FAB Pick - Laura Florand is FAB-ulous!

Have you guys figured out where I am yet? I passed really close to Laura on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. I missed out on the French patisserie though. Maybe next time.

Today, on this very late post, I'm hoping to encourage you guys to enter the contests if you haven't already. We've posted two contests (Monday, Wednesday) this week that give you the chance to win a signed copy of Blame It On Paris. We've also given you the chance to win two mystery prizes. The contests were supposed to end tonight, but since I'm in such a FESTIVE mood, I'm going to let them run a little bit longer.

Why am I in such a good mood? I'm on vacation! I'm hanging out with my brother and my niece, and his girlfriend and her family, this weekend. Today, we went to a parade, and my wee ones ended up with so many beautiful things that they are convinced we need to be here every year.

I spent most of the day thinking about Laura's book. Every place I looked today, I saw things written in "French". Ok, most of it is really American-ized French, but still. Then I saw truffles. Then I heard people blaming their silliness on just about everything, from parades to traffic, to hurricanes, to tourists, to alligators, to just about anything else you can imagine. So, there was French, truffles and blame abounding. It was a GREAT day! Did I mention the beads?

So, for your final chance to win a signed copy of Laura's book, all you have to do is tell me where I am. One correct answer, chosen at random, will win.

All winners will be announced soon. I'd like to promise that it will be tomorrow. However, if you've figured out where I am, then you know that I can't make any promises as to when/if I will make it back online before I get home. But of course, that's not MY fault. I'm blaming it on the weather. :)

FAb Pick - and some Traveling woes

Thanks to Dee for picking up my slack yesterday and posting that interview with Laura. Isn't Laura too funny? The book is proof of that. I'm not at all surprised to find that we have so many entries for the Monday contest about WEDDING HYSTERIA, quite possibly because it involves truffles. Yesterday's interview contains a contest in which you get to tell what image pops into your head when someone says Paris, kinda like the final scene in "Ghostbusters" when they're all on the roof and are supposed to void their minds of everything or whatever they think of will be brought there to kill them, and the Stay-Puft marshmallow man shows up for their doom? Now, every time the kids want to roast marshmallows, I see Dan Akroyd and Bill Murray covered in gloop. A shrink would have a field day with my free-word associations, huh? I have one or three for Paris as well, and one of them is TRAVEL. Which brings us to TODAY.


Today, I am on my second day of a road trip that will bring me to my younger brother. We're traveling in the car with all six kids, and it's been SUCH a blast. Parts of it have reminded me of Laura's book, Blame It On Paris. Because Laura travels a LOT in her book. As a matter of fact, most everyone travels a LOT in her book.

So, since this is a sort of "Bonus FAB Pick Post", and I'm not giving away a signed book today, but I still want to give something away... ANOTHER CONTEST. (I am a little concerned that you guys are shying away from my Tuesday contest though. If I tell you that my destination is some place really cool, will you play? And you only have to get a few right, or maybe even just attempt to answer.) Anyhow, I want to hear a funny travel story today. And I'll bet that Laura would appreciate one as well. See, when you've lived (or are currently experiencing) any sort of travel hysteria, it often helps to laugh at the woes and misfortunes of others. Ok, I promise I won't laugh at you guys. I may only snicker a bit, as a form of stress-relief, you understand.

And the prize? It's a surprise prize. But it will involve a book, maybe even Laura's book. But it will NOT be signed, because we're only giving away THREE signed copies this week. One on Monday with the truffles, for Wedding Hysteria. One for Wednesday, for the best "What I think of when I hear Paris, and What I Blame that image on" story, and then TOMORROW. You'll have to check back to see what that one will be, but it will be fun, I promise!

Keep Turning Those Pages!

dee

FAB Interview With Laura (of the Truffles) Florand

Hey guys! Chari-Dee here, dee is iced over without electricity at the moment, so I'm stepping up to bat. And I have to tell you, I think it's pretty cool, because I get to announce another contest for your chance to win a signed copy of Blame It On Paris, by dee's wonderful FAB pick Laura Florand. And that means, you'll think I'm the prettiest today (stop laughing, I was serious!). Anyway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell us the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear "Paris" and What do you blame that image on? Simple -but fun. Also, don't forget to enter this contest for your chance at some truffles made by Laura, and this contest for something special from dee's trip. And that's enough about us, let's get to know a little about Laura.

On Blame It On Paris
dee: In one sentence, describe your book for us.

