A Reader First...

Isn't it funny how some books crawl in the back of your mind and stick with you forever?  

I hadn't really thought about this for a while but it came up when I was responding to a lovely blogger who invited me to visit her blog in December.  *Waving to Kati at ROMANCING RAKES *  She asked what my favorite Christmas Romance is and would I be willing to give away a copy when I visit her blog.

Wow... my favorite Christmas Romance.  I don't know if I can do that.  How do I even begin to remember ONE book out of the thousands I've... Wait!  One popped right into my thoughts even before I could finish lamenting about the difficulty of the question.  Christina Skye's CHRISTMAS KNIGHT. 

Released in October 1998, that means it's probably been thirteen years since I read the book but I so remember that story.   I can still visualize the characters when I think about them!  I can close my eyes and actually SEE Ronan MacLeod approaching Hope's cottage and working on the thatched roof and... well, I think I've made my point.

I was a voracious reader long, long before I ever began to write my first book.  Books were my fantasy world of choice from the time I first began to read.  [Dick and Jane and Spot, anyone?]  Books have always been my passion.  I have hundreds of them packed away in plastic storage boxes in the crawl space because I have no more room on the shelves in my office.  Or on the back of my bed.  Or in my closet.  Or in my bedside table.  Or... well, you get the picture.  I'm sure many of you have the same... um... storage issue.  And those don't even take into account all the books I've given away to thrift shops and libraries and friends.

Storage problems aside, I love books.  And while there are thousands of stories I've enjoyed, there are some that still linger in the back of my mind, ready to jump out at a moments notice.  You, too? 

I read and loved every single book in the NANCY DREW series.  I idolized Carolyn Keene for the wonderful stories she wrote.  I wanted to BE her.  [Can I just tell you how disappointed I was when I learned, years later, that "Carolyn Keene" was actually several different people who wrote those books?] 



Then there was Mary Stewart's THE MOONSPINNERS.  I saw it first as a Disney movie and then hunted down the book at my local library.  The book was soooo much better that it still has a place -- all these years later! -- on my keeper shelf.


Douglas Adams is probably best known for his HITCHKIKERS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE books, but my all-time favorite of his works [and one of my all-time favorite stories ever and a big part of the reason I wrote my first book] is THE LONG DARK TEA-TIME OF THE SOUL.  I LOVE that book.  [Though I'll admit, every time I read it, I imagine there's one more chapter that ties up things the way I want them tied up!]  If you haven't read this, you really need to give it a try.  And if you want a real treat, find yourself a copy of the audio version [so old it's on cassette tapes!] of the author reading the full story. 

So, Kati's question got me to thinking... what IS it about those books that made them so unforgettable to me?   As you can see, my best loved books aren't all Romance [okay, most are, and for the ones that aren't, I pretend they have the HEA I crave!].  So what's the one thing about them that really hooked into my imagination?  For me, it all boils down to the characters. 

There's nothing like having a character come to life in my imagination as I get to know them while reading their story.  I think that's why I'm NEVER satisfied with a movie or television adaptation of books I've loved.  The character living in my head exists only there so any actor chosen to play the part is an imposter to my way of thinking.  Ruins the story for me.  From Keene's spunky, smart, ahead-of-her-time Nancy Drew, to Adams's funny, perservering Kate Schechter [who, by the way, I see as the heroine of this story even though reviewers insist the book belongs to the private eye, Dirk Gently], these characters have taken on their own lives in my imagination.

Now that I've shared a few of my favorites, tell me yours.  Is it the characters that make the stories unforgettable for you, or is it something else?  Come on, share... I'm always looking to add a new favorite to my seriously overflowing bookshelves!

HIGHLANDER'S CURSE

As promised, here's the back cover copy for HIGHLANDER'S CURSE, scheduled to hit bookstores everywhere March 29, 2011 ~

When Colin MacAlister is cursed by the Faerie Queen and ends up in the bed of a twenty-first century woman — who also happens to be the most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on — he’s torn between anger and lust. Colin is determined to see Scotland free of English control and must return to the fourteenth century, yet he cannot forget the woman who haunts his dreams and stirs him with scorching desire.


