And the winner of the "I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS" gift basket is...

Can I have a cinnamon roll, please? (Not as healthy as a drum roll, but much tastier):

Raven99!

Congratulations! You are the winner of March’s “I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS” gift basket filled with historical romances by Kim Lenox, Lisa Marie Wilkinson, Victoria Dahl, Stacey Kayne, and yours truly, TJ Bennett! Not to mention the $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com and even a book light by which to read your collection of new books. Raven99, you have until April 1st to contact me at my e-mail, tjb @ tjbennett . com (no spaces). If I don't hear from you by then, I'll select another winner from all eligible participants.

This has been a great contest, folks. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. If you loved this contest but didn't win, I'll have another one starting up on April 8. In the meantime, if you are interested in hearing about events here, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at the top of the page. I'll notify you of contests, new releases, reviews, or booksignings that might be of interest to you.

The winner of April’s contest will get a “COFFEE, CHOCOLATE & ROMANCE” gift basket filled with a $25 gift certificate for his or her choice of See’s Candy chocolates and a one-pound bag of coffee beans for a delightful “coffee and chocolate” buzz while reading one’s favorite romance novels. Confirmed guests are listed below.

April 8 Unusual Historicals blog founder Carrie Lofty, the Kensington Zebra Debut author of What a Scoundrel Wants, an intriguing tale of Will Scarlett and his lady love.

April 15 Madeline Hunter, best-selling (New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today), multi-published, and RITA-award winning author of historical romance.

April 22 Anna Louise Lucia, Romantic Times BOOKReview top pick (4.5 stars) and Medallion Press author of romantic suspense.

April 29 Emily Bryan, multi-published author of light-hearted historical romance.

(Deanna Raybourn has already confirmed for May 6th).

One of my goals is to introduce you to not only established authors, but rising stars and debut authors as well. I'll keep brainstorming and see what other combinations I can come up with in the future. Until next time, this is your humble servant, TJ Bennett, signing off.

TJB
http://www.tjbennett.com/
http://myspace.com/tjbennettauthor (friend me!)
The Legacy (available now) When secrets destroy, can love live on?
The Promise (May 2009) In a dangerous world, sometimes the greatest risk is love....

TODAY last official day to comment for the "I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS" gift basket!

Okay, folks, this is it. The last official comment date for the gift basket. Tomorrow, I'll be pulling the name from all eligible entries and awarding the "I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS" gift basket! See a picture of the basket here. See our guest hosts for the month of March here: Kim Lenox, Lisa Marie Wilkinson, Victoria Dahl, and Stacey Kayne. See something to make you snort soda through your nose here (not for the contest, but just for a laugh).

Leave a comment for at least TWO authors on the list (the more authors you leave comments for, the better your odds of winning) and come back March 28. The winner's name should be posted by the evening (Saturdays are a bit hectic at my house, but I guarantee unless the Internet goes down, I'll get that winner's name up by that evening). The winner will have until April 1st to contact me through my website address (www.tjbennett.com) and let me know where to send the basket or I will have to pull another name. (Visit my contest page for all the details.)

Good luck!

And be sure to check back frequently as I work feverishly on booking other guests for my blog.

News Flash!: I've just confirmed the incredible Deanna Raybourn, RITA winner and author of the Julia Grey mystery series, as my guest host for May 6th. Something to look forward to, and don't you just love that Nicholas Brisbane? Sighhhh....

TJB

Celebrate the RITA with Colleen Thompson!

Here is a special message from my friend, Colleen Thompson, who is celebrating her wonderful RWA RITA nomination. Don't miss out on this one if you love free books!

TJB

FROM COLLEEN THOMPSON:

Dear friends and readers,

This year, more than 1200 romance novels of all sorts were entered in the RITA competition, the premier, peer-judged contest of the Romance Writers of America. Yesterday, I was thrilled to get the call telling me that my book TRIPLE EXPOSURE has finaled in the romantic suspense category.

