I love October. The summer heat is mostly gone. I no longer have to be up by 6:00am to take the dogs for a walk. The new TV season has started. I’ve been back at work for about 6 weeks, so everything has settled into a routine. I work in academia so I get to take some time off in the summer, something for which I am very appreciative. I must say, though, the transition back can be a little rough. “Meetings? I have to go to meetings? Really?” fades to “So, when’s the next meeting?” by October. The resentment I feel over the fact that work seriously cuts into my reading time has also eased by now. In the summer I like to beat the heat by lying in bed and reading. By October, I’ve relearned how to prioritize my reading, since I’m lucky to get time to read over lunch or before going to sleep. I made a point to take a sneak peak at two of this month’s new releases. THE 2nd LIE is the second book in The Chapman Files by Tara Taylor Quinn. The lynch pin of the series is psychologist Kelly Chapman, whose cases…

Dreamer’s Cycle #4 October 2009 On Sale: October 1, 2009 Featuring: Gwydion 485 pages ISBN: 1933836571 EAN: 9781933836577 Paperback $15.95 Add to Wish List Fantasy Historical Buy at Amazon.com May Earth Rise by Holly Taylor The Y Dawnus, the Gifted, are pillars of High King Arthur’s society in a mysterious land in 500 A.D. Without them, his empire cannot survive. When they are taken captive by the Coranians in a battle for Kymru, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. In this fourth book of the Dreamer’s Cycle, cruel deprivation and a full-scale conflict bring the Kymri to the brink of annihilation. Confronting his mortal enemy, Havgan the Warleader, Arthur and his forces face a formidable opponent backed by menacing powers that threaten to destroy their magical, elite kingdom. Loyal to King Arthur, Gwydion, the Dreamer of Kymru, must risk the loss of Rhiannon. She alone is the love of his soul. A daring escapade against the Coranians threatens to separate them forever. If he fails, he will never see her again. In a treacherous realm where captives are collared and sacrificed, where ruthless territorial boundaries are drawn and enforced, where death by poisoning and torture are the…

RT Gives Aching for Always 4 1/2 Stars! Enter to Win a Kate Spade Bag. Vengeance has driven naval captain Hugh Hawksmoor from his eighteenth century ship to a gleaming future of skyscrapers and cell phones, but will it drive him out of the arms of the woman he loves? “Cready builds on her reputation for writing sensuous, romantic time-travel books. This delightful story is passionate, suspenseful, adventurous and highly entertaining. Readers will find themselves constantly smiling and wonder where the time went when they come to the end.” — Romantic Times on Aching for Always, 4 1/2 stars Message from RITA® Award-winning novelist and author of Aching for Always, Gwyn Cready: I hope you love romance because Aching for Always (Pocket Books, $7.99, available in stores and online today) is the best I’ve ever written. Here’s the story: Eighteenth century naval captain, Hugh Hawksmoor, is determined to avenge his brother’s death. His quest takes him into the future, a world he doesn’t know or understand. There he meets Joss O’Malley, a scrappy young woman determined to save the map-making company her mother founded. One map will change both of their lives. Hugh’s deft touch and Old World charm stir…

Spies, private investigators, detectives, G-men, Special Forces, firefighters, and so many more I’m missing I’m sure, all carry the same aura or “WOW!” factor for me. Sexy is relative when it comes to just about anything. For example, kilts are sexy—on people who can wear them. On Gerard Butler they’re downright sinful! Now on Uncle Paolo who’s had way too much stuffed manicotti over his lifetime… hmm, not so much. So sexy is as sexy looks? No, I don’t think so. Men in uniform, men who take risks, men who use their brawn for most of the day in their jobs, do it for me, baby! So if I’d started out this way, then this list could include so many more occupations. • The Uniformed = garbage collectors wear them. So they’re sexy? Uh…we don’t see too many calendar pin-ups of them, now do we? • Risk Takers = sewer workers take a risk every time they submerge themselves in sewer systems filled with…okay, sorry, yuck! Sexy? • Brawny Lads = farmers use big huge machines (this may have some of you thinking, hmm, that’s sexy) to do most of the heavy lifting, but hearing a friend describe her husband…