DIK Give Away

Tracy's giving away one copy of Catch Me If You Can & one copy of Trust Me If You Dare!

Happy Holidays

It's official. Happy last release day of the year LB Gregg! Holy wow, no wonder I need a vacation.

Hard help can be good to find.

Romano and Albright, Book 2

Feisty New Yorker Caesar Romano has a knack for getting into a jam, and this week is no exception. When his pregnancy-hormone-buzzed business partner sweet talks him into working a solo gig for his famous ex, Caesar attracts the worst kind of attention.

It’s only the beginning. Hit on by a lusty German, stalked by the paparazzi, victim of an unexpected airbag attack—and desperate for some part-time help—Ce’s running out of time, staff and patience. But what’s really got him poised to run? A looming brunch with his sexy lover’s esteemed family.

PI Dan Albright is a man of many gifts: investigation, security, sex talk and driving Caesar nuts in and out of the bedroom. Hired to protect an outrageous soap star from a deranged personal assistant, Dan’s got his hands full refereeing rival actors, locating one four-foot-eleven woman…and convincing Ce that he’s playing for keeps.

Hey, nobody ever said taking a relationship to the next level was a waltz in the park.
Product Warnings

This book includes bad driving, a naughty German, dirty words, heated glances, mutual masturbation, oral sex, an evil scout, a memorable ride, and a fabulously affordable tuxedo. May cause unexpected bursts of laughter.

This is also my last promo of the year--and instead of really promoing, I want to say thank you to all of my noseinabook friends, to my Smithfield fans, to the ladies and gentlemen of GOOL, to my secret gay boyfriend, to my pals and the gals of So. Cal--and to my editors-- and to my RT friends, my RWA friends, to my beta readers and my crit partners and to my special roomies--

Merry Christmas!

I hope you feel the love this holiday season, and remember to curl up with a hot book.

I know we will.

LB

One Day More!

I'm at Jessewave's today--Caesar and I are playing a silly game and we'd be happy if you stopped by to keep us company. Tomorrow is Caesar and Dan day! At last, at last. I'll post the buy link tomorrow, for now you can read an excerpt here.

I have one more post before the holiday--and there are a slew of books being given away (mine, too!) all over the internet. Mandy, DIK, Wave...books everywhere. I hope you win one or two.

I'll be back. I'm dashing off to tick a few items off my ginormous list!

xo

LB

Winner!

Congrats to Kaye for winning the $10 ARe Gift Certificate--check your email box!

I hope you all are making the most of your week before Christmas! Remember that next week, Romano & Albright II: Trust Me If You Dare releases from Samhain. BUY IT.

Heh.

And now, because this just makes me so damn happy, a little Glee.

And yes. I'm spastic today.

~LB

Advent Tour Day 13

Happy December 13th!

While cruising the internet searching for a topic for today's post, I stumbled over an interesting fact about this day in history:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens published, 6,000 copies sold.

That simple fact got me thinking about the stories we share and the traditions we pass on to our kids. Most importantly--it got me thinking about books.

I read to my kids on Christmas eve, when church is over and we've returned fat and happy from grandma's. Every year the entire family piles on the couch and I read. These days, my kids are teens and my eldest is nearly 21--but they still love the annual Christmas story hour. I read as the lights twinkle on the tree, and my youngest frees baby Jesus from his hiding place inside the hollow camel's back. She places baby J in the manger, and--off to bed my kids go. These days they go upstairs to facebook their friends and watch movies, but the tradition stands. Books, free Jesus, bed.

To my children, it's not really Christmas until I've read to them.

I'd like to share our Christmas reads with you--and maybe you can share yours with me.

The Gift of the Magi

Lisbeth Zwerger's illustrations add an air of fragility to O'Henry's classic tale. I'm more captivated by Zwerger's work than the story at times and I'm guilty of breaking off in the mid sentence to enjoy the pictures.

The Polar Express

Before the brilliantly animated movie with Tom Hanks--there was the book, which we received in a box along with a silver bell and a single audio cassette. To this day when I read aloud, I can't help but hear William Hurt's voice breaking as he reads, and I choke up. I think the entire family chokes up. *g* I know you probably have heard the later versions, but if you have the chance, this version from 1989 is our favorite.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Cindy Lou Who we love you. This is G's favorite.

