockey story called Taking a Shot. The model on the cover is Jason Vendryes.

I had the pleasure of interviewing him on my blog and he is one of the most charming and sweet personalities you will ever meet! This is what he says about himself:

I'm an American actor and model. I've appeared on shows like The Beautiful Life: TBL, Big Lake, Bravo's Fashion Hunters, Dr. G Medical Examiner, Dog Bites Man, and Disney's Ultimate 10 as well as a few films such as the recently released W.E. On the modeling side, I've been in multiple fitness magazines, walked runway for Nike and Adidas, and shot print work for several swimwear and underwear companies.

He can also be found on the cover of Prince of Wolves by Susan Krinard, once again showing off those fabulous abs. When he isn’t working, traveling or enjoying outdoor adventures he is involved with charity work. Some of his favorites are Give Kids the World, Dreamflight, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Yes, my friends he is the whole package! He even has a sense of humor. And I will give you a tip on how to get his attention…bring sour gummy worms.

So, when it comes to man part covers. What kind do you like to see?

Go here for the original interview: http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/2012/04/sheep-interview-cover-model-jason.html

Jason Vendryes Website: http://www.jasonvendryes.com/

*Man taffy compares an alpha male to a piece of taffy. It can be hard, but once you warm it up, it becomes all soft and chewy.

Keira: Twins! I love twin romances. Are they some of your favorites too?

Amelia Grey: It seems like the first “twin” romances I read were Jude Deveraux’s Twin of Ice and Twin of Fire. Of course the heroines were the twins in her books and in my books the heroes are the twins, Iverson and Matson Brentwood. I’ve always found the idea of twins intriguing. After twenty years of writing and twenty-five books I thought it was time to do “Twin” books.

Keira: Sounds like there's trouble when you use your father's name as your nom de plume. How much trouble?

Amelia: Oh, yes, my heroine Catalina Crisp gets herself into big trouble when she starts finishing her father’s work for him. Catalina’s father is a well-known writer, but he’s a wastrel whose disappearances continuously put the family close to destitution.  She knows something drastic must change, so it is with quill in hand, that Catalina completes her father’s latest parody of Iverson and Matson Brentwood’s spectacular arrival in London.  When the story hits the newsprint, the darkly handsome Iverson is at her door, looking for her father, but of course, he finds Catalina.

When she see the dashing rogue in the flesh, for a bewildering moment, dallying with the rake seems like the perfect fictional escape—and it’s all she can do not to give into the madness of the intriguing man.

Keira: Doesn't Lord Iverson Brentwood have a sense of humor? After all Catalina wrote a parody right? *wink*

Amelia: It’s hard for Iverson to have a sense of humor about the parody because it casts a slanderous light on his mother’s good name. It suggested that his mother had an affair while married and the twins were the result of the affair and Iverson found no humor in that.

Keira: If your characters were real and you could talk to them, what would you tell them? What advice would you give?

Amelia: I would probably tell Iverson to lighten up which of course he does toward the end of the story as he falls in love with the lovely Catalina. He is a very intense man and doesn’t take lightly someone besmirching his family’s good name. I love stories in which the heroine helps to soften the bad boy hero. As for Catalina, I would have told her that she should have confessed that she had finished the story for her father the first day she met Iverson. But, I think it is human nature to put off doing something if we know it’s going to be unpleasant. I know I certainly do.

Keira: When you're not writing you are... (fill in the blank)

Amelia: I’m traveling. My husband and I love to travel to places we’ve never been before. We’ve seen most of Europe and we even spent a couple of days in St. Petersburg, Russia a few years ago. I do have to say the highlight of all the places we’ve gone is on a safari in Tanzania, Africa a couple of years ago.  We hope to tour Australia in 2013.

Keira: What do you love best about the Regency period?

Amelia: I love the time period itself because men were gentlemen and women were ladies.  The clothing is stunning and delicate with fine linen chemises, silk stockings, wispy bits of lace, brocaded gowns, and jeweled hair pieces.  I love seeing the pictures of gentlemen wearing perfectly tied neckcloths, cutaway coats, Hessian boots polished to a sexy gleam, and carrying an ivory walking stick.  I would love to ride in a glossy black barouche pulled by six white, spirited horses. I love the expansive marble floors, and wall scones that flicker candlelight in corridors that are perfect for a romantic rendezvous between an innocent young lady and a handsome gent, or star-crossed lovers. And the added touch of royalty is very intriguing to me.  We have little knowledge of the concept of a king, queen, duke, or an earl, but to me it’s fascinating.  And servants... I don’t have much knowledge of servants, but I think might enjoy having someone pick up after me—for a few days anyway.

Keira: What is the strangest manner rule you've come across in research?

Amelia: That a young lady was seldom left alone in a gentleman’s company. Even widows and married ladies needed a companion with them when they went out of the house to remain respectable. We are so free in our society that it’s sometimes difficult to relate to this strict rule. And it also makes it very hard to come up with ways for the hero and heroine to be alone so they can share a kiss or two—or more.

Keira: What are your current projects?

Amelia: I am currently finishing the second twin’s story with the title yet to be determined. Here’s a short synopsis of the next “TWIN” story:

Matson Brentwood has finally met the woman of his dreams. The lovely, red-haired Sophia Hart heats his blood like no other lady.  Her alluring countenance has stopped him dead in his tracks. But no matter how attracted he is to her, he can’t give into his desire to possess her in every way because she is the ward of the man he’s sworn to hate.

