In honor of The Princess and the Frog today, our Saturday Smackdown features two classic princesses that have inspired generations of girls for more than half a century each. Arguably, since both are based on classic fairytales that are centuries older than their animated counterparts, their influence is considerable on classic and modern romantic literature. Fairy Tales The beauty of a fairy tale is the transcendence from everyday life to a magical place or time where happily ever after is not only possible, it is required. As a culture, we love fairy tales; we love the idea of the underdog triumphing, of true love’s first kiss and of love at first sight. We believe in men who will slay dragons to be with the one they love and of men who see beyond the shallow and innocuous to the true beauty that is within. You will find all of these qualities in our two superb fairy tale contenders. However, it is up to you to choose which one is the better. One lucky commentator will win a $10 gift certificate to Amazon next Saturday just in time for that last minute shopping! Click here to read more and see how…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations REMEMBERING ASHBY is a tale of love and passion that began as the backstory for the upcoming novel THE FORGOTTEN. As with all stories, it took on a life of its own. Melanie and Adam are very dear to my heart and their love story is one of sweet romance, rich history and tender passion. Today, I want to share this romance with someone you love. You may also enjoy the free short story that follows it and leads to the sequel. Discover Forget to Remember on my website. REMEMBERING ASHBY Peace among the clans has been nonexistent for the past centuries. But now that clan Lairds have decided to summon the God-touched people from their magical Isle to perform the rituals of Beltane to bless the peace talks between the clans, peace is within reach. Melanie is honored to be chosen as one of six maidens to represent the Goddess at this important event. She is meant to be a vessel for the power of the Goddess while forgetting the failures of humanity during the festival. She knows should be concentrating on her part as a Maiden of the Hunt,…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations Good morning, the weather outside is truly getting frightful as the cold snap seems to be here to stay in the United States. It was 25 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas yesterday morning — brrrrr cold. But we’ve been handing out some hot books to ward off the chill all week and today is no exception. Joining us for today’s giveaway is author Shirin Dubbin. I met Shirin via Twitter over the summer when her book KEEPER OF THE WAY released. The story was delightful and the author even more so. I now count Shirin among my very dearest friends, few others out there really get me and she is definitely one that does. We often joke we’re sisters from another mother. Her giveaway today is a wonderful combination of fae and vamps and weres, oh my! So let’s frolic and play, the paranormal way! All books will be sent via Buy This Ebook For A Friend option on Fictionwise. Check out the great eBooks that Shirin has picked out: Keeper of the Way Aftermath cleaner, Nia Mora, is destined to die–tonight. Severin, the inscrutable and utterly delicious harbinger of death has…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General ObservationsPersonally, I’m having so much fun with our Holiday Blog giveaway and today we are featuring author Nikki Duncan and her tremendous SOUNDS TO DIE BY. Nikki is a great writer, a fun friend and definitely someone I enjoy talking to and reading. Give this tremendous e-book to someone you love this holiday season. The best part of the book is it is just the first in the series of her Sensory Ops so there are more hot tales to come. What did I think of Ian and rookie FBI agent Kieralyn? SOUNDS TO DIE BY has a pulsing, rhythmic beat that mixes Boston sensibility with Miami sound machine to create a passionate movement that sustains throughout the novel. SOUNDS TO DIE BY Rookie FBI Agent Kieralyn Beckett is in a delicate position. Her team refuses to buy into her theory that a string of kidnappings is connected. If she pushes too hard, they’ll discover the latest victim was her college roommate and boot her off the case. A garbled recording is the only evidence, and there’s only one man who can decipher it. The hard part will be convincing him to…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations Last week, the The Daily Dose gave away Rosemary Clement-Moore‘s THE SPLENDOR FALLS, this week we’re offering the trilogy that earned Rosemary a RITA during the recent Romance Writers of America national convention. Her trilogy of books focusing on Maggie Quinn, a high schooler with a gift, a grandmother, stable parents and a hot young grad student who’s interested in her. The young adult series begins with PROM DATES FROM HELL where Maggie struggles with her awakening gifts and senior year (and not necessarily in that order). HELL WEEK follows Maggie through her first semester at college and the infamous hell week associated with pledging a Greek house. The third and final installment in her Girl vs. Evil trilogy is HIGHWAY TO HELL and a Spring Break gone awry. These books are laugh out loud funny, deliciously written and terrifically engaging. All three are autographed by the author and available as a gift to the person you nominate. Learn more about these terrific books: PROM DATES FROM HELL From School Library Journal: Under normal circumstances, Maggie Quinn would want nothing to do with the vicious, elite clique at her high school….

