Gcc Tour - The Secret Sisters by Joni Rodgers

Today's GCC Tour is brought to us by Joni Rodgers, with her new release, The Secret Sisters. Here's a little about the book:

Exploring the timeless themes of family, self, misfortune, and hope that have made the novels of Anna Quindlen and Sue Miller bestsellers, Joni Rodgers's moving and powerful tale tells the story of three women bound together by loss and set free by love.

Pia feels the walls of her life closing in around her, until she discovers a strangely sensual world that leads her to a new existence. Lily, Pia's brash, tough-talking sister, makes a tragic mistake that leaves her incarcerated, body and soul, but in the prison library discovers a key that will unlock her mind and open her heart. Beth, married to Pia and Lily's brother, has never been able to admit her own failure as a mother. Finally forced to confront a tragedy of her own making, she discovers that the truth can set her free.

About the Author: (and I find this absolutely fascinating!)

Joni Rodgers, a Houston author who ghostwrites celebrity memoirs between novels, has a unique take on the popular idea that everyone has a book in them. “Everyone has a story in them,” says Rodgers. “But everyone has a pancreas, too. Only in rare cases should it be taken out and displayed on a shelf.”

The ghost gigs pay well and make for “some interesting elevator rides”, but Rodgers is selective about new projects. “It takes a compelling client to drag me away from fiction, my first love.” Rodgers’ latest novel The Secret Sisters (Harper Collins 2006) comes out in trade paperback this week with an added “PS Section” in which Rodgers discusses the story behind the book. The added material is bound to generate some juicy book club discussions. “I can’t wait for the sparks to start flying,” says Rodgers, who intended the story of a woman’s struggle with agoraphobia to be “a parable about how easily exploited we are when we embrace fear as a lifestyle.”

Rodgers started writing seriously in 1994, after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, an aggressive cancer of the immune system. During a punishing course of chemotherapy followed by a long, difficult recovery, Rodgers completed her first two novels, Crazy for Trying (McMurray & Beck 1997) and Sugarland (Spinsters Ink 1999), both of which were published to critical acclaim and short-listed for various awards.

In Bald in the Land of Big Hair (Harper Collins 2001), Rodgers wrote about her cancer experience: “People say the Lord never gives us more than we can bear, but that’s only true of money and cleavage.” The laughter-through-tears memoir garnered glowing reviews around the world, was excerpted in Good Housekeeping, condensed by Reader’s Digest, and eventually landed in the lap of Linda Armstrong Kelley, mother of Tour de France champion and cancer activist Lance Armstrong.

When asked if she’d be interested in co-authoring Armstrong-Kelley’s memoir, Rodgers responded, “I’m a novelist, not a ghostwriter.” As she was about to turn down the job, Rodgers noticed a hummingbird outside her window. “It made me pause long enough to think, hey, I’m a storyteller. And this is a great story.” Film rights for the resulting memoir, No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me (Broadway 2004) were promptly optioned by Columbia.

Rodgers’ most recent client is Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan, whose memoir My First Five Husbands…and the Ones Who Got Away (Broadway 2007) recently debuted at #18 on the New York Times bestseller list. “Rue is incredibly gracious and funny,” says Rodgers. “She’s also an excellent writer with a unique voice that comes shining through.” Meanwhile, a grateful McClanahan says that Rodgers “made gorgeous cream pies out of my curds and whey.”

Visit Joni at her website, her blog and buy the book!

Playing With Software

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend! Sorry for the non-post yesterday, but I was off a'travelin again.

Last week I started playing with software - shocker, right? A software trainer playing with software. :) Ah, but this was graphic/video software - definitely not my skill set. But I had a little fun and want to see what you think of the result. So........enjoy.

Rumble on the Bayou

Posted Today

Book trailer for Rumble on the Bayou - a humorous, contemporary, romance/mystery set in southern Louisiana.

Have A Great Weekend

It's finally Friday!!!!! You have no idea how happy I will be to get the heck out of TN and back into my own bed. It's only for four days, but I'll take it anyway!

