Today is the first day of the latest 70 Days of Sweat writing challenge.  I’m so glad the sweating is starting now–this is just what I need for the holidays. This week, my goal is to write a minimum of 15 pages a day (yep, up from my normal 10/day) because I’m pounding out the last pages on my manuscript and, at the end, I always like to write fast.  Yesterday, I wrote 15. Today, maybe I’ll aim for 20.  🙂

And in Booking It news…last night, I went old school style again.  My husband found me crouched in front of the bookshelf, searching for my old Linda Howard titles.  Ah, Linda Howard–another one of my long-time favorites.  I re-read TEARS OF THE RENEGADE, THE CUTTING EDGE, and LOVING EVANGELINE (one I’m pretty sure that was made into a Lifetime movie at some point).  All great reads–emotional and sexy stories. Howard is a master of the emotional and sexy stories.

Last week on BOOKING IT, I talked about how I wanted to read more (paranormal) Christmas stories. Well, my Howard quest last night reminded me that Linda Howard wrote three holiday novellas.  Her work appeared in these anthologies:  CHRISTMAS KISSES, DELIVERED BY CHRISTMAS, and UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR.  Uh, huh–guess what I’ll be looking for on my keeper shelves tonight?   🙂

As usual, if you’ve got any books that you want to mention for BOOKING IT Monday, feel free. They can be stories you’ve recently read, upcoming releases–any books you like.

Have a great Monday!

Candy Ready (if you haven’t heard of her Godivas–you are missing out!) is guest blogging today over at The Bradford Bunch. Candy is a real sweetheart of a lady–and a writer to watch!

I suspected that I would soon be receiving the cover for MIDNIGHT’S MASTER (bad-boy demon Niol’s story–ah, like Buffy, I do love some monster in my man…), and honestly, I was a bit nervous.  For my Midnight books, my editor has been going for the same look with the covers–the sexy man look. 🙂  So, I knew I’d be receiving a cover with a handsome man. But, I still worried because, well, It’s Niol.

I was hoping to get sexy because, yeah, Niol’s sexy (and dangerous), and he’s strong. He’s not pretty boy, he’s more focused and dark. Kinda hard images to capture.

But, yesterday, the Magnificent M sent my cover image to me and my first word, “Wow.”  LOVE it.  Seriously, I don’t think they could have gotten a better cover model for this shot. The guy’s jaw, his bone structure, his eyes–everything is perfect. And let me say again…his eyes. I do like the covers that only show the lower part of a man’s face (I absolutely love my IMMORTAL DANGER cover and it has the half-face shot), but for MIDNIGHT’S MASTER, seeing the model’s eyes really works.  That stare…yeah.  Let me show you what I mean:

What do you think?

Oh, and if you missed the blurb of this book before, here it is:

Tall, dark, and formidable, Niol Lapen is the last demon on earth most people would ask for a favor, yet the sexy little reporter who wanders into his club dares to do exactly that. Holly Storm already knows too much about his kind, and Niol has no wish to help her get in deeper over her head. But working alongside her may be the only way to stop a killer, even as it ignites a primal desire unlike anything he’s known.

Holly has seen firsthand what Niol is capable of, but that doesn’t frighten her nearly as much as her body’s instinctive reaction to him, or the wild, fierce passion that would tempt her to follow him through hell itself. Something evil and relentless is prowling the streets of Atlanta. And as Holly’s search leads her into danger that even Niol could never have predicted, she’ll uncover a secret that could rip her world apart…

* * *

For those who have sent me questions about Niol–yes, he is featured prominently in MIDNIGHT SINS. I can say with total honesty that MIDNIGHT SINS would definitely not be the same without him…he’s got one major impact on the story.

I’ll have the webpage for MIDNIGHT’S MASTER up soon–so stay tuned.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Any exciting plans?

Hi, everyone!  Today we’ve got the wonderfully talented Karin Tabke guest blogging with us!  (Karin, thanks so much for coming by!)  I love Karin’s books–and if you haven’t read her, well, then she’s got the perfect holiday release out and you should definitely put it on your list!  🙂  Welcome, Karin!

