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May 2004
Newsletter
Happy Mother's Day!
The weather has just been crazy here in Oklahoma. Thunderstorms,
hail, and tornados, who knows what's coming next. Hopefully the
weather for Mother's Day will be beautiful. If you haven't bought
your mother's day present yet, might I suggest a book from one of
our authors.
Spring is truly in bloom in Oklahoma. I love to see all the flowers
coming up. Daffodils are gone, as are the irises, but in our front
yard this year, a 3 ft. tall plant sprung up with large purple,
bell-like flowers blooming up and down the stalks. I have no idea
where it came from because it sure wasn't there last year. It is the
most gorgeous thing! So, I'll enjoy it along with the masses of
roses until the next wave of blooms come along. I hope you'll take
the time to enjoy the new blooms as well.
Until next month,
Kristen Price
Dear Friends,
Do you hear it? That noise off in the distance? If you close your
eyes, you just might catch that ever-so-faint sound. What you’re
hearing is the clicking of knitting needles as women (and men) all
across America are rediscovering the joy of knitting.
Because I’m an avid knitter and a yarn fanatic, I decided to combine
two of my passions: writing and knitting. (I’ll bet you thought it was
chocolate and more chocolate!) The result is
THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET, my May hardcover. (You’ll find an
excerpt and a special “SHOP” contest on
www.debbiemacomber.com so
visit today!) This is a story about a cancer survivor who opens a yarn
store. Three very different women sign up for the first beginning
knitting class. Each one has a specific reason for needing the first
project they undertake: a baby blanket.
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THE SHOP ON
BLOSSOM STREET
MIRA Books
May 2004
ISBN: 0-7783-2044-8 |
I like to think of myself as a bonus-added author,
and there are a number of special bonuses that come with
THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET. Tucked into this book is a free baby
blanket (or lap robe) pattern given to me by one of the country’s top
knitting designers, Ann Norling. In addition, several other designers
have shared their philosophies on knitting for the chapter headings.
Best of all, this is a story that I promise will touch your heart.
Even if you’re not a knitter, I know you’ll enjoy
THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET.
Have a wonderful month, and enjoy all those gorgeous spring flowers.
Debbie Macomber
Hi
Readers!
So glad I have time to send along a personal greeting this month! I'm
taking some time to smell the roses now that spring is bursting out
all over, and summer is just around the corner. Signs of spring are
everywhere. Not only are the bees humming and the birds trying to find
places to build nests under our eaves, but last night I had to turn on
the outside light and yell out to a couple of opossums on our patio to
"Get a room!" (Not exactly a romantic image!)
By now you have either raced out to get your own hot-off-the-press
hardcover copy of
HEAT WAVE and a paperback version of
LOVER'S LANE,
or you're on the way, right?
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HEAT WAVE
Ballantine Hardcover
May 2004
ISBN 0-8041-2007-2 |
Good news arrived last month when I received a phone call and learned
LOVER'S LANE, the prequel to
HEAT WAVE, was named a finalist for a
prestigious RITA, romance publishing’s “Oscar,” by the Romance Writers
of America. This is the third year in a row one of my books has
reached the finals, so we are all celebrating around here big time!
HEAT WAVE is already off to a great start. Set in Long Beach,
California, and on Kauai, the book is garnering rave reviews and
author blurbs, such as this one from Linda Lael Miller, author of
DON’T LOOK NOW and NEVER LOOK BACK:
“Jill Marie Landis is a master. Her
HEAT WAVE caught me on a swell,
gripped me from the very first page, and sent me hurtling into
adventure. I highly recommend it!"
And something fun. Watch the June issue of Cosmopolitan, on sale
mid-May, for a spotlight on
HEAT WAVE.
Now I'm going to fill up my own beach bag with some of my favorite
authors' books, some pens and scratch paper, and head for the sun.
Until next time,
Fond Aloha from Jill Marie
Dear Friends,
On June 5, I'll be giving a workshop on the metaphysical elements of
writing at my church, Unity of Phoenix. If you live in the Phoenix
area, or happen to be in town, please stop by and say hello. The
workshop is free.
Spring being a time of new beginnings, I wanted to do something
different this month, and tell you about a couple of exciting books
I've discovered. (Surprise: they aren't mine!) They are more than
books, really – they are journeys.
The first is CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 30 DAYS, by Rhonda Britten, of
"Starting Over" fame. Now, my life is pretty great, but any life can
get better. This book is dynamic – it has opened up whole new worlds
to me. I encourage you to buy it, borrow it, or get it from the
library. The key is to ACTUALLY DO the lessons. If you do, I promise
you will see amazing things happen.
