The winner of guest author Kimberly Lang’s book  is Blake L.   Congrats!   Please send your full name and mailing address to me at JanetteKenny@gmail.com and I’ll forward it on to Kimberly.

From an early age I loved books. I could see the characters in my mind and knew exactly what they looked like. That’s why I always hated book covers with the hero and heroine. If they didn’t look as I imagined, it ruined the book for me. Back then I didn’t realize that sometimes authors have little control over the cover art, so those people on the cover of their book may not look as they’d imagined them either.

On the cover of my soon-to-be-released September book, If the Ring Fits, the hero, Travis doesn’t look the way I see him in my head. The heroine, Mary Karen, looks close and the kids are spot on.

Movies can be that way for me, too. The Twilight movies are a good example. Edward doesn’t look ANYTHING like I pictured him, while Jacob looks EXACTLY as I pictured him. My joy in the movies was diminished by Edward looking so different than I had imagined him.

That’s why I’m worried about the Stephanie Plum movie coming out. I can’t remember who is playing Stephanie but I remember thinking (when I heard the name I can’t remember) that I wasn’t sure she was the right choice.

Am I weird?

Today, I’m deep in the last stretch of a deadline. So, my question for you is quick: if you could bring to life any character(s) from any book(s) who would it be? I’d love to meet Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jay Gatsby and Josephine March. Okay, your turn…

Hi Jan! Hi Ladies!  Thanks for letting me come today!

I’m a huge fan of sisterhoods. (And anything jaunty, too, but that’s a different blog topic…) I don’t have sisters myself, and I’m equal parts fascinated by and in awe of sister relationships.

I have been informed that this fascination and awe possibly comes from the fact that I don’t have sisters. That could well be the case, but I do have sisters-of-my-heart — those BFFs that are closer than some siblings and equally as dear.

If you look over my books, you’ll see that the heroine always has a BFF who is right there with her – having coffee, giving advice, holding her hand, and telling her when she’s just overreacting and needs to get over it.  These women aren’t just sidekicks for the heroine or there to conveniently move the plot along. I can’t pull the BFF out of the story, because the heroine would not be the same person without the BFF. People say to write what you know, and the blessing/curse of a strong BFF is something I know all too well.

So that’s what makes Lily, my heroine of The Privileged and the Damned, rather unique among my heroines:   she’s alone. Completely alone. She has no sidekick, no family she’ll acknowledge, and no BFF.  She does have one friend, but it’s a person from her past that hasn’t moved on and they’re not what could be called close.

So Lily moves through this book without a friend, and not only did it make me hurt for her, it made it very difficult for me to write her.  I’ve never gone through anything alone; people to celebrate with or to cry to are moments away by phone. I can have a second opinion in seconds. When a crisis hits, I have people to circle the wagons, hold down the fort, and protect my back.  For Lily not to have anyone… well, that was a first for me. And it made me sad.

But don’t worry about Lily, y’all.  She’s marrying into the Marshall family – which is pretty good-sized. Plus, The Privileged and the Damned  is the first of three books about the Marshall brothers, so she’ll be getting some sisters-in-law soon enough. I’m thinking they’ll all end up being pretty good friends.

Because I can’t let Lily go on forever without a girlfriend, right?  She’s getting a great hero, but we all know that a man can’t replace a BFF. (I mean, who will tell her if those pants make her butt look big or not?)

So, since my BFF is locked away studying for another horrible something to do with her Ph.D., tell me about your BFF. I’ll choose one commenter to win a book! And be sure to drop by my website next week for a new contest!

~Kimberly

Introducing The Marshalls… A rich, powerful family: if the U.S. had a royal family, this would be it!

Running scared, Lily needs a fresh start—and, fingers crossed, she’s found one. After all, why would any of her new employers, members of the hot-shot Marshall dynasty, even think to look beyond her humble facade?

Until she catches the roving eye of infamous heartbreaker Ethan Marshall…

A fling with one of the Marshalls is a bad idea—especially for a girl with a scandalous past. But Lily is terrifyingly susceptible to Ethan’s lethal brand of high-class charm…

I don’t know where you live, but here in southern NJ we’ve been having a record-breaking heat wave for over a week. Temps have been in the high 90s and even 100+ degrees for two days, but the worst of it has been the heat index on those days. Because of high dew points (Please check the Weather Channel for info on dew points but just believe me that it’s the reason for how uncomfortable it felt.) it was hard to go outside at all. Or breathe sometimes.

I sought refuge in my office — which is on the lower level of my house, about 5′ below ground and about 10 degrees cooler than upstairs. I lowered the blinds and shades on my windows and hunkered down, drinking lots of iced tea and not doing anything that caused sweating…or more sweating!

