Mischief and Mistletoe and my Own Short Story Therein

Pretty cover, isn't it?

This title may be unique in that it contains two words I have to 'think about' before I can spell them.  (Hint: I can actually spell 'and'.)

At Word Wenches I've posted a couple hundred words about some of the stuff that went through my mind while I was writing this short story.  Of equal interest, the other Wenches are doing somewhat the same thing, so if you follow along before and after my posting you will have a view into the minds of those other authors as well.

I notice that I did not include an excerpt of the story.  I will do so here:

******

She fell out of the dream, thumping down, cold and trembling, into reality and night.

A hand clamped over her mouth.  A body, heavy as lead, held her down, muffled her in the blankets so tightly she couldn't break loose.  Couldn't get her hands free to claw.  The strength was huge, hard, unfightable, male, infinitely strong, and it surrounded her everywhere. 

He muttered into her ear.  "It's me, dammit.  It's Jack.  Hold still and listen!"

The fire had died low and orange.  She saw images of the fire in his eyes, close, close.  Her body knew Jack.  It had been two years since they touched, but she knew him instantly.

She went still.     

The timbers of the old inn creaked and groaned like the hull of a ship in high seas.  Outside, winds twisted and howled and pulled at the glass of the window.  The draft up the chimney was a shrill, intermittent whine.  In the big bed in the corner, Miss Trimm snored determinedly.  The French girl slept silently in the trundle bed.     

"You know me now," Jack said.  "You'll be quiet?"

She nodded.  Oh, she knew him, all right. 

His hand went away, but he didn't.  He stayed, covering her with his weight, looking down.  He had the same hard eyes.  Even when she'd been in love with him, even when she'd thought he was harmless, she'd always seen the hardness in his eyes and wondered about it.

He jerked his head once in the direction of the door and let her go.  Noiseless, he lifted himself away from her and was gone into the dark of the hallway.

**********

Intrigue and Mistletoe

 

Mischief and Mistletoe is out in the big wide world as of last week.  I am so delighted to be part of this anthology. 

Let me just meander aside here for an instant and mentiion that I haven't written a short story since I was in Grade School, so the whole concept was a bit baffling.  I had ta kinda feel my way through this.
Since I write Regency spies as my own particular metier, I figured my contribution to the anthology should be ... Regency spies.

I'm sticking with the secrecy and intrigue, of which there was any amount lying about in this time period, but shifting my focus just a bit.  One of the sad realities about spies in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries is that much of the spying they engaged in was against their own countrymen.  While the English crown certainly worried about the French armies milling about across the Channel, they were somewhat more terrified of the disaffected at home. They spied upon them diligently. 

In several of my books, my protagonists have been patriots on opposite sides of the long, bitter political struggle between France and England. In this short story, I considered the problems of a spy working in his own country.



For the rest of this posting ...  pop on over to Word Wenches through this link here.

Booty Tuesday --Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry

Carrying home booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference last August with Booty!

But this is not a book from RWA National.

This is a book from COFW, 

which is the Central Ohio Fiction Writers where I was over the weekend giving a loooong talk to everybody about POV and a shorter but still, to some, interminable, talk about plotting.

(I am going to recommend the COFW conference to everyone.  It was great fun and right sized and the workshops looked scrumptious.) 

Anyhow.  This week we get to the first of the books I snagged at COFW.  Next week, the other.

Did I mention they are signed?

This week you may win Simone Elkeles YA Romance, Perfect Chemistry.

Let me just say, this book is not for the faint of heart.  

It is gritty.  And tough.  And full of ... High School Students.

(You think vampires are scary?  You have seen, like, nothing.)

From the book:

"Miss Ellis?" Mrs. Peterson says. "It's your turn. Introduce Alex to the class."

"This is Alejandro Fuentes. When he wasn't hanging out on street corners and harassing innocent people this summer, he toured the inside of jails around the city, if you know what I mean. His secret desire is to go to college and become a chemistry teacher, like you, Mrs. Peterson"

Brittany flashes me a triumphant smile, thinking she's won this round.  Guess again, gringa.

"This is Brittany Ellis," I say, all eyes now focused on me. "This summer she went to the mall, bought new clothes so she could expand her wardrobe, and spent her daddy's money on plastic surgery to enhance her, ahem, assets. Her secret desire is to date a Mexicano before she graduates."

Game on . . .

This book has 1592 ratings on B&N, which I didn't even know you could DO.  This means roughly everyone in the world has read it and given it a five-star rating, except possibly you.

This is your chance. 

 To be eligible to win Perfect Chemistry, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post. 

