Yes! She's back!!!

Yes! She’s back! Betsy Taylor, ex-administrative assistant, somewhat shallow and vain chick with a fetish for designer shoes—and who just happens to be Queen of the Undead—is back. Oh, joy (no sarcasm intended)! The Undead books by MaryJanice Davidson are some of my absolute favorites, and always at the top of my “must be read immediately” pile. Undead and Unappreciated is the third book in the series, behind Undead and Unwed and Undead and Unemployed, and I’m in the process of devouring it (figuratively).

Undead and Unappreciated has the classic MaryJanice Davidson wit, and Betsy is at the top of her game. Well, maybe not completely at the top. She has started attending AA meetings to help her get over her addiction to blood, and she is about to discover that she has a long-lost half sister who just happens to be the devil’s daughter, plus she still has to deal with the devastatingly handsome and sinfully sexy Sinclair, king of the Vampires. So maybe her life is just a little . . . challenging. But Betsy will come through in top form, like she always does. Here’s more inside information:


UNDEAD AND UNAPPRECIATED by MaryJanice Davidson
(Berkley, July 2005)

Most women would love to live as royalty, but Betsy Taylor has found that being vampire queen has more problems than perks, except for always being awake for Midnight Madness sales. It may be easy to find blood (yuck) in the dark of night, but try finding a strawberry smoothie. And employees at her nightclub Scratch have been giving her nothing but grief since she killed their former boss. Some people...

But Betsy's "life" takes an interesting turn at a baby shower for her wicked stepmother, who lets it slip that Betsy has a long-last half sister. Now twenty years old, this woman just so happens to be the devil's daughter...and destined to rule the world.

Excerpt:
http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/U&U%203.htm

ABOUT MARYJANICE DAVIDSON
MaryJanice Davidson has written in a variety of different genres, including contemporary romance, paranormal romance, erotica, and nonfiction.

MJ is the best-selling author of several romance novels, including UNDEAD AND UNWED and HELLO GORGEOUS. Her first hardcover, UNDEAD AND UNAPPRECIATED, will be out in July. Her books have been on the USA Today best seller list, as well as the New York Times list. Starting in July, she has a release every month through February. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, two children, and dog, and is secretly addicted to Peanut Buster Parfaits.

Website: http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net

If you haven’t read this series, what are you waiting for??? Get all three books today and start reading the best chick-lit/vampire/paranormal series around!

Happy reading!

~ Catherine

Crimson City -- The Epic Begins!

Crimson City by Liz Maverick is the first book in an amazing series which Liz created and developed for Dorchester. It combines two of my favorite genres: futuristic and paranormal. In the world Liz has created, vampires and werewolves now move freely among the humans in futuristic Los Angeles. The heroine, Fleur Dumont, is a gritty and spunky vampire, who is on the outs with her own kind, and is determined to prove herself and regain her place in vampire society. Only things don't go quite as planned, and fate involves her with a tormented hero, a "protector" who's lost everything. This first book is awesome, and I can't wait for the rest of the series. More details:


CRIMSON CITY by Liz Maverick
(Love Spell, July 2005)


Once, this was the City of Angels. The angels are no longer in charge.

From the extravagant appetites of the vampire world above, to the gritty defiance of the werewolves below, the specter of darkness lives around every corner, the hope of paradise in every heart. All walk freely with humans in a tentative peace, but to live in Los Angeles is to balance on the edge of a knife. One woman knows better than most that death lurks here in nights of bliss or hails of UV bullets. She’s about to be tested, to taste true thirst. She’s about to regain the power she’s long been denied. And Fleur Dumont is about to meet the one man who may understand her: a tormented protector who’s lost his way and all he loved.

Theirs is one tale of many. This is Crimson City, where desire meets danger and more than just the stars come out at night.

Liz Maverick created and developed Crimson City as a series for Dorchester. The full slate of rockin’ authors and their books is as follows:

Book #1: Crimson City, by Liz Maverick
Book #2: A Taste of Crimson, by Marjorie M. Liu
Book #3: Through a Crimson Veil, by Patti O'Shea
Book #4: A Darker Crimson, by Carolyn Jewel
Book #5: Seduced by Crimson, by Jade Lee
Book #6: Crimson Rogue, by Liz Maverick
http://www.crimsoncity.com

Excerpt:
http://www.lizmaverick.com/crimsoncity.html

Photo of Liz’s smiling mug:
http://www.lizmaverick.com/about.html

Other links:

Liz’s blog full of Assorted Misadventures and Photographic Whimsy
http://lizmaverick.blogspot.com

Crimson City Hub
http://www.crimsoncity.com

Crimson City city resident’s blog
http://crimsoncity.blogspot.com

By the way, Liz is a little "nutty" (okay so most authors are), but she's very creative and loads of fun, so be sure to visit some of her online haunts.

