Friday, November 28, 2008

Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour for Hopeless Romantics

Now that the turkey has been consumed, along with the awesome Black Friday deals (yes, I was in line at four a.m.), it's time to get ready for the holidays! What better way to start off your holiday season than with
The Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour !

All The Buzz Reviews and The GRITS COM Literary Service have teamed up to host the Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour headlining some of today’s exciting African American romance writers, December 1-12, 2008!

This exclusive ten-day virtual book tour will give romance readers, and new readers to the genre, a chance to hear from ten popular writers about their new and upcoming book releases just in time for the holidays!

This virtual book tour is inspired by the sultry sex-kitten, Eartha Kitt. Her Christmas song, “Santa Baby,” topped the charts in 1953 making her one of the most popular entertainers in the world. The same sensuous mix that Eartha Kitt brought to this Christmas song many years ago, is the same sensuous mix - Gwyneth Bolton, Niobia Bryant, Dyanne Davis, Gwynne Forster, Bettye Griffin, Donna Hill, Andrea Jackson, Deborah Fletcher Mello, Farrah Rochon, and Stefanie Worth - bring to their work and to this tour!

Romance novels made an astonishing $1.4 billion last year (that's a lot of loot!), making the romance genre one of the top sellers in the publishing industry. Though some complain that the formulaic plot and “happily-ever-after” endings in romances aren’t always indicative of real life; the staggering number of romances sold each year is testament to its popularity and staying power!

The Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour begins Monday, December 1, 2008. So join the tour at AllTheBuzzReviews or TheGRITS.com/virtualbooktour.

Come back to hear me read a bit from my holiday story, A Change of Heart, in The Holiday Inn anthology.


About All The Buzz Reviews
All The Buzz Reviews is the book reviews and literary event blog of Renee Williams, the CEO & Owner of Literary Signature Service, an event planning business specializing in literary events for authors of every genre.

About The GRITS COM Literary Service
The GRITS COM Literary Service is an online book promotion service that specializes in serving the unique web publicity needs of authors and publishers.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Technology is sooooo cool!

So, I hadn't planned on posting again until after Thanksgiving, when I'll be making a huge annoucement (Curious? Come back on Friday!). But after seeing Anika of Write Black at my blog tonight, I realized it had been a while since I lurked at her fabulous blog.

Well, it just so happens that today Anika posted a great review of Release Me. Flattering reviews are always a welcomed surprised, but what's really cool is the medium she used to deliver the review. It's a podcast! Or video blog! Or whatever it is that techy people (can you tell I'm not one of them) do with webcams these day.

I think this is the coolest thing!

So, if you have a few minutes, hop on over to Write Black and view Anika's review. It's themed around three post-Katrina New Orleans books. I'm so honored to be a part of it.

Thanks for the fabulously cool review, Anika!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Meme revisited

My friend the Sphinx tagged me for a meme on six random things. I'd already partipated in this particular meme, but since it's been about a year and a half, I figured it was time to revisit the Eight Random Things about me.


1. I have to physically stop myself from raiding the clearance racks at Macy's. There should be a support group for those of us who can't help but zero in on those red clearance signs. These days, I just try to stay away from Macy's. Although, there was a coupon in today's paper.

2. In my Social Psychology class in college, I was deathly afraid my classmates were going to find out that I was the person who continually messed up the grading curve. It's not my fault I'm a nerd! I have a young cousin who's also a nerd. We've decided to get "Nerds Rock!" t-shirt made. I'm embracing my inner nerd, dammit!

3. I sometimes answer to the name Wicked Whore. It's because I've been known to do just about anything to see the Broadway musical, Wicked, which I just saw for the eighth time a couple of weekends ago. This has moved up to nine times.

4. If gas prices go up another five cents a gallon, I will no longer be able to afford to drive my car. This is fact, people. Boy, aren't I happy this has changed. It'll make that eight-hour drive home for Thanksgiving so much easier.

5. When I was about six-years-old, I stole a Hershey Bar from K-Mart. I remember looking my dad in the eyes when I did it, so I'm sure he paid for it. I still thought I was getting away with doing something bad. I should have known a chocolate addiction was in my future. No change here. Still addicted to chocolate.

6. When I wrote "The End" on my first book, I got down on my knees, and with tears in my eyes, thanked God. It was 2:28 a.m., July 31, 2001. I promise to do the same thing when I write "The End" on my current book--number nine!

7. I nearly gave up my undergrad scholarship over my fear of public speaking. I refused to take a required speech course. I eventually got through the class after months of therapy to combat my Social Phobia. It worked a little, but the fear is still there. Yep, the fear is still there. I have become slightly (as in 0.00001%) more comfortable before a crowd, but my heart still flutters like mad.

8. I have never sucked the head of a crawfish. And I never will. That's something just the Louisiana people can probably relate to.

I'm pretty sure this was supposed to be six things like the current meme. I don't follow directions well. Hey, there's another random thing!

Be sure to hop over to Sphinx Ink to read Sphinx's random things. She has a great story about a very...umm...proliferous great-grandfather.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

You know you're in Texas when...

A few weeks back, I promised to show some sights from my new hometown of Austin. As many of you know, when it comes to taking pictures, I'm not always the most reliable person. However, as I was leaving the day job yesterday, I saw something that made me take a double, then triple take.

In fact, it was such a spectacle, I drove back to my office to snap this picture.



Yep. That's a car with horns.

When you live smack dab in the middle of Longhorn Country--that's The University of Texas Longhorns--you run into your share of fanatics. This person wants to make sure oncoming traffic knows they're about to encounter a UT fan.

I'm not sure if the guy or gal actually found a car that special Longhorn burnt orange, or if it was specially painted. I guess if you're going to stick a pair of gigantic horns on the front of your car, it's safe to assume a special paint job isn't out of the realm of possibility.

I am definitely deep in the heart of Texas.

Stay tuned for more sights from Austin.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

A Salute to our Veterans

Today was a special day for the entire country. We got to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line for us--something we should do every single day, not just on Veteran's Day.

Tonight, I had the honor of listening to a member of my local RWA chapter, Jess Dawson, speak about life in the military and her upcoming deployment to Iraq. Jess will be blogging during her tour and I encourage you all to travel along this journey with her. I know I will.

Even though I have family in the military (a cousin who is stationed in Somalia right now and several others who have done tours in Iraq), and close friends who are military wives, Jess's stories really brought home what our men and women go through out in the field. It's something I could never do, yet they leave their families--even their small children, which is what Jess has to do--and stare right in the faces of people who want to do them harm. The courage that takes boggles my mind.

As a romance reader, I will admit to having this romanticized image of the military. Other than Richard Marcinko's Rouge Warrior novels, most of the military books I've read have featured these extremely hot soldiers, Marines, or Navy SEALs who kick ass, take names, and get the girl in the end. Tonight reminded me that it is definitely not all sunshine and roses. What our military does is real. And we should all thank them for it.

Even though I know things will be rough financially this holiday season for many of us, think about adopting a soldier, or donating a phone card so our military heroes can call their families on Christmas morning and wish them a happy holiday.

Thank you to all our brave men and women serving in the U.S. military at home and abroad.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Addicted to the television

Join me in the Readers Rooms today as I disclose and seek help in fighting my new addiction: cable news.

My reading time has greatly diminished due to this sick addiction to the news. I miss my books. I need help!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

It's Election Day...

So what are you doing reading a blog?

Go out and VOTE!!!!!