C.J. Barry's Fabulous New Release--UNMASKED

C.J. Barry's new book, UNMASKED


C.J. Barry is on tour right now with our Out of the Blogosphere, and lucky for me, I’ve been reading her latest book, UNMASKED. This woman can write. She had me hooked right from the get go, and of course since you all know I’m Nerdy Sci-fi Gal, of course the idea of a sexy intergalactic pirate had me at hello.

Honestly, I started the book before bed one night, and the next day kept seeing the book on my nightstand, which would give me this little rush of expectancy. Then, when I got to the following description of the hero and his band of pirates, you can only imagine how hooked I was:

“…the Ghost Riders of the Dead Zone. They are the most daring and elusive pirate force operating in the quadrant….very smooth, very good. And they always wear black.” Oh, la la, you’ve got a love a pirate in black.

I heartily recommend this one!

More below….
Deidre


UNMASKED by C. J. Barry
Love Spell (Dorchester Publishing), June 7 2005
To the merchants he plunders, he's the Ghost Rider of the Dead Zone. To sector law enforcement, he's a wanted pirate. To the slaves he rescues, he's the savior, laghato. To one determined female, Qaade Deter is serious trouble. Torrie Masters had heard of the legendary raider, but she'd never expected to encounter him. Nor would she have expected that beneath his black mask lurked an enticing man destined to challenge her in ways she couldn't shoot her way out of. But a great threat has emerged-one that's left no choice but for them to join forces. Entrusted with the fate of thousands, Torrie has discovered Qaade's impossible dream. Only she has the power to help him. Only she has the power to see him UNMASKED.

Excerpt:
http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/SpecialFeatures.cfm?Special_ID=1923

Cover:
http://home.twcny.rr.com/cjbarry/images/Unmasked.jpg


About C. J. Barry
Award-winning author C. J. Barry is an earthbound wife and mother of two who lives with her family and cat in a small town in Upstate New York. While her imagination wanders far into the universe to conjure up wondrous worlds and miraculous gadgets, she is foremost a storyteller whose tales chart the infinitely fascinating workings of very human emotions and relationships. She is a member of the Romance writers of America, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal chapter, and President of the Central New York Romance Writers.


Reviews
"Wow! What a story! Bravo!" -Best-selling Author Robin D. Owens

"Applause for this gutsy tale that steals your heart. Barry's best, simply her best!" -Deborah MacGillivray, The Best Reviews 4 1/2 STARS!!

"This awesome book roars out of the starting gates and never looks back. Along with telling social commentary, it is chock-full of danger, adventure, and romance-a terrific keeper!" -Romantic Times Magazine

Website: www.cjbarry.com

Squealadelic, Baby!

Guess what I have in my hot little hands? The new Julia Quinn book! Yes, that's right, I have Quinn. IT'S IN HIS KISS is her newest book about the Bridgerton family, and this will be Hyacinth's story. I wonder what she will do now that we have them all married off. I've loved every book in this ongoing series.

I've thought about Ms. Quinn as I've been on my recent Regency Rampage, and as I delved into her earlier books. I think what she possesses is a masterful ability to create emotional--deeply emotional--scenes. In her earlier books she's not there yet. They're fun and sweet, but it's these later books that really sing in my opinion.

So all you Quinn fans, go snag it. We can discuss amongst ourselves. I hope to start mine TONIGHT! :)
D

Is this too cool or what? I think that given my book title of PARALLEL ATTRACTION--and that I live in an old home--that this poster might fit very nicely somewhere around here!

Let's Go On Location!

Quite literally. I had a fun experiment idea come to mind. Sort of like me tagging every visitor who makes their way to this blog. And it goes like this...

Reading my stat counter, I see that I have visitors from all over the world, places like Poland (hey, friends!), Germany, Japan, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, and so forth. In this country, we get hits from New York, Huntington Beach, Fredericksburg, Birmingham and the list goes on.

What if every person who visits this blog for the next week posts here on this thread, just a simple, "Hi, I'm here! My name is Blah, blah and I'm from Eureka, TX!" That kind of thing.

So we can start with me!
I'm Deidre, and I'm in Georgia!

:)
Keep it going!

Tomorrow!

