Project 17 on June 9

Finger Lickin’ Fifteen (Stephanie Plum) on June 23

Swimsuit on June 29

Instant Gratification June 30

Double Play (Berkley Sensation) on July 7

Black Hills on July 7

Best Friends Forever: A Novel on July 14

Skin Deep (Laura Blackstone, Book 1) on July 28

Hot Pursuit: A Novel (Troubleshooters, Inc.) on July 28

Bad Moon Rising: A Dark-Hunter Novel (Dark-Hunter Novels) on August 4

Cape Storm (Weather Warden, Book on August 4

Dreamfever on August 18

Suzanne Brockmann has been a favorite of mine for years. I found her by buying Prince Joe (Tall, Dark & Dangerous, Book 1) in the Tall, Dark & Dangerous line by Silhouette Intimate Moments. She was my first SEAL book (but hardly my last!). I loved the characters, the story and the HEA. I immediately began scouring the local UBS’s to see if I could find her LoveSwepts. I stalked the local bookstore and market at college to grab up Forever Blue (Tall, Dark & Dangerous, Book 2), which turned out to be my favorite in the series. I had her sign it when she came to Tyson’s on tour. She was so nice! Very down to earth and I have to say, meeting her made my year! I started on the SEAL 16 series and I just couldn’t put them down. Hands down she writes the best characters of any author I read. And she’s not afraid to take chances! She began writing in Jules, a gay FBI agent, and she brought us readers all the way through the relationship even though I’m sure it cost her some fussbudget readers. Can you tell that I am in awe of her?!?!? If you have never read her, you can pick up any book (even thought I like to read the series in order) you don’t actually have to. And if you just want to get a taste, you should pick up Body Language or Heartthrob. You won’t be sorry!

My other favorite is of course, Nora Roberts. Her books have always transported me into the lives of her heroines. She writes with such subtle yet vivid descriptions that it is never hard to imagine the scene. Her heroines are always strong and resourceful and her heroes are rarely jerks (and if they start out as a jerk, they grow and become better men!). Some of my all time faves are Honest Illusions, Carolina Moon, The Reef and Sweet Revenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed some of her trilogies. My favorite by far is the Nora Roberts Three Sisters Island CD Collection: Dance Upon the Air, Heaven and Earth, Face the Fire (Three Sisters Island Trilogy) with Nora Roberts Key Trilogy CD Collection: Key of Light, Key of Knowledge, Key of Valor (Key Trilogy) running a very close second. I own a lot of Nora in both book form and CDs. I love listening to her stories while commuting. Speaking of CDs, if you haven’t heard the Eve Dallas in Death series read by Susan Erickson you are reallllly missing out. I tried out Naked in Death (In Death #1) and have bought every one of them for my listening pleasure. One day I’m going to a book signing and have her autograph one for me!

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum Series, Book 1)

I haven’t really tried her Alex Barnaby series. I listened to it on audio and really couldn’t handle CJ Critt’s voice. I have Metro Girl (Alex Barnaby Series #1) in hardback and fully intend to try again at some point. Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum Novels) comes out in January and Fearless Fourteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel (Stephanie Plum Novels) will be out in June.

I’ve tried CH’s Harper Connelly series and I’m not sure it’s my cup of tea. It’s hard sometimes to shift mental gears with an author you love and they write different characters and stories. She also has done the Lily Bard “Shakespeare” series and the Aurora Teagarden series (which I think are cozies but I could be wrong). I do have the first in the Lily Bard series in my TBR pile Shakespeare’s Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1). Maybe I’ll give Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 1) a go and see how I like it. The Aurora Teagarden series is being reprinted throughout 2008.

Ill Wind (Weather Warden, Book 1)

Also, RC writes a vampire series you can find in the YA section. I love this series too as the vampire world isn’t typical. The series started with Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, Book 1) and it’s up to 3 in the series. Don’t let the YA designation keep you from trying this one out!

Her books also make me laugh. I had a great time reading Get A Clue and Her Sexiest Mistake (Signet Eclipse). The Heroes are always yummy. And who doesn’t want a yummy guy?

I could go on and on about about how much I love her books, but really, do you want me to get sappy? If you haven’t read The Trouble With Paradise or Smart and Sexy or really, anything by her, what are you waiting for? Christmas? Well, it’s here. Go buy a Jill Shalvis book and be ready to have fun!

So without further ado, my 8th day author is Evelyn Vaughn. I became fascinated with EV when I found The Circle series of books put out by Silhouette in the Shadows line. Dreamscapes: Waiting for the Wolf Moon was an excellent start to the stories of 4 friends (with two of them being sisters) who are witches. Burning Times was the second book, with Beneath The Surface (Reader’s Choice) the third and Forest Of The Night (Reader’s Choice) the last book in the series. EV does wonderful things with characters and I still have all four of these in the original printing!

I then stumbled upon her Grail Keepers series by Silhouette Bombshell. A. K. A. Goddess (Silhouette Bombshell) (which I reviewed here) was the first in the series and I loved how strong a character Maggie was. It seemed like I had embarked on a great adventure! It was sort of like reading a series about Lara Croft or someone like that. It was followed by Her Kind Of Trouble: The Grail Keepers (Silhouette Bombshell) (reviewed by me here) and then Something Wicked (Silhouette Bombshell). Then the series seemed to flow into another one called The Madonna Key with Lost Calling (Silhouette Bombshell) and the Seventh Key (Silhouette Bombshell). I want more! Unfortunately, she doesn’t really keep her website updated so I have no idea if there is anything coming out anytime soon.

