Weaver’s STRYOFOAM CORPSE Delivers Reader’s Trifecta: Mystery, Romance, Laughs

By Linda Lovely

A heroine-in-hiding who hasn’t lost her sense of humor—at least until she’s the prime suspect for killing her sleazy peeping Tom neighbor. A strapping sheriff who faints at the sight of a corpse. The sheriff’s life-long buddy, an attorney, who lusted for our heroine long before learning she was the sheriff’s secret girlfriend. A politician who plays dirty as he tries to replace the sheriff with his nincompoop son.  

In her newest romantic mystery, STYROFOAM CORPSE, author Robin Weaver weaves these characters in and out of a plot that’s full of surprise twists and turns. It’s a perfect summer read for folks like me who enjoy mysteries entwined with romantic complications and seasoned with humor and snark. By the way, those are trademark signs you’re reading a mystery written by Robin (Snark-is-her-middle-name) Weaver, one of my favorite authors.

Here’s a quick synopsis.

Sheriff Casey Randolph suffers from necrophobia, e.g. the sight of dead bodies makes him weak in the knees and weaker in the stomach. Casey’s crazy about Shannon Summers but keeps their relationship secret for two reasons. He’s running for re-election and he’s sure his opponent, Butchie Blackwell, would twist the relationship into something ugly since Shannon, while separated, is still married. Also she’s hiding from her bullying husband while waiting for her divorce to become final.

Shannon’s neighbor, Timothy Welch, a lecherous peeping Tom, calls the sheriff’s office to report a woman stabbing a man to death and the address he gives is Shannon’s. A frantic Sheriff Casey speeds over, but soon finds the dead body in Shannon’s pool is actually a Styrofoam dummy. She acted out stabbing the centerpiece decoration for her Halloween party just to play a mind game on the peeper. The sheriff visits Welch and warns him to quit bothering Shannon.

After her Halloween party, Shannon awakens poolside and groggy to discover that her Styrofoam corpse has been replaced with a real dead body—who is soon identified as peeper Welch. Shannon’s the prime suspect since she’s verbally threatened Welch, and she’s alone with the body inside her gated, locked home. Initially Sheriff Casey wonders if Shannon might have been under the influence of illegal drugs contributed by party guests, and thinks it’s possible she could have killed Welch in self-defense.

The sheriff calls on his life-long buddy, Parker Daniels, to help Shannon since he can’t publicly do so. He doesn’t realize Parker and Shannon know each other, but hadn’t acted on a mutual attraction. Oops. Jealousy enters the scene.

 

This is just the START. The twists and turns include political shenanigans, illegal bugs, kidnapping, and an array of suspects who had good reason to kill Welch. Will let you discover how it all turns out! Click here  to buy STYROFOAM CORPSE.

Other fun reads by Robin Weaver include BLUE RIDGE FEAR and FRAMING NOVERTA.Click on the titles for links to her books.

Welcome to Other Worlds! Pass That Book Along #scifi #futuristic #romance

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and supernatural stories to engage your emotions. And that means I tend to read mostly scifi and scifi romance for pleasure. Asking me to recommend a book will generally leave me speechless because,
a) Recommending just one is an impossible ask, and
b) much as I love SF, I know scifi is not for everyone and so I'm always hesitant to make suggestions unless I know the tastes of the person asking particularly well.
TBH, there's not a huge divide between paranormal, urban fantasy, fantasy and scifi (in my view anyway). Most deal with the concept of other worlds/alternative realities. In the case of scifi, the explanation is scientific rather than magical or supernatural, although sometimes they can involve all three. I prefer to write stories more like Star Wars and Doctor Who, where there's as much an element of fantasy as science fiction. So I'm going to recommend some softer scifi romance/SF stories that I hope will entice you to try out more. And because I can't stick to just one, these are series so there's more of the same if you liked the first (psst, the first in each is free or 99 cents).

A'yen's Legacy. This is futuristic romance with a very paranormal feel. It's also very hero-centric. The first three books cover the rise of Lokmane slave A'yen as he learns of his peoples history, erased to keep them enslaved, and his rise to kingship to lead his race to freedom. Book four can be read as a standalone as it follows other characters in the same universe and continuing the saga, but completing other story threads and broadening the political and emotional struggles of both humans and Lokmanes.

