At Home With The Laundry Hag

We have an exciting guest at the Carnivale today! Please join me in welcoming Jennifer L. Hart, Laundry Hag Goddess and fellow Textnovel Contestant. Let's dig in to the good stuff! Everybody have their spoons?



What have you published?

I self-published my first mystery novel, Jackson Corners. Took me two years from inception to typing the end. Of course I was busy spawning like the swallows of Capistrano, moving a few times and dealing with, well the joys of being a first time clueless homeowner. It's out there, though it shames me, but as J.R. Ward says, you gotta own your own shit. My first "sale" was an article to San Diego's Women's magazine, titled Navy Wife: Toughest Job in the Navy.

Worth the Wait was the first work of fiction I sold to Freya's Bower in 2008.

It's short and dirty folks, kinda like a hobbit.

That sounds just kinky enough to be fun! *g*





Then, there's the Hag also published in 2008.





The first book in the series is available now From Wild Child Publishing on ereader.com, Fictionwise and Amazon Kindle.


Hag 2 Swept Under the Rug and River Rats are due out this year.


Is the Laundry Hag based on your own experiences?

Mildly. Maggie is more me than any other character, but that's because I'm farther in her head than any other character I've ever written. She's a wife and a mom who gets no respect and has plenty to give, whether the world wants it or not. Plus I want five minutes alone with her SEAL husband.



Eric Northman or Bill Compton?

There's a choice other than Eric?




Are you, or have you ever been an Assthug?

Nah, I was never that cool. I was the president of the Millbrook chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America for chrissakes.


I noticed that in addition to your own work, you've been branching out into some freelance editing. Tell us about that.

Editing for others actually helps me improve my own writing. My first editor, M.E. Ellis, is a goddess. With Worth the Wait and Hag 1 she was kind and sharp all at once. She taught me a ton about honing my craft, losing overused words and stall phrases. She told me what she loved and what really worked for her as well as what needed tweaking. Or a colonoscopy. I try to pass on the gift she gave me to others so they can see their own work through someone else's POV.


You recently participated in the Textnovel Contest. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors as far as the contest circuit?

Get used to disappointment. No matter how good you think you are at what you do, there's somebody better around the next bend. What will separate the kids from the grownups is that the grownups keep forging ahead.


Does your life have a soundtrack?

Several. One for each mood. Heavy on the AC/DC (Shook me all night long), Tom Petty (Won't Back Down, Running Down a Dream, Even the Losers), Huey Lewis (Happy to Be Stuck With You, Power of Love) and Billy Joel(My Life,) 3 Doors Down (It’s Not My Time). And all Metallica, of course.






If you were a character in a movie, who would you be?

The snarky sidekick who dies a noble death. I'm so funny it's tragic.


What book has influenced you most as an author?

I have about fifty I want buried with my dead body but as far as influence? The one I'm currently writing. Stellar Timing is driving me nuts, toying with my inner control freak. It's better than I ever thought possible and not what I'd hoped for all at once. It's making me realign the way I think about reading and writing.


Why romance?

It's what I like to read, the most popular fiction genre of our time and there are so many decent romance writers willing to assist the newbies. I'd be stupid not to write romance and I don't cotton to stupid.


And, I think this is going to get me a certain quote, but I am going to ask anyway. What do you say to those tools who think that romance isn't a legit genre?

Am I that predictable? * Sigh* Well, you asked for it. (You are, but I love it.)

“Let me tell you something, Bub. Consumer reports show romance fiction generated 1.37 billion in sales for 2008. Let me say that again; billion. Bill-ion, as opposed to the few hundred million sci-fi and or fantasy novels generated. And yet we’re treated like the red-headed stepdaughter of the literary community! Those numbers deserve respect damn it! Is it the woman’s fantasy aspect that you find so intimidating or are all men convinced we’re as obsessed with penis size as they are?”--Dakota from Redeeming Characters. Copyright 2009 Jennifer L Hart. Seriously is there a better way to say it?



What's been your worst experience after telling someone you wrote romance? (Like Saranna had an above-mentioned tool ask her if RT was a swinger's convention.)

"Really? But you look so normal!" That was the end of that conversation. I do not look normal, dag nabbit!



Boobies? (Because we like to say it here at the Carnivale. It's a fun word.)

Safely contained in the over-the-shoulder-boulders-holder, but thanks for asking.



What are your top five favorite words?

