Books I'm looking forward to - Spring edition

Back in May I did a blog on books I was looking forward to for the rest of the year. Since I've read everything on that list that has been released and added a few more things to my "ooh, interesting/cool/yay book by favourite author" list, I thought I'd do an update. So here's a taste of some books I'm going to be reading in the next few months.

Cold Magic - Kate Elliott (Out now) (The world sounds intriguing and I love her Jaran books)
Graceling - Kristen Cashore (Out now) (have been meaning to read this for ages and found it at the library yesterday)
Blood of Ambrose - James Enge (read an excerpt thanks to the Big Brother so am hunting it down)
Bayou Moon - Ilona Andrews (Out today I do believe!)
Breathless - Anne Stuart (October) (Having devoured Ruthless and Reckless I'm waiting impatiently for the mailman to deliver this)
Dark Road to Darjeeling - Deanna Raybourn (October)
Butterfly Kisses - Jeanne Lin (October) (Just read Tang dynasty based fantasy by Guy Gavriel Kay so now for some Tang-y romance)
The Accidental Wedding - Anne Gracie (October) (Just scored an ARC of this but will no doubt buy it too!)
Pegasus - Robin McKinley (Not until November but new Robin is worth anticipating)
Cryoburn - Lois McMaster Bujold (November - new Miles, squee of frabjous joy)
Heaven's Spite - Lilith Saintcrow (November)
The Iron Duke - Meljean Brook (November) (Steampunk romance...intriguing!)
How to Bake a Perfect Life - Barbara O'Neal (December...which will probably push it to a Jan 11 read but it's a good way to start the year!)
Call Me Irresistible - Susan Elizabeth Phillips (January) (holy cow, that's next year...someone hit slow down on the year!)
Blood Challenge - Eileen Wilks (January)
Loose Ends - Tara Janzen (January)
What I Did For A Duke - Julie Anne Long (February)
When Beauty Tamed the Beast - Eloisa James (February)

I'm sure there are some I'm missing. I'll update as they come to me. How about everyone else? What bundle of storytelling joy are you eagerly awaiting?

Happy Winter

Well, not really. I actually am not fond of winter. I feel the cold at the best of times without the weather adding to my woes. But I shall rug up and hibernate and keep warm by typing like a good little writer : )

How the heck it got to be the first of June already is beyond me. But hey, that means it's time for a brand new contest prize. Given we've done urban fantasy, contemporary and fantasy so far, I thought we'd zag over to another of my great reading loves, the regency historical romance.

And who better to illustrate the perfect divine witty romantic sexy delight of that era than Loretta Chase? Loretta writes my sort of historical. I'm not generally one for gothic and angsty when it comes to Regencies (though there are some exceptions). I like sparkle and bouncy repartee and gorgeous gowns and hot dudes in breeches. So when I first discovered Loretta Chase (thanks to the fabulous recommendation of Myrna from Rendezvous in Melbourne), I was immediately blissfully addicted. That first book was Lord of Scoundrels, which is wonderful but this month's prize is not LOS. Instead, it's my favourite Loretta book, mainly due to the sheer adorable sexiness of its hero, Rupert and the charm of the Egyptian setting). Rupert is a wonderful brawny hunk with a heart of gold and more brains than he gives himself credit for and his delight in Daphne's braininess and her in general is irresistible (hmm, maybe he should be Mr. Irresistible but he's not...instead, ladies and gentlemen, I offer you Mr. Impossible:



which is the second of Loretta's Carsington books and one of my all time favourite regency romances. (My second favourite book of hers, is the next book in this series, Lord Perfect, but Rupert won my heart first so he gets to be given away.) If you've never read Loretta and you love the lighter side of regency romance, then run to a book store and buy her. Or, as another option, simply comment on any of my blog posts this month to go in the drawer to win Mr. Impossible and be swept away by Rupert and Daphne and dastardly Egyptian doings! Then you can join the rest of us in eagerly awaiting her new book in August (unless you're too busy reading the rest of her backlist, of course!)

