There are many things to like about Julia London’s latest offering, The Year of Living Scandalously, starting with its cover.

There seem to be lots of purple covers lately and I, for one, am liking them. Of course, taking a look at the cover, there’s lots more to feast one’s eyes on besides the color!

Declan O’Connor, Earl of Donnelly, arrives at Hadley Green to find that the new countess of Ashwood is actually an impostor – a woman he knows quite well from back in the day in Ireland.

Snappy repartee keeps this fun story zipping right along from start to finish. The heroine is winningly charming and the hero is easy to fall in love with.

The back story centers on the mystery surrounding the execution of a man for the theft of the Countess of Ashwood’s historic jewels.London uses it to set up an intriguing twist at the end of  The Year of Living Scandalously that made me want to run out and buy the next book in the series.

That’s where the bad news comes in.

According to London (per her website), the sequel – The Secrets of Hadley Green – will not be out until February of 2012. That’s more than a year from now.  London says the long wait was unforeseen when she wrote the ending to The Year of Living Scandalously.

Disappointing yes, but I still plan to be among the first to read The Secrets of Hadley Green.  (I just hope I can remember the story!)

And now for the shameless plug…

Voting is now open in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest.

Online polling runs until November 28.

I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published. But I can’t get there without your support!

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, scroll down to the bottom, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!

Is it too early to read holiday-themed books? Not for me apparently since I just read the last page of Mary Balogh’s A Christmas Promise  (on my new Kindle, naturally).  

Balogh is one of my favorites because of her spare, almost poetic, writing style. She deftly manages to evoke deep emotion with fewer words. Her writing brings to mind Willa Cather’s sparse yet evocative style.

My only pet peeve is a meaningless one really. The cover shows a couple ice skating. I don’t recall that happening in the book. Am I wrong? If you’ve read A Christmas Promise  and do remember such a scene, let me know!

And now for the shameless plug…

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published.

But I can’t get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers. (Hopefully, one day we’ll all be published!)

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!

It’s official. I’m a Kindle-ista. I received the latest generation of the e-reader for my birthday.

I’m still navigating my way through it. Initially, I was surprised to find the Kindle does not have a touch screen. However, my early impressions are definitely on the positive side.

It’s easy to use and does feel like you’re reading a regular book…only in a much cooler way! While it is strange not to have page numbers, there is a little bar at the bottom that tells me how far along I am in the book.  

I also got the saucy apple green leather cover with built-in book light, which works beautifully. I used it on the bus this morning and the entire “page” was nicely illuminated. (Yes, my commute starts so early even the sun hasn’t stirred yet.)  

I have to say the ebook prices are a surprise. I’ve just started shopping in the Kindle store but I can’t help wondering why the latest ebooks are about the same price as the paperbacks I usually pick up in the grocery store. It has got to be cheaper to sell books in e form –  without all the paper, printing and shipping costs.

But what do I know?

Prices on the older books aren’t bad, though. I just purchased Mary Jo Putney’s Carousel of Hearts in ebook form for just $4!

And a reminder…

Voting continues in the Kensington Brava/RT Writing With the Stars contest. I am one of eight remaining finalists in the national competition. The winner will be published…who knows…maybe in ebook form!

But I can’t get there without lots of support because I am up against some very talented writers. (Hopefully, one day we’ll all be published!)

Click here to check out all of the entries. I hope you will consider voting for my manuscript, Seducing Charlotte, a historical romance set against the backdrop of the dawning Industrial Revolution.

I promise voting is super quick and easy. You can click in, vote and be done in under a minute. No registration is required. Thank you!