I have to confess that the first time I saw him, I was not sure if I found him handsome, but the more and more I see him, the more I find him attractive.
I just caught him over the weekend in NO RESERVATIONS which didn’t do all that well at the box office. I remember the movie being billed as kind of a romantic comedy and even the posters and covers for the movie (shown below) make it seem lighthearted and it was anything but that.
Could be why it didn’t do well. No one wants to go see a romantic comedy and have it be a serious movie. BUT — I liked the movie. It was quite touching in parts and Aaron was downright sexy. I wanted to see more of him and Catherine, but the director kept on closing the door every time that it was starting to get romantic. NOT!!! Especially if it’s supposed to a romance. But again, I would recommend it.
Here’s an interview with him about his role in THE DARK KNIGHT, the latest Batman movie:
It happens often. You go to the bookstore and see a cover that looks familiar, but the title is different. Turns out, it’s a different book with a very similar cover. I had that happen recently with the JEWEL OF MEDINA (that we discussed the other day)(shown below) and another book titled SISTER TERESA. At first glance the women on the covers looked very similar to me.
Of course seeing them side-by-side now makes me realize they don’t look that much alike, but now I dare you. Actually, double dog dare you to say that the two covers which follow don’t look alike!
Last year I conducted a poll on multicultural fiction. I had a number of published authors (about 40) from diverse backgrounds offer their opinions on the state of mutlicultural fiction in publishing.
One of the topics on which I polled authors was Literary Segregation, namely, the practice of shelving books based on the author’s ethnicity or race or on the content of the book. This is something that happens in a number of book stores. I can’t speak as to whether it happens at many libraries as in general, I have not seen it done in my local libraries, but if you are aware of the practice at such locations, please chime in.
The vast majority of the writers were not in favor of this practice. Many felt that it reduced their sales and limited their opportunities for cultivating new readers who were not multicultural. During a recent discussion at the RWA National Conference, this issue arose once more and the consensus of the group that participated was again that this practice hurt diversity authors.
What do you think about this kind of segregation? Do you go to such sections in bookstores and/or libraries?
There seem to be many bookstores with African-American sections. Do you see similar sections for Latino books?
Many of you have been asking about the next book in THE CALLING vampire novels and I wish to thank all of you for writing and letting me know how much you love the series! It really makes it all worthwhile.
The news on THE CALLING is that the next book, FURY CALLS, will be out in March 2009 from Silhouette Nocturne! Remember that if you download the FURY CALLS countdown widget and put it on your website/social network page, you can get a free CALLING t-shirt!**
Get this widget!
ARDOR CALLS, featuring Stacia, one of my favorite vampires, will be out in 2010 along with VENGEANCE CALLS. VENGEANCE introduces two new characters for you, including one who is a different kind of immortal.
To help you with the gap between FURY CALLS and the other books, there will be a Nocturne Bite e-novella titled HONOR CALLS which features FBI ADIC Jesus Hernandez who you have seen in a number of books. To also help you bridge the gap, I’ll be writing a series of free short stories for you to let you know what’s been happening with Diana and Ryder behind the scenes of all the books.
My editor and I have already spoken about another book for Diana and Ryder, so I’m really excited about that although it will likely be a long way off. In the meantime, here’s your first free short story read in THE CALLING:
This free read occurs in the months after the conclusion of DEVOTION CALLS.
**T-shirts while supplies last! I am in the process of sending out those to the first people who posted the widget, so look for them soon if you’ve already done that.
Diana Reyes stared at the pile of files precariously stacked on the side of her desk. Earlier that night she had just finished the last of the paperwork from the day before when an apologetic clerk had dropped this fresh load in her office.
Anger surged through her at the thought of another day at her desk, checking references and other information so that the subjects of the files would receive their proper security clearances. This wasn’t why she had joined the FBI, but then again, there had to be some kind of punishment for failing to prevent the deaths of so many agents during her last real assignment.
Those deaths and the nearly crippling injuries to her partner David Harris weighed heavily on her mind as did the personal aftermath from the night of the failed raid.
The santero’s words to her from months earlier still troubled her.
I can’t heal what you have.
What she had, Diana thought, laying her hands out before her and staring at them hard.
Human hands. Warm and filled with life. But within that life was something new. Different than before. And something that worried her still.
Deciding that she couldn’t linger a moment longer, she escaped the confines of her office, racing past David’s empty one and onto the elevator.
Out on the street before Federal Plaza, she stopped and breathed in the warm summer air. Thick and humid. The faint scent of garlic wafted from the Italian restaurant a few doors down. Her stomach growled with hunger.