Newly arrived in London, Miss Sophia Hart is in need of a husband, but not just for herself.  She has twin, spinster aunts and one of them has decided she wants a man. Sophia agrees to help her aunt by allowing older gentlemen to call on her and then make sure Auntie spends more time in the gentleman’s company than Sophia does. But when Sophia meets the darkly handsome and intriguing Mr. Matson Brentwood, she knows that for the first time, she in danger of losing her heart.

But there’s more than just an adversarial guardian and a long list of beaus standing between Sophia and Matson. Sophia promised her dying father she would honor his lifelong plan for her as an heiress and marry a titled gentleman. Matson isn't titled so she must deny her love for him and make up to her father for costing him the love of his life.

However, Iverson Brentwood’s story comes first in A Gentleman Says "I Do" which is currently available at your favorite local or online bookstore.

I love to hear from readers. Please contact me at ameliagrey.com, ameliagrey@comcast.net, or find me on www.Facebook.com/AmeliaGreyBooks 

Buy: A Gentleman Says "I Do"

Guest Blog by Donna Del Oro, author of Sonya's Midlife Crisis

Although my novel, SONYA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS, is about a forty-two year-old woman’s marital dissolution and her emotional meltdown—told in a humorous way, I might add—the actual phrase is a misnomer, in my opinion.  Some people have multiple crises at various points in their lives. Any time we face a sudden, dramatic change in life, our emotions go into a tailspin, especially if it’s a dramatic change for the worse. Our fractured mind then searches for solutions and, perhaps much later, searches for reasons why this change came about in the first place.  After all, we all like to have a bit of control over our lives.

For example, many people experience all the symptoms of a “midlife crisis” after their children are born and reality hits them. They are no longer free to come and go as they please, no longer free to leave a dissatisfying job, and—yes, dare we say it—no longer free to leave an unhappy marriage.

Or at least not as free as they once were. In my experience, these I’m-stuck-for-the-duration revelations can knock people on their rear ends. Some people I’ve personally known have resorted to rebellious behavior, like affairs which tend to end badly. Others have switched careers, taken up a new sport or hobby, lost or gained weight, or simply abandoned their families. I’ve known a few people whose childhoods were irreparably scarred by a parent who simply fled the scene, never to return—the ultimate betrayal of trust. You don’t have to be forty to realize you’re stuck and want out, but fortunately the more mature among us “man up” and stay in there.

In Sonya’s case—SONYA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS—her husband of eighteen years is the one who bails. Her reaction, though predictable, is both sad and funny. While passing through all of the grieving stages over her loss, Sonya ultimately finds the crisis beneficial. She gradually heals by pouring her heart into expanding her mural-painting career, all the while refueling her depleted emotional reservoir with her adopted daughter and her good, male friend, Scott. What she learns, that it’s never too late to wake up and wise up, is more life affirming than what she has lost.

It’s a lesson I’ve learned, myself.

BOOK BLURB SONYA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS

Sonya Barton, an art teacher and muralist, has an emotional meltdown at a family BBQ. Her husband tells her he needs a divorce so he can marry his pregnant girlfriend. And all along, Sonya had no clue! So, how does the worst day of her life turn out to be the best thing that could ever happen to her?

Sometimes your destiny happens on the road you take to avoid it. And one forty-two year-old woman learns it’s never too late to wake up and grow up!

Buy: SONYA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS

Excerpt from SONYA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS

Chapter One

“I need a divorce,” said Earl, “So I can marry my girlfriend. She’s pregnant.” He added in a rush, “See, it takes six months and she’s going to have the baby in about six months.”

“What?” I asked, spearing another hotdog with my barbecue fork. Not a funny joke, I decided, impatient to get all the hotdogs done before the buns burned to a crisp. The smoke was burning my eyes, so I turned away from both my husband and the grill. I rubbed my eyes on my arm and made a kind of gagging sound.

“Uh, I need a divorce…so I can, uh, marry my girlfriend.”

This time he was hesitant.

My husband stood there, wavering back and forth, a near empty bottle of beer in his hand. His face looked silly and boyish, like he’d been stuck in adolescence for twenty years. Of course, isn’t that what had appealed to me seventeen years ago? His bleached blond hair stood up in short spikes like an aging, wannabe surfer dude.

“Very funny, Earl. Get the barbeque sauce from that table for me, would you please? I need to add a little more to these hamburgers.”

It was the family reunion, a thirty-sixth birthday party for Earl’s younger brother, Scott. Earl was forty-eight going on fourteen, and as usual, was the life of the party.

That is, until he walked over to me with that strange look on his face. I wiped my forehead with my arm, feeling the heat of the grill strike me in aromatic waves, not in the mood for any of Earl’s horseplay or practical jokes. The party preparations had exhausted me, but Scott was a special brother-in-law. He was my friend.

“Sonya, you don’t understand. I’m not joking. I need a divorce.” Earl looked around at the relatives standing near the grill, waiting for their dinner, and lowered his voice. “I hate to break the news here and now, but Jennifer said the best place to do it would be a public place. Guess this is about as public as you can get.” He chuckled and threw his head back as he downed the rest of the bottle.