The second book is ASK AND YOU WILL SUCCEED, by Ken D. Foster. This
is a book of very powerful questions. You pick a section, such as
"Relationships" or "Quantum Leaps," and ask yourself one question
every day. I like to do mine in my Morning Pages journal. I won't
tell you which section I'm working on, but I will say I have come up
with some astounding insights! I got so excited about these books
that I wanted to share them with you. I'd love to hear of any
discoveries you make on your journey. As always, communicate with me
via the comments section on my guestbook on
www.lindalaelmiller.com.
Since guestbooks function different ways on websites, I want you to
know that what you write there is not posted publicly but sent to me
as an e-mail.
I'm working hard on McKETTRICK’S CHOICE, which will be out next year
from HQN, Harlequin’s new big-book romance imprint launching in
August of this year. It's longer and meatier than previous stories,
and I'm so excited about it. It takes place mostly in Texas, one of
my very favorite places. When I finish the first draft, I plan to
make yet another trip there and drive the path my characters
followed, from San Antonio to Laredo, then down into Mexico. (They
were buying cattle. I will be buying knock-off purses, most likely!)
When this is done, I'll be writing the third and final Clare and
Tony book. Watch my website; soon I’ll add an excerpt on book two in
their series, NEVER LOOK BACK, which will be published in August.
| You heard it here
first – I'm announcing a fun contest to name the third Clare
and Tony book. The title must have the word "Look" in it. I
will award a goodie basket to the winner who suggests the best
title. Think illusion, things that appear to be one way but
are really another. In addition to the basket, you'll get your
name in the dedication. In case of duplicate entries, the
prize will go to the first submission. |
Happy spring!
Linda Lael Miller
Howdy, y'all, from down on the farm
We're so pleased to have gotten a big rain that filled up all five stock ponds
that have been dry since last summer!!!!!!!! The grass is finally growing so
the cattle have forage. But as always, farmers and ranchers always want more
rain to bring up crops. Maybe one of these days we'll get lucky and get a
needed rain.
As for writing, I just finished the first book on the new 3-book contract.
It's about a rough-edged Texas Ranger and a runaway bride who end up in the
rugged mountains, trying to dodge an outlaw gang and the heroine's father who
has everyone out looking for her. The book has been scheduled for April 05.
Since our son is getting married in May I'm taking a few weeks off for last
minute arrangements before starting on the next book. In the meantime, I hope
you'll enjoy the new releases: TEXAS BRIDE--JULY 04, ONE STARRY CHRISTMAS,
OCT. 04, THE LAST HONEST OUTLAW--DEC. 04 AND CUPID AND THE COWBOY--FEB. 05.
Happy Reading and Best Wishes, Carol Finch, Connie Feddersen
Hello from stormy Oklahoma,
It's been a hectic month. I moved into a new house with my fiancé, and the
first weekend it's not spitting out tornadoes right and left and I'm not on
some book tour, we're going to Las Vegas and getting married by an Elvis
preacher. Yep. It's official. After eight years of single life, I'm marrying
my childhood sweetheart. Right here is where everyone's supposed to go, "ooohhh
how sweet", which, by the way, he sure is.
I was at the RT convention in New York the last week in March, then on a book
tour for my new book, Mimosa Grove, written under my pen name, Dinah McCall,
then in Phoenix to keynote the Desert Rose Conference. Met some of the neatest
people ever and saw beautiful scenery.
While on the book tour in Louisiana, spent a couple of nights in the Windsor
Court Hotel, (very elegant) thanks to my publisher, and spent the night with a
ghost. At least, that's what I'm calling it... him... her... whatever. I think
it was a him. It's all very fuzzy. Probably due to the heart attack I had at
2:30 in the morning when I heard someone drop a handful of chains right beside
my bed, at which time I sat straight up in bed, saw a door behind my bed
partially ajar and in a panic, turned on the lights. Well, wouldn't you know
that as soon as the lights came on, the door disappeared and so did whatever
(whoever) it was who dropped the chains. sigh. welcome to my world. this
doesn't happen often, but enough to keep me nervous when staying alone in
strange places.
Today is the 24th of April. It has rained and stormed for the past four nights
straight. Tornadoes to the right of me, tornadoes to the left of me, but thank
God no tornadoes on top of me. We've been blessed to suffer nothing worse than
six inches of rain and nightly events of strong winds and hail.
My oldest granddaughter will be thirteen in two days. She's so beautiful, but
growing up so fast.
