Recommend Monday

Good Monday All!

Hope you had a super weekend. Hard to believe that November is almost over. I simply cannot fathom a year passing by faster than 2013, at least for me. Has it been that way for you?

Thursday, November 28 will be Thanksgiving here in America. This particular holiday is one of my favorites. There are no expectations other than being with family and friends, enjoying a great meal and being grateful for all my blessings. Oh and football. Let's not forget the football! As you might imagine, we are football crazy here in Bama and it's never more apparent than the weekend after Thanksgiving when most of the state will settle down in front of their televisions to watch the Iron Bowl, which is the game between Alabama and Auburn. That's the day when family members don't speak to each other if they root for the opposing side. Yes we can get silly but we are serious about our favorite team. And that being said, Roll Tide Roll! :)

Last week I spent lots of time rebuilding and reworking NOTHING TO LOSE. Even though this book is taking me much longer than I anticipated, I am loving the story and characters. Since it's a new series, I'm taking extra time. The first book in a series sets the theme for all future books. I do hope to get the book out early 2013. I want to make this the very best book I can and I want you to love it. Thank you guys for your patience!

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on Recommend Monday here or via email. For those who sent emails, I'll get back to you soon. Promise! It seems that everyone who gave their opinion was in favor of moving it to my Facebook page. Let's finish out the year here on the blog and plan to make the move to Facebook the first Monday in 2014.

I'd love to give the Recommend Monday blog a nice send-off, so you know what that means. Major giveaway for the month of December! Be sure to come back next Monday for details.

And speaking of giveaways. My RWA home chapter, Southern Magic, is having a fabulous giveaway.

Check out the announcement below:

Southern Magic brings its readers a special treat for the holidays,

36 awesome romance books by many of its talented authors.

Swoon, daydream and faint reading some of the best romance around.

From New Adult to Historical to Romantic Suspense to Erotica,

there's a little bit for everyone

One lucky winner will be selected at random.

Each author will mail her gifts separately

so the winner will receive several packages during the holidays

instantly putting a smile on his or her face

The packages will contain books and perhaps other goodies from the author.

Who knows what surprises might be found!!!!

Don't delay, enter now before the bustle of the holidays gets you sidetracked. Contest ends December 16, 3013.

Here are the wonderful authors participating in this special giveaway.

Participating author's websites:

Betty Bolte www.BettyBolte.com 

Carla Swafford       www.carlaswafford.com

Christy Reece   www.christyreece.com

Debbie Kaufman www.debbiekaufman.com

Ingrid Seymour www.IngridSeymour.com

Jamie Farrell www.JamieFarrellBooks.com

Jillian Chantal  jillianchantal.com

Julie Johnstone www.juliejohnstoneauthor.com

Katherine Bone www.katherinebone.com

Kerry Freeman kerryfreeman.com

Naima Simone   www.naimasimone.com

Paula Graves    www.paulagraves.com

Mina Khan              minakhan.blogspot.com

Susan Carlisle   www.SusanCarlisle.com

Suzanne Johnson www.suzanne-johnson.com

Click below to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And FYI, I'm giving away signed copies of CHANCES ARE and Ella Grace's MIDNIGHT SECRETS and MIDNIGHT LIES.

Okay, that's it for me. Before I send the shout-out for your great reads of last week, let me get a little personal and tell you how grateful I am to you. I know there are lots of fabulous authors out there, thousands of books, and your time is limited. Having you as one of my readers means the world to me. I thank you most sincerely for reading my books and telling others about them!

Now, let's talk books. What did you read last week? Any books you're looking forward to releasing soon?

Have a wonderful week and a blessed Thanksgiving. Hugs to all!

Recommend Monday

Good Morning All!

Hope you had a great weekend. The weather is lovely here, beautiful warm days and deliciously cool nights. Just right for cuddling with your honey and/or fur-kids or snuggling under a blanket with a great book.

Last week I went away to spend some alone time with Nick and Kennedy. I had to cut about 40 pages (hope to use most of them later) but the story wasn't headed in the right direction for the characters and I was stumped. Thankfully the isolation gave all three of us a chance to get it right. Now that I'm on the correct path, I'm anticipating a monumental word count from now on. Yay!

Though I did get a lot accomplished last week, I also read a phenomenal book. Pamela Clare's Striking Distance was, in my opinion, one of her best. It will definitely make my top ten list of favorites this year. I am in awe of Pamela's amazing talent!

The new cover and slightly higher price for CHANCES ARE will be coming up in the next few weeks. If you haven't had the chance to get it yet, be sure to snag it at 2.99 before it's too late!

Once I've finished NOTHING TO LOSE, I will be heading back to LCR land for RUNNING ON EMPTY, which is turning into my most emotional and exciting LCR story yet. Can't wait to get back to Noah and the gang!

