HOW Do You Know Us? Mini-Contest

OK, here's the deal. We didn't have any entries on our other mini-contest Do You Know Us, and I would imagine that's because we can be tough nuts to crack. Or perhaps it's because we've dished some really FAB books this year, and it's really hard to pick just three. At any rate, no one entered, and that ship has sailed.

BUT, it's Christmas time, and dee and I LOVE to give things away, so we're giving you another shot at a great prize.

Details:

* In the comments of this post, tell us how you came to find dee & Dee Dish... Did you read about us on another blog? Did a friend tell you about how great we are? We want to know. Just tell us the who and the where and you're entered.

* The contest runs until we post the winner of our Best of the Best 2007 contest. In the same post we make the announcement, we'll also announce the winner of this one.

The Prize:

* dee and Dee have teamed up with AuthorIsland.com , and the prize is unbelievably great. The winner of this contest will win a box filled to bursting with cool author goodies. These boxes are great, I can tell you. DeNita jams them full of bookmarks, magnets, bookplates, pens, and tons of other great things. DeNita has also told me she's going to be throwing in an AuthorIsland.com tee-shirt. I have one, they are awesome. It took me three days to go through all the cool things in my box, and those authors sure can get creative with their promotional fare.

* But WAIT! Not only will the winner win a box stuffed full, so will the person they heard about us from. However, if you heard of us from us, an author's blog, or a search engine, we'll let you pick the person you want us to send the box to.

* Boxes are mailed Priority Mail, but please allow one-two weeks for delivery, it's a busy time of year for everyone.

As you can see, there are numerous ways for you to have a chance at the win here. You can post us on your blog, tell your readers to head over here and say, "I found you through XXXXX", and they have a chance to win, and so do you! Just make sure the entries are on this post. That easy. I just LOVE giving away TWO prizes like this. Especially since the prizes are so great.

So, hurry and enter, tell us HOW you found us, and you're entered. Just our way of saying THANKS for those of you that spread the word about dee&Dee.

Take Care

Servant: The Awakening by L.L. Foster

Before we kick off our Best of the Best 2007 picks, I thought I'd squeeze in a dish. I haven't done a lot of those lately, and I sure do apologize, but things have not been smooth sailing in my neck of the woods lately, but they seem to be getting a bit better, and I should be around a lot more. Before I start in on the dish, let me just remind everyone that there is still time to enter our contest. Like last year, both dee and I have picked our Top Three Picks out of the books we've dished this year, and one lucky winner will receive a copy of each book. Most will probably even be signed by their author! So click here to enter, all you need to do is tell us your Top Books read in 2007 for your chance to win. There are ways to get extra entries, so be sure to read the entire post!

I also want to give a nod to AuthorIsland.com who sent me this book I'm getting ready to dish (along with a ton of other goodies - Thanks DeNita! You so rock!). Not only did they send me a copy, she sent it to me signed! How cool is that? If you're interested in contests, chats with authors, more cool contests, news, and (did I mention contests?) head over to the Island, you won't be sorry.

And now, without further ado...

Servant: The Awakening by L.L. Foster
(BCC)

ANGEL OF NO MERCY
To most people, demons look like regular citizens. But Gabrielle Cody has the ability to see these creatures as they really are - and the responsibility to destroy them. Hers is a special purpose, a divine obligation, and a heavy burden.

Detective Luther Cross finds himself attracted to Gaby even as he becomes suspicious of her proximity to a murder victim. Despite his mistrust, he tries to offer her a tenderness she's never experienced and doesn't dare accept.

For Gaby senses that another malevolent presence is watching her...stalking her. As desperately as she tries, Gaby cannot find the source of this menace. But again and again, she is drawn to an abandoned hospital that is surrounded by an aura of sickness and suffering and something more - an unimaginable evil...

I really have no comment on this BCC other than to say it was OK. You know, the whole over-use of the "..." irritates me a lot but for the most part, the BCC does a good job.

