This just in…

Avon Publishing is hosting a Debbie Macomber-inspired online writing contest, and aspiring writers who participate in the “Make Your Dreams Come True” contest may find themselves enjoying an “American Idol”-type moment. That story won’t write itself, so what are you waiting for???

~ The winner will receive a cash prize of $500, and the winning entry will be published in the back matter of the paperback and e-book edition of Family Affair, Debbie’s mass market publication, which goes on sale in July 2012.

~ In addition, the grand prize winner may also be offered an Avon Impulse publishing contract!

~ “This is a great opportunity for a new voice in romance to be discovered,” says Liate Stehlik, Senior Vice President and Publisher of William Morrow/Avon Books. “It’s the publishing equivalent of ‘American Idol’ – entries will be reviewed by Avon editors, and the winner will be picked by Debbie Macomber herself. The possible exposure is amazing: the author is beloved by readers around the globe, and this short story could be read by millions of her fans.”

~  Three finalists will receive a collection of Avon Romances (approximate retail value: $100).

~  To enter, complete the entry form at www.familyaffaircontest.com.

~  Story requirements and other rules are also listed at that website.

~  The contest is now ongoing and the last entry will be accepted on September 30, 2011, 5:00 p.m. ET. So get to writing!

Consider yourself flashed!

Sybil’s review of Family Affair by Debbie Macomber
Contemporary Romance  published by William Morrow 04 Jan 11

This is yet another reissue of a New York Times Best Selling author in hardcover.  Family Affair was first published in 1994 in an anthology and here stands alone.  This is my first time reading the story and as it stands at under 100 pages, I don’t think it was expanded from the original.  It stands the test of time well and is a charming story.

Lacey Lancaster can’t get over her divorce and it pretty much colors all her actions: how she relates to men, her boss and her hawt neighbor who has been trying to date her since she moved in over a year ago.  She has managed to keep away from Jack, other than overhearing his fights with his girlfriend through the paper thin walls of their apartment building.  Well, she keeps away from him until his alley cat, Dog, knocks up her cat, Cleo. Suddenly Lacey finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy on her hands that she seriously didn’t see coming.  And Jack is only too willing to have Dog take responsibility for his actions, if it will help him get close to his sexy, sweet neighbor.

Family Affair is a cute short story and an amusing read.  But it doesn’t have anything new to offer and there is very little character development.

If you are a long time fan of Debbie Macomber, you will love this book.  If you like short, sweet love stories that are heavy on the ‘sweet’ side (aka the bedroom door never opens), you will enjoy this.  For an enjoyable read you will finish in an hour (and then most likely forget).  The thing to think about is the price tag.  This is a reissue in hardcover format. It resales for $16 and is currently at Amazon $9.17. I would not suggest this be your first  purchase by this author but to get it from the library or wait for the paperback.

Grade: C-

Lacey Lancaster has always longed to be a wife and mother. However, after a painful divorce, she decides it’s time to lay low for a while in her charming San Francisco apartment with her beautiful Abyssinian cat, Cleo.

Everything would be wonderful, except for her utterly impossible neighbor Jack Walker. When he’s not arguing day and night with his girlfriend, begging her to move in with him, he’s chasing down his cat named Dog, who seems determined to get Cleo to succumb to his feline advances.

Then Lacey discovers the awful truth—Cleo is in the family way and Dog’s to blame. She’s furious that neither Jack nor his amorous animal seem too upset about the situation.

But Lacey learns that things are not quite as they seem. Jack’s “girlfriend” is really his sister—and his intentions toward Lacey are very honorable. And though she’s not quite sure about Dog, Lacey begins to discover the tender joy of falling in love all over again.

Read an excerpt.

This just in…

A holiday extravaganza with Debbie Macomber. Meet Debbie to chat about and celebrate her latest release, Call Me Mrs. Christmas. Don’t miss it!

~ Debbie Macomber will join fans everywhere for a rare live, online book launch event on October 22, 2010, 3:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. PST, to celebrate the publication of her latest novel, which has also been made into a Hallmark movie, as well as her birthday

~ All you need to do to be a part of this live event is register for the event here

~ The first 1,000 people to register will be able to join her via the web. Others will be able to join via telephone, but be aware that long distance fees from your service provider may apply

~ Questions will be taken in advance via Debbie’s Facebook page so she can answer as many of your questions as possible

~ Other highlights include book giveaways as well as links to the Cedar Cove website, the iPod application page, and Debbie’s Facebook page

Consider yourself flashed.