The Corwint Central Agency Files - these are more classical space opera along the lines of Firefly/Farscape/Star Trek - character driven romances with a certain amount of tech as they feature several androids (Mechatronic Automatons), and several alien races. They deal with discrimination, sentience, justice, and the fight for love and freedom.

Girl From Above - again, these are space opera but lacking the romance of the previous series I've listed. They're not tech heavy, but definitely not for the sensitive, containing violence, explicit scenes and bad language. However, they're a real adrenaline rush if you like action and tension and a teasing hint of romance. Think Firefly/New Battlestar Galactica.

If you're still not sure, I'm part of a forty author strong set of first chapter samplers - Portals - spanning a huge range of various sub-genres of scifi romance (and all four volumes are totally and utterly FREE). The first volume - heat level medium - released just this week. You can find out more at the website HERE.

And if you happen to like Doctor Who and/or time travel romance, well, I am going to mention my series Redemption... (psst, book one is on sale for 99cents/pence/Euros until the end of May!)

Goodreads | Webpage | Available from... Amazon
All Romance eBooks| Kobo | iTunes | B&N

And if that lot doesn't keep you entertained for the summer, you can find me at my website http://pippajay.co.uk, or better still on Twitter as @pippajaygreen if you'd like some more recommendations. Or give @sfrbrigade a shout if you'd like more scifi romance recs. Happy reading!

Summer + Books = Fun

by Courtney Pierce

Throughout the year, I poke through the shelves of my favorite independent bookstores to stoke my reading fire. The books are stacked on my nightstand and on the floor next to the bed in teetery piles, separated by genre. They wait with the tease of new stories. Each season has a mood: fall is reserved for mysteries like Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; winter gives me a kick with thick thrillers like Natchez Burning and The Bone Tree by Greg Iles; and spring inspires me with gorgeous burst of literary prose as in All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

And then summer arrives. My favorite reading season.

Summer is reserved for humorous and poignant yarns that make me laugh out loud. Ridiculous situations and colorful metaphors stick with me like the mounds of impatiens in my garden that resemble Chiclets. Beyond the screen of the open sliding door, I bask in the din of chirping crickets and croaking frogs that celebrate a passing shower, an excuse to linger over a page a little longer before turning out the light. 

One more chapter. One more paragraph. One more sentence. And then I look like one of my favorite writers and illustrators, Edward Gorey. That's a picture of him and his cats to the right. 

I search out fun fiction with mature characters, specifically baby boomers because that’s what I, myself, write. The combination of wisdom and Peter Pan syndrome is hilarious. Crazy adult problems prompt—and deserve—an adolescent response. Good intentions crumble with disastrous results for the characters. These books are an entire food group at the base of my pyramid. Who needs meat when I can have a good ’ole baby boomer protagonist who heaps a deep dish of trouble on her plate?

Here’s a peek at this year’s summer selections. 

A Slight Change of Plan by Dee Ernst

A 55-year-old widow is ready to get back in the saddle of love. Of course, it doesn't turn out the way she expects when her grown son and his wife boomerang home, and her elderly mother takes up residence in the basement. The reviews say it’s hilarious. I'm taking on this one first.

Goodbye Emily by Michael Murphy

 (I’m reading this for a second time!)

A humorous and poignant voyage and return. A widower finds closure when he grabs his wife’s ashes, cleans up his VW Van, and hits the road with his buddy. They go back to the site of Woodstock to scatter the ashes. Reliving the concert memories of a lifetime becomes an unexpected adventure. A great story that is both funny and weepy.

Retirement Can Be Murder by Susan Santangelo

A light mystery about a boomer wife who is dreading her husband’s retirement—until he’s suspected of murder. Sounds like I can blow through this one in two nights. If I like it, this author has more in the series. 

A Ghost Of a Chance by Minnette Meador

I met Minnette at a book signing and plucked this from her stack. I always support my fellow local authors. A funny paranormal romance? I've got to check this out while I sip a glass of chilled white wine with my feet propped up on a patio chair.

