Jaynie’s Place

My July reads so far include 2 books read and 2 books DNF. That’s 2 DNF ALREADY. I mean did anyone notice the date?

I tend to buy my books based on the blurb. If it sounds like the type of thing I’d read then I’ve always been willing to read it. But seriously, books cost me a crap load of money. I’m thinking I’m going to have to find some way to decide which new authors really are worth reading.

From now on I’m going to talk to some of my peeps first - see if they liked it. Like, at least two of them. Then I’m going to read a few reviews around the web - try and find an excerpt…and only then will I buy the damn thing.

Especially since my TBR pile is so freaken huge-arific (yes, it’s a word. I invented it).

I’m thinking I need to cut back on new authors for a while and the ones I do try, I’m going to research wayyyyyyyyyyy better.

What’s coming up in July that I’m looking for? (in order of release date, and then alphabetical)- all book descriptions from Amazon.

July 01
Dakota Cassidy - Accidentally Dead (book 2 in the Accidental series)
It’s a lousy first day on the job for Nina Blackman when a patient, loopy from the anesthesia, bites her. At least he was cute. But for real drama she can’t beat the next evening. Nina wakes up with a set of razor-sharp fangs, bionic vision, supersonic hearing, and a taste for blood. But there’s a good explanation: It’s her patient, Long Island vampire Greg Statleon. Actually they’re perfect for each other—if Nina’s willing to commit to one man for eternity.

July 01
Jennifer Estep - Karma Girl - book 1 of Super Heroes
After getting dumped by her crime-fighting fiance, reporter Carmen Cole starts exposing the country’s most powerful heroes and villains. But when her life is threatened, she’ll have to rely on the city’s sexiest crime-buster to save her.

July 01
Yasmine Galenorn - Dragon Wytch (book 4 in the Sistes of the Moon series)
The D’Artigo sisters are half-human, half-Fae operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Camille is doing her best to juggle magic, men, and the demonic war into which they’ve been thrust—until she discovers a secret that could change all their lives.

July 01
Virginia Kantra - Sea Witch - book 1 of Children of the Sea
Margred is a Selkie—a legendary being of the sea, able to shapeshift into seductive human form. And she has found a human she desires…
Burned out from the big city, Caleb Hunter becomes police chief on the peaceful Maine island of World’s End. Then he meets a woman who’s everything he’s ever dreamed of…
Their passion is undeniable, irresistible—and it may change the fate of humankind.

July 01
Justine Musk - Lord of Bones (book 2 of Jess and Ramsey series)
Jess and Ramsey stopped a demon from bringing about the apocalypse. But a gate was opened and more demons have come to Earth—inhabiting human bodies. Now, these demon hybrids are paving the way for the arrival of the Soulbreaker, known as Lord of Bones…

July 29
Patricia Biggs - Cry Wolf (book 1 of the Anna and Charles series)
Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country will recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.

July 29
Jenna Black - The Devil You Know (book 2 of Morgan Kingsley, exorcist) 
The beautiful. The bad. The possessed.
Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some people—like Morgan Kingsley—go up against them toe-to-toe, flesh to flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can tease her body senseless. She’s also a woman who has just discovered a shocking truth: everything she once believed about her past, her identity, may have been a lie.
With a family secret exploding around her and a full-scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an unsettled world. Then a rogue sociopathic demon enters her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The Hunter down—no matter what heartbreaking truths she uncovers along the way….

July 29
Jocelynn Drake - Nightwalker - book 1 of Dark Days
For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker—an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.
The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt . . . or be hunted.

July 29
Christine Feehan - Turbulent Sea (book 6 of the Drake Sisters)
Bewitching rock superstar Joley Drake can have any lover she wants. But when her life is threatened, her dangerously sexy bodyguard is the only man she needs. There’s just one problem: his shadowy reputation as a secret Russian hit man may put Joley in even greater peril…

July 29
Angie Fox - The Accidental Demon Slayer
It’s never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet bowl. For Lizzie Brown, that’s just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking, and her long-lost biker witch Grandma is hurling Smuckers jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she’s seen it all, Lizzie learns she’s a demon slayer-and all hell is after her.
Of course, that’s not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos, a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you’ve never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn’t work, how dangerous could a little seduction be…?

