USA Today Best of 2012

Monday, December 5, 2011

Two-fer Monday

Today is a super-big release day for me. Two of my wonderful authors have new contemporary romance releases... Barbara Kellyn with The Company She Keeps(funny as heck and sexy), and MJ Fredrick, with Guarded Hearts(think suspense, plus ex-military body guard).


Here's the cover and a short blip about each:



Talk about taking your work home with you...

For better or worse, Harper Bukoski is married to her dream job at a small marketing agency. Thanks to the mismanagement of its morally-lax owners, it's on the brink of disaster. Despite the dysfunction around her--including a nagging suspicion that the clueless new account rep is her boss’s mistress- Harper clings to the hope that her loyalty and diligence will keep the office on an even keel.

But the tightly-wound workaholic goes into a tailspin upon meeting Jed Sanderson, whose account is keeping the agency afloat. Harper is troubled by her undeniable attraction to a man with three potential dealbreakers stacked against him: he’s a client; he’s a recently-divorced father of three, and (the doozy!) he’s buddies with her disapproving boss. If Harper listens to her head, she might miss out on something extraordinary with Jed. But if she follows her heart, she risks imploding her career and bringing down the entire agency along with it.

Copyright 2011, Barbara Kellyn




What does she fear more, surrendering her privacy or her heart?

Texas Congresswoman McKenna Jones’s life is in danger when her father’s old enemy surfaces. She’s the target of revenge and narrowly escapes a kidnapping attempt. She's advised to go into hiding until the threat has passed, but her fight to get an important bill passed forces her to stay right where she is. When Ethan Riggins is assigned to protect her it may be a sacrifice on her privacy, but it's no real hardship since he's sinfully sexy and easy to work with.

For Ethan Riggins, it's a struggle to keep his distance from the congresswoman. McKenna is his assignment, and his friend’s daughter. She also happens to be smart, driven and beautiful. Being around her makes him want to loosen the reins on his emotions, which he's kept in check for far to long.

When the threat escalates, Ethan and McKenna have to take charge of the investigation so they can discover if a happily-ever-after is in store for them.
Warning: Sexy scenes, tense moments, some violence.


Copyright 2011, M.J. Fredrick

Also, a big-fat happy birthday to my daughter, who 14 years ago today made me a very relieved-to-have-survived mommy(after 5 days of labor, which I don't hold against her. Usually.).

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!








Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Due date, shmoo date.

14 years ago today, I was pissed.


And very large.


November 30th was my due date when I was pregnant with my daughter. The doctor and both midwives had been telling me for weeks they thought she'd arrive early--she'd dropped more than a month before and I was simply, massively, uncomfortable. But on D-day... nothing. The doctors were planning stress tests if I didn't deliver soon, but no significant contractions that Sunday.


My SIL was also due November 30th last year, with a girl. And guess what? No baby. (in fact, she delivered on the same date I did... which is a story for another day) So for any women out there who are prego and "due" today, I'm feelin' for ya. Really. Hang in there. :)


Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Review: Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface (available in print or ebook) is by one of the authors on my Lyrical Press editing roster, MJ Fredrick. I love the books I've edited for her, and I loved Midnight Sun, so I also bought this one, expecting I'd enjoy it.


And she didn't disappoint. The main characters are archaeologists--divorced archaeologists. Well, working on being divorced, as she has gone to his dig to make him sign the papers, because she's engaged and soon to be married.


Any romance reader knows where this is going. Yeah, there's still a flame burning, and it's quite hot. The pain between the H and h is very intense, very real, and made me root for them to patch things up. I loved all the sassy give and take between characters, as well as the "doctor" both H and h are emotionally attached to. And what would an archaeological dig be, without betrayal, thievery, and murder? The suspense kept me wondering up til the last few pages. (In fact, if I was that kind of mystery reader, I'd have been trying to guess how things would turn out. Sadly, I'm along for the ride in a mystery and never try to put the clues together--I'm a mystery "sheep".) Nicely done!


I will add, a couple of the scary underwater scenes made me feel totally claustrophobic, but that could be the author's skill or from my personal experience this summer, attempting SCUBA.


I'd rate Beneath the Surface a Nice Bang for Your Entertainment Buck. Well worth your time and money. Pass it on to someone who'll enjoy it and keep the author on your radar.


Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!


Next on the nightstand: Vision in White, Book 1 of the Bride Quartet,by Nora Roberts

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Gratitude Latitude, part 2

In the spirit of the holiday, more things I'm grateful for:



  • Washing machines, dishwashers, and blow dryers.
  • Studded snow tires
  • Burt's Bees...everything, L'Oreal, and tweezers
  • My son has managed to learn to drive, sans accidents.
  • The sound of teenage boys totally cracking up. (Impossible to keep a straight face when you hear it.)
  • Our 2 pain-in-the-butt cats. No, seriously, Hercules is so sweet and patient, and Einstein is such an entertaining dumbass...they bring us a lot of joy.
  • Oxiclean and microfiber cleaning cloths
  • Black Ice car fresheners
  • Enrique Iglesias and George Strait
  • Mark Valley, Scott Caan, Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, and Irish accents
  • TMZ, 2 1/2 Men, and Raising Hope--for belly laughs.
  • The Mentalist and House--for entertaining manipulation
Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

In the Gratitude Latitude

I've been inspired this month, by friends who post something they're grateful for, every day on Facebook, commercials on the radio, etc.


So. I can definitely name some things I'm grateful for (in no particular order of importance):



  • I'm grateful for my 2 goofy, healthy, well-behaved, smarty-pants teenagers and all the things they do to make me proud.
  • I'm grateful for my hard working, tenacious husband, who's managed to make his business a success and provide for us all, despite the tanked economy.
  • I'm grateful the aforementioned husband dogs me nightly to go walking with him, even when I piss and whine about the cold or being tired or how hard it is to lose weight or the wind or whatever myriad complaints I come up with.
  • I'm grateful for the 16 fantabulous authors currently on my roster, who trust me with their literary "babies".
  • I'm also grateful to Renee Rocco, for trusting me to help her run her "baby", Lyrical Press. Seems like I learn something every week at this job... ;)
  • I'm grateful for my job as a teacher stunt double, where I get to hang with the future grown-ups of the world...and I'm thankful at the end of each day at that job, that the kiddos are cool to me.
  • Every month when I get my royalty statements, I'm grateful for each and every reader who decides to buy one or more of my books, out of all the bajillions of novels out there.
  • I'm still grateful for my group of critique partners, who may all be many states or countries away, but can still brighten my day just by checking in or sharing a snarky thought. Many people scoff at the idea of internet friendships, but they really can be fulfilling.
  • I'm grateful for my forever writing companion, Red Bull. My winged beverage friend can't beta read or critique, but sure keeps me inspired and alert.
That'll do for today. More tomorrow...

Autumn Piper
Got romance?