What Are You Reading?

     I love this question, especially if I’m nose deep in a book in a public place. It’s an excellent opportunity to share a great author/great story with someone and I’m so excited I can share this with you…I found a new author and I love when that happens! Not only did I find her, but she made me laugh out loud and you know what that means….I’m going to have to go through her backlist and get everything. I love an author who can make me laugh out loud!

     Who is it, you ask? Courtney Milan. I’ve just finished reading The Governess Affair and I loved it. I like her voice, her style and yes, I’m gushing but I love finding a new author!

     What else am I reading (because of course you know that one book at a time just won’t do for me)? Victoria Alexander’s Let It Be Love. I found the book at Dog Eared Pages and realized I had somehow missed it (I know!?!?!  How could that have happened!?!?!?). And Jennifer Ashley’s Penelope and Prince Charming (this is the book I carry in my purse and break out whenever I have a minute). Calista Fox’s Devil in Texas while I’m on the treadmill (which is perfect for the treadmill because it’s fast paced and sexy as all get out!).

           

     What’s next? I have piles and piles of books to be read (not to mention what’s on my Kindle and what I’m currently writing), but I think I’m going to delve into K.T. Roberts’ The Last Witness or Kieran Kramer’s Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage (both of which I found at Dog-Eared Pages).

           

     So who else should I be reading? Any suggestions?

     

As always, happy reading!

Marie

Lunch With An Author

           Remember that game “If you could meet someone famous, living or dead, who would it be”? Well, if you’ve read this blog before, you know I love to meet authors (okay, I’ll make exceptions for several actors: Hugh Jackman, Antonio Banderas, Tom Selleck, Sam Elliot and Mark Harmon. Oh my! Be still my heart)). And if I could have lunch with them? Oh my gosh! How cool would that be?

            Who am I kidding? I’m such a fan girl. I’d probably gush all over them (yes, there is precedence for that statement as I have gushed over a favorite author) and I probably wouldn’t be able to eat a bite (hey, that might be the secret to weight loss….dine with an author you idolize).

            So who would I choose? I’ve met many authors and as a group, they are warm, generous, sweet and lovely people. Victoria Alexander? Wonderful woman and I did have the opportunity to meet her. Kathryne Kennedy and Jennifer Ashley? I have the honor of knowing them both and lovelier people you won’t find.  Jodi Thomas? Yes, another gracious and kind author (who, surprisingly did not run from me when I blurted out “I love you”. Of course, she knew I was talking about her writing….at least, I hope she knew that). I would love to meet Tessa Dare because I love her witty, so satisfying novels.

            Oh, wait! While not a romance author, I would love to meet…and maybe have lunch with….or at least sit at the same table with Stephen King. I could tell him how very badly he scared me when I was fourteen and how much I’ve loved being terrified by him ever since. That wouldn’t be gushing, would it?

            So, who would you choose?

As always, happy reading!

Marie

Can I Bear to Part with this Book?

I’ve written before about my growing To Be Read pile overtaking my house, and although I am making a positive dent in those piles, I’ve run into another problem. What to do with the books that I've read and loved? Do I pass them along to someone who I think might like to read that particular story? Do I bag them up and donate them to Goodwill or another worthy organization? And what about previously loved book consignment shops where you build credit toward new purchases?

             

More importantly, how do I choose which to give away?

           

Oh, the heartbreak of making these decisions, but I have no choice. My shelves are full and I have no more room (and we’re not even going to mention the looks I get from my husband). I will admit, my bookshelves contain books that I bought many, many years ago. 

Some are autographed by the author. Those are definitely keepers because who can bear to part with Shanna or Flame and the Flower or Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen Woodiwiss? Or my favorite Bertrice Small, The Kadin, even though it’s been taped and glued and dog-eared within an inch of its life? The works of Victoria Alexander and Jodi Thomas gracing my shelves? I don’t think I could bear to part with them either. And my new favorite authors like Kathryne Kennedy and Jennifer Ashley?

             

How do you choose? And what do you do?

Happy Reading!

Marie