Recommend Monday!

Good Monday All!

Did you have a great weekend? Do anything special and fun? Read anything fabulous? If so, this is your place to share!

Thanks so much to those who stopped by and celebrated SWEETest day with me by naming your favorite LCR heroine. I loved learning your favorite and why you love her. Looks like Eden St. Claire, from RESCUE ME, won the top spot, but Honor Stone, from SWEET JUSTICE, was a close second. Samara, from RETURN TO ME, McKenna from LAST CHANCE and Jamie, from SWEET REVENGE, tied for third place. I love all of my heroines equally and I'm so glad I didn't have to pick just one! (:

Congrats to Crystal Fulcher for winning the SWEETest Day prize of a signed copy of SWEET JUSTICE and SWEET REVENGE and a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card. Crystal, please email me at christy@christyreece.com with your mailing information.

My weekend was extra SWEET! I had the honor of signing books alongside the fabulous Jennifer Echols who writes wonderful young adult romances. We had a great turnout at Books-A-Million. For those of you who were able to come, thank you!

Last week I spent hours and hours agonizing over a synopsis. When talking to an author, if you wait long enough, you'll probably hear at some point how much most of us hate synopses. Limiting a 100,000-word manuscript to a few pages of description can be incredibly painful. Writers often angst over a word choices for an entire book but I think it must be a thousand times worse for a synopsis since there's so little space to work with. When it comes to writing the book, a synopsis has often been my best friend. However, it's painful until I can get it right. This week, I will continue with it and hope to write a chapter too. Big plans! Wish me luck!

No new recommends for me this week. Haven't had a lot of time for reading but am looking forward to seeing what you all are recommending. There's always room on my TBR list for your recommends.

I'll jump back on later on in the week and chat a while. For now, I'm headed back to my writing cave. It's time for me to kick this synopsis' butt!

Have a spectacular Monday!

SWEETest Day!

Happy SWEETest Day! (For some reason, I feel the need to add Y'all to that greeting)

What is SWEETest Day? Good question. I’ve never observed it before. Have you?

Here’s what I copied from Wikepedia:

Sweetest Day is an observance celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region, and parts of the Northeast United States, on the third Saturday in October.[1] It is described by Retail Confectioners International as an "occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember husbands, boyfriends,the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed."[2] Sweetest Day has also been referred to as a "concocted promotion" created by the candy industry solely to increase sales of sweets.[3]

I kind of believe the second definition/explanation, but really like the first one. So either way, it’s SWEETest Day!

Today, I’m using it to celebrate the SWEET trilogy! And when I celebrate, I always want to give something away. So there’s the deal, for a chance to win a signed copy of both SWEET JUSTICE and SWEET REVENGE and a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card, name your favorite LCR heroine and why you love her.

I’ll collect comments all weekend and will announce the winner on Recommend Monday.

Have a great SWEETest day, everyone!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hi All!

Hope you're having a good week. It's a beautiful fall day here in Bama and I'm considering taking my laptop and working outside. Our trees are finally changing and the colors are gorgeous.

I mentioned on Monday that I was going to review the giveaways I've had over the last month to make sure I had everyone's information. I was able to get what I need except for two winners.

J Barrett won on September 20, Day 14 - A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh

Johanna J won on September 27, Day 23 - Heartache Falls by Emily March

Ladies, if you'll email me at christy@christyreece.com with your mailing address, I'll send your book to you. If I don't hear from you within the next week, I'll add this to some other giveaways. I would love to give you the book you won though, so hopefully you'll send me your information.

This Saturday morning, from 10:00 - 12:00, I'm going to be at the Brook Highlands Books-A-Million, in Birmingham, off of Highway 280. I'll be signing both SWEET JUSTICE and SWEET REVENGE. If you're in the area, would love for you to stop by. I will have chocolate, too!

Also Saturday is SWEETest day. Anyone ever observe this day? I never have but with the SWEET books, it just seems very appropriate to do something special that day. Be sure to stop by the blog Saturday morning for your chance to win something SWEET!

