doreenknowsit all

Charming Dave is out!

2012-01-24T13:18:00.002-05:00

CHARMING DAVE is out now, both in print and as an e-book! You can get it from amazon.com or from thewildrosepress.com.

Here's the back cover blurb: "Ainslie Logan has left her life as a trophy-wife behind and moved her family up north to escape the scandal created by her ex-husband. Lacking work experience but rich in determination she lands a job at the local sports bar, The End Zone. Dave Mason, principal of the town's high school, frequents The End Zone and is not a fan of the clumsy new waitress. Things change when he finds himself enamored by a woman who will stop at nothing to protect her children. Now Dave has to use all his charms to convince Ainslie and her children that happy endings do exist and that it's safe to love again."

Check it out

New website is up!

2011-07-18T13:26:00.001-04:00

Check out my new website! Let me know what you think!

Charming Dave

2011-05-25T13:33:00.002-04:00

Check out my cover for Charming Dave! I love it!

Book Series

2011-05-10T14:31:00.002-04:00

Several authors I love, who write long term series, have had releases recently. The books are released in hard cover and I'm first in line to buy the books and drop everything to read them. Sometimes they disappoint, sometimes they're awesome. Sometimes they are mind numblingly predictable, but sometimes the author blows you out of the water and breathes new life into the series. So here are some reviews of series I follow.

Suzanne Brockmann's Breaking the Rules: I never really liked Izzy Zanella and couldn't understand the appeal of Eden Gillman so I didn't expect to like the book, but I liked the romance, both Eden and Izzy's and Danny and Jennilyn's. She lost me with taking on one too many social issues. I'm in line with her politics, so her progressive views match mine and I don't get upset. But in this one she dealt with juvenile diabetes, bullying, gay bashing and hyper-judgmental parents, and sex slave trafficking. The Gillman family is well and truly fucked up and I thought the resolution of all their issues came way too easy.

JR Ward's Lover Unleashed: This was not a romance about the supposed main couple, Payne and Manny. It was a second book about Vishous and his hang ups and the two people who've enabled his disfunctions, his mate Jane and his best friend Butch. Given that I really don't like Vishous, I was the book was so much about him. And, after the last book bringing more of Tohr's past with an eye to his future, I was looking for more Tohr. There was none, so I kinda flew through it and really didn't like it that much. I am excited about the next book, because Tohr is the hero (and my favorite of the brotherhood). She's been so close-lipped about his heroine, I'm on the edge of my seat for the book.

Charlaine Harris' Dead Reckoning: Trouble for Sookie's love life? Been there, done that. This time the end leaves more questions than it answers and I'm definitely tuning in for the next book.

SEP's Call Me Irresistible: A gem with a strong heroine and lots of favorite characters from past Wynette, Texas books. I'd love it if the Denton family could visit Wynette. I'd love me some more Bobby Tom and Gracie.

I have yet to read Rachel Gibson's newest in her Chinook hockey series and the latest JD Robb. And even though the last few Stephanie Plum books have been eh?, I'm still all set to get the next one the day it comes out. I just can't quit her.

Charming Dave blurb

2011-02-10T12:42:00.001-05:00

Ainslie Logan is the worst waitress in the world. A displaced, former trophy wife from the south, she's barely supporting herself and her three children working as a waitress in a popular sports bar north of Boston. Dave Mason is a high school principal who spends a lot of time in that local watering hole.

Due to Ainslie's lack of skill, Dave’s more than once ended up wearing his meal instead of eating it. She’s not his favorite person; she thinks he's a stuck-up jerk with an attitude. When her kids come to his attention during some bullying problems, he changes his opinion pretty quickly when he sees what a great mom she is.

Dave has been waiting for the one woman he can fall in love with and that woman is Ainslie. Ainslie is cautious, due to her rat fink, stinker ,jailbird of an ex-husband. She also has her children to consider, who are having problems adjusting. So while she’s very attracted to Dave, she fights falling in love with him.

When Dave pulls out all the stops to woo and win over Ainslie (and her kids) in a way that would make Cinderella swoon, she learns that yes, she can love again.

Concert Tonight!

2011-02-04T12:22:00.002-05:00

The Finger Lakes Women's Chorale will present an eclectic program entitled "Journeys."
Come on down to the Community School of Arts and check us out. 8 PM in the third floor performance space!

