Second, I’m blogging at Genreality today about the “are ebooks really books” question.

Finally, for those who enjoyed IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU, I have some great news. Will announce it as soon as I get the okay.

I also like that the show grew out of a short story by Elmore Leonard. I recently read an interview (which I can’t find or I’d link to it) that talked about how the series borrowed from the short and now Leonard borrows from the show, which is why I got all tingly when I saw this new book release:

With the closing of the Harlan County, Kentucky, coal mines, marijuana has become the biggest cash crop in the state. A hundred pounds of it can gross $300,000, but that’s chump change compared to the quarter million a human body can get you—especially when it’s sold off piece by piece.

The bad guys are mostly gals this time around: Layla, the nurse who collects kidneys and sells them for ten grand a piece; Carol Conlan, a hard-charging coal-mine executive not above ordering a cohort to shoot point-blank a man who’s standing in her way; and Jackie Nevada, a beautiful sometime college student who can outplay anyone at the poker table and who suddenly finds herself being tracked by a handsome U.S. marshal.

Sold!

Hal guided her through the room to the far hallway. Gun up and ready to pounce, he planned to get them out through the kitchen and through a planned zigzag of small homes and dirt alleys. He had to take care of a few problems first.

He stopped. Since Megan had a death drip on his pants and her body plastered against his back, the move slammed her into him. “Megan?”

“Yes?” Her whisper blew across the back of his neck, causing a blip in his concentration. But the real problem was the way she tugged on his pants. She’d hiked them into danger territory.

He propped his shoulder against the wall and tucked her in behind him. “Few things. First, you’re shuffling.”

“What does that mean?”

He slid her flat against the wall and shifted until he loomed over her. The only thing holding their bodies apart was her hands, which she had balanced between them.

His gaze traveled around the enclosed space just in case the owners of the voices he heard on the street decided to step inside. “You need to pick up your feet. The goal is quiet.”

“Sorry.” Pink raced up her neck and stained her cheeks.

When she started rubbing her hands together, her fingers brushed against his stomach and both of them froze. This close, he could see the green flecks in her eyes and the round angel face with full lips that begged for him to run a finger across them. She was a beautiful woman, curvy behind her conservative black suit and tall enough for her mouth to reach his chin.

The lacy white shirt under her blazer hinted at her feminine side.

And her ability to stay calm and on her feet while the world crumbled around her…well, that was sexier than any of her other obvious female attributes.

He put his hand over hers and held them against his stomach. Something sparked in her eyes and her body went still. He sensed the second she remembered where they were.

“You are safe with me.” He waited until she nodded to go on. “Hold my pants or my shirt. Do not let go.”

“Got it.”

“Also might be a good idea for you not to yank the pants up so high.”

He gaze shifted to his lower half and her mouth dropped open. “I didn’t-”

“Any higher and my belt will be at my neck. I can fight through most things, but having my pants at my ears will down my running speed.”

She let out a half-laugh that sounded more like a squeak then put her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve got swim trunks on, so we’re fine.” When her shoulders stopped shaking, he skipped to the tougher stuff. “The sun is at full power. You need to lose the jacket.”

At this time of year, the temperature bounced from cool fifties at night to boiling high-nineties with no wind in the afternoon. A dark blazer might hide her identity but heat stroke could kill her. Wearing nothing but a blinding white shirt would put a target on her back.

She slipped the blazer off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He tried not to notice her bare shoulders or the way the shirt stretched across her breasts. The slight definition of muscles down her tanned arms suggested she worked out. His brain processed the fact and stored it for later use in their escape. The not-so-smart part of him wanted to reach out and test her skin to see if it was as smooth as it looked.

She rubbed her hands over her exposed arms. “Better?”

“Yeah.” He untucked his shirt and slipped it over his head, leaving the top of his wet suit on. “Slip this over your shirt. It will give you a bit of camouflage”

When she just stood there staring at him, he tried again. “Megan?”

She visibly snapped back to attention. “Right.”

The shirt fell to her upper thighs. The baggy clothes took her from business and in charge to vulnerable. The bunny slippers probably had something to do with the change.

