Her Christmas Earl by Anna Campbell

Phillippa Sanders has really done it this time.  She sneaks into a man's room on Christmas Eve to collect a note her silly-brained sister, Amelia, has written to him to save her reputation.

The things she does for her!

But as she turns around, she finds there's somebody coming into the room!  With no way out, she hides in the wardrobe, only to be discovered by Blair Hume, the Earl of Erskine.  He's tall, Scottish and very much the ladies man - and he has a reputation - and he finds Phillippa in his wardrobe hiding from him.

After an embarrassing moment or two of trying to explain herself, she goes to leave, only to find the door to his room is locked.

No, not locked - stuck!

Not even Blair can budge the darned thing!

So, the two are stuck in the room together.  In the times of being single and young - and yet to be married - this isn't a good thing.  And so, the two of them sit on the floor to wait out the night until Blair's man comes to unstick the door the next morning - as he was given the night off.

Then, Blair kisses Phillippa.

Blair's kisses switch on passions in Phillippa she didn't know she had.  She saw him in a totally different way - a way she never thought she'd see a man, especially this man.  However, the door opens and her mother is standing there, screaming at her!
Her mother makes sure her reputation is in tatters unless something is done... and Blair must make a decision about whether to save Phillippa's reputation or leave her to her family's destructive ways... ways of which she would most probably never recover from.

The Watcher by Jo Robertson

Kate Myers is tracking a serial killer - well, she thinks he's a serial killer.  Kate is a psychiatrist who has been tracking this guy since her twin sister was killed when she was 17 years old... when it should have been her... when she knew she should have walked their dog instead of Kassie that cold afternoon in Ohio; and their dog came home dragging its lead without her sister.

Kate Myers blames herself completely for her sister's death - simply because Kate could have fought off the killer.  Kate could have done something different to survive... 

It's been years and Kate Myers is in Northern California and she's still tracking the same killer.  He's killed another teenager and it's dredged up memories of Kassie's murder for Kate again.  This time it's in a small town where everyone know each other and the police station is smaller than it should be.
From the moment Kate walks through the doors, she's judged by all the cops - particularly Ben Slater, who doesn't like her at all.  She up tight, pushy and believes there is something out there - somebody out there - when he thinks there's no connection at all... well, that's until she gets him to read up on her files, what she had pulled together and they go and look at the files from the past where markings have been missed on the bodies and not noted down in the files but noticed in the photos.

However, the MO of the killer shows that he takes years to plan and plot his kills - that he picks his prey carefully so he doesn't stuff up.  This is until Kate and the killer cross paths by accident at a petrol station and he recognises her as Kassie, and he panics!  Did he kill her?  Did she survive?  If she did, he had to set the record straight and make sure he caught her again and ...and ... 

The sheriff goes missing - on a holiday, he said - for a few weeks suddenly from the station.  But he doesn't give a return date and leaves his office a total pig sty.  Kate notices and goes snooping around... and she starts putting things together about the sheriff - who was around at the times of the first murders years ago.  She finds cryptic notes around his office and shoves them into her handbag to look at later...

In between all this, Ben and Kate work long hours in the office and at her place over the case.  They talk well into the nights and over coffee, takeaway food and in bed in each other's arms; not expecting to fall for each other this way... harboring secrets of their own - painful, terrible secrets from their own lives - which could either make their relationship stronger or break it, shattering what they've discovered between them and within the manila file folders before the next victim is taken ... but who will that next person be?

The Sheriff?

Kate?

Another high school student?

Or...

All three...? 

'Finding Pride' by Jill Sanders

Megan is in Pride to attend her brother's funeral.  Matt had been trying to get her to this lovely little town for years, but she wouldn't come to see him, for reasons of her own; which she kept hidden from him.  But now she's here she with her arm in a cast and covered in bruises, she feels horrible she had kept her own secrets from him.
But the people of Pride have welcomed her with open arms and helped her whenever she needed it.  She quickly became fast friends with Lacey Jordan and her brother Iian; and she totally fell for Todd, their older brother, who she just can't seem to stop thinking about!  But is it too soon after her dreadful divorce in Boston?  
And speaking of which, the trial to put her ex-husband away has yet to come around.  The stress of it has put Megan on edge.  However, her lawyer has ensured her that he's not going to bother again; but really, how secure are their prisons?  And will he get out?  With the arrangements of her new life in Pride, with a new business her brother, Matt, left for her to pick up and her new love interest in Todd (who scares her as well as excites her at the same time), will her new life turn out just as it's supposed to?