Stellar, tool, seriously, (before Grey's Anatomy thank you very much,) dumbass (because it fits so often) and writer (Won't catch me calling myself an author too often, I'm not a fan of semantics.)



Do blurbs affect your buying choices when it comes to books of any genre?

Nah, I'm a book whore—I'll try anything, once.


What should be ask out next victim?

What she did to deserve this ;-) Bwahahaha!



What's your most embarrassing moment?

You're really gonna make me do this? Fine, I have no pride anyway. In sixth grade I dressed up as a Romulan for Halloween. All day kids came up to me and said "Live long and prosper" and I patiently corrected them as to my origins. I doubt the lesson ever sank in as they were too busy laughing their asses off.


In your current WIP Stellar Timing, I want to eat Talenforth with a spoon. Is he going to get his own book?

Most definitely. He doesn’t say much, but he’s singing to me, ya know? I can’t not explore him further. I told myself I'd finish the Maggie and Neil back story after Stellar Timing, but as the button on my pants will tell you, I have no will power. (I'm still snorting from the last answer.)


As an author yourself, does an author's public behavior affect how you view their work and if you will buy it? Can you enjoy someone's art if you dislike the artist?

Yeah and nope. I'm like a dog, loyal to a fault but one really has to earn that loyalty. If a writer gets too big for her britches, I'll be first in line to deflate a giant ego.



You're shopping Redeeming Characters now, tell us about your inspiration for your hero. He's a new breed for the modern world.

Drue is a "real" hero. The kind of guy you'd meet at say, a community college English lit class. He's pierced, foul-mouthed and disenchanted with the world around him. He's also got hidden depths that most don't bother to unearth but let me tell you, it's well worth the excavation.


Where can readers get more of Jennifer L. Hart?

The Laundry List. I have tips for writers, Hag approved recipes, stellar guest bloggers, soundtracks for my stories, polls, quizzes and the occasional contest. I promise, I won't make you do mine. My other usual haunts: Twitter Facebook Textnovel and Goodreads.


Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer! It was great to have you!

A Corpse, a Cop and Some Canines: Chapter 9

Hopefully, you have just come from  Heather's blog. But if you have lost your way, check out our lovely Table of Contents.

Table of Contents. It is sort of like the Holy Grail.

Chapter 1: Alanna Coca

Chapter 2: Dee Carney

Chapter 3: Juniper Bell

Chapter 4: Ann Marie Gamble

Chapter 5: Barbara Sheridan

Chapter 6: Christopher Daley

Chapter 7: Ray Garton

Chapter 8: Heather Wildman

Chapter 9: Saranna De Wylde

On to Chapter 9 by the lovely Saranna DeWylde

Anthony Sixkiller was dead--for all of nine minutes. 

Letting that witch off, or getting her off rather, after pulling her over for speeding on the I-90 last year had been a boon. A blowjob from a woman that could suck-start a Peterbuilt and an invincibility spell? It didn’t get any better than that. She was at home waiting right now for the third he was supposed to be bringing. Jessica seemed perfect until the cunt stabbed him with that silver pig-sticker. 

No, he wasn’t dead, but it still burned like a hooker with a yeast infection. So did this mess that the state cops were stirring up like gumbo. He’d heard her call out to Merle, a statie he’d played darts with at Hideaway on Tuesday nights. That two-faced son of a whore. He’d been a candidate for the pack. They would still turn him; they needed to replenish their numbers, but it would be the hard way. He’d be playing bitch. 

People were dead, mortal and sup. The only way to clean up this raging shit pile was more blood. Not only so Matsu wouldn’t crawl up his ass, but so he could get up hers. 

Then there was Luke. His pack brother would never run with him beneath the kiss of the gravid moon, the pads of his paws would never again mark their passage through the soft-turned earth and his tongue would never again taste the joy of the hunt. He would also never challenge him for Alpha. So, he’d have to thank the meat bag for that. 

 Yet, rage still shot through his veins like molten lava. It was primal, territorial. It was an acid tearing at the meat of his façade, ripping away his mortal guise and as his already defined muscles tightened and twisted, Anthony Sixkiller shed his humanity with his skin beneath the dark arch of the night sky.

 The scents and sounds of the night bombarded his senses. The fox scurrying back into her burrow, the owl swooping from his perch and the rancid stench of the young bipeds mating in the backseat of an old car. None of these interested him, none but the pheromones of the mage-woman and her mate. 

They’d joined, high on victory and bloodlust, rutting like the sub-creatures they were there in the woods with the blood of his pack still on their hands.

