IMHO Welcomes Vicki Hinze!

I have the distinct honor and pleasure of welcoming our final guest for the month, Vicki Hinze, to IMHO today. Vicki’s first published novel, a romantic suspense, was a bestseller that sold in nearly a dozen foreign countries.

Since then, she's shifted writing focus several times, delving into every genre from science fiction to mystery to Christian fiction and back again, collecting many awards along the way. Her willingness to take risks and blaze trails has won her many prestigious nominations and awards, among them nine awards from Romantic Times Book Club, two RITA® award finals, several Maggie Awards of Excellence, a Daphne du Maurier award, a Holt Medallion, and at least a dozen more.

A sad loss for the romance industry: Kate Duffy, RIP

(Image from author ShaneGericke.com's site)

News comes that Kate Duffy, Kensington editor and staunch supportor of romance, both books and authors, has died. Read the lovely tribute to her over at the SBTB site.

TJB

You know you want it...A picture of Sept's IMHO gift bag!

As promised, here is a picture of the contents of this month's fabulous "Back to School" tote bag of love. Pictured are all of this month's signed giveaway books and the Magnetic Poetry Kit (the black fabric with the pink hearts is the tote bag, btw). Not pictured is the $20 Barnes & Noble gift card, but it will be in the tote bag when you receive it (providing you are the lucky winner). Trust me, O ye of little faith.

If you're wantin' it, you have to play the game. You can find all the rules on my contest page. USA addresses only please (for legal reasons; sorry to my international friends.)

Our final guest on September 30 is multi-published-in-practically-every-romance-genre-known-to-woman (and a few non-romance as well) Vicki Hinze. She's got a lot to say about what the world of romance writing and reading has taught her, so you don't want to miss out. And do check back with us every Wednesday for a great discussion with wonderful authors you should know. You'll be glad you did.

TJB

Winner of Vicki Hinze Random Freebie is...

The winner of one signed copy of Vicki Hinze's very own ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of her newest release, War Games: Kill Zone, is...

alicia0605! Congratulations!

Now, I have to be honest here. This wasn't a completely random win. I admit it. But I had to agree with CheekyGirl that alicia0605, whose husband is serving overseas, deserved the book. I've worked with the military, have military friends, and was a military brat, so they hold a special place in my heart. This one is in honor of all the brave men and women serving their country abroad, and all the loved ones stateside waiting for them to come home. Alicia0605, please e-mail me the snail mail address where you want your book sent, and enjoy!

Remember folks, there is another ARC left, and it will be included in the "Back to School" tote bag of love. I will attempt to get a picture up on the blog in the next day or two, depending on if I can get my office back in order after the minor flood in my storage closet (everything is scattered around the place in boxes right now, grrr). Come back on September 30 when Vicki Hinze visits us and gives us the final word on what she has learned from writing and reading romance. Can't wait!

Oh, and the next couple of months at IMHO will feature even more fabulous guests, such as Deb Stover, Roxanne St. Claire, Jessa Slade, and Sherry Thomas, and that's just a partial list. Plus I'll be shaking up the contest a bit so you'll have more chances to win! You don't want to miss out, so sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar.

See you next week (or sooner, if I feel like it).

TJB

IMHO Welcomes Heather MacAllister!

Heather MacAllister has published over 40 books with Harlequin. Her award-winning romantic comedies have been translated into 25 languages and published in dozens of countries. Before she was published, Heather won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Her published novels have since been nominated for the RWA RITA® award three times, and eHarlequin.com readers voted Lone Star Santa Favorite Laugh-Out-Loud book of 2006. In addition to awards for best Harlequin Romance and best Harlequin Temptation, Romantic Times Book Reviews has twice nominated Heather for a Career Achievement Award in Series Love and Laughter.

Random Freebies? We don't need no stinkin' Random Freebies!

Well, maybe we do. Too much dead air time around here, but guess what I got in the mail today? Two signed copies of Vicki Hinze's very own ARC versions (Advance Reader Copy) of her newest release, War Games: Kill Zone. Vicki practically invented the military romantic suspense subgenre, and she'll be my guest at IMHO on Sept 30. One of those books will go into the "Back to School" tote bag of love.

But the other...the other, my precious, can be yours with a simple comment left on this post--THIS POST RIGHT HERE!

You've got until Sept 25 to respond to this offer. Let me know you want it...really want it...and I just might pick you. USA addresses only, please. Operators are standing by now.

And remember, on Wednesday I've got talented, multipublished three-time RITA nominee Heather MacAllister, joining IMHO on Wednesday, Sept 23, so come back then!

TJB

IMHO Welcomes Ann Macela!

IMHO is pleased to welcome Medallion Press author Ann Macela today. Ann says she has been blessed with a number of careers: public school and university teacher (three degrees in history); writer of history (the kind bristling with footnotes); sales, marketing and PR person writing everything from ads to annual reports; consultant and computer manual writer; and now romance author.

Winner of Random Freebies!

Okay, I've picked a winner! The winner of Sophie Jordan's autographed novel, The Sins of a Wicked Duke, is ColleenFL!

Somehow, her sad birthday sentence was so poignant...

