So I’m at RWA in Orlando. I’ve been on the road since Friday and done lots of stuff. I went to Comic-Con, where my signing went well. Had a lovely time in San Diego.

I was traveling all day yesterday. Plane delays got me to the hotel even later than I expected. That’s why I tend to come in a day early; if I had been traveling today, I probably would’ve missed the signing. So I’m glad I booked for Tuesday.

It’s strange to be at Disney without the kids. How long ago was it since y’all were here? If you could come to Orlando, what would be the one thing you wouldn’t want to miss? Random commenter wins any book he or she desires from my backlist.

You can have anything in the widget below; there a couple of books in there that haven’t been released yet, so if I order those for you, they won’t arrive until they come out officially.

First, an apology to all of you and to my fellow Bradford Bunch Ladies…I just realized that I missed my blogging day last month. It was in the middle of the book tour, and I just…flaked. I’m so sorry about that! It was a little bit crazy during those couple of weeks, and I should have made arrangements for someone to cover my day. Because, by that point, I was having trouble remembering what state I was in, let alone what day it was!

But I’m back now and things are slowly calming down. The book tour was AMAZING. My two main tour buddies were Kristen Tracy (A Field Guide for Heartbreakers) and Brent Crawford (Carter’s Big Break). They were fabulous, funny, and smart, and I’m so glad have had the chance to get to know them better.

If you haven’t already, definitely check out our videos from the tour to see the shenanigans we were up to while on the road. You can find them on the video section of the UnRequired Reading Facebook page.

(My favorites are the Luggage Saga Parts One and Two and the one where Brent “drinks” from the river–EW!)

Oh, and I should mention The Ghost and the Goth, my debut YA novel, is now available in stores! Can I just tell you how surreal it is to walk in and see it there with all the other books? I LOVE that. It never gets old!

In other news, I sent in the revised draft of the sequel to G&G in the wee hours of July 1, and we’re moving forward! The new title is Queen of the Dead (instead of Princess Poltergeist), and I hope to have cover art to share soon.

And finally, just a quick thank you to everyone out there who has read G&G and told a friend, blogged and/or tweeted about it. I really appreciate the support.

Until next time…which I PROMISE not to forget.

Mandy M. Roth, Interview

by Michelle M. Pillow

Please join me in welcoming an extraordinary paranormal and dark urban fantasy author, Mandy M. Roth. Mandy and I have co-authored several titles together, run The Raven Books bookstore and co-host Raven Radio. She’s highly prolific with over fifty published books and a book cover artist.

Her newest book, Sin’s Pride, just released from Harlequin.

About the Book:

* * * * *

Q: You often delve into the world of the paranormal. When world building, do you base your story off of known myths throughout history?

Mandy: I’ve borrowed from the Eastern European vampire myths, legends of were creatures from all walks of mythology and also a good deal of Native American-like supernatural aspects. I also took from history and humans’ ignorance to things they don’t understand or fear. So many times throughout history humans have tried to destroy what they don’t understand. In my series, Project Exorcism, the people on Earth gathered all the supernaturals and loaded them on multiple space vessels, sending them off to unmanned, habitable planets. Only one of the many crafts actually arrived at its assigned destination. The others crashed on various planets, causing the supernaturals on board to have to integrate with the humanoids at each location. Some did so without issue. Others, like the main villain in the storyline, decided to seize control and take advantage of everything at his disposal.

Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?

Mandy: I think the unknown element is what draws so many people to the paranormal. Your imagination is really the only limit. Plus, throughout history man has turned to the supernatural and myths to explain what they couldn’t understand. I think it’s just natural.

Q: Do you have any paranormal pet projects?

Mandy: I co-host/co-author an online, free, ongoing paranormal story and radio show with fellow author Michelle M Pillow (hey, you might know her… grin).

Michelle: Nope, the name isn’t ringing any bells, lol

Q: I know the Halloween is HUGE at your house. I know it’s your favorite holiday. Does your family have any special Halloween traditions?

