Mary’s Musings about JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION

Mary’s Musings about reading, reviewing, and random passing thoughts that come at me every day while I contemplate books and life. 

Jane Austen is the iconic figure of historical romance.  Everyone achieves to write a prolifically as she did, create characters as memorial, and bring a tear to the reader’s eye when they close the book.

There has also been so much said about Jane Austen and her life dissected at every angle, but one – Jane as a vampire.  Janet Mullany explored this first in Book #1 Jane and the Damned, and now in Book #2 JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION.  Jane Austen is given even more depth and greater range if that is possible and explores the torment a woman goes through when having to choose eternal life with the man you love or a normal existence with your family that will lead to your death.

Be prepared to share Jane’s conflict of both mind and heart as she is reunited with her lover and making the decision that will change everything for her as a writer and person.

You will enjoy this book but I highly recommend reading JANE AND THE DAMNED to get the feel of how the story will flow in this second book.

But what you will enjoy the most is that a comment I made about this book was quoted and distributed with the publicity information about Jane Austen: blood Persuasion.  I was so proud and honored to have been quoted and love seeing my name in print. 

A little Halloween Q&A with Janet…

Jane Austen as a vampire threw me off quite a bit but after I read Jane and the Damned I saw this as a great idea.  Did you think readers would get the concept and understand where you were going with this idea?  I think there was some early confusion that this was a monster-mash book or an Austen sequel with vamps, and not what it is, which is an alternative history paranormal starring Jane Austen. It's categorized in some places as horror--I guess it's inevitable, since it's about vampires, that there would be quite a lot of spurting blood! But the people who most enjoyed it, as far as I could tell, were readers who knew about Jane Austen and had some familiarity, through her books or movie adaptations, with her work.  I really wrote it with readers in mind who would enjoy both the "spot the Austen" references and the idea of action and adventure with a little romance starring a slightly unusual Jane Austen.

When I see sections of my reviews quoted and my name attached in print I get beyond excited.  Do you still get that feeling of "wow that is my name right there" when your books are published?  I get really excited about seeing my books in the library! In bookstores they seem rather impersonal. I don't know why one moves me and the other doesn't.  I love seeing a great review like yours--thanks again!--and I love it when people talk about my books online.

Since I am hosting you on Halloween please tell me your favorite Halloween experience, costume, or story from childhood or as an adult.  I grew up in England and then we had bonfires and fireworks on Nov. 5 to celebrate Guy Fawkes.  I'm surprised it took the English so long to adopt a celebration centered mainly around candy, but Halloween is quite big now.  I think it has coincided with Guy Fawkes becoming more of a community event with fewer hands-on family fireworks; there were always lots of people injuring themselves with fireworks and I suspect there's some political correctness creeping in, since probably poor Guy Fawkes and the others were set up to create anti-Catholic sentiment. I remember one Bonfire Night when it was very cold and clear despite the smoke from fireworks and I saw the Milky Way for the first time. My favorite Halloween memory is when my daughter dressed up as a Princess Bunny, her dad was a pirate with a cardboard parrot secured in his shirt pocket and I was a teenage mutant ninja turtle (the basis of my shell was a wok). Our Halloween costumes tended to rely rather heavily on cardboard and glue and last minute ingenuity.

Thanks for having me here, and have a happy Halloween!

I am proud to announce that William Morrow An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishing is giving away one copy of this book (review below).  To be eligible to win please leave a comment on “what is your fondest Jane Austen memory?”  Come back on Sunday – October 10^th to see if you have won.  Please remember to come back as I am going to need your address.  

REVIEW from Mary Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer"

JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION by Janet Mullany

10/11 - HarperCollins Publishers - Paperback, 304 pages

What will it take for me to resist the temptations of the past?

Jane Austen has spent the last thirteen years trying to recover from being part of the Damned and return to a normal family life.  She is writing, enjoying her mother, sister, and trying to reform a wayward niece.  However, her domestic tranquility comes to a crashing halt when her creator comes back to town and wants Jane back with his family of misfit characters.