Abigail Porter can’t believe her luck. After making a wish to find her Soulmate, she wakes up to find a gorgeous man in her bed! Can he really be a medieval Highlander summoned by her Faerie Magic, however? It seems crazy, but when Abby discovers someone wants to enslave her because of her Faerie heritage, she agrees to flee with Colin to 1306 Scotland to avoid capture.

Thwarting danger at every turn, Abby and Colin surrender to an irresistible passion. But is the magic of true love powerful enough to save them?

HEALING THE HIGHLANDER

No.... I still don't have a jpg of the cover to share with you.  *sigh*  I'm so sorry.  The preliminary picture I saw of it is wonderful.  And, as I promised before, the minute I have the finished product in my hot little hands, I'll post it.

For now though, I thought I'd go ahead and post the back cover copy... just to give you a taste of what's to come...

HEALING THE HIGHLANDER
Release date:  February 22, 2011

Andrew MacAlister longs for a cure to free him from the excruciating pain caused by an old wound, but when he rescues a drowning woman, he has no idea how much his life is about to change. All Drew knows is that this mysterious woman is hiding secrets—and that he’s never felt such a consuming desire before. Yet he cannot deny her request for help, even if it means bringing the detested English army to his Highland clan’s home.


Leah Noble McQuarrie still harbors a deep hatred of the Fae who tortured her eleven years ago, forcing her to escape back in time to the thirteenth century. A descendant of the Fae, Leah denies her heritage and her magical healing abilities. But the English army is holding her beloved adoptive grandfather captive, so Leah must seek help from the Fae—and the captivating man whose touch she craves.


Then Drew discovers Leah’s secrets, and he’s torn between old loyalties and trusting a woman who has the power to give him the future he’s sought—but could destroy his clan forever. . . .

What do you think?????
 
Tomorrow I'll post the back cover copy for HIGHLANDER'S CURSE.
 
Until next time ~
 
Melissa

The Festival and the Fire

What an interesting weekend it's been.  Let me share with you...

On Friday my youngest son and I drove up to Estes Park, Colorado, to attend the Long's Peak Scottish Irish Festival.  It's only about twenty-two miles from where we live, and it's a beautiful drive ~

We wandered around, shopped [of course!], ate a lovely lunch [shepherd's pie for both of us and an order to haggis to take home to hubby since he couldn't come along], and watched some of the totally cool events taking place.

There was a jousting competition:

And there was the tossing competitions... we got there in time to see the tossing of the beer kegs ~

Now, that alone would have been pretty much enough to have made for an excellent way to spend a Friday, but as we were leaving I discovered that a Celtic band called Albannach was getting ready to play in the musicians' tent.  I absolutely could NOT leave without seeing them live.  Just a couple of weeks ago the wonderful Kim Adams [of http://sosaloha.blogspot.com/ ] mentioned how much she liked the band and listed their website so everyone could have a listen.  I listened and immediately ordered a cd.  [http://www.albannachmusic.com ]  After seeing and hearing them perform live, I bought two more! 

Seriously... the energy coming off that stage was unbelievable.  And that energy comes right through their cd's -- my new favorite writing music! 

I'd planned to go back yesterday [Sunday] with hubby so he could see them, too, but the fire out back sort of disrupted our plans for the day.  We'd headed out for a late breakfast/early lunch before driving up to Estes and though we'd seen lots of emergency equipment passing us heading west, I'd just assumed a traffic accident... until we pulled into the restaurant parking lot and looked back in the direction we'd driven from.  ACK!  A quick call home to our son confirmed for us that breakfast would be better served at home! 

The fire is approximately seven miles west of our house.  Here's what it looks like from my back yard ~

As of this morning, the fire is approximately 650 acres, but 10% contained.  The firefighters are absolutely amazing and I know everyone between my back yard and the fire perimeter [and those within] are extremely grateful to them.

We'll all be keeping our fingers crossed for NO winds today so that those heroes can get the best of the fire!

Until next time ~

~ Melissa

Winner For the Promo Items

We have a winner!!!   AT LAST!!!!!