The Night Before Christmas

And this one is my favorite--so well loved that tape holds the cover together. Harness' illustrations are fun for kids (where is that mouse?) and, like a good Victorian home, filled with so many knick-knacks and decorations, it's plain fun. Another treasure from BigGirl's first Christmas.

The Christmas Story

If you're going to read the story of Christ's birth to your kids, read the King James version. Russian born artist Gennady Spirin's luminous paintings shine throughout this book.

And there you have it. I'd love to hear what stories were read to you as a child, or stories you read to your family. I'll select one commenter, by noon on Friday December 17th, for a $10 gift certificate to All Romance Ebooks. One entry per person, but feel free to comment as often as you like. *g*

Happy Advent! Remember to check out all the blogs on the Advent Tour!

LB

Little Wanderer

My eldest child is in Europe right now. She saved her nickels and weaseled a mother load of frequent flier points from her dad. She worked for her good grades, she received a stamp of approval, and ta ta she left. On winter break from college in Chicago, she's trotted off to visit the friends she made while volunteering in Central America.

Anyway, here's what she said to me earlier today --she was in Hamburg the last time we spoke:

i haven't been by a computer! i've been TRAVELING. i'm now in london. brixton. with my friend isaac. i didn't have time to buy you a trinket i'm sorry. i only have a couple of minutes on this library computer so i gotta go send dad a message. love you.

And here's what she said to Isaac moments later on FB:

come find me! i'm reading/sleeping like a homeless person in the tate library!

Ah. To be young again. She'll be home next weekend.

I'm sure I'll comport myself with my usual grace.

Today

Today the His for the Holidays gang takes over the Carina Press blog. Slowly. We'll post independently and our discussion topic? Holiday traditions. Up first is Harper Fox, then Z, then moi--and we wrap up with the big J.

We have gifties! Stop by. Check out our posts. Leave a comment. I look forward to seeing you all there!

I'm still looking for the winner of the cookie tin! If anyone out there in blogland knows

JENNYSMUM2000

please let her know that she's a winner here at Noseinabook!

Tuesday

My darling friend KA Mitchell's latest book is now available from Samhain!

When your lover becomes a stranger, trust is the weakest link of all.

Bartender Tony Gemetti has it all: a rich, hot boyfriend, a McMansion in the ’burbs and unlimited sex in an expectation-free zone. He thought that was all he ever wanted out of any relationship—until Jack begins making excuses for frequent disappearances. Realizing he has more than his libido and enough drawers for his T-shirt collection riding on this relationship, Tony figures it’s time to find out what’s going on.

Jack Noble has spent his life hiding his real self behind a carefully created image. With Tony, he finally knows real freedom, real happiness. Now a past of buried secrets and lies is closing in, and no matter how hard he tries to stop it, the truth is tearing through. Once Tony learns what kind of man Jack really is, he won’t stay. Jack’s sure of it.

Suddenly the past shows up in a completely unexpected way, testing the boundaries of their old, coasting-along-on-fun relationship. Tony indeed finds that Jack isn’t the man he went looking for, but it’s too late. There’s too much at stake to just walk away. First, though, he has to make sure there are no lies left for Jack to hide behind.

Warning: Readers should be free of any heart condition that may be affected by a hero with an overactive imagination, painful back stories, and hot sex in a variety of athletic positions. Neither the author nor the publisher is responsible for any sudden or frequent urges to have children with Tony Gemetti.

You can purchase Not Knowing Jack right here.

More News:

• Take a look at my fancy new bookmarks for both MaM and His. Nicely done, web guy!
  
  
• And download our cookbook, because you just know that I'm encouraging you to carb load for the holidays. That should be the title! Carbs for the Holidays!
  
  
• I received an email from pal Kris telling me that Jenre is blogging again. I feel like I'm always the last to know these things. But maybe YOU are the last to know? If so, I'm here to tell you that Jenre and Tam have a shiny new review site called Brief Encounters. Nicely done and a big congratulations to the ladies!
  