William “saved” Jane from death by making her part of the undead and Jane has done everything she can to cure herself of this disease.  She still longs for the taste of blood and hungers for the adventures in the darkness but has kept herself under control all these years.  Having William return as well as her former lover is making the life of this responsible unmarried woman very confusing and dangerous for her family.

Jane knows she can trust no one outside her family but to stay alive and keep everyone from destruction she also knows she must step a toe back into the society of the Damned.  William tempts her with eternity and Luke with his version of love but all Jane desires is the pursuit of writing her next great novel and not have the fragile peace she has created explode.

If Jane Austen is having trouble putting all the pieces of a life together, the rest of us may never figure it out.

How does one write Jane Austen so that she is fresh and innovative, ask Janet Mullany because she has a gift for it.  The most sought after character in historical romance is Jane Austen who has been discussed and dissected from every angle, sans one.  She is never allowed to step outside the box and have some otherworldly experience, enter Ms. Mullany who has so seamlessly produced a book that shows what tortured Jane besides her writing.

CONGRATULATIONS to my hometown ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

CONGRATULATIONS to my hometown ST. LOUIS CARDINALS and their 11^th World Series Win.  It was an unbelievable ride with them that gave all of us cardiac issues but now that we are the World Champs it turned out great.

Thanks everyone for a great week.  I love all of you commenting and the authors for joining in on the fun!

So to all my winners this week, congratulations to you as well.  Please send an email with your address to reader0409@yahoo.com so I can get these out to you and don’t forget to jump over to Amazon and cast your vote for my reviews.  Thanks everyone!

Romancing the Countess and Seducing the Duchess plus A Romance Sampler by Ashley March - kamwh1207@att.net

Too Wicked to Wed by Cara Elliott and Deliciously Sinful by Lilli Feisty – Chey

Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins, Holly Lane by Toni Blake and Sexiest Vampire Alive by Kerrelyn Sparks – Carol L

One last reminder to Jenny that you won His Destiny by Diana Cosby last week if you are interested please email me.

As always I wish you happy reading, encourage you to celebrate your Little Victories, and come back to see what book I am reviewing and offering up for a giveaway.

Wacky and wonderful world of being Mary

Wacky and wonderful world of being Mary.  People that know me always ask for Mary Stories about what I have done that is so unbelievable it could only happen to me so I decided to share a week of Mary Stories that started at 7 am on Monday morning and still not quite done with the drama that is my life.

Monday - started the day at the gym by doing my Monday morning swim trying to keep the gym bullies under control (yes I am going to blog about that at some point), only to discover half-way through my swim that my suit was inside out.  So yes the elastic that is supposed to hold my stomach in was exposed as well as the panty liner placed discretely for my protection.  Seriously?  But big note to self - check suit before you leave the house to make sure it is on correctly.  

Come home to find my dog is sick so a trip to vet was in order only to discover she is constipated from something the vet thinks she ate.  I won't give you the details of how you reverse this problem but let's just say I took a shower when I got home and tried not to throw up.  

Then discovered my dryer is broken and the repairman will show up between 8-1 on Thursday and to please have cash ready they don't take credit cards.

But wait this is only Monday...

Tuesday - my mother has to go to the eye doctor so yes I am still two weeks later driving Miss Daisy around, cleaning her house, and learning to say NO old lady I am busy and can't take you to that place at that time.  Also had to clean a house so I have a little spending money, pick up a few items at Costco, and then come home and not have time for a nap - crap!

Wednesday -so what should happen on this wonderful hump day but I catch a cold.  Why not add to the ambiance that is happening here.

Thursday & Friday - found me still down with this virus but getting better and well I am done feeling sorry for myself and saying this too shall pass!

WE WON THE WORLD SERIES!

Mary’s Musings...about FALL…IN LOVE TOUR

Mary’s Musings about reading, reviewing, and random passing thoughts that come at me every day while I contemplate books and life. 

I received a three wonderful books packaged for the FALL…IN LOVE TOUR.

