Sunday, March 4, 2007

FAB- The Many Faces of Romance Week!

I have to tell you, I think I've got one of the best "jobs" in the entire world. Don't believe me? Well, besides being a mom of six wonderful children, and a wife to an incredible man, I get to read a LOT of books. Not only do I get to read them, I get to write reviews about them. Not only that, but sometimes, if I've been veryvery good, and the gods are smiling down upon my (now hairy) little head, I even get to meet SuperStars! For me, authors are the biggest kind of SuperStars. Better even than Rock Stars, really. And yesterday, someone must have thought I was veryvery good, because I got to visit with (again) one of the VERY best people ever, Lani Diane Rich.

This is especially cool since this month, we're doing something special with our FAB Picks. Yes, I know that Dee just finished up with Richelle Mead (wasn't she FAB-ulous?!?), but it's a whole new month now, ok? Since we both picked authors that have books being released this week, we decided to combine FAB Pick week, and bring you The Many Faces of Romance. Why "many faces"? Well, our picks are very different. Both of the books are very special, but will appeal to different readers. I'm not going to get into a genre debate though. All I'm going to mention is that Dee and I both love a good book, but our personal feelings and tastes are different. You've probably noticed that already, right? Let's face it though, a good book is a good book, no matter what genre or label someone sticks on it. While the books that we've picked as FAB this month may be different, they have at least one thing in common - they are well worth the time to read, no matter what your taste in books may be!

That in mind, let me tell you a bit about Lani, ok? If you've been hanging around with us for a while (and THANK YOU so much, if you have!) then you know that I met Lani for the first time back in October, in New Jersey. Lani really was FAB-ulous then, and she's even more so now. And busy? This Chick is all over the place. She's a wife. She has two wonderful kids. She has her own site that she keeps updated pretty regularly. She's one of the Literary Chicks. She has a new podcast starting called "Will Write For Wine". She's all over the Jenny Crusie Cherry Forums and the JCF list. Oh yeah- and she writes FAB-ulous books. If she does anything else, we may have to get her a SuperHero cloak.

Anyhow, yesterday I had the pleasure of intruding on Lani for a few hours, and it was so much fun. She's even better in person than she is over at the LC. We got to talk about all sorts of things, from writing to publishing to wine, and even more. I'll be sharing some things that I learned, as well as posting an interview that I did with Lani, later in the week. I'll also be posting some reviews of a few of her books. Plus, I'm pretty sure that she's going to drop in this week and chat you guys up, in the comments section. So if you have any questions for her, don't be shy (like that would ever happen here, right?).

However, the BIG THING is this: Lani has a new book coming out on March 6. That's right - Tuesday! Can you believe it? It's called The Fortune Quilt, and it's already gotten some amazing reviews. Plus, it's been chosen as a BookSense Notable Pick for April. I'm giving you a sneak peek at the BCC, which, I might add, is pretty terrific:

Carly McKay's life is going just fine until she produces a television piece on psychic quilt maker Brandywine Seaver and receives a quilt with an enigmatic reading telling her that everything is about to change. Carly blows off the reading until it comes true. Her boss runs off with all the station's assets, leaving her jobless; her best friend, Christopher, proclaims his (unrequited) love for her, leaving her friendless; and her mother, who deserted the family seventeen years ago, returns, sending Carly into a serious tilt.

Convinced it's the quilt's fault, Carly races down to the small artists' community of Bilby, Arizona, to confront its maker, and ends up with an unexpected friend in Brandy - and in Will, the laid-back painter who rents the cabin next door. With quirky new buddies and no more deadlines, Carly starts to enjoy her reimagined life, until her old one comes calling. Now Carly has to decide what parts of each world she wants to patchwork in.. and how much she's willing to leave to fate.

How cool is that? Pretty cool, huh? I've already read this book and it is - FABulous, of course. I'll be reviewing it here, on Monday. That way, you can read the review, start frothing at the mouth for it, and go out and pick it up first thing Tuesday morning, right after you call in to work because you need the whole day to read. Trust me, the book is worth it! PLUS - Lani has agreed to give our readers TWO personally autographed copies of The Fortune Quilt. PLUS, Lani almost wore out her hand signing books for me yesterday, just so I could offer a BIG PRIZE worthy of you wonderful readers. The BIG WINNER of this week's contest will get signed copies of The Fortune Quilt, Maybe Baby, The Comeback Kiss, and Ex and the Single Girl. That's right, it's a basket of Lani-love for the winner.

What do I have to do to win so many wonderful books? you might ask. All you have to do is tell people about the book. Here's how you do that.
1) Copy that BCC and that cover shot of The Fortune Quilt, as well as our link (deeanddeedish.blogspot.com).
2) Put it up on your own blog.
3) Link to your blog in the comments of THIS post.

Easy as pie, right?

