The One, The Only Kristan Higgins

Hi everyone!





Everyone's been busy as bees spiffing up The Lair for one of our fav authors, Kristan Higgins! Lucien has been particularly happy, going around with a silly grin on his lips and growling when Demetrius starts polishing his shield. Kristan? Anything you want to share about your last visit?


Ahem, anyhoo she's brought along a transcript from an interview I did with the hero/heroine of her latest Harlequin release MY ONE AND ONLY. Let's see if we can get a peek into the story of these two wacky kids. Take it away, Kristan!


Thanks Joan!


Just when she thought she had life and love all figured out, divorce attorney Harper James can't catch a break. Bad enough that she runs into her ex-hubby, Nick, at her sister's destination wedding, but now, by a cruel twist of fate, she's being forced to make a cross-country road trip with him. And her boyfriend back at home is not likely to be sympathetic. Harper can't help that Nick has come blazing back into her life in all of his frustratingly appealing, gorgeous architect glory. But in Nick's eyes, Harper's always been the one. If they can only get it right this time, forever might be waiting—just around the bend.


1. Do you have a tattoo?


Harper: I fail to see how that's any of your business.


Nick: Not at the moment, Joan. But I'm seriously considering a small rooster over my heart.




2. Do you have a nickname?


Nick: Harper likes to call me snooky bear during our more intimate moments.


Harper: Sure, I do. It's that, or "the accused."




3. Dogs or Cats or Komodo dragons?


Harper: Dogs. Really, just dog. Singular. Coco's rather superior to the rest of the canine world. Aren't you, sweetheart?


Nick: Is Coco a dog? I thought she was a squirrel.




4. What is your favorite food?


Nick: Let me answer that one for you, Harpy. Human hearts, right?


Harper: Nick's is clear broth and dry toast.


Nick: Only because you've given me an ulcer, dearest.


Harper: Sac up, Nick. Can I get a cheeseburger? Very rare?




5. Are you ticklish?


Harper: No comment.


Nick: Yes, she is. So am I, Joan. Just in case you'd like to give it a try.




6. What is your favorite love song ever?


Nick: "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel.


Harper (snorting): Wow. So original, Nicky. Mine is "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones.




7. What did you last text message say?


Harper: It was from my boss, Theo. "Y R U not here?"


Nick: Mine was from Harper. It said "Me so horny. Meet me in the bathroom."


Harper: Ignore him. He forgot his Ritalin today.




8. Do you collect anything?


Nick: Ex wives.


Harper: Death threats.




9. Do you believe in ghosts?


Nick: Oh, I've been haunted for the past 12 years.


Harper: Nick! That's so romantic! Have you been drinking?




10. Who is your favorite movie star?


Harper: Who's that brawny Scot? I like him.


Nick: She's only saying that because I'm neither brawny nor a Scot.




11. What is your number one bad habit?


Harper: I'm sitting next to it.


Nick: Ditto.




12. Top 3 wishes?


Harper: I wish Nick would stop touching me. You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?


Nick: Yes. Get over it. I wish Harper would break up with that boy-toy she's dating, admit she still loves me and apologize for sticking a knife in my heart 12 years ago.


Harper: I'll stick with my first answer and wish it two more times. And my boyfriend is not a boy-toy, just for the record. He's a firefighter. Know what I'm saying, Joan? Firefighter. Big. Strong. Brave. He can carry me.


Nick: Shut it, woman.




13. Favorite Girl Scout cookie?


Harper: Ah, those little venture capitalists are always selling something, aren't they? I usually order the Thin Mints and stick them in the freezer.


Nick: Where she stores her heart. I like the Samoas, personally. But I buy a box of everything.


Harper: Of course you do. Because you're such a prince. Have the Vatican made you a saint yet?




14. Best and Worst Personality trait


Harper: Pass.


Nick: I might be a little stuck on the past. Maybe I work a little too much. And I love too deeply.


Harper: You're really going to say that? In public? People read this blog, you know.


Nick: Moving right along, Joan, My best traits would be I'm loyal, funny and great in the sack.


Harper: Well. I'll allow those last three. The 'love too deeply,' though…What are you, Bella? Edward's calling. Your blood smells so sexy.


Nick: She's stunted, Joan. Introspection was never her thing.




15. What are you scared of?


Harper: Well, I wouldn't use the word scared.