And since nobody noticed I was gone... LOL! (I deserve to be ignored after ignoring you guys!) Tomorrow is my first post on romancing the blog, so be sure to check it out. I feel kind of nervous--like will it be what people want. That kind of thing. Be on the lookout! D

Another view--you can see the Lucky Strike water tower in the background

Forgot to post the picture of the pitcher! Here you go.

Negligent Blogger Returns

Yes, it’s true: I took a vacation. Not a big one, mind you, just an itty bitty trip to North Carolina to visit the mysterious Angela. (And, for the record, I still believe we can turn her into an epic figure simply by making everyone wonder about her…but that’s another story.)

Have I returned with massive revelations about the publishing industry or gossip about authors or anything whatsoever to do with why many of you anticipate my blog postings? No.

I have returned with an autographed Durham Bulls game ball. The same one that hit my six year old on the head. Oh, it was an eventful summer night, for sure. Fabulous seats on the baseline (see nice picture of Pitcher Man for field-proximity gauge), great view of the Durham Bull (nobody hit it and won a free steak. Dang.) We even had ideal weather! And so our night began.

Our first indication that things might be interesting was when we ventured to buy cotton candy and a man sprang into action, photographing my daughter. As soon as the transaction was finished, a reporter spun into action too. He was doing, of all things, a story on the cotton candy vendor. “Why did you choose to buy this cotton candy?” he asked, barely suppressing a smile as he grilled us on our purchase. Later, he even returned and took picture of Angela’s children too.

Then the night progressed, and we were treated to watching a groupie sit and chat up one of the pitchers, a la Bull Durham. That fueled some interesting speculation (none of which I can share here) and right when Groupie Gal left, a foul ball slammed into the seats at about seventy miles an hour, missing my youngest daughter’s head by about two feet. Whew. So, I wandered upstairs to buy t-shirts, horrible images playing in my head, and when I did finally return, Angela’s husband, Greg, told me it was okay, he was prepared to protect the kids at all costs if any ball came near them. I settled into my seat, reassured and at peace—until about ten minutes later when another foul ball came our way, and next thing I knew Greg was handing the ball to my oldest daughter. I watched, thinking, “Why does she get the ball? Because she’s visiting? How nice of Greg—to give us the ball.” Yep, that was what I was thinking right until the moment I saw Tyler burst into a huge fit of tears. Greg had deflected the ball from her head with a seat cushion, but then it had bounced off and dinged her on the head.

Tears were eventually dried, the Durham Bulls Company Man reassured that we wouldn’t sue anyone, and we sank back into our seats to watch more of the game. And then the manager was ejected from the game—at the top of the ninth. And then fireworks afterward. The night seemed packed with crazy moments at every turn. But the most exciting thing, really, was just spending time with good friends.

Don’t you just love Summer?

Who's Blogging Now?

So guess who has joined the blog circus now? Shelley Bradley! Go drop in and give her a very warm welcome to the blogosphere.

Here's the link:

www.shelleybradley.com/blog

And definitely don't forget to drop in on my husband, Judson Knight, who has posted quite a few new entries in the past week.

Also, be sure to swing by the Knight Agency Blog and read the just-posted interview with Random House editor Allison Dickens.

No worries--I'll avoid trips down pop culture lane for the next few days and possibly even say something substantial. :)
Deidre

last one....

And this one....

Okay, a few of the wackies themselves. I particularly loved this one when I was little.

How about this? Trip down memory lane for anyone?

Does this look familiar??

From the People Who Brought You Partridge Family Flashbacks

Did anyone else collect Wacky Packs? These played a pretty significant role in my life about the same exact time as the Partridges did. Check out these couple of images.

Anyone else smell the bubble gum?
:)
Deidre

The Truth About Cats and Dogs...

OR—the truth about dreams and reality. How many times have we written our (unpublished) book dedications in the shower? Or given an Oscar speech in the car? Or imagined actually accepting the RITA without tripping over our high heels? We all do it. Live out our dreams within the realm of our imaginations; we wouldn’t be writers if we didn’t. I know I had countless self-conversations before selling my first books, and it always seemed so very easy to rattle off the “You love me! You really love me!” type speeches.

