And speaking of must reads, my friend and RWA chaptermate DeAnna Cameron celebrates her very first release day today! The Belly Dancer (Berkley) is historical fiction with, as they say, “strong romantic elements.” Here is the blurb:

At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the modern, the exotic, and the ground-breaking collide. When Dora Chambers, an aspiring socialite, is charged with the task of enforcing proper conduct at the Egyptian belly dancing exhibition, she finds herself captivated by these marvelous women. And as her eyes are opened to the world beyond a life of social expectations, she finds the courage to break free and discover the truth about her own heart.

Doesn’t that just sound fascinating? And look at that beautiful cover!

Congratulations, DeAnna – I can’t wait to read the book.

My reading list for the week is a mix of research and inspiration. It includes:
This Duchess of Mine by Eloisa James (Been dying for Jemma and Elijah’s story!)
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas (On a day I can screw up my courage. Sherry’s books always tie my insides in knots, they’re so emotional.)
One Week as Lovers by Victoria Dahl (I have an ARC!!! Yes, you can faint with envy now.)
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier
Amid Devonia’s Alps: Wanderings and Adventures on Dartmoor, by William Crossing
Memoirs of a Smuggler, by John Rattenbury

What are you reading this week?

Then I met up with my wonderful friends and critique partners for the weekend, and among other things, they helped me hash out the plot of Stud Club book two. They also helped me brainstorm some new title possibilities for it, and now I think I’m leaning toward The Return of a Rogue. If for no other reason than that the acronym is ROAR.

My goals for the week are something like this:
1) Sleep.
2) Spend time with the family.
3) Catch up on all the stuff I’ve put off in the last month. (LOTS)
4) Start promoting The Legend of the Werestag (releasing May 12th from Samhain)!
5) READ.

Mount TBR is nearing epic proportions. Aside from the pile of research I’m accumulating for ROAR (books on Devonshire, Dartmoor, house construction, smuggling, etc., etc.), it had been far too long since I’d been able to just sit down with a great romance and get lost in it. Sometimes I find it hard to get lost in a romance at all anymore, because I have a hard time turning off my writing brain and simply enjoying the story.

Lucky me, I did just that twice this past week with two brilliant, heart-tugging, beautifully written historicals, Elizabeth Hoyt’s newest, To Beguile a Beast, and Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. I’m in the mood to read tortured heroes (when am I not!) since I’m gearing up to write one of my own, and these two books are some of the finest examples I’ve read in ages. I’m not really a great reviewer, in the sense of giving synopses and critical evaluations of the books I read. My reader recommendations in the course of library work generally go something like this: “Oh my goodness, this book is sooooooo good. So. Good. You must read it.”

So this is the online equivalent. Picture me grabbing your arm and saying, “These books are soooooo good. So. Good. You must read them.” They each made me laugh, cry, blush, sigh, and completely lose myself in a well-told story.

What book have you read lately that was sooooo good I must read it?

My local RWA chaptermate and fellow Ballantine author, Jennifer Lyon, is debuting a hot new paranormal series with Blood Magic.  The book got a TOP PICK from Romantic Times, so I can’t wait to read it!  Plus, the cover is gorgeous.

Beaumonde chaptermate Miranda Neville (who happened to have all the right information about opera house lighting just when I needed it, bless her!)  debuts with a sexy, sophisticated Regency-set historical today, Never Resist Temptation.  ETA:  Courtney Milan is giving away a copy on her blog.  Enter by February 27 for a chance to win!

And bestselling, RITA-winning Tracy Anne Warren is making her Avon debut with Tempted By His Kiss!  Hooray!  It’s the start of a brand new series, “The Byrons of Braebourne”.

I suppose it’s only natural that right now I’m drawn to debuts.  I mean, I’m like that 16-year-old Regency miss just on the cusp of her introduction to society, watching all the older girls to see just how they handle the quadrille or carry their reticules, or… Okay, that analogy has run its course.  You get the point.  I’m reading, and watching, and learning…and just hoping that when it’s my turn, I manage to carry it off with as much grace as they do.  I found myself wondering today, just what I would do the night before my first book releases.  I mean, sleep would be out of the question.  As would anything that required a great deal of focus, like reading.  Laundry, perhaps?  A marathon of John Hughes movies?  As I write this, it’s very late (or very early, depending on your frame of reference), and I wonder what these three ladies are doing right now…

What would you be doing, the night before your debut?