The winner from yesterday's blog for Kelly Parra's book, Grafitti Girl is Jessica Burkhart! Yeah, Jessica!!!!! Jessica, if you're lurking, please send me your mailing infomation at jana (at) janadeleon.com

This weekend is a three-day for those of us in the states because it's Memorial Day on Monday. Do any of you have special plans????? I do -

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow - do I really need to say any more??????

Have a terrific holiday weekend!

"Dreaming and Catching Rainbows: One Author's Story to Publication"

I asked my friend and cp, Kelly Parra if she would write about her story to publication because she had some big, close-call disappointments before seeing a book in print. I thought her story might inspire those who are thinking of giving up that it can still happen and those that are trudging along to keep on trudging.

In celebration of Kelly's debut, I am giving away a copy of her YA novel, Graffiti Girl, to one lucky blogger. Enjoy her story:

"Dreaming and Catching Rainbows: One Author's Story to Publication" - by Kelly Parra

I wish I could say I was an avid reader all my life, but that would be stretching the truth. The real truth is, I've been an avid lover of stories all my life. I've loved movies since I was a kid and was hooked on VC Andrews as a teenager. Beyond television, it was art.

So when I became pregnant with my first child and someone gave me a Nora Roberts Romance novel, I was hooked from there on out. I had caught the Nora Roberts fever. When I got my hands on as many NR books as I could, I started exploring new authors with a special enjoyment for Romantic Suspense. One day as I was reading an Intimate Moments author bio, I discovered a stay-at home mother and author not far from my hometown who wrote books for a living. There was nothing glamorous or mysterious about her life. She was in fact a regular Jane...like me.

That day my dream of publishing a book began. I sat down to begin writing a novel and joined Romance Writers of America. There were fits and starts, of course. Short stories and novels that never made it past the first chapter. I like to call that the "stretching the writing fingers" phase, so to speak. My first novel, titled Deadly Adam, finally stuck with me. It took me a year to write a really bad version of DA. But during this year, I fell in love with my characters and their story. I joined RWA's KOD suspense chapter and hooked up with two of my critique partners, Tina & Dianna. It took another year as I participated in on-line workshops and entered contests with lots of losses before I rewrote the entire book. Even though no one really got my book besides the three of us, I still loved it. I felt there had to be something special about this book if I enjoyed writing it so much.

So I ignored the negative feedback I was getting and started querying agents. I got a few partial reads, and hit pay dirt for two request for fulls and offers for representation by two agents around the same time. Nothing for at least 4-5 months and bam--interest. After a few conversations, I choose the right agent for me, then the real work began with revisions. A month later I was off and running. About 11-12 editors had my novel on their desk. All I had to do was wait...and wait...for the first, second, and third rejection. Yes, the rejections started piling up. The story, the voice, the writing, something was always different with each editor. I revised the novel again based on editor feedback. Months stretched on where I'd catch an editor's interest, even getting as far as acquisitions a couple of times...and...REJECTION.

Fudge.

Maybe I wouldn't be published in Romantic Suspense. I'd also been working on and off on this Young Adult novel. I felt I might be able to connect with teen readers. Editors were looking for a fresh voice and a high concept idea. I just had to write another book while I waited.

I think I was up to 11 rejections when the last publisher finally made an offer for Deadly Adam over Christmas break. I'd been on submission for 11 months. I had just as many rejections, and I had begun to think RS wasn't in the cards for me. What I didn't realize was that all it took was one editor to believe in my writing. I finally sold DA on a two-book deal to Harlequin Bombshell.

I saw rainbows. I had over 40 comments of congratulations on my blog about my sale. My hard work finally paid off. This is what I'd been working toward for three and a half years. A week later my agent sent out a proposal for my YA novel, six weeks later Graffiti Girl sold to MTV Books. The previous year I was struggling past rejections, and the next I had three sales under my belt. Was I dreaming?

Unfortunately, the mumblings started. The "Bombshell line isn't being marketed right" cyber mumblings. The "Bombshell sales aren't that great" mumblings. Next thing I know Bombshell is closing before my publication date. But wait, I could get shifted to IM, right? Maybe...pretty please?

