I’m starting a new feature here on the old blog. On Mondays, I’ll be talking books–books I’ve read, books I want to read…everything books. So, on Mondays, feel free to post and tell me about the good books you’ve read or books that you’d like to read.

Today, I want to begin by giving a book shout to two fellow Bradford Lit authors. Vivi Anna and Anya Bast both have October releases–paranormals, so they are perfect for Halloween.

Vivi’s new book, VEILED TRUTH, is the third installment in the Valorian Chronicles (it’s available now!)–and, to celebrate the launch of the book, Vivi is running a cool contest over on her blog.

Here’s the blurb for VEILED TRUTH:

Five years ago, virginal Lyra Magice had fled powerful dhampir Theron LeNoir’s advances. But now an ancient text the dhampir possesses holds the key to solving murders that have plagued Necropolis. When another body is found and evidence points to the Mistress of the city, duty dictates that Lyra work with Theron—a man she regards as haughty, arrogant and immoral—to translate the symbols left at the crime scenes. But with their forced alliance comes darkly sensual dreams that leave her feeling wanton and achy….

Unwilling to reveal his dark past, the dhampir soon discovers that Lyra—a witch of great power—is to be the sacrificial virgin in a demonic scheme to open a portal to hell itself. Salvation will come only if Theron can win Lyra’s trust—and her heart.

* * *

Next up…vampires! Ah, but I have been wanting to read Anya Basta’s THE CHOSEN SIN ever since I first saw the gorgeous cover of this book.

Ready for the blurb?

In this sensuous and lust-filled otherworld, the Chosen are vampires fighting for their very existence.

It is Daria’s destiny to become one of them…

Daria Morris is a special forces agent with one obsession: to wreak vengeance on the brutal vampire who nearly destroyed her. Now she’s finally about to get her chance, on one condition. She must become something she detests: a vampire.

Her fate rests upon one man’s lethal bite. His name is Alejandro Martinez, and he can help her infiltrate a highly guarded group of the Chosen. But Alejandro is also a distraction for Daria. Because thirteen years ago, they shared a scorching night of passion neither has forgotten.

Now, while Daria struggles against her newfound bloodlust, the two must slip into the shadows to bring a monster to justice—even as their desire threatens to consume them. But under the cover of night, they’ll discover that it’s the darkness within that may stand in the way of their hunger for retribution…

* * *

THE CHOSEN SIN releases tomorrow–TOMORROW!

Two great paranormal reads…just in time to put you in a great paranormal mood for Halloween.

Tomorrow, I’ll be back to talk about my trip to Moonlight & Magnolias–with pics.

If you’ve got some Booking It info to post, please do! Happy Monday!

(Psst…I’m also blogging over at Divas of the Dark today.  Talking about just why I love October.  Are you an October lover, too?)

I’ll be leaving soon–I’m heading to Atlanta for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference. If you’re attending the event, please, stop and say hi!  I always love going to conferences and meeting new people.  And I meet such fun people at romance conferences.

There is a book signing scheduled from 4-5:30 on Saturday, October 4th (at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast), so if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by and stock up on books!

Since I’ll be leaving soon, I thought I’d leave blog links:

Edie Ramer has been talking about the trick of pulling herself together–ever feel like you’re being pulled in too many directions?

LaDonna posted some techniques for maintaining creativity (and sanity!).

Fierce Romance has a blog interview posted with the always fabulous Saskia Walker.

Michelle is talking about 13 important craft considerations over at Magical Musings.

And Rhonda wants to know just how far you’d go for a book…

Have a great weekend!

Today I’m talking about a writer’s voice over at The Bradford Bunch. Come on over!

And, in other news…Zoe (man, I love her blog! Talk about posts that make me think…) has picked the October book club selection for the Witty and Wicked Book Club. Wanna know what she picked? Huh? Wanna know?

I cannot wait to read this one. Thank you, Zoe. Oh, thank you. Just in time for Halloween, too.

Zoe has written a great post about exactly why she selected this book. It’s posted on the Witty and Wicked MySpace blog page–so go check it out!!

Oh, but I have been dying to post this. I’ve loved all my Kensington covers–I mean, with those guys on the covers, how could I not love them? But the cover for IMMORTAL DANGER…it’s my favorite so far. (A big thank you to cover designer extraordinaire Kristine Mills-Noble!)

And here’s the blurb for the story:

BEING BULLET PROOF SUCKS—LITERALLY

Once, Maya Black was a kick-ass cop patrolling the streets of L.A. She still keeps the city safe, but nowadays her bad guys of choice include demons, werewolves, and assorted nocturnal scum. Something Maya knows a thing or two about. She’s a vampire—and not thrilled about it. Payback meet bitch.

Adam Brody hopes Maya is as dangerous as they say she is. He needs her to help rescue his niece Cammie from a ruthless band of vamps, and he’s willing to pay—in blood. Trusting her is another matter. Adam has never met a vampire who doesn’t lie. Then again, he’s never met anyone like Maya, who fills him with a desperate need that ignites into explosive, no-holds-barred encounters…

* * *

I think this story has more of an urban fantasy feel that my other tales. I had a ball writing about Maya. Love her. And I hope readers will, too…

Thanks to SIBA–and some really great friends–I’ve got some wonderful ARCs just waiting for me to read. Actually, I just finished one ARC, UNDERCOVER by Lauren Dane. Jealous?