“We’re going to get to the edge of this neighborhood then wait for the signal. Once we’re clear, we’ll get to the water and get you out.”

She swallowed hard enough to make her throat move. “You do mean by boat and not by swimming.”

“Are you afraid of the water?” He could knock her out if he had to, but he sure as hell hoped it didn’t come to that.

“Terrified of sharks.”

A phobia he could handle. “Won’t let them near you. Promise.”

She pushed away from the wall and put a hand on the back of his shirt. “Ready.”

“I like your style, Megan White.”

____________
Remember to check out the other authors’ snippets:

Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Shelli Stevens
Zoë Archer
Leah Braemel

SHE WANTED TO TRUST HIM WITH HER SAFETY—BUT NOT WITH HER HEART…

No woman could deny the appeal of the sexy deputy sheriff Jonas Porter. But to Courtney Allen, Jonas has one major flaw— his badge. Years ago, Courtney’s father was wrongfully convicted of a crime and she vowed to never trust a cop again. But when Jonas becomes the only man to believe in her father’s innocence, Courtney begins seeing the brooding lawman in a whole new way.

Jonas knows in his gut that the real killer is still out there and determined to finish what he started long ago. To protect Courtney and bring the criminal to justice will require all the skills he can muster. And that means focusing on the job. Not the woman who makes him forget his troublesome past and arouses in him a passion that is anything but professional.

And, for the record, I’ll be blogging at Genreality on Thursdays from now on.

“You look like shit.” Seth Freeman delivered his assessment with a huge smile as he plopped in the small black chair across from Eric. The same seat designed more to keep visitors off guard and squirming than comfortable.

The hard wood didn’t bother Seth. His relaxed, never-ruffled style allowed him to be at ease in any situation. Thanks to years of friendship, Seth was not one to give into Eric’s intimidation, which was exactly why Eric pushed to have Seth named as Chief of the Career Criminal Division the year before. Their styles complemented each other, and the guy was a damn fine lawyer.

But right now, Eric seriously thought about having Seth arrested. No idea what the charge would be, but he’d think of something. Anything to stop the conversation Eric guessed was coming.

“The one is for you,” Seth said as he slid the cup across the top of the practical metal desk before easing back into his open-legged sprawl.

To keep from getting sucked into a personal conversation, Eric grabbed a file and flipped it open, pretending to read. “Thanks. I have some work to do but can meet you for lunch at the usual-”

“Your foul mood have anything to do with your weekend activities? Or should I say lack of them?” Seth asked the question as he sipped his coffee.

Eric stopped rambling but refused to glance up and acknowledge the humor in Seth’s tone. “No.”

“Interesting.”

Eric could think of a hundred words to describe the last two days. Interesting didn’t come close to summing it up. Fast, sexy and dumb were more on point.

“Not really,” he said.

“Hmmm.”

Eric ignored the first three hums but gave in to the fourth one and looked up. It was either that or deal with Seth’s staring and odd noises for the next hour. “What?”

A shrug. A frown. Seth went through his entire “no big deal” repertoire of gestures before actually spitting out a word. “Some guys would have trouble dealing with their ex-girlfriend’s wedding when they’re not, you know, the actual groom. Most would refrain from attending said festivities. Might even make sure to be out of town when the deal went down.”

“Do you have a point other than being dramatic?”

“Since you insisted on going to the shindig…” Seth broke off, shaking his head in what could only be described as pained disappointment. “Ah, hell. I bet you even brought a gift. Didn’t you, you dumb bastard?”

“If this is a closing argument, you should actually, you know,” Eric cleared his throat. “End.”

“I assume the wedding and seeing Deana looking all beautiful as she walked to another man is the source of all the frowning and grumbling. Can’t blame you. She is one fine woman.” Seth whistled. “Always has been. I’m sure her wedding day was no exception.”

Deana’s big white dress blowing in the March sunshine and her face lit with enough happiness to power all of the island of Oahu. Yeah, that was an image Eric didn’t need or want swimming around in his head. He’d fought it off all weekend.

“Are you done?”