Nick: She's terrified of being alone. Which is why she's dating the human equivalent of Lassie.


Harper: And you're afraid of ending up like Larry King, a string of ex-wives behind you, an empty yet fabulous apartment in front of you.


Nick: I'm hardly Larry King, Harpy. You always exaggerate.


Harper: And you always rewrite the past and make yourself look like the wounded hero.


Nick: And you love to bolt at the first sign of crisis.


Harper: And you love to—you know what? Bite me, you overbearing idiot.


Nick: Don't tempt me, you stunted shell of a woman. (Pause.) Want to grab dinner?


Harper. Seafood okay?


Nick: Sounds great. Hey, this was fun, Joan! Thanks for having us.


Well, you two run along while we and the BB's discuss more questions for you. What about guys? What other questions would you like to ask Harper and Nick (wait a little bit for Nick I'm um, practicing my tickling :D) or for that matter, the awesome Kristan Higgins? Ready, aim, fire those questions!
Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/kristan%20higgins
Visit i dont want tobe anything other than me for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Travels with my Books!

by Anna Campbell

As all our regulars know, I've been travelling for the last month. I went to Denver for RomCon (had a wonderful time) and to New York and Washington D.C. and then Orlando for RWA Nationals. Home again to a horrible dose of jetlag! Off next week for the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney. Then, thank goodness, I get to stay home for a couple of weeks until the Brisbane Writers Festival at the start of September.

So I hear you saying - she's going to blog about her travels!

Not exactly!

I did a surprising amount of reading in that month of extreme busy-ness. Partly because I was stuck at airports/train stations and a book is a great companion at such times. Partly because I had a run of really great books to keep me entertained!


So I thought I'd share the highlights of a month of reading with you.

As you know, there have been a spate of Bandita releases lately. I picked up Kate's new book, THE MILLIONAIRE MEETS HIS MATCH, and Susan's debut MONEY, HONEY at the RWA literacy signing. Both corkers and worthy of the 'written by a Bandita' banner! LOL!

Susan's is a wonderful romp about a former jewel thief and the FBI agent who caught him. Very 1940s screwball comedy with some wonderful dialogue and hot sexual tension. Patrick is gorgeous!

Kate's is a luscious classic category romance where the heroine enters the hero's employment to seek revenge and of course finds herself helplessly caught in a web of unwilling attraction. YUM!


But of course, you all know how great both those books are!

I also had a couple of lovely discoveries in my reading.

The first is the first adult novel from Sarah Maclean. NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE is a delicious souffle of a book. I love stories about good girls who discover their inner vixen and this is a classic. Lady Calpurnia (Callie) is firmly on the shelf at 28 and even worse, everyone around her considers her a cardboard cutout of virtue, about as exciting as a mug of lukewarm milk.

She sets out to live a little, with the help of her dream man, the Marquess of Ralston. The Marquess is immediately intrigued by Callie's mixture of wildness and innocence. He isn't sure whether he mean to protect or seduce Callie - and whatever he does only seems to cause mayhem. Great fun!

This book sat on the New York Times list for five weeks when it came out and it got a lot of buzz on the net. Having read it, I'm not surprised. It's a wonderfully entertaining read, as sparkling as a diamond!


Another author who I have known personally for years but strangely had never read is Elizabeth Boyle. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of her next book MAD ABOUT THE DUKE which is out at the end of September.

This is another sparkling comedy about a widowed countess who mistakes the Duke of Parkerton for an impoverished solicitor and employs him to find her a duke to marry. She has pressing reasons for marrying a duke and James finds himself so enchanted to be seen as an ordinary man, he can't bring himself to tell Elinor the truth.

As you can imagine, with a setup like that, the plot soon spirals into the funniest of farces, brimming with mistaken identities and pranks and mischief and chaos. I found myself laughing out loud at this story. I brought back HOW I MET MY COUNTESS from RomCon - I'll be digging into that very soon.

Now for two books I knew would be good and which didn't disappoint.

Kristan Higgins was a very popular RITA winner this year for TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. THE NEXT BEST THING was one of the giveaways at RomCon and I snatched it up - like many of Kristan's books, it's a warm, family-based comedy with a deeply emotional core. In this case, Lucy Lang is a young widow who is crippled by grief years after her husband's sudden death in a car accident. Her husband's brother, Ethan, has been a constant source of comfort and strength, but their relationship profoundly alters when she decides it's time she starts dating again.

