feaure: jen lancaster

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Back in 2011 and 2012, I wrote about book signings held by Jen Lancaster (twice), Meg Cabot, and Ally Carter for a now-defunct site. Since those posts are no longer available, I'm sharing them here. Below is the second one about Jen Lancaster visiting the Seattle area. It first appeared June 2012.

When an author with the popularity of Jen Lancaster comes to town, Third Place Books just outside Seattle always moves the book signing to the larger Commons area that features a stage and plenty of seating. Even so, there were only a few empty seats as Lancaster answered questions for nearly an hour before moving on to the book signing portion of the evening.

The ever-amusing Lancaster talked about her pets (of course) and upcoming books amongst other topics like reality TV (she does enjoy Ice Loves Coco) and books by others (Fifty Shades of Grey came up, but she didn't elaborate much). Next out will be The Tao of Martha detailing her attempt to follow the edicts of Martha Stewart. Her struggles to make varied crafts and recipes sounded hilarious, especially as she related the Easter celebration that went so very wrong. Who knew Easter eggs shouldn't be hidden well before the kids arrive on a hot, sunny day! She noted that her next work of fiction will clearly be fiction (unlike If You Were Here which seemed inspired by her own house-hunting adventures) because she realized how distracting it is to read a book that might be the author's real life after reading Bethenny Frankel's Skinnydipping. The next novel should be released in early 2013 and is said to be about high school girls, time travel, and the band White Snake.

feature: ally carter

Back in 2011 and 2012, I wrote about book signings held by Jen Lancaster (twice), Meg Cabot, and Ally Carter for a now-defunct site. Since those posts are no longer available, I'm sharing them here. Below is the one about Ally Carter visiting the Seattle area. It first appeared March 2012.

An overflow crowd turned out this week at Third Place Books just outside of Seattle, WA for Ally Carter's book tour promoting the latest Gallagher Girls book Out of Sight, Out of Time. During the hour-long question and answer session that came before the book signing, Carter answered questions about the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series and gave some writing advice.

In explaining how she got the idea for Gallagher Girls, Carter revealed that it was all because of her misunderstanding about a plot point from the TV show Alias. Carter thought Sydney's sister went to spy school. When she found out that wasn't the case, Carter decided she had to write that story. To make the series as authentic as she could, Carter did plenty of research about the CIA. Carter said she approaches the Gallagher Academy as if it's real and has the classes the girls take involve real training exercises used by the CIA. The audience was thrilled to find out a sixth book that takes Cammie through graduation or death--"whichever comes first!"--is in the works. She also told the captivated group the series will not end without the truth about Cammie's father being revealed. But right now, Carter's working on the third Heist Society book. When creating a new story, she uses a notebook to plot it out. That notebook goes just about everywhere with her; Carter's not even taking a break for the tour though she did leave it at the hotel during the appearance.

In regards to writing advice, Carter said you must give yourself permission to write badly and that she did plenty of it in her early teens. Carter also told would-be authors to write and read as much as possible while not worrying about publication. She said you should read everything, not just the genre you're interested in, in order to learn how words work. When asked what she reads, Carter said The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was one of her earliest inspirations and she now primarily reads young adult books including those by E. Lockhart and Holly Black.

Carter's tour for Out of Sight, Out of Time wrapped up today in Wichita, KS.

feature: meg cabot

This post contains affiliate links.

Back in 2011 and 2012, I wrote about book signings held by Jen Lancaster (twice), Meg Cabot, and Ally Carter for a now-defunct site. Since those posts are no longer available, I'm sharing them here. Below is the one about Meg Cabot visiting the Seattle area. It first appeared July 2011.

After a signing event at the University Village Barnes and Noble in promotion of her new paranormal romance for adults, Overbite, Meg Cabot had a second full day in Seattle. She first appeared on New Day Northwest, a daytime talk show airing on the local NBC affiliate, before heading to the gorgeous Woodmark Hotel for their Words @ The Woodmark author series. While waiting for Cabot in the Great Room of the Woodmark, we enjoyed complimentary hors d'oeuvres while taking in the view of Lake Washington.

Before the event officially got underway, Cabot sat down in the audience and started chatting; she commented that the food was a great touch as none of her other signings had food. She asked a few people questions about things like what grade they would start in the fall and if Seattle is always so cold in the summer (especially when most of the rest of the country is having a heat wave). Then it was time for Cabot to take the microphone to talk about her books, the inspiration behind many of them, and a bit about her personal life. As it turns out, things from her personal life frequently inspire her books whether it be working in a dorm after college (the Heather Wells series) or moving in the 4th grade (the Ally Finkle series).

