This blog is moving. Please update your subscription

After nearly 300 posts and a hell of a good time with WordPress.com, I’ve moved my blog to WordPress.org so I could have more room to grow.

Unfortunately, I can’t automagically bring all you lovely subscribers with me, so I’m here today to seduce you into subscribing to my new home, katlatham.com.

What will you get?

How about:

• weekly giveaways
• writing tips
• interviews with your favorite romance authors
• and posts about how I blew my nose on my husband’s shirt…while he was still wearing it?

Let’s ignore that last one for now.

Here are some of the authors who’ll be stopping by for a chat and to give away their latest book over the next few months:

• Amie Denman
• Sherry Thomas
• Meredith Duran
• Suzanne Johnson
• Julie James
• Roxanne St. Claire
• Catherine Mann

*swoons* Some of my all-time favorite writers!

Still need more?

Okay, how about this? Everyone who comments on any post on my new site by March 13th will be entered in a grand prize drawing for a $25 gift certificate to the online bookstore of your choice.

(I know it’s not a free Kindle, but hey – I’m a charity worker.)

Questions? Find the answers here.

You can subscribe to my feed, or if you prefer to subscribe by email go to http://katlatham.com and put your email address in the box on the right.

Look forward to hanging out with you more! And thank you so much for all the time you’ve spent with me at Reader, I created him.

Kat

Winner of February’s Contemporaries to Covet giveaway!

I was so happy to see everyone’s recommendations for contemporary romance releases in February. Looks like it’ll be a very romantic month!

The winner of a $10 book gift certificate is…Suz Glo!

And since Suz Glo said she loves Jill Shalvis’s novels, I’m also sending a $10 gift certificate to Jill on Suz’s behalf.

Thanks for commenting, everyone!

Apologies

I’ve been really insanely busy these last few weeks, trying to:

• finish rewriting one of my manuscripts
• build myself a website
• get on top of things at my new job
• plan a work-related trip to Ethiopia.

Fortunately, I’m nearly done with the first two items, and I hope to relaunch this blog on my new site very soon. I’ll keep you posted!

But this means that I don’t have a giveaway for you this week (so sorry!), and the blog will be quiet for most of the rest of the week as I migrate it.

You can still enter to win a $10 gift certificate for yourself and a contemporary romance author by telling me about your contemporaries to covet in February. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.

And, since I feel bad for not having a giveaway for you, I thought I’d treat you to some pics of my town in the Netherlands right now, where the high this weekend never got above 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius).

Hope you’re wrapped up warm wherever you are!

Frozen bike

Frozen pond

Frozen canal

Another frozen canal

Frozen me

Review: The Night is Mine by M.L. Buchman

This military suspense romance pulled me in before shoving me away.

Captain Emily Beale is the best helicopter pilot Major Mark Henderson has ever seen. He’s her commanding officer in Afghanistan, where they both fly for SOAR, the elite group of helicopter pilots who get special forces into—and out of—the most dangerous missions.

Mark has to be careful to hide how much he loves flying with Emily, not just because it could cost one or both of them their careers in the Army but because she deserves better than to have to deal with advances from colleagues.

But when Emily is whisked away with no explanation, and Mark discovers she’s now the personal chef to the First Lady, he can’t stop himself from going after her. There’s no way his best pilot could waste her skills that way, and no way he can let her go.

Emily’s new assignment as the First Lady’s chef is a personal request from the President himself—or, as he’s always been to Emily, the boy next door. But Emily quickly realizes there’s more to her assignment than she can let anyone know—someone is repeatedly attacking the First Lady, and Emily may be the only person who can save her life.

I loved the setup of this story. Emily is ultra-tough and has earned the respect of her fellow pilots (mostly through threats and beating them up). I really loved how careful Mark was not to show his attraction to her. He comes across as an honorable man from start to finish, and I couldn’t get enough of reading his character.

My problem came when the story shifted to D.C. Okay, Emily’s an incredible pilot. She’s had to become the best to compete as a woman in a man’s field. Okay, she’s such a skilled cook that she can convincingly pull off a gig as the First Lady’s personal chef. Hey, Emily’s the daughter of the Director of the FBI, so I can sort of believe she’s had all the schooling and privileges necessary to cook to that level. But Emily’s “best in the world” skills kept mounting until I felt like they were more a plot convenience to impress me as a reader or to get herself and Mark out of trouble.

Winners of the Shana Galen giveaway!

Thanks so much to Shana for the fascinating post on pirates, and for giving away two copies of her upcoming novel The Rogue Pirate’s Bride.

The very lucky winners are…Filia Oktarina and Linda McFarland!

