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by Blabby
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RWA Conference
I’m a member of Romance Writers of America. You’d never know it from this blog, but I really do harbor the dream of writing a novel one day. I’m not your typical novelist, apparently, because I haven’t been writing stories since the womb, I don’t have stories bursting to come out of me, I don’t even have any particularly good ideas. I just want to write a novel.
Is that enough? I guess we’ll see if I really write one.
Anyway, I joined RWA a few years ago with the goal of attending the annual conference. I lived in TX at the time, and the conference was being held in Dallas. It changes location each year, so I thought this was kismet. So I register and pay my big money. Then I got a new job in CA.
I had to request a refund, and I didn’t get to go. The following two years, the conference was very far away. This year it’s in San Fran! Kismet, again! (Wait…can that happen?)
My husband doesn’t think it’s kismet at all. He thinks it’s a waste of money. He didn’t say that, but he didn’t have to. He knows I never write anything more than these blog posts - which he’s never read. He had high hopes of advance money for a while, but now he’s become more realistic about my lack of qualification as a cash cow.
So, now I’m shopping for a Macbook Pro because how can I go to this fancy writers conference with nothing but legal pads and ink pens? Surely, you can see why I NEED a new laptop.
The conference plans are still pending, but I’ve got a Personal Shopping appt. at the Apple Store on Friday. I’ll keep you posted!
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by Blabby
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Book #18
(Book Binge book #8) The Stranger, book #3 in the Heroes of Heyday series by Kathleen O’Brien. Here we meet the final and most mysterious of the three McClintock brothers.
I’m noticing a prevalence of whips in Ms. O’Brien’s books :)
I really liked this series. I’m hoping for one more book with Mindy and Roddy’s story, but this one was great. Intrigue, love, small quirky town, bad guys peeing on books…what more could you ask for?
As always, highly recommended. I will say, just so I don’t sound like Paula Abdul, that I enjoyed the Firefly Glen series much more than this one. But I really really loved that one, and I just loved this one, so there you go. Constructive.
book binge books romance novels RWA: Dirty Dancing RITA Susan Wiggs
by Blabby
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Book #17
(Book Binge book #7) Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs. Probably the longest book I’ve read in a little while at 535 pages…it’s kind of funny to go from reading a lot of Harlequins to a mainstream romance novel. You know whats going to happen, but it takes a lot longer to get there.
Not to say this book moved slowly, because it didn’t. And I loved the characters and especially the location - a dreamy Dirty Dancing-esque campground in the Catskills. One character, a film buff, even refers to it as so - which I thought was cool.
- I wanted to live there.
- I wanted to see (as in, invite him to my house) Connor Davis - he sounds lovely :)
- I really loved Olivia - the heroine. She was a complete person, with great (but realistic) strengths and also realistic shortcomings.
I’m looking forward to reading more of Susan Wiggs’ novels. She’s got a huge collection of books under her belt. I happened to stumble onto her blog through the Tag Surfer, and boy am I glad I did. Consequently, she’s also up for a RITA. In a different category than Kathleen O’Brien, so I can cheer for them both!
book binge books harlequin Heroes of Heyday romance novels RWA: Kathleen O'Brien RITA
by Blabby
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Book #15
(Book Binge book #5) The Sinner, book #2 in the Heroes of Heyday series by Kathleen O’Brien. I love a good series, and Ms. O’Brien never disappoints. Book #2 in the Heroes of Heyday series continues the story of a quirky town where zebras run amok owned by three estranged brothers. Brother two, the Sinner Bryce, returns to Heyday after being gone for 14 years to recover from a traumatic experience and get his bearings…and in true Harlequin style, finds love.
I was happy to see what was happening with the main characters from the first book, and glad to know the full story of the second brother. Looking forward to reading about the third brother in The Stranger.
book binge books harlequin romance novels RWA suspense: Kathleen O'Brien RITA
by Blabby
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Book #13
(April Book Binge #3) Happily Never After by Kathleen O’Brien. Definitely a departure from Kathleen’s other books. I still loved it and read it very quickly, but the storyline, dialogue, and characters were all very different to me. The one smart-aleky funny character is really what was missing. Not that this book needed one.
This book is about a marriage that never happened because the groom didn’t show up. The bride has been institutionalized and 10 years later, members of the wedding party start dying. The heroine, who would have been one of the bridesmaids (and happens to be in love with the groom) and the hero (the groom) are surprising characters to me. Normally, I would not like these people. But once the story is developed, and you learn all about all the different people involved, you start to cheer for them - in true romance fashion.
Happily Never After is pretty fast-paced. I wanted to know more about some of the people. I would have loved to see the families developed more (like, I want to see more of Adler and Imogene, why is Adler bad, why did Imogene marry him…) I think this book could have been published as a mainstream fiction book - like one of those big generational sagas by Danielle Steele.
Basically, I think Kathleen O’Brien belongs on the bestsellers lists, and I want to see her get there!
book binge books harlequin Heroes of Heyday romance novels RWA: Kathleen O'Brien
by Blabby
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Book #12
(April Book Binge, #2) The Saint by Kathleen O’Brien. This book is the first of three in her Heroes of Heyday series. Of course, I’m hooked. I had checked this one out from the library, but I immediately went on amazon and ordered the next two. (The one bad thing about Harlequins…it can be hard to find the older ones at the library.)
So, The Saint dives right into the action in the first 20 pages. I’m not going to tell you what happens, but it’s unexpected and makes you want to read the whole book in one sitting - which I did.
I like this new town, almost as much as Firefly Glen, and I love these characters. The hero, a handsome high school football coach, is one of three brothers in a very rich family. I’m assuming the other two books, The Sinner and The Stranger are about the other two brothers, and I can’t wait to see what Kathleen came up with for their adventures.
I think my favorite thing about this book was the second story line involving the boy in high school. His trouble with his money-grubbing girlfriend and a lecherous older woman were very entertaining, although, it makes me nervous for my own son’s teenage years.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
I found a wonderful blog, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, via my friend Allison’s new book blog, LibraryLove.net.
I had already added them to by blogroll and subscribed to their feed, but I had to add a link to today’s post. They make a good case for romance novels, which I believe everyone should read. Here’s an excerpt:
The judgments people render against romance novels try to dismiss the question of why romance is so popular, and why so many millions of people spend so many millions of dollars on their choice of reading material. But even against the certainty that romance is “dreck,” or “chick porn” or just lowbrow popular culture loved by dim women in puffy paint sweatshirts, the questions that we ask about romance push back against judgment and assumption to celebrate the questions romance novels ask about human emotional and sexual experience.
Check it out!
books firefly glen harlequin RWA suspense: days of our lives Kathleen O'Brien RITA
by Blabby
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Book #10
Update: Check out the comments…I’m the “most awesome fan”!!! Woo hoo! Thanks Kathleen!
Quiet as the Grave by Kathleen O’Brien. Seriously, I thought that the last book was my favorite Firefly Glen book, but this one was the best. Intrigue, creepy people, murder, love, parenting issues…what more could you ask for? I’m glad I waited and read it last.
Now here’s my request for Kathleen. She introduced some of the kids created by all the love matches in the earlier books. I’d like to see some more Firefly Glen books featuring the kids when they grow up. It can be like how on Days of Our Lives, all the kids were babies, then all of a sudden, they were in high school with their own story lines. Now they have kids…you see where I’m going with this.
Come on Kathleen! Hurry and write some more :) No wonder this is a 2007 RITA finalist. I can’t wait until July to see if you won!