So then why, I must ask, is it proving so very difficult to write my one paragraph bio that my editor now needs? Is it that we’re unsure how to properly talk about ourselves in the third person without sounding like a dweeb or braggart? Or maybe it’s the pressure to be funny. Jud tells me I’m always funniest when I don’t mean to be. Well, let me tell you—when it comes to this bio thing, everyone else (Shelley!) is funnier than me. My clients all have these rip-roaring, ha ha ha’ing bios that put me to shame. For a minute the other night I actually sank into the “I must not really be a writer” malaise, wondering how such a pithy paragraph could elude me. In the midst of that pity party, I would naturally, of course, get the invitation to a humor writers conference. And why, you may ask? Because the conference chair had heard a presentation tape of mine and decided I was so funny that, in fact, I should come be a special speaker at their conference. He concluded his kind and complementary invitation by saying something like, “I know that with as funny as your presentation was that your first book will surely be very funny too.”

Head sinks into hands. Why can’t I get the shower-taking, I-want-to-thank-my-kids-husband-and-chiropractor speech back?? WHY?

Well, let me exhibit my very split personality now, and remove my driveling author hat, and replace it with my diva publishing crown. The truth is—at least my truth as an agent—that when we don’t feel watched, we perform freely. But the moment someone lets us know the spotlight’s been trained on us, we begin to sweat. We clam up. That freewheeling thing that makes our work its best sputters and coughs and we have to remind ourselves of the mantra. We are the same girl we were before.

Tonight, while taking a shower, my bio seemed to dislodge itself—simply because I quit trying to solve the problem. I let it flow, baby.

Is Ten PM Too Late for a Nap?

I'm guessing I just need to go to bed. :) I spent the day taking my oldest daughter to Six Flags, and it was a glorious, amazing, very good day. However, I'm spent.

Still, I had to buzz by here and share my major news. It's official now--I'm writing The Parallel Series! We knew book one was PARALLEL ATTRACTION, as many of you are aware. As of yesterday, my book two and three titles were approved. So, drum roll....

Book Number Two, publishing in October '06 will be PARALLEL HEAT
Book Number Three, publishing in April '07 will be PARALLEL SEDUCTION

I'm all aflutter! And couldn't wait to share.

More tomorrow.

Here it is!

Hex in the City! Agent Kristin Nelson Talks about ENCHANTED INC

My dear friend, agent Kristin Nelson was kind enough to let me interview her about her client Shanna Swendson's ENCHANTED, INC, which hit shelves in the past week. I've tracked this terrific book from before Kristin made the submission, so I thought it would be fun to ask her a few questions about the whole agent/submission process that took the work from manuscript to the final product.

Kristin, you and I have a great time sharing about our current submissions. I remember very well when you sent out ENCHANTED, INC, and also how excited editors were about it. Can you tell me what exactly seemed to have captured everyone’s eye about this book?

Deidre, you are a part of what makes agenting fun, and I love sharing agency news with you. We are two peas in a pod, and I think we were accidentally separated a birth.

As for ENCHANTED, I know exactly what caught the editors’ attention. Shanna had such a unique hook for this chick lit work. After all, the main heroine, Katie Chandler, is so ordinary, she’s immune to magic. So she’s recruited by a magic company to be their secret weapon because magic doesn’t work on her.

How cool is that? Katie’s superpower is that she is ordinary. That means we all have a bit of superpower in us because most of us would consider ourselves pretty normal.

Similarly, what was it about ENCHANTED INC that stood out to you from the rest of your submissions?

It was such a refreshing change from what seemed to be the trend at the time. Chick Lit had been getting sexier and more about dishing the dirt. There was an innocent quality to ENCHANTED that really won me over. I could also see the YA crossover potential with that work.

If you could name one single quality to Shanna’s writing that you love the most, what would it be?

Her imagination. She includes such fun details. I can’t reveal any examples because that might be a spoiler for anyone reading her work but we’ve just delivered book 2 in this series to her editor and let me tell you, Katie has a whole new adventure awaiting her in New York City.

And, if you could be a single character in ENCHANTED, INC, who would it be and why?

Kate of course! Her secret weapon is her common sense. She’s always applying it to wild and crazy situations and I love that. Not to mention that Owen, the most powerful magic man since Merlin, just might be interested and he’s such a hottie!

