New Release: Courage to Live

...And Other News from The Morgan Diaries


Things are hopping at TMD this week. Jmo is on a roll with his great review for Were Love Blooms from Joyfully Reviewed. (See previous post) Super happy for you, Jmo!


The second book in MorganO's Open Windows series released yesterday and already has two reviews posted. (Refresher: Book 1 Til Death Undo Us, Book 2 Courage to Live).


To read the reviews in their entirety, click on the Blog Titles below.


The first review came from Romance Book Scene, who called it "... an emotionally gripping story ..."


L.T. Blue from Just Erotic Romance Reviews said, “I found Courage to Live to be an awesome book giving huge encouragement to anyone in an abusive relationship.”


Could things get any more awesome? Sure! 


Starting Friday, Feb 10, we at TMD are participating in a Valentine's Blog Hop with a bunch of Just Romance Me authors. This means lots and lots of fun, and books, and great prizes for the blog readers who comment.

Sign up here for a reminder!

The winner of the Nook Touch will get a copy of Til Death Undo Us and we may be persuaded to come up with some other awesome swag. You'll have to stop by and see.


Until Friday, Jmo and I will be deep in our individual writing caves. Looking forward to seeing you this coming weekend!

The Weekly Read 4/14: Ten Second Reviews

Ebooks rule. They fit my multitasking personality so well. Especially since I had to rip out half the blanket I’m working on. Sadly, I discovered www.ebooks.com this week. Yes, you can get many print books here in electronic format, but not at a discount. JMo talked me into reading Howling at the Moon, and since I didn’t want to go to the bookstore, I looked it up and found it electronically. And while I was looking around I found a few more interesting looking titles, so, off to the races, this is what I read this past week:



Howling at the Moon by Karen MacInerney. Jmo is right, this book was a pleasure to devour and I’m howling because book two won’t be out until NOVEMBER. Grrrr. I don’t read were books easily. I like Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Doreen Orsini got me to read her vampires, but I’m very reluctant to pick up a vampire or were-type book. I’m so glad JMo pushed me on this one. From the first sentence I loved her voice. Fresh, fun, lighthearted and insightful, if you’re reluctant about the shifters like me, you may very well like this one. So the paragraph below bears repeating from last week. Find this book. It went into a second printing before its release just a couple months ago. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it was in a third printing by now.




Sophie Garou is your normal everyday auditor, well if you think werewolves are your normal everyday definition of auditors. When her mom is arrested for murder, Sophie goes into Nancy Drew mode to find the real killer. Things would be easier if the full moon wasn’t days away, her boyfriend knew she was a werewolf and if the sexiest werewolf she’s even seen would just co-operate and let her find the killer.

Next, I picked up a Lori Foster Bundle. Four books in one, these are the stories of four brothers who live in Buckhorn County. Three different fathers, these four men, and one nephew, stick together and are considered upstanding citizens in their small town. Doctor, sheriff, vet, and handyman, they live in the family home, each one doing their best to avoid matrimony. And of course, they all get caught. First up is Sawyer, already disillusioned by one failed marriage, he’s the doctor raising his son with the help of his brothers. A car careening through the fence he’s mending and into the lake brings his country doctor instincts to life, and the sick and injured female inside awakens those slumbering feelings of protectiveness. Of course the brothers love her and harass him. I love the closeness of the brothers. Next is Morgan’s story, followed by Gabe, the youngest. Last of all is Jordan the vet. I loved these books and feel four was about all I could handle in a couple days. Casey, Sawyer’s son, is due up for his story and I’ll look for it as soon as I pay off the AMEX bill.



Pride and a Pregnancy Secret by Tessa Radley, published by Silhouette Desire. I didn’t mean to buy this one (be careful about what you store in the cart or the wish list), but found it enjoyable all the same. I’m not big on the line romances in general and feel you read nine mediocre ones to find the one gem, but when you find it, it makes up for the others. This one falls somewhere in between. Love the Australian setting. Some of the twists were a bit squicky, but I won’t reveal them here to spoil the surprise. A little heavy on the Peyton Place everybody sleeping around theme. I did enjoy the chemistry between the two leads. Fine for a Saturday afternoon when you don’t want to think too much.


If you’re into trilogies, I’m two thirds through one and am itching, just dying, to get to the third book. By JoAnn Ross, set in SW Louisiana, Blue Bayou is the first book of the Callahan Brothers series. What is it with those groups of brothers? Sigh. Love the men. I always get into the men more. My husband likes that… most of the time. Anyhow, young love is interrupted and lovers are torn apart by scheming parents. Thirteen years later, and a whole lot of heartache in between, the two return to their small home town and reconnect. Jack, the middle brother, is now a writer and Danielle, the former belle of the county, is a discarded and humiliated congressman’s widow. Love that the bastard died when his lover’s piano dropped on his head. Bet that one felt good to write. Again, I won’t spoil the ending, but the heartache doesn’t end when they meet again. They have thirteen long years of secrets and deceit to work through. Not the least of which, Jack is living in and renovating her former home, the antebellum mansion Beau Soliel while she contends with the burned out apartment over the library she was supposed to move into upon arrival.


Book two of the series, River Road, takes a fun flip when eldest brother Finn is suspended from the FBI. With nowhere else to go, he heads back to Blue Bayou and is talked into playing body guard to the star of a Hollywood soap opera. Younger brother Nate is mayor of the town and he doesn’t have a sheriff, so Finn reluctantly steps into protect the bad girl of the show, Julia. Their backgrounds couldn’t have been more different and yet they share a love of James Bond. In fact, Julia is the next Bond Girl and only has to get through filming the season finale of the show River Road. But someone is threatening her and the serial killer Finn caught gets loose. The two butt heads until they tire of fighting. A crazy every changing script keeps them all on their toes until the very last shooting. Fun, funny, sexy and, well, just plain fun. I’m looking forward to book three, Magnolia Moon which I’ll start reading just as soon as I finish writing a blog entry and critting some work. (You can read the blog entry this Wednesday over at http://midnightseductionsauthors.blogspot.com/)


Jmo, your turn, what did you get into this past week?

