I hate to say it, but my new Kindle has been letting me down lately. In the last week, it has frozen three times. Yep. It just sits there and won’t respond. Sometimes I’m treated to a blank page, on other occasions the screen saver stares back at me. This is especially frustrating when I am at a good point in the book and the darn page won’t turn.

I googled the problem and it seems as though I am not the only reader who has been frozen out by my Kindle. One of Amazon’s suggestions is to plug it into its charger for a moment. That won’t do me much good when I am on the bus with a frozen Kindle – looking forward to an hour’s ride home with nothing to read.

Other advice is to depress the , , and at the same time. This worked great the first time, although the second two times it took several minutes for the Kindle to reboot. There’s also a hard restart that involves removing the back cover and pushing the restart button.

Reading has always been one of life’s simple pleasures. I love being transported into another world. But it’s hard to leave reality behind when you are constantly wondering whether you’ll be able to turn the page. That latent anxiety takes some of the magic out of reading.

And it’s not as though Kindles and e-books are inexpensive.

Sure, I still love my Kindle. It’s still a cool way to read. But I have to say tree-books never let me down this way.

I’m a little behind on my holiday reading so I just finished up Cathy Maxwell’s His Christmas Pleasure.

For those who follow Maxwell’s books, this is Andres’ story. You might remember him as Gillian’s rejected suitor in The Earl Claims His Wife.

When her father threatens to marry Abigail Montross off to a twice-widowed man with with thirteen children, she decides to elope instead  – with the seductive but penniless Baron de Vasconia. They strike a deal, he marries her for her money while she escapes the old guy and his baker’s dozen.

In Abigail, Maxwell has created an outspoken, down-to-earth heroine readers can identify with – especially after the man she loves rejects her in favor of a more advantageous match with her cousin. And beneath that confident and beguiling exterior, we discover the real Andres – a man fighting to overcome insecurities stemming from his illegitimacy and a somewhat shady past.    

The set up – from the couple’s initial encounter to their growing attraction and decision to marry – is engaging and nicely paced. However, once the couple arrives at their dilapidated marital home, it feels like someone pushes the fast-forward button.

The couple, now unexpectedly penniless, must build their relationship while enduring hardship as they create their life together. I expected some meatier scenes as all of this played out. Instead, it passes in a quick blur.

Still, His Christmas Pleasure remains a worthwhile read. Maxwell has an accessible, comfortable writing style and her books make me feel as if I’m settling in with an old friend who can always be counted on.

I just wanted more of a good thing. And His Christmas Pleasure is a good thing.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2011 is a positive and fruitful year for you.

When it comes to writing, 2010 was an amazing year for me. One of the top highlights was finalling in BRAVA/RT’s Writing with the Stars contest. Kensington editors Alicia Condon and Megan Records selected the 10 finalists for the online voting contest. To have an editor at a publishing house select my work out of all the entries was great validation.

The contest is ongoing. Today, Sunday, Jan. 2, is the last day to vote in Round 3. I hope you’ll take a moment to check it out and will consider voting for my entry, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. 



Me with Madeline Hunter at the NJ PYHIAB conference

 I also attended my first writers’ conference in 2010. Seducing Charlotte placed first in the New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart in a Book contest.

I was thrilled that one of my favorite authors, Madeline Hunter, was among the judges. I met Ms. Hunter at the conference and she was lovely – amazingly generous. I ran into her in the lobby and she spent a good 45 minutes discussing my writing with me. I learned so much about plot, conflict and layering from both our discussion and the workshop she presented at the conference. As a result of that discussion, I’ve gone back and started revamping the first manuscript I ever wrote, Compromising Willa, which placed 2nd in the PYHIAB contest. It’s already a much better manuscript.

If you’re an aspiring writer, I strongly suggest you try to make it to one of the chapter conferences. They are well worth it.     


I got this saucy apple green cover with my Kindle.


I also became a Kindle-ista in 2010. I received a Kindle for my birthday and never looked back. I wavered on whether I wanted the e-reader – it made me feel a little unfaithful to traditional books. But now I enjoy both e-books and tree books. I still haven’t discovered how to lend an e-book to a friend but I hope to figure it out in 2011.   

I actually launched this blog in 2010 – as a result of the Writing with the Stars contest. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve tried to provide interesting information about publishing, the romance industry and just reading in general.

I plan to continue blogging away into 2011. Happy New Year and I hope you’ll be back to visit often!