I've received several wonderful emails this week and I thank you so much for them. I love hearing how much readers are enjoying the first two SWEET books. I've been preoccupied with developing this new idea, but I'll answer all emails soon. Promise!

Okay, I'm headed outside to commune with nature and hopefully my characters! Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. Be sure to read something good so you can come back on Recommend Monday and tell us about it.

Have a great Thursday!

Recommend Monday

Good Monday All!

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was filled with football, writing and reading. Needless to say, it was a very good weekend!

The last few weeks have been so hectic and wild, getting back to a regular Recommend Monday feels odd. With both SWEET JUSTICE and SWEET REVENGE on shelves, life has slowed down and I'm having trouble putting on the brakes. When we get closer to the end of October, I'll add an excerpt for SWEET REWARD to my website. If you're hungry for a sneak peek, the first chapter of SWEET REWARD in in the back of SWEET REVENGE, giving you a good glimpse of both Jared and Mia. I love these two characters and hope you will, too.

I want to take a minute and say a giant THANK YOU to all those who have emailed me or sent messages via Facebook and Twitter of how much you've enjoyed SWEET JUSTICE and SWEET REVENGE. Hearing from readers is one of the very best REWARDs of being a published author. I'm thrilled that Honor and Seth and Dylan and Jamie have become some of your favorite LCR characters. I'm quite fond of them too. (:

I'm in the midst of writing something new and I really hope to be able to share something with you soon. Since I'm still in the development stage, I'm going offline for the next few days and hitting it hard. If you need to get in touch with me, email me at christy@christyreece.com or message me on Facebook. I'll get back with you as soon as I come up for air.

Also, several of you who won prizes over the last couple of weeks haven't contacted me with your mailing address. I'm going to take some time this week and see which prizes I still have in my office and I'll post a list of those I need to hear from.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by the USA Today blog and read my interview with Joyce Lamb. That was such fun! I believe Marie Force is over there today. If you get a chance, jump over there and read her fascinating interview. Here's the link: http://books.usatoday.com/happyeverafter/post/2011-10-10/author-marie-force-talks-about-her-e-book-success/551964/1

I mentioned that I did some reading over the weekend and I'm excited to be able to give a recommendation. I was fortunate to read an advance copy of Jessica Scott's debut ebook, BECAUSE OF YOU. It was fabulous! Gritty, realistic, sweet, heart wrenching and romantic. In a word--unforgettable. The ebook releases on November 14 and is up for pre-order. If you love military romances, you're going to love this one. And Jessica's background--she's a company commander in the army--makes the book feel all the more authentic. Here's the link to her Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Scott/e/B005H8DT94/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Okay, I'm headed back into my writing cave with hopes that these new characters running around in my head come out and chat with me. Wish me luck!

Can't wait to see what you're recommending this week. Lots of great books out there!

Have a great week!

Interview at USA Today Happy Ever After blog

Hi Everyone!

Hope you're having a relaxing and wonderful weekend. I'm popping in for just a sec to ask you to go over and check out the interview Joyce Lamb did with me for the Happy Ever After blog she talked about yesterday. I'm so excited about all the good press the romance world will receive from this new blog. Would love to have you come over and say hey on my interview or comment on the other blogs that are already up.

Here's the link to my interview: http://books.usatoday.com/happyeverafter/post/2011-10-07/interview-christy-reece-author-of-sweet-justice/551463/1

Be sure to come back on Monday for our regular Recommend Monday blog. I believe I'll have a recommendation you're going to love!

Have a safe, fun weekend and happy reading!

Welcome Joyce Lamb!!!

Hi, Christy!

Thank you SO much for having me today!!! It’s a good day for romance, in my humble opinion. That’s because over at usatoday.com, there’s a brand-new blog devoted to the love of romance novels, the readers who read them and the writers who write them.

Happy Ever After will run lots and lots of book reviews, author interviews and other fun stuff. You can expect to see Christy’s name mentioned there a lot, too, cuz she just happens to be one of my favorite authors of ALL time. Not exaggerating.