I'm honored to be listed among some of my favorite authors (many of them friends), and more than that, I'm in the mood to celebrate with a big, fat Share the News Contest. All you need to do is visit my website at www.colleen-thompson.com and say hello via e-mail *or* stop by my blog at http://tinyurl.com/dmbkjy and post a comment beneath the RITA announcement, and you can win a matched, autographed pair of any Colleen Thompson book of your choosing, one for you and another signed for a friend or family member you feel might enjoy sharing the reading of a romantic thriller with you. Contest closes on April 15th, and you're welcome to share this announcement with a reader buddy.

I'm also excited to announce that some time in 2010, I'll be appearing in a special 2 in 1 edition for Silhouette Romantic Suspense with one of my all-time favorite authors, New York Times bestseller (and fellow RITA finalist) Sharon Sala. I'll let you know more about that and an upcoming full-length release when the time comes.

Have a wonderful spring, and I hope to hear from you!

Colleen Thompson
BENEATH BONE LAKE, Love Spell Romantic Suspense, Coming June 2009
www.colleen- thompson. com

RT Book review gives THE PROMISE 4 Stars!

Hey, today is hoppin', folks. Just found out RT BOOKReviews just gave my second novel, THE PROMISE, a 4 star review! Woot woot!

Here's what they said: "Passion, intrigue and romance distinguish this wonderful tale. The well-defined characters and fast pace will keep your attention from the first page to the last. Passion and humor are seamlessly inserted into this tale of love and adventure, and the emotional conclusion is very satisfying."

Well, yay! I'll take it!

TJB

Colleen Thompson a RITA nominee!

I'm thrilled to announce that my good friend and critique partner, Colleen Thompson, has nabbed a nomination in the Best 2009 Romantic Suspense category of the Romance Writers of America RITA awards for her book Triple Exposure!

Go, Colleen! If you'll remember, last month Colleen was a guest on IMHO telling us what romance means to her. Several other chapter mates from West Houston RWA have snagged awards as well. If you are interested in seeing the whole list, go here.

Congratulations, all!

TJB

IMHO welcomes western romance author Stacey Kayne!

Stacey Kayne brings her love of American history to vivid life with stories set in the wild west, featuring heroic women and the stubborn men strong enough to love them. Stacey’s unpublished works garnered four Golden Heart finals and over sixty regional contest wins. Her debut Harlequin novels Mustang Wild and Bride of Shadow Canyon kicked off her Wild and Bride series in 2007. Mustang Wild took second place to Linda Lael Miller for "Best Western Historical of 2007" in Love Western Romances’ reader poll. The second book in both series, Maverick Wild and The Gunslinger's Untamed Bride (which is Stacey’s contribution to the “I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS” basket), were released in 2008. The hero of Maverick Wild , Chance Morgan, is currently a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award nominee for "Best Historical KISS Hero." RT BOOKreviews says, "Kayne's series is fast-paced and laced with humor and action as it rushes headlong to an exciting conclusion."

The final book in her Wild Trilogy, Mountain Wild, will be released this July. The third installment of her Bride series arrives this June as part of an anthology, Stetsons, Spring & Wedding Rings. Residing on her California ranch near the base of the Sierra Mountains with her husband of twenty years and their two teenage sons, Stacey is fast at work on a new western historical series for 2010.

IMHO: Did I say the woman was prolific, or what? Stacey, welcome to IMHO, and please tell us your “story behind the story.”

SK: Hi TJ! Thanks so much for inviting me to share my story behind the story. The initial premise of my upcoming novella, "Courted by the Cowboy," part of the Stetsons, Spring & Wedding Rings anthology, was inspired by a true story. I had just begun to dabble in writing when I heard about a local woman who’d ended up in California as the result of a house fire in Montana in the early 1900’s. Eighteen years old and working as a housekeeper in a boardinghouse, she’d accidentally knocked a kerosene lamp into a basket of linens. No fire-retardant fabrics back then, the room was quickly ablaze and she suffered burns to her legs and hands.