As usual, I will draw the winner early in July and announce here and on Twitter and Facebook, so follow me somewhere to keep up with the news. The winner will have one week from the time I announce them to get in touch to claim their prize, otherwise Rupert will be redrawn (poor Rupert, to be so snubbed!).

And if anyone is a late joiner and wants the history of why I'm giving away one of my favourite books each month, then the history of the contest is here.

Books I'm looking forward to

Given it's Friday night and the brain turns to thoughts of relaxation...I thought I'd do a list of books I'm looking forward to reading over the next few months. By no means a complete list lol

Magic Bleeds - Ilona Andrews (May, yay!)
I Kissed An Earl - Julie Anne Long (July)
Silver Borne - Patricia Briggs (Already out but haven't read it yet)
Mouse and Dragon - Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (June - their second new release this year, yippeee!)
A Kiss At Midnight - Eloisa James (August)
Last Night's Scandal - Loretta Chase (August)
Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay (Hmmm, I thought I'd pre-ordered this, it was released late April, must check book depository)
Savour the Moment - Nora Roberts (May..need to order this one stat!)
A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner (already out but another I haven't gotten to)
Naamah's Curse - Jacqueline Carey (June)
Maybe This Time - Jennifer Crusie (August)
Pegasus - Robin McKinley (Not until November but new Robin is worth anticipating)
Dark Road to Darjeeling - Diana Raybourn (October)
Cryoburn - Lois McMaster Bujold (November - new Miles, squee of frabjous joy)
Red Hot Renegade - Kelly Hunter (August)
Heaven's Spite - Lilith Saintcrow (November)
How to Bake a Perfect Life - Barbara O'Neal (December...which will probably push it to a Jan 11 read but it's a good way to start the year!)


As new books by many of my fave authors go, this is a pretty good six months coming right up!

How about everyone else? Who are you looking forward to (I'm sure I've missed many of mine!)? Always looking to discover fabbo new (or new to me authors)!

April fool (well, not really)

Apparently March has whizzed by already and that means it's time to announce April's contest. For the history of my paying-it-forward contest go here.

I'll draw the March winner sometime over the weekend and post it here and on Twitter so stay tuned!

And now onto April. This month, the prize is Welcome to Temptation by Jenny Crusie.



Way back in hmmm, 2001, when I had decided to give this whole writing thing a serious go, one of the first things I went to (thanks to the sharp eyes of my flatmate at the time) was a talk given by the always lovely Anne Gracie at the Victoria Writers Centre about writing romance (sensible given that was what I wanted to do). Anne was fresh off the plane from the Romance Writer's of America New Orleans Conference and probably jetlagged as a jetlagged thing but she was entertaining and educational and full of enthusiasm for what she did (and alliterative, apparently). She was pretty much the first real! live! author! I had met in person and because she was so nice, something clicked in my brain that authors were people too rather than superheros (though Anne is a superhero) and maybe I could do this after all and I came away all inspired. I finished my first manuscript which had been languishing at three chapters for quite a long time about two months later. Anyway, at the talk Anne had spoken about different genres of romance and one of the contemporary authors she mentioned was Jenny.

Welcome to Temptation had been out for a little while in Australia (I remember wandering past the bright green cover in various bookstores several times - picture the above cover kind of Granny Smith apple green) but after Anne's talk, I finally gave in and bought it (there may yet be a recurring theme in these tales of books Mel has resisted for no particularly reason then adored once she bought them). I took it home and started to read and fell in love with contemporary romance all over again. Witty, sexy, intelligent romance. I became a Crusie fan on the spot and remain one to this day. I own every single book she's written and some of them twice but I think Welcome to Temptation remains my favourite mostly because Phin is a hero who is right up my alley. Still not sure why as generally I don't do blonds.