Laura: A perfectly friendly and NORMAL person from a small town in Georgia ends up in Paris where people jump back in fear when she smiles at them; she falls for a Parisian despite this and must deal with his COMPLETELY INSANE culture AND FAMILY, only to discover, when she drags him back to her world, that some aspects of it and of her own enormous family are just a little nutty when seen from his perspective, too; how will true love survive?

I cheated by using semicolons. But it’s still one sentence from a grammatical perspective.

dee: How much of it is real?

Laura: It’s all real. I keep TELLING people this, and nevertheless immediate family members who KNOW it’s real because they witnessed half of it will call me about parts in the other half and say: "You made that up about the snails, right? Tell me that didn’t happen."

It did. And I’m still alive. I am tougher than I look.

dee: How on earth did you decide to write YOUR story?

Laura: I told my story because I just had to. That’s what we love to do in my family, tell funny stories on ourselves and everybody else in the family. I just couldn’t pass this one up.

dee: Why is it marketed as fiction instead of something else?

Laura: I don’t know why it’s marketed as fiction. I strongly suspect it’s because no one who reads it believes me. They’re convinced I must be exaggerating. But I’m not.

dee: Is Sébastien really as sexy in person as you say in your book?

Laura: He is pretty sexy. I’m sure I’m biased, and he’s probably not everyone’s type. But this kind of thing regularly happens to me:

I am at a [fill in blank here like Mad Libs, but let’s say it’s a checkout counter] and Sébastien is [browsing nearby] and the [cute young cashier] calls out to her colleagues, "Cute guy alert! Cute guy alert! Check him out." And then she looks back and catches this expression on my face, somewhere between laughing-warning her off-resigned, and looks as red and red-handed as it is possible to get, and says, "Ummm…that’s not your cute guy is it?"
Which you would think she could have guessed before embarrassing herself, but apparently no one EVER guesses he is with me.

Maybe it’s my frizzy hair. In Paris, even when he is TICKLING me and playing with my hair, women still completely fail to guess he is with me and try to flirt with him. Like rub against him flirt with him. But, you know, Parisians….

And this is why, when reviewers like to point out that the narrator of this story has an awful lot of insecurities, I would like to just say: YOU would, TOO.

dee: Why do you tease your loyal fans by not posting his picture on your blog?

Laura: I haven’t yet posted pictures of him on my blog because I am just mean that way. I wanted to be a wicked witch when I was little, but the teacher picked me to play one of the dwarfs instead. Which is just typical of my life, by the way.

Plus, if you had written a little memoir you expected to be published by a small press and read by maybe 200 people and INSTEAD your husband had PAPARAZZI who flooded around him and PINCHED him at formal social occasions, would YOU publish pictures of him? I think if I do post a picture, it will be the one I took of him seven days after Mia was born, when he hadn’t slept or shaved for those seven days and the baby and he had finally fallen asleep together. And then people can believe I exaggerated.

On Writing

dee: What made you decide to become a writer?

Laura: I got into this contest with a very mean and nasty girl in my third grade class who was actually my best friend but she wrote a longer story than I did. It was the first fiction story we had ever been assigned, and that evening I wrote a beautiful four pages, with a wonderful dénouement, and then she calls up and says hers is FIVE pages, and I had to start tacking things on. It went that way the whole evening, and my story had an awful lot of "Or rather she THOUGHT she was safe until the pumpkins’ eyes started to glow" type things tacked onto it before the end. But she still won. Twelve pages to my nine. Maybe, because I’m trying to convince people I am normal and sane, I should clarify that it was a Halloween story; that’s why the pumpkins.

I started writing every day after that. And by age eleven I was submitting my endeavors to major magazines, like the New Yorker. They failed to recognize my greatness but I’m SURE they are regretting it now.

dee: Where else have you been published (besides BIOP)? Are any of your other published works available online?

Laura: The very first person to recognize my greatness was Marion Zimmer Bradley, whom I would just like to mention because she devoted so much time and money and energy to putting out a fantasy magazine for several years (up until her death), to encourage new writers. That is really something to do. I was so excited when she published a story of mine and paid me for it, you wouldn’t believe it. That was 12 years after I started writing and submitting every day, when I was 21.

And Travelers’ Tales gave a major boost to my self-confidence while I was writing BLAME IT ON PARIS by publishing several of my travel essays. So I just want to give them a plug here—they are such a great little publishing company, and their anthologies are really the perfect books to put in your carry-on when visiting a country.

dee: Is writing a novel different than writing articles or essays? How? Which do you like more?