“You have the entire office on edge,” Seth added as if he hadn’t yet made his annoying point. He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “I think I saw a grown prosecutor cry out there.”

There it was. Eric had noticed the sympathetic smiles and sideways glances at the wedding, watched as the attorneys in the office scurried away from him as he walked down the hallway that morning. Despite his practiced appearance of calm, he’d somehow gone from being in charge to being the object of pity and more than a little fear. The last part didn’t bother him. The former did.

As the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney he wielded a lot of power over assignments and work performance assessments. Not a bad thing for people to be careful around him, but being the subject of courthouse gossip destroyed his authority.

He had one woman to thank for the bleed between his personal and professional lives – Deana Armstrong, now Deana Armstrong Windsor. She dumped him for doing the right thing and then married a guy she barely knew. Eric still cared for Deana. Hell, he even liked her new husband Josh Windsor.

But Eric hated their wedding – the rows of white chairs set-up on the lawn, the cloudless day, the stunning sweep of a view from Diamond Head at one angle and Waikiki at the other. The idea of it, the press surrounding it and having to attend it all ticked him off. If he could he’d wipe out the image of Deana smiling as she strolled across the grass and stopped under a trellis filled with purple flowers and framing the ocean beyond, he’d do it.

Maybe one day. Clearly not today since everyone appeared compelled to remind him.

“Deana is married. We’re friends,” he said in his best “we’re done with this topic” voice. He glanced down at the papers in front of him but only saw a black blur of ink.

Seth being Seth, he ignored the hint. “That’s very civilized of you.”

“Right.” Eric nodded because he didn’t know what else to do. “No reason we can’t all be adult about the situation.”

“Very mature, as usual.”

“Exactly.”

The silence lasted for exactly three beats before Seth piped in again. “So, did you give the groom tips on how to keep the bride satisfied in the bedroom…or is that not your specialty area?”

Eric dropped the file against his desk with a smack. The loud whap didn’t wipe out the burning need inside him to hit someone. “You have work to do and an office you can do it in, or do you actually want something?”

“A reaction.”

____________
Remember to check out the other authors’ snippets:

Megan Hart — Read in bed!
Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
Leah Braemel
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
TJ Michaels
Zoë Archer
Lacey Savage

The scene I picked it from one my favorite books, HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO. The setting is Hawaii. The heroine is rich and has to learn money can’t buy everything. The hero is rough around the edges.

Deana touched her fingertips against the blurry tile wall then pushed off into her final turn. A bluesy tune rang out of the built-in deck speakers as her body sliced through the cool water on the return lap to the other end of the pool.

She closed her eyes and fell into a rhythm. Tried to block out the melody and focus, instead, on keeping her stroke in time with the beat. She needed a mind wiped clear of any thoughts or memories. One where the sound of Ryan’s agitated voice from the other end of the phone didn’t still ring in her ears.

With each stroke, each rise of her arm, her thoughts crushed in on her. Doubt, fear, anger. The dragging sense of loss that would not leave. Identifying the bodies of Chace and Kalanie at the morgue. Listening to the police investigators voice their doubts about Ryan’s story and how he couldn’t possibly have slept through the entire attack on his parents as claimed.

Some days the reminders proved to be too much.

She brushed the wall and stood up. Water lapped against her hips in the shallow end of the pool. She rubbed her eyes, willing to do anything to stop the visions spinning around in her head.

Dropping her hands, she mentally assessed her options for saving Ryan. She could not come up with a single strategy that didn’t include Josh. Controlling him would be the issue. She trusted the defense attorneys, had let them do their jobs, and they failed. She needed more of a say in tactics and analysis this time around.

When the hot sun started to burn her arms, she gave up on her mental planning and let her mind turn to lunch. A movement caught her attention by the house. As if she had conjured him, Josh stood right there on her deck, less than twenty feet away, with a stern frown on his face.

“Hi.” She barely made a sound but she knew he heard her when he started moving.

He took the last three steps down to the edge of the pool. “What is that?”

Her mind refused to adjust to the sight of him. One minute she thought about him. The next he appeared. She wiped her eyes one more time. “What did you say?”