Happy reading!

~ Catherine

Carpe Demon -- Read it!

Julie Kenner is one of the most innovative and creative paranormal romance authors around. I love her amazing and unique stories. Two of her earlier books, Aphrodite’s Kiss (about super heroes) and The Cat’s Fancy (about a cat who becomes a woman a la The Little Mermaid) got me hooked on her stories. She’s continued that trend, and now has fully reached her stride with Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom. This is an amazing, fun, fast-paced book. Just imagine what would happen if Buffy the Vampire Slayer retired and married and had kids (and no one knew about her past). Then imagine what would happen if she were unexpectedly called back into service. That’s exactly what happens when Kate Connor, ex-Demon Hunter Extraordinaire, runs into a demon while trying frantically to shop, herd her teenaged daughter and toddler son, clean house and cook dinner for eight lawyers and judges to help promote her husband’s career. What’s a mom to do when a demon smashes through her breakfast room window and challenges her to the death? Well, that’s a book in itself. Here’s more information on Carpe Demon:

CARPE DEMON: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner
(Berkley, July 2005)
Carpools. Crabgrass. Creatures from the depths of hell. Suburbia has its problems too...
Lots of women put their careers aside once the kids come along. Kate Connor, for instance, hasn't hunted a demon in ages...
That must be why she missed the one wandering through the pet food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention an hour later-when he crashed into the Connor house, intent on killing her.
Now Kate has to clean up the mess in her kitchen, dispose of a dead demon, and pull together a dinner party that will get her husband elected to County Attorney-all without arousing her family's suspicion. Worse yet, it seems the dead demon didn't come alone. He was accompanied by a High Demon named Goramesh who, for some unknown reason, intends to kill off the entire population of San Diablo.
It's time for Kate Connor to go back to work.

Excerpt:
http://www.juliekenner.com/CarpeDemon.htm

CARPE DEMON: ADVENTURES OF A DEMON-HUNTING SOCCER MOM has been optioned for film by Warner Brothers & 1492 Pictures, and is scheduled for release as an audiobook from BBC America Audiobooks.

In addition, CARPE DEMON was recently honored by being selected by BOOKSENSE as a Summer 2005 Paperback Pick.

ABOUT JULIE KENNER
Julie Kenner is a USA Today bestselling author. She is also a former attorney who lives with her husband and daughter.


Do not miss reading this wonderful book! As always, let me know what you think.

~ Catherine

"The Dress"

Yes, I found it! "The Dress" for the Romance Writers of America RITA awards ceremony in Reno on July 30. For those of you who have never attended, the Golden Heart and RITA awards ceremony is very gala, very glitzy, very "Oscar-ish", and a Very Big Deal, with about 2,500 to 3,000 people in attendance. Since I was fortunate enough to have SHADOW FIRES nominated for a RITA in best paranormal romance, this means I must have "The Dress" to wear for the ceremony. I approached the shopping process with both anticipation (shopping—oh, boy!) and dread (mirrors in dressing rooms—arrrgh!) I also expected it to be a long, arduous process, which is why I started early in July. My 19-year-old daughter, Deborah, went with me, and we headed for Special Occasion Dresses in Dallas. It's a step above outlet evening wear, but a step below some of the Bridal/Formal shops and other high-end women's formal gowns stores.

I tried to look at something other than black—I really did. But not only is black a fabulous color for me, this year's top fashion colors appear to be a stunning gold, or beige, or a combination of colors over beige—all of which make me look washed out and half dead. I tried on some black and hot pink combinations, navy blue, aqua, eyed some red (not much selection and more of an orange red), and came back to the black gowns again and again. Deborah and saleslady Sue and I lugged armloads of gowns to the dressing room, staggering under the weight. Then I discovered I couldn’t zip any of them myself, so Deb helped with that. I also discovered that I couldn’t wear anything with a straight skirt, and had to pull every dress over my head (darn hips!). After two hours of struggling into and out of dresses, and parading them for the entire store (no mirrors in the actual dressing rooms), we had it down to three dresses—all black, and all gorgeous. I didn’t want to choose, but had to turn down Sue’s polite suggestion that I buy *all* three dresses.

