Erica Hayes, fabulous new Australian urban paranormal writer is celebrating the release of her second novel,  Shadowglass, with an incredible giveaway. Five fantasy/paranormals by five Australian authors! Including me. *ahem*

Erica’s giving away a copy of Thief of Light - plus a book each from Nalini Singh, Keri Arthur, Tracey O’Hara - and of course, her own Shadowglass.

All you have to do is visit Erica’s blog page and leave a comment. Ends Saturday 9th March. What could be simpler?

Go for it!

Erica’s blog

Did you see Dick Francis died? I feel personally bereft. I don’t follow horse racing. let alone steeple-chasing. (In fact, I’m scared of horses, beautiful creatures though they are. They’re so damned big.) But Francis was an uber-champion jockey. He rode for the Queen. He was also a real gentleman and an extraordinarily gifted and interesting person. He didn’t have much of an education, but when he gave up riding and turned to writing, he was amazing. He wrote a book a year for years on end, all of them terrific reads.

If you want to learn what tension and narrative power is all about, read Dick Francis.  I used to swallow his books whole, in one big gulp, they were that good. I bet he was a dream to edit. His heroes are usually quiet, competent men, assured in their masculinity - rather like their creator, I imagine. Not chest-beating alphas, but real men! There’s generally a romance, though it’s low-key and understated.

One of the things I loved was how hard he worked and how much attention he paid to detail. His research was always meticulous. Not all of his heroes are horse or racing people. I remember one about a toy inventor, another about an actor. But whatever it was, he knew everything there was to know about it.  And he made the research an integral part of the story without beating you over the head with it.

Haven’t read them? I envy you. If you’re looking for a place to start, you couldn’t do better than the Sid Halley books. (The three covers pictured here.) Sid is brave without bravado and he makes brains sexy. Your local library will have them for sure. 

I’m here to tell you audiobooks rock! What? You already knew that? Well, duh! I’ve always been a late bloomer.

It started with Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter. Not only a gorgeous voice, but so many voices. How a man with a dark velvety baritone makes himself sound like a fourteen year old girl, let alone a squeaky house elf, is beyond me, but he does. I heard in an interview with him and J.K. Rowling that the recording engineers keep a special CD with snippets of all the different voices he does, as a reference. There must be hundreds.

I’m in awe of these vocal artists - because they are artists, in every sense of the word. Lord John and the Private MatterScots, Irish, slum London and, of course, Lord John’s mellifluous oh-so-English tones. He’s fabulous, but OMG, I was gobsmacked to discover he’s American! WTF? How did does he do it? by Diana Gabaldon is read by Jeff Woodman. He does a complete range of accents -

I’m pretty good at detecting accents. For example, I can still hear Sam Worthington’s Aussie accent in Avatar. Kinda cute coming from an eight foot tall blue guy.*snicker* But Woodman had me completely convinced. Brilliant. Just like High Laurie in House. DD wouldn’t believe me when I told her he was the quintessential Englishman. Had to find the evidence on YouTube!

Then there’s Nigel Planer reading Terry Pratchett. I lurve Terry Pratchett, and even though I’ve read them all before, there’s something so indugent and well, cuddly, about being read to. A throwback to childhood, I guess. As some of you have intuited, I suck at housework because I hate it. Actually, I dislike pretty much any kind of routine. So I’ve been listening to Men at Arms as I clean up the kitchen (DD is on a baking jag) or trudge through my exercise program or drive to work. It really helps. Though I laughed so hard at Janet Evanovich’s Visions of Sugar Plums, I nearly drove up a telegraph pole once.

Ellora’s Cave have just started a new line of audiobooks. You can check it out here. Look at the upper right hand corner of the Home Page for the direct link.  Wow. I can’t imagine anyone reading my books aloud, except I think I’d want it to be a man. Can’t decide whether to blush or go jump My Beloved’s bones.

Do you listen to audiobooks? Do you enjoy them? What about erotic romances though? I suspect I’d be too embarrassed to listen. Which is pretty dumb really, because visuals/movies don’t bother me - quite the reverse, actually! heh heh

Welcome to the Laced with Desire cross-blog. 

This is our second ‘corset’ anthology together and we had such a blast with the Unlaced cross-blog, we decided to do it again.

This time, Jaci Burton, Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill and I are talking about clothes - what they do (and don’t do!) for us. Yes, fashion disasters, unwise addictions, sex-kitten outfits - all is revealed. There are even a couple of pictures. Woot! (Possibly.)

Four authors, four blogs - four chances for free books. And it’s easy, just leave a comment. (Photographic evidence not required. heh heh) What’s not to love? Winners announced 9am EST (USA) Wednesday 3rd February.

Visit each of the blogs in turn to check out the giveaways from each author.I’m giving away a set - Unlaced AND Laced with Desire. If you happen to own them both already, I’m sure we can find something else.

