So I headed over to Books-A-Million to pick up a needed bundle of books the other day, and guess what I saw?  EVERLASTING BAD BOYS on their Recommended Reads shelf! 

How very cool.

And speaking of recommended reads, Manda has selected the September pick for my book club.  She picked THE PRICE OF DESIRE by Jo Goodman.  This will be my first historical by Jo Goodman–and I’m looking forward to the read.

Anyone else have any good reads to suggest before I head back to the bookstore?

So I finished writing my latest paranormal romance (my white tiger story)–yay!  Now, I’m going to take this week to relax (um, when I’m not worrying about the story I just submitted), judge a contest, read, and get busy with promo work for MIDNIGHT SINS.

Ah, the promo.

My bookmarks and door hangers arrived last week…

Yep, my dining room table is still covered with the boxes.  Good thing we don’t have too many fancy meals at my house!

That would be my son’s hand, dipping into the bookmark box.  As soon as I opened the box, the boy started making piles for people he wanted to have bookmarks.

These are my door hangers.  The lighting makes them look a bit orange here (sorry, the bad lighting is my fault), but they actually have a darker, redish tint.  I’ll see about putting up a better image soon.

The folks who receive my newsletter have already had the opportunity to let me know if they’d like autographed bookmarks or some door hangers (and I will be sending those out this week!).  I’ve gotten an overwhelming response to these items, and I can only say–wow. Thank you! 

If you’re not on my newsletter list (and, hey, why aren’t you?), you can request items by sending an email to info@cynthiaeden.com.

After I send materials to the wonderful folks who have requested items, I will start bundling bookmarks until I have 700 piles–those will be heading to the 700 “Bookstores That Care” (via RT).  I will also be sending materials to readers’ groups and, heck, anyone else who wants some!

So…my writing break week looks like it will be pretty busy, after all.

I want to send out my wishes for a very speedy recovery effort for those areas (and people!) who were hit hard by Gustav.  My prayers are certainly with you.

We didn’t get too much bad weather here–just some flooding and strong winds (winds that took down one of our trees).  I suspect things will pretty much be normal business here in Mobile, and I hope the normalcy can return to Louisiana and Mississippi soon, too.

First, I want to thank everyone who has emailed to check on me–please, don’t worry!  I am very safe. Right now, it’s looking like Mobile won’t get the brunt of Gustav. We are under a hurricane warning, but the forecasters are saying we will mostly just get some strong winds and rain.  I’ve got plenty of supplies so I’ll be fine.  :-)  But, really, thank you all for checking on me!

I got back from my trip to New Orleans yesterday.  I was having a wonderful time at the Heather Graham Writers for New Orleans event, but, unfortunately, the hotel closed around noon (due to an order from the mayor) and we all had to clear out of Dodge.  The staff members at the Hotel Monteleone were wonderful, and I found myself on the road and heading home within about twenty minutes.  And, by the way, the hotel is reputed to be haunted, but, unfortunately, I didn’t see the ghosts.  Maybe next time.

Friday night, we went to Muriel’s for a Victorian soiree.  I’ve been to New Orleans plenty of times in my life–so how is it that I’ve missed Muriel’s?  That place was awesome!  And I will definitely be heading back for another visit soon (um, once Gustav is gone!).  Muriel’s not only has a resident ghost–the place also has a seance room.  Too cool.  Heather Graham’s husband said that they hold seances once a month there. How can I get in on that fun?

But, in addition to all the ghosts, I also made some living friends, too.  :-)  One of the first ladies I talked with was the wonderful Barbara Vey from the Publisher’s Weekly Beyond Her Book blog.  Barbara had some of the best stories to tell!  She had me laughing throughout the night.  Here’s a pic of Barbara and I at checkout–and, yes, I will shamelessly admit that I stole this pic from her blog because I didn’t have my own photo of the two of us:

I was also met two fabulous ladies (Rhonda McKey and Josephine Templeton) from the Baton Rouge RWA Chapter.  Rhonda McKey recently finaled in both the Brava Contest and the Red Sage Contest.  The lady’s writing is smoking!  :-)  I expect to hear great things from Rhonda.  (Hey, you can read her Brava entry here–well, I tried to get the right link, but if it doesn’t pop up, you may have to scroll a bit because the entry is posted on the Brava forum.)  Josephine has a vampire novel out now from Whiskey Creek Press–it’s called FOREVER YOURS.  Ah, I do love vampire novels.

Here’s a photo of Barbara, Josephine, and Rhonda (taken at Muriel’s–hmmm…do you see any ghosts? Cuz…what is that white, blobby light between Barbara and Josephine?  A glitch from my digital camera or something more?):

While there wasn’t much time for me to chat with them (on account of Gustaz..Ah, Gustav!), I also visited with the phenomenal Kate Duffy of Kensington–and I had the chance to meet Kristin Mills-Noble, cover designer extraordinaire!  Kristin has designed all of my covers for Kensington. (Thank you,  Kristin!) And, for your viewing pleasure, here’s Kate and Kristin:

I really met so many great folks–James Goodman, Aleka Nakis, Cathy Maxwell–and a good dozen or two more.  Everyone was friendly and fun and I felt very welcome at the event. (And, yes, I would definitely attend again!)

