August 2010 On Sale: August 3, 2010 Featuring: Mr. Knightley; Emma 304 pages ISBN: 1402241348 EAN: 9781402241345 Paperback $14.99 Add to Wish List Paranormal Romance, Jane Austen Buy at Amazon.com Emma and the Vampires by Wayne Josephson When all the men are undead, what’s a matchmaker to do? What better place than pale England to hide a secret society of gentlemen vampires? In this hilarious retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, screenwriter Wayne Josephson casts Mr. Knightley as one of the most handsome and noble of the gentlemen village vampires. Blithely unaware of their presence, Emma, who imagines she has a special gift for matchmaking, attempts to arrange the affairs of her social circle with delightfully disastrous results. But when her dear friend Harriet Smith declares her love for Mr. Knightley, Emma realizes she’s the one who wants to stay up all night with him. Fortunately, Mr. Knightley has been hiding a secret deep within his unbeating heart-his (literal) undying love for her… A brilliant mash-up of Jane Austen and the undead. Every Well-Dressed Maiden Should Wear a Stake on Her Thigh Excerpt Chapter 1 Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, had lived nearly…

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but as a romance writer I often have family and friends anxious to tell me of their latest romance dilemma. From the perspective of most people, romance writers are thought of as the go-to person for love advice because we know how the guy can get the girl. But romance writers do not have all the answers when it comes to love, even though, we do have the ability to create heroes who can fly through the air, rule over kingdoms and woo women, in only a few hundreds pages. So when a friend of mine told me that her husband had given her stainless steel pots and pans for her birthday, and that she couldn’t believe how she could marry someone who has no sense of romance, I just shrugged. It was not exactly the reaction she was seeking. Then I said to her, “What did you tell him you wanted? Did you tell him you wanted pots and pans?” After mulling it over for a few seconds, my friend replied, “Well, not exactly.” And right there was the beginning of the dilemma. So I shared with her what I…

Sandman Slim #2 October 2010 On Sale: October 5, 2010 448 pages ISBN: 0061714313 EAN: 9780061714313 Hardcover $22.99 Add to Wish List Paranormal – Supernatural, Fantasy Buy at Amazon.com Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey Supernatural fantasy’s best antihero returns, in the high-octane follow-up to Richard Kadrey’s acclaimed Sandman Slim James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, crawled out of Hell, took bloody revenge for his girlfriend’s murder, and saved the world along the way. After that, what do you do for an encore? You take a lousy job tracking down monsters for money. It’s a depressing gig, but it pays for your beer and cigarettes. But in L.A., things can always get worse. Like when Lucifer comes to town to supervise his movie biography and drafts Stark as his bodyguard. Sandman Slim has to swim with the human and inhuman sharks of L.A.’s underground power elite. That’s before the murders start. And before he runs into the Czech porn star who isn’t quite what she seems. Even before all those murdered people start coming back from the dead and join a zombie army that will change our world and Stark’s forever. Death bites. Life is worse. All things considered, Hell’s not…

Jake Helman Files #2 October 2010 On Sale: October 1, 2010 Featuring: Jake Helman ISBN: 1605421707 EAN: 9781605421704 Trade Size Add to Wish List Horror Buy at Amazon.com Desperate Souls by Gregory Lamberson They’re not breathing. That’s why they’re so still. But that’s not possible . . . Eleven months after battling Nicholas Tower and the demon Cain, Jake Helman has set up shop as a private investigator in Lower Manhattan. When a woman hires Jake to prove that her dead grandson is dealing a deadly new drug called “Black Magic” on a Brooklyn street corner, Jake uncovers a vicious drug lord’s plot to use voodoo to seize control of the city. While panic grips New York City, Jake Helman battles gun- wielding zombie assassins, hallucinations, and betrayal at every corner. But voodoo creates more terrors than zombies, and Jake finds himself poised on the edge of insanity as he fights to restore the soul of the one person he trusts. Previous Picks

Dear Reader: I love writing romances. And for me, it’s always about the hero. It doesn’t matter what he looks like, or what he does for a living, or even who his family and friends are— it’s about his heart. So it’s funny to me that my new contemporary romance series centers around three sisters—three disenchanted, estranged sisters who don’t know each other and aren’t even sure that they want to. And just for fun, I had them inherit a dilapidated beach inn that they’re forced by circumstances to run. Together. A difficult concept for them to say the least. The first book is Simply Irresistible (out now) tells the story of the middle sister, Maddie “The Mouse,” who decides she’s done being mousey, thank you very much. She’s tired of being too accommodating and too trusting. Her transformation begins when she takes a stand with her sisters Tara and Chloe and hires a contractor to help renovate the inn. Enter hot and handsome Jax Cullen, whose laid-back, easy-going personality matches the ways of the sleepy Washington beach town of Lucky Harbor. Only he’s not nearly as harmless as he seems, but much more like a very sexy sheep in…