I was thrilled to have the chance to read this book. I love Lauren–she’s a great lady and one fabulous writer. By the way, the woman has a kick-ass backlist. If you haven’t checked out her books before, you totally should. She’s got great variety in her stories.

But, back to UNDERCOVER. Here’s the blurb:

A sexy debut exploring an erotic future universe of passion, danger, and deceit…

On the battleground or in the bedroom, one woman and two men fight for dominance in a bold, new, and excitingly different direction in erotica…

As a lieutenant of the Federation military, Sera Ayers is accustomed to giving orders, not taking them. Now she must obey the one man she can’t stand—and can’t stop thinking about.

With the enemy Imperialists gaining ground, a covert team is assembled by Ash Walker. Ten years before, Sera had lovingly submitted to Ash’s dominance in the bedroom. But when he was forced into a political marriage, she refused to play mistress. His marriage now over, Ash wants Sera on his team—and back in his bed.

The third team member, Brandt Pela, has an elegance to match Ash’s savage sexuality. And when their undercover plan requires Sera to pose as Brandt’s lover, it ignites a passion among the three of them more dangerous than their mission.

* * *

Ah, that’s good blurbage–and it’s also one great book. Steamy, no, hot–and emotional. I think one of Lauren’s biggest strengths is her ability to write a highly sensual story that manages to pull at your heart strings so many times.

The story is dramatic. It’s packed full of action. It’s got great characters (can I say that I loved Brandt?). Lauren’s NY debut is a read you will not soon forget.

UNDERCOVER releases on December 2nd, but, why wait? You can order this book on Amazon now.

Thanks for a great read, Lauren.

And, yep, I’ll be doing more ARC reviews very soon. I plan to hit lots of different genres–I’ve got hard-edged crime, YA urban fantasy, romantic suspense…and much more. I just have to find the time to read all these great stories.

Anyone else read any good books or ARCs lately?

I attended the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Alliance Tradeshow in Mobile today. Wow–what a great time! I love booksellers.

Here are a few pics:

This is my local RWA Chapter’s booth, right after setup on Friday. Pictured are Allison Knight and Margaret P. Cunningham. Hey, ladies!

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the wonderful sales ladies from Kensington. Susie was even kind enough to pose for a pic:

I was very happy to meet Susie–the woman works crazy hard getting books into the hands of booksellers. Thank you, Susie!!

Ah, do you see those books in front of the lovely Susie? Look closely…those are ARCs of Jacquelyn Frank’s new book, ECSTASY (the first book in her new series–The Shadowdwellers.) Uh, huh…jealous, aren’t you? And, seriously, that cover is GORGEOUS. This new series looks fabulous. Fabulous.

I also had the chance to stop by and visit with Deborah Smith and Deb Dixon of Belle Books. I’ve been a fan of these ladies for years. I still have their Loveswept titles on my shelf. Keepers, baby, keepers.

(This is a shot of Deb Dixon and Deborah Smith talking to my RWA chapter mate, Margaret Cunningham.)

I loved the covers that Belle had–covers designed by Deb. So, of course, I had to take a pic of those, too.

And, speaking of covers. I told Deborah Smith how much I loved the cover of BITE ME, and so, guess what I’ve got in my hot hands right now? An ARC of that story! I do think a great read is waiting on me. I will definitely post a review soon.

I didn’t take pictures of the booksellers because, well, I didn’t want to scare them by whipping out my camera and snapping shots as we talked. But, I did have a wonderful time chatting with everyone. I ran out of copies of my books, but I plan to take some more tomorrow. Do you want to know the favorite line (lines) I heard at SIBA? They went something like this… “Oh, I love paranormals! Can’t keep on the shelves. Anything with vampires or demons sells like crazy.” Ah, music. Such sweet music. It wasn’t just one bookseller telling me this either; I heard it over and over again. Every time I heard talk like this, I had to smile. A really, really big, face hurting smile

Speaking of hurting…Man, my feet hurt. And I’m a tired, so, um, I think I’ll call it a night.

Go, SIBA!!

I’m off visiting with booksellers at SIBA, but, for your viewing pleasure, I’d like to direct you over to the Bradford Bunch.  Amber Leigh Williams has a great post up!

The fabulous Barbara Vey of Publisher’s Weekly has reviewed HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT on her blog.  (Thank you, Barbara!)  Be sure to check out the post–and let Barbara know what you’re reading now.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog (come on, aren’t you addicted to my random musings and crazy talk?), then you might remember me talking about the time when a crew with Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford came by and filmed some eco-friendly segments at my house.

One of those segments aired recently, and when I saw it, I had to grin. I like to think Danny talked vampire just to make me happy. Wanna see the segment? (Hey, you get the added perk of learning about how to repel mosquitos!) And, of course, Danny, garlic doesn’t work against vampires–that’s just an old legend, everyone knows that…wooden stakes are your only real defense, and, technically, you have to be on the offensive to make ‘em work.

In other news…Anya Bast is still running her most awesome contest on her blog. If you head over today, you might win a copy of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT. (Scroll down a bit on the blog to see the HOTTER contest info.)

If so, head over to the Brava Authors blog and tell me all about it!