So it’s Saturday, time to talk about books you’ve been reading.

After reading (and seeing) The Woman In Black, I definitely needed a light, witty, fun, sexy palate cleanser, and I definitely found it with one of my favorite authors, Teresa Medeiros!

I’m fortunate enough to have met Teresa and she’s just as wonderful, warm and delightful in person as she is in her books. So I’m more than happy to recommend the book I read this week, YOURS UNTIL DAWN.

The book is about a British Naval hero, Gabriel, who comes home from the war scarred and blinded. He is miserable, furious at the world and impossible to be around. But that doesn’t stop nurse Samantha Wickersham from moving right in and making him realize he does have a life worth living again.

Witty, charming, heart-breakingly tender…just very highly recommended.

Now what about you? What have you been reading?

Next week is Valentine’s Day and other than having a romantic celebration with the one you love, I can’t think of much else better than reading a wonderful, romantic book! So I’ll give away a $20 g.c. to Amazon or BN.com to a random commenter to help you get something good to read. (There are some good books over on the side of this webpage, if you’re looking for some recommendations! (hee hee)

You know what to do, just leave a comment to enter. Check back on Sunday to see if you’ve won!

I know we all read/write romance, and romance novels, by definition, have to have a happy ending (or at least an emotionally uplifting one.) But I guess a “happy ending” means something different to everyone. I want to talk about that in terms of non-traditional happy endings, particularly in a movie I just saw.

This past weekend, Bruce and I took the girls and saw The Woman In Black. And for the most part, I liked it. It was VERY spooky–lots of scary moments that made me jump in my seat. We went on Friday night, 10:15, opening night, which meant we were in an audience filled with teenagers (my own among them) which meant there were a LOT of girlish screams. It was pretty predictable plot wise, but for sheer atmosphere, this movie really can make you flinch.

Daniel Radcliffe was very good. It’s so nice to see him in an adult role, and I thought he handled it extremely well. The scenery was awesome, the setting truly creepy and claustrophobic. He’s a lawyer–a widower, desperate to provide for his young child. His job depends on him going out to this tiny village and looking through the papers of a deceased woman who lived in this incredibly spooky house, which was built on a jut of land that can only be accessed at low tide. At high tide, the water washes over the tiny causeway (though, of course, I guess you could get there by boat!) Anyway, the setting did a great job of making you feel very cut-off and increased the skin-prickliness. Most of the scares were just creepy, not in-your-face scary. IE: The reflection over his shoulder in the mirror, a handprint slowly dissipating from a window, candles blowing out, that kind of thing.

So, I was on board with the whole thing, enjoying it even though I could predict all the plot twists from a mile away.

Until the ending.

Now, I don’t want to spoil this for anybody so I’m going to break this post up so you’ll have to click below if you want to read on. BE WARNED–if you plan to see this movie, it will totally spoil the ending for you so don’t read on!

During the movie, this malevolent ghost is luring children to commit suicide in brutal ways. If anyone sees her, a child will die. Daniel Radcliffe has to go to this spooky house she’s haunting, though the townspeople try everything they can to prevent him from going. Of course, he doesn’t believe in ghosts at first, and insists on going, but eventually he realizes what’s happening and totally believes every word of it and tries to “fix” everything.

Back to the ending…at the very end, Daniel’s little boy, beautiful and about 4, is with him at the train station, about to head back to London. He thinks the ghost has been vanquished, but of course she hasn’t. The little boy sees her and, as if in a trance, walks onto the train tracks. His dad sees the ghost, sees the boy, and dives onto the tracks to save him.

Ready for the part that so pissed me off? THEY BOTH DIE! They’re hit by the freaking train and die this horrible death!

Okay, so we’re supposed to be happy because the boy and his dad see the ghost of the dead wife, who had died in childbirth, and they all go off to heaven together.

Honestly, that kind of ending totally pisses me off. I guess if I bought into the whole world the film created–ie that ghosts are real and there is some kind of afterlife–it’s supposed to be a ‘happy ending.’ But I’m not a very spiritual person, I don’t necessarily believe in an afterlife, so all I could think was, “Are you kidding me? HORRIBLE death–hit by a train–and we’re supposed to think everything’s fine now because they’re going off to heaven?” Meanwhile, the bad ghost–the villain–WINS!

