NEWS & NOTES:

Late Spring 2010:  Getting closer

The wait is almost over.  We’re getting closer to the release of the Blades of the Rose series!  In the meantime, you can have a little taste with some exclusive online excerpts!  Check them out at each book’s page on this website, and get ready to have some fun!

Due to the severe flooding in Nashville, the RWA National Conference has been moved to Orlando.  I’ll be there, hopefully catching some time beside the pool, so be sure to say hello.

Spring 2010:  Where’s Zoe?

I have some upcoming appearances scheduled for the next few months!

First, I will be at the RT BOOKlovers Convention in Columbus, Ohio from April 28 to May 2.  Join me, Carrie Lofty, Jade Lee, Sherry Thomas, Kensington editor Megan Records and Kristina Cook (also known as Kristi Astor) as we discuss Beyond Regency & Scotland settings in romance.  The panel is April 28, 5 p.m.  I’ll also be attending the Kensington Publishing morning mixer on April 30, 8:30 a.m.  This is my first time attending RT, so if you see me wandering around with a bemused look on my face, stop me and say hi!

And between July 29 and August 1, look for me at the RWA National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee!  I’ll be sitting on another workshop panel with the lovely and talented Carrie, Jade, Sherry and amazing agent Kevan Lyon (yes, my agent) as we discuss writing and selling the Unusual Historical.  Be sure to say howdy if you see me.

Coming soon, the countdown to the Blades begins!

January 2010:  January is jumping

HALF PAST DEAD is available now!  Pick up a copy and treat yourself in the New Year.

I’m going to be all over the interwebs in January.  Mark your calendars!

1/7 - Guest blogging on The Romance Dish

1/12 - The lovely and talented Courtney Milan will be hosting me at the Julia Quinn & Eloisa James Book Club Board.  She’ll be giving away a copy of HALF PAST DEAD while I stop by to chat and answer questions.

1/13 - I’ll be blogging and hosting a contest (books! gift cards!) at Bitten By Books.

1/17 - Stop by Unusual Historicals, where I’ll be interviewed.  While you’re there, discover great authors writing, you guessed it, unusual historical romance.

1/21-1/23 - Join me and a few newcomers you may have heard of (Katie MacAlister, Meljean Brook, Dru Pagliassotti, Sarah A. Hoyt and Gail Carriger) as we host a Steampunk Workshop over at the Romance Divas Forum (you’ll need to register for the site, but it’s quick and painless).

And, looking ahead to March, I’ll be guest blogging and writing about my first sale at the esteemed Dear Author website on 3/1.

Coming soon, be on the lookout for the Blades of the Rose website!

December 2009: Anticipating the new year

2010 is going to be the Year of the Rose—The Blades of the Rose, that is!  On December 29, 2009, get a sneak peek at the Blades with their official prequel, The Undying Heart, in HALF PAST DEAD.  Then in September comes WARRIOR, Book One of The Blades of the Rose series.  There will be a total of five Blades books available in 2010.  Pretty awesome!

The new year will also bring a lot of exciting travel.  In April, I’ll be attending the world-famous RT Romance Lovers Convention, and in July, I’ll be at the Romance Writers of America National Conference.  Hope to see you there!

Have a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with adventure and romance!

November 2009: A grab bag of cool news

•The Undying Heart in the duology HALF PAST DEAD will be released on December 29, 2009.  Don’t forget to click on the Books page and preorder your copy.  And, to whet your appetite, read an exclusive excerpt from The Undying Heart!

•Advance praise is already in for The Blades of the Rose series!  Take a look on the Books page to not only read what best-selling authors have to say, but get the very first taste of WARRIOR, the first Blades of the Rose book out September 2010.

•The esteemed and cranky Mrs. Giggles has also given me two, count ‘em, two, incredible reviews.  Love In a Bottle received an incredible 93, and Lady X’s Cowboy received a phenomenal 95!  Check out the full reviews here and here.

September 2009: How I Spent My Summer Vacation

1. ✓ Completed the Camp Pendleton 10K Mud Run
   

2. ✓ Went to an Angels baseball game
   

3. ✓ Helped my husband shoot a short film starring action figures
   

4. ✓ Visited Glacier National Park in Montana and canoed for the first time (also, almost fell in Lake McDonald)
   

5. ✓ Saw Duran Duran in concert
   

6. ✓ Ate a deep-fried Twinkie at the Orange County Fair
   

7. ✓ Practiced roping cattle
   

8. ✓ Took a cake decorating class
   

9. ✓ Didn’t get to pick blackberries...sigh....
   

10. ✓ Celebrated a birthday
    

11. ✓ Celebrated my grandma’s 95th birthday
    

12. ✓ Redecorated the living room
    

And...oh, yeah....

1. ✓ FINISHED WRITING THE BLADES OF THE ROSE SERIES
   

It was a very good summer.  Hope yours was, as well.

Coming in October: an excerpt from “The Undying Heart” from the duology Half Past Dead

“Crackles with adventure, a rich sense of place, and terrific characterization”  —Mary Jo Putney