Authors I Love

2011-02-03T13:54:00.002-05:00

Let's talk about favorite authors. I'll start this off with Tami Hoag.

I fell in love with the romantic comedies she wrote for Bantam's Loveswept line. I glommed every single one of them I could find. Quirky, yet real characters, fun settings and I loved the way they all shared the same universe.

When she started moving into romantic suspense and single titles, she still drew from the Loveswept universe. I followed her as she moved away from romance into straight suspense and I've never looked back. I don't normally read suspense but I make an exception for Tami Hoag. Her latest book is one of the best I've ever read and I hope she writes more stories in this 80's setting.

Call Me Irresistable

2011-01-17T13:36:00.002-05:00

The latest book from the amazing Susan Elizabeth Phillips hits the shelves tomorrow! I can't wait! I loved Teddy Beaudine in Lady Be Good and love how she's tying in characters from Glitter Baby and First Lady into the Fancy Pants universe.

My favorite of SEP's books is Heaven, Texas. Bobby Tom and Gracie are such good characters and the book is a textbook on "show, don't tell." Must read for any author! I also love her geek heroes, like Dex from Lady Be Good and Yank from Hot Shot.

What's your favorite SEP?

Quote of the Day

2011-01-14T07:54:00.001-05:00

"In real estate, it's location, location, location. In writing, it's diction, diction, diction." Paul Raymond Martin

Quote of the Day

2011-01-13T08:42:00.001-05:00

"In writing (as in most endeavors) sweat rules over inspiration." Paul Raymond Martin

Quote of the Day

2011-01-12T08:46:00.002-05:00

"There are worse crimes than burning books. Oneof them is not reading them." Joseph Brodsky

Quote of the Day

2011-01-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

‎"The word 'fail,' of course, ceases to apply if we know that whether we try something new or practice something old, we are merely gaining information. It's pretty hard to look for information when we dress up ahead of time in our black j...udge's robes and horn-rimmed spectacles. 'Caught you, you miserable failure,' is about all we can say in such garb. But when you pencil and pad in hand and dress for a reporter's job, we can go for 'Just the facts, ma'am . . .' 'Just clean simple facts, if you don't mind, sir.' No slanting or sitting in judgement or you're fired - on the spot. No editorials - leave that to the editor. We don't want your opinions, just straight reporting." Eloise Ristad

Quote of the Day

2011-01-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

"Many cultures believed the letters of their alphabets were far more than just symbols for communication, recording transactions, or recalling history. They believed letters were powerful magical symbols that could could be used to cast spells and predict the future." Christopher Vogler

Quote of the Day

2011-01-07T07:29:00.001-05:00

"The ordinary world is the place to state the theme of your story. What is the story really about? If you had to boil down its essence to a single word or phrase, what would it be? What single idea or quality is it about? Love? Trust? Betrayal? Vanity? Prejudice? Greed? Madness? Ambition? Friendship? What are you trying to say?" Christopher Vogler

Quote of the Day

2011-01-06T07:37:00.002-05:00

"I would hate for somebody to think of humor or writing humor as a technical matter. Grammar is technique, a sense of rhythm is a technique and looking words up in the dictionary to learn what they mean is a technique. You can't be funny unless you know exactly what you are trying to say." Roy Blount Jr.

Books

2011-01-05T13:16:00.002-05:00

What book coming out soon are you looking forward to? I can't wait for SEP's Call Me Irresistible, Suz Brockmann's Breaking the Rules, Tami Hoag's Secrets to the Grave, JR Ward's Lover Unleashed and Susan Andersen's upcoming release. Does Michele Albert have a book coming out this year?

Quote of the Day

2011-01-04T07:21:00.000-05:00

"You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think." Dorothy Parker

Quote of the Day

2011-01-03T12:24:00.001-05:00

"Begin with an individual, and before you know it you have created a type; begin with a type and you find that you have created - nothing." F. Scott Fitzgerald

Writing quote of the day

2011-01-02T07:34:00.001-05:00

"Revision is never finished, but at some point you have to let it be, and send it out to market." Paul Raymond Martin

Quote of the Day

2011-01-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

I found this cute book by Paul Raymond Martin called The Writer's Little Instruction Book. It has all these little aphorisms about writing. I'll be posting one a day, starting today. Happy New Year!

