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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Great Books & Fun Things Ahead

I returned from NYC to find page proofs for A Summer in Europe literally waiting for me on my doorstep (!!), so that curtailed my plans to delve into my towering stack of conference novels for a couple of weeks. However, those final edits are safely at Kensington now, and I've been enjoying SEVERAL new novels -- both in print and in ebook form!

Thanks to the lovely Lydia Hirt of Penguin, who gave me a copy of this, I've just begun The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.

The fantabulous Edie Ramer has a brand new sci-fi romance ebook out, Galaxy Girls, which I just downloaded last week and am thoroughly enjoying -- SUCH fun!!!

Our Magical Musings pal, Michelle Diener, has her debut historical fiction novel, In a Treacherous Court, coming out next week, and I'm already midway through this gorgeously written novel. I'm SO glad there will be a Book #2 and a Book #3 in this series... Michelle will be visiting on the 28th to talk about it!

Visiting here on August 2nd is the talented Joan Reeves whose latest ebook romantic comedy, Romeo and Judy Anne, will soon be released. No cover image is available yet, but I can't wait to snap up this book when it's out! (And, for anyone interested in self-publishing, you should read Joan's Sling Words blog.)

I'm also delighted to get to participate in Meredith's Austenesque Extravaganza, which will be coming up August 1st and lasting all month long! I'll be taking part in a Twitter Party on Sunday, August 7th at 3pm Central Time (4pm Eastern), so I'm really looking forward to that.

And, finally, I just got the cover for my second ebook romantic comedy, Double Dipping (yippee!), which will be out at the end of August.

It's the story of opposites colliding when a dedicated second-grade teacher fights the school’s new financial director in order to reinstate a much-beloved autumn festival. But secrets, ambition, attraction and meddling family members complicate matters in their small Midwestern town. The book is part light mystery, part romantic comedy and entirely packed with delectable sweets -- including a step-by-step recipe for making homemade chocolate-cherry ice cream! (I'm sure you're all shocked to learn that I have yet another book that revolves around ice cream, eh? :)

Both this novel and On Any Given Sundae were books I had originally written several years ago and had thoroughly edited (this latest story actually went through a number of incarnations and made it as far as the Harlequin/Silhouette acquisitions board), so I've loved getting to revise these romantic tales and bring them to life at last.

It's also been pretty thrilling to see my SUNDAE book reach new readers and even show up on a few Amazon lists. However, between these two romances and my fall women's fiction book, I can tell you that my 2011 publishing plate is now full! I'd always respected authors who managed to release multiple books in one year, but this was my first experience doing it myself and, wow, has it been busy...

Here's wishing you all a relaxing week ahead as we finish out July and head into August! What have you all been reading lately?

9 comments:

Edie Ramer said...

Thanks for the shout out! I'm so glad you're enjoying Galaxy Girls.

Squeee! on being on the lists. I'm not surprised. It was so well written, with terrific characters, and just a fun and easy book to read. The kind that leaves you smiling.

I'm eager to read Double Dipping now. Hurry and get it out so I can add it to my list.

I'm reading several books, but the one I plan to finish tonight or tomorrow is A Knight in Central Park by Theresa Ragan.

I already read In a Treacherous Court by Michelle, but I'm still eager to read it again. I LOVED it. That's a book that will be on a lot of lists, too.

Pamala Knight said...

Hello busy bee! Very happy to hear that you're managing your publishing schedule so well and that we, your avid readers, will reap the benefits.

Also, thank you for the book recommendations. I didn't get to nearly as many signings or spotlights as I'd hoped in NYC, so it's good to hear about new books.

Hope to see you soon. *hugs*

Marilyn Brant said...

Edie, Galaxy Girls is a pleasure to read! I already tend to love your heroes, but Hawk is an especially cool one ;). And, since I'm a Gilmore Girls fan, it's been so fun seeing the elements that connect these stories. Plus, your humor is awesome!!

Pamala, hello!! I actually only made it to one publisher-hosted signing (and that was to say hi to Laura Moore and Barbara Samuel O'Neal, who were conveniently sitting next to each other!), but I still managed to come home with dozens of new books. Even without trying, conference is like that... I'll email you ;).

Pamela Cayne said...

Wow--some great books to check out, plus more Marilyn to look forward to. Yaaa!!! (And chocolate-cherry ice cream? Double yaaa!!!)

I'm currently reading a biography on Billy the Kid. As far as I'm concerned, western romances (and paranormals and on and on) should be right up there with the rest of them!

Robin said...

I love your cover for Double Dipping, Marilyn, and can't wait to read it! I'm in awe of how much you've accomplished - congrats! I'm currently reading A Hundred Words for Hate by Thomas Sniegoski.

Hope you have a great week!

Marilyn Brant said...

Thanks, Pamela! And, ooooh, that Billy the Kid book sounds pretty interesting! Is this for novel research, perhaps?? I think he'd be a very cool character to have show up in a Western...

Robin, thank you ;). I think all of us deserve lots of credit for continuing to write while, also, holding jobs or dealing with husbands/families/pets, etc. It's amazing that we've learned to juggle so much in addition to trying to understand this very unusual industry!

Caryn Caldwell said...

Good job on finishing your page proofs, and thanks for the book recommendations. Those look wonderful.

Marilyn Brant said...

Thanks so much, Caryn!! And HUGE congrats on your great agent news! :)

Michelle Diener said...

Thank you for the shout out and the compliments, Marilyn. I'm looking forward to visiting on your blog later my time today, which is tomorrow for you. :)