Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Guest blog, flattery, and a congratulations

I've been a bit quiet on the internets the past few days after pushing my carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis-afflicted hand a bit too hard removing wallpaper over the weekend. My hand IS getting better, and I've learned to rest it right away when these little relapses occur. It's just frustrating that the improvement is so GRADUAL. I'm used to things like the sinus infection I'm also recovering from--I go to the doctor, she says, "Yep, I think that's bacterial instead of viral. No penicillin allergy? Good. Have some amoxycillin," and within two days my symptoms are gone. But the hand doctor says I'm doing well, just use common sense and come in if I have severe pain or diminished sensation or range of motion, so I'll take her word for it.

Anyway, today I'm guest blogging over at fellow Carina author Katie Reus's place. I'm talking about secrets in fiction and giving away copies of both The Sergeant's Lady and A Marriage of Inconvenience (though you won't get the latter until April), so do stop by and comment for a chance to win.

I've been going to writing conferences and hanging around with writers on the internet for so long that I'm mostly blase about interacting with authors. But there are a few out there who can still reduce me to babbling, incoherent fangirl squee. Lois McMaster Bujold, whose books I'm currently wallowing in to the point that if you asked me to promise you something, I might just give my word as Vorfraser. (And if that makes sense to you, please say hello--I need someone to babble fangirlishly with about the dinner party in A Civil Campaign.) Jacqueline Carey. Diana Gabaldon and Bernard Cornwell, both of whom I've actually attempted to converse with at conferences--I think I managed to come across kinda sane. And Julia Spencer-Fleming, whose glorious Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries hooked me completely despite being set in the present (with no fantastical, time traveling, or alternative history alterations thereto) and coming this this close to an adulterous hero and heroine, which is usually Not My Thing. (Except insofar as it's now showing up in my historical fantasy WIP, in yet another instance of my muse taking "I'll NEVER write X" as a dare.)

Anyway...Julia Spencer-Fleming liked my book! And she blogged about it! In public and everything! SQUEEEEE!!!!

OK. In other flattering-to-me news, All About Romance named The Sergeant's Lady as both a 2010 Buried Treasure and a reviewer favorite. In all seriousness, I treasure the time I spent writing that book and those characters, and it's an honor every time readers tell me they connected with them too.

Last but not least, I want to congratulate my critique partner and dear friend Rose Lerner for being voted the best debut author of 2010 in All About Romance's annual reader poll. If you haven't read her In For a Penny yet, you should really go buy it right away. She's a wonderful stylist, her characters come alive, and if you're reading MY blog you probably enjoy off-the-beaten-path Regencies, which hers decidedly are. They take a different route off the beaten path than mine, but still.

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