Alison Kent's Blah Blog

The winners of the two sets of Leslie Kelly books are: Vicki and Kristi!

Both of you send me your mailing addresses, please!

I honestly don’t get out much so if anyone ever tags me for anything, I most likely won’t see it, ack! Vicki let me know that she’d tagged me, so here’s my list of Eight Things About Me.

1. I pay almost no attention to the words in songs. I only hear the music. Which is why I can listen to graphic lyrics and not even know it if the music hits me right.

2. #1 being said, I can sing every word of every song in Bruce Springsteen’s BORN TO RUN album.

3. #1 being said redux, I’ve been listening to the words lately of several songs after realizing how perfect the music is as a soundtrack for Finn and Olivia’s book.

4. I have visited every state west of the Mississippi river (except AK and HI), but only a handful east.

5. I don’t have a passport, and have only been out of the country to Canada and Mexico (before passports were required).

6. I can recite the Greek alphabet.

7. The strangest food I can ever remember eating was Octopus Salami – an appetizer Isabel Sharpe ordered at an editor dinner we attended in Chicago.

8. The one single food I could (but, alas, do not) eat with every meal is…

You have to guess. It can be eaten alone, on a sandwich or a burger, as an ingredient in salads. I’ll pick one poster who correctly guesses to win a copy of any of my SG-5 books, and I’ll draw the name Sunday night, July 1st, at 8:00 p.m.ish CDT.

As I did with Leslie Kelly’s books recently, today I’m offering up two copies of HelenKay Dimon’s YOUR MOUTH DRIVES ME CRAZY – for review.

To be eligible to receive one of the copies, you must agree to post about the book on your blog or mine, including information about the book, the cover, links to buy it and to the author, and some editorial comment by you.

This “comment” can be a bit on why you wanted this book/like this author/what you thought about the book, or something along those lines. You don’t have to love the book. You just need to talk about it and the author who wrote it.

One book will go to a reader who does not have a blog, and one to a reader who does. The reader without a regular blog has to send her review to me to post here. The other reader will post her review on her own blog. If you’re interested, post a comment here (do NOT email me) and be sure to to tell me whether or not you have a blog – and the URL.

I’ll draw names on Sunday, July 1st, 8:00 p.m.ish CDT. I would like the reviews to be posted ASAP. I have the books in my possession, and will send them out on Monday priority mail. Because of the time frame, this giveaway is limited to readers in the States.

Good luck!

If you’ll remember, earlier this month I gave away copies of Leslie Kelly’s new HQN release SHE’S NO ANGEL, and the connected novella in HEAT WAVE to three readers who agreed to review and blog about the stories. Susan has blogged about her reading experience here, and Fedora’s review follows. Good job, ladies!

EDITED TO ADD: And here is Laurie’s review.

And for fun, I’ll give away two more sets of both books today – one to a reader who comments, and one to a friend of that reader’s, one with whom she wants to share Leslie’s work! I’ll draw the winner’s name on Saturday, June 30th, at 8:00 p.m.ish CDT.

Now from Fedora . . .

Quick summary:
I loved these! Great characters–an especially yummy hero and a smart, interesting heroine, wonderful supporting cast; great story–involving plot, good pacing, excellent tension between the protagonists… humor and romance balance well with an engrossing story. Overall, a well-written, nicely balanced romance. What’s not to like??

More details:
I feel so fortunate to have gotten to read both of Leslie’s latest releases early–Getting Into Trouble, from the Heat Wave anthology, and She’s No Angel. They were a pleasure to read–I would have said guilty pleasure, but I don’t have anything to feel guilty about! Guilty pleasure somehow implies that there’s something embarrassing or not-good-for you about them, but these are well-written with interesting plots and strong, likeable main characters and a whole host of entertaining supporting characters to meet and follow. These are simply good reads!

These stories are the third and fourth stories set in the town of Trouble, Pennsylvania, and have characters that appear in both so that as you read, it feels a bit like you’re getting to know these small-town folks. (But you don’t need to have read the previous books to enjoy these completely.) The “man behind the curtain” in both cases is the incredibly wealthy Mortimer Potts, who’s recently bought most of Trouble and is trying to get this forsaken town back on its feet. He’s dabbling in matchmaking, too…

Getting Into Trouble is about single mom Allie Cavanaugh and Damon Cole, a temporary carnival hypnotist who has her mesmerized. She’s not interested in anyone who won’t accept her adorable son, and Damon’s got some secrets of his own to deal with. But the heat between them is tangible, and perhaps there’s magic enough to overcome their differences. This was a fun novella, and Damon is a dreamy hunk…

I loved She’s No Angel–Leslie’s created some incredibly likeable characters who are engaging from the very first pages. Of course Jennifer Feeney and Mike Taylor are gorgeous and funny and sexy and really smart, but they’re also people I wouldn’t mind actually knowing as friends. And though some of the plot details are out the realm of my mundane existence (for instance, I don’t have any experience with being drop-dead gorgeous, writing best-sellers, or spending time with multi-millionaires), so much of what is at the core is stuff I can completely relate to–the mixed feelings for family members who you cannot choose, the delicate balancing act that interacting with said relatives can be, the need to be needed and loved–Leslie articulates all these and more so well and pulls together a terrific and absorbing story.