Laura: Well, writing a full-length memoir is different because you have to have a character arc and long story that holds together, and what’s fun about essays is you can just take a great anecdote and tell it, even if it doesn’t fit into a longer story. I like writing non-fiction because I think the funny and amazing things that real people really do are fascinating. But fiction is fun in a different way—there’s a lot more liberty to fiction. Like a mother, I cannot pick favorites. I love them both equally but in different ways.

dee: Do you have an agent? Do you think it's more important to find an agent or an editor/publisher first?

Laura: Definitely find an agent first. For one thing, it would be really hard to get an editor or publisher’s attention without one. For another, a good agent can be a great support to your career. And, if for no other reason, publishing is SLOW and CRAWLINGLY SLOW and INATTENTIVE and you will frustrate yourself silly dealing with it without an agent. I had a great editor for BLAME IT ON PARIS, so this is no reflection on her; all the authors I know agree on this and have had the same experience.

dee: Do you belong to a writer's group? Do you have a critique partner? Who do you let 'see' your work before it's published? (And how do *I* get on that list? ;) )

Laura: My father and younger sister are the only people who ever get to see it. My father is the reason editors and agents always raved incredulously about the fact that there were no mistakes in my manuscripts. My father just passed away, and my sister is having a baby, so I’m not sure who will read my next book. Besides my agent who always gives it a good read and makes recommendations.

I am paranoid about showing drafts. I recognize the value of it, but it is a bit like letting people see you in labor. Which I understand people DO, but me, I’m more like, let’s either keep the people in the birthing room to the bare minimum or up the meds.

On The Truffles

dee: What is up with that 'other author' thinking she has to do bodily harm to another person to get truffles from you? Do you typically cave to such demands and send truffles on threat of crimes being committed in your name?

Laura: NO. Never. I am trying to STAMP DOWN on this rumor. Just in case, please see my Statement for the Police.

However, I may give truffles for other reasons, like for someone else telling their own very embarrassing wedding hysteria story so I won’t be the only one out there exposed.

dee: How did you come up with your migraine cure? Are you sure it's not just an excuse to eat really good chocolate?

Laura: EXPERIMENTATION. Cruel and unusual human subject experimentation on MY VERY OWN BODY. I was walking by a stack of chocolate while suffering a migraine and I just had an INSTINCT it would solve all my problems. Almost a COMPULSION just to eat all that chocolate and see if it would make me feel better. And it DID.

On What's Next

dee: What are your upcoming novels? When will they be released? Can you tell us anything about them?

Laura: I don’t KNOW when they’ll be released. I didn’t even know BLAME IT ON PARIS was going to be released in October until someone who knew me noticed the date on Amazon. My publisher had said it wouldn’t be until this spring. See my comments about how frustrating publishing is, above.

But, the next one is finished and is called, for the moment, HOMETOWN HEART, a title I remain unconvinced of, but all my other titles failed to pass muster. And it’s true it’s about hometowns and hearts. If you have a glamorous life on one continent and family on another, what do you do when you can’t have both? How do you choose? It’s completely fiction, although NOW people don’t believe me about that and keep looking for hidden identities. Presumably it’s coming out 2008, and here’s its hook:
J.J. Sharp from Bulittle, Georgia has made it big: she lives in Paris, makes a fortune a year, and gets to wear six-inch stilettos to work. She’s doing pretty good until her employer sends her to destroy her hometown. In July. J.J. always thought there wasn’t much left to her hometown to destroy, but as she walks its insanely hot and humid streets and faces family, old friends, and one old lover, she has to start rethinking a choice she made long ago: between family and adventure; between Podunk, Georgia and the capitals of Europe; between love and freedom; and between Hershey’s and Parisian chocolatiers. If she’s not careful, she could lose everything she’s worked the past thirteen years to gain—or gain back everything she lost on the way.

The book I’m working on now takes us back to France, specifically Provence in the rose season. My title for this one is so much my favorite title I have ever thought of that I am afraid to say it, in case someone steals it. That could happen, you know. I’ve promised to finish this one up in July, and I’m having so much fun writing it. I think it’s the most just-pure-fun I’ve ever had writing a book, so I hope that means good things.

I just want to thank Laura for being such an absolutely FAB-ulous pick! And remind you guys to get busy and enter those contests! You know you want to!

FAb: Shhhhhh...the secret truffle ingredient is....

Can you tell me what's in those truffles?

Have you seen the links of her making the truffles, and then of the final product?

Should I even share the secret with you, or will you just say "Oh, a link. Well, I'm NOT clicking, I don't care WHAT she says about more funny things to read."