I get the call from my agent, DA would not be published because the romance didn't follow the HEA story line. My heart literally squeezed. To know after all this hard work and all these years with this book, to sell it and now it's taken away? I still had my YA to finish on a very brief deadline. Yet, I couldn't focus. I was experiencing a mourning stage with my first book. When I struggled to make the YA deadline, my agent wasn't happy with the book. I took two weeks to rework it, and got a new and improved version to my editor. She loved it. Whew.

Now, months later Graffiti Girl has finally hit shelves. It's not my first book, it's my second. It's not the original genre I'd started in, but I've come to love writing YA just as much as RS. And I've reached my dream. I'm published. Have I given up on being published in adult Romantic Suspense? Not a chance. One day it might happen. Maybe not...

All I know for certain is that holding my first book in my hands is not only like seeing rainbows, but like catching them too. :)

~Kelly Parra :)

GCC Tour - Coupon Girl by Becky Motew

Today's GCC tour is brought to you by Becky Motew, with the mass market paperback release of her title Coupon Girl. Here's a bit about the book:

"Hi, you've reached the voice mail of Jeanie Callahan. I'm auditioning right now for the lead role in The Sound of Music and hopefully not throwing up or fainting. If you're a business owner and would like to do a coupon to attract more customers, leave me a message." BEEP

"Hey, Jeanie. I can't give 25 percent off a donut. Do you think I’m crazy?" BEEP.

"Miss Callahan? This is Sergeant Smith at the Worcester Fire Department. We got your grandfather down from the roof again, maam, and he’s okay like usual. But maam, you need to call us. " BEEP.

"My name Mike. You call." BEEP

Jeanie Callahan sells coupons. Dry cleaners, mechanics, pizza guys—all of them are friends and clients, deadbeats and tormentors. This summer Jeanie has joined the local community theatre, hoping to snag a collection of customers to win her company’s sales contest.

But weighed down in a nun costume and fighting with middle-aged women about whose crucifix should be bigger, she wonders if it was a good idea. Frankly, there’s not a business owner to be seen. The handsome director is in sight, though, and Jeanie thinks she may have found true love. Or maybe it’s a course in Sex Fetishes 101. Opening night looms and some unusual sales propel Jeanie to the brink of victory.

About the Author:

Becky Motew sold coupons on the road in Worcester for more than ten years and those experiences are reflected in COUPON GIRL, her debut novel. Becky’s second love is the stage and she has been active in numerous community theatre groups in Massachusetts. She has played Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, Rosalie in Carnival, and Miss Hannigan in Annie, where she scared her own daughter

Check out Becky's website, her blog, and buy the book!

Riding Two Horses

I was watching a television airing of Sweet Home Alabama the other day (don't you just LOVE that movie), and there is a line toward the end that I had forgotten about but I absolutely love it. It's at her wedding when she has this moment where she needs to decide between her old love and her new love and her dad says, "You can't ride two horses with one ass, Sugarbee."

Of course, he was talking about men, but what about the rest of our lives? People are busier now more than ever and if you're anything like me, you're always looking for a way to save time. I've picked up all kinds of ways to save time since I've been writing. The best one is: I make all phone calls while I'm driving to/from work or the airport. Traffic is usually bad anyway and that way I accomplish important business (talking to friends/family) without using up valuable writing or clean underwear time. Multi-tasking is a wonderful thing.

With all the travel I do, I have learned economies in the travel industry also. For instance, if it is only a 2 or 3 day training, I can do the entire thing with a carry-on bag. Does this really save time, you wonder? Heck yeah! I did a 5-day recently in Orlando (can't fit 5 days in a carryon) and waited one hour for my bag to show up. That's an extra hour I could have been at my hotel room and working on my writing.

My latest traveling economy is the broom skirt. I just love the broom skirt. They are cute, light material (so no hot for those of us who are ALWAYS hot) and you can match them with fun summer tops and spiffy sandals and it's still dressy looking for work. The best part about the broom skirt - they need no ironing. Well, they might, but who the heck would know?????

I bought broom skirts in four different colors and that is my new traveling gear. I pull one out of the suitcase, shake it and it's ready to go. It may only save me ten minutes of ironing time, but hey, in ten minutes I can post a blog. :)

So do you have any time-saving techniques you'd like to share? I'm always looking for new ones.