For those of you that did not know, L.L. Foster is Lori Foster. However, since Servant is not the typical book you would expect to see from Lori, she's decided to use L.L. so as not to confuse her Romance readers. The use of a pen name is becoming quite common anymore when an author has already established themselves in one genre and they want to try something new. Authors become known and their books sought out because readers expect a certain type of book when reading that author, and for those readers that do not follow closely online to the author and what's going on, to pick up a book like Servant and expect it to be a typical Lori book would probably feel like a betrayal.

I'll be honest and say that while I used to LOVE Lori Foster, I couldn't even finish her book Simon Says. I tried, believe me, I really tried, because I adored Jude's Law and the other books from the SBC world, but SS was just not up to what I have become to think of as Foster's par, that's not to say I was ready to give up on her, but I was becoming wary. So to say I was both excited and nervous about Fosters latest venture would be putting it mildly. Doubly so because not only do I love me a good Paranormal, but because I just didn't want to lose one of my favorite authors, ya know?

Gaby Cody has a calling - to rid the Earth of the demons that pass for human everyday. When God sees a need, he sends her to do the job of destroying the evil. That call comes in the form of intense pain, increased senses, and the ability to see the evil for what it truly is, not the outer package that it presents to the world every day. Gaby can see auras for people, places, and things. She's tough, she's a loner, and she needs it that way. In order to survive in the normal world, Gaby makes her money by writing and illustrating graphic novels, based entirely on her life and her calling, that she anonymously sends to her landlord Morty to sell in his comic book store.

Morty, Gaby's landlord is a lonely, pathetic dweeb who loves the comics he sells and seems to have a deep crush on Gaby. But, although she thinks he's pathetic, he feeds her now and again, and more importantly allows her the privacy she both wants and needs.

Detective Luther Cross, runs into Gaby on her twenty-first birthday as she is fending off drunk lowlifes while trying to get to her destination that God is calling her to. Gaby sees instantly his white aura, and cannot believe a person could actually be that good hearted. She doesn't trust it - or him. She doubly doesn't trust him when he touches her and the pain from the calling becomes lessened. Luther feels immediately drawn to Gaby, he can't understand the tough cookie and why she isn't giving any information to him, or why she's in such a hurry to get away from him.

The demon she had been sent to destroy turns out to be a misshapen man with tumors of some sort bulging all over his body, a scary sight to any ones eyes, but Gaby doesn't see the human form at first, all she sees is the evil hideous creature that has lurked in his body. When Gaby realizes that the "man" was about to assault a child, her temper flares, and not only does she destroy the monster she loses herself in the rage and mutilates his body.

The first on the scene, Luther Cross feels certain that the young woman with the bad temper had to be involved, but he has no idea why. Tracking her down, Luther tries to get more information from her, only to be eluded. When more deaths occur, Luther finds himself certain Gaby needs protected - but is it from herself or something else.

As the mystery unfolds, Gaby, begins to form friendships with both Luther and Morty, and the feelings she has for Luther border on more than friendship. Those feelings are tough to explore however, as Gaby discovers more and more of the horror that is unfolding. Some one is making these tumor riddled people, some one evil, and that some one is stalking her. Cancer turns out to be the underlying connection, and Gaby knows cancer intimately, and the only person she has ever before cared about lost his life to the disease.

It took me an entire week to read this book. If you've hung around here any time at all you know that's a long time for me. Generally I can read a book the length of Servant in less than 3 hours. That isn't to say the book was bad, however, I actually enjoyed it, but it wasn't an OMG I cannot put this down, page-turning book.

For starters, the beginning of the book reads at a very slow pace. I realize that setting a book up for series is tough. I also realize that Gaby is a complex character and has a lot of back story. But, it isn't until Chapter 10 that the book really begins to pick up pace and the ending is rushed making it almost unsatisfying. Until that point, there is more internal thought from Gaby than dialogue and too much description. I felt that the extra pages would have been better served as a meatier ending.

There were also some things that had me confused. One of which was how the heck did Luther know Gaby's name to even begin to track her down? He had never seen her before, she doesn't give him her name when they do run into each other that first time, yet he still ends up at her apartment.

