LAST DAY TO ENTER OUR RITA CELEBRATION

LAST DAY TO ENTER ALL THE RITA NOMINEE GIVEAWAYS. All the links to the rafflecopter drawings are below. Enter all you're interested in.

BEST FIRST BOOK

THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE
Simone St. James
rafflecopter entry -- north America
see all the finalists

CONTEMPORARY SINGLE TITLE

THE WAY BACK HOME

Barbara Freethy
rafflecopter entry -- north America

rafflecopter entry -- international

see all the finalists

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME
Sarah MacLean
rafflecopter entry -- north America
rafflecopter entry -- international
see all the finalists

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE

AGAINST THE TIDE

Elizabeth Camden
rafflecopter entry -- north America
rafflecopter entry -- international
see all the finalists

LONG CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE

A GIFT FOR ALL SEASONS
Karen Templeton
rafflecopter entry -- north America
rafflecopter entry -- international

see all the finalists

NOVEL with STRONG ROMANTIC ELEMENTS

THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE

Simone St. James
rafflecopter entry -- north America

rafflecopter entry -- international

see all the finalists

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

SHADOW'S CLAIM
Kresley Cole
rafflecopter entry -- north America
rafflecopter entry -- international
see all the finalists

ROMANCE NOVELLA

SEDUCED BY A PIRATE

Eloisa James

rafflecopter entry -- north America

see all the finalists

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

SCORCHED
Laura Griffin
rafflecopter entry -- north America
see all the finalists

SHORT CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE

A NIGHT OF NO RETURN

Sarah Morgan

rafflecopter entry -- north America

rafflecopter entry -- international

see all the finalists

YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE

THE FARM
Emily McKay
rafflecopter entry -north America
see all the finalists

Congratulations to all the 2013 RITA® WINNERS!

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JOIN US tomorrow as GLIAS author interviews return with  Donnell hosting Anne Marie Becker. Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook.
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THERE'S STILL TIME to 
enter all of the RITA giveaways.
Leave a comment and register through Rafflecopter 
on each RITA feature you're interested in. 

Please remember that INTERNATIONAL raffles are open to all.

We'll be posting the winners Sunday, July 28th.

Get Lost During Winter in July!

WINTER IN JULY BLOG HOP!

Folks, please welcome the authors on the Winter in July Blog Hop! Each of us has a book set in winter and we thought it would be a great way to celebrate the summer with a cool story. Although, these romances are hot, hot, hot so maybe it wasn't the best idea? Oh well! No matter!

Today the authors have been interviewed so you get a chance to get to know us a bit better.

GLIAS: What's your favorite type of book to read and why?

Lisa Fox: I’m a huge fan of horror stories. I love to be scared. I love to wonder what is lurking in the dark and under my bed.

Alexa Bourne: I love romantic suspense stories. I love to see the bad guys get what’s coming to them and to see ordinary people rise up to courageous and brave.
Catherine Peace: I love science fiction, always have, always will. I’ve had a deep obsession with outer space since I decided to be an astronaut at the age of seven, and anything that had to do with it. Needless to say, my head’s been in the clouds ever since.
Taryn Kincaid: Love historical romances, the first books that got me hooked on reading romance. Up until one day lying on a beach in Jamaica, and glancing at a book my friend had left open on the towel…I was an English major and strictly read classics! Now, I also love sexy paranormals. Totally smitten by the paranormal romance goddesses, J.R. Ward, Nalini Singh and Kresley Cole.
Eva LeFoy: Oh that’s a tough one. The first thing that pops into my mind is Science Fiction. Not romance mind you, but more like a Star Trek novel. I also love hot historical romance. Not that those two things go together …
Emily Cale: This depends on the day. Of course I am a big romance fan and read a lot of both sweet and erotic romance. I am also a big fan of mysteries, both cozies and thrillers (but nothing with a lot of gore *eyes Lisa*)

