Well, it’s just after Christmas but before New Years, so this is definitely the time when I feel fat, relaxed, and am trying NOT to join any family drama. Which means today’s blog is going to be really easy. (Apologies, btw, to people of other faiths. I have no idea how you celebrate the week before New Years, or if there is anything special going on beyond–hopefully–having time off)

During this week between Christmas and New Years, what is your favorite thing to do? Shopping is the fav of my kids. (Yes, I have girls. How did you guess?) Reading is my husband’s particular favorite next to watching sports. I love gabbing with my sisters and NOT getting assigned babysitting duties. (My sisters have LITTLE kids aged 9 month up to 6 years.) Much of my family loves games, games, and games. (Catan anyone?)

So…what’s your pick? One lucky commentor will get a copy of In Good Hands, by Kathy Lyons!

Hey, everyone! Happy… Dear God, mid-November? When did that happen?

I know it’s a bit premature, but I’ve been thinking about goals for the new year. Goals have been on my mind all through 2011, since I’ve been doing all those ridiculous monthly Lent experiments, and while I don’t want to do anything as intensive and constant as Discipline Year again any time soon, I am still very much pro-goal. So what to aim for, in 2012? Some aims are obvious; write and sell as many books as I can. Stay healthy. Learn when to step away from the keyboard. And between July (no sugar) and this month, alcohol-free Novembooze, I’m eager to keep eliminating sugar from my diet (if anyone else shares that mission, I can’t recommend this lecture enough as motivation). But here are some more measurable, targeted goals I’ve been kicking around:

1. Read more. I’d like to read one hundred books in 2012. That’s two a week, and I know to some of you voracious types, that’s laughable. You could read a hundred books by April, I bet! But in the past few years, since becoming a writer, my fiction-reading skills have taken a battering. Every book I open up turns into a lesson. Not drudgery, not homework, but I’m so semi-consciously preoccupied with seeing how other authors put their words and stories together, it takes me ages to read, now. I’d love to relearn how to read quickly, nuts to turning the act into a learning experience. So, a hundred books in a year. That’s my first goal.

2. Cook new things. My vegetarian month, Meat-Free May, and our participation in a farm-share program (we get a box of fresh, local, seasonal vegetables every week) have reminded how much fun it is to try new recipes. I’d like to try a new recipe once a week in the new year, to keep my modest culinary repertoire expanding…and to make grocery shopping a bit more adventurous.

3. Run ten miles. I used to hate running. But in the last decade it’s gone from torture to chore to routine to something I even look forward to, some days. But I’ve yet to run farther than five and a half miles without stopping, and most days I go about three. I’d love to be able to say I ran ten miles, even just once, just to know I can do it. I’m going to aim to reach that goal by my birthday (May 2), with a little help from a renewed YMCA membership once the weather here turns inhospitable. Which could be any second now. [checks watch]

4. Land an agent. I really need to get off my butt and do this! It’s a scary goal, because of all the ones I’ve listed, it’s the one whose success is ultimately out of my hands. I can try and try and try, but I could still fall short. But that’s a stupid reason to not try, so come January, I’m an author on a mission!

So those are my goals. I think 2012 is going to be an exciting year! I’ll be attending my first Romantic Times Booklovers’ Convention in April, and those folks actually just nominated Caught on Camera for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, for best series debut. Pretty cool. So cool, in fact, let’s do a contest! Tell me a goal you have in mind for the new year, and I’ll pick a commenter at random to win a paperback copy of Caught on Camera (or if you’ve already read it and you’re patient, I promise I’ll mail you a copy of my next Blaze, once it’s published). I’ll even make the contest international, so go ahead—tell me what you hope to accomplish in 2012! I’ll pick a winner on Sunday, around noon, EST, and announce it here in the comments.

Take care! Can’t wait to hear what your goals are.

Meg

Nancy Drew

I can calculate my life in terms of books.  Give me a year, and I’ll tell you what I was reading.  1978? Nancy Drew.  At least the first sixty.  1986?  Wuthering Heights and every Austen and Bronte book I could find.  Then?  On to the highly risqué Lady Chatterley’s Lover.  1991 was the Romantic poets and all the Arthurian literature, spurred by a second reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  But 1993 was the era of romance ushered in by Johanna Lindsey and Elizabeth Lowell.  I was reading dense critical theory too, but it’s the Lowell and the Lindsey that’s most memorable for me.

