March Newsletter

Greetings:

What a terrible day over most of the south, east coast and northeast.  A good day for reading, though, while the wind howls and the rain and snow come down.  It's chilly here, with temps at the freezing mark. This comes after a couple of weeks of mild weather which caused the Bradford pears, camellias, pink magnolias and spring bulbs to bloom early.  Now we'll have brown blossoms.  I really hate when that happens!

The best news of the month is that I've completed the rough draft of my current work in progress, BY HIS MAJESTY'S GRACE.  It's been a long time since I wrote a story so fast—in less than three months.  However, I wanted to write it in a "white-hot-heat", so to speak, to see if it made a difference in my level of concentration and ability to keep all the details in mind.  The final answer to that question won't be revealed until I do the revision, but gut instinct says it did.

My Sony E-Reader has been getting a work-out lately.  I downloaded several books this month, plus the free book offer from Harlequin.  Have you seen this last?  It's an offer for sixteen (16) free books, in download form, in honor of Harlequin's 60^th anniversary as a publishing house.  The stories cover a broad spectrum of their category lines, and I've found several new writers I like in them.  Not all of the stories are to my taste, of course, but since they were free, I'm not complaining!  For more information, check out the Harlequin website at: http://eharlequin.com/store.html?cid=1316

Speaking of reading, CNN says libraries are benefiting from the downturn in the economy.  As more people cut back on discretionary spending, they are turning to the libraries to get their "book fix."  I don't blame them by any means.  Hopefully, the authors they discover on the library shelves will become their new favorites when the economy improves.

I'll be Shreveport on Saturday, March 7, giving the keynote speech for the NOLA conference—the North Louisiana Branch of Romance Writers of America.  This is going to be a fun event, with lots of workshops and a book signing on Saturday afternoon.  FMI on this, see: http://nolastars.com  While at the site, take a look at the blog for the group.  I've been contributing a weekly post to this web log since the first of February.

The Romantic Times BOOKreview Magazine convention will be held in Orlando, FL this year, April 22-26, 2009.  I recently made reservations for this gathering, as GUARDED HEART, my 2008 title, has been nominated by the magazine review staff as Best American-Set Historical for the year and the awards will be presented there.  A huge book signing will be held as well, with more than 200 authors in attendance at this 30^th anniversary of the RT convention.  Don't miss this great opportunity to pick up a signed book as a gift or for yourself, if you happen to be in the area.

Finally, the cover art for GUARDED HEART has been nominated as Best Two-Cover artwork for 2008 on the web site: http://www.covercafe.com  If you have a minute, drop by and vote for the books you feel have the best covers in their different categories.

That's the news until next time.   Best wishes for warmth, coziness and, most of all, for Happy Reading!

Jennifer