Given how funny books like the Queen of Babble ones are, it was little surprise that the stories Cabot shared were beyond hysterical—she even cracked herself up, such as when she talked about her brother, the 6’8” bald police officer with tribal tattoos! But probably the best moment came when a man suddenly appeared at the window just as Cabot spoke of the Interview with the Vampire craze that occurred during her tenure as an assistant residence hall director at New York University. As Cabot interrupted herself to interact with the man at the window (who she invited into the room), she joked about his timing (could he be a vampire?) and commented that of course he’s stop to check out a room full of ladies. At the end, Cabot answered everyone’s questions, signed copies of her books, and posed for pictures.

When asked which of her books was her favorite, Cabot responded that she feels the book one is currently working on has to be the favorite otherwise it’d never get finished. She’s currently writing the sequel to Abandon, which will be called Underworld and released next year. Then Cabot shared that she once went to an author signing where the author shared her favorite book, which was one Cabot didn’t like. So Cabot said she would lie to all of us so we didn’t think her stupid for liking a book we hated.

feature: jen lancaster

This post contains affiliate links.

Back in 2011 and 2012, I wrote about book signings held by Jen Lancaster (twice), Meg Cabot, and Ally Carter for a now-defunct site. Since those posts are no longer available, I'm sharing them here. Below is the first one about Jen Lancaster visiting the Seattle area. It first appeared May 2011.

On the last day of the tour for If You Were Here, I had the opportunity to attend Jen Lancaster's reading/signing at Third Place Books just outside of Seattle. Not that it was any surprise, but it turns out Jen Lancaster is just as funny in person as she is on paper.

After reading a hilarious excerpt from If You Were Here, Lancaster took questions from the audience, which was packed in around the stage. She answered every question with the candor one would expect after reading her memoirs. One of the questions was, of course, about how closely Mia and Mac resemble Jen and Fletch. Lancaster stated that one writes a novel when writing a memoir will lead to divorce. But that doesn't mean there won't be any more memoirs; there's at least one more planned (though she's scrapped the plan to write about charity work) as well as two additional novels. The novels will feature the same characters, but in new adventures. As to whether a new novel or memoir will be released next, Lancaster said it all depends on what she's most inspired to write. She said she might even write some YA since she's been enjoying reading that so much, particularly the Blue Bloods series. Lancaster also shared numerous stories from her life such as her obsession with eBay; her cats recently broke all the vases in the china cabinet, so Lancaster declared that more eBay shopping is in order.

After the extensive Q&A, it was time for the signing. We were divided into four groups of people who purchased If You Were Here at Third Place plus a group who bought the book elsewhere. The wait was fairly long for those not in the first group (I was in the third), but well worth it as Lancaster took the time interact briefly with each fan.

feature: allison leotta

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On May 20, Allison Leotta visited The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ for an afternoon tea promoting the latest in her series about prosecutor Anna Curtis. The event began with a more formal question and answer session from the bookstore before Leotta took questions from the audience and then signed copies of A Good Killing (and her previous novels, of course). For those wondering where the title of the new book came from, Leotta reported that it’s from a case where, in reference to the murdered man, people told the cops that he “need[ed] a good killing.”

Given that Leotta shares a profession with her protagonist, readers often wonder how much the author is like her character. Leotta now wishes she had given Anna Curtis red hair to distinguish her a bit more because although they have similar professional lives (she takes the most interesting bits from her own cases), they are different in their personal lives. And in that vein, it took Leotta a while to figure out how the romance world would work for Anna. She also said she’d grown tired of Anna’s love interest from the previous books, so now Anna has met someone new.

Leotta also shared the process of her first book (additional information can be found in my previous interview with her), Law of Attraction. She started writing to help her process the details of the cases she was handling because it was cheaper than therapy. She got the Writing Fiction For Dummies book and spent a year writing followed by another year rewriting after the agent who accepted her query suggested revisions. The agent sold the manuscript to Simon and Schuster, but the Department of Justice had to review it because of Leotta’s job as a federal prosecutor. Fortunately it all worked out and Law of Attraction came out a year later.