Anyhow, I can track my reading through the years because it’s an important part of my life- the pastime that’s so much more than a pastime.  When I think of Nancy Drew, I still picture myself in my bedroom, reading with the book way to close to my nose.  I hear the lawn mower outside and smell the cut grass too, because half that summer passed by while I solved intriguing mysteries with Bess, George and my favorite titian-haired heroine.

In fact, summer reading in general is always really memorable for me.  Perhaps it’s because I associate summer with long lazy days where I have more say in how my time is spent.  And most of the time, when I have to pick, I pick a good book.  Also, I think summer reads are memorable because they’re often consumed in big gulps instead of divvied up into chapter-bites over the course of a few nights.  Devouring stories whole is always more fun for me.  I never leave the characters’ world.  Instead, I am along for the ride on page one and by page 500 and The End, it’s almost disconcerting to return to my real life.

I read Harry Potter like this, saving the last few books of the series until a time I could read uninterrupted for days.  They were my treat for one stolen week of the summer where I read day and night.  While Nancy Drew is forever associated with the lawn mower and fresh cut grass, Harry Potter makes me think of my porch swing , my personal Portkey to Hogwarts. 

As of now, I haven’t made any firm plans for what I want to read this summer.   The season remains open, just waiting for the right books between baseball games and picnics. 

***Do you have a memorable summer read?  The summer you read Black Beauty or first discovered a beloved author?  And how about a favorite reading spot?  Did you have a special spot you retreated with your books as a kid?  A spot you hide away with books today?  Chat with me on the boards about your books of summer and I’ll give one random poster a $10. eGift  Card to the bookseller of their choice.

I remember the exact moment my mind “clicked” and the funny symbols on the page in the book I was holding in my first grade reading circle suddenly formed words. See Jane Run.
So began my love affair with reading. I have priceless memories of walking into my small town library and inhaling the scent of thousands of books all just waiting for me to pick them up and lose myself in another world, another time, another person’s experience. First, I read every Nancy Drew they had. Then I devoured every Barabara Cartland. By the time I was 13 and 14, I’d discovered Georgette Heyer and and became emmersed in the world of the Prince Regent and England’s war with Napoleon.
After that I wanted more suspense and the decade of the incomperable Gothic authors was in full swing. Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stewart, and Barbara Michaels. To this day Barbara Michales’ novels are the only stories that ever literally scared me so much I couldn’t sleep after reading her for fear there might be a ghost in MY bedroom.
Tomorrow I’m taking my mother and my daughter to a film based on one of my all-time favorite classics. The book that really started my life-long love affair with reading Gothic Romance: Jane Eyre. They’ve once again remade Charlotte Bronte’s classic into a movie, and though I’ve seen every incarnation, I’m looking forward to this new one. My 11 year old daughter has just discovered romance novels and when I started telling her the story of poor orphan Jane and Mr. Rochester, (without revealing the secret, of course) she leaned forward in her chair and her eyes lit up and I knew she was hooked. Ahh, I can’t wait for her to read Ms Austen.
How about you? Who are some of your favorite childhood authors?
I’ll give away a copy of Primal Calling to one commenter this month.

Change sometimes happens so smoothly you hardly notice it. I have only realized recently that my entire way of finding books has changed, and for the better, I think. I find many more new books now, more new authors, and I read more. That’s always good, right?

In the past, probably the top three ways I found books were looking for authors I already knew, by recommendations from friends/family, and by serendipitous finds when wandering the bookstore or in the grocery store. I’ll admit that changing over to Kindle and e-reading, almost exclusively, probably triggered the biggest changes in my book-buying as well.

I think I have found almost all of my books, in the last year or so, via Twitter, Facebook, and searching publisher websites. Other times, I just do random searches at Amazon to see what comes up, or I follow my Kindle recommendations, or look at various Book Blogs. Kindle has definitely affected what books I buy with their free offerings – I discovered Karen Moning, Richelle Mead and several other authors through their free book offerings.

But the influence of Twitter and Facebook have been huge for me. Not because people promo there (I almost never buy books because someone is pushing one at me), but because I have the chance to just talk with so many new authors whom I may never have crossed paths with before. I usually end up buying their books, normally several in a series. I can name at least a dozen authors I have added to my reading list just from conversations online. I also talk with a lot of other readers online, which is a great resource. There’s a decent chance that I never would have found these new authors at all via my old methods.

I don’t troll the bookstores or shelves often anymore, and I know that’s not entirely a good thing, especially in light of bookstore closings, but, on President’s Day here in the US, I can’t lie — I find books in completely new ways now, and I am buying more, and reading more… so maybe it balances out?

