The winner of Lavinia’s Kent’s first novella, and a T-shirt, is Catslady. Congrats! Thanks to all who entered.

Catslady, please contact Lavinia through the contact form on her website www.laviniakent.com/contact and she’ll get your prizes to you. If you have trouble getting through, email me at JanetteKenny@gmail.com and I’ll forward your information on to Lavinia.

First let me thank the Jaunty Quills for having me as part of my What a Duke Wants Blog tour.  It is great to be here.

As usual when I am going to write a blog, I spend some time reading through recent blogs on the site to see what people are talking about. The first thing I read was Kristin Higgin’s “Ten Things” post.  I was impressed by her ability to come up with all those things we didn’t know about her – but more than that I was impressed by her honesty in confronting a question she found difficult. (I personally am always happy to talk about what readers don’t know about me:  the only foods I truly don’t like are sea slugs and tripe; I’ve seen baby turtles hatch in Trinidad; I am trying to learn to walk in high heels after years of not wearing them.)

The question I always dread is, “Tell us about your book.”  This is not a good question for a writer to dread.  You get asked it at your first writing group, you are asked it by agents, by editors, on blogs – and of course by readers.  I know writers who have wonderful two-sentence answers that make me instantly want to read their books.

Me?  I stumble.  I ramble.  I wish I were doing anything but having to answer the blasted question.

Now, I love my books.  Each one is my baby and I want only the best for it.  So why can’t I talk about my books?

I want them to shine.  I want everyone to read them and love them as much as I do.

Originally, I thought the problem was that I didn’t have a high concept, a clever theme that would instantly draw editors and readers to my books.  And then this summer I had my concept, a set of novellas entitled The Real Duchess of London – a mixture of Bravo’s Real Housewives and the Regency.

Only, it still wasn’t easy to talk about.  I had a great first sentence and then I was stuck.  “Well, ummm, they’re Regency historicals mostly about well, ummm – they’re reconciliation stories.”

Even I know that is not going to grab anyone’s attention.  It really made me think.  I love my characters.  I spend time thinking about the plots and know they are well planned.  I work hard combining realistic relationships with the passion and heat that my readers want.

So why can’t I answer that simple question?

And then it hit me.  I don’t think about my books in words (although clearly that’s how I write them.)  They are always movies in my head, full of color and action.  I am so busy seeing them that it is hard to slow my thoughts down enough to describe them.  When I am writing them, I always feel that I am typing as fast as I can, trying to transcribe what I see in my head.

That still doesn’t help me answer the question.

And so I come to the answer to most difficulties in life – practice and preparation.  It may never be easy for me to describe my books, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t do it.  I have to do it.

And so . . .

Lavinia, can you tell us about What a Duke Wants?

Sure, I’d love to.  What a Duke Wants is the story of a duke who doesn’t want be a duke and lady who ran away from society long ago.  It is a story of mistaken identity and true love. 

My hero, Mark Smythe, the new Duke of Strattington, is on his way to London for the king’s coronation.  He is preoccupied with learning how to be a duke, as he had never expected to inherit his uncle’s title.  When he meets a young baby nurse, Miss Isabella Smith, he is delighted that she does not recognize him, and enjoys the freedom her company offers him.  When he is with her, he can simply be himself – not the duke.

As they travel toward London, stopping at the same inns each night – with only slight planning on Mark’s part – they slowly form a deep attachment and the beginnings of a great passion.

But, of course, no romance can be that simple.  I am leaving out the blackmail, accusations of murder, Isabella running away for a second time, a masquerade ball, a disapproving older brother, a scandalous sister, a loyal best friend, two more dukes, hot, sensuous interludes, and dancing with a very cute kitten.  To learn more you’ll just have to read the book.  I have an excerpt posted on my website – http://www.laviniakent.com/excerpt_duke.html.  It has the best first line I’ve ever written, so I do hope you’ll take a peek and check it out.

I am offering a signed copy of my first novella (or a Kindle copy if you’d prefer) along with a What a Duke Wants t-shirt to one lucky commenter.  So please let me know what your favorite first line is.  (And no going with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . . .  I can’t handle the competition.) 

Thank you all for having me.  I look forward to chatting.

Lavinia

Winner will be announced in a separate post.  Please check back to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Part of my day job revolves around scheduling appointments for patients. While a lot of them are done over the phone, there’s a steady stream everyday of patients making their next appointment while in the office.

A lot of people just schedule randomly, take an appointment card reminder, and call to reschedule if there’s a problem. Many note their appointments in their smart phones right then and there, while a good deal still use weekly or monthly appointment books to keep track of theirs and family members’ events and appointments.

I used to be in the last category until I bought an iPhone. It was so much simpler to note appointments electronically and have the added feature of an alarm that can be scheduled from two days to minutes beforehand.

It’s great. When it works. I’ve noticed lately that every time I “sync” my phone to my computer, something goes screwy.   Hmm, what’s with that?

So tell me, what is your surefire way to keep track of appointments and family schedules? If you use your phone, have you noticed any glitches with appointments staying put? Any problem with accidentally deleting scheduled stuff?

Soon, Kathryn Smith’s photo wll be replaced by a silhouette (we miss you, Kate!). Kathryn’s writing is taking her in exciting new directions, and her schedule coupled with blogging was just too much.  While we hated to see Kathryn go, we’re thrilled to bring another great author on board as the latest Jaunty Quill.

Her name is…

Well, I can’t tell you yet.

All of the Jaunties are excited about this author and we can’t wait for her debut blog.  But we’re not going to tell you who she is right away. We’re going to let you guess! And the best part is we’re going to reward you for guessing!

So Ta-Da!!!  The Guess the Jaunty contest begins September 1st and runs through the month of September.