My 7th day author is Keri Arthur. Another paranormal writer, I know. There’s a trend in what I like to read. I found her on Amazon and grabbed up Beneath a Rising Moon (Ripple Creek, Book 1) which was really good. So then I sought out the rest of her books and the first Riley Jensen book was just out. I really do love kick-ass heroines and Riley is an awesome character. So I have read Full Moon Rising (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 1), Kissing Sin (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 2), Tempting Evil (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 3), Dangerous Games (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 4) and Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 5). Now I’m waiting for April so I can get The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jensen, Guardian, Book 6). If you like urban fantasy you really should give Keri Arthur a try!

Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter, Book 1) was the first Kenyon book I read. And who wouldn’t want so dreamy guy to come alive from the pages of a book?!?! The DH world is so intricate and full of characters that Kenyon had to come up with The Dark-Hunter Companion.

I’m partial to the Dream Hunters. She hasn’t explored them as much as she has the Dark Hunters. And not that I usually buy a buy because of it’s cover, but even if I didn’t like Kenyon, I would probably purchase the books because of the fantastic covers she has! I haven’t been able to really get into her alter-ego — Kinley MacGregor — but I did really enjoy Born in Sin: A MacAllisters Novel. I really have to be in the mood for historicals. Right now I’m waiting rather impatiently for Acheron.  I’m not sure how I will feel when his story is finally told.   It will be bittersweet since her fans have waited years to see what will happen to this enigmatic guy.

My first encounter with “glomming” was with Christopher Pike. I loved his wacky plots. I think he was my first encounter with the occult in stories — much to my parents dismay. I thought Remember Me #1 (reissue) was really touching. It was one of the first books that made me cry. Some of the others that I have kept (even now) are Chain Letter (Avon Camelot Books), Weekend (Point), Slumber Party (Point Paperback) and Sati. Christopher Pike wrote stories that inspired me to start writing and I still look fondly at those books.

Somebody else I discovered shortly after CP was LJ Smith. Another writer with occult subjects. I thought Vampire Diaries #1: The Awakening (Vampire Diaries) was a wonderful series and when she began writing the Night World series starting with Secret Vampire (Night World, Book 1) I was in hog heaven. But the series was left hanging as the 10th and final book in the series (Strange Fate) has never been published.

And the last author I’ll be talking about today brought me into the world of mystery. My Grandfather found a couple of original Trixie Belden books in his house and gave them to me and I loved them! I think that Kathryn Kenny was a fake name (I might be wrong about that) for many writers that contributed to the series. But however it came about it was an excellent series. I liked trying to figure out “who did it.” Every once in a while I start the series over, beginning with Trixie belden and the Secret of the Mansion # 1. I have the original deluxe set of the books and one day I hope to give them to a child that will treasure them like I did.

My first love and first disappointment in an author happened with Patricia Cornwell. I read Postmortem and immediately had to glom all the Kay Scarpetta books I could find. I was completely drawn in by all the medical and forensic details. The plots were tight, the characters believable and down to earth. They were excellent. I would wait for the books to be released and snap them up as quickly as I could. Then came Blow Fly and I briefly wondered if PC had let a ghost writer complete the novel. It was horrendous. Cornwell changed the stories from being 1st person to 3rd. But I missed the intimacy we felt being in Scarpetta’s head. And that’s tough for me to say as usually I prefer 3rd person writing. So with great hesitation I bought Trace and realized that the series was doomed for me. No longer were the plots tight and expertly written. The characters became cartoonish to me. No longer was I able to identify with any of them. Sadly to this day, I’ve borrowed the rest of the series from the library and never make it past chapter 2. I keep trying because one day I hope the old Patrica/Kay will be back in those pages.

My next big disappointment came with Laurell K. Hamilton. Back in 1999 I stumbled upon Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 1) and immediately was intrigued by Anita Blake. She was tough as nails but had a good heart and she was the Executioner for vamps and other things that go bump in the night. Again, I grabbed all the books I could get my hands on and luckily, at that time, I was working at a bookstore part-time and was able to get her new books as soon as they were shipped in. But then I read Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 10) I thought, “what the hell?” The book itself wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t written like the Anita books I was used to. It was missing a great mystery plot and the time frame of the story started to become smaller and smaller. But again, I thought it might be a fluke — until I read Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 11) – and then I knew that the Anita I had loved was gone. I still buy all the books in hardcover. I still enjoy them by themselves, but I don’t enjoy the new style in the same way I loved the first books in the series. But I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to see The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15) had a bit more of the old style, so I’m anxious to see if I can hang in there. The Merry Gentry series has never interested me like Anita. Funny enough, I think it’s all the sex. Who would have thought I would say that?!?!? But when I really like a character in an ongoing storyline sometimes the sex for me is just in the way. And if I skipped the sex in the MG series I would only have about 70 pages to read. So I just don’t go there.

I’m always hopeful that one day I will again love these 2 authors as I did once upon a time.