February Newsletter is Now Available

If you’re not already receiving Awakening Desires—the Newsletter of Romance Author N.J. Walters—then you’re missing out on all the latest news, author interviews, excerpts and tons more! You’re also missing out on a chance to win every month!

The February 2009 issue is now available!

Check out the this month’s author interview with the talented Lynn LaFleur.

As well, each month, some lucky newsletter subscriber wins a prize. All you have to do to be eligible to win next month is to go to Awakening Desires Newsletter to join and read back issues.

Samhellion Valentine Swag Hunt

Readers, can you help our authors?

Valentine's day is around the corner and the Samhellions have lost their swag! Their significant others will be very unhappy if our authors can't find their gifts and we all know what its like when our S.O. is cranky. :)

The mission is simple, go to the author websites below and search for the missing gifts. Each gift is an icon that will say, Samhellion Swag Hunt. Once you locate the gift, come back here and enter the item (jewelry, candy, etc) not the URL - for each author then click submit.

You're now entered into a drawing to win a free ebook! For each participating author, we will draw one prize so if you have nine authors on your list then you have nine chances to win! All winners will be announced on the Samhellion Blog.

There will be 4 Hunts in total from now until February 12th. I'm up on the 8th! Check out The Samhellion website for details.

Valentine's Day Contest

Valentine’s Day is almost here. To celebrate, I’m giving away a PRINT copy of Candy Caresses, which contains my Ellora’s Cave Valentine’s Quickie, Anastasia’s Style.

To enter, just go to my website and click on the “contests” page for details. Winning name will be drawn on February 14th.

Candyman by Nicole Austin

BLURB:

Elisa Wilde’s recurrent erotic dreams transcend time and place. Dreams so real they seem to be actual memories of a bygone era. Driven to unravel the mystery and reclaim her life, she’s drawn into a sexy adventure—the search for another woman’s lover.

In a tragic twist of fate, Michael Claret lost his true love. He knows her soul will return and has waited decades for their passionate reunion, but getting her back is only a small part of the battle. Edie has changed, reincarnated as a different woman—Elisa. Not only will Michael have to once again win her heart, he must also gain her acceptance of his true nature. And to keep her requires she make a huge leap of faith by completing the mating bond—a sharing of blood binding them together for eternity.

Fate is a cruel mistress who will not be cheated or denied. To make the most of their second chance, Michael and Lis must alter the path chosen for them and rewrite their love story or be lost to each other forever.

This vampire novella is a story of a love that defies even death. You'll feel Michael's pain and his burning hope for reconciliation with his one true love, come to understand Lis's confusion and ultimate understanding as her dream world and reality collide. The author brings this tale full circle, capturing both eras in time, but most of all, capturing the love between two souls.

This is the authors first vampire tale, but I'm sure hope it won't be the last. Another sure winner for Nicole Austin.

Quote of the Week!

"Every writer I know has trouble writing."

~Joseph Heller

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit."

~Richard Bach

Good advice for a cold, January morning. It's the middle of the week. Welcome to Wednesday!

Winter...

Is it spring yet?

Whether you love it or hate it, winter has arrived with a vengeance. I'm blogging about it over at the Ladies of the Club Blog today.

Check it out.

And Welcome To Monday!

First Annual SAMMIE Awards

Samhain Publishing is holding it's First Annual SAMMIE Awards Presentation today at the Samhain Cafe from 2 PM EST until 10 PM EST.

Here's the official release:

"Please join us at the SP Café on Sunday, January 25th from 2-10 p.m. We’ll announce the top ten Best Selling from each year(2006-2008), as well as the Reader’s Choice top ten for both books and cover art.Naturally, there will be excerpts, fun and lots of prizes. We hope to see you there. Don’t forget to mark your calendar!"

So drop by, check out the fun and maybe win a prize.

Sharon Cullars Auction

I'm part of the "A Home For Sharon Cullars ebay Auction" currently taking place on ebay. There are tons of great stuff to bid on from books and gifts to book critiques and more.

Check out the full story to find out more about Sharon Cullars and the auction.

Gratitude

Life is about ups and downs, good times and bad. But no matter how dark some days may be, I always try to be grateful for what I do have.

Taking the time for gratitude each day is a tangible reminder of how lucky I truly am.

I have my health, which is no small thing. There is a roof over my head and food in the cupboard. I don't take those things for granted. I am grateful for a cup of hot tea on a cold winter's day. For the fluffy pillows and flannel sheets on the bed just waiting for me to snuggle into their warmth and comfort later tonight.

I am thankful for my husband, who is my best friend. He also makes me laugh at least once a day, which is truly a gift worthy of praise.

I could sit here and list dozens of things I'm grateful for. The trick is to remind myself of those things every single day.

Have a great Wednesday!

Quote of the Week!

I saw this quote written on a journal at the local bookstore this past weekend and thought it was absolutely perfect so I wanted to share it.