July 29
Jenna Maclaine - Wages of Sin - book 1 of Cin Craven
Dulcinea Craven descends from a long line of witches, and she has just inherited wild, untrained magical powers that she has no idea how to control. Now a ruthless vampire and an age-old demon are determined to enslave Cin and steal her power for their own. Her only hope is The Righteous, a band of warrior vampires who slay the rogue undead. Among them is Michael, a fierce swordsman who inflames Cin’s most primal hungers. Showing her a sensual pleasure beyond anything in the mortal realm, she must choose between the human existence she has always known, and immortality as a vampire—a new life filled with forbidden urges, dark yearning, and unearthly passions…

July 29
Alexis Morgan - Dark Warrior Unleashed (book 1 of the Talions series)
A Talion enforcer, Ranulf Thorsen has served his people for a thousand years, delivering the eye-for-an-eye justice by which his kinsmen live. Weary of the centuries-long fight, the fierce warrior with icy blue eyes has secluded himself on a mountain far from the chaos of the modern world below. Now he’s been summoned to face the most dangerous battle of his life — and the fate of his people is on the line.
But when he meets the beautiful woman he has sworn to defend…
Ranulf and his bitter rival, fellow Talion Sandor Kearn, must find the rogue Kyth who set a violent fire in a nightclub. The near-deadly blaze’s unlikely heroine, Kerry Logan, is also a Kyth, possessing the ancient Nordic people’s unique ability to manipulate human energy. She just doesn’t know it yet.
…who will protect his heart?
Kerry finds more than comfort in her warrior’s embrace, and Ranulf hungers to both defend and claim the petite powerhouse for his own. But with time ticking away and their lives on the line, will Kerry believe the wild tale he’s telling her, and master her powers…before it’s too late?

Below are the books I read in June pretty much in the order I read them:

1 - Jeaniene Frost - Night Huntress Series book 2 - One Foot in the Grave
Didn’t think she’d beat the first book, but this one was actually better. I’m loving these characters and I think the series has potential to hang around for another 4 or 5 books. Highly recommended.

2 - MaryJanice Davidson - Alaskan Royals, book1 - The Royal Treatment.
Funniest damn MJD book I have ever read. This is her best stuff. I’m too scared to read book 2 because it doesn’t have the same heroine and to be honest, I don’t think she could top this.

3 - Charlaine Harris - Harper Connolly book 2 - Grave Surprise
Loving this series - probably more than the Sookie books. Can’t wait to see if what I think develops will actually do so.

4 - Charlaine Harris - Lily Bard book 1 - Shakespeare’s Landlord
Again - very awesome start. For those of you who only read the Sookie books, I highly recommend trying the other series, too.

5 - Victoria Laurie - Psychic Eye book 1 - Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye
A new to me author who impressed. This was a fun book and I’ll be getting more.

6 - Victoria Laurie - Ghost Hunter book 1 - What’s a Ghoul to Do?
Think I liked the other series better but this was still a good book and I’ll be looking for book 2.

7 - Sherilyn Kenyon - Dark Hunters book 11 - Devil May Cry
I was sad reading this because it may be my last. Next book up is Archeron’s and I’m still pissed that she’s bringing that out now instead of right at the end of the series. No way can it live up to what I’ve been expecting for him, and he’s not going to be with who I want so I’m really not sure if I’m going back to this series which is a shame because I’ve loved it for a very long time.

8 - Keri Arthur - Riley Jenson book 6 - The Darkest Kiss
Great additon to the series with a couple of really good new twists

9 - Lilith Saintcrow - Dante Valentine book 3 - The Devil’s Right Hand
10 - Lilith Saintcrow - Dante Valentine book 4 - Saint City Sinners
11 - Lilith Saintcrow - Dante Valentine book 5 - To Hell and Back
I have been wanting to finish this series for a while. I loved the first two and the author didn’t hold back with these. They got darker and darker and although I’ll miss the characters, I agree that the series had to stop or I would have started hating them. Very interesting and complicated world and I can’t wait for the new series.

12 - Madelyn Alt - Bewitching Mystery book 1 - The Trouble With Magic
Nice light read with some interesting characters - like to see where it develops.

13 - Wendy Roberts - Ghost Dusters Mystery - The Remains of the Dead
Read like a stand-alone so very interested to see what was up next. Loved the characters in this one and very good story right up to the cliched twist at the end which annoyed me slightly. Other than that I was very impressed. Enough that I’m pissy I have to wait a few months for book 2.

14 - Linda Wisdom - Hex book 1 - 50 Ways to Hex your Lover
Nice, not fab - but that may be because I’m getting bored of the whole vamp thing. I did like the witch character though so I’ll check out book 2 and see if it zings a bit more for me.