As in all Kristan's books, wildly funny, eccentric characters surroundthe hero and heroine, but it's the central love story that will have you sniffing into your pillow late at night when you finish this.


Last but not least, I read and thoroughly enjoyed Miranda Neville's second historical romance for Avon, THE WILD MARQUIS. Miranda has guested a few times on the Bandits and she's always a fascinating and entertaining visitor. As many of you would remember, she used to work for Sotheby's in their manuscripts and books section. THE WILD MARQUIS uses the Regency book trade as a fascinating background for the love story of family black sheep Chase and impecunious bookseller's widow Juliana Merton.

These characters were so alive, they leapt off the page, and this book kept me awake into the night at conference to finish it. As many of you know, conference leaves a person very short of sleep so that's an indication of how I devoured this story. I really look forward to the next book in the Burgundy Club series THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT, out at the end of September.

So what have you guys been reading in my absence? Any recommendations? I mean, it's not like I have a big TBR pile - it's not big, it's GARGANTUAN!!! Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/kristan%20higgins
Visit i dont want tobe anything other than me for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Honesty...Such A Lonely Word!

posted by Joanie T

Helloooo, Banditas! How are you? It’s so wonderful to be back here in the Lair, shooting the, er, breeze with my old chums! But, since the theme of this blog is honesty, I must admit something…I’m really only here because I’m dying to come to the thap gump party at RWA National. You hear the rumors, right? The cabana boys, the frozen drinks, Nora Roberts on karaoke singing Endless Love…who wouldn’t want to come? And last year, according to rumor, Joan Kayse won the Girls Gone Wild flashing contest. I wasn’t supposed to tell, but in the interest of full disclosure, I felt I had to. Sorry, Joan.

I jest, of course. Joan asked me to pick a theme for today’s blog that would be relevant in some way to my upcoming release, ALL I EVER WANTED (isn’t that the best cover?). I figured honesty would be a good one.

One of the things I love about this book is, of course, the hero. Ian is a man incapable of lying, even when lying might be a good idea. Ian is honest to a fault…he can’t schmooze, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything, refuses to play along with anything. So different from Callie, who feels the need to make everyone like her. Callie will do just about anything to keep on the sunny side, overlook anything, go to any lengths to paint people in the most flattering light. She just can’t dislike anyone…especially her boss, Mark­—the guy she’s loved since time immemorial. He’s got to be a good guy. He just has to be. ’Cause she wouldn’t love him otherwise, right?

Staying positive is not easy for Callie, especially when we meet her. See, a few months ago, she had a five-week relationship with Mark, and it was perfect. For her. For him, not so much. He broke up with her, saying the timing wasn’t right, and now, the morning of Callie’s 30th birthday, it seems maybe the timing is finally right. And it is. Just not for her. Mark’s in a relationship. Yep. He’s met someone else

Don’t you hate when that happens? Oh, lordy, that’s the worst romantic feeling there is, I think. Things used to be so perfect…and now, let’s be honest, things rather suck. You’re still in love. He’s moved on. You’re still thinking about him every waking moment…he’s feeling no pain.

And so Callie, who’s extremely honest when it comes to her feelings­—extremely honest and, er, open—falls apart. In line at the DMV. In front of everyone. She can’t help feeling things so acutely…it’s just how she is! Blubbering out her woes to her sister as she waits to renew her license, taking comfort from the strangers in line (well, some of the strangers), Callie suffers from what one gentleman calls “emotional diarrhea.”


Oh, the humanity! We’ve all been there. Want to hear a story? Of course you do. That’s why you’re here, right? Back when I was a youth, my boyfriend of about a year took me out to dinner. Nice restaurant. He actually called me and asked, too…the whole “Are you free on Friday night?” It was so freakish and bizarre and romantic, I should’ve sensed a tremor in the Force, if you will. But I was obtuse (am obtuse?), and so I figured a marriage proposal was coming my way.

Oh, squee! I bought a new dress, called my best friend, got a haircut. So, so exciting! Off we went to the restaurant. Boyfriend and I been a little itchy and scratchy lately, sure, but we loved each other! Mostly! So this had to be the night he’d pop the question, yes?

Um…nope. Not so much. He proceeded to tell me he thought our relationship had run its course and it was time for us to break up.