I don’t know. How about you? Do you still find your books the same way, or have you discovered more/different paths to reading? Do you find these new venues lead you to buying more books?

We read a lot, and we talk a lot about books, but there’s another kind of guilty pleasure reading I enjoy: magazines. I love magazines, and don’t read them as often as I would like. I never read newspapers, to be honest, but I find sitting with a magazine very relaxing (except in the doctor’s office, which is never relaxing). My mother-in-law, however, is a dedicated newspaper reader. I do think the quality of the news in print is probably far better than what you find on TV or online, but I find newspapers take too long to get through, and they demand to be read immediately, or they aren’t relevant anymore. There isn’t always time on a daily basis to read them, which is probably why newspapers are struggling to survive, but hundreds of magazines still emerge every year, and many long-time publications still thrive.

Recently, while wandering around a B&N, I bought three: Clean Eating, Yoga Journal, and Quilting Arts, all new magazines to me. They did all have very attractive covers, and they were magazines that I felt would be fun to read, as well as offering new information on things I am already interested in. They are all quite dense with information, standing up to several days and evenings of reading, and I have enjoyed taking one to bed or leaving them on the dining room table where I page through them over lunch or someone else will sit and read through them as well.

While magazines are expensive at the newsstand, I find I enjoy them more when I just pick up an individual issue that looks good, rather than buying a subscription. I used to have subscriptions, but they have long since expired, and I plan to keep it that way. When magazines come monthly or so, they pile up, or become repetitive or an “obligation” to read. I like just picking up a few and getting to them when I can.

Magazines are also useful for reminding you to pursue various goals in life. Leaving a magazine about eating or cooking good food, exercise, sewing, on the table is a great way to remember to include these things in your everyday life. They are also convenient. When you don’t have a ton of time to read, you can still glance through an article or a recipe and get some benefit. They are also good for research. When I am writing a book, I will sometimes look to magazines for inspiration on certain topics.

Magazines are also just attractive. Some of the covers are just beautiful to look at. I enjoy how Yoga Journal has a section which explains how they created their cover. That is a very nice touch (maybe a good idea for books, as well).

Some previous magazines I have enjoyed reading are Harpers, The New Yorker, Martha Stewart, Newsweek, Time, Consumer Reports, Better Homes and Gardens (and their Quilting special issues), Writer’s Digest, Cooks Illustrated (great recipes that work), Cooking Light, Travel and Leisure, and several others. My husband enjoys issues of Make as well as several guitar and woodworking magazines. We also get a Humane Society magazine with our membership, and a surprisingly interesting little Subaru publication a few times a year. You can clearly see things about our lifestyle as well through magazine choices.

What magazines do you enjoy? Do you have subscriptions you can’t go without? Do you read newspapers, as well?

(Note: this blog updated and revised based on an earlier version from my blog at http://samanthahunter.wordpress.com/)

The weirdest thing is happening to me. I’ve never experienced it before, and maybe it’s all in my head, but what can I say? It’s bizarre. And I’m going to share it with you.

It begins like this. I’m judging books for the RITA. I try to every year because I enter every year. Plus it forces me to read books I’d never pick up otherwise. I find it good to expand my reading palate, so to speak, and heck, who doesn’t like free books? I also feel like I’m a good judge, have a good handle on writing technique and market understanding, bladda bladda bladda. So, I picked up one of my RITA books to judge this morning.

I didn’t notice the correlation at first. It took me hours to figure this out-and again, maybe it’s all in my head-but I’m having an immune reaction to this book. Seriously. Every time I pick it up, my nose starts getting congested, I start sneezing, and my head begins to pound. Sure, I’ve read books that have made me feel nauseous and yucky. One of the first books on my judging list was (a) rather gross and (b) really boring when it wasn’t gross. But I like this book. Let me repeat this. I like this book. It’s well written, interesting, and funny. And it makes me sneeze like you wouldn’t believe. I put it down, do some other things, and bam, I feel better. Nose clears up, headache recedes, and I think, okay, quit playing around, time to go back to reading. (Scores are due WAY too soon!) And then half a page in, I’m sneezing and feeling sick again.

WTF???? Fortunately, I’m into energy healing. I have some experience in dealing with the bizarre. So I did a short session on my reaction to this book. No real insights appeared, but I can now go 3-4 pages before I clog up. That’s progress, but not an answer. And I’m really not sure how I’m going to read and judge a 293 page book in 3 page increments. I can see my email to the coordinator now: Sorry I cannot judge this book. It makes me sneeze.

