Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together

Okay, so actually I was going to call this post what I did on my weekend vacation but that didn't sound nearly as cool. Shrug. Most of the time, I don't sound cool.

The Lori Foster Reader and Author Event is one of the premier events to attend. Why? Because it's like hanging out with a ton of your favorite girlfriends who also happen to be authors. Yes. And it rocks. It's very PG rated, but really, do you NEED to have X rated all the time? Nah.

I left early on Thursday because I wanted to be there in time to put my stuff in the goody bags on Friday. Let me tell you. It was worth it, but man there was a LOT in those bags. Took the 20 or so folks (including me) about 3 hours to fill 500 or so bags. Yeah, that's a lot of bags. What was in there? Bookmarks, chap sticks, book thongs, lots of post cards, post-it notes, book samplers, print books (yes, I said print books), candy... all that.

I don't have a picture of it, but imagine two women-one wanting to eat lunch, both more than a little tired (already), trying to figure out how to get to the Quiznos. I love Quiznos, BTW. Needless to say, we missed a turn, ended up across the freeway, and Linda McMaken and I had a freaking blast. We ended up at the Steak 'n' Shake where I swear she got the world's largest tea. But it was worth it.

Somehow I ended up on the Welcoming Committee, which was so much fun, with Donna MacMeans, Desiree Holt, Keri Stevens, and a couple other ladies whose names (sadly) I've forgotten (sad because I loved working with them). We were instructed by Donna to pass out "virgin beads". Grin. Beads for those who were new to the con this past year. So I was one of the shouting people. "Who is the virgin? I want you! I want YOUR virginity!" Grin. I was very popular. Got a lot of blushes, too.

On a side note, I took part in the raffle for One Way Farm (check that out, if you haven't already - it's an awesome thing they do). I put tickets in for the Donna MacMeans basket. Why? There was a bottle of wine with her book cover on it in there. And guess what? I won!!!! I wasn't smart enough to take a pic of the basket before I dismantled it. Meh. I was excited. Grin.

I then took part in the massive epub/POD/digital signing. Talk about the company of fantastic people! Kaenar Langford, JA Saare, Desiree Holt, Dana Marie Bell, Christina Wolfer, yeah, there was some great talent there.

I have no idea what time I finally calmed down Friday night, but I happily went to my room with my Signed copy of Archeron. Yeah, the Sherrilyn Kenyon book. I went to sleep a happy girl.

What did Saturday entail? Lots! I hung out with Stephanie 'Flash' Burke, D Renee Bagby, Cheryl Dragon, Brannan Black, Camille Anthony, Drea Beacraft, Desiree Holt, Renee Vincent, the ladies of Turquoise Morning Press, Kelli Collins from Ellora's Cave, Moni Draper from Liquid Silver Books, my dear friend, Linda McMacken, as well as the Ladies of Book Obsessed Chicks.

I did some pitching, some freaking out (try pitching to seven people. kinda scary), had some supper, listening to everyone else win prizes, donned a cowboy hat, cracked up with Flash and D Renee, and the BOC. Yeah, it was worth it.

One of the best parts of the night had to be when I hung out with Virg Nelson. Started out talking at the cowboy party. We chatted at the table, moved to the atrium still talking, I kind of did another pitch (yeah, not sure how that happened), ended up hanging out outside with Gayle Donnelly and Robyn Mackenzie, Lydia Michaels and Erin McCarthy. Yeah, fangirl moment. Jennifer Mathis was out there, too and we had a blast. Talked necromancers, vampires, and racing books. Oh and Amish Vampires. Yes, it was eclectic. I know it was after midnight when I finally crashed. Well after midnight.

The next morning I was mistaken for Anne Rainey and saw a charcoal truck overturn. All in all, it was a good time.

Oh and I made a total fool of myself, but what's new? I'll leave you with that photo. Grin.

Flirty Friday

Working hard on a WIP that was a resub, so instead of a long Flirty Friday, here's a shoutout from a fellow author and a new review from Whipped Cream!!!

First, the shout out! Linda McMaken, you read her interview a few days back, she's got me on her site today!! I'm super psyched since she is one of my dear friends. Click here to read the interview.

And now onto the review:

You’ll Think of Me by Wendi Zwaduk
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (93 pages)
Other: Mild BDSM, Anal Play, M/F, Masturbation

Melanie is a strong and well developed heroine who is easy to admire as she attempts to move on with her life. Rhett’s friendship with both Cade and Melanie proves to be a strong point of the novel as he encourages them individually to confess their love to one another. Cade’s struggle to overcome the effects of war is heartbreaking and realistically portrayed. It was these things that engaged me in the story and kept me reading.

If you are looking for a quick read with plenty of hot sex, then You’ll Think of Me by Wendi Zwaduk is the book for you. ~ Rosemary

Not too shabby.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Cheryl Dragon, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

Thank You Thursday - Meet Author Linda McMaken!

So today, instead of my normal Thank You or Book Review, I wanted to highlight an up-and-coming author who happens to be a very dear friend. I met Miss Linda over four years ago (man has it been that long) down in Cincinnati. Thanks to Cait London for putting us together even if she has no idea.