"Life isn't about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself."

~Unknown

Whoever said this is one smart cookie.

Guest Blogging at the Samhain Publishing Blog!

One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four! I don't know about you, but I love reading a great series. I also love writing them. :-)

Check out my guest blog over at The Samhain Blog today!

TRS Reviews

BY THE BOOK and BEYOND SHADOWS have both received 5 heart reviews from The Romance Studio.

By The Book:

"I can't recommend this book enough, especially for the reader looking for real life events, light suspense and action, and most of all, a heartwarming happily ever after."
~Reviewer, Lisa Freeman

Check out The Romance Studio to read the rest of this review.


Beyond Shadows:

"I absolutely adored this novel...The ending is climactic, satisfying, and emotional. An awesome reading experience, which left me wanting to read more books by N.J. Walters with anticipation and excitement."
~Reviewer, Abi

Check out The Romance Studio to read the rest of this review.

Thank you to the reviewers and The Romance Studio.

Theads of Destiny is Now Available!

The wait is finally over! Threads of Destiny is now available from Ellora’s Cave Publishing. This time travel/ménage story continues the Tapestries series, although it can be read as a stand-alone book.

BLURB:

Marc Garen knows and understands the laws of his world. On Javara, women are scarce and brothers must share, although only one can be her husband. But he is lonely to the depths of his soul and longs for a woman of his own. A woman who has haunted his dreams.

Kathryn is a scientist, fighting to save two genetically enhanced super soldiers from termination when a magical tapestry transports them all to Javara. Now three men share Kathryn’s bed, all bent on satisfying her every desire. But Marc is resolved to make her his alone. He has three days to convince her…before the tapestry returns.

Guest Blogging...

Hey, everyone!

I'm guest blogging over at Robie Madison’s Blog today. Check out the Q & A about the Tapestries series and my upcoming Ellora's Cave release, Threads of Destiny!

Guest Blogging at The Romance Studio Blue!

I'm guest blogging over at The Romance Studio Blue Blog today. I'm talking about choices and changes and my Tapestries series.

Check it out!

Featured Member at TRS Blue for January!

I'm a featured member over at The Romance Studio Blue Pages for the Month of January.

*

Check out the interview about my latest Ellora's Cave release--Beyond Shadows .

Old Christmas Day

Today is Old Christmas Day. I'm so used to hearing the term that it never ocurred to me exactly why January 6th was called that. I always assumed it was because it was the 12th day of Christmas--Twelfth Night. But there is more to it than that.

It has to do with time and calendars.

The Roman (Julian) calendar was a tad off in its calculations of time and in 1582 Pope Gregory decided to fix that--hence the Gregorian Calendar was adopted by Catholic Europe. Now, many Protestants didn't want the Pope telling them what to do, so they ignored it. By 1751, when Britain passed the Calendar Act, there was actually 11 days difference between them and most of Europe. They would have been celebrating Christmas on what was January 6th. Thus the name, Old Christmas Day.

Regardless of where it came from, it is the day when all the holiday decorations are supposed to come down so the new year can begin. Many folks still hold to that tradition. I know my mother does.

For me it depends on how I'm feeling. Some years, I'll leave the deocrations up until Old Christmas Day. Other years, like this one, I have them all packed away and Christmas 2008 is in the memory books.

Happy Old Christmas Day!

Monday, Monday...

The lights have gone dark, the tree is gone and all the decorations have been packed away for another year. Christmas is offically over...at least at our house.

I know that Old Christmas Day is tomorrow, but we packed away the remnants of the holiday over the weekend. It was time to get back to normal. Some years I'll keep the tree up until after Old Christmas Day. Other years I've taken it all down on New Year's Day. Most years it falls somewhere in-between.

January is a time of new beginnings. The year is new and fresh with nothing but possibilities ahead.

Now if I can only kick-start myself into 2009 I'd be happy. *g*

CAPA Nomination

A Legal Affair has been nominated for a CAPA (Cupid and Psyche Award) in the Erotic Contemporary Romance Category! How exciting is that! It certainly brightened my holidays.

And, as Jenn pointed out in her comment, The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke is nominated in the same category. Somehow I missed that when I first read the list. I think I was so excited about having a book nominated.

That's two JAMESVILLE books nominated for best Erotic Contemporary Romance. I'm going to have to celebrate again. *g*

Thank you to The Romance Studio and congratulations to all the other authors nominated for awards.

You can check out all the nominees at The Romance Studio. You can check out A Legal Affair, or any of my books, at my website.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that 2008 is over and 2009 is here. I did the ritual putting up of the new calendars today. Those are something I buy at the after-Christmas sales every year.


Now that the page has turned on the last year, it's time to start looking ahead. I don't make resolutions, as such. I just want to try and live as good a life as I can. I figure that covers just about everything.

May 2009 be a very good year for us all!