In between writing binges, I'm going to be giving lots of thought to making some changes to my website, especially my blog. This may include the dissolution of Recommend Monday, either altogether or possibly moving it over to my Facebook author page. Not sure yet. Other than a few faithful (who know who you are and how much I appreciate you!) our recommends have really dwindled over the last year. Though the blog still gets lots of hits, I'm wondering if a different venue might increase the activity. Let me know your thoughts on this, here or by email.

Okay, that's it for me. Hope everyone has a fabulously productive week! And now, tell us what great books you read last week!

PS: The following is from Boney the Cat who insisted on adding her two cents worth by walking across my keyboard just now: loooooooo444

As you can see, she's a cat of few words and lets her good looks speak for her. :)

Recommend Monday (on a Sunday)

Hey Everybody!

I'm out of town this week so I'm posting early. And since Mr. Reece is standing by the door, waiting for me to finish, I'd better make this quick, too. Got some major writing and revisions to take care of, so I'm headed into isolation. Fingers crossed I can get lots accomplished!

As for recommends--I've just started Pamela Clare's First Strike, the prequel to Striking Distance. I knew the minute I finished I'd want to dive into Striking Distance. Now that I have both on my Kindle, I can! I'm hearing marvelous things about this book, which is no surprise as Pamela is such a fabulous storyteller.

Okay, that's it for me. Have a safe, productive week. Now tell us what great books you read last week!

And remember, Monday, November 11, is Veterans Day. Hope you'll take a few minutes and remember the brave men and women who have given so much to ensure our freedom. May God bless them all!

Recommend Monday

Good Monday All!

Hope you had an enjoyable and restful weekend. Is everyone having a lovely fall? Our trees finally turned just a few days ago and they're gorgeous. How I love this time of year!

My weekend was fantastic. I attended the Southern Magic Readers Luncheon here in Birmingham and had the best time. Spending the day with readers and authors is just about the best, most fun thing to do in the whole world. The day involved lots of laughter, fabulous prizes, inspiring words of wisdom, and then more laughter. And I did something I'd never done before--I stood before approximately 200 people and shared my writing process, which included photos. Uh oh, my secret is out. Chocolate is involved in every step of my process. Surprise! :)

The keynote speaker was Jeaniene Frost, who was so delightful and gracious. And Tavia Gilbert, who narrates all of Jeaniene's books, gave several readings. Just wow! The combination of Jeaniene's brilliant words and Tavia's fabulous voice was pure perfection.

Also, it was so great to see the wonderful Barbara Vey from Publishers Weekly. The always fun Sara and Gwen Reyes from Fresh Fiction were there, too.

My mom and aunt attended the luncheon, too, which is always a treat for me. For the first time, my hubby attended. And to make it even more special, at the end of my welcome speech, he was the first one on his feet for a standing ovation. Is it any wonder that I adore that man? <3 br="">

And guess what made the weekend even specialer? I got to spend some quality time with some of my very favorite peeps. Kara, who came all the way from Arkansas and whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday, Kara! And Jackie and Gayle, who came from Georgia. Along with my precious friend Marie from here in Birmingham. We stayed up late Saturday night, ate pizza, and giggled like crazed teenagers.

As soon as I get my week a little better organized, I'll share some photos of the day with you.

I'm currently reading Cynthia Eden's newest book in her 'Mine' series, Mine To Hold, and thoroughly enjoying it.

This week I'm going to finalize CHANCES ARE to re-upload it and then get back to work on NOTHING TO LOSE, which I have to admit, is becoming one of my most favorite books ever. Can't wait till I can get it into your hands. Fingers crossed it won't be too much longer!

Enough about me. What about you? Did you read some great books last week? Remember Pamela Clare's Striking Distance comes out tomorrow. Another fabulous I-Team book. Can't wait!

Now tell us what great books you read last week and what books you're looking forward to reading soon.

Have a great week all!

Recommend Monday

Good Monday All!

So sorry I'm late. Busy Monday already and I don't think it's going to slow down for a while. Which is great. Keeps me out of trouble. :)

Since I am running behind, thought I'd make this one short. I'm in the middle of reading Halfway to the Grave by Jeannine Frost and loving it. It's not my regular kind of read, which is great, too. Love finding new authors and different kinds of reads. And who could resist a hero like Bones? Oh my. Sigh... :)

Did some major surgery on NOTHING TO LOSE last week and I believe I'm finally headed in the right direction. Had to cut thousands of words but better to do that now, than write the whole book and realize it's not what I want. May take me longer but the last thing I want to do is put out a book that I'm not happy with. Thanks so much for everyone's patience. I promise it will pay off!

Okay, here's the new cover for CHANCES ARE I've been promising you. Designed by the amazingly talented cover artist PickyMe, I think this cover gives the suspenseful ambiance of the story. And I love the colors! Even though it'll be a few more weeks before it goes up, I couldn't wait any longer to show it off. Let me know what you think.

And now, tell us what you read last week that you loved.

Have a great day all!

Recommend Monday

Good Monday All!

