Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
History ReFreshed | The Sweetbriar’s Thorns: Wars Of The Roses Part I
History / October 2, 2011

The old story goes that during the tumultuous days of fighting between rival branches of the English ruling Plantagenet family, courtiers wanting to make their loyalties known wore a white rose if they favored Richard of York, a red one if they supported the Lancastrian Henry.  For nearly 500 years since, the struggle for the throne known as the Wars of the Roses has riveted the attention of historians—and novelists. Of particular interest have been the rival ladies.  Warning: unimaginative Plantagenet parents seemed to name all their sons Richard, Henry, or Edward and all their daughters Elizabeth or Margaret.  Before beginning a read-a-thon, you might want to check Wikipedia or invest in a guide to the period.  Novelist Alison Weir offers the non-fiction guide, THE WARS OF THE ROSES. New York Times bestselling Queen of Tudor fiction Philippa Gregory collaborated with historians David Baldwin and Michael Jones to produce THE WOMEN OF THE COUSINS’ WAR, which gives the background on the ladies featured in her Cousins’ War series. (more on her novels later.) WARS OF THE ROSES THE WOMEN OF THE COUSINS’ WAR Using a basically chronological approach, I begin with CROWN IN CANDLELIGHT by Rosemary Hawley Jarman, which features…

Fresh Pick | NO PROPER LADY by Isabel Cooper
Fresh Pick / October 2, 2011

September 2011 On Sale: September 1, 2011 Featuring: Joan; Simon 345 pages ISBN: 1402259522 EAN: 9781402259524 Paperback $6.99  Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Change of seasons, or a change of times? No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper It’s Terminator meets My Fair Lady in this fascinating debut of black magic and brilliant ball gowns, martial arts, and mysticism. England, 1888. The trees are green, the birds are singing, and no one has any idea that in a few hundred years, demons will destroy it all. Joan plans to keep it that way. All she has to do is take out the dark magician responsible-before he summons the demons in the first place. But as a rough-around-the-edges assassin from that bleak future, she’ll have to learn how to fit into polite Victorian society to get close to her target. Simon Grenville has his own reasons for wanting to destroy Alex Reynell. The man used to be his best friend-until his practice of the dark arts almost killed Simon’s sister. The beautiful half-naked stranger Simon meets in the woods may be the perfect instrument for his revenge. It will just take a little time to teach…

Spooktacular Blog Events and Read-A-Thons in October
Blog-o-sphere / October 2, 2011

Howdy Y’all! It truly is the most Spooktacular Time of year in the blogsphere! Every year around this time the blogsphere explodes with ton of activities. So without further ado…. Read-A-Thons What is the 24 Hour Read-a-thon? It’s sort of a reading challenge, only everyone participates at the same time. For 24 hours, we read books, post in our blogs about our reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day and win prizes. What is the date of the next Read-a-thon? October 22, 2011, starting at Noon GMT. Here is a handy, simple-to-read time zone list. You can expect a Read-a-thon every April and October. Where can I sign up? You can sign up to be a Reader in the read-a-thon here and can sign up to be a volunteer here.   * * *   Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-Thon October 21-23rd Hosts: Bex @ Kindle Fever, Amanda @ Letters Inside Out, April @ My Shelf Confessions This is a Halloween themed Read-a-Thon but we’re not going to restrict it to only Halloween/creepy books, so pick whatever you want to read! If you don’t know how a Read-A-Thon works, you just read as much as…

Shirin Dubbin | A Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Date
Author Guest / October 2, 2011

Every time I tell this story jaws drop. I’ve been accused of making it up but my imagination runs closer to hot guys with swords, life sucking nightmares or fairytales in the modern world. I’m not good with covert perverts. I met him in Whole Foods—I now realize I’d confused organic food with wholesome men. He seemed lovely, though, a little pudgier than I like but with mocha skin and dark curly hair. Newly single and thinking of my safety I– Okay, the truth is since I was newly single and thinking of the television show Criminal Minds we chatted on the phone several times before I felt comfortable enough to meet him for a date. The first half of our outing went swimmingly. Although, I should have known I was in trouble when I told him I write urban fantasy/paranormal romance and he said, “Really? Mm, tell me your fantasies.” “Huh? Oh, no, no. Urban fantasy like Buffy the Vampire Slayer not Emmanuelle.” Um…not everyone is as well versed in literary genres as you or I, right? (If this were an audio post you’d hear me sigh.) The real turning point came at an Italian-style sorbet shop I enjoy….