If you’ve spent any amount of time swimming around the pond, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that more than a few of us have mad love for Harlequin.  We read ‘em, we review ‘em, we love them with the kind of slavish devotion usually reserved for stalkers.  So when we learned that Harlequin editor, Marsha Zinberg was doing a blog tour in honor of Harlequin’s Famous Firsts collection, we jumped at the chance to have her stop by for a visit. OK, in truth we just about fell all over ourselves.  But Marsha is made of some stern stuff, and we’re happy to report we didn’t scare her off with our borderline rabid fan girl behavior.  So, without further ado – here’s Marsha sharing with us the romance novels that got some of Harlequins “Famous Firsts” on the path to romance super-stardom!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the creation of excellence or the achievement of success usually stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before.

There was little hesitation when I asked the Famous Firsts authors about the books that had turned them on to romance, or the authors that they had particularly loved. As you may have guessed, I fell under the spell of Jane Austen in high school, and a much-thumbed school edition of Pride and Prejudice still holds pride of place on my bookshelves.

I discovered that I shared that early delight with Stella Cameron, who also loved the Whiteoaks series.

For Carla Neggers, it was The Moonspinners, by Mary Stuart, which she read when she was twelve. A short dozen years later, she had produced her own first novel.

Anne Stuart was only ten when she fell under the gothic spell of Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt. She asked her grandmother for the hardcover for Christmas, and thus began her romance reading career!

Joan Johnston loved Jude Devereux’s Velvet series. She was thrilled to be the winner of an autographed copy of Velvet Angel when it was raffled off at the second annual Romantic Times convention. She only had to pay the postage! She also mentioned that Roberta Gellis’s Rosalynde series taught her to bring dimension to her characters by having them say one thing and think something else entirely.

Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Wolf and the Dove hooked Debbie Macomber. She also loved early Harlequin romances by Ann Mather and Violet Winspear.

Linda Lael Miller wasn’t a southern girl, but she fell hard for Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. (Another favorite of mine, too!) And Judith McNaught’s Whitney, My Love followed close behind.

Lori Foster claims that school never gave her a huge love of reading, but historical romances, such as those by Johanna Lindsay, really engaged her. Then she moved on to early books of Linda Howard and Jayne Ann Krentz, and the rest is history…..

Her journalism background caused Vicki Lewis Thompson to approach an early romance by Tate McKenna as a research project. What was all this fuss about romance writing? Could she do it? She sure could, and she sure did.

Now here’s a lovely story that I just learned. Lindsay McKenna met her husband in 1972, when she was in her late twenties. Her husband-to-be took his betrothed to Genevieve, Ohio to meet his mother, and the thing she most wanted to share with her soon-to-be daughter-in-law was her Harlequin romance novels. She was particularly fond of doctor/nurse stories. Lindsay dutifully took home ten or fifteen, read them, enjoyed them, but thought she could do better. So she decided to try writing one herself. She credits her mother-in-law with introducing her to the romance industry and starting her career!

What romances do you consider “classics”? Please share your favorites with me. I’d love to know what book or author initiated your romance reading habit!

Please be sure to come visit me at Pink Hearts on Thursday, June 18 and at The Misadventures of Super Librarian next Monday, June 22! I’ve had great fun on this tour and your comments have been fascinating.

My previous blogs stops include: Bookbinge, Plot Monkeys, Blaze authors blog, Romance Junkies, Romancing the Blog, Dear Author, Cataromance, and Teach Me Tonight – a different Harlequin Famous First story at every blog.

Don’t forget that you can enjoy 16 free Harlequin novels by downloading them at www.HarlequinCelebrates.com.

Contest Alert! We’ll be giving away two Harlequin tote bags, filled with eight (!) books by some of Harlequin’s Famous Firsts!  Share your favorite classic romance in the comments, and one lucky winner will be chosen at random.  Contest ends Monday, June 22!

Connie’s Quick Quack Review of A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Contemporary Romance hardcover released by MIRA 1 Oct 08

We have an extra book in this series to enjoy for Christmas.

Mary Jo Wyse’s three brothers have finally decided to kidnap that the cad who got their sister pregnant and left her high and dry. They’re determined to force him make an “honest woman” of her.

Mary Jo decides to warn the cad before her brothers get to him because she doesn’t want to be forced into a marriage neither want. Of course, Mary Jo is stranded at Grace’s when there is no place for her to stay and then she goes into labor. Meanwhile, her brothers run around the Cedar Cove streets looking for her. Luckily for her there’s medical help at Grace’s – yummy Mack McAfee.

This is a quick enjoyable visit to the Cove and a reminder of the real Christmas story, with all the the similarities in the stories.

