Recommend Monday!

Good Monday All!

How was your Thanksgiving? How about your weekend? Did you do anything fabulously fun? Read anything wonderful?

My Thanksgiving was wild and wonderful as usual. My family always gathers at my mom's and though illness kept several of our loved ones away, we put together care packages filled with lots of delicious goodies for them and enjoyed a smaller, but still fun family get-together. We always have way too much food, but I came away with leftovers for Friday, which is always a good thing.

This coming Thursday, my friend, the fabulous author Marie Force, is featuring RESCUE ME on her Romance & Oreos Bookclub. Special thanks to Hope Frost who picked RESCUE ME and will co-host the discussion. So, grab your copy of RESCUE ME and if you haven't visited with Jordan, Eden and Noah in a while, give it a reread and come on by. I'm giving away two signed copies of RESCUE ME and one signed copy of NO CHANCE to three commenters. Here's the link: http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com/ Hope to see everyone there!

This week, I'll be working with Dylan and Jamie as we plan their SWEET REVENGE. So far, they are cooperating and it's perking along quite nicely. This couple surprises me every day. There have been more than a few snarky comments between the two of them, one crushing let down and a major surprise, all in the first few pages. I'm loving it!

No newly read book recommends for me this week. I was reading a book that I was enjoying immensely, but, for me, it took a wrong turn and never recovered. However, never despair, I do have one that I can highly recommend. Have you read Ain't She Sweet by the fabulous Susan Elizabeth Phillips? She's an auto-buy for me, however, this is one of my all time favorites of her books. No one can turn a bad girl around and make you love her quite like SEP!

What about you? What fabulous book(s) did you read that you're dying to recommend? And if you loved it, feel free to tell us why (no spoilers though). And don't forget, while you're shopping for the holidays, books and book store gift cards make fabulous presents. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving!

Okay, that's it for me. Looking forward to seeing what everyone's been up to and reading. Be sure to come back on Friday. I'm starting a new contest and will collect comments until Monday, December 20, when one random commenter will win a LCR prize package filled with all sorts of treats, goodies and most of all, books! The more times you comment, the better your CHANCEs of winning.

See you Thursday at Marie's Romance & Oreos Book Club and then, back here on Friday.

Hope everyone has a fabulous, fun-filled and productive week!

First Line Friday!!!

Good Friday All!

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you eat incredibly yummy food? Have some zany family stories to tell? Our Thanksgivings are always wild and wonderful, with kids running around, the television going full blast and so much food, our plates are never large enough. We are so very blessed.

Since I know everyone is either out shopping for great deals, back at work, or on turkey overload, I'll make this a short one for you. The first person to comment and correctly name the LCR book this first line of a chapter came from, wins a signed copy of an LCR book of their choice.

A female shriek, loaded with drunken laughter, ripped through the air.

Name the book!

If you're out shopping, stay safe! And remember, books make great gifts, so be sure to go by your local bookstores and find some treasures for your loved ones (and a few for yourself).

Be sure to come back for Recommend Monday. I'm reading a fab book right now and will have a recommended read for sure!

Until Monday!

Tuesday Tidbit

Hey All-

I'm off to the post office and wanted to give one of you a CHANCE for some freebies. If you like book marks, excerpts, cover flats, this offer is for you. I hate to throw promotional stuff from fellow authors away, but I have no room for these things. So, if you'd like to have a box of all sorts of this stuff, along with a few books, please email me at christy@christyreece.com. The first person to email will get the box. Since it's a good sized package, I'm going to have to keep it to U.S. only.

This is a great opportunity to find new to your authors, so email me your mailing address if you want it.

Happy Tuesday all!

Recommend Monday!

Good Monday Everyone!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything incredibly fun you want to share? Did you read any books you're dying to recommend? If so, here's your CHANCE! Let us hear from you.

As for me, I made my deadline. SWEET JUSTICE is in NY and I'm dancing in B'ham! Yayayayayay!

So now that Honor and Seth are enjoying their HEA without me throwing obstacles, such as uber evil villains, in their path, it's time for me to return to SWEET REVENGE. Throwing obstacles in Dylan and Jamie's way is problematic because they have a tendency to throw them right back at me! However, I think they've realized that since I'm in charge of their HEA, it would be best if they cooperate. Time for D&J to step up and fight for that HEA I know they want. Come on, guys, give it up!