GLIAS: Who is your favorite author and why?
Lisa: Stephen King. Because he is made of everything awesome.
Alexa: Oooh, do I really have to pick just 1? Okay, if I HAVE to choose…Laura Griffin because her stories have just the right mix of romance and suspense.
Catherine: Anne Rice, hands down. I love the way she writes—so fluid and poetic and beautiful. Interview with the Vampire is the first book I remember falling madly and deeply in love with. Taryn: See above. Don’t make me choose. I might hurt myself. Or you.
Eva: Honestly I can go from Barbara Kingsolver to Sherrilyn Kenyon to Jack McDevitt to Lisa Marie Rice so easily that it’s not even funny. There’s a different author for every mood. My brain also loves non-fiction, and currently my favorite non-fiction author is Mary Roach, who wrote the book, “Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers.” It’s an interesting look into what happens to your body when you give it to medical science.
Emily: I’ve been reading a lot of Kathy Reichs lately. I like the way her stories unfold so effortlessly and always keep the reader guessing.

 

GLIAS: What's your favorite thing about being an author and why?
Lisa: There are so many great things about being an author. I love the process of writing even when it is difficult and frustrating. I love the anxiety of submitting, the joy of getting that acceptance letter. Getting cover art is always amazing. And then finally, getting to share the story with others and knowing they’ve enjoyed it. Nothing compares to that.
Alexa: I love watching a story unfold before my very eyes. Yes, sometimes it’s so very difficult and I want to pull out my hair, but when it all falls into place it’s just as magical as Santa and the North Pole!
Catherine: The covers? :D Okay, apart from the covers, I think my favorite part of being an author is “meeting” all these new and diverse characters and getting to write their stories because no one else ever could.
Taryn: That would be the tons of money pouring into my coffers [kept hidden in an undisclosed underground vault] on a daily basis. Oh. Wait. I was having a fantasy there for a minute. I would have to say, getting a new cover! I have been astoundingly lucky so far. Whenever I get the email, I hold my breath, click and wait anxiously for the download. Upload. And then it’s Whooooooeeeeeee!  Gorgeous HOTness!
Eva: It’s fun to come up with new ideas and see if you can constantly improve your writing. It’s fun to try new things.
Emily: I get paid to make stuff up. I was already doing that (my mom says I have an overactive imagination), but now I get to say it is my job.

GLIAS: Who is your celebrity crush and why?
Lisa: Hugh Jackman. I don’t think that requires any further explanation, do you?
Alexa: Matt Damon. He’s an awesome actor and he seems to be a genuinely good guy.
Catherine: Chris Evans. I think he might love science fiction as much as I do. I fell head over heels for him when Not Another Teen Movie came out. Though I hated the movie at the time, he made a lasting impression on me. And then When he played Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four movie, I was sold. That is some gorgeous man right there. Plus, he’s a talented singer, has a great relationship with his mom, and has a wicked sense of humor. There’s really nothing the man can’t do.
Taryn: Joe Manganiello. I admit. I’m totally shallow. Pretty face and smokin’ bod.  Oh, come on. Tell me you would not buy a crap ton of Magnum Gold ice cream from this man?
Eva: Well there are several. Right now though, I’m willing to fight to the death over Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion in Game of Thrones.
Emily: Channing Tatum. I don’t think I need to explain that.

GLIAS: If you had to choose, who is your favorite one of your characters and why?
Lisa: I can’t choose. That would be like choosing my favorite child. They are special to me, all unique and magnificent. They also all have their flaws and each one has given me their fair share of trouble.
Alexa: If I had to choose I’d choose Meggie MacDougall. She’s the town gossip in my Highland village. (She's not in this book but does have her own!)
Catherine: Tandy from “This Time Next Year.” Even to me, she’s kind of mysterious and has a few secrets of her own. Though she’s not in the book a whole lot, she’s still feisty, funny, and fiercely loyal to Moira. I hope to write her story someday.
Taryn: Can’t choose.  It’s Sophie’s Choice. Maybe Solomon’s. But if we’re talking winter in July, Max Raines, the smokin’ hot fire-sex demon and erotic artist who is the hero of FROST is pretty sizzlin’. Literally.
Eva: Of my already published works, Alyce from No Glass Between Them because of her tenacity and her down-to-Earthness. Of my WIP’s probably the robot with the detachable penis!
Emily: In Two is Twice as Nice, Cara is certainly my favorite character. I think she comes off shy and reserved, but that underneath she is strong and bursting with all sorts of excitement. I hope that her heroes help her figure out how to bring those qualities to the surface.

