Isn’t it amazing how many different sorts of collections there are out there? I know that I’m constantly amazed when I catch a report of some person’s passion for an item which I wouldn’t have considered valuable…like the lady that collects dryer lint. Yes, you read that right. That little vent in the front of the dryer that most of us empty straight into the trash is something that at least one woman considers worthy of being collected. She makes art out of different colors it seems. Now most of us, me included, will claim that we drive our living partners insane with the stacks of books we have carefully stored in our closest and on shelves. Yes…I know where each and every book is dear!!!! So no thinking you can sneak a few into the donation bags; that will be the book I go looking for next. LOL! I really do have a collection of paperbacks that I consider quite worthy of taking up space in my home. My passion for writing grew out of a very healthy appetite for reading. The other thing that I’ve always enjoyed is sewing. I adore fabric. My family might try to tell…

July 2010 On Sale: June 29, 2010 Featuring: Dr. Claire Norris; Langdon Stone 384 pages ISBN: 1420103415 EAN: 9781420103410 Mass Market Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Blind Spot by Nancy Bush What You Don’t See… The crime scene at an Oregon rest stop is brutal beyond belief?a young man’s lifeless body cut to ribbons, and his pregnant girlfriend left alive but comatose… What You Don’t Know… Psychologist Claire Norris is assigned to treat the survivor at a private mental hospital. But there are no clues to the identity of the catatonic “Jane Doe.” A difficult job only becomes more complicated with the arrival of ex-homicide detective Langdon Stone, who questions Claire’s every move. Can Kill You Reluctantly working together, Claire and Lang begin to unravel the chilling truth about a twisted case?one with ties to a killer who is right in their midst, eager to see a mission of evil through to its terrifying end… An exciting, compelling thriller with a winding plot that keeps you captivated until the end. Previous Picks

What a week it’s been! Tuesday I got together with a small group of people from the DFW Tea Readers group, and had a wonderful dinner of barbecued chicken, baked beans, deviled eggs, pasta salad, green salad, and not only one cake, but two! We also had a lively conversation with author Annette Blair, who writes, not only romance, but also mysteries. I didn’t realize that, so Wednesday sent me to Barnes and Nobel in an effort to attain one or two of her mysteries by using my gift card I won from author Michele Bardsley (who can be seen in November at Readers ‘n’ Ritas.) Saturday had me again meeting the DFW TeaReaders group for a fun and lively tea. Unfortunately we were not the only people in the tea room, and when I went to the restroom I got the impression that one of the elderly ladies from the other group wasn’t really happy about how much fun we were having. See when we start having fun we tend to forget that there are others around, and we tend to get a bit loud. We’re not rude loud, just fun loving loud, and if you’re ever in the…

Who are the dark forgotten? No, it’s not the contents of the sock drawer. My stories are set in present-day Fairview, a university town in the Pacific Northwest. It’s like any other North American city, but things are changing fast. The supernatural beings among us have been out in the open since the year 2000, which has created both fascination and fear among the human population. But that’s just half the story. Long, long ago, all the various supernatural species lived side-by-side with humans. Then, nine sorcerers got together and built a supernatural prison dimension called the Castle.  They desired to be the most powerful beings on earth, so they put all other magical creatures into the Castle dungeon.  This included were-beasts, vampires, hellhounds, demons, dragons, unicorns—you name it.  It really didn’t matter if the other species were hostile to humans or not; they were killed or imprisoned for the crime of having magic. Of course, a few monsters got away and survived in the shadows, and they became the modern vampires and werebeasts that “came out” in Y2K. They’ve just made peace with the humans and are starting to get a slice of the good life:  credit cards, cell…

July 2010 On Sale: July 6, 2010 Featuring: Serena Oakley; Nick Whalen 352 pages ISBN: 0425234290 EAN: 9780425234297 Trade Size $15.00 Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Home Is Where The Bark Is by Kandy Shepherd Two opposites hounded by love. From the author of the delightful Love is a Four-Legged Word comes another novel of romance, mystery, and dogs. Former model Serena Oakley has opened Paws-A-While, a doggy daycare and spa in San Francisco. When a ruggedly handsome client walks in, holding a Yorki-Poo too dainty for his personality, Serena knows something’s not right. Undercover PI Nick Whalen has followed a series of identity frauds to Serena and is determined to dig up secrets he’s certain she is hiding. Despite their mutual distrust, Nick and Serena find themselves bonding over an injured, orphaned dog. And soon they’re arousing more than just suspicions. But will the pair trust in love enough to thwart a danger circling too close to home? Tail-wagging fun in this delightful romantic comedy with a clever mystery thrown in. Previous Picks

