The amazingly lovely Lori from the Lets Gab blog is giving The Education of Madeline its first spotlight today.

She read the book when it was first released in e-book back in 2005. Now Madeline is coming in print February 24th (soooooooon!) and I offered to give away an autographed copy on Let’s Gab.

So what are ye waitin’ for? Go read the blog!!

Next week on RomanceNovel TV (February 4th and 5th), they are having a Samhain celebration to spotlight the phenomenal little publishing company that could. As y’all probably know, I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Crissy Brashear, the publisher. She’s an inspiring role model for us all I think.

It’s awesome that the publishing industry and the romance novel world is recognizing what Samhain and Crissy have accomplished. Go Samhain!

Now here’s the pretty cool part, they’re going to feature 10 Samhain authors on the blog during the celebration, 5 on each day. Guess who was asked to be a featured author?

Yep, you guessed right! ME! Isn’t that awesomely cool? I thought so and wanted to share it with y’all. I will definitely pimp the whole event and point everyone over there next week.

In the meantime, I’m going to do a little Snoopy dance over here.

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Today is release day for the print version of Devils on Horseback: Jake.

*confetti and streamers and horns*

Well, hello there Jake. :D I’m pleased to see Jake’s book in print, and hope you all fall in love with him as much as I did. Following book 1, Nate, this follows the men from Brier Creek Georgia as they create a new life for themselves after the Civil War. For Jake, his new life is on hold as he struggles to overcome his personal demons. For Gabby, the woman who becomes his heart, she fights her own struggles and to keep the love she’s found with the redheaded thief named Jake.

Ladies and gents, I give you Devils on Horseback: Jake.

Haunted by war, a thief finds salvation in the arms of an angel.

On the surface, Jake Sheridan is an easygoing man whose problems roll off him like water off a duck’s back. Truth is, Jake holds so many past demons inside him, he daren’t let them out for fear he’ll never get them all back in.

He and the Devils are hired to help rebuild a town ransacked by marauders. Everywhere they turn, they encounter secrets—enough secrets to turn the town to dust if they don’t uncover the truth.

Only one person in town isn’t glad to see them: Gabrielle Rinaldi, the miller’s daughter. A strong and independent woman who is used to being disrespected for speaking her mind, she makes no secret that she doesn’t believe hired guns are the answer to the town’s woes. Yet she finds herself drawn to the enigmatic and charming Jake.

In spite of himself, Jake falls hard and fast for Gabby. But she’s wary of handing her heart to a man who lives by his guns.

When tragedy strikes, Jake and Gabby must fight to find a way to save the town—and their hearts.

Excerpt:

Jake found himself fascinated by Gabrielle Rinaldi. Gabby. The way the sun danced across her light olive skin as she sat next to the window, the way she gave Elmer an effusive hug when they came in. She ate with gusto, not like a Southern “lady” who picked at her food. Gabby was all woman, full of life. Jake was drawn to her like a flower to the sun, thirsting for the brightness she gave off.

He kept his eye on Zeke and Allison. She was a shy little thing who barely lifted her eyes and that was only to look at Zeke. He appeared to be equally as taken with the petite woman as she was with him. Jake hoped she was amenable for Zeke to court her, because Jake would bet the two nickels in his pocket it was going to happen. Too bad she was the minister’s daughter, which might put a pinch on a budding romance.

Gabby kept glancing at the blonde couple as well, almost as much as Jake looked at the luscious black-haired beauty. She laughed with her whole body, a hearty laugh that echoed in the empty restaurant. Jake’s heart squeezed each time she smiled. He wanted to kick his own ass for acting like such an idiot, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. She’d become an addiction so quickly it made his head spin.

“Jake, are you listening to me?” Gideon elbowed him in the ribs.

Jake almost jumped out of the chair. “No, I wasn’t.”

Everyone laughed and he couldn’t help but grin at Gabby. She raised one dark eyebrow and didn’t say a word to him. He couldn’t be certain if she was flirting with him or not, a fact that annoyed and excited him. Women were generally not immune to his charm, as evidenced by the experiences he’d had with the fairer sex. Jake discovered early that making a woman feel beautiful and desired provided a more than pleasant method to getting what he wanted. The truth was, Jake loved women of all shapes and sizes. Each one had her own unique charm and scent. It was one of the first things he noticed as a young, strapping fifteen-year-old in the backroom of the saloon he worked at—the scent of a woman was intoxicating.

