WINNER!

I used the random number feature in Excel to choose a winner who is....

(drumroll please)

!!! DONNA S !!!

Donna, please email your mailing address to: nicola327 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Thanks for playing, everyone.

Emerald City RWA Giveaway

You know, for a romance fan, there aren't many places that are better to live in than Seattle.

For one, it's gorgeous.  You may have heard that it rains all the time--and yes, it can be dreary in the winter, BUT it's also lush and green all year.  I have camellias in my yard that bloom every January.  January!  And on a clear day, the view of the Cascades or the Olympics or Mt. Rainier or the Sound or one of the many lakes is a great mood lifter.

Honestly, I don't mind the overcast weather.  Because what goes better with a great book than a cozy sofa, a hot beverage, and the sound of rain on your windows?  I'm not alone, because Seattle still ranks as the #1 American city for booksellers per capita.

But for the true book geek, the fact that the Pacific Northwest is home to an amazing number of great authors has to be the best thing about being a reader in Seattle.  And for a romance reader in particular, the Emerald City RWA bookfair is the candy store to my inner kid.

It's really an embarrassment of riches.  Earlier this year, I went to a Bookperk "tea" and met Julia Quinn and Eloisa James.  I've been to signings by Candy Tan, Jacquelyn Carey, Kim Harrison, and Patricia Briggs.  I bumped into Jayne Ann Krentz and Stella Cameron in the Barnes and Noble, for crying out loud!

So what does a person do when they have it really, really good?  Share the wealth!

I thought about a couple of different ways to do this, but in the end, I'm a fan of the KISS Principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid. 

So Here's The Deal:

Check the author roster in the post below, then leave me a comment telling me which of these talented authors you would like to have a signed book from. If you win, I'll get it for you, and send it to you.  Simple!

I'm feeling generous, so it's open world-wide.  You get one extra entry/chance if you share this post on FaceBook, Tweet, or "like" Alpha Heroes' FaceBook page.  Contest closes at midnight Pacific time Thursday, Oct. 27, and I'll run the pick sometime Friday morning.

Oh! and breaking news:  Julia Quinn is not on the official list for the bookfair, but she confirmed in her Facebook feed that she'll be there.  So she's an option too!

October...

"If I could forgive the temporary weight gain due to excess water retention

I could forgive the rest too... 

it's just a fact of life that no one cares to mention 

She wasn't good, but she had good intentions..."

Yeah.

OK, I'm a little late, but I think I can still pull this off. I have this FANTASTIC idea for an October feature.

Here it is.  Question: what do these authors have in common?

Karen L. Abrahamson
Cherry Adair
Susan Andersen
Vivian Arend
DaniJo Avia
Calinda B.
Kinley Baker
Diana Ballew
Anne Marie Becker
Jenna Bayley-Burke
Elizabeth Boyle
Meljean Brook
Susan Colleen Browne
Vanetta Chapman
Ann Charles
Rebecca J. Clark
Jennifer Conner
Karina Cooper
Lecia Cotton Cornwall
Kate Davies
Heather Davis
Sherri Dub
Karen Erickson
Eilis Flynn
Amanda Forester
P. G. Forte
Susan Fox
Yasmine Galenorn
Sarah Gilman
Gwen Hayes
Delle Jacobs
Paty Jager
Chris Karlsen
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Sherry King
Cindy Kirk
Rose Lerner
Laurie London
Susan Lyons
Jess Macallan
Margaret Mallory
Josie Malone
Bob Mayer
Christa McHugh
Kristina McMorris
Theresa Meyers
Danielle Monsch
Alexis Morgan
Brooke Moss
Debra Mullins
Elisabeth Naughton
Laura Navarre
Dawn Nelson
Erin Nicholas
Terry Odell
Bernadette Pajer
Darlene Panzera
Sheila Roberts
Val Roberts
Gina Robinson
Jacquie Rogers
Gerri Russell
Jeanne Savery
Inara Scott
Alice Sharpe
Stefanie Sloane
Shelli Stevens
Natasha Tate
Candis Terry
Olivia Waite
Christine Warren
Sarah Wendell
Linda Wisdom
Rebecca Zanetti

?


Answer: They are all attending the Emerald City RWA Conference Bookfair. And I am GOING. (Just to the bookfair; while I'd love to go to the conference itself just to hang around with these talented ladies, it kinda doesn't make sense for a non-author to go to all the workshops.)

Sooooooooo, wouldn't it be great to feature as many of these authors as I can in the month of October?  Watch for some profiles, link round-ups, and so forth over the next few weeks.

Off the cuff, a few comments on the ones I'm already familiar with:

Meljean Brook and Christine Warren - auto-buy. Any questions?

Lecia Cotton Cornwall - I picked up her debut earlier this year as part of my cover experiment, and really quite liked it. Looks like she has a new release, too.

Margaret Mallory - Ooo, yay! I really like her books, and I think I'm behind. Which means hopefully some new yummy medieval goodness to acquire at the fair.

Gerri Russell - I had a chance to get to know Gerri outside of the book world a year or two ago, and she is just the most lovely person. Her first series (3 or 4 books) is about Scottish Templars -- two great tastes that taste great together. Her books don't usually show up on endcaps, so you might need to go looking for them, but I recommend you give them a try.

Shelli Stevens - Man, she is just so cute. I picked up "Take Me" at this same bookfair a couple of years ago from her. She gives me this sideways look..."It's... smexy," she says, as she hands over the book. Hoo, is it ever! And... I'm going to stop right there on account of the PTA president might be reading this.

Elisabeth Naughton - Hmm, well, I did review Marked awhile back, and I also read "Stolen Fury" but didn't review it. They're entirely competent books, but something about them just didn't grab me. I have the second book in the Eternal Guardians series in my TBR, maybe I'll give the series another go.

Cherry Adair - I gather Ms. Adair is something of a celebrity among the local authors. She hosts an annual writers' challenge and is a popular speaker. Unfortunately, the one book of hers that I read, I really didn't like at all. Just not for me. It's been several years so I can't even tell you what I didn't like but it was a pretty strong reaction. Oh well.

Elizabeth Boyle - So the title, "Confessions of a Little Black Gown," really grabbed me and I really, REALLY wanted to like this one but I thought it was only so-so. I did a mini-review here. Don't know if I'll try again.

Debra Mullins - I really liked To Ruin The Duke! Why didn't I review it? I don't know, dammit. Maybe the next one. And wow, she has quite a backlist. Definitely will be diving into that one a bit more.

It's going to be a good blogging month, I can feel it.