Book club last night was great. Of course, that had a lot to do with fact that this month’s author, Shanna Swendson, was there in person rather than over the phone. Shanna, Harry Potter fan that she is, even provided a couple of meal suggestions for June or July’s (I forget) Harry Potter themed book club menu. Besides that, how could you not like someone who has enough humor to admit that her longest relationship so far has been her four year crush on one of the local TV news guys?!The idea behind her Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. series came from a trip to New York City with friends after she had some knee surgery done. There Shanna was moving around NYC not totally sure footed and she received nothing but kindness and assistance from the locals. Her friends apparently did not get that same polite experience in NYC. A few years later, she thought to combine the concept of the two different experiences she and her friends had in NYC with her love of Harry Potter (did I mention Shanna’s a fan) and Chick Lit (which she sees as the style most like her life). The Magic, Spells,…

If there’s anything I like more than reading books, it’s talking about books, so I’m really looking forward to meeting with the book club (eating comes right behind talking about books, so I’m anticipating the food, too). I write a series of books that could be called fantasy/chick lit or else light urban fantasy, depending on whether I’m talking to a chick lit reader or a fantasy reader. When I started submitting the first book in the series to agents, I wasn’t sure which side of that line it really fell on, so I looked for an agent who handled both genres and let her decide what it was. Now I don’t worry too much about genre and just write my books, which have a mix of humor, fantasy, intrigue and romance. The best way I can think of to describe the tone and content of my books is by saying “Bridget Jones meets Harry Potter.” A grown-up Harry, of course. The fun thing about writing a series with the same main characters is getting to watch the characters grow and their relationships develop. The first book in the series, Enchanted, Inc., introduced my heroine, Katie Chandler, to the world…

Shanna Swendson Reading from DAMSEL UNDER STRESS, originally uploaded by freshfiction. Bridget Jones meets Harry Potter is the way Shanna pitched her “Enchanted” series to Ballantine, and they are definitely fun, set in New York City where the “unusual” is not that much out of the ordinary…or is it?Katie Chandler fled small town Texas to the big lights of New York City where she finds it isn’t quite as she expected! People with wings on the subways, gargoyles winking and flying through the streets and magic every where. But Katie finds a new job, new friends and new adventures in the big apple! Now just when her life seems settled, she also gets a fairy godmother. And as the fables go…it’s isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be! Shanna read the scene where she and the fairy godmother go out to dinner. With a wave of a magical wane, confusion ensues! Another winner from Shanna and we can only hope for many many more!REPORT: Fellow readers have reported some book stores aren’t carrying DAMESEL UNDER STRESS Be sure to ASK for it and have your local book store order a copy for you (it’s free to special order from…