I downloaded this book when I was at Brighton recovering from my surgery at Greenslopes Private Hospital.  I didn't want to read anything too heavy; and a light romance seemed just the ticket.  However, as I got into this book - which has a great storyline - I found Jill Sanders had a fair bit of proof-reading to go on it.  There were some major grammatical and spelling errors all the way through the book (dessert - not desert - is for after dinner).  Some words were mixed up and in place of others making otherwise great sentences sound dreadful and off; and they weren't small errors either with these sentences - like leaving 'the' or 'a' out.  Some words were added in when they should have been removed.  Italics undone where it should have been left in as well (which is probably not her fault).  But like I said, the storyline was fantastic... however the love and sex scenes were a bit lost on me and could have done with a bit more description as they weren't as hot as I thought they'd be.  Yeah, Todd was gorgeous, but I couldn't feel the sex or heat between the characters.  It's the first of a trilogy... and it was free off iTunes.  Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be getting the others as they cost money (and I don't have anything in my iTunes account).  Until my next post, happy reading.

Erotic and Romantic Fiction

Romance has come a long way since the days of Mills and Boone where women bought the reasonably-sized books and read them and they were written by a handful of women and some men.  They were light romances for the ordinary housewife who would get time to sit down and read just before bed or whenever they had time to read during their busy day.

However, times have changed a lot, and so has the way romance has been written.  It's hot, sexy and very descriptive... and yes, it's meant for not only the ladies but also the men too.  So, when 'Fifty Shades of Grey' was published, it caused plenty of waves in society of its content and why it was published.  But it also brought a lot of people who read erotica out of the woodwork.
But not all erotic writings are the same.  I've read 'Fanny Hill' which was written by a man for men in the late 1800's and it was a book which was banned for many years due to its content.  However, I was given my copy by my Grandmother who had bought it for her husband in 1984 for his birthday; and it was a reprint of the unabridged edition!  And what an amazing piece it was to read!  I never thought my Grandparents would read anything that kinky; but really they are just like anyone else, they were young once too.
But Grandma had a large collection of Mills & Boone books at her house and I was amazed at how many were well-thumbed and that she often re-read a few of them because they were just good, old-fashioned romance stories that were girl-meets-boy kind of thing.  It's probably why she loved 'The Sound of Music' so much, it went along the same lines of Mills & Boone novels.

However, the typical romance novel is now a lot more descriptive.  It highlights how each person is feeling, their every move, clothing removal and everything else in between.  There's a new section of romance called Erotica and it sits alongside the typical romance section in bookstores and is taking off through e-books sales.  It's not because we're all perverts, it's because we're all wired this way.  Romance and erotica has come out of the shadows of being sinful, and become something to be read because it's good for us in a way.  For some of us, we write it - but would never tell anyone because it's something to keep quiet - while it's a big seller. 

So, do you read romance or erotic books - or are you too shy to say?  Until my next post, happy reading.    

Book Blogs

Okay, this sounds really confusing, but do you like to read book blogs?  I don't mean blogs that are about book reviews, I mean blogs that have books written into them?  I run two such blogs and they've got a small number of followers - and any number of looky-loos who just drop in to have a read once in a while.  So, do you read book blogs and enjoy reading an unknown author's written works?  If so, let us know of some of the blogs you all follow and read.  Here are my two.

Fry Nelson: Bounty Hunter 

Okay, this one is of novella/short stories.  But please do start with Chapter One - Initiation (book 1) and go from there otherwise you won't know what's going on; as it juxtaposes back and forth between the stories from time to time.  I have had some great feedback from this blog from people all over.

You Can't Go Back: And Other Impossibilities  

This one is of vampire romance and other mixed stories from time travel, weirdness and darkness I've only thought of while traveling around on holidays, had nightmares about (and thought would make a great story and found they did) and anything else I can think of to write... these are the odds and ends of the 'what if...' situations that run through my brain from time to time.  And yes, I did get published.  But it's fun to read the collection of stories here; and I will be adding to them soon as well.

I hope you guys enjoy these two blogs for your reading pleasure.  But do let us addicted to reading just about anything know of any blogs you've discovered where an unknown author has put their work on a blog to entertain the masses.  Until my next post, happy reading!  

The Home Festival Scores!

On Saturday, I was out all day at the Home Festival here in Brisbane to show my Altered Book and an artistic view of what my book collection meant to me.  Well, the day went off well!  The weather was perfect with blue skies, the sun out nice and bright and a gorgeous cool sea breeze to keep the whole day from keeping us from getting too hot.

The stalls were varied from organic foods to doing your own screen-printing to second-hand books (which I didn't seen until the end of the day).  But there was a jumble sale near our Pop-Up Museum which I had a look at with my niece, Riley, and I found myself a first edition of a poetry book by Helen Steiner Rice which was printed in 1968; and I paid only $2.00 for it!  What a lovely little book it is!  