Anyhow...... Laura made the truffles, then she blogged about it and even took pictures. PLUS, she's written out an abbreviated version of TSOTT (The Story Of The Truffles), so you can read almost everything in one place. It's like a one-stop shopping expedition. Those are GREAT when you've got a million things to do, so helpful to be able to grab socks and milk and motor oil and nail polish all at the same time, right? But if you're like me, and only want to hit those big stores for rushed days, and you prefer to go seek out those hidden shops that specialize in really soft socks, and match-your-skin-tone nail polish, then you will want to CLICK THE LINKS over on Laura's post. Trust me on this. Then come back here and tell me that you did it, ok? There are SEVEN links over on that post, and TWO of them link back here. Where do the other five go? What's the date to publish your seduction post by? How is Joshilyn Jackson a tease? And what kind of liquids contributed to Joshilyn's boobs getting stuck under a bed in Paris? When does our Amy find time to read?

Laura is going to be busy this week. She's going to be on The State of Things on NC Public Radio Wedn at noon (and repeats at 9, plus a podcast, plus live streaming) on Wednesday. Yes, I said on Valentine's day. Some people are not full of love, like us, and actually restrict the celebration of the LOVE holiday to a single day. How crazy is that? Not us. Around here, it's VALENTINE'S WEEK, because we have to spread the love as long as possible! But don't worry, Laura's radio spot is early in the day, so she still has time to do something really fun and/or romantic with her beloved. Here's the link to the site, http://www.wunc.org/tsot/

Oh yeah, all those questions I asked above? If you can, post the answers on YOUR OWN BLOG, then link to there on THIS post, I'll enter you in my own mini-contest (Please do NOT post the answers here. That would not be fair. Post them on YOUR OWN BLOG then leave a link here so I can go read your answers). You've got a few days to find the answers, so get to it. I will say that the prize might possibly involve a surprise from a trip that I am taking. Maybe. Possibly. Probably. But you won't know for a few days. Because - it's a surprise. Kinda like Laura's book was a surprise. Kinda like Laura's friendliness was a surprise. But not at all like the truffles. Because you KNOW about the truffles now. You've read TSOTT. Plus, you know that Laura made truffles for YOU, because you are going to enter the contest and tell us all about your WEDDING HYSTERIA. Now you have TWO contests to think about. That's a surrpise, right? But not really. Because you know how much we like to give away books around here. Just enter. Make Laura feel better with your hystrical wedding-ness. And remember...

Keep Turning Those Pages!

dee

FAB PICK - LAURA FLORAND (and a contest!)

Again, it's my turn to share with you my Fabulous Author/Book Pick. This month, my FAb Pick (notice the big "A", because my pick is the Author, not the Book, yes?) is someone that is pretty familiar to most of you that hang out here. She was introduced to me last year over on Faster Than Kudzu, and I instantly fell in love with her. Oh geez, don't get squicky. I mean I fell in love with the way she writes. She's funny, she's smart, and she's written an entertaining book called Blame It on Paris. Yes, yes, yes, I'm talking about the FAB-ulous Laura Florand, or "Laura of the Truffles" as she's come to be known by many. If you want the full story on the truffles, I'm going to be pointing you towards some links (most of these go to blogs, so be sure to check out the comments or you'll be missing stuff) all week long. If you're not one of the people that actually clicks the links to get the full story, I'm going to tell you right now that you'll be missing out. Trust me, you'll enjoy the story on murder-for-truffles , and you'll especially appreciate all of Laura's hard work in the kitchen, because SHE'S MADE TRUFFLES FOR YOU!! Well, not for ALL of you, you understand? But for ONE of you. The truffles will go to the winner of today's contest. But don't worry, you've got all week to enter. And this contest is a little bit different, because you actually have to work for it. More on the contest later though, ok? Because really, all I wanna do is talk about the book.

When asked to describe her book in one sentence, you may remember that Laura said:

A perfectly friendly and NORMAL person from a small town in Georgia ends up in Paris where people jump back in fear when she smiles at them; she falls for a Parisian despite this and must deal with his COMPLETELY INSANE culture AND FAMILY, only to discover, when she drags him back to her world, that some aspects of it and of her own enormous family are just a little nutty when seen from his perspective, too; how will true love survive?

