Fresh Pick for Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014 is THE GIVEN by Vicki Pettersson #WhatsNewTuesday Harper Voyager June 2014 On Sale: May 27, 2014 384 pages ISBN: 006206620X EAN: 9780062066206 Kindle: B00FJ2YTOM Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban, Romance Suspense, Romance Paranormal Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound The Given by Vicki Pettersson The dramatic conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Vicki Pettersson’s critically acclaimed Celestial Blues series—an inventive blend of paranormal romance, noir mystery, and urban fantasy—involving a fallen angel and a flesh-and-blood rockabilly reporter. After learning his wife survived the attack that killed him fifty years earlier, angel/PI Griffin Shaw is determined to find Evelyn Shaw, no matter the cost. Yet his obsession comes at a price. Grif has had to give up his burgeoning love for reporter Katherine “Kit” Craig, the woman who made life worth living again, and dedicate himself to finding one he no longer knows. Yet when Grif is attacked again, it becomes clear that there are forces in both the mortal and heavenly realm who’d rather see him dead than unearth the well-buried secrets of his past. If he’s to survive his second go-round on the Surface,…

Dear friends and readers — I wanted to share some important news with you in hopes that it will make a difference in your life or the lives of those you love. I have breast cancer. I went in for my routine mammogram in early April and was called back for a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy. They knew just from the imaging that it was cancer. The biopsy confirmed their diagnosis, revealing that I have invasive ductal carcinoma. Fortunately for me, we appear to have caught this relatively early. The tumor is relatively small — 2 cm — and the ultrasound showed clear lymph nodes. The tumor is made up of the most treatable form of breast cancer, which helps, too. My blood work came back normal, as well. Still, we won’t know whether the cancer has spread until after my surgery on June 5. I have opted for a bilateral mastectomy — the removal of both breasts — because I want to do all I can to minimize my chances for a recurrence of this disease. I’m sharing this story for one important reason: Getting a mammogram saved my life. I don’t know any woman who enjoys getting a…

1. Double—and triple—check your overnight accommodations. I learned this the hard way. When the heat is low, crashing at some dive off the interstate is okay. But when the bad guys are hot on your ass, you need something a little more low key. I crashed in an abandoned pet store one night last May, too tired to check the place out properly. Apparently there was a huge chunk of wall missing. I woke up to an unhappy forest dweller in my face—more specifically, a skunk. Let me tell you, keeping it lo-pro while smelling like skunk isn’t easy to do… 2. Always be prepared to bail. This should go without saying, as any situation could turn critical in the blink of an eye. But what about simple things like sleep—or taking a shower? My best advice to those on the lam would be to make sure your wardrobe consists of simple, easy clothing. Don’t even think about those cute wrap around tops or that killer pair of lace up boots… Fashion is going to have to take a back seat to practicality here. And for the love of God, don’t sleep naked. The last thing you want is to…

I should probably sub-title this post ‘My Favorite Heroine(s)’, but then I might leave one off the list and she might leave the pages of her books to haunt me through the night… There have been several heroines I’ve identified with over my lifetime, but two that are very special to me — that I sometimes still feel are part of me. This first is Laura Ingalls Wilder. When I was little I loved those books. I didn’t have sisters, I wasn’t the middle child, but I did grow up on a farm in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of animals and lots of places to explore. Our local PBS station was re-running all of the Little House episodes the summer I turned 9 and I was in heaven. For an hour every day I got to watch Laura get into all kinds of trouble — and I quickly realized she had some good ideas. Nothing to do on a hot day? Why not wander down to the creek (we had 3 of them) and fish? Too rainy to go outside? Why not explore a haunted house (or my basement) to see what I could find? Not too…

I must admit, I sure would. I absolutely hate taking my car in for repair—I freely admit I’m not the most knowledgeable about what goes on underneath the engine, but even if I was an expert on a car’s inner workings, I know I’d be made to feel lacking when facing what has got to be one of the last male bastions out there—at least in my town. The garage. In fact, it was my experience of taking my car in for a service at my local garage that gave me the idea of UNDER THE HOOD –a garage owned by three women mechanics. I hung around, waiting to hand over the keys, just inside a workshop papered with calendars of half-naked women, while a group of guys drank coffee and talked, perfectly well aware of me but taking their time. Because I was female. When they finally came to consult, before I’d opened my mouth, they just didn’t take me seriously. I imagined how different it could be. How great it could be to ask questions of the mechanics, without feeling like a complete idiot. A few months later, I had the idea to create a garage in my…

Do you have moments that remain in your memory, and you’re not sure why? I’m not talking about the birth of your child, or wedding day, I’m talking about a seemingly insignificant conversation, or a person you met once and then never saw again. Or a random moment that you witnessed, and though you didn’t know the participants it stayed with you, even haunted you. Do you have moments that remain in your memory, and you’re not sure why? I’m not talking about the birth of your child, or wedding day. I’m talking about a seemingly insignificant conversation, or a person you met once and then never saw again. Or a random moment that you witnessed, and though you didn’t know the participants, it stayed with you, even haunted you. Those are the things that this writer draws on. The most common question writers get asked is, “Where do you get your ideas?” The standard answer is from everywhere, and that is so true. I’m inspired by things I read, see, and wonder. Newspaper articles. Random comments by friends. Song titles. Everything. But sometimes… sometimes… I dig back into my memory file, the one that sits on the hard drive…