see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
Monday Morning Cuteness - Tuesday Edition
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
My Fair Concubine Winner!
bn100!
I'll email you for your mailing address and get the book out to you soon.
Happy Reading!
Book Review: My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin & Autographed Copy Giveaway
By: Jeannie Lin
Harlequin Historicals June 2012
Genre: Historical Romance
4 Heart Review
Excerpt
My Fair Concubine Blurb:
The Nobleman Who Turned A Tea Girl Into A Princess...
Yan Ling tries hard to be servile - it's what's expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle.
Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit - until he realizes she's the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a "princess." In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman?
Yet it's hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Ling wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for his own...
This book is a historical set during the Chinese Tang Dynasty and that alone was enough to tempt me to read it. The fact that it was written by Jeannie Lin made me want to put it at the top of my TBR pile. Oh, and it didn't hurt that the cover is stunning!
I absolutely ADORE that Harlequin has published historicals not just set in England or about the Ton. I mean there's a world full of history and I'm fascinated by Chinese history. I hope readers will support these books to show Harlequin that we want more unique settings in our historical romances!
I loved that this story takes place over a few months time. In category, very often the romance is fast and furious and with few additional characters. My Fair Concubine not only lets the characters develop, but the were a handful of very well developed and interesting side characters that added a richness to the story and I'm hoping that we will see a few of them in future books.
In addition to the longer romantic timeline, I felt that Lin did an outstanding job of letting the feelings between the hero and heroine build internally before letting them show their feelings externally. In fact, the hero Fei Long stays so true to his sense of honor that once he finally reveals his feelings to himself and Yan Ling, the reader will be swept along in the emotion.
As much as I appreciated that level of layered writing, I somehow was left wishing for a little more interaction between Yan Ling and Fei Long. a few more scenes of them spending time together, and not just quietly being in a room together, would have taken the story to the next level for me. That's not to say that I didn't appreciate how the tension built in those quiet moments.
If you are a fan of historical romances I highly recommend not only this book, but also Jeannie's previous Tang Dynasty books. I'd love to see more readers helping to support more diversity in settings and heroes and heroines.
Enter to win an autographed copy of My Fair Concubine!
Leave a comment below answering one of these questions: Have you ever read a unique setting in a historical romance? Do you want to see more diversity in characters? Have you read one of Jeannie's other books and what did you think about it?
1 extra entry if you Tweet the contest & link in comments.
1 extra entry if you share the contest on Facebook & link in comments.
I'll randomly pick a winner Friday May 25th. Make sure to include your address so I can contact you. Contest open to US and Canada only.
Looking for the next 50 Shades of Grey?
Everyone, and really I mean everyone, has talked or heard about 50 Shades of Grey. Personally, I haven't read it and don't think I plan to. That's more so because it's not a genre I would typically pick up myself than for any other reason.
It seems that every other book that comes out is being called the next 50 Shades of Grey. I can't speak to that, but I can share some of those books so that if you did read and enjoy 50 Shades, you can try some other books out.
The latest entry in this is Eden Bradley's The Dark Garden. Check out the free excerpt below to try it out!
It seems that every other book that comes out is being called the next 50 Shades of Grey. I can't speak to that, but I can share some of those books so that if you did read and enjoy 50 Shades, you can try some other books out.
The latest entry in this is Eden Bradley's The Dark Garden. Check out the free excerpt below to try it out!
Monday Morning Cuteness
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz! This guy was just too cute to pass up posting today! Hope your week if off to a great start.
Brenda Novak's Charity Auction Is Live!
Brenda Novak's Annual Auction For The Cure of Diabetes is Live!
There are amazing items up for grabs for readers, writers and everyone else! Books & arcs, meetings with authors, vacations, purses, conference fees, editor critiques - the list of things to bid on goes on and on! Not only can you win awesome stuff, but you're helping fund amazing research and the amount you pay might be tax deductible! (According to your state I believe.)
About the Auction From Brenda's Press Kit:
Every year, for the month of May, New York Times and USA Today Best-selling Author Brenda Novak runs an online auction for diabetes research. The auction takes a full year to plan and pull off, but it’s a labor of love—an effort to help all the people who, like her youngest son, suffer from diabetes. Her very first auction ran in 2005. It started small but has grown every year by leaps and bounds.
Yearly totals to date:
2005 - $34,982
2006 - $62,705
2007 - $141,700
2008 - $252,300
2009 - $270, 611
2010 - $303,000
2011 - $303,300
The Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes Research is the biggest online event for diabetes research in the world. Each year, with the help of generous donors--which include some of the biggest and brightest stars in publishing, like Nicholas Sparks, Nora Roberts, Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry and Janet Evanovich--Brenda offers up over 2000 fabulous items, creating a shopper’s paradise. As a cumulative total, she’s raised $1,368,598. But the auction is more than your everyday charity gala. It’s a blast to participate in--a real community. They do drawings and give away prizes. Shoppers quickly become donors and donors quickly become shoppers. It’s an outstanding fundraising model!