15 - Ilona Andrews - Kate Daniels book 2 - Magic Burns
I liked it - characters all seem to have grown from book 2. The story in this one was great.

16 - Simon R Green - Nightside book 1 - Something From th Nightside
Reads a bit like the old gumshoe books at the start, but eventually gets into the good stuff. Nice angsty main character with an interesting cast of secondaries. I’ll be reading the rest of this series.

17 - Charlaine Harris - Aurora Teagarden book 2 - A Bone to Pick
18 - Charlaine Harris - Aurora Teagarden book 3 - Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
19 - Charlaine Harris - Aurora Teagarden book 4 - The Julius House
I love this series. Roe is a really easy to relate to character with a lot of hidden spunk. Some interesting twists in the last book with her personal life. Nice little mysteries.

20 - MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi - Jennifer Scales book 2 - Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light
21 - MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi - Jennifer Scales book 3 - The Silver Moon Elm
My favorite YA series - Jennifer reminds you of every teenager you’ve ever known (including yourself). Trust, honesty and forgiveness - I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to read these.

22 - Karen Chance - Cassandra Palmer book 2 - Claimed by Shadow
23 - Karen Chance - Cassandra Palmer book 3 - Embrace the Night
This is one of those series where you really just want the next book - like now. Unfortunately I gotta wait until next year.

24 - Rob Thurman - Nightlife book 1 - Nightlife
Not as fab as I thought after everyone raved over it, but still enjoyed and picked up the next two to read. I’m guessing I felt a bit distanced with no female characters - hanging will all blokes can annoy me.

25 - Richelle Mead - Georgia Kincaid book1 - Succubus Blues
Finally, a succubus book I really enjoyed. It’s hard to get the balance right with these but I liked this one…and good secondary cast.

26 - Janet Evanovich - Stephanie Plum book 14 - Fearless Fourteen
The usual giggle snort. I love these books for a bit of light relief. They never take me long to read and I always always LOL through them.

27 - Rob Thurman - Cal Leandros book 2 - Moonshine
28 - Rob Thurman - Cal Leandros book 3 - Madhouse
One of those series that gets better with each book. Moonshine was great, I liked a lot better than the first. Madhouse has me addicted for good. Cal’s sarcastic wit makes me smirk, and I’m loving these characters more and more.

DNF - Mark Henry - Happy Hour of the Damned (protagonist read like a gay dragqueen - really annoying footnotes took me out of the story one to many times)
DNF - Nina Harper - Succubus in the City (Sex and the City with demons. Unfortunately these chicks kill people and don’t really seem to care - characters not likeable enough)
DNF - Carole Nelson Douglas - Dancing with Werewolves (After 100 pages I still couldn’t figure out what the book was about - transitions not good and writing a bit clunky)

So I’m trying really hard for that extra 5kg.  I just really want to get rid of my tummy which kinda bloats a bit.  I mean I’ll still be overweight and not model skinny, but I just won’t stick out so much - like hopefully.

I’m reading Janet Evanovich - Fearless Fourteen aka Stephanie Plum #14.  Not sure what all the bad reviews are about yet cos I’m thinking it’s just the usual Steph book.  Lots of laughs so far.

…and of course my fav quote of the night from Lula:

And anyway, everyone knows you don’t gain weight on Sunday. Sunday’s a free day.

freaken awesome - think I’ll go out for dinner, lunch, brunch, and breakfast on Sunday

As is obvious by my lack of posts, I don’t blog much anymore. I also don’t read the blogs much any more. Some I really try to read once a week. Others I usually catch once a month, depending on how much time the kids let me sneak off to computer. At night I’m not on much because time with the hubby has become a precious commodity lately - and we have better things to do than blog hop

I bribed the kids today. Three hours at the pool and four games of Twister (which I really don’t recommend. I swear that game is evil to anybody over the age of 12). So I actually managed a bit of time to write in my journel (paper) and do a bit of blog hopping.

What did I find?

Did you know the lol dudes from lolcat and loldog also have a political caption blog? You can find it here. I’ve been doing some giggling over there today.

Jane from Dear Author revealed her secret identity, but more interesting in that post was the fact that she gets to do a panel with Nora Roberts at RWA.  GREEN.  Is it too late for me to go back to school and learn a whole lot of shit relevant to RWA so I can do that?

Thanks to Karen I now have a new picture that greets me as I turn my comp on each day. *drool*

…and I discovered several upcoming books that look good - even if they are way too far in the future to even be on Amazon yet.