Also ETA:  If you had suscribed to my posts on the old Wordpress blog, you’ll have to subscribe again, apparently.  Of course, those of you who really need to see this notice won’t, because this post won’t appear in your reader… hm.

Christy Reece is giving away a shiny new ARC (advanced reading copy) of her debut romantic suspense novel, Rescue Me. (Release date April 28, 2009) Christy is a fellow Ballantine debut author, and Rescue Me is the first in a back-to-back trilogy.  She’s already sold a second trilogy to Ballantine for release in 2010, so hers is a name to watch!  Just pop on over to her blog and comment before this Wednesday, and you could be among the first to discover this hot new talent!

And one of my RWA local chaptermates, the amazing Maureen Child, is giving away copies of all three of her current releases (yes, you read that right – she has three current releases.  At one of my very first chapter meetings, we all enjoyed a delicious cake in honor of her 100th sale.  One. Hundredth. Sale.),  Her new urban fantasy, Bedeviled, just went on sale this week, and it’s getting great buzz.  She signed copies at our chapter meeting today, and they all sold out before I could get one!  Not to mention, Booklist gave it a starred review–I’m a librarian, so to me a Booklist starred review is like the holy grail.  I can’t wait to read it!  (But I must, since I couldn’t get my hands on a copy today…)  To enter, visit her blog and leave a comment by this Friday.

Go forth and win!

So, which candy will you be stealing from your children’s haul tonight (or holding back from the neighborhood kids)?  I’m partial to the peanut butter cups and anything with coconut.  On the other hand, I’ve reached the point in my life where certain candies just aren’t worth it – like those Tootsie Roll Pops.  A ball of random-flavored hard candy surrounding a tarry little wad of goo?  Nah, the kids can have those.

Here’s a delicious treat for you, if you haven’t already seen it:  The first seven chapters of Eloisa James’ When the Duke Returns are available for your preview pleasure! (read: torture, since the book is still a month from release!)

Sooooooo good, it’s scary.

September 30 is circled on my calendar several times, because there are an insane number of books coming out that day that I’m absolutely *desperate* to read.  As in, I’m counting the minutes until next Tuesday.  I mean, seriously: Quinn, Kleypas, Guhrke in one day!  Not to mention, an amazing anthology.  So if you don’t hear much from me the first week in October, it’s because I’m hunkered down with:

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn.  I loved Jack Audley, the deliciously roguish hero of The Lost Duke of Wyndham, but I’m just desperate to get to know the quiet, enigmatic Thomas, and read his and Amelia’s side of the story.

Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas.  OMG, have I been desperate for this story.  The moment I finished Mine Till Midnight last year, my very first thought was, “How will I possibly survive until Win and Merripen’s story comes out?”  I have a deep, visceral need to see them together as…Is it Merriwin?  Winnipin?  Other?

The Secret Desires of a Gentleman by Laura Lee Guhrke.  LLG amazes me more with every book I read.  Her characters feel so real to me.  I love her “girl bachelors” series, and the two previous installments have been instant keepers for me.  I know SDOAG will be the same.

It Happened One Night, an anthology.  Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacqueline D’Alessandro, and Candice Hern.  Okay, I’m sold.

Yes, the first week of October will be rapturous indeed.  I will be floating on a cloud of romantic bliss, oblivious to the heaps of laundry and dishes piling up around me.  I will personally give the pizza and Thai delivery people unparalleled job security.   Until then…I live in exquisite, desperate anticipation.

Okay, I promised a contest!  Leave a comment, tell me what book you’re desperate to read in the next few months. It can be one of these, or something else entirely.  Doesn’t even have to be a romance.  If you’re one of the two randomly-chosen winners, I will buy it (pre-order, if necessary) and send it to you! (Within reason, please.  If your dream book costs more than an average fiction hardcover, we’ll have to substitute another prize.)