Stay safe out there–especially if you are in Gustav’s path!

I’ll be attending the Heather Graham Writers for New Orleans Workshop this weekend.  I’ve been looking forward to this event for a while now, and I’m sure I will have a great time. I mean, come on, Friday night features a Victorian soiree with tarot and palm readers. Could that get anymore up my alley?  I can’t wait for my readings!!

On Sunday, I’ll be participating in the author booksigning at this event.  Here are the specific signing details (just in case anyone is in the New Orleans area and feels like dropping by):

When:  Sunday, August 31 from 11:30  a.m. until 2 p.m.

Where:  Hotel Monteleone, La Nouvelle West (214 Royal Street, New Orleans)

The bad boys are here.

Today is the official release date for the EVERLASTING BAD BOYS anthology.

From the back cover:

They’re bad boys–with that little something extra. Sexy, wild, out-of-this-world talents that can leave any woman feeling weak at the knees (among other body parts), they’re the ones to call when you want pleasure that lasts…and lasts…

“Can’t Get Enough” by Shelly Laurenston: Even for a dragon, Ailean the Wicked has a bad reputation. For 150 years he’s been renowned for his fighting prowess, but now he’s got a new conquest in mind–a gorgeous dragoness known as Shalin the Innocent. Ailean suspects she’s anything but. And while he’s saving her from her enemies, he plans to prove that, even in human form, a bad-boy dragon can show a girl a good time that’s truly off the scale…

“Spellbound” by Cynthia Eden: No witch in her right mind would summon an immortal soul-hunter to her aid, but Serena Tyme needs Luis D’Amil’s help to destroy the warlock who’s stalking her coven. And she’s willing to pay any price he names…especially when the tall, dark, sexy-as-hell assassin shows her he can work some sensual magic of his own…

“Turn Me On” by Noelle Mack: Finally, Beth Danforth has found a man who can flip her switch. That’s because supersexy Justin Watts, CEO of SpectraSign, is literally made of light. His dazzling, custom-built body can’t ever wear out. And talk about energy–Beth can’t get enough of the guy. The sex is electrifying. The love will never fade away…

* * *

I feel very lucky to be included in this anthology. I’ve always loved the “Bad Boy” anthologies from Brava, and, so when I had the opportunity to write my own Bad Boy story, I was thrilled.

I hope readers enjoy my contribution to the anthology. I sure had a great time creating Luis and Serena!

All weekend long, I waited for Tropical Storm Fay to hit my area.  I figured I’d lose power.  Maybe one of my pine trees would fall down–but, nothing. And then, I wake up today and we have flood warnings for the area.  I guess the rain bands just took their sweet time getting here.

So, today may be one of those nice days where I just sit inside and have an indoor picnic with Jack and we read and relax and watch the rain fall.  I do like wash-out days. 

But, hey, I’ll get work done, too.  I’m still going through the draft of my latest paranormal romance (my white tiger bounty hunter–sorry, I don’t have a good working title for that yet).  I’ve added 15 pages so far, changed two big scenes, and killed a man.  (I kinda feel like Johnny…“I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die…”) I hope to knock out another 50 pages of rewriting work today.  My goal is to have a *fairly* clean draft before I leave for New Orleans on Friday. Then, when I come back, I’ll do one more fast read and send my story off to my editor, the Magnificent M.

I’m blogging today over at Divas of the Dark.  EVERLASTING BAD BOYS releases tomorrow so I’m talking about the mix of excitement and fear/nervousness that I get with each release.

Hope your weather is better than mine!

Today, I’m guest posting with the Wicked Authors and I’m giving away a prize. 

Hope you have a great Friday!

There are some books that I’ve dying to get my greedy hands on. As soon as I finish the review/rewrite on this current manuscript, I’m going to take about a week and (hopefully!) do nothing but read.  And these books are definitely on my must read list:

First up…FATED by Lauren Dane.  I love a good werewolf romance, and, knowing Lauren, this will be a great one!

Here’s a great excerpt from FATED for your reading pleasure.

The next read I want?  DARK LIGHT by Jayne Castle.    The second romance book that I read (when I first learned of the awesome genre that is romance, way, way back in the day…) was by Jayne Ann Krentz  (AKA Jayne Castle AKA Amanda Quick AKA Amanda Glass).   Since then, I’ve read every book she’s written, and when DARK LIGHT releases on the 26th of August, I’ll be there to snatch it up.

Ann Aguirre also has another book scheduled for release soon.  WANDERLUST promises to be another fast, gripping read.  So, of course, it’s on my list! And, hey, Ann’s running a new contest on her site, too.

And the fourth book I’m waiting for…DARK CURSE by Christine Feehan. What can I say? I love those Carpathians!  You can read the prologue for this book on her site.

I know there are plenty of other books that I’ll be adding to my reading list. When I go to the bookstore, I’ll probably go wild. (That always happens when I’m around books.)  So, do look for this list to expand.

And what’s on your must read list?

I’m blogging over at The Bradford Bunch today—talking about killing characters and giving away a prize (an autographed copy of EVERLASTING BAD BOYS).  Come by and comment for a chance to win!