  

Happy Release Day

And a prize! (thanks to random.org)

The winner of my tin of German Christmas cookies--carried all the way from its homeland--is

Jennysmum2000

email me noseinabook at live dot com to collect your cookies!

Thanks everyone for stopping by yesterday! Now. Go check out our book(s)! Early reviews are in, and they're looking very good.

I'm thrilled to be included in this anthology and thank you to everyone at Carina Press, particularly my editor, Alissa Davis. You rock.

His for the Holidays anthology here. Kindle here.

Mistletoe at Midnight stand alone here. Kindle here.

I'll be back shortly with a post on my trip--I'm off to the dry cleaners, the bank, the post office...the wine shop...

Just kidding! Cheers everyone.

Places, Places.

Welcome to day four of the His for the Holidays miniblog tour where you leave a comment and I give one lucky person something utterly unexpected because my planned thing isn't ready yet a gorgeously decorated tin of German Christmas cookies. Yum. (Yes, they're fresh from my trip.) Tomorrow I should have downloadable His for the Holidays bookmarks. Free! Just to celebrate the release of our anthology--and our stand alone novellas.

My assignment for our promotional tour was vague. I opted to talk about the use of setting in Mistletoe At Midnight. Two weeks ago I fired off an email to Josh, Zam and Harper asking for a single photo that was representative of their stories. They needed to also include a little excerpt to back that photo up, and I'd include it all in a swell post. Seemed simple enough.

Mistletoe at Midnight takes place in a small New England town--the fictional St. James, Vermont. So picture me energetically checking the internet, confident that this photo 'bit' would be a cake walk for LB Gregg, because isn't setting just the back drop?

No. Setting is more. It's not a series of places your character passes through. How he responds in that place, and how he's treated there by others, tells us who he is.

So anyway, time passed. I looked around. It was a 'no' to all the Currier and Ives prints, snap shots of Woodstock VT and Stockbridge Mass, and winter scenes of the covered bridge in Cornwall. A farm house in winter? Stockings hung by the chimney with care? I clicked and moved on. No. Not right. Sort of. I can do better. Click. Click. Click!

The post ceased to be about "the use of setting in my work" and instead became about disconnection, because, man, just like Owen McKenzie, I was totally lost.

That's when I realize that what I needed to capture was Owen's (and possibly my own) detachment. I couldn't find a scene for Owen because he places himself outside every single one of them.

“I take it he’s not welcome?” the woman—May— asked.
“I invited him in August, for pity’s sake. I miscalculated.”
“I’ll ask him to leave,” I said.
“Owen. It’s Christmas.”
“I’m aware.” I grabbed my coat and snapped the front door wide, desperate for an escape route. Caleb Black’s stare followed me—I felt it as the sleigh bells jingled and I fled to the porch in my sheepskin slippers. Snowflakes swirled in the lamp light and the wind kicked violently from the north and howled over the fields. A frosty tidal wave of white whipped across the lawn as I descended into the night to let Jake piss on the unspoiled snow.

Bingo.

(There's also this cool haiku)

It seems none of my friends had the sort of over-thinking-it trouble that I had with this post. **glares**

ZA Maxfield sent this photo of a diner I want to dive face first into. You know better than to eat there, but you will anyway. :) She deftly describes a familiar setting, bringing the reader exactly where we need to be, in a single line of dialog. We know this place. We've been there. We've eaten the fries. I love how she handles this!

From I Heard Him Exclaim: “Hopa.” Steve got a dimple for that. “What do you like? They have every Greek delicacy you can imagine, including carne asada burritos and bacon cheeseburgers.”

And from Scotland, Harper Fox shares a remarkably stark photo that I think reveals just as much about Nine Lights Over Edinburgh, as it does Harper's very unique voice in our genre. Dark. Deep. Shadowy. And always, there's a glimmer of hope.

From Nine Lights Over Edinburgh: "Six days before Christmas, the cold had come down from the hollow sky at dusk, ringing, reverberant, making McBride’s blood sing."

She doesn't say if this photo was found after the fact or if this is a place close to her heart that inspired her story (is it? DO TELL).