I’ve put an easy link for you under each of our responses to the questions about clothes.

Here are the four questions  - 

1. What’s your most appalling shopping weakness, especially when it comes to clothes? Go to Jaci Burton’s blog. Giveaway - an advance review copy of her March release, Bound, Branded and Brazen.

2. What’s your most comfortable outfit and what do you enjoy doing most to relax? Go

to Jasmine Haynes’ blog. Giveaway - autographed copy of Yours for the Night.

 3. What’s your most sexy/naughty-feeling outfit? Go to Joey W. Hill’s blog. Giveaway - a signed copy of Laced with Desire.

4. What’s the outfit that gives you the most confidence? Read on! Giveaway - the set, Unlaced AND Laced with Desire.

Jaci Burton:

I have this sleeveless black dress that I adore. I can dress it up or down, wear a shirt under it if it’s cold outside or put a sweater over it. It’s multifunctional, looks great on me, I can wear heels or boots or flats with it, punk it up or class it up and it still looks great. Everyone should have a basic black dress they can do so many things with. It’ll make you feel great about yourself.

Visit Jaci’s blog for the shopping disasters and Jaci’s giveaway!

Excerpt from Jaci’s story, No Strings Attached.

Jasmine Haynes:

For confidence, I like a suit, feminine lines with a short tailored, form-fitting jacket and a skirt, either calf-length or well above the knee, never knee-length.  Under the suit, of course, very feminine lacy bra and barely there thong panties.  Thigh high stockings top it off.  Professional, feminine, and naughty all rolled into one.

Visit Jasmine’s blog for comfy clothes and Jasmine’s giveaway!

Excerpt from Jasmine’s story, La Petit Mort.

 Joey W. Hill:

That would be this dress. I wore it at the 2009 Romantic Times for the Jungle Party. Typical of an OCD personality type with body image issues, I don’t often feel gorgeous in anything, but I loved this dress. It had sexy lines, and flowed when I walked like I was a romance heroine come out of her chrysalis. It flattered hip line, maximized my minimal cleavage (grin), and had a whimsical flirtiness to it I adored. I found some great Wal-mart White Stag jewelry to go with it for almost nothing, and my mom, who went with me to RT, took this lovely near sunset picture. She was probably trying to commemorate the one time her daughter didn’t look like a bag lady!Of course, on the flip side, sometimes when I’m wearing my most comfortable outfit (see the question on Jasmine’s blog), that’s also when I feel most confident. That’s because it’s the outfit that says “this is the real me”, and there’s always a reassurance to that…as long as I don’t end up in the wrong environment for it. I remember one conference, I brought too many “comfortable clothes”, and when I went to one of the more formal events, I felt far from confident! So matching the setting to the outfit helps. However, when I’m at home and around town, I always feel quite confident in my comfy clothes. Though I think the sexy zebra dress would work anywhere (I plan to wear it to Wal-mart one day for fun – laughter).

Visit Joey’s blog for naughty/sexy outfits and Joey’s giveaway!

Excerpt from Joey’s story, Honor Bound.

Denise Rossetti:

I don’t mind admitting it - clothes are really important to my self-confidence. Feeling over or under dressed, badly groomed or untidy disconcerts me dreadfully. I suspect it’s shallow, but there you go.If I think my day at the Evil Day Job is going to be challenging, I’ll make a point of dressing from the skin out to bolster my confidence.

Matching undies first. Beyond that, I absolutely have to feel ‘put together’. I’m not a frilly or froufrou dresser, I like well-cut classics and a close fit. So it might be belted tailored trousers and shirt, with a jacket and discreet jewelry. I combine rich bright colours with neutrals because they give my skin a lift. Anything beige, dusty or muted and I could get work as an extra on Night of the Living Dead. LOL

I always wear my charm bracelet – I have a charm for every book I’ve written – because it reminds me of who I am and what I can do if I put my mind to it. (If you were wondering why the two silver inkpot/quill charms, they’re my Passionate Plume Awards.)

Excerpt from my story, Rhio’s Dancer.

Tell us about the outfit that makes you feel a million dollars. What’s so special about it?

Sounds a little weird, doesn’t it? A blog that’s cross, but nope, I’m not mad. The exact reverse, actually. To celebrate the release of LACED WITH DESIRE, our second anthology together, Jaci Burton, Jasmine Haynes, Joey W. Hill and I are running what’s essentially a blog tour. Starts Monday 1st February (USA time).

You get FOUR CHANCES TO WIN! One on each blog. (Click on the images for excerpts!)

Visit each of the blogs in turn to chat about a first and check out the giveaways from each author. Since the stories in the anthology are once again connected by a corset theme (the previous anthology was Unlaced), we decided to answer four “clothing related” questions.