Monday Morning Movie Review

It's a bright and beautiful morning in Nashville, TN. At least, it looks that way from inside the Homewood Suites. :) I have great news before I start the review - UNLUCKY is in production!!!!! You heard me - revisions are complete and approved - YEAH!!!!! There were a couple of hiccups in the learning process that I hope not to have again, but the best part is apparently, I will be able to write two books a year - or dangerously close to it. UNLUCKY was sort of my test case to make sure I could write that fast without sacrificing quality. I wish I could say I'm taking time off to celebrate, but there's no time. I'm hard at work on my next proposal.


Now, on to the movie review. Today's movie - Shrek the Third

I liked this movie okay, but I want to explain the okay part: I absolutely do not like (maybe even hate a little) cartoons for adults. I can't explain why, but I just don't find them interesting or funny. I don't like Beevis & Butthead, The Simpsons, etc. and never have. So if I found The Third okay, people who like cartoons will probably think it was great.

It still had some clever humor, although not as adult as the first one, which was unfortunate. The plot was decent and lended itself to a little fun with the characters. Puss in Boots is still my favorite character, although donkey runs a close second. The baby donkey/dragons were cute. I think my biggest problem with the Shrek movies is that I don't really like Shrek or Fiona. Kinda makes it hard to love the movie when you don't connect with the hero/heroine, huh?

My final rating: If you liked the first two - you'll like this one.

GCC Tour - Graffiti Girl by Kelly Parra

Today's GCC Tour is brought to you by Kelly Parra with her debut release Graffiti Girl. Kelly is a fabulous friend, cp and all-round great person. She writes edgy, hip, urban fiction for teens and I think you (or your teenagers) would enjoy her style. Take a peek at some information on Graffiti Girl:

Teen Fiction from MTV Books charts new territory with this debut novel about a high school student and artist tempted by the seductive world of graffiti art.

Graffiti art. It's bold. It's thrilling. And it can get a girl into serious trouble...

Raised by her single mom (who's always dating the wrong kind of man) in a struggling California neighborhood, Angel Rodriguez is a headstrong, independent young woman who channels her hopes and dreams for the future into her painting. But when her entry for a community mural doesn't rate, she's heartbroken. Even with the winning artist Nathan Ramos--a senior track star and Angel's secret crush--taking a sudden interest in Angel and her art, she's angry and hurt. She's determined to find her own place in the art world, her own way.

That's when Miguel Badalin--from the notorious graffiti crew Reyes del Norte--opens her eyes to an underground world of graf tags and turf wars. She's blown away by this bad boy's fantastic work and finds herself drawn to his dangerous charm. Soon she's running with Miguel's crew, pushing her skills to the limit and beginning to emerge as the artist she always dreamed she could be. But Nathan and Miguel are bitter enemies with a shared past, and choosing between them and their wildly different approaches to life and art means that Angel must decide what matters most before the artist inside her can truly break free.

Praise for Graffiti Girl:

"With characters as bold and exciting as the art they love, and an honesty that keeps them raw and real, Graffiti Girl shows us that they only thing better than discovering your talent is finding yourself along the way." ~ Jenny O'Connell, author of Plan B and The Book of Luke

"Graffiti Girl is a fast-paced story that boldly looks dreams and temptations in the eye. 16 year-old Angel Rodriguez steals your heart as she tries to find her place in the world--artistically, socially, and even inside her own family. Don't miss this one!" ~ Tina Ferraro, author of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress

"This book blew me away. Kelly Parra writes with the keen eye of an artist. Graffiti Girl is warm, gutsy, and true-to-life--an unflinching, honest portrayal of young adults. A seamless and impressive debut." ~ Anne Frasier, USA Today bestselling author of Pale Immortal

About the Author:

Kelly Parra writes young adult fiction for MTV Books. When not at work on her current novel, she spends her free time roaming book stores, surfing the blogosphere, and watching reality TV. Graffiti Girl is her debut novel. For an excerpt visit her website. Also visit Kelly at her blog or buy the book!

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

When Life Imitates Art

For those of you who've read RUMBLE ON THE BAYOU, the pictures I'm posting today will tickle you. For those of you who haven't read RUMBLE, shame on you. :) And maybe the pictures will make you want to try it out.