Okay, I guess my rant’s over. Just had to get that off my chest and see if anybody else had seen it and felt the same way!

I’m sure you all read the title of this post and thought I was using it ironically, and would have some pithy sort of tie-in. Like, “News flash: Leslie’s hero in ONCE UPON A VALENTINE is SO SO SO HOT!”

Uh…wrong.

I’m talking about hot flashes. So, any men who visit here, either stick your fingers in your ears and go, “lalalalalalala!” or avert your gaze.

Holy crap. I mean, seriously, it’s not bad enough that women have to have periods for 30+ years, then when they finally get to the end of that hell, they get these horrible, unexpected, flashes of wicked heat to go with it?

I turned 47 last week (yes, I’m a 1965′er and proud of it!) I hadn’t had much problem with these things save for a one month period last spring when I suddenly started getting them out of nowhere, then they went away. They haven’t come back much during the day, but the night sweats are INSANE! Poor Bruce wakes up at night either shivering because I’ve kicked the covers totally off both of us, or baking because I’ve kicked mine off right on top of him!

It has gotten so bad that I started looking for “home remedies.” I found a bunch of women talking about the miracles of apple cider vinegar. A friend of mine swears she got pregnant after 10 years of childlessness by taking a daily dose of a.c.v., so I figured maybe it does have something to do with female issues. So I started last week–2 tbsp of a.c.v., plus 1/4 tsp of baking soda, mixed with 1 cup of water. GAG ME!! It was almost impossible to get down, even with a straw stuck way in the back of my throat. I cut down a little on the water so I wouldn’t have to drink so much, and added sweet-n-low, and I can now manage it.

I have to admit it…it’s working. I have no idea why, no clue what the chemical combination is, or if it’s just a placebo, or what. But the truth is, I’m having far fewer instances than I was a week ago. (Down to maybe 2x a night rather than every single hour like I was last weekend.)

So I’m curious, has anybody else ever heard of this or tried it? Any other “home remedies”? Anybody else want to share embarrassing hot flash stories? Hey, we’re all among friends here…

PS: My new release ONCE UPON A VALENTINE is in stores NOW! I got so focused on my Christmas Blaze that I sort of forgot to talk about this one. Suffice it to say it’s one of my “magical land of Elatyria” stories and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! It’s called “Sleeping With A Beauty” so you ought to have a good idea what fairy tale it tackles. Think Indiana Jones meets Once Upon A Time and you will get the gist.

And since I haven’t talked or blogged about it, here’s a fun, long excerpt–only available here! You can click on the cover to order, if you’re so inclined.

Oh, and if you’d like to order a print copy, it’s available now from eHarlequin for 20% off!

Raine Fowler has just grabbed historian Ashlynn Scott and dragged her into the deep, dark woods to save her from a trio of hunters who are tracking her…

She felt good. Too good. He had hoped she wouldn’t, had hoped his deep, immediate attraction to her wouldn’t be a problem, considering he’d already decided she was a pain in his ass. From the moment he’d found her, he’d figured she was the kind of goody-goody he couldn’t stand, all righteous and holier-than-thou, who would surely look down her nose at a guy like him.

She was the purist, the haughty researcher, the historian.

He was the renegade who wasn’t allowed back in some countries, had people after him in his own, and who had four words, “Raine Fowler: Odd Jobs,” printed on his calling card.

She’d call him an opportunistic scavenger.

He preferred to think of himself as a man of adventure.

But none of that mattered a damn right now. Because this man of adventure was suddenly picturing the erotic adventures he’d like to have with the woman pressed so provocatively against him. He wished he hadn’t let his thoughts travel down the werewolf path, because the way she was positioned, it would be far too easy to drop them both to their knees and take her from behind, until they howled at the full moon overhead.

“Hell,” he muttered, feeling his body react to his mind’s imaginings—a far too frequent occurrence when it came to her.