Gabby’s scent would be the last thing he remembered and the first thing he thought of each day. She didn’t wear perfume, rather it was a mix of woman, flour, fresh air and her. Fascinating to say the least. Jake sat next to her at the table as they ate the simple ham sandwiches and drank lemonade. Each time she took a drink, Jake watched, and hungered.

He wanted to taste her lips, feel her tongue on his as they shared the tart flavor left in her mouth. Jake shifted on the chair, realizing his usually calm dick had woken with a vengeance and strained at the buttons of his trousers. He needed to stop fantasizing about Gabby and work on charming her, because judging by the frown on her face when she glanced at him, he had a ways to go.

“How long have you lived in Tanger, Miss Delmont?” Zeke sat straight and tall across from Allison.

“All my life.” The blonde looked up from her plate at Zeke. “When Gabby moved to town we were inseparable from the first minute we met. My mama used to say we were like salt and pepper.” Her face paled, apparently at the memory of her mother.

Zeke reached over and put his hand over hers, completely covering her tiny one. “I lost my parents too. It’s never easy to talk about them. I understand completely.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

Jake nearly swallowed his tongue. Zeke was acting so unlike his normal self, it was almost scary.

“What the hell’s gotten into you, Zeke?” Lee could always be counted on to be brutally honest. “You sick or something?”

Zeke scowled at his brother. “Watch your language around the ladies.”

“Sure thing, Ezekiel,” Lee taunted. Calling the Blackwood brothers by their hated Biblical names never failed to rile them.

Zeke stood, knocking his chair back. “Don’t ruin this day too, Cornelius. It was going along right fine until you opened your mouth.” His cool glare pinned Lee. “Apologize to the ladies.”

The air hummed with tension as the brothers stared each other down. Lee was the one to turn away, to glare at Gabby then at Allison.

“You’d best make your choices wisely, brother.” Lee snatched the sandwich off his plate and stormed out of the restaurant, slamming the door behind him.

After his footsteps faded away, Jake glanced at Zeke, who was still standing like a statue in a park. It was Allison, however, who saved the moment from utter disaster.

“Please sit down, Mr. Blackwood. It’s all right. I’m sure your brother didn’t mean any harm.” Her gracious tone worked on Zeke like nothing else ever had. His face softened and he sat back down without punching a thing.

Jake choked on his lemonade.

Gabby slapped him on the back until Jake held up one finger. “Thank you, Miss Rinaldi. I will be forever in your debt.”

Allison laughed while Gabby fought back a grin. “You are a charming fool, Mr. Sheridan.”

“Jake. Please call me Jake.” He smiled, his heart doing a somersault when she smiled back.

“All right then, please call me Gabby.”

At that moment, over the sandwich crumbs and the lemon seeds, Jake slid from being fascinated into being just a bit in love.

****

Monday’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure.

My CP and good friend Sasha White has started a brand new blog. This is a blog for writers of many genres, it’s an awesome idea and I’m very proud of her. Check out the info below! This is directly from Sasha:

GENREALITY is now operational!

What is GENREALITY? It’s a group blog that launched on January 19th, and I’m thrilled to be part of it. Not only is the concept of it something I think is awesome, but the authors involved are some of my heros. I’m super flattered and honored to be in such company.

There are plenty of group blogs out there that focus on the authors of a specific genre – genre -as in Romance authors at one blog, Mystery authors at another, Paranormal at one and so on. This blog is Different! Made up of Six authors, all from different genres. The GENREALITY authors are bestsellers in their chosen genres, and most also have experience with multiple formats such as short stories and novellas, as well as full length novels.

But more than that, we’re going to share what’s it truly like to make a living as a professional writer, and to give you a look at our lives. GENREALITY will consist of a good blend of posts on the writing life, but it’s about more than what we write. It’s about how we write, why we write, and who we are.

That means not only industry news and craft posts, but also some humor and day-in-the-life type of stuff. Because one thing you need for sure if you work with, live with, or want to be, an author, is a sense of humor. This blog is for us, as well as other authors -published and aspiring- and readers who want to know authors, and the writing life, better.
The GENREALITY Authors

MONDAYS: Alison Kent, Romance and Contemporary Fiction Author
A published author of forty works including single title and category romance novels, novellas, a Smart Pop essay on the television show Charmed, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Erotic Romance, Alison Kent blogs for free as many words as she’s paid to write. She is also a partner in the author community Access Romance, the Website design firm DreamForge Media, and is the muscle behind RomancingTheBlog.com.

