Off topic: For anyone in the Dallas area who has not been to high tea at the Grand Lux at the Galleria with DFWTea, you do not know what you are missing! My parents were in town this weekend and I dragged them there to experience high tea. They were thoroughly impressed 🙂 Now, I’m a self-proclaimed news junkie, but with all the chaos and tragedy in the world lately, I have rediscovered why I love reading romances so much. They (well, almost) always have a happy ending and they are a way for me to escape the reality of whatever is going on in my life or the world. Of course, I could live without the tear-jerker romances. You know the ones – they require a box of kleenex to get through and usually become Hallmark movies. (The Night We Met required kleenex toward the end, but I’m still glad I read it.) I’m definitely more of a romantic comedy or romantic suspense reader. Though I used to read a lot of historicals (love Julie Garwood‘s back list and I’m anxiously awaiting her new historical) and still read some new ones, I generally prefer contemporaries. Whenever I’m stressed, just…

What is with this weather?! Easter in Dallas should NOT be this cold. Of course, my irritation with the weather could have something to do with the fact that I refuse to turn my heater back on in April. So, I’ve been a little chilly. Drum roll, please… I have highspeed internet access at home. I had been holding out, but I finally went and picked up the self-install kit with the modem from the local cable company. On Tuesday. Work kept me busy so I did not get a chance to hook the modem up until Friday afternoon. Why did I wait this long?! Working from home was so much faster today. Drawback: I was able to get in a lot reading during those long uploads and downloads on dialup when I was working from home. No more. Fingers are already starting to get cold again so I’m going to wrap up this posting with my weekend reading list. What I read over the weekend:Feels Like Family by Sherryl WoodsSay No to Joe? by Lori FosterFirst Comes Baby by Janice Kay JohnsonFinding His Way Home by Barbara Gale Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

CR2007 in Kansas City was a blast! I had been to it once before in Seattle in 2000. (What can I say, I was a hermit for a while. No more!) There were…ummm…memorable discussion topics, such as: “Kick Ass Heroines: How They Are Changing Romance”, “Characters, Plot, or Cock – What Makes a Book Sexy?” and “Sexual Oddities in the Animal Kingdom.” Being the good note taker that I am, I just had to write down a couple of the statements I heard in the “animal” discussion because they are definitely the type of odd trivia that could be the winning answers on a game show: “Chinese hamsters have the longest sperm” and “frogs tend to like orgies.” I know what you’re thinking, but I couldn’t make up these things even if I wanted to. But there were also some discussions where I learned something, like Lorraine Heath‘s “The Victorian World vs The Regency World.” I don’t read a lot of historicals so there was no way I could explain the difference until Lorraine’s talk. I now know about the influx of American heiresses into Europe in the Victorian era and that Winston Churchill’s mother was one of those American…

Celebrate Romance CELEBRATES with Cake! Originally uploaded by freshfiction. Enjoy our pictures from the Kansas City Celebrate Romance Conference. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Suzanne Simmons and Jayne Ann Krentz, originally uploaded by freshfiction. Elizabeth Guest is the pseudonym Suzanne Simmons has adopted to reinvent herself and launch a new series in a new genre. Her new book is a paranormal romance titled NIGHT LIFE (Berkley Sensation) and is set for publication April 3, 2007. The storyline involves a pharaoh, who, using a sacred ritual, is able to awaken thousands of years later as a vampire in Las Vegas. But evil forces have also awakened and are set on destroying him again, as well as the new love he’s found with a lovely Egyptologist, the woman of his dreams. By the way, Suzanne tells me this about Elizabeth Guest, “It’s a family name and the name of the heroine in my first historical romance, DESERT ROGUE, published by Avon back in 1992. I always knew if I was going to write under a different name than my own, that’s the one I would choose.” She also goes on to tell me, “I’m currently working on the second book in the series, DEAD OF NIGHT, set in Los Angeles. Each book stands on its own and features a different hero and heroine because that’s the…