“If I let you go, are you gonna stay quiet?” he asked. He didn’t entirely trust her, but figured he should release her before she noticed his reaction. Plus, it appeared the danger had passed, for now.

She nodded once. Raine lowered his hand and took a good-for-his-sanity step back. When she drew a shaky hand to her mouth, he wondered if he’d hurt her. Not that he was going to apologize—he had very likely just saved her life.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to scream, I was just startled when I saw him.”

“It’s okay. He obviously didn’t hear anything.”

“Who is he?” she whispered, her breaths sounding choppy.

“Somebody who’s been waiting here for you to come back across the border. Your description’s all over the village; they’re saying you came through a month ago.”

She swore softly, under her breath, as if both believing him and being immediately frustrated by the revelation.

“Now, how about we don’t wait here for his two buddies to come out and help him look. Let’s head back into the forest.”

She hesitated, indecision written on her face. He might have just saved her, but she still didn’t know him from Adam.

He stuck out his hand. “Raine Fowler.”

She eyed his hand warily, then, as if it pained her to release her ten-fingered grip on the travel-bag she carried, extended one of her own. “Ashlynn Scott.”

“I know.”

She yanked her hand away. “How do you know?” Then her gaze narrowed further. “And how did you know where to find me?”

“Sorry, lady, but I’ve seen sloths that move faster than you. I followed you across the border, then moved ahead of you and got here almost an hour ago. After doing some scouting, I backtracked to where I figured you’d be showing up.”

“You were following me?

“Yeah, lucky for you.”

Hearing a loud laugh back in the village, he grabbed her elbow and half-pushed, half-led her back the way she’d come, seeking the sanctuary of the deep forest.

His move apparently caught her by surprise. She took several steps, then stopped suddenly. Raine bumped into her, his mouth landing against that thick hair, his leg slipping between hers from behind. Worst of all, his groin mashed against her sexy ass.

He wished he could say he was gentleman enough not to enjoy the hell out of it. Again. He was, however, gentleman enough not to take advantage of it. Again.

Well, maybe gentleman wasn’t the right word—he was smart enough. This was the wrong place, the wrong time and the wrong woman. Though, something told him he was going to have a hard time remembering that the longer he spent with her.

She swung around and planted her feet, apparently oblivious to the whole man/woman vibe that was seriously messing with his head. Well, to be more accurate, both his heads.

Get your big head back in the game, man.

“I’m not going any further without an explanation.”

“Can we at least walk as I explain? I’d prefer not to get gang banged by a trio of brainless slabs of muscle tonight.”

She glanced back toward the village, which wasn’t far enough away to suit him. “Fine.”

They walked. He explained. And tried not to bump into her again.

“Like I said, I got here early enough to scout things out,” he said, keeping his voice low. “The locals say three strangers have been spreading the word that you’d be showing up tonight and have offered a reward to the first person who spots you and turns you on.” Realizing what he’d said, he called himself a jackass, but hoped she hadn’t spent enough time on Earth to learn all the lingo. “In. Turns you in.”

“How did they….”

Her gaze shifted up, where, between the thick canopy of trees, glimmers of moonlight were visible. The moon was enormous over here—a clear sign the border was open. Seeing that brilliant sky, Raine wondered, not for the first time, if Elatyria’s plane of reality, which seemed just one or two degrees west of Earth’s, was also a bit closer to the heavens. Sometimes, it seemed that way.

Then he remembered the downsides: Little electricity, almost no indoor plumbing, no McDonald’s, plus lots of dragons, giants and scurvy. No. Definitely not heaven.

“So they knew I’d come tonight?”

“Yep—the very first night the border opened. You did just what they thought you’d do.”

She shook her head. “Stupid. I should have known they’d wait for me here. I’d expected them to try for me in the borderlands.”

He almost tripped. “You knew there was somebody after you?”

“Yes. I’ve seen that Hunter before.”

The mind boggled. “And you still just…”

“I needed to go to Earth. Foxglen is a half-day closer to the border than any other village. What was I supposed to do?”