Was he drunk, I wondered, or was I? Did I hear him correctly or was the heat and smoke affecting my hearing? I looked up at him and stared. Sure, Earl was drunk or at least on a loud buzz, but his expression was serious. Just then, Scott approached the grill. Evidently, he’d overheard what Earl had just said.

“What’s the matter with you, you idiot? This isn’t the time or place for chrissakes.”

Like an automaton, my head swiveled and my eyes met Scott’s. My brother-in-law, the man I most admired and liked in Earl’s big, sprawling, fun-loving and raucous family, looked at me with blue eyes filled with shame and humiliation. And anger.

Was it true? What Earl was saying?

My throat burned and clogged. I couldn’t speak for a full minute. If Scott was looking at me in that way, then he knew something I didn’t. Somehow I eked out the words, “W-who’s Jennifer?”

Earl’s head dropped, his eyes raking the ground like a kid who’d been caught stealing from the emergency-money jar. Like all the times he’d disappointed me in the past, all the minor and major infractions of marital trust he’d committed over the years. He’d hang his head like a little boy and expect forgiveness. Like I owed him. Like the world owed him. Sure, he was drop-dead gorgeous, a dead ringer for Brad Pitt and the Bartons’ Golden Boy, but this time he’d gone too far.

“S-she’s my…uh…girlfriend.”

After that, something exploded in my mind. I recall seeing colors, like fireworks shooting off in my head—red, yellow, orange, Pepto pink, then finally—mercifully—black.

What happened was the strangest thing. I’d later call it my nervous breakdown. It was like my mind left my body and watched from above as this woman in a two-piece swim suit, wielding a long-handled fork, chased a man in shorts around a pool. During the chase, somehow the grill ended up in the pool, Earl made a big belly splash, joining the floating hotdogs and soggy buns. People reached the crazy woman in the swim suit and held her down. Scott pulled Earl out of the pool and dragged him out of the backyard in a headlock. The mad woman screamed, then went limp.

Floating above the fracas, I watched as Earl’s two other brothers carried her inside the house, my feelings aroused more by curiosity than by concern. I do recall thinking why that woman was being so mean? Hey, maybe she deserved it if she’s so crazy. Maybe she brought it upon herself. Mostly, I was detached emotionally. Like I was watching a French farce from the rear of the second balcony. Or like watching a train wreck from a safe distance. Strangely comical and yet terrible.

When I came back into my body—I don’t know how much later— I was lying in my darkened bedroom. All the shutters were closed, the only sound was the ceiling fan which whirred softly. Two shadowy bodies lingered nearby. My eyes began to focus. Earl’s younger sister, Connie—the baby of the family—and her husband were sitting at the end of the bed, looking worried. The patio area was quiet, the house as silent as a morgue.

“Omigod, did I kill someone?” I asked, trying to swallow back a sob. I suddenly had an image of me wielding the BBQ fork like a knife, sharp prongs slashing downward. But there were no police officers standing nearby with handcuffs dangling from their belts.

I looked at my hands. No blood.

Owen Bronski, Connie’s accountant-husband, attempted a small, reassuring smile.

“No, but you went a little nuts for a while. We couldn’t get the fork out of the wood post, it’s buried so deep. Sorry about that, but maybe you can hang a pot from it and no one will notice. Anyway, it missed Earl’s back by a long shot. That was when he took a dive into the pool. You were going to go in after him, but we grabbed you.”

“We got all the food out,” Connie offered, patting the bedspread sympathetically, “Fed the dog the hamburgers, too. They floated pretty well and we managed to save all the hotdogs. The kids thought it was a game, so don’t worry about them. We told them, you know Uncle Earl, he’s a cutup. And Aunt Sonya’s just pretending. Then when you passed out, we told them you got heatstroke. Not a far cry from the truth, is it? It got to the mid-nineties, can you believe it? What a scorcher for June! Especially for the Bay Area.”

Connie was talking so fast, she reminded me of a windup action figure. I kept waiting for her battery to run down, then I realized she was nervous. Did she think I would attack her, too? I wondered, horrified at myself. I was usually calm and rational. Did I have a psychotic break and turn into a homicidal maniac?

Inside, I was calm. No, numb. It was a bizarre state, I thought, considering I’d just tried to stab my husband with a barbecue fork. But there I was. Absolutely numb.

“Anyway, everyone ate while Scott drove Earl to her—well, to a friend’s house. Then Scott came back to blow out the candles on his cake, the cake you decorated for him. He really liked the scuba-dive theme. He’s been waiting in the living room ever since.” Connie was wringing her hands. “I hope those pills I gave you will help. I’m so sorry for this whole mess.”

“I don’t understand.” Tears began to stream, unbidden and unwelcomed. I’d never been a weeper, always the stoic, strong one. I’d learned to suck it in since I’d been married to Earl. I could take anything, but humiliation of the public kind cut me deeply. To the very core of my being. Pills? Connie gave me pills? I didn’t remember taking them.

“I don’t understand,” I repeated, like my vocal chords were stuck on that phrase.

I must’ve slept for a while, knocked out by Connie’s pills, because my head was foggy and leaden. I felt like I was in a bad dream, and if I held still long enough, I’d wake up and everything would be as it was before. Closing my eyes, I said a prayer to God: Please let things go back to the way they used to be. Please. I can’t deal with this. I don’t want to deal with this. Not now, not ever.