The Executrix by Courtney Pierce

And last on the list, I’ll be re-reading my own latest novel The Executrix. This time I’ll enjoy it like a reader, not as the author. As I complete the sequel, Indigo Lake, the three middle-aged sisters are in my blood, pumping through my veins like a euphoric drug. These ladies are in over their heads. If all goes according to plan, the sequel will be out before the end of the year.

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer living in Oregon with her husband of thirty-six years and bossy cat. She enjoys writing for baby boomers. Her novels are filled with heart, humor, and mystery. At least one trickster animal steals the show. For the past three years, Courtney has studied craft and storytelling the best-selling author Jennifer Lauck at the Attic Institute and has completed the Hawthorne Fellows program for writing and publishing.

Visit Courtney's website at www.courtney-pierce.com. Her books can be purchased at Windtree Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, and at several independent bookstores in the Portland area.

Summer Reads Past and Present

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. Just over a week ago I celebrated my third anniversary as a published author by re-releasing my debut novel Keir. Both it and I have been through quite an adventure since it first released with Lyrical Press Inc. on the 7th May, 2012. Less than two years later, my publisher was bought out by another and Keir came down from retailers. It's taken me over a year to put it back out myself, losing another publisher in the process less than a week before it released. But I'm not quitting!

One reason I started writing aside from a love of words and creating worlds was a love of reading. I read prolifically, widely and pretty much endlessly every minute I could get from the day I first learned to read. After pony books and adventure books like the Famous Five series, I moved onto fantasy, then to science fiction. But in the last few years it's got harder and harder to find reading time because I want to be writing, and having written and been published means having to spend time editing and marketing too. I've also got a lot more picky over what I read. So I thought for my summer reads post I'd share my favourites of the last year, and what I'm hoping to read over my summer holiday (I have scheduled the whole of August as a month off. We'll see if I can actually stick to that!).

Books I've read:
1. Spark Rising by Kate Corcino. This was my absolute favourite read of 2014. It's a post apocalyptic adventure with romantic elements, and I had the privilege of reading it before release in order to write a review quote for it. It also has one of the prettiest covers I've ever seen!
2. Deep Deception and Rulebreaker by Cathy Pegau. These are both f/f scifi romance thrillers, though I prefer Rulebreaker over Deep Deception. Cathy's books were my first f/f reads, and I love them! The romance between the two central characters really hooked me in both cases, and if the scifi element puts you off, trust me - it's not so heavy you'll ever feel it's dragging the story down with too much technical details while still satisfying a scifi addict like me.
3. Inherit the Stars by Laurie A Green. This is classic scifi romance along the lines of Star Trek and films like The Fifth Element. You can buy it in a serialized form to test it out or as a complete novel. Again, I had the privilege of reading this before release, and I can't wait to get it in print (I try to buy all my favourite reads in paperback if I can, though I always buy the ebook first).
4. Angel's Keeping by Brantwijn Serrah. Now, I don't read a lot of fantasy/paranormal any more, and not a lot of erotica either. And this might seem an odd choice for a summer read as it's set at Christmas (which is when I read it). But since a lot of my faves are SFR, I thought I should mention something else I loved in another genre! This is very explicit, but one of the sweetest and cutest romances I've ever read. Again, it's f/f - I've read a lot of that this year. This is a story about how even demons can fall in love. (unfortunately it's not available just now due to the closure of the publisher, who also happened to be my publisher too. But hopefully it'll be back soon!).
5. My Name is A'yen by Rachel Leigh Smith. Again, this is scifi romance, but paranormal fans will love this too. It's more social science fiction than tech heavy and/or military scifi. The central character repeatedly broke my heart, and just when you think nothing more can go wrong for him, it does. You'll rush to the end hoping for his happily ever after!

On my TBR pile:
6. Queen of Nowhere by Jaine Fenn. Jaine is one of my automatic buy authors (I just bought and read a scifi short by her last month) but I haven't had a good clear day to sit down and just lose myself in this. Jaine Fenn writes space opera, which generally means lots of spaceships and explosions, and maybe a bit of romance. This is the last book in her Hidden Empire stories, and I've loved all the previous ones.
7. Removed by SJ Pajonas. Japanese themed post apocalyptic NA. Yup, you read that right. I've had this on my to-read list for a while. The author often posts about Japanese culture, and the whole idea just has me really intrigued. (psst, it's free right now at Amazon!)