"Writing well is tedious.
Having written well is joyful." Paul Raymond Martin.

Up coming events

2010-12-07T14:18:00.000-05:00

I'll be at a book signing/concert at the Elmira Barnes and Noble, Saturday 12/11/10! Be there and hear the Finger Lakes Women's Chorale singing excerpts from our Many Moods of Christmas concert, plus pick up a copy of both Mike's Best Bet and What Ian Wants! I'll be signing with Lisa Hill (Loving Purity) and Carol Henry (The Amazon Connection). We'll also have a couple of baskets to raffle, and they alone are worth the trip!

In other news, Charming Dave, the third in my At The End Zone series, is now in the hands of my editor!

What Ian Wants, Romantic Times review

2010-09-28T14:15:00.000-04:00

Ian earned four stars from Romantic Times Book Club! I'm so excited!

Four stars! "This book has a great storyline, believable characters and a love story that takes its time to develop. Visually stimulating scenes allow the reader to feel and see everything that takes place. The author gives readers a chance to grow with the characters and experience first hand."

2010-09-21T09:21:00.000-04:00

Today is the International Day for Peace. Do something to make the world a better place.

Charming Dave

2010-09-19T18:54:00.000-04:00

Yes! Finally I can announce that the third book in the At The End Zone series, Charming Dave, is done! At least I have a complete first draft. Now come the revisions. I've got to get rid of 45 to 55 pages. Piece of cake, right?

The title, Charming Dave, is a new title. The working title was Dealing With Dave, but Dave ended up being too charming and wonderful.

Don't forget that Mike's Best Bet and What Ian Wants, books one and two of the series, are still available from Amazon and from thewildrosepress.com. There's also a free read up at The Wild Rose Press, with characters from the series, that you don't want to miss, called Bobby's Girl. It makes more sense after What Ian Wants.

So excited about Charming Dave!

Book Signing

2010-08-16T06:53:00.000-04:00

Booksigning on Friday the 20th at the Barnes and Noble in Greece, NY, 7 PM!

I'll be signing both Mike's Best Bet and What Ian Wants!

Free read is up!

2010-08-10T07:18:00.000-04:00

"Bobby's Girl" a short story set in The End Zone, is up at thewildrosepress.com. Check it out!

Toni Blake's Destiny series

2010-08-03T08:35:00.000-04:00

Back and feverishly finishing Some Like It Lukewarm. I'd rather be finishing Dealing With Dave, which is almost done!

Found a new to me author to love - Toni Blake and her Destiny series. Even though Destiny sounds like it would be a paranormal romance, it's actually a small town set, contemporary romance. According to some of the agents I heard speak, this is the kind of series they're looking to represent. Hmmmm. Who else has a series that's contemporary and set in a small town?

Good bye RWA!

2010-07-31T17:22:00.000-04:00

So, this is the last night of RWA. I went to every agent/editor panel I could find. I met some new friends and saw some familiar faces. I was happily surprised to run into Magdalen Braden and Tracy St. Hillaire, both STAR members. I've got my fingers crossed for Terri Walsh to get her RITA!

The end of the conference is always bittersweet. I've got tons of ideas running around in my head, including the basics of my next book, No Hope in Hell, featuring Hope Monahan from At The End Zone. It'll be a stand alone, though, not an official part of the series. I'm very excited about it. A big part of it will be Hope's Facebook page and blog.

I'm bringing home tons of promo ideas from the goody room to share with my STAR buddies!

I'll first finish my Dave, but that'll have too wait until I've got the second Star Search script written. I'm not excited about that at all. But it has to be done. It would be nice if I actually got paid to write the script, but that's not going to happen anytime soon. I'll have a week to write it if I write every free minute I have.

But, I can't wait to share everything I've learned here with the rest of you!

My big honkin' RWA report

2010-07-30T19:37:00.000-04:00

As always, RWA National is an exercise in balancing being a professional writer and being a fangurl. I have done very well, except when I went through Suzanne Brockmann's line at the Literacy signing and went all fangurl on her.

I've only taken workshops on branding, selling to and working with editors and agents and leadership at the National level. Frankly, being active at the National level is less work than working for STAR.

But, I've got lots of information for Carol Henry about changes in the way we run things. This year is the continuation of the work we began last year.

