Tag, You're It

I've been tagged by the lovely Liz Fichera.

1) Do you think you're hot?
I live in the desert. Of course I'm hot!! It's perpetually 100 degrees where I live. Oh. Wait. You mean, that kind of hot?! Um, no! But feel free to ask hubby :)

(Told you I was going to steal it, Liz!)

2) Upload a picture or wall paper you are using at the moment.

One of Pickyme Digital Artist's freebies. Psst, authors, she does covers too.

3) When was the last time you ate chicken meat?
Last week. We had Asian Slaw with Teriyaki Chicken. Yum.

4) The Song(s) you listened to recently?
Well, right now Higher Window from Josh Groban's Illuminations is playing.

5) What were you thinking as you were doing this?
Who am I going to tag? And I really need to get stuff done and not be playing online, LOL

6) Do you have a nickname?
Not really. Beloved sis got all the good ones. I sometimes get called Sher but it's not a favorite as I was tormented with Sonny and Cher jokes in elementary school. There's not much you can do with a name that translates into a winy cascade!

And this is where Liz cued the *creepy zombie music*

I'm tagging in no particular order:
George Allwynn
Krista D. Ball
Lindsay Buroker
Reena Jacobs
Ciara Knight
Tia Nevitt
Orlando Ramos
Jordan Summers

(I was wrong, the tags are in alphabetical order, and I didn't even plan that :shudder: Is that OCD?)

Rules: Answer a bunch of semi-embarrassing questions and then randomly tag eight more people who can then answer the same questions and tag eight more people and so on.  Go forth and have fun!

Book Review -- Red

Jordan Summers is the author from which I won the box o' books. I'm so thankful she included one of her own books in that box! Red (Dead World, Book 1) is the first in her Dead World series. Genre is Romance (man-woman) with sub-genres of paranormal and fantasy. "What if Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person?" Intrigued? I sure was.

Red introduces the reader to Gina Santiago who is a member of an elite team in charge of protecting the world. When a crime scene doesn't add up Gina takes it upon herself to investigate. That lands her in Morgan Hunter's town. A small town full of secrets. The more Gina learns, the more she realizes she has a secret too. (Published November 2008 by Tor Classics - Paperback Edition - 356 pages)

The second book Scarlet comes out in June 2009 while the third book Crimson is due out in November.

I was sucked in from word one, page one by this well paced story! A futuristic paranormal romance that was dark, hopeful, and sexy all rolled into one. You have a kick-a$$ heroine and hero that is sexy, tough, noble, and empathetic.

Red is an intense story with compelling characters who endear themselves from page one. Summers has crafted a complex story with a suspenseful plot as important to the story as the steamy romance. The author's website describes her writing as supernatural, urban fantasy, contemporary/suspense, and erotic romance. I'd have to agree this series launch is all that.

-- I need to stress that this book contains some very dark passages. When I read the first chapter of this story I could have easily been starting a murder-thriller. The parts of the story told from the serial killer's point of view, written in first person, put you inside his head, showing in no uncertain terms how demented the villain is.

My Favorite Authors - A Top 10 List

In all honesty, I have too many favorite authors to list but these ladies are all in my current TBR (to be read) pile so here you go in no particular order.

1) Karen Marie Moning Well, not my current TBR but only because I've read everything she's written and am waiting for her latest due out this August.

2) Diana Gabaldon Again, not actually in my current pile but again because I'm waiting on the next book in her Outlander series to come out this September.

3) Charlaine Harris I've read all her Sookie Stackhouse a.k.a. Southern Vampire series and the 9th is due out this year in hardback which likely means (unless I get it from the library) it'll be a year before I'll get to read the next in this series. HBO's Tru Blood is based on these books.

4) Lynn Viehl (including pen names)

5) Angela Knight

6) Jordan Summers I won her book Red from the box o' books and can't wait to read the rest of this series.

7) Holly Lisle

8) Karen Rose

9) Melissa Mayhue

10) Lisa Hendrix

Da Books

Buying books was on my vacation things to do list. I had a list of books I wanted to look for (double sided list LOL).

My first stop was an old favorite of mine called the BOOK BOX located in the Tigard Plaza on the corner of Hall & Pacific (99W) Hwy. {11945 SW Pacific Hwy. #238, Portland, OR 97223 (503) 624-9472}.‎ If you're looking for used books or have books to trade in (for in store credit)...this is the place! I wish I had something like this down here. Because I was on my way to meet Julie for dinner I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked to search her shelves but I did find these:



Part of my girl time with Julie involved a trip to POWELL'S BOOKS -- another store I wish like crazy I had down here. I love this store because they stock the new and used books on the shelves together so you have a choice of which to purchase. You can also trade books in here as well tho' they are usually really picky about the fiction they take in and they give you a gift card for your earned credit. I had so many books in my basket that I had to sit down and choose which I was buying...so sad I didn't have the money to buy everything in my basket. So these are what I came home with:


(That one kinda angled at the top is actually one I bought for Cam...spending some of my limited book funds on him. He better not say I never do anything for him! LOL)


Then, when I got home, these were sitting in my mailbox from this post:



Of these beauties, I'd read one (which I own) and bought one (see the Powell's picture).

You'd think I'd be in books for months but I've already polished off 6 from the above pictures and I'm sure I'll finish a 7th (maybe even an 8th) before the weekend is done.

Box o' Books

Last week I followed a link to this blog and not only did I find a new author to add to my ever expanding list of authors I want to read, but I entered her contest.

Look what I found in my in box this afternoon...

Hey Sherri,
You won the box of books. Congrats! Please send me your address.
Best,
Jordan

So fun! If you're in the market for a new author, I hope you'll hop over to Jordan's blog.