You may also remember that I said "And that perfectly describes the book". I wasn't kidding, but I have to tell you that if her description were the actual BCC, we'd have some problems. Because she didn't mention how funny her book is. And she didn't tell you that there would be parts where your breath got stuck in your throat when she describes one of those "Ah ha!" moments that sometimes happens in your life. And she didn't explain that she'd included everything from chocolate to grits to snails to explain the differences and similarities of the French and Southerners. And she forgot to include that the book is something like "Four Weddings and a Funeral", but hyped up on French cooking and Southern family. Thankfully, she didn't write her own BCC, or if she did, those-in-charge weren't so ridiculous as to restrict her to just one sentence.

I have to tell you that I really, really HEART this book, big red cut out hearts with white letters gloppy glued to the front, and a picture of a little flower taped right in the center. And it has NOTHING to do with the fact that Laura sent me the book because I won a contest over on her blog, and when it arrived a lone little truffle had escaped from the box and exploded all over the book, leaving me with chocolate flakes on my fingers. I promise, there are no pictures left of me actually licking the cover of this book, ok? But the chocolate? Yeah, NOTHING to do with what was inside the covers of the book. Because frankly, and you know this is true, no matter how much you chocolate-coat something, if at the center is something really yucky (like a snail or a grasshopper, or something REALLY yucky!) then all you've got is chocolate covered yuck. So, chocolate and joking aside, I want you to know that this book really is FAB-ulous.

I'm going to share a few of my favorite parts with you, and maybe that will explain what I mean. So just sit back and enjoy!

Maybe, when it comes to relationships, you've just got to risk it all with blind faith, even when it seems crazy and impossible and like you have too much to lose, including your familiar life. Everything, after all, is crazy and impossible, especially romance, which makes no logical sense whatsoever and seems to require an extraordinary belief in something intangible. It's just a thought. I have them occasionally.

Yeah, I know, right? That's what I mean. The book meanders along, like a nice stroll along the Seine, than BAM! You get hit upside the head with something that seems so basic, something that you've always felt but never actually tried to express. And you have to stop and put the book down, and walk away to fill your coffee cup, let the idea roll around in your head for a bit, then jump back in to find out what else Laura figured out for you. The book is fun that way. Here's another one, just to illustrate:

I realized that this sense of home was why I had been willing to make all those ...trips... I wondered how many things Sebastien didn't fully realize and couldn't articulate, how many unnamed layers of richness and belonging like this church were behind some of his needs for France.

That one stopped me cold. No, I am not married to a hunky Frenchman. I'm married to a hunky man from Ohio, thankyouverymuch. But for this girl, raised by a very Southern momma, with some very strong Southern women in my immediate five generations of family, Ohio might as well be the moon. We grew up miles apart, nearly speaking different languages, almost needing an interpreter. but it wasn't until reading this passage that I finally understood that his boyhood home meant as much to him as my Great-grandma's house meant to me. I get it, I really do.

Not that I agreed to four weedings, you understand. Frankly, I think Laura went above and beyond to accomodate all of those relatives, having TWO weddings in the States, then TWO weddings in France. And she desribes every one of the four in her book. In one scene, she having a literal meltdown while getting ready for her French wedding. Sebastien's mother, Claudine, tries to calm her:

Laura: It will never work. Our cultures are too different... it's an impossible thing to make work.
Claudine: It will work. We ate grits, didn't we? It will work fine.

At that point, I really wanted to steal Claudine! But I'm thinking Laura and Sebastien would notice that she disappeared. My kids might also wonder about a French lady tied up in a chair, being poked with the broom handle demanding she say really nice things to me. That's ok though, I can read all about her whenever I feel like I need somebody to remind me to take things one day at a time.

I'm not going to tell you anymore about the book today. I have an interview with Laura that will be posted this week. And we've got another thing on Friday. But for now, you can enter to win TRUFFLES. It's easy, really. I owe this idea to Amy, so thank Amy for suggesting it. Laura heard the idea and said "Yes, we MUST do that. That would make me feel so much better!" I wish I could find where Amy suggested it, but I'm too tired to dig that far. All you have to do is TELL US YOUR VERY OWN WEDDING HYSTERIA STORY. Yep, that's it. Tell us the story of your own meltdown. You can leave a comment on THIS post, or you can write about it on your own blog and leave us a link. Either way, you'll be entered to win. For those of you that haven't taken the plunge yet, you can share a story from a wedding that you've attended, friend or family, or ex-boyfriend, or crazy neighbor, or whoever. The story just has to contain a WEDDING and HYSTERIA. We're giving you guys a whole week to enter. All entries or links must be posted by Friday at 11:59pmEST. The winner not only gets a signed copy of Blame It on Paris, they will also get a box of truffles from Laura's very own kitchen. Bon Chance!