Use one of the following words from the cover:

Simone, perfect, chemistry, chemical, rules, attraction, reaction, high, school, Chicago, south, north, side, exactly, compatible, element, head, cheerleader, Brittany, Alex, lab, partner, class, explosion, result, teen, love.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Friday.

Booty Tuesday -- Suzanne Enoch's A Beginner's Guide to Rakes

Carrying home booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference last August with Booty!
I haz signed books.

I haz New Books, from writers I admire.  

Did I mention they are signed?

One of these books can be yours.

This week is your chance to win A Beginner's Guide to Rakes by Suzanne Enoch.

Enoch is one of the bright stars in the Romance sky.  This is a lovely traditional Regency

Lisa Kleypas says, "It's time to fall in love with Suzanne Enoch, who can always be counted on to deliver a story so vivid and romantic you never want it to end.  With her fascinating characters, lyrical prose and whip-smart dialogue, Enoch has created a novel to be cherished.  A Beginner's Guide to Rakes is perfection on the page."


From the book:

He meant to remind her that she'd enjoyed him in Vienna just as much as he'd enjoyed her.  Instead all he could conjure was the image of her beneath him, her midnight hair wild about her face and her green eyes sharp with excitement and passion.

"How is that for proof?" he said over his shoulder, his voice low and rough.  "I'm going to get something to eat before my next so-called class begins."

He was halfway through the door when she shot him


I always like a book where the heroine shoots the hero.

To be eligible to win A Beginner's Guide to Rakes, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post. 

Use one of the following words from the cover:

Suzanne, beginner, guide, rake, scandal, bride, lover, player, beware, perfection, page, seduction, risque, business, London, abuzz, return, alluring, widow, Diane, Oliver, gentleman, gaming, club, fortune, family, mansion.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Friday.

Booty Tuesday -- Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden

Carrying home Booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference last August with Booty!
I haz signed books.  

I haz New Books, from writers I admire.  

Did I mention they are signed?

One of these books can be yours.

This week is your chance to win The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley.

 This is a lyric and thoughtful para-Romance -- and by that I am saying it hangs around the Romances in the playground but every once in a while it wanders off to Think Deep Thoughts while all the Romance books are going 'Whee!' on the swingset.  Rose Garden was a Finalist for the RITA last year which is an indication of the quality we are talking about here, even if we ignore all the 'best seller' stickers on the front.

The physical copy of this book is untouched because I have my own and read it before the conference.

Stealing quotes from various folks ...

"Kearsley has a poetic sensibility and a sense of mystery: she could write the modern Rebecca."  The Bookseller.

"Lifts readers straight into another time and place to smell the sea, feel the caste walls, and sense every emotion.  These are marks of a fantastic storyteller." RT Book Review:

RT calls The Rose Garden 'reminiscent of Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay and Mary Stewart's works.'  Others compare Kearsley to Gabaldon, (I will agree with this, and you know how I love Gabaldon,) du Maurier and Niffenegger.

If that sounds like your taste and you haven't tried her yet, the treat still awaits you.

Let's go with a little excerpt:

"Do you mean to roast the squabs tonight?" 

I heard the footsteps pause.  "Now what the devil does that have to do with anything?"

"I think more clearly when I'm fed."

"Is that a fact?"

"You might do well to roast an extra bird."

"I'll roast the flock for you," the Irishman said dryly, "if it helps you find your sense."

He didn't slam the door exactly, but he closed it with a force that gave his final statement emphasis.  I heard his footsteps tramping down the stairs.

This book is just so excellent on so many levels.

To be eligible to win The Rose Garden, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post. 

Use one of the following words from the cover:

Safety, among, thorns, rose, garden, new, time, today, author, Susanna, Kearsley, poetic, sense, sensibility, mystery, write, modern, Rebecca, bookseller, thrill, haunting, deep, romantic, story, Cornwall, house, coast, memories, childhood, summers, happiness, voices, pathway.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Friday.

Booty Tuesday -- Darynda Jones' First Grave on the Right

Carrying home Booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference in August with Booty!
I haz signed books.  

I haz New Books, from writers I admire.  

Did I mention they are signed?

One of these books can be yours.

This week is your chance to win First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.

 I've been watching members of the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood go from strength to strength these last couple years.  At the RWA National Conference Darynda had Two RITA Finals and WON the RITA for Best First Book.  Read about it here.

So I am offering you the RITA-winning book,

SIGNED,

and I collected that siggie before she won the RITA which shows some prescience on my part, does it not?

This copy has not even been opened because I read the book long before the conference.