So here’s my question to you. Have any of you ever had an experience like this? Or other weird reaction to a book. What did you do? Best as I can figure, something in my psyche dislikes what I’m reading, but…wow, it’s certainly not in my conscious thoughts. Or am I just loopy?

I watched The Proposal this past weekend (really cute movie) and the heroine mentioned reading Wuthering Heights every Christmas. Do you read one special book every holiday? Are you looking forward to receiving a gift of books this year, or do you expect to be too busy to read (gasp!) this season? What books are you giving?

I tell family and friends never to buy me books — a gift card is fine, but I buy far too many of my own for anyone to know what I’ve read or haven’t, so books as gifts never work for me, but I do enjoy giving them. I try to make notes through the year of books I think family members will find interesting or fun, though sometimes I don’t wait. When my MIL visited this past September, I bought her the first four Karen Marie Moning Fever books because I was too anxious for her to read them to wait for Christmas. As for books we read every year, I don’t really have any particular book I return to over and over again. Last year, my husband had their Uncle’s enthusiastic reading, which he enjoyed, too. It’s nice for kids to have books as well as TV shows for their annual traditions, I think, even though I love many of the TV specials we grew up with.

I will be reading a lot through the month, working through my Kindle TBR and enjoying curling up in the evenings with some good reading. I am reading Charlaine Harris’s Grave Secret at the moment (not very Christmassy, I know, but it’s a good book), and have a list of romances (including some Blazes, of course) that I am looking forward to, as well. Are you reading any holiday-oriented romances you would recommend?

So what books are you reading, or do you want to curl up on a holiday evening and read this month? Share your current reading and I’ll pick two winners to receive a signed copy of my previous Christmas Blaze, Talking in Your Sleep, along with a tin of hot chocolate and a pretty mug. If you have this book already, just let me know if you would like it signed for someone else, and maybe it can be one of your gift items this season. Merry, Merry, and best wishes for a happy and peaceful month, whichever holiday you celebrate.

Sam

What is the secret of a book you can’t put down?

As a reader, I have three basically different book experiences: the books I get a few chapters into and abandon; the books I can read, a bit at a time, over a week or two; and the books that demand to be read NOW. I can’t stop. I’ll read it in a day or two (depending on the book, sometimes in a few hours), because I. Must. Find. Out. What. Happens. These books are commonly referred to as “page-turners” because you can’t stop turning the pages. I love that experience when I find it.

Right now I am in the middle of Richelle Mead’s Storm Born, and it’s that kind of book for me. My entire brain is sucked into the pages (I have to finish this blog so I can go read…). Other recent page-turners have been Karen Foley’s Able-Bodied, Natale Stenzel’s Pandora’s Box, Nina Bangs’s current “dinosaur” books (“Gods of the Night”), and Beth Andrew’s Superromances. There are a lot more I haven’t mentioned — many of the early Blazes, in particular, hit me this way.

It seems like when I was younger, I read like this all the time — compulsively, non-stop — but maybe I just had more time then, and I was less particular. I read a lot of good books now (more even, with the Kindle, God help me), and I enjoy them, but I think the experience of being so sucked in you literally cannot put the book down gets farther in between these days, either because those books are more rare or I am just a different kind of reader. Probably both.

The books mentioned above are all very different. Then there was a non-fiction book, Cliff Stoll’s The Cuckoo’s Egg (highly recommended for anyone who enjoys technology, even if it’s a bit dated). I still remember it clearly, because I nearly went into a coma staying up all night to finish that book. I think it’s one of the few times I stayed in pajamas all the next day, reading. But it’s completely in a different universe than the other three, and yet, still a page-turner.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have some readers kindly tell me they stayed up all night to finish one of my books, or that they couldn’t put it down, or read it in, as we say, “one sitting.” (Thank you, every single one of you!). Those comments were made about different books by different readers, which makes me wonder if the “page turner” isn’t more in the eyes of the reader than the writer. That as a writer, there is no magic combination that makes a book a page turner, but what hooks into us and makes us unable to put the book down is more about us than the book itself. People find their addictions in different places. A page-turner, like a drug, grabs us in some way that it might not grab a hundred other people. Maybe we see ourselves in it, maybe it takes us an adventure or addresses a fantasy that we have, or something.

So… what is it? What do you think makes a book a page-turner, and what’s the most recent one you’ve read? What was it about that book that reached out and sucked you in so that you couldn’t put it down? Share, and I’ll choose someone to win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate at the end of the day, enough to perhaps buy your next page-turner.

Sam