HOLLY LANE 
     by Toni Blake (click the link to cast your Amazon vote )

NIGHT HAWK 

     by Beverly Jenkins (click the link to cast your Amazon vote )

SEXIEST VAMPIRE ALIVE 

by Kerrelyn Sparks (click the link to cast your Amazon vote)

 

 

 

I am proud to announce that Avon, an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers is giving away this set of books to only lucky winner.  To be eligible to win please leave a comment and what I am asking today is “how did you fall in love?” Come back on Sunday – October 30^th to see if you have won.  Please remember if you do not come back you won't know if you won because I am going to need your address. 

As always I wish you happy reading, encourage you to celebrate your Little Victories, and come back to see what book I am reviewing and offering up for a giveaway.  Don’t forget to cast your positive votes for me on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Your vote matters!

Mary’s Musings...about SEXIEST VAMPIRE ALIVE by Kerrelyn Sparks

Mary’s Musings...about reading, reviewing, and random passing thoughts that come at me every day while I contemplate books and life.

I loved SEXIEST VAMPIRE ALIVE by Kerrelyn Sparks.  This book has such great characters and I am a sucker (pun here) for vampires and nerds.  I married one, then gave birth to one and don’t understand anything they are talking about but love to listen. 

The other fun thing in this book for some reason was the Code Names for the members of the first family in the White House.  I know they try to be creative and it made me wonder what code name would I like.  Apparently, the code names are one word and describe your personality so I started thinking about what one word would work for me and that was tough because I am not complicated just have allot of things that could describe me.  I have the basic love of reading and reviewing, adore a great Coach purse; anything Transformers; can’t stop looking at a Monet painting; and of course my family.  But the unique word for me is friendly (i.e. I talk too much) and I am not sure that would work but anyone that knows me will tell you I never met a person I could not strike up a conversation with after I get to know them. 

But less about me and more about Kerrelyn Sparks.  A quick bio from her website reveals that her first paranormal romance, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, zoomed out of the bat cave so fast it became Borders bestselling debut romance of 2005.  Each book in the Love at Stake series has become a USAToday bestseller. 

When the fourth book, The Undead Next Door, landed on the New York Times bestseller list, even the Undead sat up and took notice, which made Kerrelyn a bit nervous. She lives in the Greater Houston area with her husband, children, and a house full of garlic.  So far, there are no vampires in her family. Werewolves are another matter entirely.

You may email Kerrelyn she would love to hear from you!  Most email will receive a response, except on the night of a full moon.   Or write to Kerrelyn at P.O. Box 5512, Katy, TX 77491-5512.  If you are requesting signed bookplates or bookmarks, please include a SASE (SASE).  If you wish to chat with Kerrelyn and other readers, please join the Forum in the Vampire World.  If you’d like to receive news and updates, please subscribe to Kerrelyn’s newsletter at KerrelynSparksNews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  You can also find Kerrelyn on Facebook!

Be brave, be bold, be batty!

I am proud to announce that Harper Collins Publishing is giving away one copy of this book (review below).  To be eligible to win please leave a comment and what I am asking today is “what would you like your Secret Service Code Name to be?” Come back on Sunday – October 23^rd to see if you have won.  Please remember if you do not come back you won't know if you won because I am going to need your address.  

As always I wish you happy reading, encourage you to celebrate your Little Victories, and come back to see what book I am reviewing and offering up for a giveaway.  Tomorrow has to be Tuesday or Thursday because Kim Adams of SOS Aloha fame is here to offer so of her sassy spice to the day.

REVIEW from Mary Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer"

SEXIEST VAMPIRE ALIVE by Kerrelyn Sparks

Love at Stake Series #11

09/11 - HarperCollins Publishers - Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Can you mix science with love and have all the facts add up in the plus column?

When the vampire nation comes out to the public, the vampires enlist their best public relations man, ah vampire Gregori Holstein to be the face of the kinder, gentler vampire.  Gregori is the male perfection of what vampires aspire to with the face of an angel, and the ability to charm even the President of the United States to protect them.

The one person Gregori is not able to charm is the President’s daughter Abby.  She is an independent scientist who has stayed off the publicity radar and wants to keep it that way.  However, when she discovers that the vampires can teleport leaving the possibility of finding a cure to her mother’s illness shy Abigail becomes assertive Abby and gets them to help her find the missing ingredients to solve the mysteries around her mother's sickness.