I know that the heat wave affected most of the US, so I know I was not alone in suffering through it. And many areas had serious problems – like loss of power and even deaths, so I was lucky.  And I had a couple of days off from work, so it made it easier for me to hide out and try to wait out the worst of it.  So, I resorted to my old-favorites — books and tv.

In between working on my writing commitments (aka revision), I managed to read a couple of books (Lara Adrian’s DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT and Amanda Quick’s QUICKSILVER) and I caught up a bit on recorded tv shows like TORCHWOOD and LEVERAGE and old episodes of FIRELY).  And I wrote.

I confess — I did spend one afternoon outside — in a pool, sipping something cool while celebrating my hubby’s birthday…. it was the only way to survive out there!

The funny thing was, I went back to look at some old blogs and discovered that just six months ago, we were complaining about the cold and right after that, the snow storms!  And, I dealt with that bad weather pretty much the same way I am dealing with it now — reading, writing and tv! I am a creature of habit, aren’t I?!

And how about you? When weather challenges you, how do you handle it? Gotta a pool for the summer and tickets to someplace warm in the winter? Do you escape for real or escape into stories to avoid the harsh realities?  Post a note, a bit of advice or comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a small prize from someplace warm –in summer or in winter — WDW! And a book in case you like to read in times of heat wave or cold spells.

***** The winners from my blog on July 13th are: Chelsea B and Donna Ann. Please drop me a note at terri@terribrisbin.com and I’ll get your prizes out to you! *******

Terri will be writing and reading and getting a special surprise for readers ready over the next few weeks. She’ll share the news as soon as she is able with everyone!  Visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com  for lots more info about her books, her events and her fun news! 

I’m in the midst of a deadline and normally that means butt-in-the-chair and fingers-on-the-keyboard, but I’m in a place and am so distracted by things that aren’t that exciting.

I am excited about walking to the little grocery store and going to the pub at the corner for lunch. I’m distracted by watching the morning news shows because the presenters are different than Matt Lauer and the Today Show gang.

Normally the pressure of the looming deadline and my reluctance to call an editor and ask for more time is motivation enough to get myself in gear but this time I’m struggling. Any tips for getting it done? I already decided to stay off Facebook and my Zynga games!

Kathy

So if you follow me on Facebook or read the blog on my website, you know that I fell last week and went to the ER via ambulance. Here is the untold side of the story, (barely exaggerated at all…ahem).

I’d had a meeting that afternoon, so I was a bit dressed up. Got home after dear McIrish had gone off to save lives and protect property. Popped dinner in the oven and decided to sit on the porch. Opened the front door and stepped into space. Bam! Romance author down!

See, McIrish is redoing our porch. He had mentioned (vaguely, several days prior) that he’d be starting closest to the house and working outward. He just didn’t tell me when those planks would be removed. Nor did he put up police tape, move our giant planters in front of the door or post a sign saying “Honey: Do not enter!” despite the fact that we have been married for some time, and one would think he’d know that physical grace isn’t on my list of qualities.

So down I went. “Kids! Help me!” I yelled, because I knew it was bad right away. I pulled myself up from the gap and realized with horror that my upper leg looked, um…crooked. “Call 911,” I said. “I think I broke my leg.” The pain wasn’t too bad, but I imagined I was probably in shock. Also, I’m extremely brave (except during scary religious movies like The Exorcist). My kids were great, did everything perfectly, and one of our neighbors appeared; he’s an EMT. He looked at my crooked leg and took out his scissors.

“No,” I said. “Stop right there. I can take these off. These are my favorite jeans, Nate.”

“You don’t want to move, Kristan,” he said.

“No, I do!” I countered. “You don’t understand. These are the jeans, get it? They fit perfectly. They’re really nice. They’re long enough, and I’m tall, and you don’t know how hard it is to find jeans that fit!” I turned to the female EMT. “Right, Linda?” I asked, appealing for a little sisterly support.

“They’re just jeans,” she said.

Oh, the humanity! “It took me a year to find these! And I got them on clearance,” I begged. “They were $26.50. Marked down from $80!”

“My God, here she goes with the jeans again,” McIrish muttered (the kids had summoned him home). I guess maybe I’d mentioned my triumphant clearance-priced perfect jeans a time or so.

“Look,” I said. “Banana Republic doesn’t even make these any more. Please don’t cut them!”

They ignored me. Sliced the jeans from cuff to thigh as I muttered darkly.

“On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your pain, ten being the worst?” Nate asked.

“Two,” I said sullenly. “This hurt more than the leg.” I flapped the split edges of my jeans at him. He smiled.