Oh, and I’m sticking to my new years resolution that I don’t have to finish every book I read.  June’s list of books read already has three DNFs on it.

Richardson, Kiernan, Green and Thurman are all new to me - but the others are from series I already read.

Magic Burns - Ilona Andrews
Greywalker - Kat Richardson
Threshold - Caitlin R Kiernan
Something From the Nightside - Simon R Green
Nightlife - Rob Thurman
Claimed by Shadow - Karen Chance
Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light - MJD (with Anthony Alongi)
The Silver Moon Elm - MJD (with Anthony Alongi)
A Bone to Pick - Charlaine Harris
Three Bedrooms and One Corpse - Charlaine Harris
The Julius House - Charlaine Harris

A box of books arrived today and I was surprised to find that there wasn’t a romance book in sight. I think the people at Roc and Ace must love me now because they seem to have become my primary publishers for book buying lately. This box had:
Roc - 4
Ace - 4
Berkley Prime Crime - 3

I don’t know why I’ve moved away from the traditional boy meets girl and they HEA. As a teenager I read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Richard Laymon, and anything on my parents bookshelf that didn’t bore me. I then grew into mainly crime and mystery books (nothing fluffy - they were all dark and dangerous). When i got sick after my youngest was born, I found I couldn’t watch the news and certainly didn’t want to be picking up a book where someone died. I glommed Harlequin/Sillouette with a few single titles, and eventually found some ebooks while browsing online one day. That shifted me again and I was reading paranormal romance in bundles - discovering that it also existed in print (especially when I tired of the erotic nature of the ebooks I was reading).

The latest shift was from paranormal romance to urban fantasy, and now I’ve added the odd paranormal mystery.

Who knows what’s next.

What’s coming up in June that I’m looking for? (in order of release date, and then alphabetical)

June 03
Jessica Anderson - Night Keepers (book 1 of The Final Prophecy)
As a Miami narcotics detective, Leah Daniels never knows how her day will turn out. But she certainly never expected to be strapped to a stone altar, the human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ritual meant to coax up a demon from the underworld. Or that she’d be saved by a handsome warrior-priest king who claims to recognize her from his visions…
Jaguar Strike wishes he hadn’t made the mistake of reuniting his fellow warrior priests, or broken the law by saving their chosen human sacrifice. Now, he has no choice but to join forces with Leah and invoke dangerous magic in a death-defying race against the end of time.

June 03
Shiloh Walker - Through the Veil
Lee Ross always knew she was not entirely human. But when the man who has plagued her dreams her entire life appears in the flesh, can she give up everything she knows to follow him to another realm?

June 03
J R Ward - Lover Enshrined. (book 6 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood)
As Primale of the Chosen, the fiercely loyal Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of his race. But his first mate, the Chosen Cormia, wants not only his body but his heart for herself. As tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love…

June 24
Marjourie M Liu - The Iron Hunt (book 1 of Hunter Kiss)
Demon hunter Maxine Kiss wears her armor as tattoos, which unwind from her body to take on forms of their own at night. They stand between her and her enemies, just as Maxine stands between humanity and the demons breaking out from behind the prison veils. It is a life lacking in love, reveling in death, until one moment—and one man— changes everything.

June 24
Lilith Saintcrow - Night Shift (book 1 of Jill Kismet)
Not everyone can take on the things that go bump in the night.
Not everyone tries.
But Jill Kismet is not just anyone.
She’s a Hunter, trained by the best - and in over her head.
Welcome to the night shift…

June 24
Anna Windsor - Bound by Shadow (book 1 of The Dark Crescent Sisterhood)
Falling for a demon can be hazardous to your heart.
Riana Dumain is a fully trained Sybil, a warrior priestess battling evil whose practical magic keeps her grounding in earthly science–and desires. She knows that gorgeous NYPD detective Creed Lowell is dangerous, and possibly a foot soldier for the evil Legion cult, using his badge and drop-dead looks to consolidate demonic power.
Creed’s low profile Occult Crimes Unit pulls Riana and her two sister Sybils into the case of a politician’s son, murdered in a ritualistic sacrifice. Soon, Riana’s instincts prove true. Creed, the hottest half-human she’s ever known, a demon in bed and out, is guarding a trapdoor to hell. And unless Riana can find a way to tame her mystery man’s treacherous inner self (and her heart), all of Manhattan may be enveloped by darkness.

I was naughty and went book shopping.  I got these books: (posted in order of how I pulled them out of the bag.)