The rural Montana community didn’t have a physician capable of treating such burns—not without the loss of her legs. The town sent out a wire asking for help. The nearest hospital willing to treat her was in San Francisco, and arrangements were made to send her to California by train. Back then a caboose was coupled at the back of each train and the only doors on the standard cars were on the ends, the passage too narrow for a stretcher to get through. Bound to the stretcher with blankets, she was hoisted up by a number of men and slid in through a window. Her treatment was a success and after her release from the hospital she found a teaching job outside of San Francisco. She met and married a farmer and eventually found her way to our small agricultural town where she taught school until she retired.

I was fascinated by the imagery of this young woman being bound to a stretcher and the fear she must have felt as that window swallowed her up into the belly of the train, transporting her hundred of miles from her home. Those images started the manuscript originally titled Morning Star. The moment my hero stepped onto the scene, he took over the plot line (as you can see in my website excerpt), adding new twists and turns to the story line. When I was asked for my next Bride story to be part of the spring anthology, I did some drastic down-sizing, and wouldn’t you know—the loading scene at the train station was the first to go… *sniffle*. I hated to lose the scenes that sparked the story. I’ve thought about offering those lost pages as “Deleted Scenes” on my website.

IMHO: Stacey, I think that would be a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing this. What a fascinating “story behind the story.” Okay, folks, be sure to leave a comment for Stacey and at least one other March guest author to be eligible to win the “I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS” gift basket. Let Stacey know if you like reading deleted scenes on an author’s website or knowing what happens to the characters after the book is over. The contest ends March 27, and the gift basket filled with fabulous autographed historical romances from our guest hosts and a $20 gift card from Amazon.com (to feed your addiction) will be awarded to one lucky winner on March 28! You’re just days away from literary bliss, gentle readers, so comment away!

Stacey has brought up a great point about scenes that wind up on the cutting room floor. As it happens, authors rarely know which idea will spark a book—and sometimes the instigation for the whole story gets cut from the final version. I know it has happened to me. That’s why next month's theme is going to be "The scene/story/book you (the reader) almost didn't read." Every author has that story which sometimes proves difficult to write or has a bumpy road to publication. I’ll share my story over at PASIC’s To Be Read blog on April 3. It involves a scene in the first draft of my May 2009 release, The Promise, which turned out had to go…until I found a way to rescue it. I’ve already confirmed veteran historical romance author Madeline Hunter, and Medallion Press author Anna Louise Lucia, as two of my guests here at IMHO in April who will tell us about their near-misses. I’ll let you know the rest of the lineup as soon as I have confirmations. So be sure to come back soon for more details, and don’t forget to leave a comment for Stacey Kayne!


TJB

A picture of the "I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS" Basket!

Just wanted to remind you that our final guest host on IMHO, Stacey Kayne, will be up on March 25, 2009. Keep leaving comments for all of March's guests, and here's a picture of what you're playing for: The "I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS" Basket in all it's glory. All this, and a $20 gift card from Amazon.com, too! And the lucky winner will get a sneak peak at Kim Lenox's So Still the Night. Yep, you'll get an uncorrected proof and a chance to read the book before it hits the streets, warts and all. These often turn out to be collector's items, folks.

And just confirmed: I'm thrilled to announce that one of my absolute favorite historical romance authors, Madeline Hunter, will be a guest host for April's giveaway contest. Madeline's wonderful BY DESIGN series actually inspired me to start writing historical romance. Still confirming my other guests, but I'll announce them as I get them signed up. We'll have a good mix of historical and contemporary, and an interesting theme: "The scene/story/book you almost didn't read." (Every writer has that story that sometimes proves difficult to write, or has a bumpy road to publication).

See you Wednesday!

TJB

IMHO welcomes Victoria Dahl!

IMHO is delighted to welcome one of my favorite new historical authors, Victoria Dahl. Victoria exploded onto the romance scene to rave reviews with her first book, To Tempt a Scotsman, her Golden Heart winning historical, in 2007, followed by her next historical, A Rake’s Guide to Pleasure, in 2008. In the interim, she also sold two contemporary romances (Talk Me Down and Start Me Up) and contributed to a historical anthology, Lords of Desire, featuring Virginia Henley, which she’ll be placing in the “I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS” basket today. Her fifth book, One Week as Lovers, will be released in July 2009, and she’s got several others simmering on the fire as well (lord knows when the woman sleeps). One thing both publishers and readers know about Victoria: this self-professed “naughty girl” can write (and write fast)!

