desert rose RWA :: news & Newsletter

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news

August 2010

Sandra Lee Smith | contracted for another children's book with Tau Publishing. God's Spirit Call Me will be released in September, 2010.

Deena Remiel | received a request for revisions from Decadent Publishing for Relic. They also want to see her full manuscript of Trinity.

Ava McKnight's (aka Calista Fox) | July release, All for Shayla, has received a 4 Tea Cup Review. "All for Shayla is an incredibly hot erotic short story. Shayla knows what she wants and ends up getting more than she asked for from the 'bad boy' she goes home with. Ms. McKnight describes the sex in such detail that you will feel Shayla's desire and taste the sweat of Keith's body. If you are looking for a tale to make your blood boil, this is it!"

Ava McKnight (aka Calista Fox) | is pleased to announce Satisfying Sophie has received a 5 Tea Cup review from Happily Ever After Reviews. "Ava McKnight is a truly gifted author capable of transporting the reader directly into the scene where they can see, feel, and experience the words first hand. I read this book in only a few sittings because Ava's writing is addictive and flows so smoothly you forget you're reading fiction." Ava also received 5-Star, Top Pick, and Recommend Read reviews, including this lates 5/5 rating from Delightful Divas: "Satisfying Sophie was such a well written book, that I couldn't put it down. It kept me turning pages until the wee hours of the morning. The author, Ava McKnight, takes us on an erotic and emotional journey."

Ava McKnight (aka Calista Fox) | announces a new sale to Ellora's Cave. Bad Boy Tamed (working title) is an erotic romance novella and the sequel to the 5-star/Reviewer Top Pick/Recommended Read Satisfying Sophie, which released from Ellora's Cave in June. Bad Boy Tamed will be released in the Fall of 2010.

Ava McKnight (aka Calista Fox) | has sold another novella to Ellora's Cave. This one is titled Beyond First Base, and has a sexy baseball theme! It's scheduled for release in fall 2010.

Tia Dani (aka the writing team Tia Eaton and Dani Petrone) | received a four-star review from Night Owl Reviews for Seduction to the Altar. Reviewer Tigger9 writes, "Seduction to the Altar was a read to remember. The sex scenes are hot and full of feeling. They are not just two strangers scratching an itch but there are deep feelings between the two of them. I loved the characters and the love between them."

Kris Tualla | is pleased to announce the release of her first book in the Nicolas/Sydney trilogy, A Woman of Choice. Diana Gabaldon calls the book, "A charming love story, gracefully told, in a fresh, engaging setting!" Book signing at Borders Waterfront on Wednesday, September 8 from 7-8pm. Release party at Firebirds Arrowhead on Monday, September 13 from 6-8pm. Everyone is invited - please come!

Anita Ensal (pseudonym for Jeanne Cook) | announces that the Boondocks Fantasy anthology containing her fantasy story, "Being Neighborly", will publish from DAW Books (a division of Penguin) January 4, 2011.

Anita Ensal (pseudonym for Jeanne Cook) | announces that the Love and Rockets anthology containing her Science Fiction Romance story, "Wanted", will publish from DAW Books (a division of Penguin) December 7, 2010.

Carrie Weaver's | Once A Ranger, her September 2010 Harlequin Superromance, received a 4 1/2 star review from RT BookReviews. "A novel plotline and first-rate characterization make this a keeper. Readers won't want to put this one down."

July 2010

Vijaya Schartz | sold a sci-fi romance novella to Desert Breeze Publishing for their fall 2011 anthology Borealis III. The novella is still untitled and will be one of three in the book.

Mackenzie McKade's | A Tall dark Cowboy will be translated to Japanese and published in Japan within a year.

Bette McNicholas's | Civil War novel, Memory's Edge, was named the Top Pick for Night Owl Romance in the historical category and received 4 1/2 stars. According to the reviewer, "...the author's knowledge of the area and historical events really came across...and only enhanced the love story..."

Sandra Lee Smith | sold her romance, Price of Victory (working title) to Avalon Books, and she's finally off "Unpubbed Island." Hooray!

Ava McKnight (aka Calista Fox) | is pleased to announce Satisfying Sophie is a REVIEWER TOP PICK at Night Owl Romances and earned a 5/5 rating. Reviewer Maria says, "I was completely captivated by this short novel by Ms. McKnight. She took a story of personal growth and wove it into a beautifully erotic tale. Ms. McKnight touched on a topic that is pertinent to all women - the idea of physical perfection... We get to see every step that Sophie takes on her journey to self-acceptance. I especially liked how Ms. McKnight phrased her feelings about this in the acknowledgement page of the book: Facing and accepting your flaws is a powerful and courageous thing to do, made all the more beautiful when there's someone in your corner cheering you on, as Sam and Jordan do for Sophie. I was also impressed with how the spicier and sexual aspects of this book were written; they certainly raised my internal temperature and made me wish that I could take Sophie's place. This is a book that I can easily see myself reading again and again. I do hope that we get to see these characters again in another book by Ms. McKnight."

Ava McKnight (aka Calista Fox) |received a 4.5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies for Satisfying Sophie. Reviewer Chrissy says, "Satisfying Sophie is a story that will stand out in readers' minds long after you've read the final page. Sophie has never talked about what happened to her with anyone, and it's carried over into all facets of her life. You'll fall in love with all the characters. Jordan and Sam are exactly the kind of friends that Sophie needs. They're non-judgmental and care for her happiness above all else. This is a beautiful story, Ms. Knight. I hope to see many more like this in the near future."