I opened my eyes. The room was still dim and Connie still looked stricken and nervous. God, did I look like the head-spinning girl from The Exorcist?

“Did you know about Earl and that-that girl?” I asked, summoning the nerve to face the wreckage of my marriage.

Connie couldn’t hide the guilty blush that colored her face. “I suspected, Sonya. Betty at work said she saw them together at the movies one night. That was the week you were visiting your family in Texas. During your spring break. But I think he started acting more than his usual strange self around Christmastime. Scott tried to make him end it, but you know Earl. He’s foolish and selfish—”

She broke off as though she suddenly felt like a traitor to her blood. Owen shrugged in agreement. Yep, everyone knew Earl and they knew what our seventeen years of marriage had been like. Yet, I loved Earl with all his human failings, just as I had thought he loved me in spite of mine.

Owen pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. “I think it all goes back to his business failing. He loved being the boss, y’know. The bankruptcy hit him hard. When he was back to being a contractor’s foreman again instead of the head honcho, I think it did something to him. His self-esteem, y’know. His self-respect.”

Yes, that was it, I thought, clutching onto a straw of insight. Anything to avoid admitting to myself that it was my fault Earl had turned to another woman. But was it really that simple? Or had something been missing from our marriage for a long time and I was just too preoccupied to notice?

Still, seventeen years of marriage was a long time. Didn’t the average American move every five years? Wasn’t the divorce rate among Americans like fifty percent? Weren’t we a restless nation, always looking for something better on the next horizon? Wasn’t it always greener on the other side of the fence?

“B-but he said he liked his job,” I suggested, desperate to understand what went wrong. “He seemed happy.”

The last part was lame, even I had to admit. Earl was always the family clown, the joker. If I, his wife of seventeen years, couldn’t see beneath his mask of mirth, what did it say about me and our relationship? Connie, closest to her brother in the Barton clan of six siblings, had sensed something was different. Earl had fallen in love with another woman, evidently, and I was just one big cliché—the wife was the last one to find out.

“Y’know Earl,” continued Owen, “he puts up a good front. Always has, as long as I’ve known him.”

“But how does having an affair and getting another woman…pregnant”—saying it was like getting peanut butter off the roof of my mouth—”how does that solve his self-esteem problem?”

Both Owen and Connie looked at each other, then back at me like duh…if I couldn’t figure that one out, then I was totally clueless.

While dabbing at my wet cheeks with the edge of the sheet, I grew silent. They knew something about Earl that I didn’t, obviously. They had the key to his soul or heart. They understood him, I didn’t. Maybe I didn’t understand men, period.

Yes, that was it. I’d lost all understanding of men. Or maybe I’d never understood what made a man tick. Relationships had always been secondary to my greatest passion—art. That’s just how I was made. I resolved that would change. Just as soon as I had this nervous breakdown over and done with, I’d start to learn what made a man tick. What made him want to leave his loyal, faithful wife of seventeen years for another woman. What made him want to start a whole new family and have a baby at forty-eight.

Then maybe I’d learn enough to win him back.

Yes, just as soon as I finished falling apart and going crazy, I’d study that. Maybe the answers were right there, but I was just too much in shock at the moment to see them.

I sank back into the covers and buried my face in the pillow, my eyes closed tightly. The dark room was comforting, the silence even more so. Thank goodness it was the beginning of summer vacation. No lesson plans to make, no student art work to grade, no parents to call. My daughter, Evita—rather, my sister’s daughter that Earl and I had raised as our own—was doing an internship with State Senator Villalobos in Sacramento.

Evita! What would she think? What would she think of Earl, the only father she’d ever known? Already I was feeling her pain, her disappointment.

Nevertheless, a part of my practical brain took note. I had over two months—until September—to have a nervous breakdown, study the problem and win back Earl. Make it up to the Barton family for somehow failing one of their sons. Make it up to Evita for driving her substitute father away.

“We’ll stay for a while longer, hon. Just until you feel better,” Connie said softly.

Feel better? Mostly what I felt was numb. In shock, kind of numb. My mind was working, though, churning through the problem, looking for a quick solution. There was one out there, I was sure of it. I just had to withdraw from the world for a bit.

Maybe for more than a bit. Maybe for the rest of my life.

The world intruded again five minutes later. Owen and Connie were replaced by Scott, the birthday boy. My friend.

“Sonya.” He camped on the edge of Earl’s and my kingsize bed. He nudged my foot, then my shoulder. I was buried in my blanket-cave, thinking I might hibernate there all summer.

“C’mon, Sonador. Little dreamer, talk to me.”

Scott was the only Barton who called me by my full Christian name, Spanish for “dreamer”. My parents, third-generation Mexican-Americans born and raised in Texas, thought it a romantic name for a girl. The only dreamy part of me was thinking thirty years ago that I could become a great painter. Instead, I became a high school art teacher—a career I loved, mind you, but quite a bit lower on the prestige level than a Rubens, Monet or even a Diego Rivera or Frida Kahlo.

“Go away, Scott.”

“Let’s talk.”

“No.”

The entire Barton family made their living by talking, it seemed. For them, it was a competitive sport. Scott wasn’t a successful owner/broker of a realty firm for nothing. The guy could never take no for an answer. He could cajole an adamant “No!” into a “Maybe…well, yes!” in two-minutes flat.

