Top Pick!

FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION got 4.5 stars and a Top Pick from Romantic Times Book Reviews!

Aaaaaahhhhh!

BTW, the website shows only 4 stars, but as you can see in the review itself, the actual score is 4.5:

Psychic Rose Browning finds herself swept up in an investigation into a serial killer with a predilection for young blondes. Scorned by the police when she tries to explain the "death veils" she sees covering the faces of future victims, Rose hooks up with former FBI profiler Daniel Hartman to catch the maniac before he kills again. Daniel, however, has a personal interest in the case: He believes the killer may be the same man who murdered his fiancee nine years earlier. Paula Graves offers up a top-notch psychological roller coaster in Forbidden Temptation (4.5).

I'm so excited!

UPDATED:

The RT website has now corrected the error and given me my cute little 1/2.

BTW, I'm not ignoring your comments; for some reason, my computer doesn't want to let me post to the comments section. I'm working on that.

This, that and the other...

Quick blog entry today, just so y'all won't think I've fallen off the face of the earth.

May 1st, my new book, FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION, will be available for purchase from eHarlequin.com. It'll be available in stores around June 12th--remember, series books like Intrigues don't stay on the shelves long, so buy it while it's still available. On June 12th, be sure to check here at the blog for my book launch blog party!

On Saturday, May 5, 2007, Heart of Dixie Romance Writers will be holding their annual Reader's Luncheon. There's still time to register if you hurry.

I've picked my story for my next book project, working title EXTREME PREJUDICE. The hero is an American raised in England (thus he speaks with a British accent). A former Regional Security Officer with the State Department, he's now working for a private global security firm which has sent him to work undercover as security for hire for a former State Dept. bigwig who may have terrorist ties. When he arrives at a formal dinner/ball to make contact with his target, he's shocked to find the suspect dancing with the one woman from his past he's never really gotten over. Can he set aside his feelings to accomplish his mission? Or will honor and duty fall victim to the affairs of the heart?

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to post a little more frequently now that my book deadline and tax season have passed.

So, What to Do With the Freedom?

Book Three is done. DONE. Gone to the editor and already received. Whew.

Now what?

I have a completed manuscript that I'll probably pitch next to my editor, and then it's time to buckle down and work on a proposal for another three-book series. (Actually, I'm hoping it'll turn into a multi-book series, but let's start with the first three and see how it goes).

Let me just preface what I'm about to say by saying one thing---I think my new series idea is going to be based around a security agency filled by former government agent types--CIA, DEA, FBI, Secret Service, Diplomatic Security Service, former military, etc. They have all left their government work to work for this security agency, whose mission is to do the jobs that the government can't--or won't--do.

So, with that in mind, because I'm completely open for ideas within the parameters of that set-up, what are some of the "hooks" you like most? Secret baby? Marriage of convenience? Bad boy/good girl? Bodyguard hero? Lay 'em on me.

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have Cover

Ain't he purty?

Once again, I'm pretty sure my hero was never in the rain wearing a t-shirt. But I'm so gonna write in a wet t-shirt scene in book three.

Just a reminder or two

FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION is available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble online and Books a Million online.

FORBIDDEN TERRITORY is also still available from Amazon and B & N. I think BAM is sold out.

I'm hoping to get a .jpg of my cover sometime in the next week or two. As soon as I do, I'll show it to you. :)

Meanwhile, I'm in the last stretch on FORBIDDEN TOUCH. It's coming in long (when have I ever come in short???), but I think I can trim it to a manageable size by the deadline.

Romance Magicians blog

Test your visual perception skills.

You'll thank me later.

Casting Call

So, as y'all probably remember from a previous blog post, I have already "cast" Josh Holloway as the Maddox Heller, the hero of FORBIDDEN TOUCH.

And really, is there any other person to play the role of ruthless CIA agent Alexander Quinn than my beloved Kiefer?

But I'm not sure who to cast as Iris Browning.

Here's what I know about her: She's 29-30 years old, shoulder-length dark brown hair, coffee-colored eyes, a little too slender (it's a plot point, though she's not anorexic or anything like that), and pretty without being a beauty queen type. I considered someone like Summer Glau:

But she's doesn't have quite the look I'm envisioning. But she's the general type.

Anyone have any suggestions? Art Fact Sheet time is fast approaching.

Sold Again!

Got great news from my editor this afternoon. Book three, tentatively titled FORBIDDEN TOUCH, has sold to Harlequin Intrigue. It's probably going to come out in early 2008. This is the book that has been sitting unfinished on my counter to the right for a while. But I'm close to finishing it, and I have until March 31st to deliver the complete manuscript to my editor. I think that's very doable.

