My dear, sweet pal Lisa sent me some pictures from the Powell's book signing on the 18th.

The first thing you'll notice are the signs. And the fact I don't have one. This was my first group signing and I was dwarfed by book covers everywhere. I'm surprised you can see my face! (*Note to self: get a sign*)

That's me in there somewhere. Behind one of those monster book covers...

Look! There I am! I knew I'd been there... (Those Stolen book covers do look awesome, though, don't they?!)

I may not have had a sign, but I did have a kick-ass hat. Compliments of the lovely Lisa (again). (And yes, you can call me Dr. Jones for short.)

Hey all!

Today I'm blogging over at the Mid-Willamette RWA blog about the Twilight Series (and some other fun stuff). Stop by and watch a hilarious movie trailer for New Moon. Seriously funny material there.

Also, just a last reminder that tonight is the Powell's 3rd Annual Romance Event. I'll be signing along with some other awesome romance authors:

Rose City Romance Group Signing
Join us in supporting local romance authors at our third annual Rose City Romance event! Meet these talented women, ask questions, and get books autographed in a casual setting. Featured authors include:

* Cathy Lamb (Almost Home)
* Delilah Marvelle (Lord of Pleasure)
* Minnette Meador (Edge of Honor)
* Jenna Bayley-Burke (Her Cinderella Complex)
* Meljean Brook (Demon Bound)
* Jean Johnson (The Sons of Destiny Series)
* Margaret Mallory (Knight of Desire)
* Gina Robinson (Spy Candy)
* Elisabeth Naughton (Stolen Heat)
* Hanna Rhys-Barnes (Widow's Peak)
* Lisa Hendrix (Immortal Outlaw, Immortal Warrior)

Friday, September 18th @ 7pm Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. (800) 878-7323

If you're in the Portland area, I hope you stop by and say hi!

Eek! It's Wednesday already? I swear the weeks are flying by.

Okay, so many things to talk about...

First of all, if you're in the area, stop by the 3rd Annual Rose City Romance Event this Friday, September 18th at 7pm. Here's the Powell's Blurb about the Event:

Rose City Romance Group Signing
Join us in supporting local romance authors at our third annual Rose City Romance event! Meet these talented women, ask questions, and get books autographed in a casual setting. Featured authors include:

* Cathy Lamb (Almost Home)
* Delilah Marvelle (Lord of Pleasure)
* Minnette Meador (Edge of Honor)
* Jenna Bayley-Burke (Her Cinderella Complex)
* Meljean Brook (Demon Bound)
* Jean Johnson (The Sons of Destiny Series)
* Margaret Mallory (Knight of Desire)
* Gina Robinson (Spy Candy)
* Elisabeth Naughton (Stolen Heat)
* Hanna Rhys-Barnes (Widow's Peak)
* Lisa Hendrix (Immortal Outlaw, Immortal Warrior)

Friday, September 18th @ 7pm Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. (800) 878-7323

Secondly, my editor sent me the artwork for MARKED this morning, and though I can't share it yet (it's just artwork, no text) I CAN tease you and tell you that it is FABULOUS. I really, really love it. And can't wait to share it!! As soon as I can, I'll post it here. I did show it to my CP - who was instrumental in my writing the book in the first place, and she said, "Damn, girl. Who did you sleep with in the cover god pantheon?" I'm still chuckling over that one. Though I have to wonder myself. The cover gods have definitely blessed me.

And finally, last night after above CP and I were on IM brainstorming a scene in the WIP that had me tied up, I came across this video. I've seen it before - and you probably have too - but it's so funny I thought I'd post it here. I laughed so hard I cried. And don't we all need that once in a while? I hope you enjoy!

Birthday Greetings from Joe Cocker from Jared Pike on Vimeo.

These are from Friday night at the Powell's book club event.

Me signing books.

Me with raffle basket winner, Mary Oldham.

And this one is me with some of the Rose City Romance Authors.

So after Friday night's event I think I'm glad I'm having the vocal surgery. I talked more than I probably should have, but not more than any normal person. However, I was hating life later that night and the next day. My throat hurt, my voice sounded awful and the whole thing just reinforced my decision to get to the bottom of my vocal problem. I can't go through life with this voice--not if I ever plan to talk to anyone.

In other news...last night I had an epiphany on the wip! I don't plot books out ahead of time...I sort of write into the mist, as I call it. But last night the ending came to me, which is SUCH a relief because I've been starting to stress on how I'm going to work this one out. I love it when solutions just pop into my brain like magic.

