It’s awards season again, no not the Oscars…Barnes and Noble has some news but not really..The Reading Rainbow is back and nobody told me…Some new Movers and Shakers…And a look at my current reading list…

The second annual Abalone Awards

For those writers who are either published or unpublished, the Cultural, Interracial and Multicultural special interest chapter of the RWA (CIMRWA) is now open for submissions for their second annual Abalone Awards.
From the CIMRWA website the eligibility requirements are as follows:

”

• The Abalone Awards contest is open to ALL CIMRWA members, RWA members, and the general public.
• Contest entrants must be 18 years of age, or older by the date of entry.
• Contest entries are limited to those works with ethno-cultural romance elements as defined below. (Please see, “CIMRWA’s Definitions”.
• An individual may enter more than one manuscript in the same category, may enter in more than one category, but the same entry may not be entered in more than one category…

”

If you have a work that you would like to enter check out CIMRWA’s site here.

Barnes and Noble gets an offer it may or may not refuse…

So Barnes and Noble is in trouble…again. That is not big news. For the last two years (more even), this big book retailer has been struggling against giant Amazon, and the demise of other competitors (e.g., Borders, Sony (North America)). And the internet was all excited last week when G Asset Management (GAM), an investment firm, released a press release stating that they have offered a deal to buy 51% controlling interest in Barnes and Noble, Inc. And just to make things more interesting they also offered an alternative deal to the struggling bookseller for 51% of their Nook division.

This basically means that if BnN accepts this deal (which I actually doubt) that the bookstore division will be separated from the Nook division. That may not necessarily be a bad thing.

The full press release can be found here.

Take a look, it’s in a book, the Reading Rainbow!

I found this interview with LaVar Burton, otherwise known to 80s babies like me as that guy from Reading Rainbow. I got all sorts of excited watching the series of interviews with Mr. Burton. Reading Rainbow introduced and enticed an entire generation of children to actually pick up a book and READ. The show’s creators deserve a freaking medal of honor for that accomplishment. Reading Rainbow was my FAVORITE show! And if it wasn’t yours too we can no longer be friends. Sorry to say, but that’s how it is sometimes… Anyhoo I’ve been humming the theme song to this show ever since I watched the videos and I just can’t stop. LaVar Burton’s views on the future of book media is actually quite insightful as well as his efforts to promote childhood literacy, and I had no idea that there was a Reading Rainbow app! I encourage you all to watch both videos of this interview.
Part 1:

Part 2:

Movers and Shakers

     

Beautiful Prey by Phoenix Daniels

The reading world went coo-koo for Cocoa Puffs for this book in February. The author released a teasing intro then pulled a Beyonce by publishing the whole crackalicous story this month. People have been telling me that they’ve read it all in one sitting, devouring every word. It sounds like it is one interesting read and I can’t wait to dig in. I remember seeing the cover for the first time and thinking. “Well hey now…” Did I one-click buy this? Uh…YEAH.
Description:
Beautiful undercover Vice officer, Victoria Price, is on a mission to catch a serial killer that’s targeting prostitutes walking the mean streets of Chicago.

Billionaire Jack Storm sees the beautiful prostitute and considers breaking his own rule… No hookers. He is immediately captivated by the alluring woman strutting up and down Madison Avenue.

Follow Jack and Victoria through their very erotic courtship until a sadistic serial killer sets his eyes on Victoria and threatens to take the one woman that Jack cant live without.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Teaching the Cowboy by Holly Trent

I’ve mentioned before that I love book blurbs that just let me know what a hot mess I’m getting into. And I mean that in a good way. I love drama in romance because I know that in the end that it will be resolved in some way. I downloaded this book on Friday and I can’t wait to read it. Aside from the promise of drama, this book intrigues me because it takes place in Wyoming of all places and is a modern western, something you don’t see a lot of in MC/IR fiction lately.
Description:
She’s a Carolina beauty queen, not a cowgirl, but one Wyoming rancher thinks she’s perfectly qualified for the job that matters most.

A year in godforsaken Storafalt, Wyoming? No big deal…or so traveling tutor Veronica Silver tells herself. She needs hands-on experience with a special group of students to qualify for a grant, and her assigned passel of ranch kids are special cases, all right. Ronnie loves a challenge, but pitted against a small town’s far-too-active grapevine and a woeful lack of amenities, she worries she won’t be able to hack it.

With the education system in Storafalt sorely lacking, rancher John Lundstrom thought hiring a private tutor would ease some of his considerable stress. What he didn’t expect was a powerful mutual attraction with Ronnie or her steadfast refusal to let him properly court her. She’s on a one-year assignment and wants no entanglements when it’s time to go home to North Carolina.