This time, however, was different. He knew I could be as stubborn as he was persistent. I was a rational, sane person most of the time, but not today. Today my tempermental side, usually well restrained, had erupted. That poolside explosion might have been just a prelude.

“I really liked the cake you had made. The scuba diver, all the undersea creatures, the wreck. I know you designed it—it was terrific and I loved it. Glad it didn’t end up in the pool. Tasted good, too. You know, I really like banana filling. Thanks, Sonya. For the party, too.”

In spite of myself, I managed to smile. From underneath the covers, I mumbled, “I’m sorry, Scott. Earl ruined your party. Guess I did, too.”

There was a moment of silence. Another pat on the shoulder.

“Earl has that knack, doesn’t he? Listen, it’s best if Earl doesn’t come around for a while. You need to do what you need to do to come to your senses and move on with your life. Earl—well, dammit, Sonya, we both know Earl’s beyond hope. He’ll do what he damn well pleases. You know it and I know it. Mom and Dad feel bad about it, feel bad for you, but you know how they’ve been with him. He’s the oldest, their first-born, the golden boy. In their eyes, he’s never going to do anything wrong. They’ve excused him all his life, so nothing’s going to change now.”

I thought I heard a big sigh following Scott’s resigned, resentful tirade. But Scott was right. I could expect no help from Mom and Dad Barton. The entire clan would close around Earl like a protective Marine platoon. All except maybe Scott.

“I’m going to spend the night in your guest room, Sonya. If you need anything, call me, but I’m not letting you stay alone tonight. Got that? At some point, you’ll realize you’ve got to move on with your life. But for now, you just need to rest.”

Move on with my life? Is that what Scott just said? How can I move on when I’d just died? Or something had died. It certainly felt like something or someone had died. I felt like it was me—and I was attending my own funeral. And Scott was my only mourner.

I said nothing. The silence wore on. I felt another pat on my shoulder—more of a pitying caress—then the bed raised. The door to our—my—bedroom closed, leaving me to my tormented thoughts. Fear. Guilt. Shame. Rage. They were all there, crouching like demons inside my skull. Waiting to pounce when the numbness wore off.

Nuts to that, I thought.

I rolled over, saw Connie’s bottle of pills on the bedside table, took one and then plunged back into my cave. Counting down from twenty, I got as far as eight…then blissful nothing.

Buy: SONYA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS

Guest Post by Carla F.

GLBT romances are becoming more and more popular. I love reading them! They fall into as many categories as the m/f romances (Contemporary, Regency, Paranormal, etc.) so there is something for everyone. Below is the list (in alphabetical order) of my favorites.

1. Bad Boyfriend - K. A. Mitchell - After Quinn Maloney is dumped by his closeted boyfriend of ten years, he decides to approach a twink in a club and ask him to accompany him to the christening of his ex-boyfriend’s baby. Eli Wright turns out to be much more than just a date. Mitchell is a solid writer whose books always contain such great characters.
2. Dance with Me - Heidi Cullinan - Ex semi-pro football player Ed Maurer and dance instructor Laurie Parker have conflict over the separate classes they are teaching at the community center. In a bargain, Ed agrees to be the assistant in Laurie’s ballroom dancing class. Ed’s neck injury and Laurie’s pressure from friends and family to perform on stage once again cause problems in their relationship.
3. Death of a Pirate King - Josh Lanyon - I couldn’t make a list of GLBT romances without including Josh Lanyon. Death of a Pirate King is the fourth book of his Adrien English series. Adrien and his closeted-ex Jake have been broken up for two years, but are thrown back together when Adrien sits next to a man at a dinner party who dies while at the table.
4. Fair Game - Josh Lanyon - In this one Lanyon also writes about estranged lovers and an investigation. Elliot Mills, a former FBI agent but now a professor, is asked by a student’s parents to investigate the disappearance of their son. Elliot’s ex, Lance Tucker, is the FBI agent assigned to the case.
5. Frat Boy and Toppy - Anne Tenino - He always thought that he was straight, but Brad is slowly realizing that he is indeed gay and is extremely attracted to Sebastian, the teaching assistant for his history class.  This one had me laughing out loud because of Brad’s thoughts as he processes his real sexual orientation, his coming out to his family and friends, and his clumsy attempts to get Sebastian’s attention.
6. Handle with Care - Josephine Myles - This one has a one has a diabetic hero who is on home dialysis and is waiting for a kidney and pancreas transplant. He finds himself attracted to the purple-haired skateboarder who delivers his regular orders of DVD porn.
7. Moving in Rhythm - Dev Bentham - Mark Apostolos is cripplingly shy and cannot find the words when he is speaking to strangers. In fact, he tends to avoid people whenever possible. (He even teaches online courses.) When he accompanies his pregnant sister-in-law to dance class, the handsome instructor, Seth Miller, makes Mark want to overcome his shyness.
8. Muscling Through - J. L. Merrow - This is a funny and sweet book about a man, Al Fletcher, with a low IQ who falls in love with a Cambridge art professor, Lawrence Morton. I like that the story is told through the eyes of Al.
9. Pricks and Pragmatism - J. L. Merrow - Luke Corbin is an English student who like many students doesn’t have a lot of money. He trades sexual favors with rich men in order to keep a roof over his head. When Luke’s latest throws him out for another man, Luke’s friend gets him a place to stay at Russell’s house. Russell is not rich and he is a total nerd. He is also saving himself for someone special.
10. Regularly Scheduled Life  - K. A. Mitchell - I reviewed this one here.
11. Retreat From Love - Samantha Kane - This one, a part of the Brothers in Arms series, is a ménage a trois story of Frederick Thorne, Duke of Ashland, and his love for wounded soldier Brett Haversham. Freddy finds out that Brett is in love with Anne Goode who was Freddy’s first love. Since Brett resists Freddy’s attempts at seduction, Freddy decides to push Brett and Anne together.
12. Scrap Metal - Harper Fox - Since the death of his brother and mother, Nichol has come home to help his grandfather on the sheep farm. They are close to losing it because of debts. One night Nichol catches a man, Cam, breaking into his barn. Everything starts to change. The amazing thing about this story is that the cold, wet, sheep farm and surrounding area become a third person in the story.
13. Stolen Summer - S. A. Meade - Evan Harrison and Colin Williams’s relationship turns from best friends to lovers right before Evan goes off to Pakistan on a journalism assignment. There he is taken hostage. Once he is freed he has trouble dealing with what he went through, and it threatens his and Colin’s relationship.
14. Strawberries for Dessert - Marie Sexton - This was the first GLBT romance that I read. Accountant Jonathan agrees to a blind date with globe-trotting twink Cole Fenton. After a disastrous first date, they try again and eventually decide to enter into a casual relationship and get together whenever Cole is in town.
15. The Only Gold - Tamara Allen - In late 19th century New York Jonah Woolner is angry and disappointed to be passed over for promotion by newcomer Reid Hylliard. Jonah is sure that Reid’s methods will cause problems for the bank, and Reid’s attempts to be friends with Jonah don’t work.