“Not leaving a trail two lost kids could follow without benefit of breadcrumbs would have been a good start.”

He thought he might have heard her emit a tiny chuckle, but probably had imagined it.

“I didn’t think they’d strike until they thought I had all four…”

“All four what?”

“You’re saying you don’t know?”

“I don’t.”

“But you do know my name, huh? How do I know you’re not one of them? This could be a scheme to get me to trust you.”

Raine put his hands up, palms-out. “Hey, you want to find out for yourself who’s a good guy and who’s a bad one, go right ahead. But, uh, just so you know, I didn’t get paid enough to put my life on the line. I’m not bailing you out twice.”

A lie. He might not have been paid enough to risk his life, but he’d do it anyway. Always finish the job. Plus, he didn’t like big thugs who picked on defenseless women.

The throbbing in his hand made him clarify that thought—mostly defenseless women, with sharp teeth. God, something was seriously wrong with him that he found that so damned sexy.

Her brow scrunched. “Paid? You mean…”

“Yeah. Somebody hired me to watch over you.”

“Who?”

“Frankly, lady, that’s what I’d like to know. Just who are you, and what, exactly, are you up to?”

Still sounding skeptical, she asked, “You want me to believe you don’t know why someone would be hunting me, or why someone else would hire you to protect me?”

“I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’ve been called a liar before.” He shrugged. “Considering I just saved your ass, though, maybe you oughta cut me a break.”

She sucked in a surprised breath. “You’re from over there.”

He knew what she meant. Most people here didn’t talk about Earth, just as most people on Earth didn’t talk about Elatyria. Considering he had roots in both worlds, he didn’t see the need to be coy about it. “I’ve been tracking you since Philadelphia.”

Her eyes widened more as she stared searchingly at his face. Her beautiful lips parted, her breaths audibly moving over them. Then, with a gasp, she looked away, long lashes sweeping over her eyes. “I remember you,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.

He gaped, shocked that she’d seen him. “Seriously?” He must be losing his touch.

“You were at the store right across the street from the motel, buying a big box of chocolate candy for your…what is that holiday called? Your Valentine?”

He sighed heavily. “My mom.” Given this case, he’d nearly forgotten the holiday was this week, and had run out super early one morning to get a few gifts. He’d thought Ashlynn was still sound asleep in her hotel room. Apparently not. Shit.

Interesting that she’d remember him. More interesting that she wouldn’t meet his eye. Hmm.

“How long have you been following me?”

“Long enough to know you’re in some kind of trouble.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she proclaimed, even as her arms tightened around the leather satchel she always carried, which was about the size and shape of a laptop case. It didn’t take a genius to know there was something in that bag she was desperate to protect, and that it wasn’t a laptop…that whole “no electricity” thing again. While he wasn’t one to nose into other people’s business, if her precious cargo was making her a target for hired thugs, he’d like to know what it was. Especially because, as her temporary bodyguard, he was in the line of fire, too.

“Well, thank you for your assistance,” she said. “And for warning me about the Hunters. But now that I’m aware of the situation, I really don’t need your help anymore. I’ll wait until darkest night to go back to the village.”

He barked a laugh. “You’re not going to Foxglen.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

He stopped and faced her. “I was hired to protect you.”

“I didn’t ask for your protection,” she snapped.

“No, you didn’t, but here I am. So why don’t you stop arguing, and tell me what this is all about?”

He moved in close. She quivered as he invaded her space.

Raine took advantage of her distraction. Without hesitating, he reached out and grabbed the satchel from her. “Then you can fill me in on what’s in this bag.”

A few years back, wonderful author Diana Peterfreund started a trend when she came up with the acronym: EBWAR.

It means: Everything’s Better With Alan Rickman.

I agreed then, and I agree now.

I’ve loved Rickman since the first movie I saw him in–Die Hard–in which he was a deliciously evil villain. He continued playing wonderful bad guys, including a movie-stealing turn as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. I also love him as the good guy–can anybody not swoon over Sense & Sensibility? Or how about his hilarious role in Galaxy Quest (one of my favorite movies!)