Bobby (the fiancé) and I have at least seven new foals on the ranch with about
20 more mares to go. We raise registered quarter horses and Triple A running
stock. One of my babies from a Triple A mare was born a solid color, (sort of
a light sandy brown) except for a perfect white circle on the right side of
her belly about the size of a softball. I named her Home Run. Had another baby
born with an odd shaped blaze on her little face. Bobby said it looked sort of
like an ice cream cone, so I named her Double Dip. Got the cutest little paint
colt the other
day. He's marked very uniquely and prances around in the pasture like a little
prince. We haven't named him yet but we will soon.
Easter was very cold here this year. Miserable, cold, windy, wet weather, so
no one hunted Easter eggs. Wound up throwing some of them away. The dogs ate
the rest.
I have one more trip to make at the end of April to Jacksonville, Florida to
their Southern Lights Conference, then I'm home until July, at which time
Bobby and I will go to the National RWA convention in Dallas.
Maybe we'll see you there.
Sharon Sala
aka
Dinah McCall
Hello, all!
The mermaids are launched! Off to the printer with them! DIARY OF A
RADICAL MERMAID will be available in late July. Look for it at your
local bookstores or order from an online store or direct from
BelleBooks at www.bellebooks.com. I had such great fun with this
second book in the WaterLilies series. Lots of humor, a couple of sexy
romance plots, a dose of suspense, and also a more "out-there"
paranormal element.
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DIARY OF A RADICAL MERMAID
Belle Books
July 2004
ISBN: 0-9673-0357-5 |
I'm already kanoodling ideas for the series' next book. All I know at
this point is that the setting will be Charleston, South Carolina, a
city of fabulous beauty, history, and old secrets. The main character
will be a beautiful but tough New York Mer cop, aka a "Peacekeeper,"
in Mer terms. Armed with a sardonic Yankee attitude and the fighting
skills of Lara Croft, she'll tangle with the wicked Southern belle
diva who stars in "Diary," Juna Lee Poinfax.
Expect lots of fun, trouble, and romance. Writing the mermaid books is
a hoot. They tickle my inner goldfish.
If you live in New York or thereabouts in the northeastern U.S., keep
an eye open for ads featuring Diary of a Radical Mermaid at your local
movie theater in June and early July. Romance Writers of America has
organized an ad campaign for members' upcoming books. Hey, ads
featuring the covers of romance novels have to be more fun than the
typical slew of dumb movie trivia and soft drink commercials we have
to sit through to get to the feature film!
Happy Mother's Day!
Deb
HAPPY
MAY AND HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
May flowers are blooming here, but it's so
hot they're wilting! We're having a strange spring here in Southern
California, way too hot way too early. But the bright side is I've had
a beautiful yard of flowers and my veggies are sprouting up nicely,
too. I'm already anxious for that first tomato!
I'm still floating over my Romance Writers of America RITA nomination
for Best Short Contemporary in 2003, WOLF RIVER SUMMER. The winner
will be announced in Dallas this July at the annual National
Conference. Whether it's me or one of the other esteemed authors, I'm
thrilled to be a part of it all.
WATCH FOR MY JUNE ANTHOLOGY, SUMMER IN SAVANNAH, with Maureen Child
and Sheree Whitefeather, then I'll have a July Desire, another
installment of my SECRETS! series, MISS PRUITT'S PRIVATE LIFE. In the
meantime, I'm working on a single title coming out later this year,
BLACKHAWK LEGACY. Come visit me on my website, and be sure to sign my
guest book for free books and promotions.
All the Best,
Barbara
Paperback
Barbara McCauley - CINDERELLA SCANDAL
Brandi Philipps, Delevan, NY
Georgina Gentry - TO TAME A REBEL
Karen Rehrman, Evansville, IN
Laura Abbot - MY NAME IS NELL
Annette Taylor, Albion, IL
Jill Marie Landis - LOVER'S LANE
Karen Stokes, Folkston, GA
Hardcover (Autographed)
Debbie Macomber - SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET
Marie Enstrom, San jose, CA
Jill Marie Landis - HEATWAVE
Elaine Moreau, Lowell, MA
Deborah Smith - SWEET HUSH
Tracey Foede, Sartell, MN
Giveaways
Pam Binder sleep shirt
Heidi Lopez, Amarillo, TX
Jill Marie Landis Magnolia Creek Potpourri
Patricia Giordani, Bethlehem, PA
That's All for
this month,
Kristen Price
kristen@romanceauthorspage.com
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