Mandy: Halloween is a big deal here at the Roth house. I even have a Halloween tree (similar to an xmas tree). We generally bake themed cookies, cakes, gingerbread houses, bob for apples, make popcorn balls, carve pumpkins (one year my brother had a pumpkin so big that an electric handsaw was required to carve it). We’ll often do some themed craft projects here as well as talk about Samhain and All Hallows Eve. I always dress up and pass out candy for the local kids. We also watch the cartoon version of The Legend of Sleepy Hallow every Halloween. I’m not sure why but I love that movie.

Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?

Mandy: Dracula by Bram Stroker, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstien, early Stephen King, Dark Shadows TV show from way back when, Being Human on the BBC and countless others.

Q: Do you believe in the supernatural?

Mandy: Of course.

Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Mandy: Growing up, I dabbled a lot in things better left unsaid. During that timeframe, many unexplainable things happened to me. As I grew up, matured and stopped the insanity, the oddness around me lessened but never fully went away.

Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?

Mandy: Vampire, werewolf, werecat of some sort just to make it even, a faerie, goblin, zombie, ghost, the grassman, bigfoot, etc. Okay. Any. The only one I’d not want to meet is the mothman. He wigs me out for some reason.

Q: If given the chance, would you become a vampire?

Mandy: Heck yeah! I don’t have any aversions to blood, living forever sounds good to me and I already avoid sunlight as much as possible. Can I take my answer back if vampires turn out to be hideous, drooling, mindless monsters?

Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a vampire?

Mandy: Honestly, I’m known to take things in stride. I’d most likely end up best buddies with it by the end of the night and be chatting it up on the net or cell phones the next night. It’s just the way I am. I do know I’d annoy the poor thing with endless questions on the myths surrounding them.

Q: What does the future hold for your writing?

Mandy: I have another Harlequin Spice Brief releasing sometime in the near future and am hoping to fill my schedule at my current publishers as well. Other than that, the sky is the limit.

Thanks for joining us, Mandy!

You can learn more about Mandy, her artwork and her books at her website, www.mandyroth.com. For The Raven, visit www.ravenhappyhour.com and www.theravenbooks.com.

Interviewer Michelle M. Pillow can be found at www.michellepillow.com.

So my new series at Samhain is called Holding out for a Hero. I thought it would be a lot of fun to write a series about brothers who live in a small town that their ancestor founded. And each brother made a choice early on to go into some kind of ‘heroic’ career. One’s a Sheriff, one’s in the army, and one’s a firefighter.

Men in heroic careers can seem a bit sexy to some women. Heroes in books are already protective of the ones they love, and when you give them a heroic career, well it can just up the sexiness. Which is why I thought it’d be so much fun to write this novella series.

I’m heading out of town, but I thought I’d have a contest on the Bradford Bunch. I’ll draw a name of Friday night when I return and the winner gets a copy of Going Down or another ebook off my backlist. Just leave a comment on here about what kind of hero you find sexy. Doesn’t have to be a ‘heroic’ career guy. But let me confess my sexy hero… I’ll admit it. I’ve drooled over my share of military men.

One man wants her heart. The other wants her dead…

Holding Out for a Hero, Book 1

Eleanor Owen needs to get out of Chicago and quick. It’s not that she doesn’t want to obey the subpoena to testify against her drug-trafficking ex-boyfriend. It’s making it to the witness stand alive, should a dirty cop make good on his threats.

Tiny, remote Wyattsville, Oregon looks like the perfect place to disappear, but it’s hard to blend into the woodwork when one of the town’s infamous namesakes sends her heart racing. Worse, Mr. Tall, Hot and Packing is the town sheriff, which means she should stay as far away from him as possible.

Tyson Wyatt is positive the sexy new girl in town is hiding something. Question is, what? He vows to feel out her secrets—including what she feels like beneath him. Preferably naked. Until then, he’s not buying the story she’s selling.

