Alison Kent's Blah Blog

First of all, I won’t be drawing names for the the giveaways until tomorrow – meaning you still have time to win! Scroll down to the posts from July 23rd and July 24th for all the details, then scroll back up for the individual giveaway posts.

Next, if you haven’t been by Access Romance today, I blogged there and posted several photos I took at the RWA literacy signing (where I believe $60K+ was raised; not too shabby)! Oh, and I had a chance to talk after the signing with Sarah McCarty who shared some fabulous publishing news with me. Such a doll! And totally enjoyed meeting Cathryn Fox.

Now, where did I leave off with the trip reports . . .

Friday afternoon was the Blaze 5th anniversary party where I finally got to eat cake! I also got to meet Gina Black and apparently barely missed meeting Stacy. I also met a fan from San Fran who said she loves my stuff. Gina wanted to know how I manage to stay fresh, both in writing and in blogging. I have to say it was wonderful to hear that I *do* stay fresh, because it often feels like I don’t!

I got to catch up with several Blaze authors at the signing that I either have never met in person, or have only spoken to in passing. Dorie Graham, who is one of my web clients, is lovely. Rhonda Nelson, who I’ve only talked with online, is a sweetheart, as is Wendy Etherington, who I had never previously met. I also had a chance to meet Crystal Green who wrote the first book in the “For A Good Time Call . . .” series; INFATUATION is book number three.

I got to catch up with Kimberly Raye (who I used to critique with ages ago) and her awesome hubby Curt. It was also good to see Joanne Rock and Julie Miller and the Tori Carringtons again. And to finally meet editor Kathryn Lye in person. At the Harlequin party on Friday night, I spent some time talking with both Kristin Hardy and Lori Wilde, two Blaze babes I count as great friends.

I don’t have any pictures of either of the parties (though the husband has a lot and eventually I’ll raid his files), but here are several of the Blaze babes I managed to catch at the literacy signing.

Read the rest of this entry �

Copyright © 2006 Random House Kodansha Co., Ltd. All Right Reserved.

I don’t know how this title translates (anyone?) but isn’t that the most gorgeous picture? I think these Japanese Smithson Group covers are the best I’ve ever had anywhere!

(The Writers Giveaway)
(The Readers Giveaway)

Today’s giveaway is for a single homemade ARC of BEYOND A SHADOW (click to read an excerpt):

Most people come to Comfort Bay, Oregon in search of a little peace and quiet. But neither is on the agenda for undercover operative Ezra Moore. He’s got ten days to unload a shipment of illegal weapons–and take down Spectra IT, the international crime syndicate he’s managed to infiltrate. He knows Spectra’s man, Warren Aceveda, is playing dirty pool, and if he’s going to beat him and stay alive, he’s got to play even dirtier. But even the best-laid crimes can blow up in your face, and Ezra is about to find out just how badly…

Alexa Counsel likes her calm, and ok, sometimes, boring life in Comfort Bay. But there’s nothing boring about the hot new handyman who’s just started working at the Bed and Breakfast. Great with his hands? Oh, yes. But there’s something much deeper running under those still waters. Something she’s not sure she understands or she can trust. No one is going to use her as a cover, no matter how irresistible he may be. But Ezra is the only man who’s ever made her feel like a real woman, and she’s already in way too deep to turn back now…

Playing cat and mouse with one of the world’s fiercest criminals, Alexa and Ezra are about to find out just how dangerous and delicious starting a new life—and finding a new love—can be…

The ARC for BEYOND A SHADOW will be given away to a reader who comments in the blog of my personal hero. All you have to do is find his post titled “A Week of Bad Boys, Good Spies, Unforgettable Lovers” and leave a comment there to be eligible. I will draw winners names on August 1st.

First of all, NEVER trust that any hotel that says it has free WiFi is going to have it WORKING. Ahem. Neither one of our hotels did, sigh. Meaning, I’m home, but was without internet most of the trip, ergo, you didn’t get more than the two trip reports I managed.