And while I liked Gaby as a whole character, I felt the excessive use of bad language was a bit much. This is something I've noticed with Romance writers that try their hand at Paranormal Romance, they over use bad language. I have nothing against bad language in books, I do take offense, however, the more I see it in Paranormal Romance. The cussing is not a requirement for a good para read, but so many cross-over authors seem to feel that it is, that it feels more like a forced add in than how the character would normally talk.

Trust me, Gaby was plenty tough without the language, "I don't want to hurt you, but I can." She kept her tone even, calm, and filled with dead sobriety. "If you don't play fair, I'll show you the kind of pain you've never experience."

Gaby is complex, tough as nails, not afraid to kill if need be and does often when called, but she also has a heart, no matter how tough she tries to keep it hidden and protected. I enjoyed watching as Luther and Morty crept their way into that heart, and how the circle of friendship and love began to develop.

I can, and will suggest this book be one to read. I won't re-read it, but I'll definitely be buying the next in the series and hope to see several more. It's a dark and twisted tale, but it has Romance, and a good solid cast. I do hope that Foster doesn't continue on with the cancer angle as it felt forced and unbelievable.

Take Care

Books In Your InBox

Before I get down to the news, let me remind ya'll about our contests going on right now. Our second annual Best of the Best contest ends this Friday, so be sure and tell us your favorite three books of the year by clicking here. Also, and this contest ends tonight, so hurry and enter, Do You Know Us? is a contest for you to win an extra book, by simply guessing what three books you think each d/D will pick. So, click here and enter before we post our #3 picks tonight! And now on with my news...

dee and I have discussed the lack of eBook dishes before - we'd like to be able to read and dish more of them , but neither one of us have an eBook reader, and as busy moms, we simply do not have the time to sit at the computer and read for a few hours. However, I just received a press release from Harlequin that could change all of that. It seems Harlequin has teamed up with DailyLit and will now be featuring some of their books through e-mail or RSS feeds, in installments.

This idea intrigues me. Apparently, the installments will come right to your in-box, at the time you specify every day, and can be read in right around 5 minutes. The only problem I could see was what if I came to a real page turning scene and the installment ends? Well, after some study, I see that additional installments are also available on demand, so if I understand correctly, I could turn the virtual page right away without having to wait until the next days e-mail.

Most titles will run you around $5, and both backlist and frontlist Harlequin titles will be available. Hopefully, Harlequin will dust off some of those out of print category titles that people are paying an arm and a leg for at online auction sites. I know several readers that would LOVE that.

Press Release:

DailyLit and Harlequin to Deliver Romance Novels
Via Email Installments

Leading Series Romance Publisher Offers Frontlist and Backlist Titles in Digital Serialization Format


Mamaroneck, New York –– DailyLit (www.dailylit.com), a service that allows users to read entire books via email and RSS installments announced today its initial deal with Harlequin Enterprises Limited, the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, to deliver in its digital serialization format 100 of Harlequin’s backlist as well as 20 frontlist titles each month on an on-going basis.

His For The Taking, Beauty and The Billionaire and Expecting His Love Child are just a few of the titles that will be added over the next few months. Most titles will be priced under $5.00 and will be delivered in daily email installments, with more on demand, at the click of a mouse.
“We are delighted to be working with DailyLit”, said Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin. “DailyLit allows us to bring our compelling editorial to readers in a convenient new way. This partnership means that the Harlequin experience will be available as emails on demand to readers with computers or handheld devices anytime, anywhere.”

“We’re thrilled to offer romance readers a large selection of Harlequin titles, including brand new frontlist titles on a monthly basis,” said Susan Danziger, Publisher and co-founder of DailyLit. “Romance novels are a great escape from day-to-day life, and via
DailyLit, they can be read in any spare moment, from when you’re waiting to pick up
your kids from school to when you want to take a break from work.”

ABOUT HARLEQUIN

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction, with titles issued worldwide in 26 languages and sold in 109 international markets. The company produces 120 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,300 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Harlequin’s Web site is located at www.eHarlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 18 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit www.eHarlequin.com or press.eHarlequin.com.