Filia and Linda, I’ve emailed you asking for your address. Congratulations! I think you’ll love the book.

Everyone, if you’re a fan of contemporary romance, check out my contemporaries to covet in February post – you could win a gift certificate for yourself and a contemporary romance author!

Contemporaries to covet in February – & giveaway!

Every month, I’m giving you the chance to win a $10 book gift certificate for yourself AND one of your favorite contemporary romance authors.

How? Easy. Just let me know which contemporary romance novel being published this month you’re looking forward to reading. You can even mention one of the ones I recommend below. I’ll choose one winner and send that person a gift certificate. I’ll also send a gift certificate to the author they mention in their comment, on their behalf.

Giveaway details are at the bottom of this post. But first, there are a couple of contemporary romance novels I’ve read advanced copies of and can totally recommend. They’re both really fun, funny and entertaining books, so I hope you get a chance to read them!

Time Out by Jill Shalvis

(Read an excerpt on Jill’s blog)

Sign up for recreational adult programs now!
Class: How to Drive Him Crazy

Instructional program for women unexpectedly facing the totally dishy guy from their past. Everyone Welcome!

NHL coach Mark Diego’s plan to spend his off-season volunteering in his hometown goes awry when he learns that not only is he coaching teenage girls, but that the program is coordinated by energetic (and five feet two inches of trouble) coordinator Rainey Saunders, his childhood friend–and the woman he could never stand to see dating any other guy…

When their tempers flare, Mark and Rainey discover their fireworks don’t just burn angry–they burn very, very, hot! But that’ll just sweeten the victory. Because Mark always plays to win. And with Rainey, he’s planning on playing very dirty too…

224 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Publication date: 21 Feb 2012

My opinion:

4 out of 5 stars!

Not only is this novel super hot, but it has all of Jill Shalvis’s trademark snort-out-loud humor and gut-twisting emotion. I absolutely LOVE Jill Shalvis and am convinced she couldn’t write a bad book.

This is her first Blaze for a while, and it’s wonderful to see how much conflict and energy she can pack into even this shorter format.

Her Lucky Catch by Amie Denman

Recently divorced kindergarten teacher Jazz Shepherd is starting a new life in the quaint lakeside town of Bluegill. After taking a summer job at the local marina to help make ends meet, she’s stunned when the chief of police enlists her help in solving a crime.

Money has been disappearing from the city coffers, and a trail leads from Bluegill’s mayor to Damien Cerberus, a rich boat owner—and possible killer. The police chief is short-staffed and in need of someone to keep tabs on the suspect. Jazz’s job at the marina puts her in the perfect position to help—and puts her in the path of Kurt Reynolds, the hottie who mans the fireboat.

When things with Kurt start heating up, how can Jazz keep her investigation undercover while enjoying time under the covers with her summer flame?

67,000 words
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication date: 27 Feb 2012

My opinion:

4 out of 5 stars!

Told in the first person by a heroine with a wonderfully quirky voice, this novel is a highly entertaining read. Amie Denman manages to keep it hot and exciting without being overly descriptive in sex scenes, making this a wonderful book for those of you who get uncomfortable reading about detailed sexual encounters.

Fans of Kristan Higgins will really enjoy Her Lucky Catch. I read it while traveling from Denmark to the Netherlands, and it had me laughing out loud instead of pissing myself with fear on the flight or throttling a conductor when my train home was delayed by an hour. Seriously, it takes a lot to keep me in a good mood through a journey like that, and Amie Denman accomplished it.

Giveaway!

Answer one of the questions in bold below. By “contemporary romance” I mean romance between human beings set in the present day. It can be romantic suspense, inspirational, erotic, category-length or whatever.

I’ll choose one winner on Tuesday February 7th. That person will get a $10 gift certificate to the online book retailer of their choice, AND I’ll send the same to the author they mention.

If the winner mentions more than one author, I’ll ask her to choose which one gets the gift certificate.

This is open internationally.

Questions:

What contemporary romance novel(s) are you looking forward to in February? Have you read anything by the authors I mentioned? Which of their books do you like best?

Related articles

• Contemporary Romance “Hot” Reads coming up are here too (inluvwithromance.wordpress.com)
• Eleven romance authors I “discovered” in 2011 – & giveaway! (readericreatedhim.wordpress.com)
• Review: Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis (readericreatedhim.wordpress.com)

Review: The Rogue Pirate’s Bride by Shana Galen

A fantastic high-seas adventure bringing together passion, action and laughter in a perfect storm

The evil pirate Captain Cutlass brutally murdered Raeven Russell’s fiance, and she’s vowed revenge. The daughter of a British naval Admiral, Raeven’s handy with a sword and dagger, so when she finds Cutlass she attacks.