Combining a one book per year schedule with family life (she’s a mom of two) means Leotta no longer practices law, but she has maintained her license. With that schedule in mind, Leotta has already turned in book five which has to do with sexual assault on a college campus. She also has an idea for a standalone novel.

feature: friends and lovers by vristen pierce

Today is the release of a steamy novella from Vristen Pierce. Friends and Lovers is the sequel to Pierce's Between Friends which is when Stacy met Evan and Justin. Friends and Lovers finds Stacy returning home after taking a job in London. That means she's back with Evan and Justin, but as it turns out they now want her to pick just one of them. The publisher, Hachette, was kind enough to share an excerpt from this eBook which you can buy pretty much everywhere except Amazon since Amazon is playing hardball with Hachette books right now.


I gave Hank my brightest smile. “I think I’d like a Screaming Orgasm.” Justin definitely brought out my mischievous side and I had to admit I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the way Hank’s eyes narrowed at my audacity. 

Justin wrapped an arm around my waist. “And I think I just may give you one or two before the night’s over.” 

I laughed just as Hank grunted and ambled off to get the drinks. 

Justin chuckled near my ear. “Did you have to order that?” 

“Yes.” I turned around and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “You make me naughty.” 

He gave me a sexy smirk. “Oh, do I?” 

I nodded. 

“Care to prove it?”

feature: excited about...

This month I'm super-excited that Flowers in the Attic premieres Saturday, January 18 at 8pm on Lifetime. Only a few more days! I'm hoping that Lifetime did this version right since the original was a bit of a disappointment. The sequel is already planned, so I'm getting ready to re-read the entire series by V.C. Andrews.

I also just found about about a new service called Grammarly. You can submit your text whether for an academic paper, business writing, or a creative work and it checks for grammar and plagiarism. I use Grammarly to check for plagiarism because even famous people like Shia LaBeouf can't get away with it. It doesn't take long for Grammarly to run its check and I found it to be pretty accurate. Grammarly has different pricing plans, but you can get a free trial for seven days.

Disclosure: I received compensation from Grammarly for this post.

world book night 2013

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Last year I participated in World Book Night with my selected giveaway of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.  I was first introduced to Lahiri’s work in an undergraduate English class.  I adored her short stories and was thrilled when the professor said she was working on a full-length novel.  Well before I started my blog, I was telling people to read her books.  So giving The Namesake to others on World Book Night 2012 was an excellent experience.  Unfortunately my work schedule this time around means I likely won’t be able to participate in World Book Night 2013, but I recommend it for anyone who wants to share a love of reading.  To apply you must be at least 16 years old and live in the United States, the United Kingdom, or Germany.  All the details and application can be found on the World Book Night website.  (The links are for the US site, but the other countries can be accessed through the US site.)

feature: too wicked to wed by cara elliott

Normally I wouldn’t do a feature since I like to review all the books, but this time around I feel a feature is best. In order to participate in the blog tour for Deliciously Sinful by Lilli Feisty, one also had to tour another book on the same day. Cara Elliott’s Too Wicked to Wed sounded interesting enough that I agreed to the double tour. But I truly struggled to get through Too Wicked to Wed. Although I found no fault with the writing in and of itself, I just couldn’t garner any interest in the plot of this historical romance as Alexa just didn’t seem wicked in the slightest bit. The first few chapters indicated nothing special about the protagonist or any other character. I skimmed ahead to see if it would get interesting, but found nothing. Since I didn’t read the entire book, I feel it would be inappropriate to write an actual review.

Here’s the information from the publisher:
"Outspoken and independent, Lady Alexa Bingham enjoys the heady freedom of making all her own decisions, even though the challenges of overseeing her family's country estate are daunting. But when a chance encounter with London's most notorious rake awakens a secret longing for adventure, she accepts her aunt's invitation for a Season in Town...only to find that breaking the rules of the ton has serious consequences.

The Earl of Killingworth uses his rakehell reputation to hide the fact that poverty has forced him to work for a living. As the owner of a gambling den and brothel, Connor has no time for glittering ballrooms or innocent young ladies. But after a reckless wager leaves him with a new business partner, he is forced to take a risky gamble...Will the cards fall in their favor? Alexa and Connor begin to play a dangerous game of intrigue and deception as they seek to outwit a cunning adversary who wants to put them permanently out of business. But if they are not careful, it is the flames of their own fiery attraction that may destroy them."

Review copy provided by the publisher, Forever.