We started a judging panel consisting of saleslady Sue, another saleslady, seamstress Keve, Deborah, and a friendly customer. They all sat in chairs lined up in front of the mirrored staging area, and cheered on their favorites as I modeled them (I really expected them to hold up cards with their vote—LOL). I was afraid the vote would be split, but after the modeling and much discussion, we all actually *agreed* on “The Dress” (whew!).

It’s an XSCAPE dress by Joanna Chen (have no clue here), and has a layer of black chiffon over solid black fabric. It has beaded spaghetti straps, a cowl-draped neckline (chiffon shot through with jet beads and sequins in a white flower pattern). The jet and sequined flowers sweep down one side of the dress, which is form fitting to the knees, then flares out to a flounce that goes to the floor. Right above the flare is more extensive beading and sequins. It’s a girly-girl, fairy tale dress with attitude! I’m delighted with it, was amazed to find it at the first place we went, and it was even on sale (although that only dropped it into the “non-fainting” price range). With the unanimous vote, the sale price, and my infatuation with the dress, I took everything as a sign that I’d found “The Dress” and purchased it.

So whether or not I’m graced with the RITA award on July 30, I’ll look pretty darned good—and no matter what happens, I get to keep the dress!

I’ll be sure and take pictures so you can see it. Until then, I’ll be practicing how to walk in it without tripping, and reminding myself to “suck it in”.

Everyone have a great weekend!

~ Catherine

Another book -- by a "Master"

Hey all, I'm in the middle of MASTER OF THE MOON by Angela Knight. Really cool book! Angela is amazing in that she combines futuristic, paranormal, fantasy, and erotic romance into a unique blend and adds great world building and storytelling ability, and produces fabulous stories. Master of the Moon is the second book in her new series, and it caught my attention right off. The hero, Llyr Galatyn, just happens to be the king of the fairies, and the heroine just happens to be a werewolf imbued with magical powers from none other than the great Merlin. Add a powerful vampire witch who enjoys torturing and murdering people, and Llyr's evil, jealous brother into the mix, and you have an amazing story. Here's more on the book:

MASTER OF THE MOON by Angela Knight
(Berkley Sensation, May 2005)

Diana London works hard in her day job as the city manager of a small South Carolina town. Yet she still finds time to moonlight for the Verdaville Police Department.

As a werewolf.

But while helping the police investigate a brutal murder, Diana discovers she’s not the only magical creature in town. A female vampire has also decided to make Verdaville her murderous playground. What’s worse, she has powers even Diana can’t match.

Fortunately, Diana is not the only one determined to stop her. Llyr Galatyn is the king of the Cachamwri Sidhe – a seductive otherworldly warrior with fantastic abilities. He’s sworn to hunt down the murderer, and he’s more than willing to give Diana any help she needs.

And not just with the case. Diana is in her Burning Moon, a time of sexual heat, when need rides her hard. Llyr is delighted to be the answer to her erotic prayers.

But as they hunt the vampire while desire runs hot between them, a deadly enemy urges the killer to turn her sights on Llyr. It seems Llyr isn’t the only king of the Sidhe – and his brother wants him dead.

Excerpt:
http://www.angelasknights.com/masterofthemoon.htm

Cover:
http://www.angelasknights.com/images/momcover.jpg

ABOUT ANGELA KNIGHT
Angela Knight's first book was written in pencil and illustrated in crayon; she was nine years old at the time. But her mother was enthralled, and Angela was hooked. In the years that followed, Angela managed to figure out a way to make a living -- more or less -- at what she loved best: writing. After a short career as a comic book writer, she became a newspaper reporter, covering everything from school board meetings to murders. Several of her stories won South Carolina Press Association awards under her real name. For more of Angela’s interesting bio, visit her website: http://angelasknights.com

~ Catherine

More Good News

Well, as they say, "When it rains, it pours." I've got more good news! I can add a novella sale to go along with my two paranormal romance sales to Berkley. My novella, "Street Corners and Halos", will be part of a paranormal anthology about opposites attracting. MaryJanice Davidson, Emma Holly, and Vickie Taylor will also have novellas in the book. How cool is that? My story is about a female vampire, and the hero just happens to be an angel. I'm so excited about this, especially since it's my first anthology. I guess the moral here is don't give up! I had a long dry spell, but I kept writing and submitting. And now . . . well now, I have to write like crazy to meet my deadlines. So I guess "Be careful what you ask for" might also apply here, but I'm not complaining.

Everyone have a fun and safe July 4th.

~ Catherine