In terms of reviews and editor reactions was there any response that surprised you about this book? And if so, what was it and why?

We were surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reviews we’ve had for this work. You can’t please everyone so I keep waiting for that one bad review, but it hasn’t happened. ENCHANTED INC. was even reviewed by Dark Realms Magazine (not known for liking light and innocent fantasy) and they loved it. Shanna’s favorite review though was the article done by Charles De Lint. He’s a legend in the industry and he totally got it. Now that can bring an author to tears let me tell you. Tears of joy that is.

Any hints about what’s in the pipeline for Shanna (call me Joan Rivers!)??

Oh yes! Shanna has received numerous fan emails clamoring for more. Readers will be happy to know that ENCHANTED INC. is the first in a series, and Katie will be called upon again to save New York City from the deranged Phelan Idris. Now if we can just nail down a title for that book 2…
********

Doesn't that sound exciting, gang? I can't wait to read this book! Here's the press release and more info. I'll come back next with the cover art as well.

ENCHANTED, INC. by Shanna Swendson
(Ballantine Books), May 31, 2005

Shanna Swendson’s debut mainstream novel, ENCHANTED, INC. is a magical story featuring Katie Chandler, a 20something, small-town Texas girl, who finds that being average in New York City is anything but. Katie loves the energy of Manhattan, and if she finds some of the people odd, well, that's New York, right? Where else would you see a person on the subway wearing fairy wings? In fact, if Katie wasn’t completely sure those wings must be a costume, she’d think they were real, the way they flutter in the breeze. Certainly the gargoyle that perches above the door of the church she passes on the way to and from work isn’t real. Its eyes seem to follow her, and she could have sworn it winked at her once, but now that she thinks about it, it was really hot that day, and she hadn't eaten lunch....

Katie is still adjusting to life in the big city while working a for a nightmare boss, when she gets a fantastic offer to work for a mysterious company, MSI, Inc. Through her new job and the magical folk she meets, Katie comes to find out she isn't quite as average as she thought; and the fairytale life she has longed for begins to come true in surprising ways. What Katie doesn’t realize is how rare and important being ordinary can be. In fact, it is her ordinary characteristics that make her the perfect secret weapon for MSI, Inc. Suddenly the very qualities she thought made her average are what make her special! Now she has magicians and fairies meddling in her attempted romances, a secret life she needs to keep hidden from her non-magical friends, not to mention that dangerous pull she feels for Owen, an attractive but shy wizard who might be the most powerful magic man since Merlin.

Excerpt:
http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0345481259&view=excerpt

Cover:
http://www.shannaswendson.com/Resources/cover.jpeg


ABOUT SHANNA SWENDSONWith ENCHANTED, INC. Shanna Swendson offers a new twist on chick lit for the-now-grown-up fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. In addition to writing fiction, Shanna is a freelance marketing consultant and writer specializing in technology and telecommunications. She is single and lives in Irving, Texas, with her many pet plants, including a vicious attack bougainvillea and a Christmas cactus that has outlasted three homes, three jobs and three boyfriends, yet still faithfully blooms every Christmas and Easter. She’s looking for a man that reliable.


REVIEWS“A totally captivating, hilarious and clever look on the magical kingdom of Manhattan, where kissing frogs has never been this fun.” -- Melissa de la Cruz, author of The Au Pairs and The Fashionista Files

“With its clever premise and utterly engaging heroine, Shanna Swendson has penned a real treat! Enchanted, Inc. is loads of fun!” -- Julie Kenner, author of Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom and The Givenchy Code

"I am giddy! I found an enchanting (pardon the reference) book and therefore, have a new author to read. Bridget Jones, move over. Shanna Swendson is offering up fantasy for the Buffy, Sabrina and Bewitched crowd. This is a delightful romp through the world of magic with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure. There are characters you¹ll love and remember. If you want to escape the stress and busyness of life, join Katie for an enjoyable frolic into the world of make believe.” -- armchairinterviews.com


Website: http://www.shannaswendson.com/

Last shot. This is my back driveway with a view of the 200 year old stage coach inn. It's the oldest house in my town.