Merry Christmas!

I hope all my reading and blogging buddies are having a very joyous Christmas morning! I am waiting (impatiently) for my children to wake up. The camera is ready and so am I. LOL. My babies really make Christmas special for me, and I love to hear the "WOW" that Allison (my 3 yr old) loves to say. We will have lots of fun unwrapping and playing with everything, and my 1 yr old son, Eric Jr., will surely have a ball with all the paper. :)

I have read some great books lately. I got to read a LOT on my two-week vacation in Montgomery. Historicals have always been one of my favorites, and I finally read a Rosemary Rogers (or maybe it's Rodgers). It was awesome. I'll have to look up the name of the book (it was my sister's, so I couldn't bring it home...LOL).

I'm currently reading and loving INDELIBLE by Karen Slaughter. Which is cool, since I recently bought FAITHLESS by her. Anyone read her books. I recommend INDELIBLE for suspense fans.

I'm going now to wake up the kids (no more waiting for me!). Have a wonderful day everyone. PS ~ DH gave me season one of Desperate Housewives! That rocks. :)

It's been a while!

Yep, it's definitely been a while since I've blogged. Bad bad BJ! But, I really haven't been motivated to get on here and blog. Too many things have been going on, and this has been at the bottom of my list. Hopefully that will change now. DH started working in Mississippi, putting up power polls for all the people without electricity. He works 14 days, then he's off for 2 (and he comes home then). It sucks that he's away from home so much, but it pays the bills, and he's helping people out. So, I definitely have plenty of time to read and blog now. :)

I have been reading some awesome romantic suspense books. I've just "discovered" Karen Rose, Erica Spindler and Dinah McCall. These are great suspense authors. Currently I'm reading Mariah Stewart's new Truth trilogy, and I'm loving it.

Here's a picture of Allison & Eric Jr. on Halloween. We didn't get to go anywhere, b/c my car wouldn't start, but we did get to play dress up. :)

I'd like to thank Wendy...

for her totally awesome recommendation of VANISH by Tess Gerritsen . This book is a definite "up all night" book, and I loved every minute of it. Tess Gerritsen has been added to my list of auto-buys, and I've already ordered the previous books in this series that VANISH is a part of. If I ever see Wendy recommending a book, you bet I'm going to check it out. :) She's got FAB taste! *vbg*

So, are you wanting to know about the book? LOL Here's the blurb from the author's website:

"A blessed event becomes a nightmare for pregnant homicide detective Jane Rizzoli when she finds herself on the wrong side of a hostage crisis in this timely and relentless new thriller from the New Your Times bestselling author of Body Double.

A nameless, beautiful woman appears to be just another corpse in the morgue. An apparent suicide, she lies on a gurney awaiting the dissecting scalpel of medical examiner Maura Isles. But when Maura unzips the body bag and looks down as the body, she gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens it eyes.

Very much alive, the woman is rushed to the hospital, where, with shockingly cool precision, she murders a security guard and seizes hostages…one of them a pregnant patient, Jane Rizzoli.

Who is this violent, desperate soul, and what does she want? As the tense hours tick by, Maura joins forcer with Jane’s husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean, to track down the mysterious killer’s identity. When federal agents suddenly appear on the scene, Maura and Gabriel realize that they are dealing with a case that goes far deeper than just an ordinary hostage crisis.

Only Jane, trapped with the armed madwoman, holds the key to the mystery. And only she can solve it-if she survives the night."

Doesn't that give you the chills? Wait until you read the book! VANISH is the latest in the Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles series. The previous books are:

THE SURGEON
THE APPRENTICE
THE SINNER
BODY DOUBLE

Ooooh I can't wait to read them. I've got all but Body Double on the way, and I hope to get that one soon.

Drive By Blog

It's been a kind of messed up couple of weeks for me. Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. I have accomplished almost nothing since my last blog. I have been reading one category book for the past week and half. And, it's a really good book, too. Half of the time I can't concentrate on it, b/c of these extra bratty kids. The rest of the time, I am too busy babysitting. Ugh...I am quickly being driven crazy. Thank goodness they are moving out soon. LOL. I love my sis dearly, but it's hard to have family living with you. So, expect me to be missing from the blogosphere for another week or two. And, if you never hear from me again, it's b/c I've shot myself. hahaha

DARK SKY by Carla Neggers

The first book I read by Carla Neggers was THE RAPIDS, which I reviewed for Romance Junkies. I totally fell in love with this author after reading that book. Since then, I've devoured many books from her backlist. And, now she is an auto-buy for me. Her latest book is DARK SKY, a July 05 release. Yeah, I know, it took me some time to get to reading it. LOL

It's definitely another FAB romantic suspense. The hero and heroine have appeared in a few of Ms. Neggers's previous books that I've read, so it was awesome to finally see them get their story. Here's a blurb from the author's website:

"Deputy U.S. Marshal Juliet Longstreet is a dedicated federal officer who's met and mastered her share of vicious criminals over the course of her career—but none worse than Bobby Tatro. Now, Tatro has been released from prison—and the threats he made against her four years before are fresh in Juliet's mind.