It's the one with my bad boy hero I love so much--I'm glad everybody's going to get the chance to meet Maddox, too!

So, I've Been Remiss...

...in reminding everyone that JACK IS BACK!



We just finished up hour five of 24, and boy, is America in the middle of a big mess! A suitcase nuke has gone off in Valencia, CA, and there are four more undetonated nukes somewhere in America, under the control of a terrorist mastermind named Fayed. But the only guy Fayed knew who could make the detonator work got blown up by the nuke, so now he's calling every Terrorists R Us in the world, looking for a new detonator guy. It might be a little easier to find one if he didn't have to admit that the last one got incinerated in a mushroom cloud, though.

To catch up on all the 24 action, I recommend Blogs for Bauer or Dave Barry's blog, where he liveblogs 24 every Monday night.

Hey, Look What's Up on Amazon

Forbidden Temptation has its own page on Amazon.com. Which means you can preorder it.

You do want to preorder it, don't you?

Of course you do.

Conference Time!

Where can you go to learn how to write romance southern-style?

Where can you go to meet 5 editors and 3 agents?

Where can you go to listen to Beverly Barton, Gayle Wilson, and Linda Howard speak?

At Romance in the Magic City in Birmingham, Alabama!

The writers' conference will be hosted by Southern Magic on March 30, 31, and April 1, 2007.Cost: $180 to $210 (pay by snail mail or PayPal)
(early registration rate deadline coming up)

Keynote speakers: Beverly Barton, Gayle Wilson, and Linda Howard.

Agent/editor appointments available for:

Tracy Farrell, HQN
Leslie Wainger, Silhouette Books
Melanie Murray, Warner (Hachette Books)
John Scognamiglio, Kensington Books
Hilary Rubin, St. Martin's Press
Kimberly Whalen, Trident Media
Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency
Vivian Beck, Vivian Beck Agency.

Workshops presented by: Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love Snell, Rhonda Pollero, Tina Gerow, Genie Davis, Linda Winstead Jones, and many more.

First 40 attendees to send in the full amount will receive a 2006 Romance Writers of America/Avon conference bag and a chance to win a critique of a partial from Kimberly Whalen with the Trident Media Group. You will receive the bag at registration and the drawing for the critique will be held Friday night.

Special hotel rate provided atWynfrey Hotel 1000 Riverchase Galleria Birmingham,.Alabama 35244 205- 987-1600 .. .. 800- 996-3739 .. 800-.WYNFREY www.wynfrey.com

Hotel attached to Galleria with 200 stores and 11 restaurants

For more information, check out http://www.southernmagic.org/conference.html

Wow. Just....Wow.

Mary at The Bandwagon blogged her top ten books she read in 2006.

FORBIDDEN TERRITORY is number six.

Wow. I'm honored and thrilled that she liked it enough to include it in her list. Amazing!

Good News and Bad News

The good news is, my line edits for FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION came in the mail today.

The bad news is, my line edits for FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION came in the mail today.

I'm glad they're here, and my mom (who opened the package for me while I'm stuck here at my day job) said it doesn't look like a whole lot of edits, so yay!

But I guess I know how I'll be spending my long holiday weekend...

Christmas is Supposed to be Cold, Right?

It's the middle of December and we're having mild, sunny, 75 degree days here in Alabama. I mean, I've managed to resign myself to never seeing a white Christmas, but if it keeps up like this too much more, I'll be looking for the daffodils to start blooming soon.

Maybe that's why I'm really having trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year. Well, that and the fact that in my day job, I'm working on a catalog for February and March of 2007, and in my writing life, I'm working on a book set on a Caribbean island in June. And every time I tune in to the "all Christmas music" station in town, it's either a bloody commercial or it's "Jingle Bell Rock."

::sigh::

How are you trying to get into/stay in the holiday spirit this year? And is it working?

Gratuitous Fangirl Moment

So, I haven't exactly made my obsession with the return of Steve and Kayla to Days of Our Lives a secret. It's been a rocky road for our reunited soulmates, as Steve has only spotty memories of their life together and the feelings didn't come back with the handful of memories. Now, as she's recuperating from an attack that nearly killed her, he's pretending he remembers her and loves her, and she can see right through him. Things are about to come to a head.

If I had been writing the story, I'd have handled a lot of things differently. A lot of die-hard fans have almost given up.

But things are about to change...