And discovers he’s more than she bargained for.

Captain Cutlass is really the Marquis de Valère, who was a young boy when his family was murdered during the French revolution. (This novel is the third in the Sons of the Revolution series. The first is The Making of a Duchess, and the second is The Making of a Gentleman.) He went to sea and became a privateer, working hard to seek vengeance of his own until he meets and accidentally kidnaps Raeven and suddenly has the British navy after him.

I loved the interplay between Raeven’s anger at Bastien for killing her fiance, and her undeniable attraction to him. Kill him or kiss him – she wants to do both, and the combination is explosive.

The best best-man video ever

Image via Wikipedia

Smarty Pants is a big rugby fan, and because he’s part Irish he supports the Ireland national team.

I’m a fan of big burly men, and because the Ireland national team has lots of big burly men I’m a fan of them, too.

So on our wedding day, our best man (Smarty Pants’ brother) managed to get us a card signed by several of Ireland’s players, including the legendary Brian O’Driscoll.

We have many photos of me jumping up and down in my wedding dress.

It looks like a Kiwi best man has beaten my brother-in-law. (Hat tip to Bronwen Evans and Elyssa Papa for tweeting it yesterday.)

He somehow got four All Blacks (the New Zealand national team) to pretend they were the bride’s ex-boyfriends and to wish the couple luck on video.

This is priceless – especially Sonny Bill Williams (on the exercise bike), who’s got “romance hero” written all over him.

Too bad the hero of my rugby romance novel is English, not Kiwi. That’s a freaking adorable accent.

What’s the best best-man gift or trick you’ve ever seen?

Related articles

• The sexiest trait a man can have (readericreatedhim.wordpress.com)
• Brian O’Driscoll reveals his fears of life after rugby | Kevin Mitchell (guardian.co.uk)

Winner of the Lisa Dale giveaway!

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my interview with Lisa Dale, and to Lisa for giving away a copy of Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier.

The very lucky winner is…Maureen!

Maureen, send me your mailing address to romancingkatrina (at) gmail (dot) com.

Everyone, this week you have the chance to win Shana Galen’s upcoming historical romance, The Rogue Pirate’s Bride (and learn some cool facts about pirates, too!).

The real pirates of the Caribbean: Guest post & giveaway by Shana Galen

I’m so happy to have historical romance/adventure author Shana Galen here today talking about some of the fascinating research she’s done on pirates. She’s giving away two copies of her upcoming release, The Rogue Pirate’s Bride. I’ve read and LOVED it, so make sure you leave a comment by Tuesday January 31st!

Take it away, Shana!

Hello! I’m thrilled to be on Reader, I Created Him today. This is the first stop on my tour for The Rogue Pirate’s Bride. What a great way to begin! I want to thank Kat for inviting me. I met her in New York over the summer, and if you don’t know her, be assured she is really as nice and smart and talented as this blog would indicate.

Image via Wikipedia

This is my second paragraph, and I already have a confession. My book isn’t actually about Caribbean pirates. The Rogue Pirate’s Bride is set in 1802, which is a little past the heyday of the Carribean pirate. But there were still Barbary pirates operating in the Mediterranean, and they were based primarily in the ports of Tunis, Tripoli, and Algier (aka the Barbary Coast). But that wouldn’t have worked as a title, and the Barbary Corsairs had a lot in common with their Caribbean counterparts.

My pirate hero, actually he prefers to be called a privateer, is Sebastien Harcourt. He’s captain of a ship named Shadow and frequently takes on the British Navy. His men are loyal and tough. They have to be. Pirates slept in the smelly lower deck, all packed together in hammocks along with the extra supplies. Bastien, of course, has his own cabin, but his ship is small (and subsequently fast), and he’s the only one with the luxury of privacy.

I read quite a few books about pirates when I was researching for this book, and I learned some interesting facts. Bastien’s enemy, Jourdain, has a shaved head. Pirates often shaved their heads to keep their hair free of lice and bugs. Jourdain also wears gold earrings as does Ridley, Bastien’s bosun, shorthand for boatswain. A bosun is sort of like the deck supervisor. But the interesting thing about Ridley and the other pirates who wear gold earrings is that they wore the earrings so that if they were thrown from a ship during a battle or storm, and their bodies washed up on shore, the earrings would be valuable enough to provide them with a burial. Some pirates wore earrings to symbolize survival from a shipwreck. If I were a hiring captain, I might be wary of hiring any pirate with more than one earring. He could be bad luck, and pirates are very superstitious.