Library Journal says, "Plenty of action.  And let's be honest -- the sex is pretty hot too."

From the back cover:

This whole grim reaper thing should

have come with a manual.

Or a diagram of some kind.

A flowchart would have been nice. 

 

 ... which is really good enough to qualify as a poem but, alas, didn't get entered.  

Here's a little excerpt:

The sun nested on Nine Mile Hill for several heartbeats before losing interest and slipping down the other side.  I sat in Misery – the jeep, not the emotion – and waited for the skyline to swallow it completely so I could get on with my breaking-and-entering gig.

I love language like this.  You will too, I believe.

To be eligible to win this wonderful book, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post. 

Use one of the following words from the cover:

First, grave, right, novel, Jones, debut, read, year, hilarious, heartfelt, sexy, surprise, beg, next, one, ward, lover, unleash, grim, reaper, tension, hot, high, octane, signpost, paranormal, suspense, high, order.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Friday.

Booty Tuesday -- Carolyn Jewel's Not Wicked Enough

Which blog title sounds as if Carolyn Jewel should be somewhat more wicked but that's just the name of the book.

Carrying home Booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference in August with Booty!
I haz signed books.  

I haz New Books, from writers I admire.  Did I mention they are signed?

One of these books can be yours.

This week is your chance -- at last -- to win Not Wicked Enough by the redoubtable Carolyn Jewel.

(For those of you wondering why one should doubt Carolyn even once, let alone twice, I will just mention the word redoubtable comes via Middle English from Middle French Redoubter meaning 'to fear' and is now defined as commanding or evoking respect, reverence, or the like.  Fear, too, I suppose under appropriate circumstances.)

ETA:  Carolyn just got in touch with me to say she'll make this a TWOFER.  Win Not Wicked Enough and Carolyn will throw in Not Proper Enough, which came out -- are you ready for this? -- TODAY!  /ETA

The cover of Not Wicked Enough has the most lovely dress on it and mostly on the model, who seems okay with that.

Publisher's Weekly says, "Readers will enjoy this diverting Regency romance, set refreshingly far from London high society, as they wait to find out what finally drives the lovers to the altar."

Isn't this a pretty cover?

Bit of a quote:

Would she? 

Lily could scarcely think, so drugged was she from his kisses and the wicked promise of his voice.  Lord, what wouldn't she do for him? His request was outrageous.  Brazen.  If she were a proper sort of woman, she'd swoon with outrage.   If she were a proper sort of woman, she wouldn't be here with him.  Alone.

She couldn't imagine telling him no, even though she ought to.

If you don't want to read the rest of that chapter, you're probably lacking some essential B vitamin or something.

Here's your chance to win your SIGNED copy of Not Wicked Enough and find out what happens next. 

To be eligible, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post. 

Use one of the following words from the cover:

Carolyn, jewel, wicked, enough, reform, scoundrel, romance, brilliant, poignant, plain, fun, loved. intense, sexy, emotionally, satisfying, temptation, lily, duke, gypsy, medallion, magic.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Friday.

Booty Tuesday -- Shana Galen's The Rogue Pirate's Bride

Carrying home Booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference with Booty!
I haz signed books.  

I haz New Books, from writers I admire.  Did I mention they are signed?

One of these books can be yours.

(I have kinda bloopered here a bit.  I'm in the process of moving from one house to another and cannot put my hand on the August 28 Booty book. So you're getting next week's book this week and this week's book next week, but this is not a bad thing at all.)


Anyhow,

win a signed copy of Shana Galen's The Rogue Pirate's Bride.

This is a fully excellent work by an author who sometimes writes about Regency spies and therefore finds much delight and approval from me.  It's the third installment in Galen's 'Sons of the Revolution' series. 

It opens with a hero/heroine fencing scene and just gets better from there on in.

Romantic Times says, "Galen pulls out all the stops, striking a balance between romance and adventure that will leave readers breathless and highly satisfied." 

You want this book.

You know you want this book.

 

To be eligible, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post.

Use one of the following words from the cover:

Shana, Galen, rogue, pirate, bride, praise, lively, dialog, breakneck, pace, great, sense, fun, weekly, tale, true, love, high, adventure, sword, fence, duel. 

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Thursday night.

Booty Tuesday -- Jill Shalvis' Animal Attraction

Carrying home Booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference with Booty!
I haz signed books.  This swag is all new books, from writers I admire.
One of these books can be yours.

This week, win a signed copy of Jill Shalvis's Animal Attraction.  The cover design is a montage, in case you were wondering.  The kitten from Getty Images, river, mountains and man's body from Shutterstock.  