Jenny is also a great writing teacher and I've belonged to her loops for ages and can be found hanging out on the Cherry Forums from time to time.

Other favourite books of hers include Manhunting, Tell Me Lies and Agnes and the Hitman (co-written with Bob Mayer) though really, I love 'em all.

So this month's prize is Welcome to Temptation, another book I have read too many times to count, and turn to as a treasured comfort read. Anyone who hasn't read it and loves great contemporary romance is in for a treat. Now, to continue the tradition..here's a taste of the back cover blurb from that very green book I bought.

"Sophie came to Temptation, Ohio, to help her sister make a movie. Now she's making trouble for the town council, love with the mayor and lemonade for a murderer...Welcome to Temptation. Population 2158. And falling."

For April, it's the same rules as March. Comment on this or any other of my blog posts this month and you're in the running. Simple. Winner will be drawn early May and announced on the blog and via Twitter and will have two weeks to claim their prize or there will be a re-draw.

Paying it forward or Contest!!

Like most writers, I came to my love of stories by reading. I learned to read young and haven't stopped since. I have even, in the past, been accused of eating books. My favourite authors have provided me with countless hours of pleasure, distraction and comfort when I've needed it. They've also taught me a lot about being a writer and what makes a good story. They're the ones who make me want to write better, who inspire me and keep me on this path. There is almost nothing in the world I like better than discovering a new fabulous author or sinking into the world of an old friend book.

It's still a little hard to believe that sometime next year people will be able to pull my book off the shelf and (hopefully!) enjoy their time in my stories. But it's true and to celebrate that fact, I've decided to celebrate some of the authors who've given me so much enjoyment over the years and have some role to play in the type of writer I am today.

So every month until my book comes out, I'll be giving away one of my favourite books on my blog to hopefully introduce some old and new favourite authors to some new readers. To be eligible to win all you have to do is comment on one of my posts for the month. If you comment on more than one post then you get more than one entry into the draw (though multiple comments on one post still only get you one entry). Each month I'll post the giveaway book around the 1st or 2nd and draw the previous month's winner. (I am reserving the right to vary the rules from month to month as hey, this is my contest : ) ).

Given I read in a wide variety of genres, there will be a variety of books...books I hope you'll love like I do but as with all things in life, taste is individual : ). I'd imagine a large percentage of them will end up being fantasy, romance and urban fantasy but you never know what might turn up.

Eventually I'll have other contests to do with my books but until then...let's get the ball rolling...

This month's book is Sunshine by Robin McKinley. A book that Neil Gaiman describes as "Pretty much perfect" and I tend to agree.



I've blogged about Sunshine before but it's a book that I resisted for a while. I kept picking it up in the bookstore, reading the blurb then putting it back down. But one day I thought "there's a reason" I keep picking this up and I bought it. That was probably in 2007 and I hadn't read anything else of Robin's at that point. I took Sunshine home that night, opened it up and pretty much didn't move from my couch until I was done, so smitten was I with the book. I've re-read it many many times since then and I love it more every time. I own two copies because I'm wearing out my first rapidly.

Sunshine is one of those cross genre books that's hard to describe. The closest I can come is alt-earth paranormal with a smidge of horror fantasy romance. It's funny and scary and romantic and full of food that will make you starving hungry every time you read it. The heroine is cranky and delightful and very real. It's a very unique world and Robin has a wonderful voice. Sunshine is definitely one of my all time favourite books. Since reading it I've read all Robin's other books. Other favourites of hers include Chalice, Dragonhaven, Spindle's End and The Blue Sword. I'm eagerly awaiting Pegasus, her next book which is due out in November this year (way too long to wait, so I'll just have to keep re-reading until then).

To whet your appetite..here's the start of the back cover blurb...

"There are places in the world where darkness rules, where it's unwise to walk. But the lake had been quiet for years... She never heard them coming. Of course, you don't when they're vampires."