And finally Josh Lanyon: I have a confession to make. I found this photo long after I'd written my story, Icecapade. **ed.note THE VERY CHEEK!** I needed an inspirational photo for this blog post of LB's, and I started searching under "old farm in upstate new york" and a New York Times article popped up about two guys who'd bought this old farm in upstate New York. As I'm looking at the house and thinking Hey! That's the house! I scroll down the page reading, and reading, and I see a picture of llamas. So then I know it's fate. And to me, this exemplifies the creative process. Even though I didn't know about the house or the llamas ahead of time, the fact that they exist seems to validate the whole crazy premise of Icecapade. Okay, maybe not the part about the ex-jewel thief and the bitter FBI agent. But the rest of it.

From Icecapade: As the white farm house came into view something relaxed inside him. Home. The house was over a hundred years old. Six thousand square feet of big rooms with pine floors and double-hung windows. It sat on two hundred acres of wooded and open meadows.

Photo credit Stewart Cairns for the New York Times

And there you have it--a peek at some backdrops from His for the Holidays! YAY TEAM! If you haven't yet stopped by the tour, please make sure you do!

Josh Lanyon's post on dialog for the holidays. Our iTunes playlist is revealed!
ZA Maxfield's post on food for the holidays. Check out our tasty cookbook!
Harper Fox's post about sex for the holidays. She's not giving THAT away, but she's offering a wonderful prize indeed.

Some lucky person who commented on all four posts will win an exciting gift from us! We'll make that announcement on Thursday, Dec 9th when the His for the Holidays gang takes over the Carina Press blog.

I'm Back!

Very quickly let me direct you to Stumbling Over Chaos where TWO copies of His for the Holidays is up for grabs--comment quick! This deal ends at midnight7 pm CST/8 pm EST tomorrow! (Dec 5)

And since I'm just an absolute ball dropper, which is better than being a ball breaker IMHO, I'm late to our miniblog tour. Yikes. But there are nifty gifties happening and if you've missed day one and day two (like I have) you can still check out:

Josh Lanyon's post on dialog for the holidays. Our iTunes playlist is revealed!

ZA Maxfield's post on food for the holidays. Check out our tasty cookbook!

Harper Fox's post about sex for the holidays. She's not giving THAT away, but she's offering a wonderful prize indeed.

Last up? My yet unwritten post and **roots through unpacked suitcase** a mystery item! That's tomorrow.

Remember release day is Monday, December 6th!

Okay enough promo. I'm jet lagged, but I'm home and I'm happy. My dog is snoring at my feet--and I came home with a few pounds of chocolate.

(And seven empty glühwein mugs. Eep.)

So should I post photos of Germany? Or the mugs? Or just blog about my week? Or should I sleep? Decisions. Decisions.

Where in the world is LB Gregg?

Perhaps I mentioned that I'm in Frankfurt? Perhaps not.

Well, I'm in Frankfurt--and I survived life without a phone for 48 hrs! I have no internet on my world phone, but they sell hot mulled wine on the street here-- so eff the net and pass the glühwein!

LB roughing it with hot wine and tasty sausage.

It's been snowing off and on since we arrived and with the frigid temperature, the street music, the Christmas markets, the language barrier, the amazing coffee and the endless sugary treats, I'm having a ball. I'm spending time with G (when he's not working). We're tooling around on trains and having dinner out with friends and business associates. It's a good week. I've had a lot of Reisling.

And look what I found in the market...ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS COOKIE!**

Eat me!

Tomorrow I travel to Nürnberg to visit a Gays of Our Lives pal--and then I'm off to Cologne to visit another pal for gossip and coffee--then home in time for my day of the His for the Holidays promotional tour.

Josh Lanyon, Harper Fox, ZA Maxfield and I kick off our blog party for the anthology at Josh's Live Journal beginning Dec 2. We'll tweet and facebook the links. PRIZES!

Today is G's birthday and it's only 4:30 in the afternoon and the man is fast asleep. Snoring. Loudly. My poor weary traveler. He needs more LB sized coffee! (I am having one now from the McCafe which is surprisingly popular in Frankfurt.)

Hope you are all well--I'll take more pictures tomorrow.

**Probably called something else but I think Zombie Cookie is a much better name.