And here’s what I said. “I don’t think so, pal. No. Nope. Not gonna happen.” Because, first of all, I had bought a new dress for this occasion, and it was a killer dress, and I was not going to have it become my breakup dress, I can assure you! Secondly, I loved this guy! Right? I had to, right, because we’d been together for a year! So, in a nutshell, I basically refused to let my boyfriend to dump me. Even if he was a jerk. Oh, no. We were going to stay together, dang it, and we were going to be miserable, thank you very much!

See, like my heroine­—who is more like me than any heroine yet, I think—I really thought that if I did everything right, I’d get the results I wanted. I had yet to learn that we can’t force people to act the way we think they should. Sadly, we don’t get to control other people (such a shame!). My boyfriend and I stayed together for a few more awkward months before I finally let him pull the plug. It took a while to really and truly be honest about that one—things just weren’t going to work.

It’s hard to be honest sometimes, don’t you think? Whether it’s with ourselves or with others…admitting that maybe someone isn’t the best friend or coworker, maybe. Admitting that we have to do better on some front. That maybe it’s not someone else’s fault…it’s ours. Ouch! I hate that, don’t you?

So tell me…when was it tough for you to tell the truth? Were you ever in a situation like Callie, unable to stop being honest…and blurting out way too much information to the masses? I’ll pick a commenter and send her an advance copy of All I Ever Wanted.

And as always, thanks so much to the lovely Joan for inviting me to be here. It’s always such a pleasure!

Kristan
http://www.blogger.com/
http://www.blogger.com/










Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/kristan%20higgins
Visit i dont want tobe anything other than me for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

The Lair is Hot in June!

We Banditas enjoy vacations as much as anyone but we don’t take the summer off....too many stories in our vivid imaginations to take a break. And boy, do we kick the summer off right this month!

On June 2nd, Anna Campbell hosts debut historical romance author Maggie Robinson – or is she perhaps appearing as her alter ego Margaret Rowe? Maggie will be giving away a signed copy of MISTRESS BY MISTAKE.

And that’s just the beginning of a bountiful week.





Virna DePaul is visiting on the 3rd. Virna’s debut, CHOSEN BY BLOOD, is out with Berkley in 4/11 and she’s sharing her insights as she goes through the process of sold to debut. She’ll talk about Challenging Your Editor or Agent – when it’s really okay to speak up.










We end this first week on a high note with a return visit from Carrie Lofty on June the 4th. Our very own Christie Kelley talks with Carrie about her new release SONG OF SEDUCTION.


















On June 7th Loucinda McGary hosts Vanessa Kelly to talk about her sizzling new release SEX AND THE SINGLE EARL.













Swing by the Lair on June 12th and see how a teenager who already has social issues deals with the suddenly acquired ability to interact with ghosts. YA author Maureen Hardegree chats with Nancy about HAIN’T MISBEHAVIN, Maureen's new novel from Bell Bridge Books.













The 16th of the month yours truly hosts a return visit with RITA award winning author Kristan Higgins to talk about honesty and her most recent release “the next best thing”. I’m fairly certain we can get her to spill about her August release “all I ever wanted”. (Yes, I have started a FB campaign for my kitten Cricket to be featured on her next cover. Hey! It worked for Betty White!).





On the 21st, Kris Kennedy visits with us to talk with us about her latest THE IRISH WARRIOR.








Pamela Palmer is visits on the 27th, talking about Writing on the wild side - or Where do you come up with this stuff? And her latest release, RAPTURE UNTAMED which hits the shelves June 29.




We have one contest this month.

Anna Campbell has a mini novella called ‘Upon a Midnight Clear’ in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF REGENCY ROMANCE (released on 24th June in the U.K. and 27th July in the U.S.). To celebrate, she’s giving away two signed copies! All you have to do is email her on anna@annacampbell.info and name two authors other than Anna Campbell who have stories in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF REGENCY ROMANCE. You might find the answer in her June Latest News: http://www.annacampbell.info/latest.html or on the publisher’s website: http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&book=the_mammoth_book_of_regency_romance_9781849010153_paperback The contest closes 31st July, 2010 and for more details please visit her website: http://www.annacampbell.info/contest.html

Whew! What a month! So fill up the lemonade (or margarita) glass, plop under a beach umbrella and prepare to have fun!
Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/kristan%20higgins
Visit i dont want tobe anything other than me for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection