Wed - June 22, 2005

Larger Than Life


This week, our guest author is bestselling, award winning powerhouse Alison Kent and she's agreed to answer questions.

Tell us about your hobbies.

Not that I have a lot of down time these days, but I LOVE books and movies. I could go to the big stadium-seating, multiplex five minutes from the house every day if I had the time. And I could easily read a book a day. Again, if I had time, I'd love to get back to sewing, cooking, and gardening. My hobbies have always leaned toward creating - oh, the Halloween costumes I made for my kids - but I used to do so much more than I do now. And as much as writing is a love and a calling, storytelling in itself is a hobby, I think. I can go for a walk and spend that time plotting or working on characters and lose hours without even knowing it.

If you had to "bring a dessert" to a potluck what would it be and how do you make it?

If I had to make something, it would be my daughter's holiday Pumpkin Bars with cream cheese icing. But I'd rather drive down to Goode Company Barbeque and pick up a BrazosBottom Pecan Pie!

What's your fondest recollection from your early days as a writer?

Definitely the first sale I made to Harlequin. I made it with CBS's Susan Spencer and ABC's Don Dahler both in my bedroom. *g* The sale was then broadcast on CBS 48 Hours later that year. Fun stuff!

What's the hardest thing about being a writer?

Discipline.

What's the biggest writerly mistake you made?

Not trusting my voice. Not trusting my instinct. Taking advice simply because of the source. No more!

Tell us why you love your favorite movie.

Do I even have a favorite movie? *g* I'm all over apocalyptic and action films, and I'm SO forgiving of flawed movies where I'm not so of books. Yes, I loved (and own) Waterworld and The Postman. Recently, I've devoured The Chronicles of Riddick and Constantine. If I had to pick one, however, it would be Raiders of the Lost Ark. I love characters fighting internal and external odds in huge, over-the-top
situations and winning!

What/who is your passion?

Are you kidding? My husband. We've been married almost eight years and we met on the internet. *g* We are together twenty-four hours a day, both working from home, and having him in my life has been a joy larger than I could ever imagine. Ooooh, maybe it's . . . Larger Than Life! *gg*

And, without further adieu, here's a bit about Larger Than Life

After being beaten and left for dead in the New Mexico desert, Smithson Group agent Mick Savin tries to piece together his last few days. He remembers bits and pieces: gathering crucial intel. An ambush by Spectra thugs. And then…nothing, except waking up in some medical center in rural West Texas. His mission was top secret. So how did he end up here?

The answer is Neva Case. If the former big-city attorney hadn’t been out in her pick-up, Mick wouldn’t be alive. Mick’s never met anyone quite like Neva. She’s smart, sexy, and passionate. She also has a secret. Neva runs the Big Brown Barn, an underground shelter for young girls forced into unwanted polygamist marriages. Neva would do anything for these girls—and that’s what worries Mick. Neva may be trusting, but Mick’s instincts tell him that something’s not quite right. He’s not about to let someone get to Neva and the girls on his watch. Especialy when one of the girls brings trouble straight to the barn's front door ...

Now, with the shelter in unimaginable danger and time running out, Mick is in for the fight of his life, one that could cost him the woman he’s come to love more than anything…

Thanks, Alison, and good luck with the book!

Posted at 09:26 PM     |

Wed - June 15, 2005

The Garden Angel


It's GCC time again, and today's focus book is The Garden Angel by Mindy Friddle .

Let's start by asking Mindy some questions...

Tell us about your hobbies.

I love gardening. Putting my hands in the dirt is good for my soul. (Though looking at my backyard right now, you wouldn't think gardening was a hobby. I'm behind. Writing and touring have taken their toll on my garden).

If you had to "bring a dessert" to a potluck what would it be and how do you make it?

Something chocolate, like my grandmother's "million dollar chocolate cake." The recipe calls for a whole box of confectioner's sugar in the frosting. Also, I'd be tempted to bring banana pudding-- one of the best comfort foods ever.

What's your fondest recollection from your early days as a writer?

Drinking a mimosa at midnight, hammering out a first draft.

What's the hardest thing about being a writer?

See above. Just kidding! Well, it's the incremental pace of getting things--your final pages-- finished to your satisfaction, before you send out the draft for the world to see. Writing is such a private, isolating process and then the publishing, publicity and review part is so very public.

What's the biggest writerly mistake you made?

Not writing fiction sooner...like in college. I just didn't have the confidence until I hit 30 or so.

Tell us why you love your favorite movie.

Hmmm. Well my tastes are so very eclectic. I love "Pulp Fiction" and, also, "It's a Wonderful Life." I like war movies and also art films (like "Being John Malkovitch").

What/who is your passion?

Besides my husband of eight years, who is extremely supportive of my writing career, that would have to be Otto, my dog. He's a Husky/Shepherd mix, and very gentle and devoted. I adopted him from the animal shelter, and he's the best company for those long isolated writing stretches..and the long walks afterward.

Now that we know about Mindy, here's a bit about her book...

In Sans Souci, South Carolina, talk is cheap, real estate even more so. No one knows this better than Cutter Johanson, a gruff tomboy who waits tables, writes obits, and makes every effort, however comical and in the face of her mercenary relatives, to avert the sale of the dilapidated ancestral home. And despite her plucky resolve, all appears to be lost—until she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Elizabeth, a shy and fragile academic who puts both their fates on the mend.

Thanks, Mindy, and good luck with the book!

Posted at 07:23 PM     |

Thu - June 2, 2005

Enchanted, Inc.


Here's the next book in the stack.



