Bones vs Kate Daniels smacktalk & a Jeaniene Frost ARC charity auction

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks (and hey, I’m guilty of that occasionally *wink*), you know about the recent devastating tornadoes in our southern states.  With so many families affected and in need of aid, Night Huntress series author Jeaniene Frost has put up a triple book pack for auction on her blog, and will match any winning bid up to $500.  The lucky winning bidder will make their donation directly to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and will then receive the following signed books in the mail…

Eagle-eyed Night Huntress fans will notice that One Grave at a Time is an ARC (advanced reader copy) since it will not be released until August 30th of this year.  Technically Magic Slays is also an ARC, but since it releases tomorrow (May 31st), the winning bidder won’t receive it until after it is publicly available.  Ms. Frost did state that there will be other opportunities to win an ARC of OGaaT on her blog, so don’t fret too much if you can’t beat the already-impressive high bid of $425.  If, however, you do have some extra cash to throw around or just REALLY want to get your hands on that new Cat & Bones book, head over to Jeaniene Frost’s blog and make your bid before 11:59 PM EST on Tuesday, May 31st (tomorrow!).  Be sure to read the rules before bidding.  Click here to check it out, and kudos to Jeaniene Frost, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook for their generosity!

Speaking of Cat & Bones, if you’ve been following the Vampire Book Club’s 2011 Alpha Showdown, you know that poor Bones had to defeat the love of his life, Cat, in order to progress to the third tournament bracket… just to lose to Jace Wayland of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (note to self: must check out book 1 of that series and find out who Jace is – he must be pretty awesome to have beat Bones!).  Kate Daniels won her round against Raphael of the Guild series by Nalini Singh (uh, how?! He’s an ARCHANGEL!  Seriously people…) and will now be facing off against Jericho Barrons of the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.  Speculation is dim for Kate to take that victory, and since Jeaniene and Ilona Andrews didn’t think their two characters would end up facing off, they engaged in a little smack talk instead.  From Ms. Frost’s blog, here’s the dialog between Bones and Kate. Enjoy!

Bones: I will beat you because am tough but inwardly vulnerable since I spent the last two hundred years whoring and killing to fill the emptiness inside.

Kate: I am tough but inwardly vulnerable, too! And I will kick your ass because I was born with a secret power that made me a loner, and don’t even get me started on my pent-up rage over my daddy issues.

Bones: Secret powers and daddy issues don’t scare me. You just described my wife.

Kate: Dude, I make spikes out of my blood.  Also I have a magic sword that eats vampire flesh.

Bones: So do I, and it’s in my pants. Haven’t you heard about Chapter 32?

Kate: What’s Chapter 32?

Bones: Ask Curran to show you.

Kate: What does any of this have to do with us fighting to the death?

Bones: It means I can launch a sneak attack from the front OR back!

Kate:  Oh, you want cheesy word play? Fine, I will defeat you with my overused phrases.  Why me, dear God, slabbed with muscle, Your Furriness, aha.

Bones: Bollocks, bloody hell,  luv, pet–

Kate: – You forgot Kitten.

Bones: –thrust deep, thrust deep, thrust deep –

Kate: More Chapter 32 again?

Bones: No, I have to do this in every book. Seems I shag as though I’m drilling for crude oil.

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Fangtastic Friday: Hot summer reads, Romantic Times awards, & Mr. Romance 2011

When the heat of summer hits (especially in the south!) and all you can think of as you pour yourself out of your car is how fast you can get into an air-conditioned building, relax & chill out with a steamy little story or four.  *grin*  Yeah yeah, I know there are TONS of great books that are probably releasing this summer that I’m not mentioning here.  Hey, I can’t read all the time – I gotta eat and sleep and work too!  =P  These are the upcoming sequels to the stories I’ve reviewed (and intend to continue reading) on this site:

• May 3: Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11) by Charlaine Harris – read an excerpt here
• May 31: The Reluctant Vampire (Argeneau Vampires #15) by Lynsay Sands – read an excerpt here
• May 31: Kiss of Snow (Changeling/Psy #10) by Nalini Singh – read an exerpt here
• June 7: Hunt the Moon (Cassie Palmer #5) by Karen Chance – read an excerpt here
• June 7: Hit List (Anita Blake #20) by Laurell K. Hamilton – read an excerpt here
• June 28th: Deeper than Midnight (Midnight Breed #9) by Lara Adrian – read an excerpt here

The famous Romantic Times Booklover’s Convention was held earlier this month, and a few of my favorite authors were honored.  Here are some of the award nominees and winners:

Career Achievement Best Author Awards (winner in bold):

• Urban Fantasy: Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Rachel Caine, P.N. Elrod, Simon R. Green
• Paranormal: Amanda Ashley, Rebecca York, Maggie Shayne, MaryJanice Davidson, L.A. Banks

Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Awards (winner in bold):

• Vampire Romance: Blood Born (Linda Howard, Linda Jones), Lover Mine (J.R. Ward), Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Jeaniene Frost), Cross Your Heart (Michele Bardsley), Devoured by Darkness (Alexandra Ivy)
• Shapeshifter Romance: Serpent Moon (C.T. Adams, Cathy Clamp), Touch of Seduction (Rhyannon Byrd), Whisper Kiss (Deborah Cooke), Play of Passion (Nalini Singh), In the Dark of Dreams (Marjorie M. Liu), Day of the Dragon (Rebecca York)
• Paranormal Romance: Lion’s Heat (Lora Leigh), Bonds of Justice (Nalini Singh), Water Bound (Christine Feehan), Bayou Moon (Ilona Andrews), The Iron Duke (Meljean Brook), Living Nightmare (Shannon K. Butcher)
• Paranormal Fiction: Nice Girls Don’t Live Forever (Molly Harper), Truly, Madly (Heather Webber), Undead and Unfinished (MaryJanice Davidson), My Way to Hell (Dakota Cassidy), Something Wicked (Michelle Rowen), Haunted Honeymoon (Marta Acosta)
• Urban Fantasy Novel: Magic Bleeds (Ilona Andrews), Total Eclipse (Rachel Caine), Chosen (Jeanne C. Stein), Dust (Joan Frances Turner), Mob Rules (Cameron Haley), Double Cross (Carolyn Crane)
• Urban Fantasy Protaganist: Archangel’s Kiss (Nalini Singh), Spider’s Bite (Jennifer Estep), Battle of the Network Zombies (Mark Henry), Death Blows (DD Barant), Stormwalker (Allyson James), Red Hot Fury (Kasey Mackenzie)
• Scotland-Set Historical Romance: Seduced by a Rogue (Amanda Scott), Taming the Highland Bride (Lynsay Sands), The Chief (Monica McCarty), Seduced by a Highlander (Paula Quinn), The Devil Wears Plaid (Teresa Medeiros), One Night in Scotland (Karen Hawkins)

And of course, it wouldn’t be a RT convention without the annual crowning of Mr. Romance.

Here’s this year’s winner, Len Gunn…

And the rest of the hotties…

Hope you enjoyed the eye candy… see you next week!

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