ABOUT DAILYLIT

DailyLit (www.dailylit.com), a service that allows users to read entire books via email and/or RSS feeds, currently features over 500 classic and contemporary works offered for free and on a Pay-Per-Read basis. The books are sent in individual installments on the day and time selected by each reader (e.g., every weekday at 6:30 AM) and can be read in less than 5 minutes; additional installments are available to be read on demand. Co-founded by a team of publishing professionals and technology experts, DailyLit is headquartered in Mamaroneck, New York.


Take Care

Do you know us? mini-contest

Books are pretty much what keep us sane. You know this. We love finding new authors and bringing them to you. You know this also. We have a monthly feature, called the FABPick, where we bring you a new author and their first (or new) release (or one of the first books published in a genre under a new name). So you know a few things about us already, right?

Here's a chance for us to see how well you've read us this year.

You have ONE DAY ONLY (that would be today, Tuesday, from 1200amET until the Wednesday post) to get in your entry for this very quick mini-contest for two free books. Contest is easy, really. All you have to do is tell us what our TOP THREE picks for 2007 will be.

On THIS post, leave us your comment. Say something like "I think that dee's TOP PICKS will be: 1.Blah; 2. Blah Blah; 3. Blah blah blah". Remember to distinguish between the D/dee's, please. Don't know which is which? Check out our FAQ page here for clues (and remember: Chari-Dee signs her posts "Take Care" and dee signs hers "Keep Turning Those Pages".)

And stay tuned all week long. We're going to do a FIVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS to count down our BEST OF THE BEST OF 2007. We're posting our #3 picks on Friday, #2 on Saturday, HMs on Sunday, #1 on Monday, and the BIG WINNER from this contest on Christmas morning. Don't forget to enter the contest, and tell your friends, blog it, or spread the word by skywriting for extra entries. Last year's winner got SEVEN free books, and I do believe that they were ALL signed by the authors.

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

Best of the Best CONTEST!

Remember last year when we did our Best of the Best of 2006? Dee and I (the other dee) each picked our Top Three Books of the Year. The only requirements were that the books had to be published in 2006, and we had to have reviewed them. That was it.

And, of course we did a contest. You do remember that, don't you? If you don't, just follow the links to refresh your memories. We asked you to tell us YOUR Top Three of the Year, and then we picked a winner. The winner, Joan B., got signed copies of all six of our books, plus a bonus book.

So naturally, we're doing that again this year.

Starting today, you can enter this contest to win at least six books, and they might even be signed by the authors (if we can get in touch with them to do this. Cross your fingers!). There's even a chance for you to earn extra points, and you can just ask RACHAEL (the Big Winner from our last contest) how good those extra points are.

If you're interested...

- Leave us a comment on THIS POST. Tell us the name of your Top Three Picks of the Year, the author of each book, and WHY it is your favorite. Missing or incomplete entries will not count.

That's it.

For extra points, post something on your own blog, favorite loop or group, about this contest and link it back to THIS post. That will earn you three extra entries in this contest. Each time you mention us out there, let us know, and we'll give you credit. You MUST mention the contest AND our web address ( www.deeanddeedish.blogspot.com) to earn the extra points.

So come on... tell us your faves!

And we promise to tell you ours very soon.

Contest ends Friday, 12/21/07. Have your entries in by the end of that day. That gives you TWO WEEKS to figure out your favorites, tell us, and spread the word.

Good luck!!

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

UGLIES winners announced!!

PLEASE READ COMMENTS. NEED E-MAILS SENT AGAIN!!

In the spirit of giving, it being the Christmas season and all, I decided to give more than just the one set of books away. However, since none of the trees around my house shed the money stuff, the 'runner-up' winners will only be getting the FIRST book, and sorry, but it's not signed. However, I'm hoping that after you read the first one, you'll be inclined to rush out to the store and get the others. Yes, they are really that good. So, can I please get.....

Angelaandconnor

Laura K.

and

Dev

to contact me via e-mail so I can get this book out to you in the mail.

And for the BIG WINNER... I have to say that when you do ALL THREE THINGS, you have a MUCH better chance of winning. That's why I'm sending the complete signed set of books to...

RACHAEL FROM NJ!