He caught the male alone. Merle was taking a post-coital piss and humming a soft tune. Sam the Sham’s Little Red Riding Hood. He’d have to kill him on principal now anyway.

Sixkiller waited, rising up on two legs behind the human. He opened his jaws and dripped saliva down onto the man’s bare shoulders, breathing hot, fetid breath against his ear.

That’s how they did it in the movies, after all.

Merle’s mouth opened and he screamed like a bitch. Sixkiller clamped his massive jaws around his thigh, predator’s teeth crunching through fascia and bone. Merle struggled, the high-pitched sound still screeching from the tightening vocal cords.

It made Anthony’s dick hard, so he close his jaws until those brutal teeth met in a facsimile of a smile. Then he frowned. There would be no rising for Diana’s Kiss for this one as in his glee, Anthony had torn the femoral artery.

Merle was dead.

The beast used his claws to sever the head from the body. His little witch didn’t like to eat anything with a face. He didn’t understand it, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do as she asked.

Now, for the female.

He could hear sounds of a struggle and smell the sweet musk of her adrenaline coming from inside the nearby cabin. Dexter Manning’s cabin. Anthony hoped he wouldn’t have to kill Dexter--he could be turned. Such a gift he was going to give the unassuming little hermit.

Sixkiller crashed through the door, the wood splintered beneath him. He slammed right into the silver pigsticker again. He was going to cram that thing up that bitch’s ass before he was done.

 Anthony swiped at the woman before she could use her magic and sent her sprawling.

Dexter lay in the corner, blood oozing between his fingers as he tried to staunch the flow of blood from his shoulder.

 “Please, I’m sorry!” He held up his hand.

Sixkiller bit the hand that the man held up in his face. What else was he supposed to do, anyway? He wasn’t a dog.

The stench of urine filled his nostrils and he wrinkled his snout at the offensive stench. Maybe he hadn’t been such a good addition to the pack after all. They’d deal with that later. He still had a long night ahead of him.

He turned his attention back to the woman and stood on two legs as he hauled her over his shoulder. He had a pair of magical cuffs in his cruiser that would keep her from doing anything that he didn’t want her to do. His claws scored the prime bits of her ass as he held her anchored there and he found he quite liked the shape of her. He even liked it that she’d tried to kill him.

His cock was hard again as he thought of the room in the basement and all of the magnificent toys that they would use on her. He hoped she’d last longer than the previous mage-woman

Sixkiller was sure they’d get at least two days out of this one.

             

         The End...For Now.....

Saranna DeWylde is the winner of the Dorchester Next Best Celler Contest. Look for her book, How to Lose a Demon in Ten Days, on shelves near you in November, 2010. She is the Amazon Queen of the Assthugs and sometimes persuades her Assthugette Dhympna to do her bidding, albeit grudgingly. She is currently having the Assthugs keep an eye on Alanna Coca--word on the street is that Alanna is delving too much into the super sekret histories of assless chaps.    

What I am Reading: Weekend Reads

I really do not have much time for fiction right now (soon, oh so soon), but figured I would share what I am reading this weekend.


For bedtime reading I am reading Alanna Coca's Preja Vu. It is quite an enjoyable supernatural read that is solid romance (sexy but not too raunchy).

Here is the blurb:

At night, Ryann Phillips becomes an open psychic channel, her dreams flooded with random snapshots of strangers’ lives. Few of her premonitions make sense, or even cause her to lose much sleep. Until now. The vicious murder scene she envisions is so terrifying—and so vivid—she has no choice but to somehow warn the victim.

When she spots Victoria Joyce in a coffee shop, Ryann prepares to run up against a wall of skepticism. Yet convincing the no-nonsense attorney she’s in danger proves easier than convincing her divorce lawyer. The arrogant—and devastatingly sexy—Trevor Kearney.

Trevor never thought his client would stoop slow low as to hire a fake psychic to prove her soon-to-be  ex is out to kill her. Yet sassy, red-headed Ryann holds up under questioning designed to blow the tightest of alibis. Before the night is over, she has his apology. And he has her phone number.

Ryann can live with Trevor’s doubts about her sixth sense, yet she can’t ignore the way her body responds when he kisses her senseless. But as they seek to untangle a growing web of mystery, the heat they generate could put them in the path of a killer…

I read one review that called Trevor (the hero) a big meanie, but so far I don't find his characterization like that. A bit lawyer-ee (he is a lawyer after all....if he were too accepting of the paranormal I would worry ;)).  I rather like the setting and most of the characters and sub characters.