Now Miss Linda has been one of my biggest fans and I've got to say, I'm one of hers, too. She's got a book coming out in August from Desert Breeze Publishing. I'm plucking some tidbits out of her Desert Breeze interview (you can read the full interview here) for this blog. Plus, she added some tidbits she wantes to share as well.

Since I happen to live in the same state as Linda (not the state of disorganization and dementia...I'm there all on my own), I asked her to tell my readers about where she lives.
I am a Midwest girl. Although my family DNA is in the South, and my heart is in the West.

I live with an amazing husband who can fix anything. Seriously, I've never broken anything the man can't fix. We've been married for 28 years and have two awesome daughters. The youngest was just married in August. She is a firefighter/paramedic and her hubby is a firefighter. My older daughter is getting married in December. Whew, it's been a long, but fun year. She is studying to be an EMT and her soon-to-be hubby is an EMT/Firefighter. Well, now I've got someone to put out all those kitchen fires!!! LOL


I have two "pound puppies" Hailey and Diesel. Diesel is featured on my blog very often. He is the source of much amusement. Hailey is now 14 years old and she snores while I write.

Awwww. I want to meet Diesel the wonder dog. He looks like a cutie patootie!

I live in the corn belt of Ohio. We have an awesome Great Lake, Erie; the country’s largest state fair, where butter sculptures are seriously a work of art. We are home to the United States Air Force Museum, which is an amazing place to visit. The Wright-B Flyer lives there as does Air Force One and everything in between. Oh, and we have the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland – Rock on!

HEck yeah, we have the Rock Hall. Where else can you see John Lennon's clothes, Bruce Springsteen's leather jacket, AND see the original lyrics to Jimi Hendrix's songs? OHIO!!!

I also asked her where we can find her on the web.
I have a blog that right now acts as my webpage as well. http://makenwords.blogspot.com/. I’m also at the usual places like Facebook, and Twitter.

Let's get down to some fun questions. I wanted to know who some of her favorite authors were growing up?

I loved John Jakes. I met him at a local library when I was a teenager and fell in love. He was older, cool, and a writer!

Thanks to my mom, I read lots of Louis L’amour, Zane Grey, Max Brand, and great mysteries from Nancy Drew, Mickey Spillane, and Clive Cussler.

Hee hee, I just bought a Nancy Drew. I love good ole Nancy.

For those new to Linda's work, I wanted to know what genre fits your work?

I write romantic comedy. Although I have a thriller I’ve been playing around with and hope to have finished next year.

I’ve also been a freelance magazine writer for a number of years, and I am a scriptwriter for COS Productions. They create booktrailers for writers.

And these are some cool trailers. I've seen them. Heck, they made me want to spend my paycheck book shopping. It's dangerous.

She has a book coming out soon, so I asked her to tell me a little about the book.
The title is Baer Truth. It is scheduled for release in August 2011. I’ll just give you the “short” back cover version.

Abby Clark, a vegetarian, punk rock back-up singer and city-slicker gets kicked off the band tour bus in the middle of nowhere. Wyoming! Stuck with nothing but a talent for cooking and the singing voice of an angel, she manages to disturb a very cranky, cold-hearted bear, um, Baer. Joe Baer, a sexy Wyoming beef rancher. He has a nasty ex-girlfriend, killer blue eyes, a ranch mortgage that’s due, and a past that even he never suspected.

Just when it looks like beef might be what’s for dinner, the “Earl of Country Music” steps into the picture. He’s a sexy country singing legend with a killer smile and connections that could launch a stellar-career for Abby.

Baer Truth, is a contemporary romantic comedy, following the three Baer brothers and their heartwarming family saga in Wyoming ranch land; where the men are always hungry, the women are bossy, tractors are just booby-traps lying in wait for city-girls and true love is just a Baer cave away!

I also asked her to share some other tidbits, since there is always more to a writer than the words on the page.

I am doing a column for RT Book Reviews - I'm pretty excited about that. It is written as my librarian self, but authors can get some good info from if they are trying to get into libraries for promo. Here's the link: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/content/beyond-books-library-marketing-exposed

(Oh, yeah, she's a librarian, too. She gets to live around books. I'm jealous.)
Here's her official bio from Desert Breeze and other pertinent linkys.

And Don't Forget to Check out These Awesome Authors: Megan Slayer, Kealie Shay, Menagerie Authors, Jessica Jarman, Devon Rhodes, Ashley Ladd, Linda McMaken, Marianne Arkins, Anne Rainey, KA Mitchell, Mychael Black, and Jenika Snow!

This Was SOOO Cool

I went to the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together and I got to meet the very cool Barbara Vey, among other people. I wanted to share the link for the blog where she mentioned little ole me!I hope you get a chance to check it out!

I am standing with my good friend, Linda McMaken who introduced me to Barbara and that snazzy necklace was made by my best friend, Chris. Don't you love it? I do!

More tomorrow about the cool authors I met, but its getting late!