I’ll share more later on the trip and the fun that was had by all, but look what I came home to!!! Whoo-hoo! A real live copy of THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO WRITING EROTIC ROMANCE! And look at the fun little cartoon things they put in front of several of the chapters. I haven’t even had a chance to look through it all yet, but SOOO excited!

We left Atlanta at 11:00 a.m. edt (10:00 cdt) and even with a 4 mile stretch near Pascagoula, MS that took us 45 minutes to get through, grr, and stopping for a real dinner in Gulport, MS (waving to Larissa’s old haunts), we made it home at midnight-thirty.

Today we had no cream for coffee (having emptied the fridge of everything perishable before leaving) so did a breakfast at Starbucks thing before hitting the grocery for the barest necessities. I’ve already done two loads of laundry, but figure the rest of the day will be about resting up from vacation.

Hope you all have been having fun on the scavenger hunt. A couple of the days’ posts had the comments closed (making you work harder *g*), but remember! I’m not drawing names until Tuesday – so you’ve still got time to hunt down all the links!

(The Writers Giveaway)
(The Readers Giveaway)

Today’s giveaway is for 3 copies of DEEP BREATH (click to read an excerpt):

When a guy stops at a roadside diner, he expects bad chili, not a hostage situation. But that’s where SG-5 operative Harry van Zandt finds himself when an armed cartel blows through the door. They’re not after him but the woman in the next booth, and their message is clear: she’s got seventy-two hours to locate and deliver a valuable historical document or her brother dies. And if Harry wants to live, he’d better go with her.

Harry has his own undercover mission to finish, but with a trigger-happy band on their tails, it’ll have to wait. Not that he minds helping Georgia McLain. The tough treasure hunter is as smart as she is sexy. She’s also desperate. That artifact could finally clear her late father’s name. She needs Harry if she’s going to double-cross these thugs and keep it for herself, and her gratitude is the kind that could turn a guy’s head. Too bad that document is also of vital importance to the Smithson Group, and Harry’s top-secret mission is to get it before it falls into the wrong hands. Now, the beautiful, infuriating woman he’s starting to fall for could lead him right to what he needs—and what she so desperately wants.

Out on the open road with a price on their heads, two unlikely lovers are caught in a game of secrets, lies, betrayals, and desire, where trust is risky and love is no time to catch your breath…

The DEEP BREATH copies will be given away to readers who comment in the blog of an author for HQN and Medallion Press who is also a performer and has written and directed several programs for the Romantic Times conventions. All you have to do is find her post titled “A Week of Bad Boys, Good Spies, Unforgettable Lovers” and leave a comment there to be eligible. I will draw winners names on August 1st.

(The Writers Giveaway)
(The Readers Giveaway)

Today’s giveaway is for 2 copies of LARGER THAN LIFE (click to read an excerpt):

After being beaten and left for dead in the New Mexico desert, Smithson Group agent Mick Savin tries to piece together his last few days. He remembers bits and pieces: gathering crucial intel. An ambush by Spectra thugs. And then…nothing, except waking up in some medical center in rural West Texas. His mission was top secret. So how did he end up here?

The answer is Neva Case. If the former big-city attorney hadn’t been out in her pick-up, Mick wouldn’t be alive. Mick’s never met anyone quite like Neva. She’s smart, sexy, and passionate. She also has a secret. Neva runs the Big Brown Barn, an underground shelter for young girls forced into unwanted polygamist marriages. Neva would do anything for these girls—and that’s what worries Mick. Neva may be trusting, but Mick’s instincts tell him that something’s not quite right. He’s not about to let someone get to Neva and the girls on his watch. Especialy when one of the girls brings trouble straight to the barn’s front door …

Now, with the shelter in unimaginable danger and time running out, Mick is in for the fight of his life, one that could cost him the woman he’s come to love more than anything…

The LARGER THAN LIFE copies will be given away to readers who comment in the blog of an RTB reader columnist who has a cat named Gambit. All you have to do is find her post titled “A Week of Bad Boys, Good Spies, Unforgettable Lovers” and leave a comment there to be eligible. I will draw winners names on August 1st.