So my cousin Leslie sent me email about a week ago, and I wanted to share it with you. This is what she had to say:

I got the biggest kick out of this story and had to share it with you. A friend of mine lives over by St. Pat's Hospital in Lake Charles and at the end of her road is a little bayou. This past weekend her and son were going to a ball game and as they were passing there swimming pool, they noticed something long and dark in the pool. They thought it was a huge snake but as they go closer, yep you know it, a 5 FOOT Alligator just chillin' in their pool. She called 911 in a panic and they directed her to the Wildlife guys and the rest is history.

I just couldn't believe it!

I immediatly told her about your book and gave her a copy to read.

Of course, I had to know if pics were available and sure enough, Leslie came through with the photos yesterday. So without further ado - here's life imitating art:





A special thanks to Leslie for sharing this story and getting the pics for all of us to enjoy. And most of all - for passing out my book!!!!! Thanks, Leslie!!!!!

Nothing New Under the Sun

I've always heard the expression that "there's nothing new under the sun." And it makes sense for the most part. I mean, as far as writing goes, everything has been done at some time or another. Just not in the same way. But here lately, I've been wondering if that applies to people too.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago, I was in North Carolina on a training and was eating breakfast at Cracker Barrell. My waitress walked up to the table with this huge smile on her face and said, "You go to _____ Baptist, right? I remember you from choir." Well, no, I don't go to _____ Baptist because I don't live in NC. And I definitately don't sing (trust me, no one wants me to).

Then last week in Orlando, I was sitting at The Cheesecake Factory and my waiter rounded the corner and said, "Sitting in your usual spot, I see." I just nodded and smiled. It takes too much effort to explain.

These are not by far the only times this has happened to me. And I'm not talking about situations where someone says, "You remind me of." I'm talking about situation where people KNOW that they know you and they don't.

So I have to wonder - is this like some sort of Matrix Cloned episode? Are there really that many people running around this country that look that much like each of us?

GCC Tour - Insider Dating by Jennifer O'Connell

Today's GCC tour is brought to you by Jennifer O'Connell, with her new release, Insider Dating. (I just love that name) And for all you chick lit fans out there that are finding it harder and harder to find a good chick lit book, look no further. I've read all of Jennifer's books and love them. She's smart, she's sassy and has great characterization with interesting plots.

About the book:

One woman is about to take her knack for risk management to a whole new level in Jennifer O’Connell’s new novel, INSIDER DATING (NAL Trade Paperback Original; May 1, 2007; $12.95).

Abby Dunn, barely past thirty and still reeling from her divorce, has taken herself off the dating market. Instead, she’s using her experience to turn the tables on the opposite sex by building a database to rank underperforming men and set women straight when investing their greatest asset: themselves.

Now, what started as a pet project is becoming a full-time enterprise. But while Abby’s busy hedging bets, someone is skewing her data and threatening to ruin her business. Abby is about to find out that sometimes even the savviest market wizards can be headed for a crash.

While it may be perfectly legal, nothing good can come from insider dating.

Praise for Jennifer's Books:

“Insight and humor…entertaining.” —The Denver Post

“A poolside page-turner.” —Cosmopolitan

“Hot.” —Us Weekly

About the Author:

Jennifer O’Connell received her BA from Smith College and her MBA from the University of Chicago. She lives outside Boston and when she’s not writing, she spends her days as a market strategy consultant. She is the bestselling author of Bachelorette #1, Dress Rehearsal, and Off The Record.

Visit Jennifer at her website and buy the book!

Editing, Editing, Editing

I'm doing line edits right now for UNLUCKY, and I'm really learning a lot from the process. For RUMBLE, my editor line edited herself and I never really say what she was doing unless I compared the old to the new, literally word by word and comma by comma. For this one, she's using the Track Changes feature in Word and I can see every space, comma, word that has been changed/deleted. In some cases, she's also put in a description of why she's making the change.

It's a great experience because I'm learning so much about how the editors cut/change in books to make them ready for production. At first, I opened the file and almost fell out of my chair - what in God's name is all that red, I thought. Most of it has been no big deal as far as editing goes. But the overall change to the novel is going to be grand. It's simply amazing how a word or two can change the punch to a paragraph/scene.