I have a fabulous book to recommend! And now I'm learning it's the 3rd in the series. Guess I have to go back and read the other two. Yay! Pamela Clare's Ride the Fire was one of those books that you just hate to put down. I loved Nicholas! What a gorgeous, wonderful and patient man. And talk about a tortured hero. Yikes! I adored the heroine Bethie too. So spunky but vulnerable. If you've not read it, I highly recommend that you do. So excited that there are two more in this series for me to read!

With Thanksgiving coming up, I find myself thinking about all the many blessings in my life. Listing every one of them would take pages, so let me just say that I am one of the most blessed people in the world. And you, my friends, are a big part of that blessing. From the emails, letters, cards, chocolate and comments here, Facebook and Twitter, to the purchase of my books and recommending my books to other readers, you have been so incredibly kind and wonderful. Whenever I become discouraged or frustrated about something, I think about you and I always feel better.

So, in this season of Thanksgiving, I want to say thank you, for the love, support and for being you! May God bless you with good health, much happiness and many, many good books to read.

(((((Hugs))))))

Christy

First Line Friday!!!

How important is a first line to you? I sometimes spend days thinking about the first line when I begin a new book. If I have a dynamite first line, I'm thrilled! Not only does it help the rest of the book flow better for me but I know a first line can make or break a buying decision for a reader. Have I always nailed it? LOL The answer is no. And even if I think I have, many times I've been asked to add chapters or a prologue to a book and even though I kept that first line in another chapter, it lost some of its oomph when it didn't get to go first. See, I told you I spend a lot of time thinking about this!

I've always thought the first line of book and even the first line of each chapter is important. However, that was really brought home to me several years ago. I was at an RWA conference and Linda Howard was being awarded a Lifetime Achievement award. And if you know me at all, you know I'm a huge Linda Howard fan. One of the fun things they did that night was read the first line of several of her books throughout the program. And it turned out that I knew the title of every one of those books. She always starts her books with a memorable first line. One that makes you want to read the second, the third and so on. I love those kinds of beginnings.
One of my favorite lines that I've written is from a book I wrote years ago (actually my second manuscript) that's still sitting in my computer, hoping for a home one day. I still love this book, but it needs major work. However, it's got some great moments and lines in it and I hope to see it in print one day.
Here's the first line of Golden Girl:
Lori Gray raced through the Atlanta airport with the grace of a pregnant gazelle.
What about you? Do you have a favorite book with a favorite first line? What about a favorite line? If so, feel free to quote it here, but be sure to tell us the title and author. That line might get us to buy the book!
And the first person who can tell me which Last Chance Rescue book has this as the first line of a chapter, wins a signed LCR book of your choice.
"Mommy, higher...push me higher!"

Also doing this over on my Facebook page every Friday, so come over and click like and have some LCR fun there too. Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christy-Reece/136065869748798?ref=search&v=wall

Happy Friday all! Have a great weekend and don't forget to come by Monday for Recommend Monday!

Recommend Monday!

Good Monday All!

Hope you had a productive week and weekend. Mine was once again incredibly busy but so rewarding. SWEET JUSTICE has turned into one of my favorite books and Honor and Seth are now two of my favorite characters. I have loved writing about this couple and so enjoyed watching them fall in love again. And man oh man, I cannot imagine a more evil, sinister, twisted villain. I'm so excited about this book, but it's...

SWEET JUSTICE DEADLINE DAY!!!!!!!!!

So, no long post again today. Later on this week, I'll pop back on and catch everyone up. I'm way behind in everything, so if you've emailed or messaged me on Facebook or Twitter, don't think I'm ignoring you. After SWEET JUSTICE is sent, I'll take a few days off to do all the things I'm behind on. Then it's on to SWEET REVENGE, which is really shaping up to be a shocker for everyone, even me!

No new book recommends from me today. However, I did think of a book over the weekend and wondered if any of you have read it. Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer. It's my favorite book by this author and an absolutely wonderful read.

So tell us what you've read and loved this past week. I'll come by tomorrow, after I've slept for a while, and chat.

Until then, hope everyone has a fabulous day and please send special thoughts to Seth and Honor as they wrap up their story and head to the Big Apple!

Recommend Monday!