Annette Blair - Gone with the Witch
Jamie Leigh Hansen - Betrayed
Jen Holling - My Immortal Protector
Rachel Caine - Ill Wind
Carole Nelson Douglas - Dancing with Werewolves
Toni Andrews - Beg for Mercy
Richelle Mead - Succubus Blues
Nina Harper - Succubus in the City
Christine Feehan - Predatory Game
Christine Feehan - Night Game
Shana Abe - The Smoke Thief

So basically I have learned that it’s not a good idea to go to a bookstore when I have PMS

I’m reading a book right now. It’s not bad, not raving over it, but I’m still reading it.

Just threw it against the wall. I have this thing about logic. We’re talking about werewolves - shapeshifting. So as far as I can tell, if a man turns into a wolf, he’s going to be a very big wolf because as humans, we on average, weigh more than wolves.

I can accept the body changing from man to wolf. I prefer the clothes to get ripped or taken off, but I go with the flow if it’s explained that the clothes go somewhere “other”.

But for me, I prefer the mass of the human to become the mass of the wolf. So a 200 pound human is going to be about twice the size of a normal male wolf. That’s already a huge leap, but I always accept that they can remain hidden because the average joe doesn’t realise that real wolves aren’t really that big.

As a man, *character name* was big but slim, maybe 220. As a wolf he had to weigh close to four hundred pounds.

But a 400 pound wolf? Okay, that’s too big. And the lack of logic of a 220 pound man turning in to a 400 pound wolf. WTF? Where did the rest of that mass come from?

Don’t tell me numbers. Just say he was a big man, but an even bigger bloody wolf. Now I have some ridiculous oversized demon wolf picture in my brain that I can’t get out. And I’m annoyed cos I want to finish the story, but I don’t know if I can.

There’s an interesting debate over at Karen’s right now on behavior at RT - you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom half of the comments because it kind of evolved from talk about other things. It’s always fun to read these type of things when one is not emotionally involved in either side of the equation. Go read it, it’s worth it just to see Nora Roberts hold her own against some chick who totally overeacted to her comments *snerk*

Some commenters feel that RT is turning into an event that they are not comfortable attending. This saddens me because I have had great fun the past two years, and so it got me thinking a little.

Why do I go to RT?
1 - The number one reason is to meet up with my BFFs so we can actually have fun in person for a few days. (note - half of them are authors)
2 - To meet authors whose books I’ve enjoyed.  Just to say “Hey” or “thanks for the great read” or get a picture.  I admit it, it’s a buzz. It’s also fun to watch them in panels - see who has a sense of humor.
3 - The booksigning. I don’t live in the States so the only time I ever get to go to a book signing is at RT.  I love getting signed books.  I always buy them because I think it’s a waste of suitcase space to bring a whole lot over with me.

I don’t go for the parties. 
AND
I don’t go for the cover models (of either kind - the competition blokes or the Cavemen)

So both years I’ve basically just ignored them. This year even more so than last. I admit, I did see a bit more objectional behavior this year. Twice I left the bar rather than be around certain models (I say models because I’m not sure which group either of them belonged to), but I figured that was my choice - others chose to stay. For those of us who avoided the models, there seemed to be a lot more people around who were trying to get near them.

I wonder if RT should do exit polls where attendees could give their opinions on whether or not the models should go or stay, or the parties were good, or the food etc etc. to help out with how they do things the next year. OR if when we registered we had to click a box saying if we liked certain aspects to be included.

Anyway, I’m going to quote some of the comments and respond to them here rather than taking up a few pages in Karen’s comment box. (Mostly, Robin - sorry Robin, but you seem too sensible to ignore lol)

IMO there’s a middle ground, and that’s what I hear most of the people who were uncomfortable this year saying — that this year’s event, FOR THEM, crossed some lines, whether they be the appropriateness of that particular 9/11 tribute or lap dances or mutual groping and moaning and dirty talk in semi or full public. - Robin

I see that, too. I think the major problem is going to be finding a “line” that everybody can agree on because we all draw our lines in different places. I certainly agree that the majority of attendees probably don’t want “lap dances or mutual groping and moaning and dirty talk in semi or full public.” That’s probably a given, but opinions are probably going to be too split on everything else to keep everyone happy.