Juliet's watching her back and wondering how and when Tatro will make his assault when Special Forces officer Ethan Brooker drops back into her life. Haunted by his wife's death, Brooker is a loose cannon who regularly accepts even the most dangerous missions. He's focused on a new mission, something involving Tatro, and he can't—or won't—reveal the details to Juliet.

As quickly as he reappears, Ethan is gone again, off on his mission to South America where he hopes to find and detain Tatro. Though he successfully rescues a kidnapped agent sought by the U.S. Government, Tatro has already fled the scene. After he finds evidence that makes it clear that the sadistic criminal is still after Juliet, Ethan's first thought is to get back to New York and warn her.

Then Juliet returns home to find her doorman dead, her apartment trashed and her niece, who's been visiting from Vermont, terrified and locked in the bedroom while Tatro menaces her through the flimsy door. She takes him down, but now she wants answers from Ethan.

The two agree to team up, and even as they fight their growing attraction to each other, they're racing to stop a ruthless killer—and his mysterious cohorts. The trail takes them north to Juliet's family in Vermont … and into the heart of a dangerous web of international intrigue, greed, deceit—and murder. "

DARK SKY definitely gets a 5/5!

Now that's what I call Persistence!

I review Avalon contemporary and historical romances for CataRomance. I recently learned about this author and her upcoming book:

Ludima Gus Burton

Have you heard of this lady? Here's what her bio page says, and this is what really amazed me about this author and made me want to blog about her.

"Ludima Gus Burton was born in Farrell, PA, and graduated from Farrell High School in 1938. She attended Hunter College in New York City, and Albany State Teacher's College (now SUNY) and received a BA in 1945. She taught in Averill Park and Northville until her retirement in 1978.

Ludima and her husband, Guy, had three glorious retirement years before he died of a heart attack in 1981. She now lives with her daughter, Jennifer. Her other daughter, Daphne, son-in-law, Peter, and grandson, Matthew, live six miles away.

Resurrecting a childhood dream, Ludima wrote her first novel in longhand, on lined paper, in 1991, at the age of 71. Over the next nine years, she joined the Saratoga Chapter of RWA, and attended conferences and workshops. Since then, Ludima has written five more novels and had four short stories published.

At the age of 80, her childhood dream was realized with the publication of her first book ONLY FOR A YEAR, followed by the sale of her second book to Avalon Romance, THE TYCOON AND THE SCHOOL TEACHER. Ludima believes that one is never too old to make a dream come true. "

That's just TOO COOL! Very very inspiring.

Her upcoming book is THE WEDDING CAKE from Avalon books. Here's a blurb:

ISBN 0-8034-9713-X
"You will dream of the man you are to marry if you put a piece of wedding cake under your pillow"

Katherine Reese remembered those sage words and cast her spell upon her childhood crush. As a young girl, she even asked him to marry her when they grew up, to which he replied, "Sure, kid."

Many years later Katherine still remembered dreaming about marrying Andy Stratton, even though he forgot his promise and married another woman.

After the tragic death of his wife and unborn child, Andy returns to his hometown to start anew. He wants to move his computer chip factory into the small New York state village to create more jobs and to settle into his new life.

Katherine has had her eye on the property adjacent to the library she runs with the intention of expanding. So when Andy puts a bid in to buy the property--and wins--the sparks begin to fly. Both get more than they bargained for and are forced to work out their differences while falling head over heels in love.

Katherine's childhood dream of marriage and a family is renewed, but after losing his wife and newborn, Andy is not wiling to try to have children again. Shattered by this realization, Katherine and Andy are torn as to whether they should separate or try to resolve their differences. After all, love can conquer all problems, especially when that love is true."

I'll blog about it if I get it for review.

On another note... Ms. Burton said she didn't usually bother with reviews, because "Avalon books aren't sold in stores and aren't even considered in Romantic Times!"

Can someone please tell me why in the world Avalon romance isn't considered by RT? I love the Avalons. They have no sex, but they are still romance! And, they are good! What's up with that?

And the winner is...

Congratulations to WENDY for winning my contest! Wendy, please choose two books from the following:

RIVER RISING by Merline Lovelace
THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Josie Lloyd & Emlyn Rees
AT RISK by Judith E French
THE KNIGHT'S REDEMPTION by Joanne Rock

And, send me your snail addy.

Thanks to everyone for entering and recommending. :)