We’ll let you know what’s -

1) our most sexy/naughty feeling outfit,

2) our most comfortable outfit,

3) our most appalling shopping weakness and

4) the outfit that gives us the most confidence.

We’ll each take a question and post the four answers to it on each of our blogs. If you visit our blogs and answer the question as well, or leave a comment, you’ll be eligible for the giveaway on the blog - and yes, we’ll each be having a giveaway, so comment at each one and you’ll have four chances to win! You can start with all the questions and links right and work your way around.I’ll put all the links for you under each story.

I’m giving away the two anthologies - Unlaced and Laced with Desire as a set. Woot!

Get ready to talk about clothes! What’s not to love?

Does reading romance improve your romantic life?  Does reading erotic romance improve your sex life? 

Interesting questions, hmm?  Even more interesting, I often receive mail from readers who tell me that their partners thank me too. Isn’t that lovely? Always makes me grin.

Ellora’s Cave’s is having an official 10th birthday and as part of the celebrations, they’re asking readers pick the winner from the two finalists in the video category of the How Has Ellora’s Cave Improved Your Sex Life contest. Check out the two very different but totally wonderful videos - HERE! They’re up for a month to give everyone plenty of time to vote. Tell all your friends to vote too!

You can talk about it here too, of course! (But not TMI, all right? I’m a delicate flower.) Did you have a stand-out favourite video? Why?

It’s almost beyond me to imagine a life without the pleasure of books - fiction, non-fiction, whatever. But there’s someone who is very dear to me who doesn’t read - AT ALL!  Never has and doesn’t intend to start.

Yeah, I know - the mind absolutely boggles.

I swear black and blue, I’m going to get her reading, make her One of Us. Imagine me burning with missionary zeal.

Every year at Christmas, I buy the young people in my life books. So what will I get for Ms Twenty-One, who doesn’t read? So far, I’ve ordered a copy of the first Stephanie Plum. I reckon that will  help.

But what else? What do you all think?

It has to have “instant grab” or she’ll put it down. It also has to appeal to her age group. What do you all think of manga? An anthology? An audio book? Even Twilight? *shudder*

Do you have one book in particular that turned you on to reading? Puhleeese, your recommendations?

Okay, I’m baaack! I’ve been promo-ho-ing my socks off for Thief of Light. *bwg* It was released on 3rd November - as if you didn’t know. heh heh 

Read the first chapter at: http://www.deniserossetti.com/thief.html
Buy from Amazon http://tinyurl.com/mw3bdb

I just wanted to warn you I’m about to upgrade the software for this blog. I’ve been putting it off for absolutely ages. This stuff isn’t exactly my best thang, you know? Hopefully, it will work, but just in case - you’ll know what’s happened if Under and Over suddenly evaporates.

Goddess help me… *gulp*

Steampunk is the new buzzword around Genre World. Exactly what it means is open to interpretation, but there do seem to be a few constants. Like dirty great steam machines. heh heh

This video is an absolute hoot. Totally brilliant. What’s more, it contains most of the elements of ’steampunk’ - especially the aforesaid dirty great steam machines. *grin*

Enjoy!

Thanks to Eleni for drawing my attention to it.

A few days ago, Fedex delivered a box full of The Flame and the Shadow at Chez Rossetti. After the cries of joy, I liberated them from the packing and hastened to arrange them on the bookshelf. It gives me such pleasure to gaze at them, scads of the little darlings, all in a lovely row.

Actually, “little” is the operative word, because these are the mass market version. When The Flame and the Shadow was released this time last year, it was in trade paperback. All big and fancy, yeah, yeah. But I have to say trade paperbacks leave me cold. I much prefer the smaller size.

To be honest, I cannot think of a single thing in favour of trade paperbacks. Can you?

Let’s see…

1. They cost more. I’m a reader just like everyone else, but I’ll think two - or three, or more - times before paying for a trade paperback by an unknown author.  I really hate that my work is priced out of anyone’s reach. It embarrasses me. Here in Oz, book prices are appalling, so I’ll use US prices. At Amazon, Flame is only $6.00 right now, because the mass market will be released on 6th October and they’re selling out old stock. But it was $15.00 Ouch!
2. They don’t fit on my shelves! I like to see the spines of my books, but I have to shove trades in on their long sides. Looks dumb.
3. They don’t fit in my handbag either. Or if they do, they peek out the top and unbalance me.
4. They weigh more, so they cost me more to post as contest prizes. And from Oz, postage is a killer, believe me!
5. I have really small hands, so I get tired of holding the damn things.

I suppose there could be a prestige factor. They do look kind of grown-up and impressive. The artwork looks great because they get a larger canvas. Okay, I guess that’s two things. They’re not to be sneezed at either.

You see? All that wonderful swirling Magick in the background. Ah…

I just wish the damn things didn’t cost so much? *grump, grump* What do you think? Do you like trade paperbacks? Would you pay the money for a trade written by a new author?