Their chemistry is sheet-melting hot, and Ellie realizes much too late that the man with the badge is as dangerous to her heart as her ex is to her life…

Read an excerpt here

Now Available at Samhain Publishing

Buy on Kindle

So I’m going to my first RWA conference ever next week! People will realize my author headshot was seriously photoshopped! But I’ll be wearing a name tag with my two personae, Maggie Robinson and naughtier Margaret Rowe, to quell the confusion. I can’t wait to meet online friends and make new ones. I’m taking some of my family and my friend Claudia and her daughter, and they will spend the day at Disney while I attend workshops and lie down with a cool cloth across my forehead.

I’ve got some interesting stuff to give away (I paid attention when I asked what you all like for author promo here), including this cool first-chapters excerpt book. I can’t take any credit for the clever title and design (that would be Courtney Milan) but I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

Who’s going to Orlando? What are your tips for getting the most out of attending a gigantic convention? Is there a big enough cool cloth for me?

Hey everyone! I was supposed to blog about DARYK HUNTER (Book 1: Daryk World trilogy) and DARK, DEADLY LOVE way before July 4. Unfortunately my website got a virus and I didn’t want anyone to catch it, so I kept mention of going to my website off the net that day. Problem is fixed, though, so all is well. If you haven’t seen my awesome, awesome new website, you must go take a look at www.deniseagnew.com.  I lurve it. The collage screams, “Denise’s books!” The colors are ones that I gravitate toward. The navigation is simple. All things I like when I visit an author site. Plus, if you don’t already get my newsletter, join up and you’ll also be automatically entered in my monthly contest. In July you could win a pretty Victorian type bracelet.

In the meantime, I’m excited to chat about Daryk Hunter and Dark, Deadly Love. I know…a lot of usage of Dark in there. Luck of the draw that the books came out side by side.

Dark, Deadly Love released yesterday, July 13, at Samhain Publishing www.samhainpublishing.com. I’m thrilled that this story is coming back under a new title with this delicious new cover.

I adore the new cover. It says sensuality, it says historical romance, it says London, it says scary. It captures everything I was trying to create. DARK, DEADLY LOVE delves into the minds of the victims—the prostitutes that were killed. This book possesses elements of a dark, intense, gritty historical story. I wrote the story the way I love to read dark historicals, capturing a grisly time in England’s history. But it is also a true historical romance, with an American heroine with psychic abilities and an aristocratic hero.

Releasing today, July 14, at Ellora’s Cave www.jasminejade.com is DARYK HUNTER, the first story in my DARYK WORLD trilogy. This is my first foray into fantasy/sci fi romance. In this trilogy restrictions dissolved completely. Where else could I combine hot alpha male heroes with strong heroines, dragons, two super continents, opposing belief systems, dangerous creatures and high adventure? There are glaciers, deserts and jungles in this world, too. Three heroines in three books meet each other on a ship and became fast friends. A huge wave tears apart their sailing ship. They’re separated from each other but found by three seriously hot men. Daryk Ones. Men trained to protect the innocent and keep the peace because of their superior strength, their intelligence, and their ability to defend the people against dragons. What I’m loving about the fantasy is creating an entire world that is just my own, and hopefully one readers will respond to as well. These tales are erotic romance, so there’s always the added challenge of writing the erotic into the story in a way that is believable to me.

For more information, blurbs, and excerpts from DARK, DEADLY LOVE and DARYK HUNTER, stop by my website at www.deniseagnew.com.  You can also see larger copies of the stunning book covers.

To celebrate the release of this book, I’m giving one copy of a trade paperback from my backlist. Answer the following question today and I’ll pick a winner at random later this evening:  What draws you into a novel so strongly you’re tempted to stay up all night reading it?

…for a blog topic? Desperate enough to turn to my dear friend Google for some entertainment. I’ve been so busy writing like crazy on my WIP (Just finished rough draft! Yay!) I haven’t had time to think about blogging!

Let’s type in the first few words of random questions and see what we get… 

How do you…

make a heart on Facebook?

make out?

know you’re in love?  (Aw!)

get pinkeye?

delete a friend on Facebook?