The RITA finalists, originally uploaded by freshfiction. Julia London wants readers to know that the second book in her historical romance series, The Desperate Debutantes, is titled THE PERILS OF PURSUING A PRINCE (Pocket Star) and is set to go on sale April 17, 2007. It tells the story of Greer Fairchild, the cousin who went off to Wales to find an inheritance she’s not even certain exists, accompanied by the mysterious Mr. Percy. This book follows THE HAZARDS OF HUNTING A DUKE (Pocket Star, 5/23/06). Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

I’m in a mystery / thriller mood, so I polished off most of the In Death series by J.D. Robb. Not recommended to all since they sorta run together — short time period and all — but not a bad way to spend a day. Next up is THE OXFORD MURDERS and ANONYMOUS LAWYER. Both are highly recommended and I’m hoping for a little aracane feeling in the Oxford one. The Anonymous is just sarcastic I hear *grin* Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Yes, I went to the mall yesterday — after all it was 40% off day and I do have holiday shopping to do! And being a reader, the best gift to give is books! Because what I want to get is books so I always figured you give what you’d like to get! But I digress… Visited the Waldenbooks, still Waldenbooks not yet converted to the Borders Express which I am anxious to visit when they finish the changeover. The only store in the area that went through the transformation is not in a “friendly” mall *grin* Unfortunately, they didn’t have any of my top four choices — can it be THAT hard to find the John Hodgeman book — but I did find a cookbook that I’d never buy at normal price so the trip was not a loss. And I did a bit of research. Visiting the romance, mystery, fiction and science fiction/fantasy section. My impressions for any of you marketing gurus out there. The romance section has evolved. It is now the catch all for every other genre. Yes, I know romance readers go across the lines, democratic in their reading and all that, but honestly, they…

Nora Roberts and Jeff Guin Originally uploaded by freshfiction. We trekked to Fort Worth for a night with Nora Roberts but her alter ego J.D. Robb came instead! Which was okay with me since it was the release of her 22nd (gotta check) In Death book — BORN IN DEATH. What fun! We even froze our shoulders and necks at the Mellow Mushroom before the event in the university area of Fort Worth — the author event was held at the Ed Landreth Auditorium on TCU campus. Interesting parking situation, you’d think the students would be gone or in bed. Anyway, Robb/Roberts was the last of the authors for the 2006 series and she was delightful. Thanks to Pat, we had FRONT ROW seats in the VIP section or as M put it, within spitting distance. Thankfully Ms. Robb did NOT spit but was gracious with Mr. Guin and the questioners. Dressed in killer black suit with sparkling jewelry on wrists, neck and fingers, Ms Roberts told the story of her start and hate of “CandyLand” game as well as her key to success — write write write. She’s complusive. She also isn’t fond of people apparently, at least ones…

Catherine Spangler Originally uploaded by freshfiction. After almost three years since her last book, Catherine Spangler returns January 2007 with TOUCHED BY DARKNESS from Berkley Sensation. During her hiatus from the writing scene, Cathy made the decision to write something different after five futuristic romances. She says it took her awhile to “reinvent” herself, create a new type of paranormal series (this one about Sentinels and set on current-day Earth) and to find a new publisher. Her idea for the Sentinels came from her life-long fascination with Atlantis. The Sentinels are reincarnated Atlantians, the same souls who were priests and high priests serving in the temple on Atlantis. The Sentinels have returned to Earth, taking on human bodies and superhuman abilities, in order to track down Belians, also reincarnated Atlantians, who worshiped dark forces and destroyed Atlantis. Sentinels have a slight edge over the Belians because they can use human conductors to enhance their psychic tracking abilities. And a human conductor who psychically matches a Sentinel is always the opposite sex (of course!). Sounds like an intriguing concept. Book two in the series, titled TOUCHED BY FIRE, is scheduled for release in October 2007. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about…