I'll probably be off-line a good portion of tomorrow while I'm having my surgery, but I'll be back on Wed. to let you all know how it went. In the meantime...anyone have any good book recommendations for me? I think I may need something to read during my recovery tomorrow night. Since I'm book-less right now (I finished The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie and loved it) and have to go out today anyway to run a few errands, I feel a book store stop in my near future.

Check it out...STOLEN SEDUCTION is available for preorder on Amazon, complete with cover image and everything!

Last night was the Powell's Cheeky Pages book club meeting. (Isn't that title just great!) They read STOLEN FURY for their August book and invited me to come up and be part of the discussion. I have to say, I was a little nervous - all those people having read the book! - but it was very fun. Of course, everyone loved it (how could they not?! LOL) and there were some very nice comments that ranged from "This was better than the Nora Roberts book we read last month," to "This needs to be made into a movie, to "You totally stumped me with the villain."

And thanks to all who gave me SWAG suggestions! Since the book club read STOLEN FURY, I put together goodie bags for everyone that included 1st chapter sample books of STOLEN HEAT, bookmarks and chocolate. During the meeting we had a trivia session where I handed out prizes to winners, and at the end I raffled off a treasure hunt gift basket. My good friend Lisa took pictures, so when I get them from her, I'll post them here for you to see.

I also got some great feedback that will help with my upcoming paranormal series...mainly, readers suggested a glossary for non-English terms would be helpful and that they want a teaser preview for what's coming up in the next book in the series. I will, of course, mention these to my publisher, but final say on adding items like this is up to them, not me.

On September 18th I'll be back up at Powell's for their Fall Romance Event where many Pacific Northwest romance authors gather to sign books and conduct a Q&A session. If you're in the area, you should stop by and check it out. It's a fun event.

And before I forget, I have to mention the book I'm reading now. THE MADNESS of LORD IAN MACKENZIE. I've never really been a huge fan of historicals, but the premise for this book - a hero with aspergers autism - really intrigued me. And I'm so glad I picked it up. I am LOVING this book! Jennifer Ashley writes a to-die-for hero. If you like historicals (or even if you've never read one before) you should definitely give this one a try.

Now I must get back to the kitchen. Tomorrow we're hosting a big bbq and there's still lots to do. I haven't cooked this much since...well, I can't remember when! But it should be fun. We're doing a Hawaiian Luau bbq with lots of yummy food. It's definitely putting me in the mood to travel to the islands.

Aloha for now!

SWAG? And other ramblings...

I think I have post-contest let-down. LOL After a month of whirlwind blog guests and giveaways, my measly posts feel rather boring.

Ah, well...

I mentioned below that I was in Montana all last week visiting family. My SIL (brilliant!) is an econ professor at the University of Montana in Missoula. My brother is going to grad school at Montana State in Bozeman. I, of course, didn't realize they belonged to two different schools until my brother gave me an MSU sweatshirt that was too small for him and claimed his wife would never wear it. Quick, I am, I tell you...but that's a whole other story. Montana is beautiful, and we had a great trip. And a road trip right after the release of STOLEN HEAT was a good idea because I got to sign stock all over the Northwest.


That's me signing stock at Wal-Mart in Missoula.

So now that I'm back from vacation, my blog appearances for HEAT are winding down and I'm feeling human again, I'm back at the grindstone working on that second paranormal book. It feels good to be a working member of society again, and in another three weeks my house will be quiet so I can actually get work done during the day.

This Friday I'm the guest at the Beaverton Powell's book club meeting. They chose STOLEN FURY for their August read and asked me to come up and visit about the book. I'll be signing, answering questions and chatting about FURY and HEAT and the whole Stolen Series. If you're in the area, the book club meets in the World Cup cafe, just outside the Beaverton Powell's store. Meeting starts at 7pm.

And then...lucky me...I get to have throat surgery next week to try to repair the damage done to my vocal chords from my hospital stay in June. This first surgery is really minor - just to close the open (paralyzed) left vocal chord and try to figure out what the real problem is. I don't expect it to be a big issue except for the general anesthesia (oh, joy!) and the fact I can't talk at all for three days after. (Obviously, my doctor has never been to my house...he has no idea what this is going to be like for me...) But, the good news is hopefully after this surgery I will no longer sound like the 2-pack a day lifelong smoker I sound like now. (And no, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a smoker.)

Okay, I think I rambled enough. I do have a question I need help with tho...for the Powell's book club meeting on Friday, the organizer told me to bring whatever SWAG I wanted. I'm not so hip on the urban dictionary, so I had to look it up. I'm guessing she didn't mean 'scientific wild ass guess' though I like that and now have to figure out a way to slip that into a book somewhere. I'm assuming she meant 'stuff we all get'. So........you tell me...what kind of giveaways should I take to the book club meeting? What would you like to get?