Do you have a favorite GLBT book?

Photo Credits: Nephelim (www.nerobizzarro.com)

Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Book 2, the “Amoveo Legend”

Kerry Smithson is a model and we see her helping her girlfriend, Samantha, get ready for her wedding. After the ceremony, the groom’s (Malcolm’s) friend Dante asks Kerry to dance. And then he makes her a promise. He’s not like any other man you’ve ever met before.

This story is going to take us on an interesting ride. All we can do is sit back and get comfortable and let Sara guide us through the adventures with Kerry and Dante. Their adventure begins in New Orleans. They have a connection that Dante is aware of but Kerry hasn’t figured it out yet. And the adventure is not all - danger is following Kerry. Plus they’re so hot together.

Dante then explains to Kerry what she really is. As you read, Sara has a way of telling the story of the Amoveo. Sara’s storytelling made it so that I didn’t want to put the book down. Everything follows a natural progression. Nothing is rushed - not the evil of the piece or their desire for each other. Evil has a name and it’s “the Punisher”. Once you read this story, you will find out where they got their name from.

I missed out on reading Samantha’s story but after reading Kerry’s, I have to go back and read the first book of the “Amoveo Legend”. It will also get me ready for the November release of “Untamed”. I can’t wait to see what Sara has in store for her readers next.

If you’re a person that likes to listen to music as you read, might I suggest that you listen to some nice smooth jazz. If jazz isn’t your thing, you could listen to the blues. There’s even zydeco to listen to. You may even want to check out some famous musicians that came from New Orleans. One man that comes to mind is Louis Armstrong.

You’ve started to get your mood set. You have the book, you’ve put on the music and now you need something to treat yourself with. You might try a beignets or maybe a praline for the sweet tooth. Now you need your drink. Let me suggest either a mimosa or a hurricane. Maybe you would prefer a coffee with your beignet. Now sit back and enjoy a great story.

Rating:

Buy: Untouched (The Amoveo Legend)

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Reviewed by Carla F.

Summary: When she accidentally finds among her new husband’s things a party invitation with a lewd illustration on the back and the words, “Get Thee to The Nunnery”, Lady Helena Harteford recognizes it as the name of a brothel. She knows that Nicholas plans to go to that party. After all, since their disastrous wedding night, he hasn’t come to her bed. She decides to don a mask and go to the brothel to beg her husband not to take a whore. If he does, it will break her heart.

Nicholas decides to go to a brothel because he doesn’t want to subject his lovely, innocent wife to anymore of his carnal desires. He knows that if she knew of his past that she would be shocked, appalled, and would wish she had never married him.

Things don’t always turn out the way you expect...

Review: I devoured this book in a couple of hours! I just love how Helena and Nicholas fancy each other like mad, but suffer so much from their own insecurities. They both believe their spouse is is ashamed of him/her. It takes them a long time to get past this and accept themselves. I also liked how Helena (even though she is shy) later on decides to take charge and seduce her own husband.

The mystery involving Nicolas’s background is one that keeps the reader’s interest. You want to know who the villain is.

One thing that I couldn’t believe: The part where Helena goes back to the whore house as the masked lady and sends a note to Nicholas to come visit her there. Even though he doesn’t know who she really is, he shows up, beds her, and pays her!

Recommended: If you love a story with a heroine who is a wallflower with a backbone of steel or a damaged hero then you will love this one too.

Rating:

Buy: Her Husband's Harlot (Mayhem in Mayfair #1)

Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

This is book 19 of the “Virgin River” series.