(The Writers Giveaway)
(The Readers Giveaway)

Today’s giveaway is for 3 copies of THE MCKENZIE ARTIFACT (click to read an excerpt):

Five months ago, SG-5 operative Eli McKenzie was in deep cover in Mexico, infiltrating a Spectra ring that kidnaps young girls and sells them into a life beyond imagining. Not being able to move on the Spectra scum right away was torture for the tough-but-compassionate superspy. But that wasn’t the only problem-someone on the inside was slowly poisoning Eli, clouding his judgment and forcing him to make an abrupt trip back to the Smithson Group’s headquarters to heal. Now, Eli’s ready to return…with a vengeance. It seems his quick departure left a private investigator named Stella Banks in some hot water. Spectra operatives have nabbed the nosy Stella and are awaiting word on how to handle her disposal. Eli knows the only way to save her life and his is to reveal himself to Stella and get her to trust him. Seeing the way Stella takes care of the frightened girls melts Eli’s armor, and soon, they find that the best way to survive this brutal assignment is to steal time in each other’s arms. It’s a bliss Eli’s intent on keeping, no matter what he has to do to protect it. Because Eli McKenzie has unfinished business with Spectra-and with the woman who has renewed his heart-and this is one man who always finishes what he starts…

THE MCKENZIE ARTIFACT copies will be given away to readers who comment in the blog of a Pocket Books author who love anime and manga and who has recently had two of her early Avon books re-released by Moxie Press. All you have to do is find her post titled “A Week of Bad Boys, Good Spies, Unforgettable Lovers” and leave a comment there to be eligible. I will draw winners names on August 1st.

I’m in the lobby of the hotel adjoining ours as our wireless has gone down again. We had it off and on for the first couple of days, but it never fails that it’s down when we’re actually in the room. I’ve taken several photos and will eventually get them posted, but I’ve just been lazy. Had a fabulous three hours at the literacy signing on Wednesday night, meeting new online friends in person, and catching up with long time friends I haven’t seen in ages. The husband has been having, ahem, too much fun for a man hanging with 2000 women.

Yesterday I spent the morning meeting with my agent and planning my takeover of the publishing world. I then spent an hour sitting and talking with the fabulous HelenKay Dimon. Spent time in the early afternoon chatting with Sylvia Day and Jordan Summers and sat down for a bit with my Blaze editor, Birgit Davis-Todd who convinced us to stay until Saturday and attend the big Harlequin bash at the Ritz Carlton. (Harlequin throws the best parties ever!)

Early afternoon, I FINALLY got to meet and gab with Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler, and then joined them and Jan Kenney in the sports bar for an hour of laughing ourselves silly. A great time was had by all. Had a wonderful dinner with my husband and Birgit last night at PittyPat’s Porch, then gossiped a bit with Jennifer Labrecque and Brenda Chin outside the eHarlequin pajama party. (I also did my authorly duty and introduced Steph to her new boss Brenda, bwahahaha.)

This afternoon is the Blaze 5th Anniversay celebration, so it will be great to have more time with the author friends I only got to see briefly at the literacy signing. I may not post again until we’re home on Sunday, so keep having fun without me!

(The Writers Giveaway)
(The Readers Giveaway)

Today’s giveaway is for 2 copies of THE BEACH ALIBI (click to read an excerpt):

Kelly John Beach is a go-to guy known for covering all the bases and moving in the shadows like a ghost. But now, the ultimate spy is in big trouble: during his last mission, he was caught breaking into a Spectra IT high-rise on one of their video surveillance cameras. The SG-5 team has to make an alternate tape fast, one that proves K.J. was elsewhere at the time of the break-in. The plan is simple: someone from Smithson will pose as K.J.’s lover, and SG-5’s strategically placed cameras will record their every intimate dinner, sensual adventure, and deliciously erotic make-out session in elevators, restaurant hallways, and other daring forums. But Kelly John never expects that “alibi” to come in the form of Emma Webster, the sexy co-worker who has starred in so many of his not-for-primetime fantasies. Getting his hands-and anything else he can-on Emma under the guise of work is a dream come true. Deceiving the good-hearted, trusting woman isn’t. And when Spectra realizes that the way to K.J. is through Emma, the spy is ready to come in from the cold, and show her how far he’ll go to protect the woman he loves…