Also, get to a book store and pick up Blame It on Paris. Well, you can wait til the end of the week to see if you win a copy. But if you don't win, then go buy this book. It's hysterical. It's poignant. It's profound. And if you're very, very lucky, it's still covered in chocolate! (Ok, you'd have to actually have MY copy to have one covered in chocolate, and I'm not giving mine up. But all the other things I said about it are true. Really they are!)

Keep turning those pages!

dee

Natural Born Charmer, Susan Elizabeth Phillips

- I GOT CHARMED, and SEP was soooooo charming!

Thursday night found me with my friend Robin, heading to Richmond for a Susan Elizabeth Phillips booksigning for her newest release, Natural Born Charmer. This is the last book in the Chicago Stars series, and I had been anxiously awaiting Thursday night for almost 2 months. I was NOT disappointed! Ms. Phillips was so vivacious, so interesting, and so FUN, that I don't know how the night could have been any better. She gave background info, answered questions, held a trivia contest (and YES, *I* was a winner, and was "Charmed"!!), and even read from the book. And of course, through it all, she shared her trademark humor with us. It was wonderful! Pictured above right is me with Ms. Phillips. On the left is Ms. Phillips after signing books. Those books, by the by, were ALL for me. Well, actually only one of them is mine. The rest of them are for friends and OUR WINNER - Theresa. Theresa, your book will be waiting for you when you get back to the States! Enough about that stuff. Let me tell you, briefly, about this book. And if you want to order it or read a sneak peek, simply click the link.

Natural Born Charmer concludes the Chicago Stars series, and centers around the now more mature quarterback, Dean Robillard. You may remember Dean from Match Me If You Can. In NBC, he's a little older and a little wiser, but still just as sexy.

Dean finds himself thrown together with Blue Bailey, gypsy extraordinaire. When Dean sees Blue wandering down the side of a lonely Colorado road in, of all things, a beaver costume, he can't help but stop and offer her his help. A few thousand miles and an outfit change later, they end up at Dean's vacation home in Tennessee. While fighting a very strong mutual attraction, they find themselves in the center of a crumbling family, and a town struggling to hang on.

There are always wonderful secondary characters in Ms. Phillips' book, and this one is no exception. From April, who is trying to earn forgiveness for past sins; to Jack, who is forced to face his past mistakes; to Nita, who hates everyone; to Riley, who just wants somebody to love, these folks grab your heart and don't let go.

Here is where this review takes a different turn. Normally, I'd tell you all of the things that I liked about this book, and all of the things that I thought could have been better. But allow me to be honest here, ok? We're talking about Susan Elizabeth Phillips. There is a reason that she inspires such intense fan- girl- squee- moments in readers and writers alike. She's incomparable. Now hear me out.

I've read just about everything that this woman has written, including a few books that are fairly difficult to find. I will admit that I've liked everything that she's written. However, I recently read one of her older books and couldn't review it. It wasn't that it was bad, because it wasn't. It was just that it was much older, and really not of the same "technical" caliber as her newer books.

I pick books because they look interesting to me. I pick books because someone I trust tells me the book is decent. And yes, I pick books because I'd read just about anything, including a grocery list, from some very tried and true authors. SEP is a definite grocery lister for me. Even more than the fact that her books are now superb though, I like seeing how far she has come as a writer. Her early stories were scintillating and engaging. They were funny and entertaining. They made me laugh and cry. But let's face it - she's like a fine wine - she's gotten better with age. Natural Born Charmer is proof of that.

I can't find technical fault with this book. It is about as close to perfect as you can get. I enjoyed the story, it pulled me straight in, and made me forget that I was supposed to be reviewing the book. It's not that I lost objectivity. It's just that for a few hours, I was inside that small Tennessee town, following Blue and Dean around, rooting for them, cheering with them, holding my breath when things got tense, letting out breath when things got steamy. I was part of the landscape.

To say that I enjoyed this book would be gross understatement. That would be like saying that Ms. Phillips knows how to write. DUH! Was it my favorite SEP? Honestly, I don't know if I could pick a favorite if you paid me, but this one would be a fair bet for second place. That's not a mark against it, you understand. In the SEP lineup, This Heart of Mine and First Lady are at the top. I go in for those gut-wrenching, pull your still beating heart out of your chest and stomp on it, 9 hankies needed stories. Not everyone likes those, but I really do. Some of you like the funnier, breezier stories, like Ain't She Sweet or Fancy Pants. I enjoy those as well. Natural Born Charmer will captivate both camps with its wit, heart, and well - charm. There's something to be said for a book that makes you snort while tears are creeping out of the corners of your eyes. This is one of those books.