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations Thomas E. Sniegoski is one of my favorite authors. I had the pleasure of interviewing him in September. The multi-published author has titles that range from young adult to urban fantasy to comic books and graphic novels. He’s even turned his pen to an Angel novel or two. In honor of the holidays, he’s giving away autographed copies of his Remy Chandler novels and his Owlboy novels for the kids. The series follows Billy Hooten who dreams of being a superhero. It’s a fantastic set of books for parents and kids alike. Sniegoski is one of those rare authors that creates rich, vibrant characters that you imagine could walk off the page and have a conversation with you – when they aren’t smiting the bad guys. A Kiss Before Apocalypse Boston P.I. Remy Chandler has many talents. He can will himself invisible, he can speak and understand any foreign language (including the language of animals), and if he listens carefully, he can hear thoughts. Unusual, to say the least – for an ordinary man. But Remy is no ordinary man – he’s an angel. Generations ago, he chose to renounce heaven…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations It’s Saturday Smackdown time again here at the Daily Dose and I wanted to take a moment and thank all the authors who have contributed so far to the Daily Dose Holiday Blog Giveaway and to the wonderful mothers, sisters, brothers, friends, mothers-in-law, grandmothers-in-law and more who have nominated the people in their lives to receive these great gifts. I really wish I had something to give to each and everyone! Today, we take a short break from our giveaway to play Smackdown holiday style, but the giveaway will be back tomorrow with more gift certificates, more books, more movies and just more to share! Saturday Smackdown: Holiday Style Last month I posted my family’s Top Ten Holiday Flicks and Sara Reyes over at Fresh Fiction and I got into a debate on what I left off! It turns out, my Christmas list isn’t everyone’s. So we’re bringing the debate to you this week in an extra big, fun holiday smackdown. You pick the top movie, you let us know what you think and you will win a holiday movie of your choice (provided it is available on Amazon)! Home Alone…

Capping off this fabulous week of holiday blog giveaways is Leanna Renee Hieber. Leanna paid a visit to the Daily Dose for a fabulous conversation about her beautiful Victorian fantasy. Today, Hieber is offering a signed copy of both of her books and a $10 dollar Barnes and Noble gift certificate as an exquisite gift package for someone you nominate. Discover her beautiful books: Visit The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death…. Discover Dark Nest Winner of the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in published…

Author Lisa Pietsch is a real peach and a personal friend. Her first novel The Path to Freedom follows the exploits of Sarah Stevens as she finds herself and a calling with a highly specialized task force. Lisa’s military background plays no small part in delivering a jam-packed action adventure that leaves you wanting more. Fortunately, books 2, 3 and 4 are on their way in 2010! How’s that for a holiday present! If you enjoy action-adventure, kickass heroines and sexy men with guns, this is the e-book for you. The Path to Freedom In the war on terror…sometimes the best weapon is a woman… Sarah Stevens is a washed-up military cop whose life is a shambles until she is offered a position as an agent with the CIA. The thirty-year-old, overweight, down-on-her-luck Stevens goes to a secret training camp where she is transformed into a sexy and deadly agent whose mission is to stop, by any means possible, the financiers of terrorism against the United States and its allies. Sarah soon discovers that this is an exciting new life loaded with adventure, danger and undeniable temptations. Read an excerpt. The Rules 1. You comment on the blog in order…

Welcome to day four of our holiday blog giveaway! I hope you are enjoying these giveaways as much as I am in coordinating them. Today’s giveaway is an autographed copy of Rosemary Clement Moore‘s The Splendor Falls I called this book the best read of 2009. The Splendor Falls Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship. Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand. Then…