Here’s to making a difference...
Go Forth And Bid! I'll be featuring some items I think rock in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for things you can't live without!
~ Cheeky Girl Sabrina
There are amazing items up for grabs for readers, writers and everyone else! Books & arcs, meetings with authors, vacations, purses, conference fees, editor critiques - the list of things to bid on goes on and on! Not only can you win awesome stuff, but you're helping fund amazing research and the amount you pay might be tax deductible! (According to your state I believe.)
About the Auction From Brenda's Press Kit:
Every year, for the month of May, New York Times and USA Today Best-selling Author Brenda Novak runs an online auction for diabetes research. The auction takes a full year to plan and pull off, but it’s a labor of love—an effort to help all the people who, like her youngest son, suffer from diabetes. Her very first auction ran in 2005. It started small but has grown every year by leaps and bounds.
Yearly totals to date:
2005 - $34,982
2006 - $62,705
2007 - $141,700
2008 - $252,300
2009 - $270, 611
2010 - $303,000
2011 - $303,300
The Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes Research is the biggest online event for diabetes research in the world. Each year, with the help of generous donors--which include some of the biggest and brightest stars in publishing, like Nicholas Sparks, Nora Roberts, Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry and Janet Evanovich--Brenda offers up over 2000 fabulous items, creating a shopper’s paradise. As a cumulative total, she’s raised $1,368,598. But the auction is more than your everyday charity gala. It’s a blast to participate in--a real community. They do drawings and give away prizes. Shoppers quickly become donors and donors quickly become shoppers. It’s an outstanding fundraising model!
Here’s to making a difference...
Go Forth And Bid! I'll be featuring some items I think rock in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for things you can't live without!
~ Cheeky Girl Sabrina
Monday Morning Cuteness!
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
The look on his face is priceless!
Lori Foster's A Perfect Storm Blog Tour - Win a Copy!
Your Excerpt From A Perfect Storm:
“Oh, aren’t you the generous one?”
He sighed. “The sneer is unappealing. Just tell me what it is.”
The narrowing of her eyes emphasized their pale, bright blue color and the thickness of her long, inky lashes. She drew two deep breaths, making it tough for him to keep his attention off her chest.
“It’s my birthday.”
Huh. Of all the things he’d imagined, that wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t even one of the top fifty. “Your birthday?” he said stupidly.
“Yeah, you know, the day I was born. Not under a rock, in case you’re wondering.” When he stayed mute, she added, “I’m twenty-one now. A legal adult. Not a little girl, like you keep saying.”
Find your next excerpt of A Perfect Storm at http://www.onceuponatwilight.
Now, welcome Lori Foster to Cheeky Reads - Advice for Aspiring Romance Novelists:
I suggest that budding romance writers write what excites them. Avoid the traps of trying to jump on the bandwagon, or emulate a successful author. If it’s not YOU, you won’t enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, why would anyone else?
Some writers prefer stand alone books. Some, like me, have characters that take over and show up again and again. Some like writing sweet romances, and some like super-steamy and explicit. It is such an amazingly personal thing that you can’t, and should never try to, write for anyone but yourself.
I’ve had books that readers hated. Some that readers *really* hated. LOL. But I’m a realist. I know I can’t please all the readers all of the time. When disappointed readers write to me, I apologize. I AM sorry that they spent time on a book they didn’t enjoy.
But will I change what I’m doing for them? I can’t.
What works for me is writing what I want, what I enjoy, the way that I want to write it, and the way that works for me. All writers should do the same.
Another tip for new writers – stay away from critique groups. It’s YOUR book, not a book by committee. Just because your critique partner doesn’t like it, just because she thinks it’s awkward, doesn’t mean you need to change it. The only opinions that matter are #1) yours, and #2) the editor’s. Your critique partner cannot buy your book. All she can really do is point out typos, which is great, discourage you with criticism, which is self-defeating, or bolster you with praise, which may or may not jive with an editor’s opinion.
So avoid it.
Contests can also be a catch 22. Sure, you get immediate feedback and sometimes you get a connection with an editor or agent. But you also get immediate gratification – something you should get after you’ve _finished the book!_ NOT because you’ve written one to three chapters.
I’ve know unpubs who’ve polished that first chapter a dozen times. It’s been submitted in at least that many contests. It’s even placed in a few, or won in some. But the whole book? Why finish a book when you can send just one chapter in to win another contest?
Contests make it so easy to lose sight of the end goal – which is publication.
Thanks Lori!
Don't forget to keep following the blog tour! Check out this link for all the information: http://booktrib.com/blog-tour-
Giveaway: The awesome team at Media Muscle is allowing me to giveaway 1 copy of A Perfect Storm to a lucky reader! Tell me what you love the most about romantic suspense and high-octane heroes and you'll be entered to win!
Open in the US and Canada, a winner will be randomly selected on Friday April 20th. So leave a comment and include your email so I can forward your information to Media Muscle!
My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin Book Trailer
Available June 2012 From Harlequin Historical - I CANNOT wait to read this one!
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