I've taken the liberty of forwarding the first couple of chapters to my cp's so that they can hopefully learn what my editor is looking for and in that way better assist me in getting the product closer to perfect before she sees it.

By the time I'm done with these edits, galleys, etc., I'm guessing I will have read this manuscript 30-40 times. As of today, I still haven't read RUMBLE in published format. I've found that most writer's don't read their books after publication. Probably because we're so tired of them after analyzing every thought/emotion/body part/description/word, etc. after all those months that we don't want to do it again. And there's the other side too - no matter how much you work on your novel, you will always read it and want to change something. So best not to read something that is no longer changeable.

So just to let you faithful readers out there know - there IS a next book and it is close to production time and I promise you'll be reading something again from me. :)

Talent is Never Enough

I picked up a new book last week - Talent Is Never Enough by John C. Maxwell. For those of you who haven't heard of Maxwell, he writes absolutely fantastic leadership/motivational books like The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and tons of others. So I saw the title when I was in the store the other day and figured I had to pick it up.

I've barely gotten started but have come across a couple of gems of quotes that I wanted to share with you. The first is by French poet and dramatist Edouard Pilleron who said, "Have success and there will always be fools to say that you have talent."

To which Maxwell says - when people achieve great things, other often explain that as accomplished by talent. But if talent was enough, then why do you know so many highly talented people who are not successful?

Hmmmmmm. Kind of makes you think, right?

Well, in the next section, Maxwell hits on what I think the main reason is for the lack of success in talented people. Maxwell says the following:

"Develop the talent you have, not the one you want."

Wow. A real eye-opener, huh.

He goes on to say that people spend too much time working on their weaknesses ( not referring to attitude or character issues which must be worked on). It is his observation that people can increase their ability in an area by only 2 points on a scale of 1 to 10. So if you natural talent in an area is a 4, with hard work you might rise to a 6, thereby going from below average to just above. But if you natural talent is a 7 and you push it to a 9, it's your greatest area of strength and puts you miles above the crowd.

How many times have you heard someone who is naturally talented at "x" bemoan how they can't do "y"? I hear/see this in writers quite often. People who write sweet romances want to write gritty suspense. People who write dark thrillers want to write comedy. People who write category want to write Single Title.

And maybe they can do it all - I don't know. But wouldn't everyone be served better if they followed Maxwell's advice and developed the biggest talent they have as far as they can push it?

Monday Morning Movie Review

The Movie - Spider-Man 3

Now, I'm one of those gals who read the comics when I was a kid and really liked Spider-Man and Batman - not so much Superman, but that's another discussion for another day. So I was really looking forward to 3 because I had enjoyed the heck out of 1 & 2.

Well, I was sorely disappointed.

The plot was a wreck - two many storylines going too many directions, and not a single one of them strong enough to carry a continuous thread through the movie. The effect was a disjointed, muddled mess.

Even worse: MJ was whiney, Harry was wimpy, Peter Parker was wimpy - heck, even Spider-Man was wimpy! My husband said it perfect when he turned to me as the credits were rolling and said "maybe in 4, Spider-Man will find his balls." Sorry, if that offends anyone, but it was SOOOOOOOO appropriate for the movie, I couldn't help quoting him. :) The only character we really both liked was the Venom Spider-Man. Nothing like connecting with the bad guy when you're watching a super-hero movie - Not!

My final thoughts: If you have to keep up with the series - rent it.

GCC Tour - Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson

Okay, I can speak personally about today's GCC tour book. Well, sorta - you see, I've read the first two and this one is so definitely on my to buy list. Like....today.

Shanna Swendson has created an absolutely fantastic heroine with an entertaining talent in a world filled with magic. I don't want to give away anything for those who haven't read the series yet, but I'll just tell you this - buy the books!

Shanna Swendson’s beloved blend of fantasy and romance is back in her delicious new novel DAMSEL UNDER STRESS (A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original; May 2007).