All winners, please contact me at deeanddeedish@sbcglobal.net . Make sure that you put "dee's UGLIES winner" in the subject line of your e-mail. Don't forget to put your mailing address. Your books will be mailed out soon, hopefully by this weekend. However, I've got lots going on right now, so I can't make any promises as to when this will make it to you. Please be patient.

Congrats to all of the winners, and thanks to everyone that entered!!

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

Red The Book

I need to start today by apologizing. I haven't been blogging over here lately, and I'm sorry. Things went crazy stressful in my life a while back and I had to prioritize a few things, and unfortunately, blogging took a back seat. I'm going to try and be present more, but I'll be honest and let you know that I haven't done a lot of new reading. I've done a TON of re-reading, and just to get content up here, I may post some dishes on those books - Maybe a couple week long series of "Oldies But Goodies". And speaking of Goodies - dee is running a contest right now for the ENTIRE series of books by Scott Westerfeld - THE UGLIES. dee and her daughter Gret went to a signing of Scott's and all of the books are SIGNED! You really want to enter the contest (I do too, but she won't let me). So Click Here or scroll down to enter today! Gret did a fabulous job dishing the books, and I want to say THANK YOU, GRET for helping us out over here. And now, without further ado...

Red: The next generation of American writers - TEENAGE GIRLS - on what Fires up their lives today

Red The Book is the brainchild of editor Amy Goldwasser, "Red is a place for the freshest, most fearless young voices out there to explode the puffy pink stereotype of the American teenage girl." Sending out a call for essay's from teenage girls, (receiving roughly eight hundred) Goldwasser had but two guidelines - "...ages thirteen to eighteen, to submit a piece of personal nonfiction..." that was it. The end result is this wonderful book that I will NEVER forget.

Let me first admit that I almost didn't read RED. I'm generally not a nonfiction reader, but the premise behind the book had me so intrigued that I opened it right up and dove in. I am, after all, the mother of a small daughter, a mother that hasn't been a teenager in a several years, and a mother who will readily admit that times were vastly different when I was. What I had hoped to get out of the book was some insight into today's teenage girl, to prepare myself for some of the struggles that my own Miss Beautiful may face. I got all of that and so much more.

The essays were amazing! Often times I found myself both terrified for this young generation and inspired by them - all on the same page. These young women are talented beyond anything you can imagine. They are smart, self-aware, and they are most definitely nobodies fool.

The essays span the spectrum of what it is to be a teenage girl, with stories about cutting, being over/under weight, sex, politics, drugs, and school, these girls discussed anything and everything. They put their own name on the essays, put them out there for the world.

The authors of RED are among the bravest, most talented, extraordinary young women I know. I don't think we've heard the last from any of them, I for one, at least, hope we haven't. I expect great things from these girls, and their entire generation. BRAVA!

To learn more about the book and it's authors you can visit the Red the Book website and/or MySpace page. The authors are continuing to let us readers into their lives by blogging and more!

Take Care

Thankful for...The UGLIES "trilogy", by Scott Westerfeld

... and A CONTEST!!

I have a daughter who, like her mother, is a Reader. She falls into books like some people fall into a three-layer chocolate cake. She devours them almost as fast as I do. Like me though, she doesn't keep them in her head for long. She reads so much that it takes something... SPECIAL... to stay in her mind for more than a week or so. In this series of books by YA author Scott Westerfeld, my oldest daughter has found something that has kept her coming back for more for years. Hey, I've got Jenny. She's got Scott.

When the newest book, EXTRAS, hit stores, we were there to pick it up. And, as I love having my books signed, I checked Mr. Westerfeld's blog to see when he would be near us, so she could get hers signed as well. The closest he was going to be to us was KENTUCKY. Can you believe that? (Well, he actually made several appearances in NY as well, but we couldn't wait that long.) So, we headed off to Lexington in search of a signing. What we experienced was nothing short of a blast! Five hundred and two miles after our journey began, we entered Joseph Beth Booksellers, and stepped into the world of Westerfeld. I've asked Gret to dish on the books and why she likes them. Read on to see what she has to say about UGLIES, PRETTIES, SPECIALS, and EXTRAS. And check out the end of this dish for a CONTEST!!