Hope you had a great weekend, filled with some exciting reads you can't wait to tell us about. For a change, I have a couple myself!

Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to share some blog contest ideas with me here and by email. I received some excellent suggestions! It's going to take me a few weeks to go through all of them and choose the ones that will work best for me. As soon as I decide, I'll announce it here. Stay tuned!

Congratulations to Tara Tseng, who sent her suggestions via email. Tara, since I have your email address, I'll send you the $15 Amazon card that way.

Got lots to do this week. I'm finishing up some minor changes to CHANCES ARE before sending it to the formatter. Be warned: If you love the current cover, with the exotic dancer, be sure to grab your copy soon. I'll be changing the cover within the next few weeks. And next week, I'll share that sexy new cover with you. Here's the Amason link to order the book with the current cover: CHANCES ARE

NOTHING TO LOSE is coming along a little slower than I'd like, but it is coming. Whenever I start a new series, I dive in with all the excitement of a kid opening presents at Christmas. Around page 75, I tend to stall out and begin the struggle for words. The first book in a series sets the tone for the entire series, so not only do I need to write the story for the main characters, I need to determine the series theme. It's often slow going as I learn these things but it's well worth the time I take. RESCUE ME was like that, as was MIDNIGHT SECRETS. Usually after that first book is complete, subsequent stories come much faster.

I think you'll love the Grey Justice series which revolves around a small, secretive organization that seeks justice for victims when the law fails them. The leader, Grey Justice, is wealthy, mysterious, and seemingly cold-hearted. Of course as we get to know him, we learn there are hidden depths and lots of secrets. I like to think of him as a Noah McCall but with even more bite. :)

I still hope to finish NTL and get it out to you before the end of the year. Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise (one of Aunt Gibby's favorite sayings) I can do that. And then it'll be back to work on RUNNING ON EMPTY, Sabrina and Declan's story. Oh how I love this couple together. Such a fabulous history to unravel!

After those two, I'll put on my Ella Grace hat again and get to work on Bri Wilde's story, MIDNIGHT SHADOWS, with the plan on releasing it middle 2014. Bri has already told me several of her secrets and her story is shaping up to be the most emotional of the three sisters. Stay tuned for more as next year progresses.

So that's my writing life in a nutshell. How blessed I am to be working on three separate series, all of which I love. I simply cannot wait to get these books out to you!

Now for the recommends. Last week I read Silent Run by Barbara Freethy and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the first time I'd tried one of her books but I plan on reading many more. Loved her writing!

Also, as many of you know, I am a huge Pamela Clare fan and have been eagerly awaiting her new book in her I-Team series, Striking Distance. It releases on November 5 and I already have it on pre-order. However, I was so excited to learn that she was releasing a prequel to the book called First Strike. It's now on sale and I downloaded it last night. I've heard that it's super steamy and I cannot wait to open my Kindle and get started. If you've never read Pamela Clare I encourage you to give her a try. For those of you who have, you know how fabulous she is. To help you out, here's the Kindle link: First Strike

Okay, that's it for me. Hope everyone has a fabulous week. Can't wait to see your great recommends. Happy Reading!

Recommend Monday

Good Monday All!

Hope you had a good, restful weekend filled with great reading. Is the weather beautiful where you are? We're having an exceptionally warm fall but it's been absolutely beautiful. I think October has the most beautiful skies--such an intense, piercing blue. I haven't seen a lot of leaves changing yet. Are they changing where you are? The Maple tree in our front yard is showing a little color. In a few weeks the leaves should be a bright cinnamon.

Last week was busy work for me. Didn't get a lot of reading or writing done however I did get to do lots of planning. Oh, and I read the first draft of my welcome speech for the Southern Magic Readers luncheon to the hubby. I was pleased he laughed in almost all the appropriate places. :)

Thanks to everyone who commented for a chance to win a signed copy of SWEET REWARD with its gorgeous UK cover. The winners are: Lori and Karen Harvey! Ladies, please email me at christy@christyreece.com so we can discuss prize delivery.

No recommends from me today but I do have a favor to ask. I'm wanting to do a big giveaway sometime in December and I want to get as many people to enter as possible. I know many of you visit other author blogs and enter giveaways. Are there any contests you've entered lately that you thought were fun, got lots of people involved, and worked really well? Since I need to devote most of my time on writing, I don't want it too complicated. However, my goal is to bring lots of new people over to my website and hopefully entice them to read my books. Yep, I have ulterior motives. :) So any suggestions? You can give the suggestions here or email me at christy@christyreece.com. And to entice you to give an opinion, I'll give away a $15 Amazon card, chosen from the people who gave a suggestion. Winner announced on next week's Recommend Monday. So you have a whole week to come up with some ideas.

Okay, that's it for me. I'm headed into the writing cave to see what kind of trouble Kennedy, Nick, and the Grey Justice gang have gotten themselves into.

Hope you have a lovely, productive week. Can't wait to see your contest suggestions and your great read recommendations!