I am also reading another book that is so riddle with typos and laughable love scenes, that I shall not mention here. Let us just say I am very glad I got it on sale and did not pay full price. ;)

That is it for fiction. Most of my booklist for this weekend is nonfiction. If you follow my Goodreads account, I am sure you will be spammed plenty with the other five books on my agenda this weekend.

Next week I will probably switch from romance and read horror for a week. I have decided that Feb. 8 to Feb 14th will be my week of horror....I have plans...oh yes. I have plans ;)

M/M Love Scenes--All We Need is Lube!

I am a curious beast. Recently, I discovered the world of M/M romance and erotica fiction (for those who do not know the Ms are dudes).

Do not continue reading beyond this lovely video if you are easily squicked, disgusted, or just do not want to know...don't say I didn't warn you.

Now that my mum is suitably freaked out and is imagining that I am regaling you all with stories about my foot fetishizing, cross dressing ex boyfriend...we can get back to business.

But I really want to talk to you about butt sexxoring in M/M erotica.

I have noticed that many authors neglect lubrication. No Astroglide is to be found in many M/M stories. There is a small segment of authors who use, unconventional? lube. Apparently many men have self-lubing buttholes as well.

I personally find lubrication sexy, there are so many things you can do with it. And, if you are writing contemporary or futuristic stuff there are all sorts of nifty varieties. Some are even available at your drug store now.


For me, the idea of the burning ring of fire that occurs from lack of lube and your sphincter trying to prevent invasion...well. Ow. I end up crossing my legs and thinking that the character needs butt Novocaine or whatever is in hemorrhoid creams.

I asked one author about her lack of lube in a love scene and she told that she thought it was implied. Um. I just don't find lack of lube sexy.

I could say more but my mum may be still reading. *waves*

I really want to know what you all think.

Social Media Tips the Dhympnator Style

I suppose it is public service announcement week. Don't worry. Tomorrow is the last one. Tomorrow we tackle lubrication in anal sex scenes. Today though, today it is all about what annoys people (readers specifically) about some authors and would-be authors on Twitter and Facebook.

*****

I have been talking to lots of readers lately. We have been talking about authors and what annoys us most when we follow you and what we love. Facebook, Twitter, and even Myspace can be useful tools for an author. There are lots of authors out there vying for attention and for people to buy their books. You want to stand out in the right way--not the wrong way.

Readers have a chance to get a glimpse of your personality and even interact with you. But, there are some things that turn off readers and cause them to complain or unfollow. Often if we tune you out, we will also not purchase your product. I had posted previously about issues like this that I had encountered.

Here are five things, in no particular order, that readers find annoying.

5)  Auto DM. Do not send out auto direct messages on Twitter. Do not spam your followers with DMs welcoming them to your feed or asking them to buy your book. It is cool to Tweet or post about books that are in print, but refrain from spamming this way. Especially with all of the worms going around via DM--just say no!

4) Do not whine, beg, or plead for more followers. The game on Twitter and Facebook is quality, not quantity. You want people to be engaged with what you have to say--not just follow you like a stamp you collected.

Repeat after me: Twitter and Facebook are not biggest dick competitions.

I have followed writers who constantly campaigned to get more followers. I usually unfollow if it occurs often. I try to stay away from follower collectors.

3) Spam in your time line.

Do not reTweet the same blog post more than 2 or 3 times a day. I once had a writer follow me and most of his Tweets were just his blog postings. Twenty times a day. The same posting. If you are constantly spamming your stream (and your followers' stream) with the same blog posts then people will start to tune you out  or unfollow (and traffic to your blog will drop).

Tweeting twice daily about posts is cool. You can Tweet more often if you are running a contest or something like that. Avoid blog post link spam!

Another form of spam is long Follow Friday lists (the ones where you put up ten posts of names). Personalized Follow Friday shout outs are fine, but not just endless Tweets of names. They are meaningless and useless. You are not telling me why I should follow the person.

Use the list function. It is a far more powerful tool.

Also avoid like spammage like "writer Wednesday" (uh, cough most people seem to be "writers" these days with the toxic combo of computers, unemployment and underemployment) and other like Tweet spam. It is fine to recognize followers, but when you start listing accounts like that you get unfollowed or tuned out.

Use the list function! Your followers will be happier.

2) If someone unfollows you, it was probably nothing personal. DO NOT ask them why they unfollowed on Twitter and ask them to follow back. This is just rude.

