Nathan Kamp on burgers and squirrels

Ever wonder how those hot hunky cover models live? Well, Nathan Kamp has a new website. Check out "Nathan's Live to Eat" series at http://www.nathanlivestoeat.com/
Here's hoping they do a bit that lands Nathan in a kilt. Now that would go viral...

From YOUTUBE:

On a busy afternoon Ford Models' Nathan Kamp grabs a bite to eat at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Welcome to Nathan's New York.

The Marga-RITA award

A couple Saturday's past, I attended (and hosted) my local chapter, Missouri Romance Writers of America, 25th anniversary celebration. We gave away gobs of door prizes, baskets upon baskets of book and baubles. We dined, we laughed, we cried...

As the President, I was presented with a proclamation from the governor of Missouri. But what was the most heart-felt moment of the day was when I was surprised with an unexpected award: The Marga-RITA. My sister author, Karyn Witmer (also the recipient of the Silver Rose) presented me with the award shown in the picture. Imagine the look on my husband's face when he saw this award positioned in the middle of the mantle. And that's where it is going to stay because my Marga-RITA award represents not only my acheivements as an author, but it represents the bond I have with my sisters.


So I humbly thank the women of MORWA for their support, their friendship, and their encouragement.

OMG! I'm finished...

Those are the words every author loves to say, but how long do you bask in the glory of "OMG! I'm finished"?

Well, I've been basking in it for about a half-day and I'm already looking at the calendar wondering when I can finish another one. Really, that's bad. I need to let my creative juices replenish the well that is bone dry. I need to play a little. Visit a few blogs. Socialize on my networking communities. Prepare for conference. Well, really what I need to do is get ready for the launch of my next book, but that's an entirely different blog...

I should probably go back through it. Right? I should consider writing an epilogue. Right? At what point can I let them go and accept that my characters really are living their HEA? This feeling of closure isn't comfortable to me right now. I don't want to let go. I like them. I like where they ended up and I want to stay and play a while. Let's face it, we went through Hell to get to the HEA, why can't we play there awhile?

As you can see from the brevity of this post...I'm all out of words...

So help me out here...At what point do you start brainstorming another book? Or are you one of those authors who has stacks of ideas filed away in your head?

Romance Authors Around the Clock

To help spread the word about my Summer Sizzler contest RomanceNovelTV is helping us celebrate with a new guest author every 45 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm (EST) starting with me. The schedule is below and it includes tons of great new historical authors, including two RITA nominees as well as an RT nominee. Hope you can stop by...

9:00 Kimberly Killion
9:45 Delilah Marvelle
10:30 Diana Cosby
11:15 Sarah Parr
12 Kit Donner
12:45 Kris Kennedy
1:30 Carrie Lofty
2:15 Anthea Laswon
3:00 Alix Rickloff
3:45 Elaine Levine
4:30 Allegra Gray
5:15 Christie Kelley
6:00 Vanessa Kelly
6:45 Pearl Wolf

Save the School of Gallantry Series!!

by Delilah Marvelle!

Mistress of Pleasure Book 1 - N.O.R's Best Historical Romance of the Year award and RT Reviewer's Choice Award Nominee

"What a spectacular debut novel!" ~AEMELIA, NIGHT OWL ROMANCE, 5 out of 5 hearts




On Aug 4th my dear friend Delilah Marvelle's second book will be coming out = LORD OF PLEASURE. This is the second book in the School of Gallantry series. The first book MISTRESS OF PLEASURE got many great reviews and won contests. Including N.O.R's Best Historical Romance of the Year award and was a RT Reviewer's Choice Award Nominee.

MISTRESS OF PLEASURE has sold out its first run. Very good news for us all, but Kensington is citing that they are going to discontinue the series for lack of sales. Your probably going huhhhhh right now. How can something that's sold out be discontinued for lack of sales? Well I'm not sure...but I'm very sure I want this series to fully be published.

So let us readers speak. Let the publishing world know that we want this series to continue. We don't want to be left in the dark. We want more sensual lessons from the School of Gallantry.

To support our cause please PRE-ORDER LORD OF PLEASURE by DELILAH MARVELLE. In the fun of things Delilah is also giving away 3 - $50 Gift Cards via her website. To find out how you can enter visit: Delilah Marvelle

Pre-Order now via these links (and great news, it's only $4.99!):

B&N

Amazon

Katy Budget Books - Indie Store

Powell's

Dear Author Interview

If you want to learn more about me and my recent RITA nomination, hop over to DearAuthor.com. They are running a series of interviews with the nominees in the First Book category. Alyson conducted the interviews and did a great job, but asked some really off the wall questions.

SUMMER SIZZLER Contest

Welcome to June and what I consider the beginning of summer or at least it's the beginning of my next contest, and it is Giiiiii-NORMOUS!

I'm featuring a basket of "New to You Authors" which will include 16 of my ZEBRA sisters' autographed books + a $25 B&N giftcard.

Don't delay, go HERE to sign up for the giveaway.
The winner of the SUMMER SIZZLER will be announced on September 1.

HOLT Medallion

HER ONE DESIRE made it into the top five in the Best First Book category of the HOLT Medallion contest!!!

The HOLT Medallion is presented annually by Virginia Chapter of RWA® as a mark of excellence in published romantic fiction. Winners will be announced June 13th.

A bald hero?

Over the holiday weekend I attended the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Fair. I love these sort of people watching events. I’m always looking for facial expressions and subtleties, but at the Ren Fair I got to observe people in period costume. There was great food, e.i. kettle corn, cinnamon-sugar coated pecans, turkey legs, funnels cakes…oh yeah, but there was also lots of vendors selling their wares. The jewelry caught my fancy (several pieces) but I also picked up a new blade—a clawed scabbard with a griffin etched into the hilt.