Anyway, as you might remember from before we fell into hacker-hell, I went on a trip up to NYC with Bruce and the girls 2 weekends ago. We had a FABULOUS time. Just 2 nights, but wow, we packed a wallop into that time. We drove up, made it to Times Square from our house in under 4 hours, super easy drive. Bruce is great about driving in the city, we only had one or two little snafus. (The girls will never stop wondering about the “super-secret magic bus world” that exists high above the streets just outside of the Lincoln Tunnel. We accidentally got into that lane and had to turn around and climb back down…lots of “bus conspiracy” comments going on the rest of the trip!)

I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with EBWAR. Well, it just so happens that Alan Rickman is appearing on Broadway right now in a play called Seminar. And, it just so happens that we got tickets to Seminar. And, it just so happens that we’re Broadway fanatics, so we know how to stake-out a stage door. And, it just so happens, that I MET ALAN FREAKING RICKMAN!

He wasn’t posing for pictures, but we snapped candids as he signed autographs. He was very nice, though obviously very tired, and I managed to keep my tongue untied and sounded like a reasonable, intelligent adult rather than the squeeing fangirl trying to crawl out of my big mouth.

He managed to keep his very droll sense of humor. Two women beside me asked him, “Why don’t you ever do parts where you smile?” And he looked at them, lifted his brow, and replied, “I smiled in this one. You should have seen it…if you didn’t fall asleep, Mr. Potter!” (Sorry, I added the Mr. Potter part, but he just sounded SO Snape-like my mind inserted that!)

Anyway, it was a great trip, meeting him was a big part of what made it great. What made it just a tiny bit more great was meeting the next guy the next night. This guy…

Dear daughter was holding the camera and got him as he was looking into my eyes having a warm conversation (I swear, I was on the outside edge of that shot! I’m hoping my other daughter got one with me actually in it…lolol!)

He was a real cutie. I loved hearing him sing in person. He’s doing the show On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, which was adorable. I loved the movie many years ago and was fascinated by how they took it and twisted it for this new, updated version. The Barbra Streisand character, Daisy, is now a gay young man, Davey, who was played by an absolutely brilliant young actor, David Turner. (Oh, did I mention we met him, too? He was very obliging about posing for pics!)

Wow, what a great time. We got to see Bernadette Peters in Follies the next day. Didn’t stalk her because I’ve met her before (lol…not kidding!) But the show was wonderful–though the girls didn’t much care for it.

We came home and I put my 3 new programs into my Playbill binder, which is now just a couple of slots away from being full. And that’s not all my Playbills–I can’t find my very oldest ones, like from the original casts of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Into The Woods and Wicked. ARGH. Lost them sometime over the years! I am hoping they’ll turn up so I can close out the whole book and get to work on my next 40 shows!

So, are there any other Broadway/Alan Rickman/Harry Connick fans out there? Have you ever done the stalking-the-stage-door thing? (That’s how I met Bernadette, by the way. And Tim Curry. And John Lithgow. AND HUGH FREAKING JACKMAN!)

Thanks so much to everyone for that wonderful, big “welcome-back” on Friday…we’re thrilled to have you and thrilled to be here.

Now the winners…the four lucky people who each win a $25.00 gift card (names picked at random by youngest daughter!) are:

# 7 ANYA SANDOVAL
# 78 PAMIAM
# 269 M.J.
#301 JAN C.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please write to me, author @ lesliekelly . com (no spaces) with your contact information, and I’ll arrange for your gift card.

And please come back this week, we’ll have to catch up on all we missed during our black-due-to-stupid-hacker days!

PS: This video cracked me up. If you loathe Toddlers and Tiaras as much as I do, you’ll like it. Be sure to watch all the way to the end for the payoff!

Yay–it’s our first Saturday back in the Jungle and I couldn’t be happier. WE MISSED YOU ALL so much!!

Those of you who are regulars, welcome back. For the newbies who’ve found us, please stick around, make yourselves at home, say hello and tell us who you are. We’re a very social bunch and love newcomers.