Hope you enjoy the book, ColleenFL. Be sure to e-mail me your address so I can mail you your book. And please, please have a better birthday next year.

And everyone else, remember you're still playing for all the marbles. Our next guest will be Ann Macela, author of the award-winning Magic series about magic practitioners brought together by an ancient force, an irresistible compulsion, called the soulmate imperative. Whoooo....

Be sure to join us tomorrow to meet Ann!

TJB

I love the smell of RANDOM FREEBIES in the morning...

What? I haven't given away a Random Freebie in a while, so how about I toss an autographed copy of Sophie Jordan's Sins of a Wicked Duke into the middle of your pack and let you fight it out? Heh heh heh. I can see the fur and boa feathers flying now.

Look at that luscious red cover. Look at that redhead so obviously enjoying her new purchase of satin sheets from Linens for Romance Novel Heroines. How can you resist? Oh, and yes, the story's pretty good, too. *G* (Of course, the duke isn't really wicked; he's a wounded hero who is just misunderstood...).

Okay, you know the rules. If you want it, you has to beg for it. Let's target this, though. Tell me in one sentence why you think YOU deserve to win Sophie Jordan's book. And hey, bonus points if you can make me laugh or cry! Then I'll award it to the lucky winner on September 15th, 2009. Ready? Set?

Go!

TJB

P.S. Forgot to mention US Addresses only, please!

IMHO Welcomes Debut Author Annette McCleave!

IMHO welcomes debut author Annette McCleave, who will discuss this month’s theme, “Back to School: Surprising Things I've Learned from Writing/Reading Romance” in her own inimitable fashion. Annette is the 2008 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® award winning author of Drawn into Darkness, the first novel in a new paranormal romance series about Soul Gatherers--immortal warriors who battle demons to protect the souls of the dead.

Another "Madly Desirous" Magnetic Romance Poem

Thought I'd share another bit of random poetry from the Mixed-up Romance Novel Magnetic Poetry Kit, which is up for grabs as part of this month's "Back to School" goodie tote. I'll even throw in a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble, just for fun. Oh, and let's not forget all the authors' signed books. Mine, too. Remember, we've already visited with the wonderful Gerry Bartlett, best-selling author of the Real Vampires paranormal romance series, on September 2 (be sure to read her post and leave a comment if you haven't already). The authors are discussing September's theme, "Back to School: Interesting Things I Learned from Writing/Reading Romance." The rest of this month's lineup is below:

September 9: Annette McCleave, debut author of dark paranormal romance.

September 16: Ann Macela , multi-published, award-winning Medallion Press author of the Magic series.

September 23:Heather MacAllister, USA Today bestselling author of contemporary series romance and three-time RITA® nominee.

September 30: Vicki Hinze, multi-published, best-selling, award-winning author of just about every genre of romance in existence (and one or two she invented herself!).

And now for another random mixed-up romance poem from the kit:

"He wanted to satisfy/her secret cavern/and offered his love/while the butler watched."

Hmm. Well. Probably not the kind of romance I would write, but you can make up your own!

Hope to see you Wednesday to welcome Annette McCleave, whose dark paranormal romance series about the Soul Gatherers debuts this month. Check it out!

TJB

My family is brilliant

Hi, everyone! I have been blessed with having some very talented people in my extended family, and I wanted to share the work of another one of them with you. Previously, you've seen the amazing videos on You Tube done by BookVideoProductions, which is headed up by my sister, book video and promotional materials designer extraordinaire T.S. Jackson (I will use none other). On my book video for THE PROMISE (see it and THE LEGACY video on the video bar to the left), you heard my amazingly talented cousin, D.D. Jackson, playing "Lushly," a haunting piece to which I never get tired of listening. (Check out his ballad demos, my favorites.)

Now I'd like to turn you on to another cousin, Cora D. Mitchell, a professional dancer, artist, and photographer. Check out her most recent image here, available for sale. She's a real beauty, and, IMHO, some of her best images are of her self-portraits (that's one featured above). If you get a chance, check her photos out on JPG and Red Bubble. I'm so proud of her, I had to share.

Am I lucky to be member of this family, or what???

TJB

Problems commenting?

If you are having problems getting your comments to post, avoid any grin tags like these: :-> because they are interpreted as html and won't be accepted in the comments field. If you still can't get your comment to post, and you'd like to for the contest, send it to me at tjb @ tjbennett . com and I will post it for you. Sorry for the trouble!

UPDATE 9/4/05: If you don't have third party cookies enabled, apparently you will have trouble leaving a comment. See the link in the comment under this post from the helpful Blooger forum dude. Thanks, helpful dude.

TJB

IMHO Welcomes Gerry Bartlett!

Welcome back to IMHO as we kick off the month of September with our new theme, “Back to School: Surprising Things I've Learned from Writing/Reading Romance.”

Every Wednesday, all month long, each of my five guest hosts—Gerry Bartlett, Annette McCleave, Ann Macela, Heather MacAllister, and Vicki Hinze—will give us her unique perspective on this theme, and then offer up an autographed novel for the “Back to School” tote bag of love for one lucky winner to keep (please see my contest rules; they've changed slightly).