I have been pestered by two Twitter users when I unfollowed them. They both asked why I unfollowed and even asked me to follow back. (NOTE: DO NOT ask me questions that you really do not want an honest answer to.) Not cool. Also. Do not sign every bloody tweet with XOXO. It is a disingenuous platitude. I have noticed three wanna-be writers doing that.

1) On Facebook, try to refrain from asking your friends to join your fan page. Most readers will join your fan page if they want to. You can Tweet about it, but do not suggest we join. Again this smacks of follower collecting. If someone follows your Facebook or Twitter page already, they don't need to follow your fan page.  Numbers matter little, it is whether the people following you will actually buy what you are selling.

*****

Now, I am not saying  that I am like the all knowing goddess of all things. I am merely pointing out that after many discussions with many other readers (people who buy your books) this is what we have found a tad, or in some cases, extremely annoying. This is what causes readers to mutter about authors and would-be authors in the dark shadows while we drink our beer. 

I have business accounts and just for fun accounts. If you are spamming your pen name account, in theory a business account, with quizzes on Twitter or Facebook, you will likely turn prospective consumers away.

Remember that you are selling yourself and your work. Twitter and Facebook should be a fun experience.

What do you find annoying? You can say me. It is ok. Tomorrow we turn to more interesting topics. I promise. Can I have a cookie now?

Wanna-be Authors Behaving Badly

It has been a long time since I ranted. Bear with me. If you cannot handle my rantiliciousness...then this is not the post for you. If you can, well, read on.  I try not to whine on my blog or complain. Think of this as a public service announcement.

I am not mentioning names.  I want to make it clear that I am talking about bad behaviour and do not want to create a side show for people to run off and gawk at the local naughty children.

Some of you may know that I unwittingly ended up in a bit of an online kerfuffle with an author a few weeks ago.

You see, I just did not like her book. At all. It sucked big hairy donkey balls. But this was, and is, my opinion. I do my best not to shove my opinion down everyone's throat.

Keep in mind that at no point did I post that I believed her book was super sucktastic.

The story goes something like this...

In the midst of the academic studying fervour that I have been engaging in (and oh baby is it ever a feverish fervour) I logged into my Goodreads account. I have been trying to add books as I go along. I go into long book adding binges, then I promptly get bored and move onto something else that is new and shiny.

I love Goodreads. I read a lot. I read a crap ton (technical term) of books each year. For me, it is a place where I can interact with other readers. If an author wants to interact and mingle with readers on Goodreads, that is cool. But understand, that this is like a giant book club--not a giant promotional vehicle that is run by authors. 

I noticed an author had posted her book on Goodreads (I do not follow this author, I was perusing books by genre).

I had read about 7 chapters of the book (turns out that that was *all* that was available--heh lots of thats) and found it to be derivative, nothing new, and just the same old drivel. Seriously. I tried to like it, but found myself wanting to spork myself.  I had forgotten about the book... and then I saw it on Goodreads.

Keep in mind that this book was unpublished. The author, in this case, had to have added it to the book database. I looked and it already had some ratings.

Side Note:  Now, when it comes to buying books I tend to ignore glowing five star reviews and I either read all of the low ratings first or the middle ones. Call me cynical. This turn of events makes me even more cynical.

I figured that I would rate it, because even if I had had the whole book, it would be a DNF (did not finish). So, I rated it one star and decided to write a brief explanation why (to be fair to other readers). I wrote that   my review was based on a partial reading and that it was just not my cup of tea. Sort of a "It's not you, it's me" sort of thing. I even added that it was probably because I was burned out on vampire lit. I was trying to be nice.

I admit my timing was off. The author was engaged in a contest with a co-blogger. But, I am the absent minded academic.

My rating would not affect the contest or whether her book would be sold. In the real scheme of things--ratings do not matter. They are subjective. But, if you put your book on Goodreads, you have no right to tell anyone that they cannot review it or rate it.

The beauty about this site is that my opinion is one of many. I love aggregate sites. But, some authors attempt to skew their overall rating (something I have only recently learned about). I did not realize that this author possessed a hubris so gigantic that she put a button on her website with her book's overall rating. I did not realize that she was carefully cultivating a high rating. I did not realize that she probably checked her rating every day to see what had hatched.

I rated the book. I wrote my pithy "it's not you, it's me" excuse to lighten the blow.

The next day I get an email.