Jade Bennett couldn't be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there's nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade's strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.

All About Romance calls Shalvis' writing "Light, funny, sexy and just plain enjoyable to read."

To be eligible, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post.
Use one of the following words from the cover: 

Today, bestselling, author, Jill, Shalvis, animal, magnetism, slow, heat, attraction, write, humor, sizzling, time.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Thursday night.

Booty Tuesday -- Yasmine Galenorn's Night Seeker

Carrying home Booty

As you know, I returned from the RWA National Conference with Booty!
I haz signed books.  This swag is all new books, from writers I admire.
One of these books can be yours.

This week, win a signed copy of Yasmine Galernorn's Night Seeker.  This is just fresh off the presses.  A July 2012 book.

the swag

Eons ago, vampires tried to turn the dark Fae to harness their magic, only to create a demonic enemy more powerful than they could have imagined. Now, the Vampiric Fae are on the move, hunting anyone in their path. As the war with the vampires ratchets up, Myst, Queen of the Indigo Court, enshrouds New Forest in her chilling grasp.

Cicely Waters, owl shifter and Wind Witch, has rescued the Fae Prince Grieve at a great cost. Their reunion has lost them the allegiance of the Summer Queen--and the tolerance of the vampires. In desperation they turn to the Consortium for help. Now, to regain the good will of Lainule, they must dare to enter the heart of Myst's realm. But as Cicely and Grieve embark on their search for the heartstone of Summer, Winter is already wreaking her terrifying revenge.  (back cover copy)

This is the third in the trilogy, following Night Mist and Night Veil.  As you can see -- there's lots going on.  And the cover has an owl on it. (You may buy it here if you happen to feel unpoetic.)

To be eligible, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post.
Use one of the following words from the cover: 
new, york, time, bestselling, author, novel, book, jasmine, imagination, owl, knife, tattoo, wind, witch, grieve, winter, beautiful, thing, fresh, fiction, rules, revenge, written, blood, indigo, court, night, seeker.

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Thursday night.

Booty Tuesday -- Jayne Ann Krentz' In Too Deep

Carrying home Booty

Back from the RWA National Conference.  With Booty!
I haz signed books.  All new.  All from writers I admire.
One of these books can be yours.

This week, win a signed copy of Jayne Ann Krentz' In Too Deep. 


To be eligible, write and post a poem in the comment thread of this post.
Use one of the following words from the cover: 
new, york, time, bestselling, author, first, paperback, too, deep, arcane, society, novel, book, one, looking, glass, trilogy.

This is the booty

Your poem can be a 
Limerick
Haiku 
(traditional or non-traditional)
Rhymed couplet
Quatrain  
blank verse
or any other rhyme or poetry form you fancy.  I am not particular.

I'll pick one lucky commenter (US only, sorry) from the comment trail on Thursday night.

Some Some Summertime Summer Reads

  The thermometer tells us it's 100 degrees today, (thank you, Mercury, god of thermometers).

The cat is conked out on her back in the shade, too tired to harass the birds.  I'm listening to my heatstroke playlist. That's the one that starts with the Beachboy's Kokomo, ("Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take ya to ...") and shimmies on to the Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City, ("Doesn't seem to be a shadow  in the City").
Summer is upon us.

So let me ask, "What books would you take to the beach this summer?  Old friends?  New discoveries?"

There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs. 
                                 Henry Ward Beecher


Here in the South we know all about the heat index creeping stealthily up toward the triple digits.  We've raised 'doing nothing' to a graceful art form.  It's an art practiced by the swimming pool or a big 'ole lake,  or at least in company with a hose spraying around the backyard.  Bonus points for the lifestyle include barbecued ribs and cold Mountain Dew.  And beer.   

For me, any day of the simmering summer is incomplete without a book in the bag.  Or a couple books, since you never know exactly how the spirit will move you.  Summer reading needs the background noise of kids running around barefoot and yelling about nothing at all.  It needs a shady porch or umbrella and maybe a dragonfly hovering just off the port side of the hammock.    

I'll tuck an old friend in the straw bag -- Kai-Lung's Golden Hours by Ernest Bramah.  There's a funny, clever, dreamy, irrationality to it that suits hot weather and lying by the pool.  I own it in paperback, but it's free on e-readers, being out of copyright an' all. 

(Go ahead and click on any of these book names for more information 'bout the book.)

Jennifer Crusie always picks me up.  Funny, funny woman.  I haven't had a chance to read, Tell Me Lies yet, and I'm looking forward to it.  Susan Elizabeth Phillips has a new book out in July — The Great Escape: A Novel.  I might top those two off with rum and coke and Grace Burrowes' most recent book, Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal.