Why is my…

poop green ? (eew)

computer so slow?

poop white ? (double eew)

question mark a é ? (can I tell you how long that drove me freakin’ nuts???)

eye twitching? (Why yes, it is)

Why do…

men like breasts?  (Apparently the answer is simple: “We like them because they are there, and we don’t have them. Not to say that we want to have breasts of our own, so much as we just have this uncontrollable urge to fondle yours.”  http://www.egodriven.net/men/7.htm

men have nipples?

we dream?

girls wear thongs?

cats purr?

Where is…

Chuck Norris? (Seriously? Who wants to know that?!)

the Love lyrics?

Justin Bieber from?

My Mind lyrics?

Santa Claus right now? (Duh. The North Pole.)

Who does

Ali pick on the Bachelorette?

Archie marry?

Justin Bieber have a crush on? (Gah! Enough Justin Bieber!) ?

Canada trade with?

Macbeth kill?

What is

a group of dolphins called?

the smallest country in the world?

my ip?

3G?

love?  (The age old question  all romance writers want to know!!  Answer according to Google:  a 1993 dance track by the singer Haddaway popular with club DJs!!)  You know you wanna hear it!!

Hi, everyone!  I hope you are enjoying a fabulous summer!!

This is a pretty busy summer for me. My latest paranormal romance, I’LL BE SLAYING YOU, released last week.

And on July 27, my first romantic suspense novel will be published by Grand Central!

I’m also gearing up for the Romance Writers of America National Conference (to be held in Orlando, from July 28-31).

It’s a busy time! But I love being busy.  I particularly love it when books keep me busy.

So in between preparing for my releases and doing my conference packing, I’m trying to sneak in a few reads.

Do you have some fun summer reading suggestions for me?

Happy long weekend everyone! Yesterday here in the land of Canuk we celebrated the birthday of our country. I know that all my American friends will be celebrating their country’s birthday this weekend! I hope so far 2010 is finding you all healthy, happy and if you’re like me, freaking busy!

A lot has been going on in my life. For one, my son has graduated and is now officially out of elementary school. He starts highschool in September and it boggles my mind. When the hell did that happen? He’s got man hair, plays guitar every day, has girls constantly calling on him, his voice is went off the deep end. Sheesh…he transformed overnight it seems.

In my writing life I’m hard at work on Declan’s book, which is my 4th book for Avon. I turned in HIS DARKEST SALVATION (Julian’s book) in May and HIS DARKEST EMBRACE (Jagger’s book) releases this fall. Whew….I swear sometimes I still pinch myself. I’M A WRITER! Weeeeeeeeeee! Anyhoo, this fourth book is a definite transition…a crossover of sorts that will set up the next major story arc. But in the meantime I am just now starting to organize my promo for Embrace. Keep an eye out for an ARC contest and other giveaways! Most like next month….in the meantime, I still don’t have permission to post the entire cover, but no one said I couldn’t show off a teaser! What do you all think?

I love it! it’s beautiful and sexy…..So, Happy long weekend to everyone out there…be safe, be happy and read a book!

Today is the official release day of my first book published as Emma Lang. It’s not my “first” book per se, since I already have over 2 dozen novels/novellas/short stories published, but it’s Emma’s first.

So who’s Emma? Well, Emma is me and I am she.

No I don’t have multiple personality issues, although my DH might argue that point. I am now published as Emma Lang with Kensington. A writer who embarks on a new adventure with a new pen name does it for various reasons. Perhaps she/he wants a new start, or a publisher may request it, or sometimes it’s even the market.

In my case it’s a combination of a few of those reasons. For Kensington, I will now exclusively publish as Beth. However, both pen names will still be actively publishing across the romance world. I promise!

So today is the release date for RUTHLESS HEART, my wild and intense western starring Eliza (a runaway Mormon scientist trying to find her runaway sister) and Grady (a hard, dark hired gun who can’t seem to shake Eliza). It’s fun, sexy, sad, and happy, plus everything in between.

I’ve posted excerpts on my blog over the last week. Please pop on over and take a read to meet Eliza and Grady, and of course, Emma Lang.

Happy Release Day! And to my fellow release buddy, Cynthia Eden! Woot!