GLIAS: What is your favorite season and why?

Lisa: I love the summer the best. Warm weather, bright sunshine, men jogging shirtless. What’s not to love?
Alexa: I love fall. It’s cooler and getting close to the holidays. Plus, I grew up in New England and I LOVE the changing of the leaves.
Catherine: Fall. Football starts, the World Series is going on, the leaves are changing, it’s not too cold and not too hot. Life is good in the fall.
Taryn: Fall. Because it’s spoooooooky. And I am a writer of paranormals, after all!
Eva: Fall definitely. I’m a Libra and fall is pretty much my element. I love sweaters and being outside without it being 100 degrees, and overrun with bugs. I’m not a person that tans but I do run, and it’s much nicer to run in the fall with the leaves crinkling underfoot.
Emily: Spring because I’ve been waiting all winter for it to arrive. When it finally does, it feels like a miracle.

GLIAS: What is your favorite type of hero and why?
Lisa: I like all heroes really. I am an equal opportunity kind of girl. They all have great qualities. Alphas and their dominance, betas and their sweetness, bad boys and their attitudes, geeks and their quirkiness – it’s all good to me!
Alexa: I love any type of hero. My only requirement is he’s good to the people around him and to animals. He doesn’t have to be perfect (none of us is, right?), but he does have to be willing to try.
Catherine: Is the sensitive jackass a thing? I have this weakness for cocky guys who have a soft side (*cough* Johnny Storm from the Fantastic 4 movies *cough*). There’s something about breaking down those defenses and getting through the armor of attitude and seeing what’s really underneath.
Taryn: Bad boy alpha with a soft, mushy, nougat center and heart of gold.
Eva: There are so many different kinds it’s hard to pick. The reluctant heroes often make great stories. Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit is a reluctant hero. He certainly denies the initial call to adventure, doesn’t he? But it’s not too far into the story before he begins to change…. I like him because he’s a lot like us.
Emily: The strong, handsome kind? I don’t really have a favorite. I go for both alphas and betas when I am ready and writing. In real life, I fall for the geeks.

GLIAS: What is your favorite part of the writing process and why?
Lisa: I love beginning a new story. It’s like setting out a journey. I love to discover all the new places these people will take me, all the new things I will get to see and learn and experience. The beginning is the best because everything is wide open and fresh - the anxiety and second guessing and dealing with the plot holes hasn’t set in yet and I can just create.
Alexa: I love when the story is just about ready to be turned in to my editor. I get such giddiness and satisfaction when I finally see all the pieces falling into place and making sense.
Catherine: I love building the world and making the rules, creating cultures. To me, it’s the most important part of writing—even more important than characters and plot. It informs every scene, every aspect of character, every bit of a story, and if it’s not right or if something doesn’t work, then it will screw up the rest. A lot of pressure? Maybe. But it’s totally worth it.
Taryn: Seeing what happens. Maybe getting surprise. Well, hell. I’m a reader first, aren’t I?
Eva: Tossing ideas around. Coming up with stories. Hiking is where I do my best story work. It’s a little hard on the calves though I must say.
Emily: The initial stage when I start to write a book that has been swimming around in my head for weeks. It feels like I am getting something out and the possibilities at this point are endless.

Remember to leave a comment and your email address to be in the running for one of our awesome SIX prizes! There will be 1 winner from each day and the person who comments the most during the entire blog hop will also win a prize! Winners will be announced in the comment section after midnight EST on Sunday 7/28.

We are also blogging on:

July 24th- Sara Brookes' blog- : http://www.sarabrookes.net

July 25th- The Literary Lagniappe- http://literarylagniappe.com

July 26th- Get Lost in a Story Blog- http://getlostinastory.blogspot.com
July 27th- Pink Fluffy Hearts Blog- http://pinkfluffyhearts.blogspot.com
July 28th- Happily Ever After Thoughts blog- http://www.happilyeverafterthoughts.com

Maureen's Atlanta

Atlanta 2013 was my 10th consecutive RWA conference. It's hard for me to believe that I've been going since 2004, but I have. Every year. And I'd love to post photos from all of them like Angi did... But my digital life is not that organized. (Note to self, find and organize photos.)