And of course, I can't go without mentioning my newly re-released and award winning scifi romance Keir. ;)

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
Goodreads | Available from...
Amazon | All Romance eBooks
Kobo | iTunes | Scribd | B&N
 Google Play | Smashwords

Whatever you pick up for the summer, enjoy your reading. I know I shall. :)

Who's got time for summer?

It's Summer Reads month at RTG, where we celebrate cool (or hot!) books to get stuck into over the next little while.

 I'm kinda confused, though. Is a good 'summer read' no good at any other time of the year? Are there some books which are better in summer than they would be in winter? Surely quality and enjoyability aren't seasonal...

Or are they? Food and drink can be situational, after all. Some drinks only taste good in the right surroundings. Ouzo, for instance. Nauseating stuff. Yet by the waterside on a lazy afternoon on a sunny Greek island... well, an icy aniseed tipple is a bit more appealing.


Kebabs, for another. It's a scientific fact that kebabs (or gyros, if you prefer) taste way better at 4 am after a night at the pub. It's the culinary version of beer goggles.


But the most vexed question of all: who the hell has time to read in summer anyway?

Especially here in England. 'Summer' (and I use inverted commas with the greatest of respect) is short. Like, a few weeks, maybe, before the weather turns to crap again. So everything - all the events, festivals, fun, games and culture - is packed into those few short weeks. You've barely got time to breathe, let alone sit down with a nice fat book.

And work doesn't stop over summer. At least, not for me. It's just as busy as any other time of year, with the added complication that you can't get a seat at the coffee shop because it's full of schoolkids on holidays. Bah humbug! Don't you know this is my office?

So should I be recommending short books? Ones with big writing, maybe? Stories that you can skim-read?

Not sure. But never mind me. I'm just envious that everyone else seems to have so much time to read!

xx
Erica
www.ericahayes.net

P.S. If you really are looking for something to read? :) I have a new release this week... it's a superhero fantasy called SCORCHED. Cool action adventure with a bit of romance on the side. You can check it out on Goodreads here.

Summer Reads for Historical Romance Lovers

by Christy Carlyle

It is hard to believe that summer is just around the corner. It seems only yesterday that I was brushing snow off my car, but I must say I'm thrilled with the warmer weather, the sight of trees and flowers blooming, and the opportunity to take a book and glass of iced tea out on the veranda for a bit of reading in the sun.

Can it come as any surprise that my summer reading list is full of 19th century historical romance? Two of my favorite authors have just released new books, and they shot right to the top of my To Be Read list. For different reasons, I loved them both and heartily recommend them.

Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran captured me from the opening paragraph. I have been in love with Duran's writing since I picked up another of her historical romances, Written on Your Skin, years ago. Her characters are unexpected, unique, and come vibrantly alive almost from the first chapter, and her books are full of conflict that is never simple or easy for her heroine and hero to overcome. Her happy endings are hard won and the characters' journeys to their happy ending is always page-turningly engaging and filled with secondary characters as vivid and interesting as the hero and heroine. Fool Me Twice is no exception.

Set in the late Victorian era, Fool Me Twice pits secretary turned housekeeper, Olivia Holladay, against the infamously autocratic and possibly mad Duke of Marwick. Both have their own agendas—Olivia needs certain letters in the duke's possession and Marwick is set on revenge—and come from different classes, different worlds, yet they might actually be exactly what the other needs.

Olivia and Alastair were such poignant, complicated characters that I fell in love with them in a way that means they've stayed with me after finishing the story. To me, that is the hallmark of great writing. I highly recommend Meredith Duran's book for those who love the Victorian era, damaged heroes, and heroines that are as complicated and conflicted as the men they love.

Another recent favorite that I highly recommend for summer reading is the fun, tender-hearted romance, Wallflower Gone Wild , by Maya Rodale. Rodale is another of the historical romance authors on my Must Read list, and this book, the second in her Wallflower series, features my favorite kind of hero—the man with a dark, dangerous past who turns out to be quite different than his dastardly reputation.