The dangers are real as the dark forces of the Malcontents in the vampire world surround them and one mistake will cost them their eternal life.  Secrecy is the key to any successful mission but one of the vampires has his own personal agenda that is distracting the team from getting what they need and getting back home.  Gregori knows Abby will be safe with him as he is investing more than just a business relationship with her.  The desire to see her life saved has taken on new meaning, as he wants more than he could ever imagine to have her life combined with his forever.

Gregori has another nightmare bigger and more sinister than anything he can control – his mother!  She is forever in his life haunting him for grandchildren, and using every conceivable way to convince him that Abby is “the one.”  Gregori loves his mother but this one he may have figured out on his own.

This series has held on for so long due to Ms. Sparks’s ability to write original and creative storylines.  You have the basics but what Kerrelyn does with these characters is pure magic and allot of romantic fun that makes you fly through this book waiting for the next.  Read them all and you will enjoy every one, I promise.

Aloha to Jennifer Schmidt and LAST CALL

Join me for a game of Six Degrees of Seperation with romance author Jennifer Schmidt:

1.  Jennifer Schmidt lives in Ashern, Manitoba, Canada.  

2.  Ashern is the birthplace of Adam Beach, a Canadian First Nation actor.

3.  Adam Beach portrayed real life military heroes from WWII, including Native American Ira Hayes in FLAG OF MY FATHER and First Nation Tommy Prince in PRINCE OF DEVILS.  

4.  The US entered WWII after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

5.  Hawaiians travel to Las Vegas in such significant numbers that they refer to Sin City as the Ninth Island.

6.  Las Vegas kicks off the events in Jennifer Schmidt's LAST CALL.  

While on vacation, a night out turns into a drunken haze, and Novalee Jensen wakes up hung over, confused, and… married? Fleeing Nevada, Novalee returns home to Montana to hide out, dreading the moment when her husband will show up to take her hard-earned business. But two years later just when Novalee thinks her secret is safe, guess who walks through her door? Now, face-to-face with the man she left in a hotel room two years ago, Novalee discovers the difficult part isn't having to explain her actions that night, or the questions that arise about the sexy stranger's arrival, it's keeping her hands off her husband. And what's Novalee to do when the hardest part turns out not to be confronting her past, but facing a possible future without her soon-to-be ex-husband?

Multi-millionaire Dean Philips wakes up in a Las Vegas hotel room to find the pretty blonde he married the night before gone. The piece of paper he possesses proves she served her purpose, and guilt ridden over his actions, Dean begins a battle with his father for a fight for his grandfather’s fortune. When Dean is ordered to have his wife appear in court, he finds himself in a small town in Montana, looking for the woman who ran off two years ago. Caught up in secrets and lies of his own, he has to find a way to persuade her to come back to Vegas with him without having her find out that she's the missing puzzle piece to everything he's been fighting for. But when Dean decides to mix a little pleasure with business, he suddenly finds himself in unfamiliar territory that could cost him everything.

Jennifer's publisher, THE WRITER'S COFFEE SHOP, is giving away an ecopy of LAST CALL to one randomly selected commenter.   Plus I am giving away a "Aloha Las Vegas" prize.   To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Canada, Hawaii, or Las Vegas!

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Monday, October 31.  I'll post the winner on Tuesday, November 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii 


To learn more about Jennifer Schmidt and her book, check out her author page at this link.

Plus check out her social media at:
Blog: www.jleeschmidt.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jennifer-Schmidt/181909148531269
Twitter: @jleeschmidt

And the party continues with LAST CALL at this link.

Adam Beach was a guest star on Hawaii Five O
last season; he portrayed a Navy Seal.

Mary’s Musings...about Wonderful Wednesday of Romance

Mary’s Musings...about reading, reviewing, and random passing thoughts that come at me every day while I contemplate books and life.

I was asked to be part of a Wonderful Wednesday of Romance with a mix of Contemporary and Historical Romance.  I was delighted to be asked because I am a huge fan of Cara Elliott’s as well as Lilli Feisty so reading their books is always a pleasure and featuring them a delight.