Shanna Swendson's debut mainstream novel, ENCHANTED, INC (Ballantine Trade
Paperback Original, $12.95, May 31, 2005) is a magical story featuring Katie
Chandler, a 20something, small-town Texas girl, who finds that being average
in New York City is anything but. Katie loves the energy of Manhattan, and
if she finds some of the people odd, well, that's New York, right? Where
else would you see a person on the subway wearing fairy wings? In fact, if
Katie wasn't completely sure those wings must be a costume, she'd think they
were real, the way they flutter in the breeze. Certainly the gargoyle that
perches above the door of the church she passes on the way to and from work
isn't real. Its eyes seem to follow her, and she could have sworn it winked
at her once, but now that she thinks about it, it was really hot that day,
and she hadn't eaten lunch....

Katie is still adjusting to life in the big city while working a for a
nightmare boss, when she gets a fantastic offer to work for a mysterious
company, MSI, Inc. Through her new job and the magical folk she meets, Katie
comes to find out she isn't quite as average as she thought; and the fairy
tale life she has longed for begins to come true in surprising ways.

What Katie doesn't realize is how rare and important being ordinary can be.
In fact, it is her ordinary characteristics that make her the perfect secret
weapon for MSI, Inc. Suddenly the very qualities she thought made her
average are what make her special! Now she has magicians and fairies
meddling in her attempted romances, a secret life she needs to keep hidden
from her non-magical friends, not to mention that dangerous pull she feels
for Owen, an attractive but shy wizard who might be the most powerful magic
man since Merlin.

ENCHANTED, INC is a magical delight that will be a fun summer read for
anyone who's wished upon a star or hoped for a sprinkle of fairy dust.

O O O O O

About the Author
With ENCHANTED, INC. Shanna Swendson offers a new twist on chick lit for
the-now- grown-up fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sabrina the Teenage
Witch. In addition to writing fiction, Shanna is a freelance marketing
consultant and writer specializing in technology and telecommunications. She
is single and lives in Irving, Texas, with her many pet plants, including a
vicious attack bougainvillea and a Christmas cactus that has outlasted three
homes, three jobs and three boyfriends, yet still faithfully blooms every
Christmas and Easter. She's looking for a man that reliable.

Posted at 07:22 AM     |

Mon - May 23, 2005

A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court


From time to time, I'll post info on new fiction. The first entry is Marianne Mancusi's new novel (click on the cover to read an excerpt)

Once upon a time there lived an outspoken fashion editor named Kat, who certainly was not your typical damsel in distress. But when a gypsy curse sent her back in time to the days of King Arthur, she found she'd need every ounce of her 21st century wits (and pop culture references) to navigate the legend. After all, surviving a magical plot, an evil prince, and a case of mistaken identity--all without changing history or scuffing your Manolos--takes some doing!

Luckily, she's got her very own knight in shining armor, Lancelot du Lac, on her side. The honorable-to-a-fault and devastatingly handsome champion insists on helping her out, even though she's not quite sure she wants him to. After all, shouldn't he be off romancing Queen Guenevere or something? Will Kat manage to stay out of trouble long enough to get back to her beloved café lattes, cosmopolitans and cashmere? And what will Lancelot's forbidden love mean for the kingdom of Camelot?

MOVE OVER BRIDGET JONES! DORCHESTER PUBLISHING RELEASES FIRST EVER CHICK LIT TIME TRAVEL NOVEL

Imagine a Bridget Jones like character spiraling back in time to the days of Camelot. That’s the unique premise behind the latest chick lit offering from Dorchester Publishing. "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur’s Court" (May 2005) combines, for the first time ever, chick lit attitude with a time travel plot. Debut author Marianne Mancusi, an Emmy Award winning television news producer for the NBC affiliate in Boston, pens a sexy, magical, laugh-out-loud romp through the legend you only thought you knew.

"I love the voice of Chick Lit," says Mancusi. "But I felt the same old plotlines about a girl in the city with a bad boss and good shoes were getting old. I wanted to do something a little different."

Connecticut Fashionista features an outspoken fashion editor named Kat, who’s certainly not your typical damsel in distress. But when a gypsy curse sends her back in time to the days of King Arthur, she’ll need every ounce of her 21st century wits (and pop culture references) to navigate the legend. After all, surviving a magical plot, an evil prince, and a case of mistaken identity--all without changing history or scuffing your Manolos--takes some doing!

So slip on your stilettos and clutch your Cosmos tight, as Dorchester Publishing and Marianne Mancusi send you on a wild, wacky, and oh-so-fashionable trip back in time.

About Marianne Mancusi
Marianne Mancusi is a multiple Emmy Award winning television news producer for WHDH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts. She has worked for news stations in Orlando and San Diego. A Massachusetts native, she currently lives in Massachusetts with her British husband Aaron and their dog Molly. She has six other adult and teen chick lit novels under contract with Dorchester and Berkley.

About Dorchester Publishing
Dorchester Publishing has been involved in the publishing of mass market books since 1971, making Dorchester the oldest independent mass market publisher in America. From its founding, we have strived to bring the freshest authors to millions of fans. Although mostly known for Romance, Dorchester also publishes world-class Horror, Westerns, and Thrillers under its Leisure Books imprint. For more information: www.dorchesterpub.com.
REVIEWS:

"Sparkling debut...A nice twist on the modern girl's search for prince charming."
Publisher's Weekly

"Talented author Mancusi clearly knows her Arthurian lore. She vividly depicts the customs of a bygone era, and the wry, witty ending is perfectly Kat."
Romantic Times Magazine - 4 Star Review

"It might sound like a strange premise for a chick lit novel, but once you pick it up, you won't be able to put A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court down."
Kristin Harmel, The Daily Buzz, WB Morning Show

"Excellent writing, biting wit, and a slew of familiar characters will have readers of chick lit laughing and wanting more."
Jani Brooks - Romance Reviews Today

Posted at 04:50 PM     |

©