Did you know that the beauty of books is that they’ve got something to teach us? Come on by and tell me what you’ve learned from books lately.

And if you just happen to be in the market for something good to read, check out my books page where you can read an excerpt of Her Own Best Enemy and find out where to purchase it.

NONFICTION:

I was surprised to find that one of my community libraries had this book. Most times I come up empty-handed with craft of writing books. So, I did an inter-library-loan, and picked it up this morning. I’ve only glanced through it so far, but it looks interesting, and I’m looking forward to applying some of these techniques to my revisions.

FICTION:

I’m picking my way through this book, not because I don’t like it, but because I’m trying to focus the majority of my time and energy on my revisions. I’m still waiting for my copy of Farrah’s book, DELIVER ME, to arrive, and have made a deal with myself that the book is a reward for when I reach the halfway point on my revisions. I’d better get back to work! ;)

CHILDREN’S:

A school friend of Scienceboy’s brought this book to school for show and tell, and my son had to immediately go to the library and see if they had it. The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 5 book series about a three children who live in a creepy house inhabited by trolls, goblins, faeries, and such.

We’ve been reading them at night and we’re almost done with the first book. I’d definitely recommend them. You can visit the Spiderwick website, to learn more about them.

Okay…I told, so now it’s your turn. What are you reading?

Farrah, over the years I’ve watched you pursue your dream with steadfast determination, never wavering, and always holding to the conviction that you’d sell when it was “your time”. Your attitude has been a huge source of encouragement for me, allowing me to approach my own dream with the same deep-in-my-heart conviction that my time will come…with persistence and patience.

I am so thrilled–so incredibly proud–that I can say “your time” is here.

So, without further ado–and for those of you who aren’t Farrah :D–I give you DELIVER ME:

After being dumped by her boyfriend and passed over for yet another promotion, Monica Gardner moves to New Orleans, determined to make a name for herself as the new attending ER physician at Methodist Memorial Hospital. As for men–she’s through with them. But when given the chance to chair the hospital’s annual charity banquet, Monica must elicit the help of gorgeous Ob-gyn Elijah Holmes.

Eli will do anything to thwart his matchmaking Mama’s plan to reunite him with his high school girlfriend. So, when the sexy new ER doc asks for his help in planning this year’s charity banquet, Eli devises the perfect scheme: He’ll help put on the best banquet the hospital has ever seen, if Monica poses as his new girlfriend. But when Eli finds himself falling in love, he realizes convincing Monica of his true feelings may be his greatest delivery yet.

Available from Dorchester. Run to get this book.

Routing Number WESTERN BANK

I promise you, it’s fabulous! (Are you going yet? What are you waiting for?)

Oh, and don’t forget to drop by Farrah’s website to take a peek at her books, or visit her blog to congratulate her on her debut!

I loved this book and it got me thinking about other books

I’d read as a child that really stuck with me. So, I looked some of them up. This is the first one that popped in my mind:

 Blurb: Considered a modern-day children’s classic, Juster’s ingenious fantasy centers around a bored ten-year-old boy named Milo who travels to “The Lands Beyond” when he drives his miniature car through a mysterious tollbooth.

And then this one:

 Blurb: Everyone in town thinks Meg Murry is volatile and dull-witted, and that her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is dumb. People are also saying that their physicist father has run off and left their brilliant scientist mother. Spurred on by these rumors and an unearthly stranger, the tesseract-touting Mrs Whatsit, Meg and Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin O’Keefe embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. In doing so, they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos, one planet at a time.

And this story always stuck with me even though I’d forgotten the title and only recently “stumbled” upon it. Maybe it’s the writing element of the story, but I loved it as a young girl:

 Blurb: The Secret Everybody in Jessica’s English class makes fun of Daphne. She never says a word to anyone — just walks around with her nose in a book, with her long straggly hair hanging over her face. Now the worst thing has happened. The teacher has assigned Jessica to be partners with Daphne in the Write-A-Book contest!

But being forced to work with the class “weirdo”, Jessica gets an even bigger surprise. Not only does Daphne talk to her, but she tells Jessica a terrible secret…one that Jessica knows could be very dangerous to keep.

And of course, there’s Little Women and the entire Anne of Green Gables series. Let’s face it, I was a bookworm, so I’ve read–and loved–many books. Which ones are your childhood/young adult favorites?

t to call it. It starts with this: he does not like McDonald’s food. He loves to go to the playland, but refuses to eat, because according to him Burger King is the only place to eat chicken tenders and fries (and hamburgers are simply out of the question).

So, now, here’s where the thing comes in. My husband and I have affectionately dubbed it ‘The Hot Factor’. He will put his french fries on a napkin along with those little cups of ketchup. Then, he picks up a french fry, palms it in his hand and wraps his fingers around it (almost like he is squeezing it). The purpose of this is to check how hot it is. If it is not scalding to the perfect degree, he will put it down and never touch it again. Each fry goes through this careful inspection before it gets put in his mouth.

Strange. Weird. Silly. But it got me thinking….when it comes to books, how do you test their ‘hot factor’. And I don’ t mean in

terms of sexy. I mean in terms of absolutely, positively, captivating, must devour read. Do you stick to the tried and true authors that you love? Or, if you like to give new authors a shot, what draws you in, and what keeps you going back for more?

Oh! And, is there anything you do in your writing to ensure that your books will be someone’s ideal definition of ‘hot factor’?

Enslave Me Sweetly by Gena Showalter

She h as the he

art of a killer, and the body of an angel. . .

Eden Black walks among humans, protecting them from the murderous evil of other-worlders who abduct and enslave. And though she appears to be human herself, Eden is an alien, a Raka, distinguished by her golden hair and skin, and gifted with the ominous ability to kill without remorse – and with total accuracy. That is, until the fateful night she has one shot to eliminate her target, a human slaver – and misses. Eden Black walks among humans, protecting them from the murderous evil of other-worlders who abduct and enslave. And though she appears to be human herself, Eden is an alien, a Raka, distinguished by her golden hair and skin, and gifted with the ominous ability to kill without remorse – and with total accuracy. That is, until the fateful night she has one shot to eliminate her target, a human slaver – and misses.

“Failure” is not in Eden’s vocabulary. Neither is “partner” – but that’s what she is forcibly assigned after recovering from her disastrous mission. A sexy, steely-nerved human agent, Lucius Adaire enjoys nothing more than sparking the fury – and rousing the desire – of the fiery female assassin to proud to admit defeat. Locked in an assignment they cannot afford to lose, Lucius and Eden find themselves bound in two high-stakes, heart-pounding games: the dangerous web of kill or be killed, and the erotic dance of seduction. . .

Showalter first demonstrated her skill at blending sizzling romance and nail-biting suspense set in a convincing futuristic society in Awaken Me Darkly (2005). She now continues the roller-coaster-like adventure in an equally entertaining tale that will please a wide cross section of readers.

*Starred Review* Booklist.

Order your copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or BooksAMillion.

For more information, visit Gena’s website at http://www.genashowalter.com/ and her blog at http://www.genashowalter.blogspot.com/

Joke courtesy of my 6-year old

So, since I only have time for a super short post today….what are your favorite laugh out loud romances? OR favorite authors whose books never fail to make you laugh

?

I’ll have to think on it and give you my answer later.