Rodale's book is set early in the 19th century, at the tail end of the Regency era, and features a heroine, Lady Olivia Archer, who has always lived her life in such a rule-bound manner that she's come to be known as Prissy Missy and one of the least appealing prospects on the marriage mart. However, her straight-laced propriety sounds just right to Phinn, Lord Radcliffe, whose first wife broke every rule and caused him no end of misery.

Olivia's attempts to avoid his interest are humorous, and the silliness that she and her friends, all graduates of the same finishing school, get up to is laughable. However, the most compelling aspect of Rodale's story is her hero. Phinn struggles with a tarnished reputation and the belief by some in his social circle, including his potential bride, that he murdered his first wife. While Phinn is initially drawn to Olivia because of her very proper behavior, he continues to pursue her even after her behavior is less than perfect. In essence, both the hero and heroine have been labeled by society—he as the Mad Baron and she as Prissy Missy—and both give each other the chance to be loved for who they truly are.

What's on your Must Read list for summer?

My Summer Reads and Recommendations

Hello, I'm Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural. Once upon a time, I used to spend whole days devouring books. Back in the days when I didn't have to work, didn't have kids, when I could just disappear into the fields behind my home and find a warm, sunny corner to read without interruption. I'd read pretty much anything then, although fantasy and scifi were my main genres. Or once I was older and married with a home of my own and could spend summer weekends just lying in the garden to read, or stretched out on the sofa. Once the kids arrived, reading became more of a luxury. Then once I started writing again back in 2009, not only did my reading time lessen, but my inclination. I found myself becoming more demanding in what I read. In the last year, several books have gone onto my Did Not Finish shelf on Goodreads, because I don't want to spend time on a book I'm not enjoying when there are currently 244 titles waiting on my Kindle. Yes. 244. That damn pesky 1-Click and all the legitimate freebies I see on Facebook and Twitter are just too hard to resist. And my TBR list just keeps growing.

So these days I tend to binge read over a couple of days between edits, writing, and real life stuff. Things have to grab me fast to hold my attention--the blurb and the first page for a start. Most books I'll give a couple of chapters to hook me if the writing standard/style is good. If even that is lacking, then I quit. Because I write mostly scifi romance, and most of my author friends write it, a lot of my titles are in that genre. Last summer I got hooked on a zombie book, thanks to my friend and editor, and another author friend raving about a certain book called Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. I don't like zombies. I don't like horror. But the beauty of his writing, more like poetry than prose, and the fact that his story was different from the traditional zombie caught me. It takes a heck of a lot of skill to make me not only feel empathy for a brain eating monster, but for me to root for him to get a HEA! And now I've read three zombie romances, two by Marion and one by TA Brock (Fatal). I've even written one myself, now scheduled for release on the 20th August - Restless In Peaceville. The irony of that doesn't escape me.

And this year my time to read is even less. I have a scifi romance releasing on the 25th July (Tethered), my YA paranormal in August, another paranormal romance short releasing in October, another scifi romance novel to re-release (Keir), and potentially a superhero romance in October/November. When am I supposed to get time to read now?!

I have a holiday coming up at the end of May - in fact, at the time of posting this, it'll be just a week to go. A whole seven days with my husband and my three little monsters. We'll be staying in replica African mudhuts by the sea. I hope to have some time each day to whittle down that long list of books on my Kindle, or tackle the stack of print editions still untouched. What shall I be reading? Well, I won't give you the whole list. I want characters and worlds that capture my heart and my mind, make me think, make me cry for their sorrows and hope for their HEA. If you want to see what I've read and therefore recommend, please check out my bookshelves on Goodreads HERE. But on my to-read is more space opera by JC Cassels and CE Kilgore. If you like your scifi romance hotter, check out Melisse Aires and Jessica E Subject.

And if you like freebies and want to try out some scifi romance for yourself and find out why I love it so, you can download Tales from the SFR Brigade for FREE--an anthology of science fiction romance stories from eight authors including myself. Find all the download links right HERE. You could also check out this list of cheap/free SFR titles courtesy of The Galaxy Express HERE.

Experience love and adventure among the stars in TALES FROM THE SFR BRIGADE, a free digital anthology of eight Science Fiction Romance stories.

* A space captain discovers the cyborg she loves just might be her greatest enemy.