THE BEACH ALIBI copies will be given away to readers who comment in the blog of a reader/reviewer whose blog title sounds like a Clint Eastwood movie and is listed in the sidebar at RTB. All you have to do is find her post titled “A Week of Bad Boys, Good Spies, Unforgettable Lovers” and leave a comment there to be eligible. I will draw winners names on August 1st. If you want to help each other out and post here where to find the giveaway, that’s up to you!

If you’ve been reading Walt’s blog, you’ll know we’ve made it to Atlanta. He’s now sporting an official RWA Press Pass as a reporter for Romancing the Blog Access Romance, is over at the conference hotel taking pictures, etc., (while I’m in the lobby of our hotel three blocks away) – and he has already arranged an interview for me. The non-RWA-member, heh.

He’s been blogging more than I have simply because I’m too interested in sleeping and doing nothing. The last time I looked at the clock on Monday night, it was 11:11. The next time I looked at the clock, it was Tuesday morning at 1:45. Ahem. We were in the car and on the road by 2:20, and arrived in the Atlanta suburbs that afternoon at 4:20, 5:20 local time. The only thing I forgot was my shampoo. I packed enough clothes for a month. The only stops we made along the way were to have breakfast in Shreveport, LA four hours into the trip, and then a couple of necessity breaks at rest areas in MS and LA. Once in Atlanta, we found beds and then found an Olive Garden. I’m on vacation. I needed tiramisu. I did manage to watch RockStar: Supernova before crashing at 10:00.

I have a few observations of the trip. We paid 2.94 for gas in Texas, 2.84 in Louisiana, no gassing up needed in Mississippi (though it cost 2.79) and 2.85 in Alabama. Alabama has the most awesome road side rest areas, and landscaping along the exits off Interstate 20. Beautiful. I am so impressed. Mississippi wasn’t far behind on attractiveness, but Alabama provided air conditioning in theirs! Both grind Texas’ rest areas into the ground. I love Texas, but I’m just sayin’.

Alabama wins the award for dedicated law enforcement. The only patrol car we saw in Texas was at 4:30 a.m. in Corrigan – a local small town cop. Louisiana State Police were out; I think we saw four. None in Missississippi. And at least FIFTEEN in Alabama, whoa! We hit 1300 feet above sea level out of Birmingham. I realize to most people that’s not such a big deal, but I live at 122, so my ears were popping. Between Texas and Birmingham, the landscape was monotonously similar, though a nice change of scenery from my office at home, but the rolling hills (mountains?) on the east side of Birmingham were gorgeous.

Saw byplane crop dusters near the interstate in Mississippi. Reminded me of Greg Isles’ book 24, where the hero lands a crop duster (I think) on a road. All the kudzu made me thing of Joshlyn Jackson’s book gods in Alabama. Good grief, the stuff is EVERYWHERE. Part of the time I felt as if I were traveling with Bill Nye the Science Guy, as I had the local geography explained to me by my geologist husband. (He also explained about the oil in the Ute reservations in Utah and the sand oil fields in Canada, blah, blah blah, love you sweetie.) Oh, and our car averaged 32 mpg, YAYAY!

Anyhow, I’m looking forward to the literacy signing this evening. So many friends I haven’t seen in so long. Will be fun to catch up, even if it’s just for a few minutes. And hopefully the husband can figure out why I’m having so much trouble with this wireless, grr, so I will actually be able to upload the pictures I’m taking. Right now, it ain’t happening! Hope you all are enjoying the giveaway scavenger hunt!