I've been looking out for my STAR and critique group buds. I've got a list of agents for Lisa.

I saw in person some people I've known online, which has been the biggest thrill. I'm looking at you, Nancy O!

I did get to swim, but the water was too warm to work out in and there were too many kids, even in lap pool. Also, not enough chlorine. There were kids in diapers in that pool. Ummm, yuck.

Met some Wild Rose Press authors at breakfast today and then with some the E-Span authors at a lovely tea. E-Span is a special interest chapter for writers who are published digitally or with small presses. I had a plan about what to do about Wild Rose now wanting shorter stories and going to Print on Demand. Dave is a big book. Even though Rhonda said she'd contract it, she may no because it's long. So, I'm worried, and making plans A, B and C. I've six books in this At The End Zone series.

All in all, I'm having a great time and learning a lot and making some good contacts. The executive director of RWA knows me without looking at my name tag. That's an accomplishment!

The RWA staff has done an awesome job, especially since they had to move the conference at the last minute.

Smoochies to all!

What Ian Wants, out now! Here's an excerpt!

2010-07-25T17:23:00.001-04:00

He wore his eagerness to please like a cub
scout wore his first merit badge. Her heart melted a
little more. “Coffee sounds good, but don’t worry
about it.” She reached in her purse. “I can get it.”
“No, I’ll get it. I insist.” He came from around
the table and glommed onto her elbow, then pushed
her into a seat. “Your feet must be aching. Just rest
a second, and I’ll be right back.”
Stunned, Gina had no choice but to do as he
said. Curious about the array of blue books, she
picked one up, one he had already graded. It was all
in French. The questions, the answers, his red pen
comments, all in French.
She couldn’t understand a single word. She felt
like a total doofus.
“Don’t mind those. I’ll gather them up and put
them away.” He placed the large coffee in front of
her, then moved into the booth and started to pick
up the blue books. “I feel like I’m constantly grading
papers. If I don’t keep up, they bury me.” Stuffing
the papers into the open briefcase at his side, Ian
dropped the lid. It landed with a soft thud. He looked
at her, his eyes hopeful. “I don’t know how you take
your coffee, so I brought both cream and sugar.”
Jamming his hands in his pockets, he pulled out
enough packets of sugar to put her in a coma, as well
as a handful of creamers.
She reached for a creamer. “Just cream,
thanks.” It made a hissing sound as she pulled the
wrapper off the top. “What’s up?”
Ian looked away for a moment, pulled the
glasses off his face and cleaned them with a paper
napkin. “There’s no graceful way to ask this.” He
studied his glasses before slipping them back on his
face.
“Why don’t you just spit it out?”
“Right, then.” He nodded. “I need you to marry
me.”

Check it out!

2010-05-31T14:28:00.000-04:00

Booksigning on Saturday, June 5, 2 to 4 PM at the Barnes and Noble in Ithaca! It's a festival of romance with yours truly and five other authors, all from upstate NY!

Book Signing

2010-05-14T18:40:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow come join me and two of my buddies at a book signing in Vestal at the Barnes and Noble, from 2 to 4. I'm very excited! It's my first book signing. I'll be signing Mike's Best Bet, Carol Henry will be signing her romantic suspense The Amazon Connection and Lisa Hill will be signing her historical novel set in the Regency, Loving Purity.

2010-04-26T18:38:00.000-04:00

The Finger Lakes Women's Chorale, directed by moi, will present a concert entitled "A Woman's Life and Loves" at All Saints Church in Lansing, NY, 4:00 PM, on May 2, 2010. All Saints is located on 347 Ridge Road, Lansing, 14882.

reviews

2010-04-23T08:42:00.000-04:00

Mike's Best Bet got 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times Book Club! I couldn't see it online, so I called to see why I couldn't log in, and the lovely person on the phone at RT read the review to me. She was very nice!

Anyway, I'm every excited!

Why Woodiwiss' Shanna is important

2010-04-05T09:21:00.000-04:00

Kathleen Woodiwiss' book Shanna is a book which was ahead of its time when it was written. I won't lie, I have re-read Shanna at least once a year since I first found it in 1978.

Romance to that point was full of helpless heroines who were often too stupid to live, and who were the most beautiful, desireable, talented and pure women in the world.