* A mind-wiped prostitute risks all when she recruits a dangerous stranger to help her escape a terrible fate.

* A prisoner-of-war confronts the comrade who loved her, then left her for dead.

* A space-obsessed physics teacher is kidnapped by a far-too-charming alien.

* An apocalypse survivor battles the biomech-enhanced hunter who seeks to capture her.

* A young artist must choose between her comfortable life on Earth or a war-torn space colony with her beloved.

* A daring thief is on the run from the alien law man who is determined to bring her to justice.

* A widowed rebel leader tries to save the last remnants of humanity, one stranger at a time.

From Earth to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, explore the worlds of Science Fiction Romance with stories from Linnea Sinclair, Marcella Burnard, Erica Hayes, Liana Brooks, Pippa Jay, Berinn Rae, Amy Laurens, and Kyndra Hatch.

Download TALES FROM THE SFR BRIGADE for free today. A TOP PICK by Night Owl Reviews!

The Reviewer said:
"I really enjoyed this compilation. None of them disappointed and most were downright stunning."

Summer Lovin’

I seem to say this every month, but man, this year is flying by! I can’t believe it’s almost June and I’ll be turning another year older!  :-o

Okay, let’s not dwell on that.  I think this year is flying by for me because I haven’t been so busy since my kids were in elementary school. Even then I didn’t know how to say “no”. hah 

Anyway, at the beginning of April was the Desert Dreams Conference which I, and author Heather Palmer, coordinated. I’m thrilled to say it was a roaring success!!  A couple of weeks after the conference, my husband and I did a weekend getaway for our 22nd anniversary and a couple of weeks after that we did a weekend fun-time (wink wink) for Mother’s Day.  The Saturday before Mother’s Day was actually Mexican Mother’s Day, so I took advantage of that. Hah  The days in between those events I was critiquing/editing my CP’s new book, which was due to her editor by May 1st, reading a screenplay for a friend of my daughter’s, giving a read to another friend, working on my new book Body & Soul and getting my latest book Dark Obsession ready for publication.  Yep, got all that done, including the launch of Dark Obsession on May 5th.  I really love this book and the characters, brother and sister, Ray and Sylvia Chavez who live with their grandparents in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), because they’re so close to my heart.  And I love that they’re very popular with my readers.

But, now that the April and May activities are out of the way, it’s time to focus on the rest of the year….which is equally busy….but it’s just as much pleasure as business.  In June, the week of my birthday no less, I’ll be in Denver for the RomCom Conference. This is my first time to do this conference, which is like a mini version of RT, and I’m really looking forward to it.  After I get home from that, I’ll be working on details for RWA National’s Literacy Signing in San Antonio (July 23) because I’m chairing it again (for the 3rd year).  Although the week before the conference two of my kids and I will be driving across the US to Texas to visit friends and family. It’s been years since we've seen most of them!   A week after we get home I’ll be off to Vegas to celebrate my daughter’s twenty-first birthday!  *Whew!* Makes you tired just thinking about it, huh?

Of course I’ll also set aside time to complete my current novel and get in my summer reading!  Although, with the amount of books I have on my TBR list, I’m going to need more time.  This is just a small bookcase of books I haven’t read yet.

 What’s on your list? J

Summer Giggles

Ahh, summer. Vacations. Time off. A chance to escape work-a-day worries and lose yourself in a good book. Given that our blog is “Romancing the Genres,” it’s not surprising that several of my fellow genre-istas have named spicy romances as favorite summer reads. And I wholeheartedly agree that a hot novel is très apropos for lounging on a sunny beach. Yet what’s summer without laughter? That’s why humor is a must for my top-of-the-list escapist reads.   

Even better, I can have my cake and eat it, too, since romance and humor co-exist quite nicel. My favorite escapist reads add supense/thrills to the humor, romance combo. Janet Evanovich has the formula down pat with her Stephanie Plum series. How can you not laugh at the image of Stephanie’s sidekick Lulu on the Atkins diet, her pockets stuffed with pork chops (I think I remember that correctly) being chased down the street by dogs? Along with the giggles Evanovich delivers not one but two hunks—the mysterious Ranger and the sexy Joe Morelli—and ample suspense.