Grab a mug of hot chocolate and enjoy the visit and root for Mary Jo to end up happy, without the cad.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby’s father. David Rhodes had said he’d be in town. But he isn’t. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there’s no room at the local inn….

So Grace Harding brings Mary Jo home to her nearby ranch. She and her husband, Cliff, have a houseful of guests, but they offer her a room over their stable (currently sheltering the animals – including a donkey and a camel – for Cedar Cove’s Nativity pageant!).

When Mary Jo goes into labor that night, a young man named Mack McAfee, a paramedic, comes to her rescue, just as her brothers – the three Wyse men – show up in town. The people of Cedar Cove join them in celebrating the birth of baby Noel. But no one has more to celebrate than Mack. Because this Christmas brings him faith, hope and love…

Read an excerpt scroll down.

Connie’s Quick Quack Review of 8 Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove, Book 8 ) by Debbie Macomber
Contemporary Romance released by MIRA 1 Sep 08

Everyone will want to join on this trip to Cedar Cove. Debbie Macomber has a great way of creating a feeling where the reader gets a chance to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones.
The minister’s wife thinks he is having an affair and he is reluctant to tell her where he is. So the suspicions grow and then he has some stolen jewelry in his pocket that he can’t explain.

Olivia has her surgery for cancer and the sheriff is trying to patch things up with Faith now that his daughter has regained her emotional footing. Megan also finds out that she is pregnant again. When Megan goes to the doctor she meets a woman she decides would be just right for her father but unfortunately it is Faith with her twice broken heart.

No one will want to miss dropping by Cedar Cove again, so sit back and enjoy the book. I know I stayed up late reading.

Grade: B+

Dear Reader,

I have something to confide in you. I think my husband, Dave, might be having an affair. I found an earring in his pocket, and it’s not mine. I’m also worried because some jewelry was recently stolen from an old woman—and Dave used to visit her a lot.

You see, he’s a pastor. And a good man. I can’t believe he’s guilty of anything, but why won’t he tell me where he’s been when he comes home so late?

Reader, I’d love to hear what you think. I also want to tell you what’s going on with your other friends in Cedar Cove. Like Sheriff Troy Davis, to mention one. His long-ago love, Faith Beckwith, just moved here!

So come on in and join me for a cup of tea.

Emily Flemming

Read an excerpt here.

This just in…

The authors of Romance Unleashed are banding together to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis, and they’re asking for your unique help, whether you’re an author or a reader.

These twenty ladies at RU became published authors between 2004 and 2006, and another common goal they have is supporting their community and knowing united they could make a difference in the world. They decided a write-a-thon would combine their love of writing with their desire to raise money for charity. This idea became the Unleash Your Story event, a month long write-a-thon that will be fun, help writers set and meet writing goals and encourage both readers and writers to donate as they root for their favorite author or team.

~ The goal for this first annual event is $10,000 to help find a cure for CF.

~ The Pacesetter author for the month will be Debbie Macomber. She is famous for her persistence and dedication to writing daily.

~ There’s two ways to help and different ways to participate:

~ Readers and Writers can join a team or work as individuals to set a goal for the Unleash Your Story month. Certificates will be awarded for individuals and teams who meet their goal as well as for those who keep up with the guest Pacesetter author.

~ Supporters can donate in the name of their favorite team and watch word count totals and team donation totals grow.

~ Every participant and supporter will also have a chance to enter a drawing for one of several prize baskets. Make your writing or donation goal each week and earn more chances to win!

~ Join or start a team. Teams can be made up of readers or writers.

~ Set your team writing or reading goal! Writing goals will be in word count, reading goal in pages read.

~ The 2008 event will run from September 1 through September 30, 2008.

~ Win prizes! Each week you meet your word or donation goal, you will receive a chance to enter to win a prize package. The individuals and teams with the top five donation levels will be named “Our Heroes” and receive a special reward!

~ Go to Unleash Your Story for more information.

Consider yourself flashed.

This just in…

Debbie Macomber and her publisher, MIRA, are announcing the Make Your Wish Come True Contest, inspired by Debbie’s new book, Twenty Wishes (Book 4 in her Blossom Street series), which will be released 29 Apr 08.

• Debbie and MIRA invite readers to enter a special contest to make their most-desired wish come true.
• Like Debbie’s characters in Twenty Wishes, simply writing down your wishes can change your life and make it better. Just tell Debbie, in 50 words or less, about the wish you would like to come true.
• They will then choose one lucky winner to receive a $10,000 cash award to help make that one, most-hoped-for dream happen in their life.
• Read all about it here!

Consider yourself flashed.