Not Shanna. She was thoroughly a total and unapologetic brat. She has to get past her father's rule to marry or else. She hasn't found a man who is good enough for her, so she goes to the death row of a prison to pick a man, clean him up, marry him and then send him back to face the hangman, all to spite her father who has given her everything she ever wanted. The father is an honest man who only wants some grandchildren. I suppose it would be better if he could birth those grandchildren himself or adopt a couple, but his added sin is to see his daughter settled, married, and most important, happy with her husband as he was happy with her mother. He falls into the category of gruff but loveable parent.

Too bad for her plans that the man her servant chooses cleans up really well - and I do mean REALLY well. The marriage happens but she reneges on the one promise she made to the man, Ruark (I pronounce it Rourke nor Roo-ark, but that's me, to spend one night together as husband and wife. He goes back to gaol and she goes to her father's island in the Caribbean as a widow.

Shanna goes around being one of those totally mean girls who have the best clothes, best father, best everything. Everyone dotes on her, gives her everything she could ever desire, for no other than the fact that she is who she is by birth and not really a nice person.

Then her life gets tough. Ruark didn't meet his appointment with the hangman and ends up an endentured servant on Shanna's dad's island. Once there, he amazes and astounds everyone he meets because he can a) read, b) is a horse whisperer as well as an engineer and c) goes around all day in cut off shorts and no shirt. He is shirtless, tan and buff and sets all the girls hearts a-pumping and their girls parts singing "zing!" He is a perfect man and seriously doesn't deserve Shanna. Did I mention he was seriously hot?

That changes when he rescues her practically single handed by pirates on a nearby island. In the getaway, he saves two of the island's non-pirate inhabitants, destroys the pirate island, and sails the getaway ship by himself with a wood splinter the size of a baseball bat stuck though his thigh.

They survive and Shanna finally sees him as a worthy man and falls in love with him. I kinda wish he had made her grovel, but the perfect man does't make the bratty heroines like Shanna grovel.

There's lots of other stuff that happens on the island, like a murder for which Ruark is framed, an extremely unappealing suitor for Shanna's (remember, everyone thinks she's a widow still and not married to Ruark) and some petty embezzling by another unappealing character. The book is pretty full of action.

There's a happy ending and I'm happy to say Shanna fell in love with Ruark before she finds out that he and his family are richer than the King of England.

To see what I mean compare this book to one of Woodiwiss' earlier books, The Flame and the Flower. The hero (Brandon) is cruel and the heroine (Heather) is vicimized first by her family, then by her guardian, who almost rapes her, to the hero who DOES rape her, the hero's former fiancee who wrote the book about bitchy. The heroine does grow a backbone, the hero shapes up, though never enough for my taste (I hate Brandon Birmingham!) and the mean girl gets betrayed by the man who wants to have Heather for his own. Of course, this guy is completely unappealing, physically and morally, and only wants to be taken seriously as a dress designer. Tim Gunn would be very concerned.

If you haven't read either book, I recommend you youngsters read both books to see where we were and how Woodiwiss pointed us to the future, May she rest in peace.

dka

Contemporary romances are coming back!

2010-03-31T18:58:00.000-04:00

I am excited about the trend to bring the single title contemporary back! The love story without the paranormal/sci-fi/ or suspense! Single title contemporary romance is what I want to read and what I write.

2010-03-26T13:47:00.000-04:00

Mike's Best Bet, out today at Amazon.com and at thewildrosepress.com!

It's been a long haul, getting my boy Mike out there, but it just proves that you should never give up on your dreams!

Carpe diem!

2010-03-25T14:48:00.000-04:00

Mike's Best Bet is out tomorrow, March 26! It's available at Amazon! Woo Hoo!

Mike's here!

2010-03-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

I just got the news that Mike's Best Bet is available for pre-order (an early bird special!) on the Wild Rose Press store. It will be available to order at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, Baker and Taylor, Barnes and Noble, and Ingram Book company on March 26, 2010!!!!

Yay! Thanks to everybody who helped me get Mike to this point! It's been a long time. But it's true, don't ever give up on your dreams.

My journey as a writer began when I was a little girl, but becoming a singer and conductor took a lot of love and work. Then, in 1993, Eberhard took a teaching job at the Universitaet in Trier, Germany. We were there for a year and a half, pre-Amazon.com time. I ran out of things to read, so I wrote stories for myself. So instead of going for a Doctor of Music, I got to work writing romance, my first reading love.