So, if you're remotely interested, and if you don't mind knowing a taste of what's coming, here's a bit of what you'll see next Friday on Days of Our Lives:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWF9jMgFGFo

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I Am in Awe

Mary at The Bandwagon has been doing the Nano this month, and I've been watching her progress through her blog posts. Well, the woman has FINISHED her first draft. In 25 days. And from her description of it, sounds like she's got the first draft of a pretty terrific story!

Go give her your congratulations!

Heard it in a Love Song

I once wrote an entire novel around an idea generated by two lines from the Richard Marx song "Hazard":

I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound

There's also a fairly recent Trisha Yearwood song, "Georgia Rain," that just screams Silhouette Special Edition--it's about a woman who returns to her hometown years after she left to find everything different except her love for the boy she left behind. The mood is evocative and full of longing; I think it'd make a great story, but I don't write those kinds of stories.

What about you? Do songs inspire your story ideas?

A Puppy for Maggie = a Kitten for Me?

So, my mom has decided to get our three-year-old mutt Maggie her own puppy. A few weeks ago, we had to have Maggie's beloved older dog companion, Dixie, euthanized. She had advanced cancer and had reached the point where her quality of life was poor. Maggie has been depressed since, so when one of my nieces came home from school with the news that a friend's dog had had puppies, my mother got the idea of getting Maggie her own puppy to have as a companion.

Now, we need another dog like I need an extra ten pounds, but I've figured out the upside to this. Ever since I had to have my beloved Simi cat put to sleep, I've been keeping an eye out for a half-Siamese kitten, even though my mom was adamant about not having any more cats. But now that Mom's gone all googly-eyed over the idea of a new puppy, I'm SO gonna leverage that into a kitten when I find one that suits me.

June instead of August '07

Just received word from my editor that they're moving FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION up to a June 2007 release. Yay! It's only a couple of months, but that makes it a year rather than 14 months between books. Plus, I hope it means they're making room for book three on the schedule by the end of the year. (Okay, that's probably wishful thinking, but wishful thinking can be fun).

And since my birthday is in June, it's like another great birthday present two years in a row.

Southern Magic Romance Reader's Luncheon Recap

Yesterday was my local RWA chapter's Romance Reader's Luncheon. It was held at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, and we had a great time. The delightful Teresa Medeiros was our luncheon speaker, and when she finished her speech, which reminded us romance writers why we write romance, everybody was reaching for the Kleenex.

It amazes me how many romance readers are willing to travel long distances to get to have lunch with their favorite writers. Of course, Teresa was a big draw, as was our own Gayle Wilson, who is moving into single title suspense in a big way. The mind-bogglingly prolific Debra Webb was also there, reminding me just how successful a person can be when they're talented and persistent. And I was so happy to see fellow Intrigue author Kathleen Long, who came a very long way to be with us. She sat next to me at the booksigning and I so enjoyed catching up with her.

I also had a chance to exchange old memories with a fellow Banks High School graduate, DeAnn, who now writes under the pen name Giselle Carmichael . DeAnn reminded me that I had a reputation as a verious "serious" person in high school, which made me laugh, because I remember being more goofy and geeky than "serious." I guess it was the combination of shyness and good grades that made people who didn't know me well think I was serious.

I think a lot of people thought I spent all my spare time studying. I didn't. I did most of my homework during breaks and down-time at school, so when I came home, I either read or watched TV--usually my daily Gilligan's Island rerun fix. I only studied briefly the night before a test and that was it. I just had great info retention back in the day. Wish I could have some of that back now that I'm older!

I got some great books in the goody bag all the attendees received, too! Usually I get the goody bag that has all chick-lit and vampire stuff--not my preferred genres--but this time I got a couple of great-looking suspense titles, including one of Brenda Novak's newest single titles. I look forward to diving into those.

I think everyone had a really good time, and I look forward to May of 2007, when my other chapter, Heart of Dixie, holds their Reader's Luncheon in Huntsville. Karen Robards is the featured speaker.

Oh, and between now and then, there's also a little thing in Birmingham called the Romance in the Magic City conference, March 30 - April 1, 2007. It's going to be great--we already have some terrific editors and agents lined up, and lots of exciting workshops. Keynote speakers are Linda Howard, Gayle Wilson and Beverly Barton. For more information, you can download the conference brochure in .pdf format here. It will also be held at the Wynfrey Hotel.

Finally, I got my first royalty statement yesterday, and I'm happy to report that not only did I pay back my advance, but I actually made some cash in royalties. Whee! Thank you everyone who bought one of my books. And remember, if you haven't bought one, they're still available online at Amazon.com. They make great holiday gifts for the romance reader on your list! Buy now! Buy often!

:)