So, instead, I thought I'd just give a recap of some of the highlights of this year.

I swore I wasn't going to go again this year, since I'm not writing romances at the moment, but then I changed my mind at the last minute. ;)  And I'm so glad that I did. Great conference.
(I blogged a bit about the overall vibe of the conference here, if you're interested.)

Not only was there a great positive vibe this year, but Simone St. James, one of the founding bloggers of this blog, won not one, but two RITA awards!!!

Simone's fabulous book THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE (which already won best first book from the Canadian Crime Writers' Association) won Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and Best First Book at the RITAs.

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO SIMONE!!!!! Simone is also in my local RWA Chapter, Toronto Romance Writers. I've known her since about 2005 or 2006 and I couldn't be more proud and happy for her!

Order Now 

If you haven't checked out this book yet, you should. It's a 1920's set ghost story/mystery/romance.

And here are a few photos of Simone on the night.

Simone accepting her first RITA of the night. Best novel with Strong Romantic Elements (and before I got smart enough to switch from "auto" to "movie" on my camera.)

Simone right after the ceremony. Still a tad in shock, I think. :)

And with me a few moments later.

Part of Simone's speech for RITA win #1.

And her speech for RITA win #2 (handed out by la Nora no less!) That's Nora Roberts in case you're not a big romance fan. :)

The commentary you can hear right after her name is announced is my friend Misty Simon, and then me claiming I knew she'd win all along. LOL. I actually did get a strong feeling while the finalists were being announced. Not like a psychic feeling. Just a hunch based on the other books nominated, whether they had been nominated or won their categories, and the fact that Simone had already won her category. :) All deduction, dear Watson.

The RITAs were definitely a highlight. As was seeing so many friends, meeting new ones, and learning a heck of a lot, too!

But the thing I'll miss about Atlanta the most? The Alma Cocina restaurant. Here is my half-eaten plate of fried avocado tacos. Yum. Full disclosure? I went to this same restaurant 3 times over 5 nights. Yes, it was that good.

And here's a (very dark) photo of Stephanie Doyle, Simone St. James and Molly O'Keefe at our first trip to that very restaurant...

Angi's Conference Flashbacks

2000 Washington, DC
My first RWA conference

The lovely and very Scotish, Frances Housden

2001 New Orleans

Jackson Square with "The Divas"

New Orleans Ghost Tour

2002 Denver, Colorado

With the fabulous first lady of Romance RITA Clay Estrada

2003 New York, New York

One of my first trips to this amazing city.

2004 Dallas, Texas

Golden Heart Finalist & I met my bestie pal, Amy Atwell but can't find a picture 

Terri Griffin, Tara Waldie, Me and Davona Stiff

2005 Reno, Nevada

Kathleen Givens, one of my favorite people taken from us much too early.

2006 Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta Aquarium -- a must see if you're there

2007 Dallas, Texas

2004 or 2007 with Cari Manderschied and Cheryl Leo

2008 & Graduation

off to College Expenses and no conference :(

2009 Washington, DC

At the Roosevelt Memorial with my high school friend, Carla

2010 Orlando, Florida

Golden Heart Winner, Hill Country Holdup went on sale

2011 New York, New York

Amy Atwell & Angi Morgan at the Harlequin Party

2012 & Another Graduation

off to Grad-School Expenses & no conference

2013 Atlanta, Georgia

At the Harlequin Party with my bestie pal, Amy Atwell.

MAN, I have a stack of books I gathered at conference for a winner to choose from.
For a chance...leave a comment and for a 2nd chance...share the FB post.

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Angi Morgan writes “Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi is a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award, Romantic Times Best First Series, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the Daphne du Maurier.

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FIND ANGI

Website   Facebook   FB Fan Page   Twitter @AngiMorganAuthr

A Picture A Day   Goodreads  Book Trailers on YouTube

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LEAVE A BLOG COMMENT for today's BOOK

AND ENTER ANGI'S July contest: register at Rafflecopter through July 31st.