My grumpiness was assuaged as they carried me onto the gurney. Call me romantic, but I like being carried. And I like gurneys. Aside from the hair traction brace, I was quite comfy. “Can I have lights and sirens?” I asked Nate.

“Sorry,” he said. Honestly, he didn’t even break the speed limit. It was a bit of a let-down.

In the ER, the nurse asked if I wanted pain medication. “Only if it will help me get over these jeans,” I said. An extremely attractive man was summoned to finish cutting them off.

“That’s a helluva a break,” he said.

“It’s not broken,” I said.

“We’ve seen a lot of these,” he answered “Don’t get your hopes up. You want to keep these?” He held up my ruined jeans.

“I certainly do. I’m Googling them the second I get home. Maybe someone’s selling a pair on eBay.”

I was right, it turns out. Strong bones, strong muscles, just a heck of a bruise, a tendon strain, a hematoma, yadda yadda. I’ll be on crutches for a little while, some physical therapy. My leg should be as good as new. McIrish has been instructed to go to Swarovski and come back with something very sparkly as an “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you there was a missing plank in our porch” gift. But if he could find a pair of those jeans, that would be even better. 

This week I read not one, but TWO books from Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ backlist. Loved them both! I started thinking how nice it would be if Susan and I could have dinner and just talk one-to-one about her writing process, perhaps get a few tips… Now, I’ve listened to her workshop presentations so I know a little of her process but it isn’t the same as chatting up close and personal.

That’s why I thought it might be fun for me to host a virtual dinner party–I’ll prepare all the food (and it will be fabulous) and you simply need to tell me that you’re coming and what author you’d like to bring as YOUR guest and why.

Everyone who comments will be in a drawing to win a copy of my book, “Undercover Millionaire.”

Yes, this is the book I wrote in 2003 that has been re-released this year, primarily in Australia. I’ll draw TWO lucky winners this week.

So, RSVP soon. You don’t want to miss the party or a chance to WIN!

The names of those who won the book will be posted here at 9 pm (Central Time) on Sunday.

Please welcome my guest, Helen Brenna, a winner of this year’s RITA award for The Moon and the Nightin the category of contemporary adventure-suspense series romance. Congratulations on your win and welcome, Helen!

Ever Googled yourself?  You can admit it.  You’re amongst friends.

I’ll step out on a limb … I have.  Several times, in fact.  The first time was shortly after my first book came out and I was curious if there’d been any reviews.  I was stunned to see a couple of sites actually pop up on the search.  Of course, several of the urls came from my own website, but, heck, I had an Internet presence!  I was someone! Yeehaw!

Then I discovered you could set up a Google Alert and that took all the fun out of it. Until I recently discovered searching on Google Images.  I know.  I’m weird.  But there was reason for this.  I’m not merely obsessive.  Promise.

I got home from the RWA conference in NYC with a ton of emails in my inbox and several were from friends who’d tagged me in photos they’d uploaded to Facebook.  Me being me started to wonder what other pictures were out there tied to my name.  The results still make me laugh.

Oh, sure there were tons of book covers, pictures with friends at recent conferences and even some pictures off my website of photosI’ve used as inspiration for my fictional Mirabelle Island on the real Lake Superior.  But there were some definite surprises.

There’s a Helen Kaminski Brenna who makes hats.  Who knew? And a Lynn Helen Brenna who lives a much more interesting life than me.
 Then there were more Helens:

 And the Brennas:

I have a book out in France?  Cool!!! 

A DNF?  Not so cool.

And who took a picture of me in bed and posted it on the Internet?  Yikes! 

Wait a minute. That’s not me. Oh, yeah. I did a short little post of my favorite thing in the world – sleeping — for a friend’s blog.  In fact a lot of the images were from blogs I’ve posted.

Angelina Jolie and Antonia Banderas in a bathtub?   Huh? 

Again, from a blog I posted for a friend.  Well, at least I didn’t discover someone had taken a picture of me tugging down my undies at the RWA RITA awards ceremony!

So check it out. Google Image yourself and then let us know what crazy things you find.

And in case you’re interested, I have back to back releases in July, August and September.  THE PURSUIT OF JESSE, HER SURE THING and REDEMPTION AT MIRABELLE are all set on Mirabelle Island.  They’re all stories with a lot of heart all set within the backdrop of quaint cobblestone streets, Victorian B & Bs, and horse drawn carriages.

To celebrate my three new releases, I’d like to give away three copies from my backlist today, so check out my website at helenbrenna.com to see which title you’d like.  And many thanks to Margo and all the jaunty ladies for having me here today!

Cheers,

Helen

Melanie Adkins in the winner of the 4 historical romances mentioned in my blog yesterday. Melanie, email me at shana@shanagalen.com with your address.