Every romance reader knows that a hero can make or break a book. Being the author of more than 25 novels I’ve had a bunch of heroes. The latest, Sean Gallagher, is on the cover of my current novel, AN ACCIDENTAL SEDUCTION. Now, I’ll admit that he doesn’t look quite like I saw him in my mind’s eye while I was writing the book. Because, even though Sean is bent on ruining the heroine, Savanna Hearnes, in an effort to avenge his brother, I envisioned him a little less dour, a little less intimidating and somber. I saw him with an unruly shock of dark hair, a killer grin and a devil-may-care attitude. But once my publisher sent me the cover, I was like…oh, yeah (slobber, slobber, swoon) well, that’s good, too. And look, Savanna seems to agree with my assessment, because she’s obviously drooling on his shoulder. The hero of my Christina McMullen mystery novels has never been on a cover, so he’s all my to create. I see him like this. Yummy, right? But with a lot of attitude and angst. He’s a lieutenant named Jack Rivera who causes no end of trouble for Chrissy from the first…

At FenCon last month, one of the more interesting panels I attended was about cover art. I’ve been lucky in the covers for my books, but I’ve done my share of mocking the covers that aren’t so great, as well as the cover trends that get out of control. In fact, my Halloween costume a couple of years ago was a Generic Urban Fantasy Book Cover. A group of artists who have worked on book covers discussed some of the trends in science fiction and fantasy book covers, as well as where book covers may be going in the age of e-books. David Lee Anderson said when he entered the business in the early 80s, most cover art was representative, depicting scenes and characters from the books in a realistic way. “This was what science fiction people expected.” Starting in the late 1990s, the trend shifted to vague representation. John Picacio said these covers are more enigmatic, giving a sense of the spirit of the book rather than literally representing anything from the book. Brad Foster said the more symbolic art is often easier for the artist because it may take going through the entire manuscript to get all the…

Living with a chronic disease presents daily challenges. Whether it is learning to navigate life’s obstacles with a physical disability or simply coming to terms emotionally with the harsh realities of an unremitting disease, it’s never easy. The best plan of action that I have found is to try to make peace with your situation and put your best foot forward each and every day. This month’s Jen’s Jewels Leigh Brill discusses this very topic in her heartfelt new release, A DOG NAMED SLUGGER. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, she tackles everyday activities with the help of an adorably smart guide dog aptly named Slugger. Through anecdotal tales of encouragement, she offers keen insight into the life of a person struggling with a debilitating chronic disease. Beautifully written from start to finish, her story is a true testament of courage, love, and hope. As part of this interview, Bell Bridge Books has generously donated five copies for you, my favorite readers, to try to win. So, don’t forget to look for the trivia question. And as always, thanks for making Jen’s Jewels a part of your fall reading list. Jen: The challenges that life presents often turn out to be blessings…

Lose Yourself October 2010 On Sale: October 1, 2010 Featuring: Carrie Sawyer; Sam Crider 374 pages ISBN: 0373795750 EAN: 9780373795758 Paperback $4.99 Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Shiver by Jo Leigh One touch is all it takes… Welcome to the Crider Inn, one of the most haunted spots in Colorado, and the venue for this year’s ghostly convention. Mingle with fellow fans. Be prepared for a week of unexpected encounters and spine-tingling exploration…. Comic-strip artist Carrie Sawyer doesn’t actually believe in ghosts—she only agreed to accompany her best friend on this crazy trip. What she does believe is that hotel owner Sam Crider is mind-bendingly delish! And since this vacation is all about dark, empty hotel rooms and late nights, it’s perfect for some naughty, after-hours encounters of the X-rated kind…. The kind that can make a girl shiver with temptation! And fear the unknown… Trick or Treat?…Treat Yourself This Halloween! Excerpt The dude’s elbow poked the side of her boob. Again. Carrie couldn’t tell if he was doing it on purpose or if he was just clueless. If she had to make a guess, it would be clueless. It was bad enough the Crider Inn…

Since I’ve published seven Jane Austen-related novels, people often ask me why there’s such a fascination with Jane Austen in general and Pride and Prejudice in particular. I’ve developed a number of stock answers having to do with the brilliance and universality of her characterizations, the appeal of escaping to a different era, and the assurance that love will always triumph in Jane Austen’s world. And how can you not love Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy? But the current appeal, with new Austen-related novels being published every month, may have to do with something that goes beyond Jane Austen herself. Most women readers I run into already know the story of Pride and Prejudice. Either they read it in high school, or they saw the 1995 miniseries with Colin Firth or the 2005 movie with Matthew MacFadyen, but they all know the basic story. I can walk into any bookstore and start a conversation with a woman I’ve never met about Mr. Darcy, and chances are good I’m going to hear how much she loves Pride & Prejudice. It’s as close to a universal that we have for women who read. In today’s fragmented world, we’re always grasping for sources…