But in any case, not feeling comfortable in a relatively sex saturated atmosphere at a Romance conference does not smack of prudery to me, any more than the unqualified enjoyment of the conference smacks of sluttishness. - Robin

And there are obviously many who love the event whom I wouldn’t judge as skanky or slutty or whatever. To me, dismissing people’s concerns, and especially implying that they are prudish or hate sex or erotic material, is akin to all those accusations that Romance is nothing but trash. - Robin

These are pretty much the most intelligent things said in the whole comment thread.  Both sides tend to take offense easily, and it’s another reason why sensibly trying to work out a common “line” not to cross probably won’t work.

Speaking only for myself, my frustration comes in what I see as an “escalation” of crassness from year to year. A progression of sorts. As each incidence occurs with no repercussions, it opens the door for someone to try something even more daring the next time the conference rolls around. The line in the sand keeps moving. - Anon76

I definitely saw an increase from last year, and plenty of people have told me that the line is moving each year. From a purely selfish viewpoint, it’s going to bother me more that people I go to see are not attending because of this.

Oh, and I’m with Robin pretty much down the line. For me, it’s a matter of respect and image. I like fun. But I have lines I wouldn’t care to cross. - Nora Roberts

What? You guys thought I wouldn’t get a Nora Roberts quote in there? I think a lot of us wouldn’t cross certain lines, but it’s also whether or not we are willing to watch other people cross those lines.  I wouldn’t put a beer bottle in my cleavage (I’m pretty sure I could). I don’t see that as part of my image. But one lady was walking around with a beer bottle in her cleavage.  Her line was obviously different from mine.  The issue was whether or not I wanted to see her walk around with a beer bottle.  Does that make sense? (and I’m just using that as an example - same could be said of groping people etc.)

Anyone who knows me, knows I think Roarke and Eve are the best characters ever, from the best series ever (yes, allow me a fangirl moment) so it really saddens me that Ms. Roberts has chosen NOT to look at others crossing her lines.  I totally respect her for it, but I’m bummed she won’t be at RT for me to stalk meet and buy a signed copy.

I write sexy books but I don’t go anywhere dressed in a bikini and never have and never will fondle anyone in a public elevator. The genre is the words printed on the page and the covers printed on posters–not a performance art. Erotic authors don’t need to fondle nekkid men anymore than romance authors need to ride in on a white horse to the sound of harp music. - Veinglory

So, I’m pretty much getting the point that for authors, it’s about image. Does RT reflect the image that you want to portray as a professional author? I get that. (and as I write this, Nora just pretty much confirmed that in her latest comment). I think that for authors this totally makes sense. I just wonder how much their voice will be heard given that they are in the minority as attendees - being that RT is primarily a reader event.

I just hope that either:

The authors I go to see who are my buds, and the ones I go to see because I enjoy their work - don’t get too put off by the other antics that happen at the parties and in the bars and decide not to come.
OR
RT starts to recognise that they are losing some big name authors and change things around a bit, or restrict the activities of certain models and some drunken morons attendees.

I’m off to Bali with the family.  Back Monday, so I’ll catch up on the fallout of the latest blog crap then. Everyone behave themselves and try to remember - it’s just not worth it *g*

So y’all remember Jackie Kessler from RT?  Michele and Dakota used her post-it notes to snark on MJD so I got to meet her a few times because she was around, chatting to my BFFs.

When I got home I looked up her books and saw that her series was coming to MMP.  Most Awesome, I say to myself. (cos we all know I don’t do trades unless your La Nora or Datater).  I pre-ordered the first book and then checked out Ms. Jackie’s blog.

This morning I found out that I won some shit.  How cool is that?  Really awesome to put me in a good mood. So if you want to check out Jackie’s books you can go to her website or pre-order Hell’s Belles in MMP, or if you can’t wait and love ze trade then buy now.

OMG - and she’s a Raistlin fan - one of THE best fantasy characters ever.  *sighhhhhh* 

People have been asking if I’ve recovered from RT yet - short answer is um…no.

Long answer - I have the worst jetlag ever.  I’ve never been affected by the change in timezones before, and I’ve done a lot of these big trips.  This time really kicked me in the ass.  I’ve been up most nights to the early hours of the morning - just not sleeping.

The hubby gets home tomorrow so I’m hoping the less stressful atmosphere may help (not having to deal with munchrats by myself).

I came home to a flooded bathroom, a leaking aircon, a 4 year old with his hair shaved off, and a 6 year old with a chunk out of her hair because she got gum in it.

…and now I have a zit.  Hubby, being ever so helpful, told me where his chocolate stash was to get me through the week.  So much for the diet lol.

So I’m tired, grumpy, and a few other words I won’t mention.

How long until next years RT?