Sorry, but I'm forcing my way through Dune. Between that and nasty pollen, I haven't been able to read anything without falling to sleep five seconds after I start. Feel free to shoot me, or do something about the yellow stuff falling like snow outside my door.


As for Dune, ‘cause MorganO is making me say something, it’s a fantastic book, a treasured old reread that brings back memories of a youth spent hiding in my room imagining new worlds just a transmat beam away.

We Read What We Write: Ten Second Reviews

I'm sure the big question bugging y'all is what the heck do we read when we aren't writing and chatting and generally living life.

Okay, so you may be too busy to comtemplate such burning questions, however, we're going to tell you anyway. And maybe, just maybe, I can slow down this obsession of mine just a little. If my husband ever finds out how much I read he may disown me. My brand new bookcases are already groaning with books from my past and the many new additions I've made to the collection in the last year or so.

So here goes. Sitting in the just read pile beside MorganO's chair you will find:

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn. My first JQ book and I loved it. A fun read. I believe in fun, so this is a very high compliment from me.

First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I adore SEP and this book was no exception. I stayed up all night to finish it.

Just Imagine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. A fabulous look at the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. Have I mentioned I love SEP? I'm saving the football books for next August to read again.

The Other Woman by Brenda Novak. Book #7 of her Dundee Idaho series, I liked it as much as the first one I read (A Husband of Her Own). Interestingly enough, the only book I haven't read in the series was the first one (A Baby of Her Own). I still need to find it. Good thing we have a used book store with an extensive HQ section. I just discovered there's a book #8. Oh honeyyyy...

Unexpected by Lori Foster. Another author I personally just discovered. I'm hooked on Lori Foster and enjoyed this little break from her SBC series and the Wild/Winston Brothers. All good choices.

Lip Service by Lori Foster and Julie Elizabeth Leto. A nice collaberation but not Lori's finest work. Still, both stories were enjoyable.

That Camden Summer by LaVyrle Spencer. In this past year I've rediscovered LaVryle. She's one of those authors you just have to read. Very detailed with her historical facts, I prefer her historicals to her contemporaries, but that doesn't mean her contemps are bad.

You've Got Male by Elizabeth Bevarly. I MUST get more of her books. Loved it. Computer geeks and ubersecret spies, what's not to love? I can truly identify with a woman who works in her jammies.

And last but not least, in my hands as I edit and type, Got Your Number by Stephanie Bond. I picked this one up based on how much I loved her book Whole Lotta Trouble. I'm not that far into it, but already I can tell it will be just as good.

Now that's a whole lotta books in the past week or so. Why? Well, when I can't sleep because my cold keeps me from breathing, the books take me away and I forget all about feeling crummy. Not even movies will take me away like just settling down to read. Later, when the cold is gone, I won't read so much, but for now the books work better than Dayquil for keeping me going. That and my box of Puffs.

So what has Jmo been reading?

Well you know me. I’ve been neck deep in comedies. Strangely enough all of them are vampires.

First up:

The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands:

This is the one series I can’t wait to read with each new book. Sands take on vamps is original and her comedic timing is spot on.

Evi Black isn’t a vampire by choice. She doesn’t even know how she became one. She just knows her trip to Mexico got her more than Montezuma’s Revenge to show for her troubles. When her best friend puts an ad in the personals looking for her a mate, the trouble really starts. Victor Argeneau shows up along with other vamps willing to take a chance on finding true love. Now Victor has to somehow discover the secret of Evi’s transformation and win her heart before someone kills her.

By the end of the book I couldn’t wait for the next. This series has been fantastic since book 1 and this installment was no exception.

And lucky I only had to wait a couple weeks for

Vampires are Forever, Book 8.

I must say this one I’ve been waiting for. Thomas Argeneau is the perfect example of what a vampire shouldn’t be. He isn’t dark and brooding. If anything, he’s the life of the party. When his cousins entrust finding their wayward mother to him, no one is more surprised than him. Inez Urso works for the Argeneau family and isn’t happy when her boss calls and tells her, she has to baby-sit Thomas while he searches for their mother. The surprises keep coming when Thomas discovers Inez is the lifemate he’s been looking for. Now, he must try to keep her alive as the man responsible for his aunt’s disappearance decides Inez is too close to finding the missing Marguerite Argeneau.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. the only problem I had with it was the last page left me hanging and drooling for the next book. Marguerite’s story!

And the last on my just read list

The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks

I fell in love with the first book in this series, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. This series just keeps getting better.

In this volume we finally get the story of Jean-Luc Escharpe, vampire, swordsman, coven leader, fashion designer. Heather Westfield has always wanted to become a fashion designer but a bad marriage kept her dreams just that dreams. Meeting Jean Luc gave her a chance at making them come true until a killer from Jean’s past comes back with murder on his mind, hers. Now, Jean must battle his mortal enemy and his own heart, as falling in love is the last thing he wants and the very thing he needs.

This book was fast paced and drew me in from the get-go. Sparks brings her characters to live with such vibrancy you can’t help but fall in love with them.

Well those are my books for this week. I hope you all take the time to check them out. If not I’m coming to your house and sucking your blood. Blah! Blah!