Other romance authors with comedic gifts include Cindy Sample, Ann Charles and Jennifer Cruisie. Sample’s Dying for a Date features a single soccer mom with a knack for going on blind dates with men who soon become stiffs (not in a good way). Charles' debut Nearly Dead in Deadwood is a hoot, again with a single mom trying to make a living and manage romance despite dead bodies and ghosts. Sample and Charles both have continued the hijinks with fun follow-up titles. Cruisie’s Faking It is another of my favorites. It features a hero and heroine who meet in a closet while breaking into a house to steal (for noble reasons, of course). I also need to put in a plug for Blue Ridge Fear by Robin Weaver, scheduled for release later this year. I had an opportunity to read an advance copy and loved Weaver’s ability to blend her main character’s witty observations with real suspense.

I need to tip my hat to some male authors as well. Carl Hiaasen, Donald Westlake, and Dave Barry know how to make me chuckle every time.

So what books do you pick up when you want a summer pick-me-up that includes laughs? I want to keep as many of those authors around as possible.

What we're all reading at the beach

Hi all! I'm Erica Hayes, a new poster on Romancing the Genres, and I'm so excited to be here! Thanks to everyone for welcoming me!

First, a little about moi. I'm an Aussie, but currently I live in the north of England, enjoying some not-so-fab British weather. I write paranormal and urban fantasy romance. I'm working through traditional publishers at the moment, but maybe soon I'll branch out into DIY too! I have a series called the Shadowfae Chronicles, featuring wild fairies and vampires and all manner of sexy beasties. And I have a new romance series called the Seven Signs starting in October, with hot fallen angels (yum!) and a very biblical Apocalypse... but you'll hear more about that soon.

So. Hot summer reads, huh? Gotta say, summer in Northumberland isn't exactly hot… but I did just spend a week on vacation in sunny Majorca. Why, yes, I did. Thanks for admiring my suntan.

Mmm, sunshine... Majorcan style!

We stayed in Cala D'Or, a gorgeous, relaxing town on the east coast of the island. Not the party-nightclub-frenzy part. I'm too old for that kind of nonsense… But all that lolling about in the sun was fantastic for beachside (or poolside!) reading. Everyone was doing it. Naturally, I spied on everyone to see what they were reading! Men mostly read the newspaper, or a thriller. I saw one guy reading an old Ian Fleming. Women's choices were a bit more diverse.

The most common paperback I sighted? Yep, you got it. 50 SHADES OF GREY. Second most popular was THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO or its sequels, followed by other thrillers or chick-lit… I'm sorry, did I say 'chick-lit'? Wash my mouth out. I mean 'humorous women's fiction'. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Still, blockbusters were predominant. Exactly the kind of thing that bookstores promote as 'hot summer reads', with the huge print run and the in-window advertising. Also the big-deal literary books. I saw one person reading THE NIGHT CIRCUS, and another with WOLF HALL. Maybe everyone did their book-shopping at the airport?

Sadly, apart from 50 SHADES, I didn't see a single romance book, at least not in paperback. No Mills & Boon. No paranormals. But, about half the readers I saw were using e-readers, so who knows what sweet creamy delights they were getting stuck into? My money's on 50 SHADES...

Me? Well, I packed a couple of paperbacks and stocked up my trusty Sony before I left (sadly, no Kindle for me yet) and I got through five or six books by the pool. What a horrible way to spend a holiday. Oh, the pain! Or, as my husband likes to say, 'wow, this diamond up my butt really hurts!'

Here's a few of my favourite ones in fantasy and paranormal:

The Midnight Justice mini-series. Sexy superheroes! Love these 2 novellas.
And Tarnished by Karina Cooper. Cool steampunk-y fantasy!

So what's the last book you read? Was it a 'hot summer read', according to the bookstores? Or do you just push on with your TBR pile, regardless of the season?

I just visited Hawaii!

Okay, technically I only read a book, but the descriptions were so vivid and the cultural references so plentiful that I feel like I’ve just spent time in that gorgeous place.

Though I’ve never been to Hawaii, I’ve heard about it my whole life. My parents lived there when they were first married. Dad was in the U.S. Navy and Mom fell in love everything about the islands. Her favorite perfume scent was plumeria and I’ve lost count of the number of stories she told me about the lush beauty of Hawaii.