Now there is more to the Ren Fair than fare and wares, there are “acts”. There’s a trio of trollops who sing these sweet little ditties with hidden lyrics. There are elves, fairies, and a guy who delivers the entire play of Hamlet in under fifteen minutes. What I enjoy the most about the Ren Fair is an all male singing group called the Musical Blades. Not only do these drunken seamen have the voices of angels, they really put on a show. The main rake of this production goes by the name of Capt Patch. He’s bald. But it’s a good bald, ya know. He’s not like balding. From the best I can tell this Capt Patch purposely shaves his head.

PHOTOS from Musical Blades website

Now way back, men who sailed the seas shaved to prevent all manner of infestation and other such disease, but that’s not the case these days. I think something that helps the bald man with his look is that little tuft of hair he grows beneath his bottom lip. Now "my man", Capt Patch, didn’t have this from what I could tell, but if I were to model a character after him, he would. :) Another trait that I found interesting about Capt Patch was his veins. That’s right…his veins. You know when you are reading a story and the hero gets so angry a veins starts to pulse in his neck? Well I’d never really put a lot of thought into those lines until I saw Capt Patch hit an octave that might have been just out of his range. Those veins in his neck bulged I tell you—big, blue, thick, hulk-like veins.

Now I don’t want to diminish from the other blokes in this musical ensemble. There was another I watched with avid interest. I believe they called him Cookie. He was a real showman and the perfect secondary character—full beard, pronounced facial expression, loaded with humor. I love a man with wit and this guy was oozing with it. For me, Cookie stole the show from Capt Patch on more than one occasion.

Back to the topic at hand…I once wrote a hero with a full beard and my critique partner told me she wouldn’t read a romance with a bearded hero, so I shaved him immediately. My questions for you are…Do the beards bother you? Have you ever read a romance where the hero was bald?

I’m still up in the air on this one…

Regardless how you feel about that subject, you have to check out the Musical Blades' tunage:

Booksellers Best Awards

Her One Desire
is a finalist in both the Historical and
Best First Book categories of the
BOOKSELLERS BEST AWARD
Showcasing the shining excellence of published
authors in novel-length romantic fiction.

Sponsored by the Greater Detroit Chapter of RWA®

**********************************
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS!

The Greater Detroit RWA wishes to congratulate the finalists in the 2009 Booksellers Best Award Contest. The winners will be announced at the RWA National Conference Wednesday, July 15th at 8:00 p.m. in the Delaware Room of the Wardman Mariott.
Patti Shenberger/BBA Chair

In no particular order…
* up for Best First Book

Long Contemporary
On My Terms – Shirley Hailstock
A Perfect Stranger – Terry McLaughlin
The Ranchers Surprise Marriage – Susan Crosby
The Wedding Heiress – Pamela Ford
Last Night’s Kiss – Shirley Hailstock

Paranormal/Time Travel/Futuristic
Gone With The Witch – Annette Blair
The House on Tradd Street – Karen White
A Match Made In Hell – Terri Garey
The Bleeding Dusk – Colleen Gleason
All I Want For Christmas – Kerrelyn Sparks

Short Historical
Maverick Wild – Stacey Kayne
To Taste Temptation – Elizabeth Hoyt
The Dragon Earl – Jade Lee
What A Pirate Desires – Michelle Beattie *
The Naked Gentleman – Sally MacKenzie

Inspirational
Leaving November – Deborah Raney
Courting Miss Adelaide – Janet Dean *
Anathema – Colleen Coble
Bayou Judgement – Robin Caroll
Lonestar Sanctuary – Colleen Coble

Erotic
She’s On Top – Susan Lyons
Unleashed – Lori Borrill
The Art of Desire – Cherie Feather
Lyon, The Lords of Satyr – Elizabeth Amber
Raine, The Lords of Satyr – Elizabeth Amber

Romantic Suspense
Thread of Fear – Laura Griffin
Trust Me – Brenda Novak
Silent Guardian – Mallory Kane
Wyoming Manhunt – Ann Voss Peterson
Phantom in the Night – Diana Love Snell

Long Historical
Mistress of Pleasure – Delilah Marvelle *
The Legacy – TJ Bennett *
His Woman – Diana Cosby
Shadow Rider – Kathryn Dennis
Her One Desire – Kimberly Killion *

Single Title
The Memory of Water – Karen White
Tall Tales and Wedding Veils – Jane Graves
Sweet Talk – Susan Mallery
Hot – Julia Harper
Once Smitten, Twice Shy – Lori Wilde

Short Contemporary
The Cowboy and the Angel – Marin Thomas
The Surgeon Boss’s Bride – Melanie Milburne
Their Secret Child – Mary J Forbes
Do Not Disturb Until Christmas – Charlene Sands
Once Upon A Christmas – Holly Jacobs

Traditional
Christmas Wishes, Mistletoe Kisses – Fiona Harper
Her Millionaire, His Miracle - Myrna Mackenzie
The Italian’s Cinderella Bride – Lucy Gordon
Newlyweds of Convenience – Jessica Hart
The Convenient Groom – Denise Hunter

More News from the Contest Front...

I just found out Her One Desire is a finalist in the Best First Book category of the 2009 Desert Rose Golden Quill Awards for Excellence in Romance Fiction. This contest is sponsored by the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter of RWA® and is judged by romance readers. I'm completely stunned by the overwhelming success of this book. But I'm nonetheless pleased to be able to share Broc and Lizzy's story with so many people.