So, here's Mike!

Random baseball post

2009-10-29T08:27:00.000-04:00

Go Phillies!

It is no coincidence that I accompanied my daughter's 8th grade class to New York in 2004 and that we visited Yankee Stadium.

Where I placed a small, teeny tiny curse.

And look who won the World Series in 2004. The BoSox baby!

I rest my case.

I hate the Yankees.

Go Phillies!

Cantor Workshop October 17, 2009

2009-09-10T14:32:00.000-04:00

So, here's what you need to know about Goal, Motivation and Conflict for Singers!

Based on Debra Dixon's book, GMC: Goal, Moivation and Conflict, I've adapted these tools so that singers can use them to bring more emotion and immediacy to their work. It's very easy! All you have to do is remember to express every aspect as an action verb.

Let's take Psalm 51. What is the singer's goal? In other words, what does he want? He wants to confess his sins and receive forgiveness. What's his motivation? In other words, why does he want to confess and be forgiven? He wants those things so he can feel once again God's favor. What's his conflict? Again, what's getting in his way? He is fighting against his own ability to admit his guilt and accept God's forgiveness. But you might have a different idea about any of those three questions. The main thing is to always express things as an action. Turn "to be happy" into "to cheer myself up." You get the drift.

Please let me know if you have questions! I hope to see you on 10/17!

A release date!

2009-07-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

I am thrilled to let you know that I have a release date for Mike's Best Bet! Set your calendars to April 30, 2010!

Also, for those of you in the Ithaca area, check out this year's Star Search presentations, The Quest For the Onion of Doom, Friday evening, August 14, and the new show CSI: Macbeth: LMNOP, Friday evening, August 28. Curtain times for both shows in 7:30. Admission is free, unless you want to make a donation! Come on out and support the kids!

For those of you who don't know what Star Search is, it's a musical theater camp for teens (10 to 16). We do two shows, for which I write the scripts. The idea for the class is that we strengthen you weaknesses and challenge your strengths. Each camper must sing, dance and act, whether they're good at it or not. We've been doing this since 1988 and have had a lot of success. Some parents have told us the camp was life changing for their kids!

2009-05-09T16:31:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

This is the first year both my girls will be out of town, but I'm not unhappy about that. They are off being awesome! I have the best two girls any mother could wish for, and I am so very proud of them.

Happy day to all you moms out there! I hope you have a great day!

Surprised By Joy

2009-04-13T18:25:00.000-04:00

Let me take my writer hat off and put my conductor hat on. My fabulous group, The Finger Lakes Women's Chorale, will present a concert entitled "Surprised By Joy" on Sunday, May 3, 4:00 PM at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Ithaca. We will be accompanied by the amazing Christopher Morgan Loy, Glenn McClure and Michael Wellen. The program is as follows: This is the Day (Gerald T. Smith) "Kyrie" from Saint Francis in the Americas A Caribbean Mass (Glenn McClure), "Gloria" from the Mass for Bishop Clark (Dominick DiOrio), In the Beginning (Imant Raminsh), Salmo 150 (Ernani Aguiar), Alleluia (Joseph Gregorio), The Beatitudes (Damijan Mocnik), Dancing (Scott Tucker), "Creo en Dios" from Misa Pequena (Francisco Nunez), Festival Sanctus (John Leavitt), "The Lord's Prayer" from Bethesda Evensong (Gwyneth Walker), Agnus Dei (Sonja Poorman) and Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down (Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory).

Hope to see you there!

Mike's Best Bet

2009-04-05T15:58:00.000-04:00

Yay! I got the galleys proofed and soon we'll have a release date for my first book, Mike's Best Bet, coming soon from the Wild Rose Press! This is the first book in my At The End Zone series.