TUESDAYS: Joseph Nassise, Horror novelist and Writing Coach
Joe Nassise is the author of several novels of horror and dark fantasy, including the internationally bestselling series The Templar Chronicles. He is a former president of the Horror Writers Association, the world’s largest organization of profession horror writers, a two time Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominee, and a life/creativity coach who likes working with people to get them to realize their full potential in life.

WEDNESDAYS: Carrie Vaughn, Urban Fantasy Author
Carrie Vaughn writes a series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty. The fourth, Kitty and the Silver Bullet, hit the New York Times bestseller list. The fifth and sixth novels will be released in early 2009. Carrie has also published about 40 short stories (and counting) in various anthologies and magazines such as Realms of Fantasy, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and Weird Tales. In 1998, she attended the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop, and she earned a Masters in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

THURSDAYS: Sasha White, Erotic Fiction Author
Gifted with a salacious imagination, Sasha White’s brand of Romance with Heat, and Erotica with Heart has earned her a loyal following. With a voice that is called “distinctive and delicious” by The Romance Studio this national best selling author of erotic fiction has published over a thirty erotic stories in multiple sub- genres’, and various story lengths.

FRIDAYS: Lynn Viehl, Dark Fantasy and Science Fiction Author
Since 2000 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Viehl has published forty-two novels under eight pseudonyms in five different genres, including her StarDoc science fiction series and Darkyn dark fantasy series. She is the author of Paperback Writer, a popular publishing industry blog, and has been involved in the online writing community since 1994 as a teacher, mentor and occasional activist.

SATURDAYS: Jason Pinter, Thriller Author
Jason Pinter is the bestselling author of the THE STOLEN, THE GUILTY and THE MARK, which was nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics award, the Barry award, the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award, and was optioned for film. His critically acclaimed Henry Parker series has been published in more than a dozen countries in several languages. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America, and is a founding member of Killer Year. He lives in New York City with his wife Susan and their dog Wilson, and is currently at work on a two-part Henry Parker epic that will be in stores Fall 2009.

Well, actually snow day #2. You see, when we get snow here in North Carolina, it is a BIG event. Yesterday a storm came and it snowed nearly all day. We got about 4 inches at my house and they closed school yesterday.

And today.

My 16 YO wants to go to school – says he’ll be bored. The 12 YO says “Woohoo!”

They did shovel the driveway yesterday, and did a good job, but I can understand being bored. Not only did it snow, but it’s really cold again. A high of 36 today, that’s about 15 degrees below normal.

Of course when I tell people who live in cold weather climates about our 4 inches of snow and the fact the governor declared a state of emergency… well, most of them laugh.

And I can understand that considering I’m originally from NY, but you see there was a layer of ice under that 4 inches of snow. We never just have plain old snow – it wouldn’t be NC if we did. Lots of accidents and craziness yesterday.

Hopefully when I venture out to work today (we have a 2 hour delay but I’ll be working from home as I did during our snow day yesterday), the roads will be kind to me. It’s the other drivers I’m worried about. LOL!

Hop on over to the Brava Authors Blog – I’ve got a surprise. :)

Monday’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure.

Okay, I’m up off the floor now. Friday’s mail brought me something uber cool from Kensington…

My very first pile of cover flats! They are for The Redemption of Micah the second Brava release due in July.

OMG! I’m so excited. I hugged them, petted them, loved them.

*big, fat contented sigh*

First five people to comment get a signed cover flat sent to them. Ready, set, go!

Some corny lexicography for you. Enjoy! (and no throwing rotten tomatoes)

———————–

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Police were called to a day care center where a 3-year-old was resisting a rest.

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.

The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

When fish are in schools, they sometimes take debate.

The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

A thief who stole a calendar got 12 months.

A thief fell & broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles , U.C.L.A.

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.

A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.

A will is a dead giveaway.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.

A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft & I’ll show you A-flat miner.

The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France , resulted in Linoleum Blownapart

You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.

A calendar’s days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted: ‘Taint yours, and ‘taint mine.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

When you’ve seen one shopping center, you’ve seen a mall.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture: a jab well done.