He hitched his chin. “What the hell happened to you?”

She finally focused on his blue eyes and how his stare locked on her chest. It was not as if she wore a tiny bikini. She had grabbed her usual navy tank with the low rounded neck. Practical for exercise and not all that sexy.

Then it hit her. The marks. He saw them, couldn’t take his eyes off of them.

A familiar wave of dread crashed through her body. Since his focus didn’t waver, she reached for her robe on the side of the pool and struggled into it with one had while the other covered the area from her sternum to the top of her breasts.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” she said.

“Deana.”

“I’ll meet you up on the deck.”

“Deana, stop.”

But she couldn’t. The cotton fought her, forcing her to wrestle to get the thing over her shoulders. She ended up in three feet of water with her cover floating up around her.

Josh’s gaze dropped to the material bunched between her breasts and anchored in her tight fist. “Tell me how you got those scars.”

She forced her shaking legs to move to the stairs and climb out. “Why are you here?”

“The scars, Deana. Where did you get them?”

The soaking wet robe weighed a ton and stuck to her thighs making it tough to walk without stumbling. “That’s not important.”

“It sure as hell is.” He stepped forward, the flat line of his mouth fierce but his touch gentle as he wrapped his fingers around her elbow. “I need you to explain.”

Being this close to him closed her throat. Seeing the pity in those sad blue eyes made her want to scream it back open. That was the last thing she wanted from him. From anyone.

___________
Remember to check out the other authors’ snippets:

Megan Hart — Read in bed!
Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
Zoë Archer

My favorite non-romance of the year was SISTER by Rosamund Lupton. I liked it so much that I ordered Lupton’s second book directly from her U.K. publisher rather than wait for it to come out in the U.S. The book looks like this:

When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn’t be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand.

Bee is certain that Tess didn’t commit suicide. Their family and the police accept the sad reality, but Bee feels sure that Tess has been murdered. Single-minded in her search for a killer, Bee moves into Tess’s apartment and throws herself headlong into her sister’s life–and all its secrets.

Though her family and the police see a grieving sister in denial, unwilling to accept the facts, Bee uncovers the affair Tess was having with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted, and her difficultly with a stalker who may have crossed the line when Tess refused his advances. Tess was also participating in an experimental medical trial that might have gone very wrong. As a determined Bee gives her statement to the lead investigator, her story reveals a predator who got away with murder–and an obsession that may cost Bee her own life.

My favorite romance of the year was LOOSE ENDS by Tara Janzen…but not for the usual reason. This was book #11 in a series. I hadn’t read the books that came before, which would usually keep me from trying one of the later ones. But good friend and reading buddy Jill Shalvis talked me into it. We read this together (as in we read it at the same time and talked about it via email) and the whole time Jill told me I had to go back and read the beginning of the series. Thanks to this book and Jill’s recommendation, I picked up the beginning of the series. Man, is there anything better than discovering a great series? I’m still confused how I missed this series to begin with since it hits all my reader buttons.

Six years ago, the Special Defense Force mourned the loss of J. T. Chronopolous. Now the striking soldier is back with scant memory, a new name—Conroy Farrel—and one single mission: to bring down SDF. But SDF has its own plan: get him back at any cost. And so they’ve set a trap for Con, a trap that Jane Linden accidentally steps into. With darkness falling and the night heating up, Con finds himself on the run in an oddly familiar 1967 Pontiac GTO with a drop-dead-gorgeous brunette named Jane by his side. Who she is he doesn’t know. Or does he? Jane certainly hasn’t forgotten him. When she was a teenager, he caught her picking his pocket. Now the former street thief is all grown up and gone legit—and the effect she has on Con is all too clear: pure, sweet longing. Con’s not sure if Jane is there to save him or to take him down. But one thing’s certain: With desire leading the way, all bets are off.

Not sure what type of books will grab my attention in 2012. I’m thinking about going on a YA binge. I find so many of the covers amazing. I mean, look at these:

I’ve heard so much about Amanda Hocking and her self-publishing success, but it’s the covers that make me want to read.