Here's an excerpt:

He took his hands out of his pockets and held one out to her. “Dance with me.”
She shouldn’t, she really shouldn’t, but she made the mistake of looking into Mike’s green flecked eyes. They were so hot, they practically scorched her. Oh boy was she a goner. She put her champagne down, put her hand into his, and followed him onto the dance floor.
He put his hands on her hips and pulled her in close to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and melted against him while the band played Duke Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss”.
Mike moved with all the elegance and grace of a natural athlete. The band’s alto sax lovingly crooned a hot melody that seemed made just for them. Andi sighed and lost herself in the moment.
It shouldn’t feel so good to be held by this man, but it did. He felt warm and solid and safe. Only traces of his after shave lingered, so her nose caught elusive wisps of wood and spice. His thumbs rubbed up and down on her hips, which made her shiver. He didn’t know the song, but hummed along anyway, off-key. She couldn’t remember when she last had heard more beautiful music.
The music ended. For a long moment they remained locked against each other, unaware of the applause that replaced the music. She looked up at him, then away. She didn’t want him to see more than she was ready to show him.

I will be back soon with a release date and info!

When good authors have crazy message boards

2009-01-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

There are many authors who have message boards where they can interact with their readers. Upfront this looks and sounds like a good idea. It has its pitfalls. Let me elaborate.

Cliques arise and new posters who disagree with the point of view of the ruling clique are ostracized. A case in point: I once posted an opinion on an author's board and it was not widely popular. The in crowd disagreed with me, but did they disagree with me up front? No, they started a new post, special for them, quoting and belittling my opinion and talking about how wrong I was. It was cowardly on their part and made me revise my opinion of the author as a person and her moderators (who of course were in the clique). I won't post there again. Will I buy her books? While she keeps on writing stories I want to read, and not stories the clique demand.

Which brings me to my second point, when an author changes the direction a book series is going in because the posters on her message board demand it. I've seen an author change rules of her world to accomodate what her posters want to see. It sucks, to be blunt. Most of the readers out there are off line - how are they going to keep up? Probably they won't and will stop buying the books, especially if the author makes the leap to hardcover.

My last point ties into the one above. Special stories that are only available on the website. Many times these stories contain content that's going to be germane in the next book and if you're not in the loop, you're really confused. And that's just bad business.

Doreen

The book I forgot!

2009-01-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

Of course I forgot a book to my fave list. I'm known far and wide for my awesome forgetting skillz. Anyway, the book that should be on everyone's list is Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss (RIP). The heroine is the one with the ego and the power in the relationship. The hero is never hurtful to her in the least and is pretty much perfect. When she finally wakes up and gets over her snobbery, I want to cheer. Certainly for the time in which the book was written, the 70s, this was quite a refreshing change over the so-called bodice rippers. Over the years Woodiwiss' writing style became obsolete, but she was a ground breaker in those early days of the genre. Comparisons between Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers are inevitable and I am solidly on Team Woodiwiss. Rogers' books always felt, to me at least, like a man wrote them. Your mileage may vary, so let me know how you feel about that!