She hadn’t eaten dinner that night, but she’d grab a bite later with Ryder.
Right now, she had something else to do. Something that called to her more than the physical demands of her body.
With a blast of inhuman speed, she surged to the nearby subway entrance. She stopped to catch a breath and still the wild beating of her heart. A wave of weakness ripped across her body, reminding her that all was not right.
The superhuman healing and powers that had taken over her body after her injuries during the raid were slowly leaving her. Worse, even her everyday tasks seemed to take more of her energy than before.
She worried that soon she might not have the strength left for even the every day things and after that . . .
Diana drove that thought away and headed for the subway for the trip up to Spanish Harlem.
Ricardo may have told her that he couldn’t heal what she had, but she had never asked him just what that was.
Hate to say it, but sometimes I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be. We all experience those brain fog moments for many reasons. Age. Stress. Medical reasons. So to stay sharp, I’ve gone back to doing something I used to do all the time as a kid — playing word search games and doing crossword puzzles.
For a great article from LIFETIME on playing games to keep your brain sharp, you can click here! The article mentions a number of games/DVDs, but you can also do puzzles, Soduku and other activities. Also check out what the article says about chocolate and cocoa! Always a good thing when science reaffirms the magic of such tasty things.
Also, for all you Harlequin fans, they are running a Buy One Get One Free promotion from today, August 12 to August 14. You can click here for the BOGO Sale going on at Harlequin.
Not to mention a big WOO HOO as the first book in the Coltons series has hit the shelves. You can click here for Colton’s Secret Service by the wonderful Marie Ferrarella. My contribution to this series, SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD, will be out in December 2008.
I was pondering who to share with you this morning and realized I hadn’t shared one of my favorites! So today’s Guilty Pleasure Monday is Pierce Brosnan. I first fell in love with him in a television movie series called The Manions (I believe). It was a story about the Irish and he was just so good looking.
Then one day I’m flipping through the channels and there he is again as Remington Steele! Heaven, I’m in heaven. I loved this show and the chemistry with him and Stephanie Zimbalist was wonderful. Hopeful romantic that I am, I kept on hoping they’d get together. I bought the first season on DVD and enjoyed watching it again.
When there was talk of needing a new Bond, it immediately occurred to me that Pierce would be the perfect Bond and so did the producers! Unfortunately, when Pierce was chosen as the new Bond, NBC decided to renew Remington Steele (which had been cancelled). This cost Pierce the role at that time. A shame since it would have been great to have more of him as James Bond.
Hope you enjoyed this Guilty Pleasure Monday! Also, don’t forget to check back on August 26th for a special blog by Lisa Jackson! I have autographed books, t-shirts and other goodies from Lisa to award to anyone who drops by that day and leaves a comment on the blog.
Last night we went to a Jonas Brothers concert at Jones Beach Theater. Although I grew up just minutes away, I’d never been to this venue and it’s gorgeous. The stage is set right at the water’s edge, so you see the wetlands and beach as you sit there and watch the show.
The concert was great. Lots of fun. Photos are still on my daughter’s camera, so I’ll share some photos from the last JoBro concert (yes, we are fans!). This concert was at the Meadowlands and was mobbed. Rumor has it that it sold out in about 2 minutes. This is a picture of Joe Jonas, the middle brother.
This is my daughter and me at the show. A friend of hers made T-shirts with lines from the JoBro songs and we wore them. The gold jacket is from one of their videos. My daughter bought it at American Apparel and everyone kept asking her where she had gotten it.
Had a great time as you can tell from the big smiles. I love spending time with my best bud.
This is the official video for one of their hits – SOS. It’s one of my favorite songs from the JoBros. The new one, BURNING UP, is really cute!
Last year I conducted a poll on multicultural fiction. I had a number of published authors (about 40) from diverse backgrounds offer their opinions on the state of mutlicultural fiction in publishing.
Many of you have been asking about the next book in THE CALLING vampire novels and I wish to thank all of you for writing and letting me know how much you love the series! It really makes it all worthwhile.
Hate to say it, but sometimes I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be. We all experience those brain fog moments for many reasons. Age. Stress. Medical reasons. So to stay sharp, I’ve gone back to doing something I used to do all the time as a kid — playing word search games and doing crossword puzzles.
The concert was great. Lots of fun. Photos are still on my daughter’s camera, so I’ll share some photos from the last JoBro concert (yes, we are fans!). This concert was at the Meadowlands and was mobbed. Rumor has it that it sold out in about 2 minutes. This is a picture of Joe Jonas, the middle brother.