So comment away this month and a copy of Sunshine could be winging its way to you next month!

PS I'll be posting the winner and will give them two weeks to claim the book after which there will be a re-draw of the prize. So if you don't want to miss out, don't forget to check back or subscribe to the blog or follow me on Twitter so as not to miss the announcement.

The year in books (4th anniversary edition)

When you're onto a good thing, stick to it, so once again, to wrap up the year, we shall talk about books.

Reviewing my reading list for the year, it's sitting at about 125 or so new books this year. So down a little from last year (though I know I've missed some along the line...). I've done more craft this year which has probably eaten into the reading time but also once again, at the end of the year (and particularly while I'm deep in writing and revising my own book) I've been re-reading.

This year I've been reading more e-books though I do get frustrated with the iPhone as an e-Reader. It's just that little bit too small plus, I find that when I buy books not in the eReader format and use Stanza to put them on my iPhone, things tend to go a little haywire with the formatting which distracts me. I also find it easier to forget I'm in the middle of a book when it's on the iPhone and not physically lying around to remind me. I've been quite ADD with my books this year, rarely reading only one at a time. I'm not sure why, just that it's been harder to find books that really absorb me (or else there has been too much noise in the head to really relax into them). But I will continue to read e-books and am hoping the format wars, the ridiculous geographic restrictions and other annoyances (like Amazon's ridiculous higher pricing for international Kindle books) resolve themselves and that someone releases the iPod of e-Readers (the long-rumoured Apple tablet perhap?)

This year, I've also started listening to more audiobooks, which I talked a bit about here. Most of which still holds true, only more so. I still haven't listened to a new to me story on audiobook as they are so much slower than my natural reading speed and I still prefer male narrators due to the doing voices thing. And I'm still very picky about narrators in general. So audiobooks add to my re-read list but aren't boosting the new book list.

I think I've probably read a bit more non-fiction this year (but don't always include those in the list). I continue to re-read ad infinitum. I'd imagine my total books for the year would remain around 300 or so.

So what were my favourite new books this year?

Uglies - Scott Westerfeld - I'm somewhat late to the party on this series but glommed it all down quickly. I'm looking forward to reading Leviathan, to get his take on steampunk and going back and reading more of his backlist.

She's Got It Bad - Sarah Mayberry - A Blaze with a bad girl heroine and a bad boy hero with somewhat tortured pasts. Hot and emotional, Sarah continues to deliver. I'm going to have to try her Special Editions too.

Revealed: A Prince and a Pregnancy - Kelly Hunter - who yes, is a friend but I truly adore her books and think anyone who likes witty, sexy contemporaries will adore them too. The first book in this duo (Exposed: Misbehaving with the Magnate) is pretty damn good too.

Start Me Up - Victoria Dahl - Speaking of hot contemporaries, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to number three.

Soulless - Gail Carriger - Fun, steampunk romance with a wonderful heroine and a fabulous vampire fashionplate sidekick.

A Duke of Her Own - Eloisa James - A lovely ending to her Desperate Duchesses series. I'm looking forward to her new fractured fairytales very much.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer - Slightly off the beaten track for me but I was intrigued by the name and then loved the book. Have pimped it out to quite a few others already. Sadly Mary Ann passed away just before the book was published : (

Fledgling - Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - Having followed along as they did their first draft live on the web (brave stuff), it was fascinating to read the final product. If you've never read Lee and Miller, they write wonderful romantic space opera and have several new books coming out next year, so hasten to a book store and start at the beginning of their Liaden books (which is Local Custom, chronologically in the Liaden verse or I believe Agent of Change in order of writing).

Corambis - Sarah Monette - The last in the Doctrine of Labyrinths series and another great book. Can't wait to see what she does next.

Chalice - Robin McKinley - Robin is one of my auto-buy authors who writes intriguing and varying fantasy.