Doreen

2009-01-07T16:23:00.000-05:00

Doreen’s Top Ten Romances and Why

As this is a new column, I thought I’d kick it off with a topic everyone has an opinion about: what are your favorite books and why?
Brief aside – this column is open to anyone! Please feel free to submit a question and some commentary designed to start some discussion and away we’ll go!
So, without further ado, here is my list!
Through a Dark Mist, by Marsha Canham. This is my all time favorite romance. It is a medieval and chock full of authentic period detail. Canham’s prose is dense and rich with detail, but still thoroughly readable. I’ve heard described as too bloodthirsty, but to me, the vigor of the detail of her battle scenes are what propel you so forcefully into her story. And what a story! Her plot is full of twists and always plausible. She does some fun things with point of view, starting the book in the heroine’s pov, telling the rest of the entire book as a flashback, bringing the story to the same scene, only now told from the hero’s pov. Her dialogue is magic, the romance and attraction yummy. I do a re-read of this book every year and find something new to love every time.
Dreaming of You, by Lisa Kleypas. I’ve seen this described as the most perfect romance ever written and it deserves the praise. A historical set in the regency period, neither the hero nor the heroine are from the nobility. Both characters have achieved some sort of notoriety, the hero as the owner of the most successful gaming club in England and the heroine as the author of a wildly popular novel. This story has some of the most romantic dialogue I’ve ever read. There’s really not much in the way of plot, which might be a fault for some, but not for me in this case, because the romance is so amazingly written.
I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips and while I love all her work, Heaven, Texas has to be her best. Her characters are amazing and incredibly lovable. The secondary romance between the hero’s mother and former bad-boy made good is one of the most sparkling aspects of this multi-faceted book. The dialogue is perfect. The re-telling of the Cinderella story is still up-to-date, even though it was written over a decade ago. This is a textbook case of show don’t tell. It should be required reading for all writers, I don’t care what your genre is.
Anyone who talks to me about books for more than five minutes knows that I worship at the altar of Suzanne Brockmann. There have been books I’ve liked better than others, obviously, but they’ve all got special places on my keeper shelves. Her recent books are moving beyond romance and while I’m good with that not a whole lot of readers are. So, I’ll go with my first Brockmann, Prince Joe. It has a delicious romance, packs in a heck of a lot in a Silhouette Intimate Moments and is just a great little book. Second place goes to one of her early Loveswepts, a romantic comedy called Kiss and Tell. This is one of the greatest heroes she has ever written. I’m a sucker for a hero who has been in love with the heroine forever and finally gets the girl. Ask me in January if this is still true. I loved Into the Fire and if the reviews are any indication, her 1/27/09 release, Dark of Night, is going to be my new favorite book. I love me some Decker!
Completing my trio of “Susans” is Susan Andersen. Her last release by Kensington is called Exposure and is a great romantic suspense, with another winner of a hero. Elvis was injured while on the job in the big city and has moved back to the small town where he grew up. He is disfigured and has a hook where his hand used to be. The heroine and her daughter bring Elvis back to life and the transformation is wonderful to watch.
Michele Albert used to write under the name of Michele Jerott. Her second book under that name is called All Night Long. The hero is a Wisconsin dairy farmer, Rick, with red hair and a mustasche (not your usual tall, dark and handsome). He’s just been through a brutal divorce and wants nothing more than to be left alone to pick up the pieces of his life and maintain a relationship with his daughter as she changes from a little girl to an adolescent. The heroine, Annie, is a photographer who is researching a battle from an Indian war that took place on his land. He grudgingly allows her to work in his house and explore his farm searching for her answers. The plot is unusual, the characters fun and the resolution fully satisfying.
Tami Hoag wrote romance before she wrote suspense. She began writing romantic comedy for Loveswept and moved into romantic suspense when she went single title. One of her first, Lucky’s Lady, makes my list. Lucky is one of those scrumptious Cajun heroes, an artist turned soldier turned jack of all trades who has seen too much of the worst in people. The heroine doesn’t ever entirely tame him. She’s a good girl with a good pedigree and he manages to unlock all the passion that been bottled up inside her all her life. The rest of the book is populated with quirky characters and a great mystery. Did I mention the book is hot? Oven mitts are required apparel when reading this book
My favorite Jennifer Crusie comes next, and that’s Fast Women. It skirts that fine line between romance and women’s fiction, but the end of the book puts this one solidly in the romance column. This book contains the usual Crusie snappy writing and understated humor and the friendship between the women is the thing that really appeals to me in a big way.
I’m going to cheat with Nora Roberts. I’m going to count her Born In series as two books. Of the three titles in the book, Born in Fire, Born in Ice and Born in Shame, Born in Shame is my favorite of the three. Of course, they are wonderful romances, the heroes are off the chart sexy and the heroines likeable and interesting. The books on the whole, however, deal with one of my favorite topics, why do we artists do what we do? There’s not an aspect of the artistic life and process that she doesn’t explore, from making art as a profession to selling it, from homemaking to international gallery owner, from singing in a pub to writing New York Times bestsellers. She also explores the complicated and tangled ties of what makes a family and how people can be deeply connected by what appears to me the most trivial detail. Rich and thought provoking, I also re-read this series once a year and again, always find something new to think about, either about my music or my writing, or about my teaching others to be artists.
So, there’s my list! What’s on yours? I'd love to know!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

2008-06-25T15:46:00.000-04:00

Hello and welcome to doreenknowsitall!

Check out this blog for information on my book, Mike's Best Bet," coming soon from thewildrosepress.com or the Finger Lakes Women's Chorale's upcoming concerts and CD releases!

Today's topic: listserv annoyances. Really, how many of you have an inbox that is totally clogged with a bajillion messages that say things like "congrats!" or "LMAO" or some other one word message that is annoying and time consuming to go through and delete. Why can't people do those one word replies off list?

Most recent music obsession: Hallelujah from Beethoven's Mount of Olives.
Most recent book read: Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich, which I liked.

Talk to you again soon!

Doreen