On Saturdays, we like to talk about great books we’ve read or are reading. Every author knows word of mouth is the best marketing tool, but in order to get that (positive) word of mouth, you have to write a really great book. So on Saturdays, we celebrate really great books we’re reading.

I’ll start…I just read a debut book, RIDE WITH ME, by an author named Ruthie Knox. It is coming out as a digital book from Random House-Loveswept next month and I was asked to provide a cover quote for it. I was thrilled to do so because I ended up really loving the book. It’s sexy (very), with a tortured alpha hero, Tom, who’s not at all a jerk. He’s moody and has a dark past, but he’s also an environmentalist, he runs a bike repair shop, he can’t stop himself from helping people in need, and he really doesn’t want to fall in love with high school teacher, Lexie, who ends up being his riding partner on a cross-country bicycle trip. I highly recommend this book! Here’s the author’s website.

Now, what about you? What are you reading?

PS: Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the winners of our BIG “Welcome Back Plotmonkeys” giveaway from yesterday!

Like Janelle did yesterday, I thought I’d share some ebook news for those of you who got new Kindles/Nooks or other types of ereaders this holiday!

Most of you probably know Harlequin has been giving away my book, SLOW HANDS, for a few years now. They’re going to keep giving it away, and I’d love to grab any new readers, so I’d REALLY love for it to get back into the Top 100 Free Bestsellers on Amazon. So if you haven’t downloaded it, pretty please won’t you? Here’s the link. (Remember, it’s totally FREE! And if you’ve already downloaded it, feel free to delete it from your Kindle account and “buy” it again. :-)))

Now, you might not be aware (because I wasn’t until shortly before Christmas) that Harlequin is also giving away one of my other stories, “And A Dead Guy In A Pear Tree” as part of a 4-in-1 holiday collection. This novella is paired with stories by Debra Webb, Merline Lovelace and Marta Perry. For some reason, it’s not showing up on Amazon, but you can get it directly from eHarlequin here or here for the B&N Nook.

I’ve also lowered the price on my self-published title, ANGEL BABY, to $1.99! You can get it on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords.

And, as of this weekend, I have a second self-published work! COMING HOME is a reunion story that one reader already told me she really enjoyed because it reminded her a lot of a “classic Loveswept.” This one’s not as super-steamy as my current works, but is a bit hotter than Angel Baby. (By the way, if you’re reading my self-published books, I’d love to hear what you think of them!) Coming Home is already available on Smashwords and on Amazon and should be showing up on B&N and Sony soon!

Bruce and I had a wonderful holiday with the girls. Santa was (as always) very good to all of us this year. My middle daughter was thrilled with her new Kindle and has been busily downloading lots of books. Oldest got a Kuerig and is all set to caffeinate her way through grad school (she’s starting at American University next month!) Youngest got a camera and is snapping lots of pics. I got Bruce a black leather jacket that makes him look all biker and he got me a warm winter coat that makes me look like the abominable snowman (but it’s warm. :merryxmas: )

Hope you all had a fabulous holiday too!

I’m so excited to welcome one of my favorite historical romance authors. I cut my teeth on Cynthia Wright books, which were so different from the standard British historicals. She wrote colonial-era romances, then went to France (for my favorite book, You And No Other, which I reviewed here last week.) I could always count on Cynthia to give me an incredibly-researched story with a fun heroine and a to-die-for hero, and I’m thrilled (and starstruck!) that she’s here with us today. Please give her a big Jungle welcome!!

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Life, Love, Christmas, and a Wedding…

Let me first say thanks to Leslie for inviting me to guest on Plotmonkeys! One of the best parts of re-entering the world of writing has been the new social network options (for example: so many excellent blogs!) and becoming friends with newer authors.

When my first book, CAROLINE, was published in 1977, I had written the first draft in longhand and typed it on a manual typewriter with a bottle of white-out. By the time I decided to take a break from writing in 1996, I’d moved on to a computer but my hi-tech way of communicating with author friends was via fax. Times have really changed! It’s awesome to be able to stay in touch with readers more easily, too. No more snail mail! Now there’s email, Facebook, Twitter, and websites… and an author’s life is much less isolated. Yay!