An unplanned pregnancy and Ronnie’s ensuing deception spins the Lundstrom ranch into a major upheaval. John refuses to let Ronnie run away with his daughter, but he may be forced to compromise when her homesickness threatens to drive a wedge between the two lonely hearts once and for all.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Sea Bride by LaVerne Thompson

This is a re-release for Ms. Thompson and I’m so glad for it. A lot of times potential great reads get overlooked because of old covers or they just get lost in a sea of new releases. I’m so glad this book has garnered new attention and a new set of readers get a chance to explore a different kind of Paranormal Romance.
Description:
For 200 some years Xavior, a child of the waves, has searched the seven depths for his bride only to find her on land. How could a landwalker be his Queen, the one destined to stop the wars among the sea tribes? But one touch and he knew he’d defy Poseidon himself to make her his.

Cori Daniels hated the water; she’d been on board the luxury ocean liner for 2 days and hadn’t left her cabin. But when she finally ventured on deck she met a man who looked like a sea god and tempted her like no other. But he tempted her to follow him into the sea.

How could she tell him she feared the water?
Amazon

What’s Laurel Reading?

Since I plan on continuing with my Let’s Talk Romance segment, I decided to share what I’m currently reading just to give you a taste of my reading habits and things to come. My current reading list comprises an interesting fantasy novel and a very naughty cookbook.

Rumors of Wars by R.L. Craven

The next segment of Let’s Talk Romance will be covering the genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance. After my first segment covering Steampunk, someone recommended this book to me thinking I would enjoy it. They were correct. The world building is on-pointe, the character development pretty close to perfect AND it has a kick-ass heroine. All things that appeal to me for a good fantasy read. The cover is a bit misleading and generic. It is so easy to pass this read by while browsing. But it is worth a second glance. I really like this book so far. I’m almost at the end of this book and I find myself not wanting to finish the final chapters because I don’t want it to be over.
Description:
Bounty hunter Perish Blackburn has an unquenchable need to make money. The world is a dark, dangerous place in 2075, a place where only the strong and the wealthy survive. Perish is strong, but she wants to do more than just survive. And to do that, she needs money. Those without money are little better than slaves, a fate she is determined to avoid. Fortunately for her, in a world where paranormal beings are literally falling at her feet, she has a unique arsenal of skills.

Her talents are quite valuable, especially for someone who isn’t squeamish about putting those abilities to use, or particular about whom she uses them for. Things are going quite well and she’s on her way to accumulating another sizable sum of cash when she comes to the attention of the one organization that can totally derail her plans, end her life, and quite possibly, the world, in the process. They have need of a talent Perish has just discovered she has, and given that they’re not the kind of people you can just say no to, she has to figure out a way to say yes and live to tell about it. She’s pretty sure she can, even with the unwanted help of a werewolf with the disposition of an Old World gentleman, a housemate who can only be described as eccentric and a couple of relatives who have been dead for centuries.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Lust-Have Recipes, A Cookbook: IN-Gredients for Stimulation

The heroine in the current book I’m writing is a pastry chef with a sensual streak buried beneath a pile of work and responsibility. So to stay in the proper mind set while writing, I’ve been devouring cookbooks to make sure I’m staying true to certain cooking techniques. A friend recommended this book and I was not disappointed. The cover is both racy and hilarious and the recipes are deliciously decadent. And did I mention the book also includes erotic poetry to go with each section? This is the one and ONLY cookbook my husband has ever shown any interest in reading.
Description:
Stirring up the appetite for both food and sex seamlessly, “Lust-Have Recipes: IN-Gredients for Stimulation”, couples aphrodisiac recipes with erotic poetry and imagery. The cookbook takes the reader from the evening leading up to a couple’s physical conversation through to the morning after. Six chapters explore the sexual experience from start to finish, beginning with “Deep Throat: Nightcaps” through to “The Morning After: Breakfast in Bed”. Recipe selections include; cocktails, appetizers, finger foods, entrees, desserts and breakfast all great for entertaining or for an intimate night with your special someone. Sex tips and benefits are included with each recipe. Background information for each aphrodisiac ingredient used throughout the book is provided giving the reader a better understanding on how to use the ingredients to help boost sexual desire and libido. Food and sex have a long history; “Lust-Have Recipes” reunites the two and adds sensuality and romance to the mix, arousing all of the senses for a total experience.

Lust-Have Recipes is the perfect tool for single men and women who need to get in touch with their culinary side, the book’s recipes are simple enough to follow, but versatile enough to impress. In addition to delicious recipes, Lust-Have Recipes gives a fresh and sensual view of intimacy with a look into the connection between food and sex. Knowing how eating certain foods affect your bedroom performance is a benefit in itself. Using food to enhance and arouse creates a new level of stimulation and build-up in the bedroom, expectantly improving the experience. Lastly, the book benefits couples who need to reconnect in the act of loving and showing love to their partner. Spending quality time in the kitchen and the bedroom, learning what he or she desires and how to better please them one meal at a time.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

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Laurel Cremant is an opinionated author and reader of romance with a wicked sense of humor. RNIC was smart (or crazy) to bring her on as a blogger. Come back on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month to get her romance industry news…with a colorful twist.