Single mother, Nora Crane, is a newcomer to Virgin River. She has two small daughters and she’s looking for work. Robyn first introduced us to Nora in Book 16, Bring Me Home for Christmas. Tom Cavanaugh is looking for help at his apple orchard. Nora’s a woman that landed in Virgin River with hardly anything. Having read a couple of the other of “Virgin River” books, I think she’ll fit right in.

As Robyn continues this series, we get to know more about its inhabitants. She makes the town come so alive you just want to move there. The town is small that enough that everyone cares about everyone else. They are willing to give anyone a helping hand.

As Reverend Noah Kincaid, Forbidden Falls (Book 9), drives Nora out to the orchard you can almost picture the scene as part of the series The Waltons. I could picture Richard Thomas behind the wheel. Who do you think would be the perfect Ellie?

Maxie Cavanaugh is Tom’s grandmother and one hot pistol. I could picture Ellen Corby playing Maxie. Nora gets a hint of how Maxie ended up at the orchard and it sounds familiar. We see Nora grow as a person as the story progresses. Her upbringing affects her behavior but being around the good people of Virgin River has helped her come out of her shell.

Robyn is always very good about how she describes her scenes. You can picture everything as if you are a part of what’s going on. The reader is a participant instead of an onlooker. That’s one reason for being a fan of the series.

Tom has an old friend, Darla, who has come to visit for the weekend. At the time, she looks like she would be perfect for Tom but will she? Even though Tom and Nora are only at the friend stage, I feel like he’s cheating on her. We will have to finish the story to find out how everything works out. It shows how Robyn is so good at creating her characters.

We also get reacquainted with a few of Robyn’s couples that have appeared in previous books. There is Jack and Mel who started it all in Deep in the Valley (Book 1), then Luke and Shelby whose story was in Temptation Ridge (Book 6), and then Colin and Jillian that we met in Wild Man Creek (Book 14). The military also has a part in Robyn’s story line.

Verdict: This is a book that you’ll not want to put down until you finish reading it. Robyn once again does not disappoint her fans. Book 20, “My Kind of Christmas”, will not be out until November so it will give you plenty of time to catch up or at least read the books that go with the other couples we see in this book.

Rating:

Buy: Sunrise Point (Virgin River)

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Guest Post by Alina Adams, author of When a Man Loves a Woman

In 1998, I wrote a non-fiction coffee-table book, “Inside Figure Skating,” where I interviewed ABC-TV’s multi-Emmy award winning director, Doug Wilson.

Doug told me about directing Brian Boitano’s Long Program during the 1988 Olympics.  He’d been all set to open with a shot of the skater from across the arena.  But, at the last second, that camera malfunctioned, and Doug had to improvise on the fly, going, instead, for a tight shot of Brian’s dramatic head-turn on the first beat of music – which became, ultimately, the iconic image of that routine.

“Which just goes to show you,” Doug advised me.  “If you work hard and plan, there’s just no telling… how lucky you can get.”

I’ve followed Doug’s counsel ever since.

It’s not that I haven’t worked and planned when it came to my chosen career.  But, I’m the first to admit that I owe a majority of my success to luck.

In December of 2001, I wrote a book for Berkley on figure skater Sarah Hughes – my editor and I thought she had a decent shot of winning the Bronze at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

In February 2002 (after barely squeaking onto the US Team in a real nail-biting – for me, anyway; don’t know about her – National Championships), Sarah won the Gold.

The book went into a second, and then a third printing.

I told everyone it was the luckiest thing that would ever happen to me.

I was wrong.

In 2005, while working for Procter & Gamble Production and their two soap operas, As the World Turns and Guiding Light, I pitched the idea of writing a tie-in novel that would be sold on the show – and in real life.

“Oakdale Confidential” was published in conjunction with ATWT’s 50^th Anniversary in April of 2006.  And debuted at #3 on “The New York Times” best-seller list.

That, surely, was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me… so far.

Because, while luck is an awesome, wonderful, terrific thing, I can’t just sit around waiting for it to strike again.  (Especially in case I’ve already used up my designated lifetime quota.)

I also need to, like Doug said, work hard and plan (chance does favor a prepared mind, after all, according to Louis Pasteur)… and I need to think, too.

I need to think about what I can do to make my own luck.

As far as I’ve been able to figure out so far, the key thing my success with the Sarah Hughes and the As the World Turns books had in common was my anticipating the curve and creating a product before there was an understood need for it.

In 2001, Sarah Hughes was not expected to win the Olympics.  In 2005, a novel to tie in with a show’s anniversary was a unique thing.

In 2012, I’m talking a similar creative leap without a net.  In 2012, I have regained the rights to all of my previously published works, and I am turning them into enhanced e-books.  At a time when a majority of readers aren’t even sure what those are, exactly.

For my Figure Skating Mystery series, “Murder on Ice,” “On Thin Ice,” “Axel of Evil,” “Death Drop,” and “Skate Crime,” I have partnered with The Ice Theatre of New York and am using their video library to demonstrate what my character look like actually skating.  Each of the enhanced multimedia editions features all the text of the original paperback release, along with professional skating footage embedded as part of the plot.

For my romance novel, “When a Man Loves a Woman” (recently voted one of the Top 1000 romances of all time by RomanceNovels.me), I have added a musical score, so that you can read the story, then click a link to listen to songs that either comment on or compliment what’s happening.