This is short and sweet because I’m off to my first MYTHCON. Go ahead, be like everyone else, “what’s a mythcon?” A great question, because I’m learning too! Mythcon41 is a conference put on by the Mythopoeic Society, “a national/international organization promoting the study, discussion, and enjoyment of fantastic and mythopoeic literature through books and periodicals, annual conferences, discussion groups, awards, and more.” It’s held in Dallas (well, Addison, a suburb) this year so I thought, why not? I like fantasy and paranormal romance, mystery, etc, so this could be interesting. Then I saw the programming. I mean, seriously, how can I pass up “Fox-Fairies, Demons, and Ghosts Oh My!: An Overview of Common Fantasy Figures in Asian Children’s Stories.” Or, “Problems with Rebirth: A Rabbit, a Duck, and a Kitten in Works by Beatrix Potter?” And that is just on Saturday! So, I’ll be tweeting from Mythcon41 all day and miss (sob sob) the July Tea. But I’m sure Sandi and the others will fill me in! Oh, wait, of course, there will be a contest this weekend. We couldn’t go without one, right? So leave a comment today or tomorrow and you’ll be entered to win something fabulous….

Chet And Bernie #2 January 2010 On Sale: January 5, 2010 Featuring: Bernie Little; Chet 320 pages ISBN: 1416585850 EAN: 9781416585855 Hardcover $25.00 Add to Wish List Mystery Pet Lovers Buy at Amazon.com Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn Following the acclaimed DOG ON IT, the second mystery in the Chet and Bernie series featuring an irresistible canine narrator. The second book of an irresistible series narrated by a loveable and wise dog. In the newest Chet and Bernie mystery, Chet gets a glimpse of the show dog world turned deadly. “We run a detective agency, me and Bernie, called the Little Detective Agency on account of Little being Bernie’s last name. My name’s Chet, pure and simple. Headquarters is our house on Mesquite Road, a nice place with a big tree out front, perfect for napping under, and the whole canyon easily accessible out back, if it just so happens someone left the gate open. And then, up in the canyon — well, say no more.” Praised by Stephen King as “a canine Sam Spade full of joie de vivre,” Chet and his human companion Bernie have both had some setbacks in life — Bernie in combat, Chet…

People always ask me where I get my ideas for stories. The second most asked question is ‘where do I get my characters?’ Generally the questions instill a measure of discomfort within me. Because the truth is hard to explain. Or maybe, I just don’t have enough faith that the answer will be well accepted. Or believed. And, after all, they’re aren’t many of us who want people to think we’re weird. My answer to both questions is usually some sort of vague ‘Oh, they’re just there.’ Not much of an answer, I know. And yet, it’s the complete truth. I don’t have a trunk in my attic filled with ideas, or people, or even costumes for people to wear. I don’t have a diary, or a ledger, where I make lists. I don’t go anywhere or look anyplace for the stories that fill my pages, or for the people who live and breath between the covers of my books. They’re just there. They always have been. I believe that the ideas, and the people who fulfill them, are given to me by a source that is greater than I am as an individual – given to me as a…

Dog Walker #3 June 2010 On Sale: June 1, 2010 Featuring: Ellie Engleman; Sam Ryder 336 pages ISBN: 0451230485 EAN: 9780451230485 Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Mystery Amateur Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com Death In Show by Judi McCoy Professional dog walker Ellie Engleman doesn’t know much about the ins and outs of dog shows. But when one handler is killed, Ellie will learn that it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Glitz and glamor are de rigueur oat his year’s dog show, and Ellie’s soaking it all in as the guest of a client. But before the dogs and handlers can take their bows-and wows-one handler dies. So Ellie is asked to fill in and lead Lulu, one of her dog-waling charges, to victory. When the death starts to look like foul-play, Ellie’s sometime boyfriend, Detective Sam Ryder, gets assigned to the case. As she’s getting the hang of handling, Ellie tries to help find out who hated Lulu’s former handler. But now the killer might have it out for Ellie, and she and Sam will have to dig up the truth faster than a speeding bulldog. Previous Picks

July is full of cool books to help you beat the heat, with something for everyone. Find them below, grouped (loosely) by genre, so you can find what you’re looking for to get you through the dog days of summer. In contemporary relationship novels, Jennifer Echols always tops my list. She hits all the right notes: flawed but relatable characters, romance interwoven with important steps from kid-world to adulthood and a fantastic voice. Following on the heels of May’s romantic comedy ENDLESS SUMMER, Jennifer goes more for the gut with her new release FORGET YOU (July 20, from MTV Books). RCM: So, first a blurb: What’s the story about? Jennifer Echols: Zoey’s family life is falling apart. Her dad has taken up with a 24-year-old, her mom has attempted suicide, and her arch-enemy Doug has discovered this secret about her mom. Zoey’s terrified Doug will spill her mom’s secret just to spite her. But as long as her relationship with her boyfriend is rock-solid, Zoey thinks she can handle anything. Then she’s in a car accident that wipes out her memory of the entire night. And she can tell from the way Doug’s acting that something big happened between them….