Katie Chandler and her wizard colleague Owen have finally gotten it together and are about to have their first real date, after confessing their feelings and sharing an electrifying kiss at the office Christmas party. So naturally, when the eccentric fairy Ethelinda appears and announces that she is Katie’s fairy godmother, here to help her find true love, Katie dismisses her. She’s found her true love and they are on the path to happily ever after; why would she need Ethelinda’s help?

But Ethelinda isn’t taking “no” for an answer and continues to pop up when Katie least expects—or wants—her. Add in the evil wizard Idris’s scheme for world domination, or at least magical domination, and Katie has her hands full. She needs answers. Is Owen The One? What exactly is Idris’s next move? And how does she get rid of a fairy godmother who has more ulterior motives than Cinderella’s stepmother?

What the Critics Are Saying:

“Great entertainment, full of humor both magical and everyday, and some truly engaging characters.” —Locus on Once Upon Stilettos

“A fascinating story that will keep readers turning the pages. Don’t miss Once Upon Stilettos.”
—Romance Reviews Today

“Fans of both chick-lit and Harry Potter should not miss out on this series set in magical modern-day Manhattan.” —Fresh Fiction

“Mayhem at its most enchanting.” —Romantic Times on Damsel Under Stress

About the Author:

SHANNA SWENDSON escaped the corporate rat race to be a novelist and pop culture essayist. She is the author of Enchanted, Inc. and Once Upon Stilettos, in addition to contributing essays to books about television series, authors, and novels. When she’s not writing or watching television and movies so she can write about them, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and singing. Visit her website or buy the book!

GCC Tour - THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY by Lauren Barnholdt

Two posts today - please see the GCC tour and one more below.
Today's GCC Tour is brought to you by YA author Lauren Barnholdt with her new release THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY. (is this cover cute, or what?)

Launching the new Simon and Schuster MIX line for tweens comes THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY by Lauren Barnholdt….

Mom says karma always comes around to get you, and I guess it's true. Because last summer I was a total liar, and now, right in the middle of Mr. Pritchard's third-period math class, my whole world is about to come crashing down…..
That's because while Devon was living with her grandmother for the summer, she told her "summer friend," Lexi, that she was really popular back home and dating Jared Bentley, only the most popular guy at school. Harmless lies, right? Wrong. Not when Lexi is standing at the front of Devon's class, having just moved to Devon's town. Uh-oh.

Devon knows there's only one way to handle this -- she'll just have to become popular! But how is Devon supposed to accomplish that when she's never even talked to Jared, much less dated him?! And it seems the more Devon tries to keep up her "image," the more things go wrong. Her family thinks she's nuts, her best friend won't speak to her, and, as if it's not all complicated enough, Jared starts crushing on Lexi and Devon starts crushing on Jared's best friend, Luke. It all has Devon wondering -- who is the real Devon Delaney?

About the Author:

Lauren Barnholdt’s first book for teens, REALITY CHICK, was a Teen People Can’t-Miss Pick and a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age 2007. In junior high, she was known to have a few “secret identities” of her own. She currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, where she’s hard at work on her next book.

Visit Lauren at her website, her blog or buy the book!

Not Exactly Monday Movie Review

Lots of movies out there and I'm way behind. Managed to fit in just one on Sunday afternoon, after the big return from the RT Convention. The movie was THE INVISIBLE.

So here's the scoop - high school student Nick Powell was attacked by fellow students, for really stupid reasons, and left for dead. Except that he's not quite dead. He's sort of in limbo, and if he can get someone to find his body before he dies then he can be saved. Only problem is, the only person that can hear him is the main character responsible for his almost death.

This movie is dumb on so many levels I can't even begin to cover them all. First off, it tries for the whole "I'm a teenager and no one understands me and my parents are bad and that's the reason I do all this" but they were angsty for nothing. Just typical teenager bullshit attitude. These kids didn't have it rough and there was damn sure no reason for ole girl to run around trying to kill people.

The plot (what little there was) was so predictable my cat could have told you the ending - which was also dumb. The main actor (one I haven't seen before) is supposed to be this tortured writer type and I sooooooooo couldn't take him seriously. Plus, he was a total pansy and wrote simply horrid poetry, so I'm thinking "so the world just lost another aspiring poet - who cares?"

And that sort of sums up my entire feelings on the movie:

My Final Rating: Who cares?