Here’s how it’ll work.  Our secret Jaunty Quill will blog periodically in September, giving you hints as to who she is. Each time she blogs, we want our readers to post a comment guessing her identity.

Everyone who guesses will be entered to win a gift certificate for $50 to Amazon.com. Those who guess correctly will also be entered to win a signed copy of a book from each of us (that’s 12 signed books!). In the unlikely event that no one guesses correctly, the first person who is randomly chosen from our secret Jaunty Quill’s posts will win and get to choose her prize.

Fun, huh?  We’ll reveal the new Jaunty’s name, and the winners on Sunday, October 2nd. So visit us all through the month of September, and don’t forget to comment on all of those Guess the Jaunty blogs to enter the contest!

Oh, one last hint, but promise you won’t tell the other Jaunties I’m telling you this.  Are you one of Jaunty Quills’s Facebook friends? Jaunty, our resident porcupine mascot, has all the inside scoop. Friend him for additional hints and for the head’s up on when a Guess the Jaunty blog is coming.

Good luck everyone!

The winner of Jane Porter’s contest is Na. Please email me at JanetteKenny@gmail.com with your full name and mailing address so we can get your book and goodies mailed to you.

Thanks to all who entered and commented.

It’s my pleasure to welcome Jane Porter to the Jaunty Quills. Flirting With Forty aired as a Lifetime movie staring Heather Locklear.  Her latest modern lit is She’s Gone Country, and A Dark Sicilian Secret from Harlequin Presents is out now. 

I spent an amazing week in Sicily this past April and it was one of my favorite trips ever.  I went with my family and absolutely fell in love with Sicily’s history, architecture,  culture, and warmth.  We had perfect sunshine all week and each day began with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice…red orange juice from the blood orange.  I don’t think I’ve ever tasted juice so sweet and thinking back, that’s what I remember…

We also visited Mt. Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, while in Sicily and just this past week, there was news that it had erupted.  That blows my mind because I was walking around on it  just a few months ago. 

There’s just so much to see and experience in Sicily.  The sun.  The blue sky.  The sparkling sea.  And sweet, ripe, juicy oranges.

I was raised in a farming community in Central California, with three different orange in our garden and I loved how Sicily was all about fresh produce and fish and the most delicious pasta.  Sicily has the same earthiness as my home town which made me feel right at home… and it’s the perfect romantic setting!

I’ve written two books set in Sicily, one set in the northeast near and around Palermo, and one on the west coast around Catania, and I will definitely write more now.  Sicily is magic!

Jane will giveaway a copy of The Sicilian’s Defiant Mistress, a $10 gift card from Starbucks and fun Jane Porter goodies to one lucky commenter.   The winner will be announced on Sunday in a separate post.

Visit Jane’s website for information about her current projects, her backlist and exciting news.

Carole is the winner of Caitln Crews novel, The Disgraced Playboy. Please send your full name and email address to me at JanetteKenny@gmail.com and I’ll forward on to Caitlin.

Thank you so much for having me!

I’m very excited about my brand new Presents, out this week. I love this book. It’s the second in the Notorious Wolfes continuity series that started this month with Sarah Morgan’s absolutely fantastic A Night of Scandal (which was just recently featured in the Sizzling Summer Book Club over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books). Sarah Morgan is a tough act to follow, but I have to tell you, I’m really thrilled that readers will finally have a chance to meet my shameless, notorious Wolfe—Lucas.

Here’s what I was told about Lucas when I sat down to write his story: Everyone has heard of the shameless playboy Lucas Wolfe! Men want to be him…women want to be with him. But they don’t even dare to dream of finding themselves in his bed two nights in a row, let alone ending up with a ring on their finger!

The first time my heroine, self-made events planner Grace Carter, lays eyes on Lucas, he’s behaving appallingly with a married woman in the middle of a public party.　Obviously, she is not impressed.　 But just as obviously, there’s something about Lucas that keeps her up all night, thinking about him.　

It’s not just that he’s stunningly gorgeous (though he is).　 It’s not just that he comes from a very famous, very scandal-ridden family (though he does).　 It’s not even that several tabloids keep themselves in paparazzi and speculation thanks to Lucas’s antics (though, clearly, they do).　 There’s something else, something more, or a woman like Grace, who deals in famous and important people all the time without so much as blinking, would never be the slightest bit intrigued.　 And unfortunately for her and the careful life she’s built for herself, she is entirely too fascinated by a man she ought to find repulsive.

And Lucas? Well, Grace is a challenge that Lucas just can seem to resist.

Here’s a little excerpt:

“Grace…” Something urgent was overtaking him, almost shaking him.

“Do you really think I don’t know you want me, too?”

They were so close, the rain pounding down all around them, stranding them beneath a noisy umbrella. Wolfe Manor, with all of its howling ghosts and terrible memories, faded away until there was nothing but the weather, this umbrella, and this overly polite, overdressed woman who had somehow wedged herself under his skin.

And she was dismissing him.

“I want a great many things that are no good for me,” she told him. “No one should get everything they want. What kind of person would they be?”

“Me,” Lucas said, an odd note in his own voice. “They would be me.”

“Well,” she said after a moment. “Life is not about want, Mr. Wolfe.”

Something passed between them, electric and alive, dancing in the breath of space between their bodies and jolting into him. “If I kissed you right now,” he said, his eyes trained on hers and the truth he could see there–the truth that resonated in him no matter what words she threw out to deny it, “I could make you forget your own name.”

That hung there like smoke for a heartbeat, then another, and then, impossibly, she laughed.

At him.

I hope you’ll enjoy the book!

You can read all about the Notorious Wolfes over here at I Heart Presents.

And I’ll give away a copy of the book to someone in the comments.

Hope you enjoy your August!

Caitlin Crews

You can find out more about me at http://www.caitlincrews.com

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.

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…