Drop by Word Wenches for the rest of the 24 recommendations for summer reads.  Here.

Auction Stuff of Beauty and Coolness

Every year, Brenda Novak holds an online auction in aid of diabetes research.  Have a look at it here.

Some wonderful items on offer.

Steampunk flash drive

Steampunk flash drive.   Turquoise stained glass box by author Chloe Jacobs.  Replica Regency-style rings.  Art deco necklace.

Chloe Jacobs' stained glass box

Name a character in an upcoming book by Carly Phillips, Shiloh Walker, or Amanda Brice.

Tiny lizard pot for seeds

14" X 16" hand woven Thunderbird mat for your computer area or a tiny lizard pot.


Then there's YOUR favorite book covers made into a 3' X 3' quilt.  What could be cooler than that?

Then there's a really weird teapot. Or this pretty Edwardian pin.

An Edwardian pin.  1910.

See Mercedes Lackey's autographed books and matching necklace and another one.

Mercedes Lackey necklace

Books.  Books.  Books.

Two ARCs from Sherry Thomas who won the Historical Romance RITA last year.  

The remarkable Grace Burrowes offers an autographed book and a color NOOK!

Get FOUR of Loretta Chase's Traditional Regencies.  Signed by the author. I suspect these are difficult to come by.

Small Thunderbird weaving

I am just going to mention that four of the folks competing for the Historical Romance RITA have signed books available.  Loretta Chase, Elizabeth Hoyt, Kaki Warner and me.  Eileen Dreyer, another Finalist in that category, is doing a critique.  This is probably deeply significant.

Finally, we have author critiques.  You could not possibly do better than this.  I'm only going to list a few -- Kristan Higgins, Madeline Hunter, Candice Hern, Anna Campbell, Eileen Dreyer, Vanessa Kelly,  Delilah Marvelle, Karen Harper, and Lauren Willig.

Buy Me at the Brenda Novak Auction

The Classic cover

I have two offerings at Brenda Novak's auction.The first is all five of my books, including the hard copy of that first Sweet Romance from 1983.  I'll dedicate them any way you want.

This is the 1983 book

The auction doesn't say that I'm going to throw in about 10 pages of my draft of The Spymaster's Lady along with this.  The actual sheets with notes and writing on them.  It's the scene just AFTER Grey and Annique make love in the bathtub where Doyle and Grey and Adrian are in the office talking.   I found the pages stuffed into some old papers and I figger whoever buys the books might as well enjoy them.

The five books (and draft pages) are here.

The other offering is a 20-page critique of your manuscript.  I will try to be kindly and useful.  That's found here.

I came across this list. It's from American Library Association at Booklist, Book Group Buzz.

I'm putting this list up -- well, it has me on it which is a non-inconsiderable part of why somebody sent me the URL -- because this is just a wonderful lineup of great 2011 Romance and Romance-related Books.   It includes a number of folks who do not compete for the RITA, so it draws from a wider pool than the RITA does.  

I do not know where I have seen a better round up of wonderful books.

Joanna Bourne The Black Hawk

Thea Harrison Dragon Bound

Loretta Chase Silk Is for Seduction

Eloisa James When Beauty Tamed the Beast

Nalini Singh Archangel’s Blade

Susan Elizabeth Phillips Call Me Irresistible

Julie Ann Long What I Did for the Duke

Pamela Clare Breaking Point

Darynda Jones First Grave on the Right

Nalini Singh Kiss of Snow

Meredith Duran A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal

J. R. Ward Lover Unleashed

J. D. Robb New York to Dallas

I'm a Finalist

I finalled in the RITA for 2011.  This is a great honor and just so generally cool I am rendered pretty much speechless.

Black Hawk is one of eight in the Historical Romance category.

To wit:


Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer (Grand Central Publishing Forever; Amy Pierpont, editor)

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne (Berkley Publishing Group; Wendy McCurdy, editor)

(That's me.  Look.  There I am.  Me.)

The Danger of Desire by Elizabeth Essex (Kensington Brava; Megan Records, editor)

Heartbreak Creek by Kaki Warner (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation; Wendy McCurdy, editor)

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation; Kate Seaver, editor)


Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt (Grand Central Publishing; Amy Pierpont, editor)

Silk Is for Seduction by Loretta Chase (Avon Books; May Chen, editor)

Unveiled by Courtney Milan (HQN Books; Margo Lipschultz, editor)


As you can see -- these are major players here.  I am taking my joy from the Finalist position in the gather-ye-rosebuds-while-ye-may school of reality.