I’m happy to report, too, that the woman in charge of this new blog is an award-winning romance novelist herself. That’s some pretty decent street cred, don’t you think? Oh, and that woman is me. : ) The best part is that we can all now be assured that this blog is about romance novel LOVE. No haters or "bodice ripper" rhetoric allowed.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll find at HEA:

Today, there’s an interview with Lavinia Kent, author of the new Regency romance WHAT A DUKE WANTS. Sample question:

HEA: What's the most interesting thing you've learned about the Regency period that you didn't already know?

Lavinia: “Much of what I found interesting was learning what didn’t happen. There is no evidence that dance cards existed during the Regency, or that heroines ever dampened their skirts to make them cling.”

She also talks about her love of the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Real Housewives of New York, as well as other Housewives shows. It’s pretty entertaining, if I do say so myself. A review of WHAT A DUKE WANTS will appear at HEA next week.

You’ll also find a review today of this summer’s RITA award-winning Jill Shalvis’ new ANIMAL ATTRACTION. Review snippet: Jill’s “Animal series is a fun, light romantic read. Definitely a good way to spend a few hours with some sexy characters.” If you haven’t seen the cover of this book, prepare for an “ooohhh” and an “awwww.” An interview with Jill will run next week.

Later today, HEA will talk with Christy. Yes, Christy!!! And next week, we’ll run a review of her SWEET JUSTICE, followed shortly by a review of SWEET REVENGE. It’s going to be, well, SWEET.

There’ll also be a review today of the new paranormal romance by Virna DePaul, CHOSEN BY FATE. You do NOT want to miss this book. It’s complex, it’s gritty and it’s un-put-downable. An interview with Virna will follow next week.

Other author interviews and book reviews coming up in the next few weeks: Erin Quinn (HAUNTING EMBRACE), Jane Graves (HEARTSTRINGS AND DIAMOND RINGS), Ann Christopher (DEADLY DESIRES), Mariah Stewart (HOMETOWN GIRL), Shawn Lane (DEVOTEDLY HIS), Keri Arthur (DARKNESS UNBOUND), Desiree Holt (BEDROOM EYES) and Jenny B. Jones (THERE YOU’LL FIND ME) -- and that’s just in the next few weeks.

HEA has many, many more interviews and reviews on tap, such as a review of ANGEL OF DARKNESS by Cynthia Eden, HEART OF A KILLER by Jaci Burton, ALL THAT REMAINS by Janice Kay Davidson, READY FOR LOVE by Gwyneth Bolton, THE BAKER'S WIFE by Erin Healy and ... well, I could go on, but I'm sure you're eager to hop over to HEA to say hi. But before you go, you can leave a comment here and I'll choose two random commenters to win the first book in my True trilogy, TRUE VISION. Please remember to leave your e-mail address!

When you're done with that, here's where to find Happy Ever After: http://bit.ly/ouV32w. And you can find out more about the street cred of HEA’s mistress (that’s me!) at JoyceWrites.com.

Let the romance novel love begin.

Two SWEET Chances to Chat!

Good Thursday Everyone!

Hope you're having a stupendous week. I'm still feeling a bit hung over after all the partying here on Tuesday but yesterday I did some writing, which helped to unclutter my brain!

I'm at two places today talking about the SWEET books. Marie Force's blog, Romance and Oreos is featuring SWEET JUSTICE. Come on over and chat about Seth, Honor and the uber-evil Alden Pike. I'm giving away two copies of SWEET JUSTICE! Here's the link: http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com/

Also today, I'm over at the Romance at Random website talking about unsinkable heroines and SWEET REVENGE. Come on by and comment for a chance to win a book! Here's the link:

http://www.romanceatrandom.com/unsinkable-heroines-by-christy-reece-giveaway/

Joyce Lamb was scheduled to be here today to blog and make an exciting announcement for all romance readers but we're delaying it one more day. Be sure to stop in tomorrow and chat with Joyce. Not only is she a fabulous romantic suspense author, she has an exciting day job you'll want to hear more about. And she's giving away two copies of her fabulous books!

Also, be sure to come back on Monday for our regular Recommend Monday.

Have a fantastic day everyone. Hope to see many of you on the R&O and Romance at Random sites!