In my Goodreads mailbox was a scathing how-dare-you you pretend reviewer (so you have to be a professional reviewer to review?), wanna-be author (hunh??) email. An email that questioned my professionalism as well as moral code. An email that even called her contestant into question--apparently this was some sort of plot to take her down.

As much as I love my Amazon Goddess that is Saranna, I am not her puppet and I was pissed that she alluded that I was such. I am also not the type of girl who suffers from rabid fangrrl-ism.

The contest that she and Saranna were involved in was wrapping up. The decisions had been made. There was no way my little rating on a book worm social networking site could ever affect her book winning the contest or getting published.

But this is what I was accused of. She even tried to drag her contestant into the controversy. Pretty slick, twisted, and egotistical. 

She then made sure to Tweet her fury and to post her ire about me on Facebook. She made sure to whine incessantly on her blog about spies, evil doers, and conspiracy.  She made sure to make herself out to be the victim of some grand plan of sabotage.

I think she was attempting to summon her harpies to descend upon me--to tell me I was a bad, nasty, and evil person.

*snort*

I sent her a honest email (I tried to be polite) telling her that there was no conspiracy to take her down and my opinion should not matter, because everyone has an opinion. I made sure to point out that there was not a connection between my poorly (not on purpose) timed review and the contest.

After her third email to me...I decided to just not engage. She wanted me to remove my review. I am sure she would NEVER deign to offer a public apology for maligning my name if I had conceded to her bullying. In her eyes, she was the victim and could not see that her actions were uncalled for and crossed the line.

Make no mistake--this person was trying to bully me.

You would not be hearing about this if I only got the one email. But she made sure to post a rebuttal on my review (which she erased) and to thank people who gave her four or five stars for their "honest" review (she made sure to note that the contest had created some reviews that could not be trusted....*cough*...I wonder who she was referring to...OH!) heh.

She ranted and raved everywhere. On her blog. On Goodreads. She erased any post by someone else that dared to disagree with her.

She also accused me of siccing other bloggers on her. I never did. Word gets around on its own. What got around was not my encounter with her, but her telling other "reviewers" that they could review her unpublished work (talk about an ego) if they did not post ratings under three stars before her work was published.

Not only were her actions in this matter unethical, but this also calls into question every book review these reviewers have done.

One of her reviewers replied on my review that they promised to give her an honest review...I noticed that this person had already proclaimed that she was a fan of this author's work. Um. Yeah. Impartial. I think she was saying I was not honest...

I cannot trust a book reviewer who accepts those terms? Would you?

An author should NEVER engage a reviewer over a review. No matter how heinous the author may perceive a review to be. Not on Goodreads, not on Amazon, and certainly not on a blog.

Not everyone is going to like your work. Not everyone is going to be as nice as I was trying to be. I will also note that I have not changed my review, nor did I post what I really thought of this woman's writing. I was not going to sink to her level of childish banter.

When it comes to reviews, your feelings will get hurt. It is the dance all artists and scholars have been doing with their critics for ages. You should read academic book reviews--woo boy.

In the age of the internet you can ruin your reputation as an author in a short period of time. Back in the good ol' days, fans were less likely to hear about, and be affected by, your bad behaviour. Not all publicity is good publicity.

What do you think?

Blog Update!

I know, I know I have been absent. But see? I am here now.

A quick update. We have some exiting changes this year. We will be restarting our interview series in a few weeks. We will also be doing quick reviews of the books we have been reading. So, if you want to be interviewed or reviewed send me a note.

I also know that I have to post my top five list. Life happens and all that so I never told you my top five. I have not forgotten ;).

I have also compiled a list of favourite books that my friends read last year and that post will be up next week.

See? Lots of good stuff coming up.

I would also like to announce that our own Saranna De Wylde. Amazon Queen and leader of the assthugs has won the Dorchester contest. Her book will be on a bookshelf near you in November--and yes, I will be pimping it--a lot. Mostly because I want to see if I can make Sara blush.

But, friendship aside, How to Lose a Demon in Ten Days is seriously one of the best books I have read in long time and I cannot wait to see it "in the flesh" so to speak.

Annemarie Hartnett's novella, The Company of Fools has been released. It is a hot, sexy Canadian contemporary romance. I highly recommend it, she is seriously one of the best contemporary writers out there. I have read quite a few of her short stories...just trust me. Seriously. Get the book. 

Keta Diablo has a new M/M release out at Ravenous Romance, The Sin Eater's Prince and it looks very interesting (historical vampires and Welsh folklore oh my). I have not had a chance to read this one yet but may have to check it out.