Plot Monkeys

Every time the mailman delivers a box from Amazon to my doorstep, I have to admit that I get all excited inside. More books! I love books. Adore them. Knowing that there is an irresistible story waiting for me between the covers of a book is enough to make me feel giddy with anticipation. This past week, as another box arrived and I took my shiny new books to their shelf in my office, it occurred to me that I’ve become more of a collector of books, rather than the voracious reader I used to be. All these wonderful stories that I’ve bought over the past year, but haven’t so much as cracked open the spine to read the story inside. As a result, my TBR (To Be Read) pile is huge. Overwhelmingly so. So many books, and so little time to read them all!

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I got lost in a book – other than my own that I’m currently writing, and that doesn’t count! When was the last time I took a few hours for myself alone and let myself enjoy someone else’s hand-crafted story? When did I give up the one thing I love the most – reading? Over the years, as I’ve become a full-time writer, somehow, someway, my reading has gone by the wayside. And I really truly miss it!

So, one of my “resolutions” for this year is to get back into reading books for the sheer pleasure and joy of it. With that in mind, I took a look at my TBR pile and decided that I needed to choose five books that I want to read over the next few months. That in itself was a huge task, considering that I have at least 100 (no joke!) unread books on my bookshelf! But I did manage to whittle it down to five, and these are the books I chose to read, and the reasons why:

1) TO THE BRINK, by Cindy Gerard. This is the third book in her “Bodyguard” series, and I loved the first two, so this one is a must read. Actually, anything that Cindy writes is a must-read for me. I love her writing style. I love her heroes. I love her conflicts and the sexual tension between her characters. Cindy is an author that I was reading before I became a published author myself. She started out with the now defunct “Loveswept” series line, then wrote for Silhouette Desire (actually, she still does). But recently, she ventured into single title suspense, and she’s done an amazing job creating “bigger than life” kind of stories. Cindy Gerard has been a favorite author of mine ever since I read her first book, MAVERICK (which I still have!) over fifteen years ago, and she still is a favorite. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s a wonderful, gracious person, as well.

2) MASTER OF THE NIGHT, by Angela Knight. I’ve been reading Angela since her days as a writer for the Secret’s anthologies. I’m not a huge paranormal fan, but I love Angela’s paranormal stories mainly because of her heroes. This one is a vampire story, and it’s certain to be hot and sexy and erotic. She writes incredible alpha males – in a way that I can’t help but envy because she makes it all seem so effortless. They’re dominant, arrogant, and sexy as hell!

3) KILL ME TWICE, by Roxanne St. Claire. I’ve enjoyed Roxanne’s other single titles, and this one is the first in a new series called “Bullet Catchers”. I have both of the stories in this series that have been published to date, so it’s time that I read the first one and get started before I get too far behind. The third is slated for an April 2007 release, TAKE ME TONIGHT, and the premise sounds absolutely intriguing. Check out her website, which has all kinds of fun information on the Bullet Catchers!

4) MATCH ME IF YOU CAN, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This author writes some of the best books out there. Sexy, funny, with alpha heroes who always meet their match in the heroine. Susan’s books are like “comfort reads” to me, the kind I can curl up with and read for hours and hours. They are always entertaining and fun, with great characterization. I know by the time I read the last page of one of her books, I’m going to be thoroughly satisfied by the story as a whole.

5) TAKE ME, by Bella Andre. This is a new author to me, and this book is her first one that’s been published (to my knowledge). The cover originally caught my attention, then I read the back cover copy and it sounded like something I would enjoy. I’ve had the book for a while now, so I figure it’s time to give Bella Andre a try!

So, what top 5 books are in your TO BE READ pile?