Contest update news and a little on THE PROMISE

I had a nice time at my book signing on Jan 24, btw. Forgot to post about it over here, but I did mention it on my MYSPACE page. Grace Galloway of Read It Again and Again in Houston is so gracious and generous to authors. It's like a party at her place, with food and champagne and book store cats. She held the grand re-opening of Read it Again at her new location at 38 Braeswood Square (cross streets are the corner of Chimney Rock and N. Braeswood, in a nice strip mall). The celebration included signings all weekend long. Thanks, Grace, for a marvelous time!

And now Grace has offered to provide the actual gift basket that will hold the books for the Romance Roundup Gift Basket contest! I know she'll do something really special with it, and we'll try to get a picture of it up on the blog before the contest end date. Grace has great taste, so I'm looking forward to whatever she comes up with.

As many of you know, I'm awaiting the release of my second Medallion Press title, THE PROMISE (May 2009). This one is a connected work with THE LEGACY rather than a sequel, as it follows the brother of the hero in the first book. Here's my original blurb for it from the back of the book:

In a dangerous world, sometimes the greatest risk is love . . .
In 1525, Günter Behaim is a Landsknecht—a professional soldier in the service of Emperor Charles V. Günter has been betrayed by love and promises not kept. As a result, he has sworn to make few promises of his own and keep those unto death. However, when his friend is mortally wounded while saving Günter’s life, Günter gives a pledge to marry his betrothed. To keep his promise, Günter must use every weapon in his romantic arsenal to convince the reluctant woman to marry him. As his passion for her grows, he realizes he is falling in love. Is he prepared to risk his worst fear: having his heart rejected once more?

The Spanish beauty Alonsa García de Aranjuéz is determined to withstand Günter’s relentless pursuit. Haunted by a Gypsy’s curse on any man who loves her, Alonsa yearns for Günter but fear for his safety forces her to rebuff him. As she struggles to deny the growing attraction between them, she begins to realize that fate may have other plans. With danger surrounding them, will Alonsa bite from the forbidden fruit? Or will Günter be bitten instead by the mysterious misfortune that seems to plague any with the courage to become Alonsa’s love?

Now, the book takes place in 1525, in the Italian city-state of Pavia. But the marketing folks have decided to call it a medieval love story on all the blurb copy in the catalogs and on the Internet. I'm okay with that. They probably sell better than early reformation love stories, or even Renaissance love stories, which might be a more appropriate designation. I just want everyone to know that wink, wink, I do know better. But if you enjoy hunky mercenaries modeled after Viggo Mortensen in LOTR, you'll enjoy this hero, whether you picture him in medieval soldier gear or the traditional slash-and-puff patterns of the day. I do hope you'll check out an excerpt on my website.

Looking forward to my next guest on IMHO, the wonderfully funny Christie Craig, who has a thing or two to say about what women really want. Tune in Wednesday for her post.

TJB