Good Monday All

Hope you had a fabulous week last week. Mine was stupendously busy but in a very good way. SWEET JUSTICE is one week from deadline and though there's lots of fixing and polishing, along with some adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing to be done, the glorious end is in sight!

SWEET JUSTICE is one of those books where I had a good idea of my characters from the beginning. But as I wrote them, I fell more in love with Seth and Honor and got more repulsed with the villain. LOL Doesn't get much better than that!

Once this deadline's over, I'll take a few days downtime to see to bunches of stuff that always gets pushed aside during deadlines, like doctor's visits, house cleaning and 1001 other things I try not to think about while on deadline. In between all of these things, I'm going to try to get in some reading. So, though I have no 'I have read these and recommend them' books, here're a few that's at the top of my TBR pile. All sound wonderful and I can't wait to dig in to them.

Surrender of a Lady - Tiffany Clare (Have heard great things about this debut book!)

Virgin River - Robyn Carr (I think I may be the last person on earth who hasn't read these books!)

Ride the Fire - Pamela Clare (Already hooked on her romantic suspense and now getting addicted to her historicals!)

Of course, I can only take a couple of days of downtime because SWEET REVENGE is due early next year. Yes, it's back to work on Jamie and Dylan's story. They've been talking to me lately and I'm sincerely hoping we can all get along better now that I've given Jamie an opportunity to heal a bit.

Once SWEET REVENGE is done, it'll be time to start on Jared and Mia's story in SWEET REWARD. I haven't met Mia yet, but I have to say that from the few glimpses I've had of Jared in SWEET JUSTICE, I am already in love with him. I think you'll love him too!

Last week, in the midst of deadline fever, I received the most awesome news (thank you again, Mary, for letting me know) that LAST CHANCE has been nominated by Romantic Times magazine for Best Romantic Suspense of 2010. I am beyond thrilled for the nomination and am so honored to be on the list with so many wonderful romantic suspense authors. So, no matter the outcome, thank you RT for this honor! Here's the link for the entire list of nominated books: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-awards/nominees-and-winners

Also, I think Thursday, November 11, the December issue of Cosmo magazine is released and within that edition is an excerpt of LAST CHANCE. If you happen to see it in stores, can you let me know? I'll take a deadline break and rush out and get some copies!

Okay, that's it for me for this week. I'm sorry I didn't get to respond to last week's comments and though I probably won't get to comment on today's either, I am reading all the posts and hope to catch up as soon as Honor and Seth are on their way to NY!

Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to and the great books you're recommending this week.

Happy Monday!

Recommend Monday!

Good Monday All!

How was your weekend? Did you have some spooky trick-or-treaters or some really cute ones? Our Halloween here was kind of odd. For some reason our subdivision decided that Saturday was the night everyone should trick-or-treat and not Halloween night. We didn't know this until right before we went out to dinner Saturday night. (I haven't been out of the house to read the posted signs and hubby is just so anxious to get home to me and the girls each night, he didn't notice the signs either. LOL, at least, that was my interpretation.) So we were late getting back and had to stop on the way home and get emergency candy. I waited to buy it. Having bags of candy around too early pretty much ensures that those little trick-or-treaters won't get as many treats. Chocolate in the house + racing toward a deadline writer = massive chocolate gluttony. Final conclusion? I've decided my subdivision has way too much power to just up and decide when trick-or-treating can take place, however, you can be sure we'll read the signs next year!

Since I am so close to deadline, I haven't had a chance to read anything new. SWEET JUSTICE is almost done. I'm in the midst of editing, revising and playing with the ending that's just not where I want it to be yet. I think it was last Thursday that I cried all day. Never sobbed so hard while writing a book before, but never had one that involved what this one involves. I hope you all love it because I gotta tell you, I do think it's the best book I've ever written. Fingers crossed you will agree!

So, unfortunately, no new recommend from me, but I will give a recommendation of one of my all time favorites. Have you read Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale? If you've not read it, I strongly encourage it. Such an absolutely beautiful historical romance full of angst, an unusual hero and heroine pairing, and a love story that will stay with you forever.

Monday, November 15 is my deadline for SWEET JUSTICE, so other than Recommend Monday, I'll be offline for the next two weeks. If you need to get in touch with me, drop me an email at christy@christyreece.com or you can message me on Facebook or Twitter. I'll do my best to get back to you within a day or two.

Looking forward to hearing about your great read recommendations.

Have a wonderful first day of November everyone!