Eloisa James and Connie Brockway sing her praises, while Romantic Times BOOKReviews says "Dahl brings a highly sensual, emotional and moving story to the pages with aplomb. Her clever plotting and engaging characters drive the story forward at a fast clip, and the depth of emotions will keep you enthralled."

IMHO: Right on. If you haven’t read Victoria’s sexy, emotional, heart-wrenching and laugh-out-loud funny books, now is your chance. I can’t recommend her enough. Welcome, Victoria, and tell us the story behind one of your bazillion stories!

ViD: Thanks, TJ, for giving me this chance to tell the story behind the story. I’ve chosen to talk about my anthology contribution to Lords of Desire, “Lessons in Pleasure.”

Some of you may have seen me online in the past, arguing with people about female sexuality in previous centuries. This is one of my hot-button issues. I love naughty girls, and I firmly reject the notion that a woman needs to find true love to feel desire. I also reject the argument that all Victorian or Regency women would have been blind to sexual desire until offered enlightenment by their husbands (in the form of the magical phallus of true love, of course). Ridiculous.

Female bodies were the same two hundred years ago as they are now. Some women had very healthy sex drives long before they ever married, just as they do now. And really, there wasn’t much to do at night back then. I expect there was plenty of “self-pleasuring” going on.

But I wholeheartedly acknowledge that there were many, many women who entered into marriage with no clue what to expect. In fact, the thought kind of haunts me. How terrifying it must have been to lose your virginity when you’d never even seen a man’s bare arms. Can you imagine? Eek! It makes me shudder (and not in the good way). Seriously, when you really think about it, the whole idea of sex is bizarre and slightly disgusting, even when you’re thoroughly enjoying it. I’d hate to have it sneak up on me unawares.

Before I wrote “Lessons in Pleasure,” the story had been on my mind for a long time. What would it have been like for an innocent Victorian woman to marry? Even assuming the husband was a wonderful man, how would a newlywed couple begin to work through this? Even if they loved each other, could she ever learn to be comfortable with a naked – and very aroused – man?

It could’ve been funny (and someday I might write that story too!), but all I could think of was the heartache of it. The mortification of the wife. The worry of the husband. And the guilt they’d both feel. I decided to put my heroine in this situation—with a true hero, of course—and find out if love could turn an imperfect start into a beautiful happy ending.

So I hope you’ll consider reading my first, honest-to-God, innocent heroine. It probably won’t happen again soon, so get this story while you can! I have four more releases in the next year, and not one of those girls is pure of heart or body. Write what you know, after all. But if you’ve read “Lessons in Pleasure,” please let me know if I managed to pull it off!

IMHO: You definitely pulled it off in my humble opinion, Victoria, and thanks for sharing your story with us. We’ll look forward to many more, but for goodness’ sake, try to get some rest! In the meantime, fangirls (and boys), leave a comment for Victoria. Do you prefer reading about the innocent heroine, or the heroine who knows what she wants and how to get it, too? Remember to leave a comment for at least one other author during the contest period as well—the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. That basket is looking mighty healthy, and I’m hoping to get a picture up of it this week.

TJB

Visit with Vicki (Victoria Dahl) on March 18th!

Just a reminder that IMHO's "I LOVE ME SOME HISTORICALS" gift basket contest continues on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, with that wonderful rising star of romance, naughty girl Victoria Dahl! If you haven't read Victoria's hot, sexy, funny books, you are in for a treat. Be sure to come back and visit with Vicki on Wednesday.

TJB

Oh, where or where has the distribution gone...

If you're an author, you'll want to know about this.

One of my critique partners, Colleen Thompson, has posted an informative interview over on her blog with Joni Rodgers (another of my critique partners) at Boxing the Octopus with Dorchester Publishing's marketing manager, Erin Galloway. Erin gives her honest, informative perspective regarding the impact of the current economic climate on marketing efforts, sales, and distribution (including the impact of the Anderson News collapse).

Check it out.

TJB