Yeah... I know.  I should have gotten back to this AT LEAST a week ago.  But I really do have a [pretty good] reason for the delay.  My revisions/edits for HEALING THE HIGHLANDER arrived and I totally devoted myself to that, dropping all other balls I was juggling.  My apologies.

That said, revisions are done and a winner has been chosen* and an email sent notifying her.  

YAY, Janette!!!


Until later ~

~ Melissa



*For anyone who's interested in HOW said winner gets chosen, I assign each individual commenter a number and then I use Random.org to choose a totally random number from that group. 

Pocket After Dark

Have you guys heard about the new site Pocket has set up for readers of romance and urban fantasy?  It's wonderful! 

http://www.pocketafterdark.com/

You simply set up a profile to join [free -- absolutely free!] and then you have access to free excerpts of books by Pocket authors, free reads online, message boards, contests... all sorts of things that make this a great destination spot for readers. 

I just updated my profile on there today and I'll do my best to check in at least weekly -- if you're interested in a discussion about any of my books, I'm more than happy to join in!

Try it -- I think you'll really like it! 

In fact, to give you some extra encouragement to visit the site and join, how about we do a little contest?  I have a couple of promo giveaway items left over from attending RomCom and RWA. 

All you have to do to enter the drawing for the Promo Pack is to visit PocketAfterDark, register yourself there and leave a comment here with your PocketAfterDark profile name -- and you'll be entered for the drawing!  Make sure in your comment you leave me an email address so I have a way to contact the winner!!

Let's give everyone some time...  I'll do the drawing next week -- Wednesday, August 18. 

I look forward to hearing from all of you!!

Until next time ~

~ Melissa

RomCon Recap

At last the book is done and I have time to sit back and take a deep breath.  Whew!  It also means I have time now to talk about my experience at RomCon.

As I mentioned in my last post, I absolutely loved my RomCon experience.  I had the good fortune to meet so many people I only "knew" from online... people I follow on Twitter, bloggers, and wonderful authors whose books I read and love.  I can't wait to do it all again next year!!

Let me start with my RomCon preparations.  I'd suggested to Elaine and Michelle [the lifeforce behind RomCon!] that it might be fun to have a function that afforded bloggers and reviewers the opportunity to meet one another and socialize for a bit.  They countered by offering me the opportunity to sponsor such an event -- and so was born the Melissa Mayhue and Friends Blogger/Reviewer Party!

The "Friends" ended up being a wonderful group of authors who volunteered to provide prizes for the attendees and help sponsor the cost of the event.  It was a totally wonderful for me because many of those authors are ones whose books I can hardly wait to get my hands on as they're released!  

Here's the list:

Leanne Banks, Meljean Brook, Susan Crandall, Jeaniene Frost, Blythe Gifford, Deeanne Gist, Hannah Howell, Tara Janzen, Cathy Maxwell, Erin Nicholas, Julia Quinn, Melissa Schroeder, Anna Campbell, Nalini Singh, Meg Benjamin, Jeanne Stein, and Sourcebooks Casablanca editor, Deb Werksman

See what I mean?  I was as busy being a major FanGirl as anyone in the room! :-)

I've seen several Tweets and blogs which mentioned all the books people brought home from RomCon.   I took this photo of the books that were sent to me to put into the individual bags that each and every attendee of the Blogger/Reviewer party took home:

It's difficult to see here, but those stacks go back two layers deep.  In addition to the authors who sponsored the event, my thanks also go out to my publisher, Pocket Books for contributing three huge boxes of books as well as SourceBooks/Casablanca for all the books they sent.  Both are publishing houses that understand how very important readers are! 

What that meant for attendees of the event was that every bag was stuffed with at least five books -- and more were added the day of the event by authors who hadn't sent theirs ahead of time!  Keep in mind, this was for only ONE event!

My only regret about RomCon was that I was scheduled for so many events, I had almost no time to just sit in the lobby and visit!  Still, each and every event was relaxed enough that it wasn't like I didn't get plenty of visiting in my weekend.  Oh... and the names on the name tags were really small.  Either that or it's time to get my eyes checked again!!  :-)

Until next time ~

~ Melissa