Finally, based on another project I developed for Procter & Gamble Productions, http://www.AnotherWorldToday.com, I am launching something particularly risky, with the potential to more or less derail my entire writing career.

“Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga” is a book I plan to write along with my readers.  Volume One is out now on Amazon.  At the end, there is a link to where readers can go to offer their opinions on what should happen next.  I will take their input, weigh it, and then incorporate it into Volume Two.  And so on.  And so on.  And so on.

In a nutshell, you tell me what to write, and I will do my best to please all of the people all of the time (which, from my many years of working in soap operas, I can already tell you, going in, is an impossible task).

Even more seemingly impossible is the task I’ve set for myself of writing a book a month.

Yes, I’m a fast writer.  I produced “Oakdale Confidential” in about six weeks, “Sarah Hughes: Skating to the Stars” in four, and with www.AnotherWorldToday.com I’ve been writing about 7000 words a week, non-stop for three years now.

But, a book is something different.  Readers expect a certain amount of quality in a book, that I hope I can deliver on this insane schedule I’ve set for myself.

Make sure you e-mail me at AlinaAdams@gmail.com let me know how I’m doing.

And wish me luck!

Bio: Alina Adams is the New York Times’ best selling author of soap opera tie-ins, figure skating mysteries, and romances, including Annie's Wild Ride and When a Man Loves a Woman.  Her latest project is Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga.  In addition to turning her own backlist into enhanced e-books, she has produced enhanced e-books for others, including Dan Elish, whose middle-grade fantasy novel, The Worldwide Dessert Contest, now includes its own original musical score.  Learn more at http://www.AlinaAdamsMedia.com

Buy: When a Man Loves a Woman

Guest blog by Pembroke Sinclair, author of the Weeping Bride

I write several different genres. I’ve written Westerns, sci fi, fantasy, horror, and even nonfiction. By far, my favorite genres are sci fi, fantasy, and horror. But I don’t shy away from a challenge, and I thought I’d try my hand at romance.

I don’t write romance with a capital R. That genre is way out of my league. The amount of stories I’ve read in that genre I can count on one hand. It’s not my favorite, and those that write the genre have pretty much cornered the market. Still, it was something that interested me, and I had a story rattling around in my brain, so I thought I’d give it a try.

The first story I wrote was published in an obscure magazine, and it wasn’t very good. Then, I was asked to do one for an anthology. It was a paranormal romance with dark undertones, so I thought, “What the heck?” Hence “The Weeping Bride” was created.

Order link: http://www.etreasurespublishing.com/products/The-Weeping-Bride-by-Pembroke-Sinclair.html

Scorned at her own wedding, The Weeping Bride has vowed to make every bride from her hometown miserable until she finds her own happiness. When the groom at a friend's wedding disappears, Melanie and Tyler must solve the mystery of the Bride to save him. Time is not on their side. Will they find him before The Weeping Bride's revenge is satiated?

The goal of any of my writing is to figure out how people react to their surroundings, whether it be fighting zombies or zooming around space. For me, love and romance was just another setting for the characters to react to. Even though it’s not my first choice of genre, and I probably don’t do it justice, they are still fun to write!

Bio: I have had several short stories published in various places.  My story, “Sohei,” was named one of the Best Stories of 2008 by The Cynic Online Magazine.  I have novellas and a short story collection forthcoming from Musa Publishing and eTreasures Publishing.  I have two novels, Coming From Nowhere (adult, sci fi) and Life After The Undead (YA, horror), that are available from eTreasures Publishing, as well as Death to the Undead (YA, sequel to Life After The Undead), which is forthcoming.  Life After The Undead was a Top Ten Finisher in the Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll in the YA category and the cover art category.

Under my real name, Jessica Robinson, from March 2008 to January 2011, I wrote scientific articles for Western Farmer-Stockman.  I have a nonfiction book, Life Lessons from Slasher Films, scheduled for release in July 2012 from Scarecrow Publishing (an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield).

I have my Master’s in English, and I am a freelance content editor for Musa Publishing, as well as a content and line editor for eTreasures Publishing.

Summary: 13 Districts rebelled against the Capitol; 1 was crush, and 12 were forced into submission. The new treaty required that the remaining 12 offer annual tribute to the Capitol each year as penance for their wrongs. The tributes are their kids – 1 boy, 1 girl – destined to fight to the death on live TV as if it were a reality TV show. There can only be 1 victor. We open to the start of the 74th Hunger Games and this time the tributes from district 12 defy all the odds and start a revolution.

Likes: Basically everything. Movie was on fire!

• Jennifer Lawrence – Perfect as Katniss. She really pulls you into her emotions onscreen. The all over body trembling just before going up into the arena? Wow.
• Josh Hutcherson – I honestly didn’t think he could pull it off. I like him as an actor but he usually plays the bratty teenage boy. As Peeta though, whew, fans face. I need more Peeta. Let’s leave it at that. Hot.
• Liam Hemsworth – Is seriously gorgeous. Katniss has a tough decision to make with him in the picture. I like the cutaways to see some of Gale’s reactions during the games. They are well done.

Conclusion? I want to own the movie so I can watch it on repeat. It was so good I ran out to read the trilogy. (Also really good, by the way.) I can’t wait for Catching Fire in theaters!

Rating:

Buy: The Hunger Games

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