I always thought I’d visit Hawaii someday. I even thought it would be fun to be able to take Mom back for a visit to the place that has lived in her memory for so long as a kind of nostalgic paradise. Living in the Pacific Northwest, a visit to the islands seems closer than ever but it’s still just a “someday” plan with no definite shape or due date.

Then I read Cathryn Cade’s Walking in Fire, the first in her Hawaiian Heroes series. This book is the perfect summer read. It’s set in a haven-like bay near Kona on the Big Island and features a likeable heroine and a super hot (you’ll find out just how true that is if you read the novel!) hero. Cade doesn’t just write lovingly about the scenic beauty of Hawaii, she seasons the entire story with Hawaiian myth, history, and language. While reading her sexy, suspenseful story, I could hear the waves, feel the warm breezes, and smell the heady plumeria that my mom loved so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the love story between Pacific Northwesterner Melia and sizzling hot Hawaiian David “Malu” Ho’omalu, but I loved the fictional visit to the Big Island and a refreshing dip into the mythology and culture of the islands.

If you can’t afford a plane ticket to a tropical paradise, take a trip to Hawaii through the pages of the perfect summer read: Cathryn Cade’s Walking in Fire.

Unfortunately, one visit wasn’t enough for me, so I am eagerly awaiting Cade’s second Hawaiian Heroes novel, Rolling in the Deep, due out at the end of the month.

When’s the last time you read a novel that so totally transported you that you felt you’d visited the story’s setting?

It Might Be Summer Where You Are...

Everyone in the northern hemisphere is talking about, and enjoying, summer. I feel like a fraud writing about my favorite summer read when it’s the middle of winter in New Zealand.

So I’m going to talk about what I love doing on a cold winter’s Sunday afternoon.  Sunday afternoon, when the rain is sleeting against my window and the wind is trying to lift my roof off, I settle down on the couch with my small quilt blanket that mum made me, the heater is on and I make myself a cup of tea and treat myself to two chocolate biscuits. Then I settle down with a book and start to read.

Sometimes I read a paper book, rare for me these days I’m afraid, as it’s quicker and cheaper here in NZ to buy my books on Kindle. Plus, I have to buy most romance books from Book Depository in the UK because NZ does not get more than 5 or 6 romance novels a month.

I love my kindle. The immediacy is the key. Plus being long-sighted, small print means I have to wear my glasses to read, while a Kindle with the bigger print setting means no glasses required. This makes snuggling up on the couch more enjoyable when I lie on my big reading pillow.

My latest reads are two historical romances and a Desire HMB by Olivia Gates. I love reading historical, no surprise there I suppose since I write historicals. I love reading them because I love a bad boy and in the male dominated 1800’s this is easy to find. The rakish lord with the virginal miss is my favorite, especially if she has a brain!

I read two books this weekend, both made me automatically go to the author’s website to look for when their next book would be released. That is how I know I’ve read a good book. I want, and must have the next one-NOW.

On Sunday I had a fun weekend hiding from the howling southerly gales and rain. I read Emma Wildes January release, Twice Fallen. I loved the book. Surprisingly, I loved the secondary romance more than the main H and h. Once I had completed her book I committed the fatal sin. I read the introduction chapter of her next book –OMG—it was so good! Then to my major disappointment it isn’t released until September. How could she do that to me? WORSE-because I live in NZ, I’m unable to pre-order for my Kindle. So I’ve had to make a diary note to buy it when it is released. Bloody Signet! Emma, can you please get them to change that policy.

The second book I read was Gaelen Foley’s, My Ruthless Prince. Gaelen is probably my favorite author. She writes beautiful, engaging characters that I can re-read again and again. She has a fabulous marketing ploy, one that I use in my books. Her epilogue is the sample of her next book and once again I have to wait until October!

So tell me, do you read the sample chapters at the back of books? Do you love an epilogue that gives a sneak peak of the rest of the story? Do you go and pre-order a book or do you simply forget about the author and perhaps look at her next book once it is released? 

I’ll give away a copy of To Wager the Marquis of Wolverstone, book two in my Wicked Wagers trilogy in eBook format to one commenter. Drawn Sunday 8th July, open internationally.