West Houston RWA

Eternal Pleasure by Nina Bangs
July 2008
Dorchester Leisure Paranormal
ISBN: 978-0843959536
www.ninabangs.com

It takes a lot of courage to set aside well-loved characters and a writing style that launched you onto the Bestseller lists but Nina Bangs has done just that- with amazing success!

Eternal Pleasure is the first of eleven ‘Gods of the Night’ series. Delving into the dark and serious side of paranormal, Nina has created an incredible new world full of original plot points and surprising twists-so much so, I am unable to summarize without ruining the story for you. Hint: She pairs a predator alpha-male with a perfectly normal human female, throws them in life-endangering situations with breathtaking frequency and- uh yeah- it’s Nina; LOTS of sexual tension! Will they save humanity in time? I’m not telling, buy the book.

Suffice it to say this is a can’t-put-down page turner (warning: if you’re reading it pool-side, be prepared for a seconddegree sunburn!) Congratulations Nina!

~ Reviewed by Sarah Andre

Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, getting the characters from the first page to the thrilling end can be daunting. Sometimes writers lose their way: the story seems to fall apart, or things don’t seem quite right, or perhaps the writer even loses interest. Chances are that one or more essential, though not so obvious, story components have gone astray. Sandra K. Moore’s “Constructing a Manuscript” workshop can help beginning writers understand story structure, and aid advanced writers in taking their craft up a notch.

Drawing from her experience as a seasoned contest judge, a student in the University of Houston Graduate Creative Writing Program, and a published author, Sandra describes story symptoms, shows where they’re likely to arise in a manuscript, and provides suggestions for correcting the problems. Her March 2008 release, WITHOUT A TRACE, earned 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times Book Review. In her “other life,” Sandra is a Product Manager for a Fortune 500 company.

Real Vampires Get Lucky by Gerry Bartlett
June 2008 — Berkley Trade
ISBN: 978-0425221549
www.gerrybartlett.com

Curvy vampire Glory St. Clair arrives home and smells trouble – Type B kind of trouble. When Glory realizes the human woman with her throat torn open is near death’s door, she speed dials the man she begged to turn her into a vamp centuries ago – Jeremy Blade, her on-again, off-again lover, friend, and in this crisis, her only hope of help. Having never made a vampire, Glory is reluctant to bestow eternal undead bliss upon the mortal, but she can’t let her die. The woman she makes is Lucky Carver, a surgically enhanced loan shark enforcer and a loose cannon when it comes to vampire rules of discretion.

Glory is feeling anything but lucky when she receives blackmail threats from an unknown fiend who made a video of her changing Ms. Carver. That is until she speaks to Lucky’s grateful, mobster daddy who promises her a cool million if she finds his daughter’s attacker. She needs the devil’s own luck, however, as multiple suspects emerge among the live and the undead.

Gerry Bartlett’s third installment of her Real Vampire series is loaded with laughter, suspense, and some hot chemistry between the sassy Glory and her Highlander Hunk. Ms. Bartlett weaves the newest tale so well new readers to the series will never miss a beat. For those who have not read the 1st two books, I highly recommend taking a bite out of Real Vampires Have Curves and Real Vampires Live Large as well. All three are Fangtastic!

~Reviewed by Vicky Dreiling

Gerry Bartlett shares the exciting news that REAL VAMPIRES GET LUCKY hit the Barnes and Nobles Trade Paperback bestseller list at #7 and #6 the first two weeks it was released and #7 and #8 at Borders. No news yet on week three. Also, one of her fans has started a Glory St.Clair fan club on Facebook. She’s still trying to figure out how to get in to see it, but she’s jazzed that her “fans” are getting organized.

What a thrill for Tera Lynn Childs! Publishers Weekly gave OH. MY. GODS. a starred review, calling the novel “an an effervescent, fast-paced read”.

Deeanne Gist won the Anne-Bonney Award for Most Emotional Romance for THE MEASURE OF A LADY. Her latest release, DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE, was a “June Top Pick” in RT and received a 4-1/2 star review.

June has been an exciting month for Laura Gompertz! Not only does her newest book, SOUL BONDS release from Loose ID, but she received her PAN approval from RWA National. Congratulations in reaching that exciting career milestone, Laura!

Christy Janisse is thrilled about a 4 ribbon review of her first book, MISTAKEN, written under her pseudonym of Brandy Jordan. Romance Junkies posted a wonderful review on their site at: http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/suspense/Mistaken.shtml.

Kerrelyn Sparks is happy to announce that BE STILL MY VAMPIRE HEART is a finalist in the published Laurie contest, sponsored by the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers. BE STILL is the third book in the Love at Stake series. Book number five, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A VAMPIRE, will be released as an Avon Superlead at the end of October 2008. For more information and fun vampire games, please visit www.kerrelynsparks.com

Congratulations are in order! Colleen Thompson shares that she received notification that HEAD ON (Love Spell Romantic Suspense, 7.07) is a finalist in the Daphe du Maurier contest sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter, in the Single Title division.

Kristi Gold announces that her next Special Edition, THE MOMMY MAKEOVER, will be a February ’09 release. This is the fourth book in the O’Brien series that began in Desire.

Patty Henderson announces the print release of her romantic suspense novel, GIFT OF DECEPTION, from Wild Rose Press. She recently held a booksigning in her home town of Fort Smith, Arkansas, on June 20th. Congratulations, Patty!

~ Note from Kim…

I’ve had a wonderful time receiving and writing about your news over the past year, but this is my last time writing the Who’s In the News article.

Michele Dunaway has graciously agreed to take over, so make a note of her contact info. You can let her know about your news by the 20th of each month at micheledunawaybooks@earthlink.net or whosinthenews@whrwa.com