What if I don't have my own blog? you may ask. Again, very simple. All you have to do is tell people about the book. Here's how you do that.
1) Copy that BCC, and the release date for The Fortune Quilt, as well as our link (deeanddeedish.blogspot.com).
2) Post it to a group or a loop or a forum, somewhere we can see that it is posted.
3) Tell us, in the comments of THIS post, where it is.

For every blog where you post it, you get an entry. For every group where you post it, you get an entry. You get TWO extra entries for every person that comes here and says they heard about the contest from you. At the end of the week, I will draw a name out of an empty truffle box (it's EMPTY now! How sad is that!?), and that lucky winner will get the BIG PRIZE package of love.

In the meantime, please give a huge welcome to Lani. Because she's FABulous!

Keep Turning Those Pages,
dee

18 comments:

Chari-Dee said...

OOOOH, if I post over on Lip Service, do I get to be entered? Pretty, Pretty Please! With sugar and a CHERRY on top? Please, ohpleaseohplease? Dern! FINE! I'll be on tomorrow and introduce my FAB pick, because this is gonna be so much FUN!!!!!!!

Take Care

Anonymous said...

Wait! Can I play? Do other authors get to play? Because I didn't post the BCC, but I just did an interview with Lani yesterday. And I SO want one of those signed copies.

Rats. If only I had known there was a contest coming...:)

dee said...

Umm, Dee? You already have a copy of the book. MY copy of the book, remember? You have to give it back though, because I want Lani to sign it for me.

And Laura, OF COURSE you are entered. An interview is just as good as having the BCC up. Can I tell you that when Lani mentioned at lunch yesterday that you'd posted her interview, it took an awful lot for me to not head straight for a computer to read it. I didn't though, because I had LANI sitting right thee in front of me and that might have been seen as a little bit rude. But that was the first place I headed today, and your interview was terrific!

amy said...

I heard about the contest from Laura!!!I *also* heard about Lani from Laura!!! Laura should get FOUR extra entries.

Anonymous said...

Amy, you are my hero, I swear. If I win, I will give a little speech to you, like the Oscars.

dee said...

Amy, you're awesome!

Ok, forgot to mention that I'm going to follow Dee's lead and add all of the entries onto a BlogRoll in the sidebar. So, if you enter, you might also get some extra people checking out YOUR site. How cool is that?

Anonymous said...

I did my part, mostly because Lani shares my immense love for Colin Firth, and we must stick together. And her books rock my world.

http://sycamoregirl.livejournal.com/11150.html

Michelle said...

Oh yes, extra points all around! especially since Laura is the coolest person in my world today; I got my book, just what I needed! Thanks, Laura! Oh, and I even saw the BCC on Dee's site, so can she get bonus entries in her own contest? I should think so.

I just love that green cover so much I just had to share the love.
http://michellehulse.blogspot.com/2007/03/babies-books-and-blogging.html

dee said...

Hope and Michelle, you both get extra entries, just because I LOVE you both! You're so amazing!! And Hope, I love that you love Lani and her obsession with Darcy/Firth. I think you'll enjoy reading the interview that I'm posting in a few days.

Thanks, ladies!
And BEAUTIFUL blogs, btw!!

dee

Anonymous said...

Okay... I tried to leave a message the other day and it wouldn't let me - harumpth - but being the ever-optimistic ray of light that I am, I thought I'd try again!

First - thanks so much Dee and dee for picking me as a FAB author! I'm so tickled. And to be hanging with my girl Alyssa just makes it better. And thanks to everyone entering the contest and getting the word out about THE FORTUNE QUILT and ATLANTIS RISING. Alyssa and I are so excited to be sharing a release day, and so happy that you guys are excited about and enjoying the books. Yay!

dee said...

Lani -
I just subscribed to my very first Podcast! Your intro sounds so cool, I can't wait to hear the first installment. I'll have my glass of wine at the ready!

Everyone else - go check out iTunes and search for "Will Write For Wine" then click the "subscribe" button! It's going to be FUN!!

Unknown said...

I added the info on my blog. The Fortune Quilt sounds great!

Caffey said...

Hi Lani! and all! Amy S. told me about this and I was so excited cuz I love reading new authors! Can't go a day without a book and this sounds so fab!
So I put it up on my blog!
http://upcoming-releases-to-chat-about.blogspot.com/

Thanks, gonna check out your site even more! A joy to meet you Lani
Cathie

McB said...

Hi Lani!!! Hi Dee!!! Hi everyone who has no idea who I am!!!

http://margarita-mcb.blogspot.com/

Do I know how to follow orders, or what.

Chari-Dee said...

Hi mcb!!! Thanks for playing!!

Anonymous said...

Hi, guys! So nice to meet you, and thanks so much for getting the word out! I love you all!

Chari-Dee said...

mg_r23 your link didn't work for me and your profile is private, could you give the link again, so I can get you in the side bar? Thanks so much for entering!

J said...

Got it up on http://bratsweetnothings.blogspot.com