Vision in White - Nora Roberts - Nora rarely fails to deliver and this start to a quartet set around four friends who plan weddings was great with a lovely lovely hero.

Coraline - Neil Gaiman - Neil is a genius, what can we say. Somehow I missed seeing this at the movies but will get the dvd asap. I've actually read quite a bit of YA this year and lots of it was great.

A Cousinly Connexion - Sheila Simonson - Traditional regency in the style of Georgette Heyer. A lot of the trad regencies that are no longer published by the big houses are being re-released in e-books, so yay for that!

Since the Surrender - Julie Anne Long - I have a feeling I am going to adore all the Eversea books. Chase is not quite Colin but he's pretty damn close. Mysteries, comedy, old flames, secret societies and puppets...what more do you need in a historical romance? July feels like too long to wait for I Kissed An Earl.

Flesh Circus - Lilith Saintcrow - Her Jill Kismet series is getting better and better. It may lack a Japhrimel but Saul has his own appeal. Plus there's the deliciously wrong Perry and a brilliant world to compensate.

Magic Strikes - Ilona Andrews - Another urban fantasy season that keeps getting better (and keeps ratcheting up the ST between Kate and Cullen so lets hope Ilona takes pity on us soon!). On The Edge was also a good read.

I'm not going to talk about my re-reads much. Those following along should be able to guess my favourite authors by now (if you guessed something like Jennifer Crusie, Lois McMaster Bujold, Terry Pratchett, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Eloisa James, Kelly Hunter, Julie Anne Long, Barbara O'Neal/Samuel, Nora Roberts, Robin McKinley etc you'd be doing well). I know some people don't re-read but I love curling up with a well-loved book and letting it seduce me all over again. Great new books are wonderful but great favourite books are like great old friends...to be treasured.

I wish you many of both sorts in your 2010 reading!

A third year in books

I'm heading down to spend New Year's at the beach. Which means, in true Melbourne weather form, that unlike last year when New Year's was a roasting hot 42, this year it's more like 22. Still, I like the beach in any weather and can't sunbake anyway due to my pale anglo/celtic skin, so all will be good.

For the third year in a row (crikey, where has three years gone?) I'm rounding up with my post on what I've read this year. My list of read for the first time is sitting at around 140, I think, which is, as I expected less than last year. But I know I've been doing a lot of re-reading this year, particularly in the last few months, so I'd imagine I'm still around 300 books for the year. I'm fairly sure I've missed some in the list along the way but oh well.

Favourite books this year, in no particular order:

The Lost Recipe for Happiness - Barbara O'Neal Just read this last night (staying up way too late for someone who has a three or so hour drive ahead of her) and it was great. And made me very hungry!

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman - and the videos of him reading it that are around are pretty good too, he's a great reader with a lovely voice.

Wicked Lovely - Melissa Marr, lovely, lush, dark YA that wasn't what I'd expected.

The Spymaster's Lady - Jo Bourne became an instant favourite with this. Fabulous historical. And pretty good writing advice, too.

Private Arrangements - Sherry Thomas. Another wonderful, different historical debut.

Taken by the Bad Boy - Kelly Hunter. Wonderful funny sexy emotional romance as usual.

Silent in the Grave/Silent in the Sanctuary - Deanna Raybourn. It was a very good year for historical debuts. Gorgeous victoria historical suspense with a romance thread that will keep this little black duck coming back for more.

Mirabile - Janet Kagan. Who sadly passed away this year and did not write enough books before she did so. This and Hellspark (one of my faves last year I think) are both great books.

Dragonhaven - Robin McKinley. While we really want the sequel to Sunshine, everything else she writes is pretty damn good.

Old Man's War - John Scalzi. Yes, I'm late to the party but this was great SF space opera and I quickly glommed the other books in the series.

A Companion to Wolves - Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. Because if you combine two great writers, the result has to be pretty good and pretty thought provoking given the two writers you are combining.