Calista Fox's | Island Fantasy is now a Joyfully Reviewed Recommended Read! "Passion simmers in island heat. Island Fantasy has all the right parts for the perfect whole: hot hero, sexy heroine, surf, sand and sun. Not only do the parts make the perfect whole but it's also done in such a way that held my attention and gave me a warm feeling. It was so easy to fall for JT, and I felt for the bad experience Jewel had. Island Fantasy is a light-hearted story perfect for the warm days of summer. This is a story that will go into my short story library to be read again and again, no matter the season."

Kari Thomas | received 5 DIVAS from Dark Diva Reviews for Her Heart His Soul. The reviewer wrote, "Her Heart His Soul...is simply breath taking, energetic and completely off the charts! I could not hold my excitement down. Kari Thomas has created a story with light and dark elements that will definitely mesmerize you. If you like an awesome, action packed, good versus evil plotline with some hot, smoldering love scenes then Her Heart His Soul by Kari Thomas is a book that you cannot pass on!"

Kari Thomas | is pleased to announce Spell-Kissed, her newest paranormal/contemporary with lots of sensual tension and loads of Humor, released from Black Lyon Publishing July 15th.

Deena Remiel | has submitted a poetry manuscript called, A Sojourn of the Soul, to the Burnside Review Chapbook Competition, and one or two poems will be included in the Hippoetry Anthology, edited by Diana Carson May-Waldman.

June 2010

Jennifer Ashley's | Lady Isabella's Scandalouse Marriage received a 4.5 Star Top Pick review from Romantic Times, and the hero, Mac Mackenzie, received a KISS award (for one of the best heroes of the month).

Calista Fox | sold an erotic paranormal romance called Vaughn's Bidding to Ellora's Cave.

Viki Lyn | (pseudonym for Vicki Gaia) received a 4.5 star review from Literary Nymphs for Ryan's Harbor. "The author takes the reader, along with the men, on their road of discovery. Both men are struggling with feelings of guilt and worthlessness. As a result their relationship is not an easy one, but the writer's ability to make you care for the characters has you hoping that things will work out."

Kathryne Kennedy | received the following rave reviews for The Fire Lord's Lover, Book One of The Elven Lords: 5/5 plus Outstanding Book by Merrimon Book Reviews: "Few authors grab the imagination and the heart so deeply. Outstanding!" 5/5 by Long and Short Reviews: "I can't wait to read more by this author. She's amazing!" 5/5 plus Reviewer Top Pick by Night Owl Romance: "The Fire Lord's Lover is her finest work yet."

Cathy McDavid | is thrilled to announce her August book, Dusty: Wild Cowboy, has recieved an RT 4.5 Top Pick. Her first ever!

Amber Scott | reports her paranormal romantic comedy, Play Fling, earned a five book review at Long And Short Reviews. Reviewer Larkspur said, "...the cupids amuse and horrify us with their antics and her other supporting characters add depth and meaning to her tale....Her love scenes are hot, spicy and visceral but also meaningful and complex."

Vijaya Schartz | is pleased to share she has two new book sales. Desert Breeze Publishing requested two more instalments in her Chronicles of Kassouk sci-fi/fantasy romance series. Book four, Blue Lioness, is scheduled for release in all e-book formats on August 1, 2011, and the fifth novel, Noah's Ark, is scheduled for release in April 2012.

Kathryne Kennedy | announces The Fire Lord's Lover, Book One of The Elven Lords, will be released July 6 from Sourcebooks Casablanca.

Pamela Tracy Osback | just sold her seventh book to Harlequin. All Roads Lead Home will be a late 2011 release from Steeple Hill Love Inspired.

Amber Scott | is delighted to have been offered one of the coveted Emerald City Writers' Conference workshop slots. She'll be presenting "Red Carpet Writing: Screenwriting Secrets for your Novel" this October.

C. C. Harrison | (writing as Christy Hubbard) will be honored at an event during the Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival. Her novel, Sage Cane's House of Grace and Favor, an Old West historical set in a fictional Colorado mining town, is a finalist in the 2010 Colorado Book Award sponsored by Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book. Award ceremonies will be held at the Doerr-Hosier Convention Center in Aspen, Colorado.

C. C. Harrison | (pseudonym for Patricia Hubbard) wishes to announce the sale of her new mystery Picture of Lies to Five Star/Cengage. The story follows a young woman along a trail of secrets and deceit as she travels to the Navajo Indian Reservation seeking the identities of people in a fifty year old photograph. Release date is set for October 2011.

Kathryne Kennedy | announces RT BOOKReviews rated The Fire Lord's Lover 4.5 stars: "This enthralling story combines magic and realism as its excellent plot reaches out with great depth of emotion, heart-stopping action and characters easy to care about wrapped in a passionate love story."

Erin Kellison | (pseudonym for Clarissa Ellison) is pleased to announce Shadow Bound, her debut paranormal, will be released by Dorchester Leisure on June 29.

Alexis Walker| received a full request of her manuscript, Hephaestus Unexpected, from Sourcebooks. She has also had a request for the full of her erotic romance, To Bea Rappaccini, from Kensington and Samhain.

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