For today I have broken the reviews into separate postings so please read them both to find the connection I have put in bold.  So join me as I review first the Cara Eliott TOO WICKED TO WED, and then the Lilli Feisty DELICIOUSLY SINFUL.

In order to win a gift pack with these books from Grand Central Forever Publishing please leave a comment about “why you love romance books so much?”  Come back on Sunday – October 30^th to see if you have won.  Please remember if you do not come back, you will not know if you won because I am going to need your address.

Wonderful Wednesday ( Part 2) DELICIOUSLY SINFUL by Lilli Feisty

DELICIOUSLY SINFUL by Lilli Feisty

12/11 - Grand Central Publishing

Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages

How complicated can simple be?

Phoebe has taken on the family restaurant knowing it was going to push her over the limit of her capabilities.  She makes a great decision to sign on Nick even though he is a hotshot chef from Los Angeles.  He may not fit in but he is a great chef so maybe he can blend in and no one will notice.  After Phoebe meets him, she knows that his British accent is the least of her problems.

These two argue over menus, conduct screaming matches over the proper use of butter, and the best use of a kitchen whisk.  This is Phoebe’s future at stake and she wants Nick to respect her wishes for organic and natural, which is not the same as au natural.

The longer Nick spends in this tiny town the more contented he becomes which scares him more than Phoebe.  He is use to long nights, fast women, and too much partying.  The sound of crickets should make him nervous not relaxed.  Nick wonders if this is a phase that will pass.  But he worries that his attraction to Phoebe may go away as well even though it feels like it is just growing stronger every day.  Phoebe is struggling with her feelings for Nick as well because he is not what she needs or wants and there is no way he will stay put long enough to help her cultivate a relationship.  Phoebe is also trying to manage her brother’s life while he starts to move away from the grief that losing his wife created.  Phoebe has her hands full in more ways than one.

So while Nick is bright lights and big city whereas Phoebe is down to earth and boring.  Can these two polar opposites click and come up with the perfect recipe for love and brownies, you never know until you read the book.

I am a fan of Lilli Feisty’s books because they have a romantic edginess to them you do not find just anywhere.  She keeps the story moving and the character engaging without too much of this and not enough of that!

Mary’s Musings...about (Part 1) Wonderful Wednesday of Romance

TOO WICKED TO WED by Cara Elliott

11/11 – Forever - Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

How close do I have to get to the fire before I am burned?

Lady Alexa Hendrie is a country-bred woman that is destined she believes for spinsterhood.  She may flirt with the idea of a season in London but the reality of trying to be a tame, controlled woman of society is not going to happen.  Connor Linsley, the Earl of Killingworth affectionately known to his Hellhound friends as the Irish Wolfhound.  He runs a brothel and gaming hall and is a menace to proper society.  Connor wants to run his business, not have Alexa interfering with it but a determined woman can always overrun a snarly man.

Alexa and Connor are connected through her brother but only remotely but enough to give Connor a headache over her requests.  He has problems of his own with a mysterious someone trying to ruin his business at best and kill him as a bonus.  But a tender kiss and sweet caress is going to be the undoing of Connor too great a temptation for Alexa.  Connor has to keep his head in the game to avoid losing everything he cares about but when he starts to care about Alexa the stakes may be too high even for a man who loves to take a chance.

A near fatal accident leads to time secluded for Alexa and Connor where they discover the strength they have together is more powerful than they could have ever imagined.  It is more than facts, figures, or business forecasting that has Alexa it is about taking chances and rolling with the circumstances.  But the lives of many are being threatened and the mysterious shadow lurking in the background trying to eliminate Connor and all he cares about is drawing closer.  Connor may have enemies but not enough to create this situation so solving the problem quickly will put everything to right even his relationship with Alexa.

Commitment may have been a problem for Connor in the past but now his decisions are going to be based on the future even if he is not sure where this will lead.

Cara Elliott writes what every historical romance reader wants – romance with a side of intrigue.  Her stories are so rich with character depth and filled with that hint of mystery that make it the perfect complement to every reader’s heart.  I look forward to every Cara Elliott book because they are always fascinating and remind you of how timeless true love is.