The Mirador - Sarah Monette. This series rocks and I'm eagerly awaiting the final instalment.

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss. Another great debut, this time in the epic fantasy mode. More please.

Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs. The Mercy books keep getting better.

To Hell and Back - Lilith Saintcrow. She pushes her characters to the edge but this was a great finale to one of my favourite series of recent years.

Emergence/Tracking - David R Palmer. Because they're hilarious.

The Perils of Pleasure - Julie Anne Long. For Colin. And his ballad.

Most re-read book this year: Sunshine by Robin McKinley. I will confess to being kind of addicted to this book. I've read it at least five times this year and it is definitely a favourite comfort read. I've already bought another copy because my existing one is getting very well-worn.

Other favourite re-read authors this year (I can't tell you how many times or which books in particular as in most cases I go on binges and re-read whole series or chunks of series or re-read more than once):

Jennifer Crusie
Terry Pratchett
Lois McMaster Bujold
Nora Roberts
JD Robb
Jacqueline Carey
Anne Bishop
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Guy Gavriel Kay
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Kelly Hunter
Jane Austen
Patricia Briggs
Robin McKinley
Tara Janzen
Barbara Samuel
Lilith Saintcrow
Eloisa James
Julie Anne Long
Anne Stuart

And for the full list of books read for the first time this year go here.

Book binge

Ah books, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Otherwise known as why my credit card is slightly singed...I swear I went out today to buy presents for father's day and other imminent celebrations and with firm resolve not to spend much else but somehow my brain interpreted that as "hell, buy a book or four for yourself while you're there".

And I'd already bought a couple on Sunday. Of course, I'm almost done with all three of them. The muse, apparently, wants new stories and wants them NOW (plus there are just lots of cool books out at the moment). I'm not sure why the sudden booklust. After all, I brought a swag home from Dallas just over a month ago and collected quite a few more at the RWAus conference a few weeks ago. Face it, I'm a story addict.

So now I have Lilith Saintcrow's The Devil's Right Hand (oh frabjous Japhrimel joy), the second in Eileen Wilk's werewolf series (the first being one of the books I bought on the weekend and have devoured already - the other two were Samantha Grave's Sight Unseen and Warlord by Elizabeth Vaughan), the new Melanie Rawn (I shall try not to pout that it isn't the third Exiles book) and The Lies of Locke Lamora on the recommendation of the lovely Jonathon who runs Of Science and Swords. Plus there is Bujold and Pratchett on order! Excuse me while I wipe off the drool.

I love the feeling of having lots of books just waiting for me to sink into. Is there anything nicer (apart from maybe Captain's Jack and Mal and John appearing on your doorstep ; 0 )?

And hey, it's my birthday soonish so I must deserve presents!

PS On another note - Lilith Saintcrow's series has been redesigned - here's the new look:



Here's the old cover for Working for the Devil (which I really liked)



The new black white and red thing I've seen in a few urban fantasy books lately, so I'm wondering if it's the new trend. It's certainly eye-catching but to me (and a bookseller I spoke to today agrees) it says "suspense" not "urban fantasy". I don't think it's particularly appealing to a female (and maybe that's the point - to grab the guys who might not want the chick's-butt-in-leather-pants/chick in leather/chick from behind/chick with tattoos look we've been getting in UF for while to be what they're seen reading) and it doesn't set an expectation of the type of book it is. It does say tough gal heroine, which is certainly Dante. But hmmmmm. Jenny Crusie has done a few great posts on covers on Argh Ink...I'm not sure these meet her criteria. But hey, I'm not in a publishers marketing department. Thoughts? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Would you expect this to be urban fantasy (particularly when dark urban fantasy is often shelved in horror in Australia in non SF/F bookstores)? If you saw it from a distance and couldn't read the tag line that is.

I love her stuff so I'll still buy it regardless of the cover (and so should you) but the new look surprised me when I first saw it.