And to add to my collection, one of my friends and artists - Doug Cartwright - found a 5-book set of gothic romance for me for $5.00.  He told me that when he saw it he knew it was very much me.  So, he bought it for me.  How cool is that?  I was so happy to see it as I've been eyeing it off at QBD and can't afford the $30 price tag attached to it; and now I've got it for so much less!

I found other things at the jumble sale - but they weren't books - to add to my other collections and they really made my day.  So, what have you found at jumble or garage or yard sales recently that you thought was a great find recently?  Was it found at a big festival - like mine was - or at a local market?  Do tell.  Until my next post, happy reading!

Death, Taxes and a French Manicure by Diane Kelly

Tara Holloway is a special agent on the IRS's payroll and she makes sure that you  pay your taxes; and keeps her finger on the pulse her love life at the same time.  After all, she needs one!

After being attacked by a small-time tax cheat who slices her wrist open with a box-cutter, Tara is put onto a case where she has to be under cover with an agent from the DEA.  They are tailing - of all people - an ice-cream man who is suspected of selling drugs from his truck in the poorest area of town.  And Tara and her partner for this case get down and dirty dressing in clothes she'd rather give to charity; and dressing like anyone but herself.

While she's working this case, an even bigger case falls in her lap; in the shape of a handsome, well-built landscape gardener called Brett.  He's working for some really big, dirty scammers who are stealing money off the retired folks and leaving them with empty bank accounts and nothing to live on.  But with Brett in her sights as a possible hotty to land, the small-time drug-dealer ice-cream man to bust, can Tara really handle everything on her plate right now?  Can she trust Brett with her heart and with what her job is?  Or is Brett in cahoots with the scammers and will she have to arrest the man who has become a big part of her world?

I won this book on The Romance Bandits site and thought it was the typical run-of-the-mill romance.  But before I turned the first page, I was laughing out loud!  By the end of chapter one, I was really gunning for main character (literally; as she can shoot a gun!) and by the time Tara met Brett and scored her first kiss, I wanted to meet the guy and steal him off her... only kidding.  Before I knew it I was putting aside an hour or two to read this book and today I finished it!  What a funny, sassy, hot book to read; and a great spin to put on romances.  I swear that I won't look at romance novels the same again.

Diane Kelly is a tax attorney by day, a writer by night.  A recipient of the 2009 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Element, she has received more than two dozen RWA chapter awards.  Diane's fiction, tax and humor pieces have appeared in True Love magazine, Writer's Digest Yearbook, Romance Writers' Report, Byline magazine and other publications.  'Death Taxes and a French Manicure' is her first mystery novel, with more in the series to come. 

My Guilty Pile

As you've all read below, I've broken a toe on my left foot; and now I have a week or so to sit around get some serious reading done.  So, today, I pulled out my trusty backpack which traveled around the UK with me in 1997 and brought it upstairs with me to pack with the books that I've got by my bed.  All of these books have been started, but not finished.  These books are my Guilty Pile; the books that haven't been finished but were great when I started them.  Have you got a pile such as this? I'm sure you have and just haven't gotten around to finishing any of them.  

Well, my broken toe has given me the opportunity to get in and do some serious reading; starting with these books.  And here's the list:

'The Dreaming Void' by Peter F Hamilton

'The Troy Game: Hades' Daughter' by Sara Douglass

'11-22-63' by Stephen King

'The Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes In New England' by Brock Clarke

'Star-Begotten' by H.G. Wells

'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood

'Neuromancer' by William Gibson

'Redeeming the Rogue' by Donna MacMeans

'Owls Do Cry' by Janet Frame

So, there you go.  My pile of books that have been sitting by my bed waiting for me to finish them.  I'm ashamed to have let them stay there for so long and not finish them.  I hope to finish them - one by one - soon and let you in on how good they were.  Which books do you have that are sitting awaiting for you to finish them with a bookmark a quarter or halfway through them?  Have you picked them up and finished them, or are they still waiting for you?  Or did you do what I did and almost forget them?  Until my next post, happy reading!

Romance Bandits Win!

I look around at other blogs of book reviewers, writers and book lovers as well.  I also comment on their blogs as well to keep in touch.  In the last few weeks I've joined in the banter of The Romance Bandits just for a bit of fun and have been enjoying myself immensely.

Recently, I scrolled through their blog - which works through their 16 managers quickly and so it updates rapidly; and sometimes daily - and found I had won a book from one of them!  Yay!  Today, it arrived; and little did I know (until I opened it to photograph it), it was signed by the author!  How good is that!  So, here are the photos for you all to enjoy of my prize!