WHAT GRET HAS TO SAY...
So I started reading this series because... I don't know why. I guess it was just out of pure curiosity. I think I saw an ad for it somewhere and thought, "Hey! That sounds cool!" so I started reading.

When I read the first sentence of the first book...

The early summer sky was the colour of cat vomit.

I was like "EW! Cat vomit? That's a vivid view I didn't need." I thought it was interesting, to say the least. It took a while for me to get into the first book and see the big picture though.

We all think about the future, right? Tomorrow, next year, 10 years from now? Well, has anyone ever looked 300 years into the future? That's what Mr. Scott Westerfeld, author of the UGLIES book, did. He went into the world of hovercars, crash bracelets, Rusties, SpagBol, and Pretty-Operations.

At the start of UGLIES, 15 year old Tally Youngblood can't wait til she turns the big ol' 16 (I mean, who can? I can't!), so she can get her birthday present. As you know, most 16 year-olds get a car or something like that. But in Tally's world, you get 'the operation'. This operation turns you from being ugly (like you and me) into Pretty. Very rarely does anyone die, but there is the occasional accident.

Tally has wanted to get this done since she was a littlie. She can't wait to be whisked away on her birthday, taken to the place they do the transformation, and to be Pretty for once in her life, without her too big nose, spread apart eyes, and gaping pores.

On the day of the operation, some man comes to get her after several long hours in the waiting room. He takes her to this place, this building she's never seen before (right in her own town), and she meets these people. People with terrifying faces, yet they are excruciatingly beautiful. When they talk, it's as if there are razors coming out with their words. They are Special Circumstances.

From UGLIES to SPECIALS, they are trying to stop Tally from exposing them for what they really are - Monsters.

In EXTRAS, the story turns to Aya Fuse, an ordinary 15 year old 'ugly' Japanese girl who is just trying to make a name, and a face, for herself. When she finally finds a story to kick to make her famous, she realizes that maybe she should re-think who her friends are, Radical Honesty is bad, and maybe, just maybe, she is destroying the world she's trying to fit into. As the story progresses, there are familiar people like Tally, Shay, David, and others. But hey, you can't expect me to tell you everything. So if you wanna find out more - Read The Books!

All I can say is they were GREAT! Never a boring chapter (for me, at least!).

Bravo, Scott. Bravo!!

And Bravo to you too, Gret. Thanks for dishing this series for us.

Anyone want SIGNED COPIES OF ALL FOUR BOOKS?
This is a week long contest. You can COMMENT on THIS post, or you can BLOG THE BOOKS on your own, for extra points. All you have to do is:
- BLOG about this series on your own blog, with a linkback to this post (10 points).
OR
- BLOG about your personal feelings about the way the world views pretty and ugly, with a linkback to THIS post (7 points).
OR
- COMMENT on THIS post about your feelings about how the world views pretty and ugly (2 points).

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

FAB Contest Winner Announced!

Wondering who won the signed copies of our TWICE FABPICK KRISTAN HIGGINS' books? Well, you've come to the right place.


Would

ANN M.

please e-mail me at deeanddeedish AT sbcglobal DOT net (without the spaces, etc) with your mailing address? I am going to get both of these FABulous books headed in your direction as soon as I can.

Thank you, Kristan, for these FABulous books. I can hardly wait to see what you write next!

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

FABPick - CATCH OF THE DAY, Kristan Higgins AND A CONTEST!

This is the final post for CATCH OF THE DAY, by the FABulous Kristan Higgins. Well, except for the post on Monday where I announce the winner of the TWO SIGNED BOOKS. If you still want a shot at winning, you better either get THIS cover up on your blog along with the BCC (that gets you FIVE entries!!!), or leave a comment on THIS post, telling me your secret forbidden crush/obsession.

This contest ends Sunday at 2359. That's 11:59 pm for you non-military types.

The more entries you have, the better your chances of winning.

Also, if you want TWO EXTRA BONUS ENTRIES, you can ask Kristan a comment ON THIS POST.

Are you doing the math? That means that you can get a total of EIGHT entries, easily. Right now, one of you already has SIX entries. You've got a little more than 24 hours to earn some more.

Have fun, and...

Keep Turning Those Pages!!