I’m not sure there’s much more to be said except go out and get Leslie’s books and get into some Trouble! You won’t be sorry!

(Complete with visuals!) Yes, this meme is inspired by the novella I just finished, where my ranch – the Triple RC – is run by ex-rodeo cowboys!

1. Bull Riding. After spending 8 seconds on the back of a 1500 pound twirling tornado of mean muscle, deadly hooves and killer horns, dealing with an editor’s demands? Like licking frosting from a cupcake.

2. Barrel Racing. Anyone who can make those twists and turns ain’t gonna have a problem ziggin’ and zaggin’ though a complicated plot.

3. Steer Wrestling. Deadlines getting away? Not in the PRCA! Nothing to it. Grab ‘em, pull ‘em off balance, throw ‘em to the ground.

4. Steer Roping. Characters refusing to follow the script? A pigging string, two wraps and a hooey, and they’re not gonna have a lot of choice!

5. Bareback Riding. It’s all about the writer and the story, baby. Nothing between. No reviews. No flame wars. No blog hopping. Nothing. Butt to the back of the critter, spur it on, and hang tight for the ride.

Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi. July 3, 2007. ISBN: 0425215326

“[This] is a hilarious, smart, sexy novel with a heart of gold.” — Susan Wiggs

“[Lippi] turns her buoyant creative talents to the romantic comedy genre with an effervescent tale of a trio of offbeat Yankee filmmakers plunked down deep in the heart of Dixie.” — Booklist

Read an excerpt. (Adobe Reader required)| Watch the book trailer

You can find Tied to the Tracks at Amazon , Barnes & Nobel, Borders, Powells, or at your local independent bookseller.

This meme has been entered in the Tied to the Tracks contest, originating on Rosina Lippi’s Storytelling2 weblog. If you’d like to enter the BUCKS & BOOKS meme contest, get the rules here.

And if you want to see my inspiration for my hero, Wyatt Crowe . . .

Read the rest of this entry �

DreamForge Media has a newly redesigned website and all the website articles have been moved to a blog so you can comment. There’s some good stuff there to look at. This article explains exactly how to interpret statistics and what hits vs page views vs visitors mean (and which really tells you about your traffic). This article talks about the ownership of a website, and links to a Business Week article that says, yes. Your webmaster could actually own the design copyright and that would prevent you from taking your design with you if you leave your designer.

For readers, be sure and visit www.winromancenovels.com by June 30th to enter for a chance to win a box of 34 autographed romance novels. For authors, if you’d like to participate in next quarter’s Romance Galore giveaway, visit this link for an explanation of how the contest works. If you’d like to be involved, you can donate an autographed book via this link. The registration deadline is also June 30th.

Who Should Paint You: Alfred Gockel

All American yet funky, you inspire an artist’s imagination And while not everyone will understand your portrait, you will!

Really, you’d think novellas would write themselves, yes? A quarter the size of a full book, but no. No, no, no. Still, it’s been a lot of fun writing a pure character story with a cowboy hero.

You Should Spend Your Summer at the Beach

You’re a free spirit who is always thinking of new ways to have fun. And you don’t just love summer… you live for it. So, you really should blow off your responsibilities and head to the beach!

(Not so sure my editor would agree with that responsibilities thing, but yeah. I could use a week on the beach. Especially after this one I’m going through now. Will be back Monday or so, once I’m sane again!)

Sorry I didn’t post winners last night. Had a grandbaby evening and then climbed into bed and forgot!

The winners are: Lynn, Heather, and Debbie. If you all will send me your mailing addresses, I’ll get those copies sent out.

If any of you are waiting for copies of anything from me, EVERYTHING went out this last week. Everyone, even international readers, should have their books by the first of the month. If not by then, let me know!

I started this book three times before I could get into it and stay – and once I did, I couldn’t put it down. It was one that I had to really be in the mood for because, let’s face it. It does not paint a pretty picture.

Still, the story is great, and it taught me an amazing lesson about stakes and suspense. I’ve been disappointed in the endings of a lot of big suspense books I’ve read recently because I didn’t feel invested in the outcome, or the outcome felt tacked onto the plot instead of being an integral part.

In BLINDSIGHTED, the identity and motivation of the villain was tied tightly to the heroine and that was the very thing missing from the books that had left me feeling meh. I’ve got KISSCUT in my TBR mountain, so will probably dig that out and read it next.

So tell me the title of the last book you read and one thing you especially loved about it. Tomorrow night, Sunday, June 17th at 8:00 p.m.ish CST, I’ll draw three names to win a copy of THE PERFECT STRANGER.