I’ve had a ball since I began to re-publish my backlist as e-books. The first two, CAROLINE and SILVER STORM went up in July, and now there are 9, plus 3 boxed sets of my Beauvisage, Raveneau, and St. Briac series.  4 more titles to come in January! I originally intended to just get my backlist out as e-books and use the extra income to help fund my Physical Therapist Assistant college studies. Life is funny, though! I rediscovered my lost passion for writing – and romance – and now I’m spending hours each day re-editing my novels and gearing up to release two brand-new historical romances in 2012!

I’m 58 years old and I feel like a kid again. Funny how excitement will do that to you! I haven’t felt this way about writing since those early days in the 70’s… Part of it is the joy of being in charge of my own career – of the new covers, the final versions of my books, even the product descriptions on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

And I now have the benefit of lots of life experience I was missing in the old days. I’ve had my heart seriously broken and have rediscovered love. I just got married again this week and feel deeply content! I am back in college and working hard toward a degree. I have two beautiful little grandsons to whom I am “Gaga” and who love me unconditionally. I’m grateful to still have my 89-year-old mom, though lately we’ve been challenged by signs of dementia. It’s a blessing, though, to be able to show up for her as she has always done for me.

My life is full this Christmas! Today, my new husband and I are off to Carmel-by-the-Sea. My daughter and her little family will be staying in a house near our inn. How great to enjoy a family-style honeymoon!

Wishing all of you the happiest holidays ever. I hope you’ll squeeze every drop of joy out of each moment, just like a romance heroine – because we’re all the heroines of our own lives!

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Be sure to check out Cynthia’s books on Amazon, Smashwords, or Barnes & Noble.

In this VERY tough business, when authors are desperately trying to get readers to choose their books from the many offering out there, we often ask our readers to help spread the word. One way we love is by seeing reviews of our books on various sites.

Well, I figured it was about time for me to put my money where my mouth is. I have been doing reviews (or at least ratings) on Goodreads for quite some time. But I have never done an Amazon review…I always feel kind of funny about it, wondering if readers will think I’m shilling for a friend, or, if I were to write a bad review, if I’m trying to tear down the competition or something. So it just always seemed easier not to do them. But I know how tough things are out there. Publishers are not doing much to help their authors, and a lot of writers are turning strictly to self-publishing for their careers. So when I recently re-read a book I had adored many years ago, and found it every bit as delightful as I did then, I decided to go ahead and write a review of it on Amazon.

It was relatively painless. And hopefully it’ll help stir a few sales for the author, someone I really admire.

So, if you have a chance this holiday season and you finish a book that you really liked, how about taking a few minutes to post your thoughts somewhere? Believe me, authors will view it as a present!

Now…here’s the review of one of my all-time favorite books, YOU AND NO OTHER, written by Cynthia Wright.

“I first read You And No Other many years ago, when it was released in paperback form. It has always been on my “top five” romance novel list. In recent years, with the explosion of older titles being re-released in e-book form, I’ve had a chance to revisit some of those older titles. Sadly, out of my “top five” list, this book is the only one that kept its spot.

When I sit and wonder why this book was so special, then and now, I know it comes down to the hero. Yes, the French setting in the court of Francois I was really unique and incredibly well researched. Yes, I liked the heroine, Aimee, who was spunky without being annoying. Yes, the plot was very cute and there are some genuinely funny moments when Aimee is desperately trying to avoid the attentions of the king, who thinks she is her sister.

But the real heart of this book is in the hero, Thomas Mardouet, seigneur de St. Briac. In an era when alpha males grunted their way into nearly every romance novel, he was a deliciously refreshing, sexy, witty, intelligent, charming, breath of fresh air. Reading the newly released e-book, I fell in love with him all over again.

I remember loving Surrender The Stars almost as much as I loved this book, so I am going to seek it out and download it for a re-read. Hopefully it will be as fun, entertaining and delicious as this book, which I highly recommend.”

Want to check it out for yourself?

Here it is on Amazon

And on Barnes & Noble.