Thank you, Cynthia, for having me as your guest today!  I like it here.  🙂

So, I was over at Magical Musings earlier this week talking about the art of writing and actually mailing Christmas cards. I’m one of those people who always have the best of intentions, and then, well? Kerplunk, I drop the ball and promise myself next year it will be different.

So this year I have publicly pledged to not only write Christmas cards to everyone but to actually put a stamp on them and put them in the mail box! I’m really looking forward to sitting down and doing it.

Now, this isn’t something I will just sit down and do. No no no. I need mood. A rainy day, with a fire burning cheerfully in the fireplace, a hot cup of coffee, a kitty curled up in my lap, and most importantly, Christmas songs playing in the background. My husband already has his Christmas CD blaring in his car. I can hear Bing or Frank or my favorite, Dino, crooning about Frosty the Snowman every night as he rounds the corner home.

This morning I woke up to Doris Day and Dino singing about how cold it was outside. Usually I humbug this early inundation of merriment. I’m known in these parts as the Grinch. But as I dug out my too numerous to count boxes of Christmas cards the other day, I found myself humming a Christmas song. Today I can’t get Doris and Dino out of my head, and instead of fighting it, I have embraced it. Singing I have always known is good for the soul. Of course it’s not good for anyone’s soul around here when I start to sing out loud. I can’t carry a tune to save my soul, much less spread holiday cheer with it, but I decided I don’t care. I have my favorites, most of them are centered around the birth of Christ, and I like to sing, so I’m gonna sing until the new year, and maybe after!

My all time favorite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy, the Bob Seger version. I love Hark the Herald Angels. I think it’s the excitement of the song. I love Silent Night and Away in the Manger. But I love Rudolf, and Jingle Bells and the Doris Day and Dino song has grown on me. I love the upbeat fun songs, like Deck the Halls and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. As I type this, the energy of the holidays is swirling around me, and though this year the budget is tighter, and not as many presents will clutter my living room floor, I am more than content to smile, listen to a Christmas carol and know that I am surrounded by what is most important to me: my family and friends. Life is good, and much too precious I have learned to scoff and say humbug whenever my husband blasts his Christmas CD and sings at the top of his lungs.

It’s also a lesson Kimberly Michaels my heroine in HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, learned. I wasn’t sure about her when I began writing the story earlier this year, but she has done me proud and I learned a thing or two from her.

To think, it took a fictional character to get this old Grinch into the holiday spirit!

So, what is your favorite Christmas song? And do you read holiday romances? If you do, I know of this sexy little Santa story you might want to read. I personally think every girl should have her own NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA tucked nice and snug in her stocking.

Chime in with your fave Christmas carol, and at the end of the day I’ll pick a lucky commenter and give away a copy of my backlist.

And Happy Holidays!

Karin Tabke
HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, Pocket Star, Out Now!
MASTER OF TORMENT, Pocket Star, Nov, ’08
www.karintabke.com

(Quick note from Cynthia:  The comments from my blog on MySpace will be combined with those here on my Romance blog so that we can pick one overall winner. Thanks!)

I don’t like perfect characters–whether I’m writing them or reading about characters others have created, I don’t want perfect. To me, people aren’t perfect. We all have pasts, secrets, and scars (emotional or physical) that make us unique. I like for the characters in stories to be like this, too.

I’m in the middle of writing a paranormal story now. (Okay, technically not the middle, more the last 1/4.)  My heroine is strong, with one crazy tough exterior, but her past has made her broken inside. Not perfect–no way.  She gets pissy, she acts sometimes before she thinks, and she hurts when she remembers what came before in her life.

Yeah, I like her.

There are some authors that I think can create some seriously wonderful broken characters. The first one that comes to mind?  Kresley Cole.  Wow–when I first read A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER, I was blown away. Her hero–um, I don’t know if you can get more broken than that.  But he worked. He worked so well that I’ve re-read that book at least five times.

What about you?  Do you like “broken” characters?  And you have you read any good broken stories lately?