All in all, Ms. Phillips has delivered another smash hit, in my opinion. This book offers up a cast of lovable, memorable characters, in some over-the-top situations that could be taken straight from the front pages of the tabloids. The themes of abandonment, self-realization and redemption will strike a chord with many people, and the snappy dialogue is sure to result in more than a few guffaws.

Check out Ms. Phillips website to see if she'll be signing books anywhere near you. Even if you have to drive a few hours to see her, it would be time well spent. Frankly, the only thing that kept me from driving down to North Carolina to see her again was that I had to be back in Richmond with my family today. Her signings are a blast! But of course, since it's really all about the books here, I have to tell you that Natural Born Charmer is sure to be another smash hit, and that's just fine with me!

Keep turning those pages!

dee

CONTEST - ENTER TO WIN!!

Here's a really quick contest. I'm heading to Richmond on Thursday to go to a Susan Elizabeth Phillips booksigning for her latest book, Natural Born Charmer. This is the final book in the Chicago Stars series, and it looks like it's going to be another SuperHit! One random winner gets a SIGNED COPY of this book, by leaving a comment on THIS post, telling me why you want it. Contest ends 3pm EST Thursday 2/08/07. GOOD LUCK!

Racism In Publishing

I found the following on MaryJanice Davidson's blog and thought this was a very interesting topic and I would love to know what the survey results are. If you can help, or know some one who can, please send them over to Karen's site.

Take Care

Racism In Publishing, How Does It Affect You?Are you an African American author who’s been published for at least one year? If so Karen Scott wants to hear from you.

She’s conducting a survey based on the racism within the publishing industry, and whether or not it’s as prevalent as some believe. She’s looking for black or African American authors who have been published for at least one year.

She would like to know about your specific experiences within the industry thus far. She wants to know how AA authors feel about the current shelving policies, and niche marketing. She wants to know who you feel is to blame for the problems that you face. She also wants your suggestions on how things can be improved upon.

In all, there are twenty questions in the survey, and all that she asks is that people be as honest as possible. Confidentiality is assured if requested, but for the findings to yield more weight, she would request that she be granted permission to directly quote from the answers given by the authors.

She’s hoping to poll at least 100 AA authors, in an effort to ensure that a fair representation is achieved.

If enough authors agree to partcipate, (and depending on the findings) the results may well be sent to representatives within media and press. No promises that Oprah will hear about it, but all efforts will be made to get the message out.If there are AA authors out there interested in participating in this poll, please e-mail Karen at hairylemony @ gmail. com (without the spaces) with the subject header ‘Please send me the survey'.The deadline for the survey to be completed and returned to Karen is March 1st 2007

FAb Preview for February!

Whew! It feels like I just finished doing the FAb Pick for January, doesn't it? Oh yeah, maybe because I haven't posted since last Saturday, so really, I did just finish. Thankfully, the other Dee posted a few times so you wouldn't get bored. What can I say, I was reading! To finish up with last month, I need JOELLE to e-mail me at deeanddeedish@sbcglobal.net with a snail mail address. That way, you can get your signed copy of Testing Kate from Whitney. For you other winners, your books should arrive shortly. Let us know when you get them and read them, ok?

But for THIS month, we have another special treat. And I mean both special, and treat, ok? Here's the deal. My FAb Pick is Laura Florand. She's the author of Blame It On Paris, a fabulous book about... well, heck, I'll let you read her explanation yourself. When I asked Laura to describe her book in one sentence, this is what she said...

A perfectly friendly and NORMAL person from a small town in Georgia ends up in Paris where people jump back in fear when she smiles at them; she falls for a Parisian despite this and must deal with his COMPLETELY INSANE culture AND FAMILY, only to discover, when she drags him back to her world, that some aspects of it and of her own enormous family are just a little nutty when seen from his perspective, too; how will true love survive?

(I cheated by using semicolons. But it's still one sentence from a grammatical perspective.)

And that perfectly describes the book. I'm going to share more of that fun interview with you, as well as review Blame It On Paris, during Valentine's Week. Yes, I said week, because hey, it's the love holiday, and it deserves more than just a day. So be sure to check back here starting Monday, February 12, to read more about Laura and her FAB-ulous book. There will be contests, where her book will be awarded as the prize. I also have it on very good authority that maybe, just maybe, there will even be truffles involved. But not for killing anyone. Murder is bad. (And if you don't know what I mean about death and truffles, then you're missing out on a very funny story, but I'll tell you all about it in just a few more days!) Until then...

Keep turning those pages!

dee

The Black Rose - Skyler Grey - eBook- Adult Review

Hey there, Lovelies. The silence over here is deafening, but I've still got a sick kid, Miss Beautiful has no fever today, YAY! but she isn't feeling quite like herself. Plus, the congestion is way worse than it was when she had a fever. Hmmmmmm. I don't quite understand it, but hopefully it is just the way the ARI runs its course. Who knows? Anyway, today's review will be my first ever eBook review, so without further ado...



The Black Rose by Skyler Grey
(A Dark Valentine)

WARNING: This title contains explicit sex and strong language.

eBook Teaser (e-BCC) - Emily Ann Knolls, a small-town Kentucky girl, moves to Tampa, Florida, where she attracts the attention of a serial killer who sends her black roses and disturbing poems. Andrew Rossi, a handsome police officer, answers her 911 call and quickly becomes interested in Emily's case on a personal level. Will he be able to protect her, or, will the killer place yet another BLACK ROSE in the hand of his chosen victim?

Emily Knolls isn't exactly having the life she expected when she made her big move. She's all but invisible at work, has no friends, and certainly no line of men at her door. She's made herself stick out her "new life" for an entire year before giving up and heading home, and the deadline is fast approaching. Valentine's Day will be her dooms day, and time to make the final decision.

With just a week to go, Emily gets a delivery of beautiful roses. Except the card attached isn't so very pretty. In fact, it's down right unnerving. Then, the next day, yet another delivery, this time, there are only six roses, and they aren't so very beautiful and the card is even more ominous. Deciding to leave the third days delivery on the porch, Emily does her best to ignore the fear building and hopes her "admirer" will simply take the hint and leave her alone. Unfortunately, on that same day, the rose sender does not want to be ignored and calls Emily, and though he speaks no words, what he does do, has Emily even more freaked out. When the fourth day's delivery cannot be ignored, and the card is very intimidating, Emily decides it's time to call the police.

Officer Andrew Rossi, has been on shift for close to fourteen hours, so when he gets the call for Emily, he's just a tad on the annoyed side. But, soon, as Emily explains what has been happening and the phone calls Andrew realizes that Emily could be in real danger. It doesn't hurt that he finds her very appealing.

Emily also finds Andrew very attractive, and soon the sparks start to fly. But just as Emily and Andrew start to really bond, the rose sender makes his move. When Emily goes missing, and Andrew finds out there is a serial killer in the area, Andrew calls in his friends and the chase to find Emily and see her safe and in his life forever, is on and Andrew will do anything to make sure he wins.

I'm not that big of an eBook reader, and the only reason I can give for this is - I read slow when it's on the computer. I can fly through a paper book, but when I have to read on the computer I'm much slower. However, The Black Rose is a novella, and I was able to read it much faster, even on the computer. I like that, and have to be honest, I'll probably start reading more eBook novellas. For one, they are oh, so handy since there isn't a true bookstore near to me. I liked being able to enjoy a quick story and not have to leave my home to get it or wait the standard three days for my Barnes & Noble order to arrive.

I've read my share of novellas, and one of the main problems I find with them, are pacing. Grey had no such problems. Emily's story hits the ground running and never loses its momentum. I'll be honest though, and say I wish this was a full length novel. I genuinely liked Emily, I felt her loneliness and her disappointment with her life. I could understand why the notes on the flowers were so disturbing to her, and I would have loved to be able to explore more of her feelings. When she meets Andrew, I would have liked to have had a deeper look into her attractions and her feelings about the newness (hey, Romance lover, remember?).

After all, Emily is a twenty-seven year old virgin, and she loses her virginity to this man. Since the length of the story was restricted, they had to get to business awfully fast, and since I liked both of the characters, it was hard for me to accept this. Of course, as dee reminded me, it's a novella, not room to show relationship and personal growth. And really, since they didn't have sex the first time they met, and since when they did have sex, Grey made it so very sweet and HOT, I can't complain.

There were a few POV problems, moments of head hopping between Emily and Andrew, that proved confusing at times, and even with the word count restrictions, I would have liked to see more from Andrew's POV when he fist meets Emily. There were also some editing mistakes, that should have been caught with copy edits. Those things aside, The Black Rose, is a easy, fast paced, Erotic Thriller, that just may have drawn this reader into the eBook world.

The Black Rose is available for purchase today, Feb.1st, just click on it's name and you'll be able to order it and start enjoying immediately.

Take Care