Here in the U.S. it’s Labor Day, so Happy Labor Day!  I hope you’re all having a fabulous and relaxing day from your labors. If you find a quiet moment to read, I have a great, new read for you…

We PFHT ladies are readers as well as writers. As such, I’m here to tell you about a new release by one of our own, Susan Carlisle. The Nurse He Shouldn’t Notice, Carlisle’s second and latest Mills & Boon Medical Romance ‘on the shelves’ so to speak. It’s been available in other countries for awhile, but is newly released in the USA this month. Yay!

The Nurse He Shouldn’t Notice has a unique setting in Ghana, a tiny country in West Africa. Carlisle makes the area come alive and uses it to add to the conflict in this story. 

The backcover blurb:

Dr. Court Armstrong is running from the past, a flight that takes him straight to the doorstep of a Ghanaian hospital and Nurse Maggie Everett. Working with firebrand Maggie is a challenge Court relishes every second of, but he’s in her world now—and he’ll have to keep his distance if he wants his heart to survive intact….

Sparks fly from the get-go with Court and Maggie, who both have good reasons to fight against the attraction. Carlisle doesn’t skimp on the conflict, blending exciting adventure through the romance and realistic medical situations to create a smooth read.

Intrigued? You should be.

The Nurse He Shouldn’t Notice can be purchased at eHarlequin (paperback), eHarlequin (ebook) Amazon and BN.com.  Happy reading!

By Jackie Braun

http://jackiebraun.com/

Harlequin Romance

ISBN-13:978-0-373-17551-2

Hired: one Christmas angel!

With the dreaded holidays nearing, the last thing widowed businessman Dawson Burke needed was a personal shopper who wanted to get personal. What part of “I want to be left alone” didn’t Eve Hawley understand? She just seemed intent on getting him into the Christmas spirit…

Eve could see Dawson had stopped wishing on the future, and he didn’t know how lucky he was to be surrounded by loving family. But once she’d helped him find the joy he’d been missing, Eve couldn’t help wishing Dawson would give her the best Christmas present of all—by proposing to her.

Dawson is a poor tortured soul and Eve is the upbeat woman with her own problems that pulls him back into living again. I liked Dawson, Eve and Dawson’s family. Just a good down home book. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.  Keeper.

~~~

The books we review on this site, unless otherwise noted, are our own personal copies. The Petit Fours and Hot Tamales blog members do not accept payment in exchange for a review or mention.

The Captain’s Mission

by Debby Giusti

http://www.debbygiusti.com/

Publisher: Harlequin, Love Inspired

ISBN-10: 0373444613

ISBN-13: 978-0373444618

Release Date: October 4, 2011

Criminal Investigations Division agent Kelly McQueen is called to investigate the death of a solider during a live ammunition training exercise on the local Army base. The officer over the training exercise, Captain Phil Thibodeaux, is certain there must have been a lapse in the safety check during the exercise. But Agent McQueen has a gut feeling that something went wrong, terribly wrong, and she is pretty sure it wasn’t an accident.

Upon meeting Agent McQueen, Captain Thibodeaux wonders if she is the right person for the job. While her no-nonsense approach and business-only manners may work in some investigations, this particular one involves the loss of one of Captain Thibodeaux’s own men. So it not just business, it’s personal. Captain Thibodeaux has had enough of business-minded women, beginning with his career-driven mother who didn’t care for the little boy she left at home during those long days as the office.

Agent McQueen has spent her career in the military dealing with soldiers and officers full of male attitude. Add to that feelings of abandonment and bitterness towards her nearly non-existent, deadbeat father and you can see why Kelly is all about her work. She knows she can only count on herself.

As the puzzle pieces of the investigation begin to fall in place, the close working relationship between Captain Thibodeaux and Agent McQueen grows more personal and feelings slowly arise to the surface. Both are unsure how to acknowledge the bud of love blooming, but when danger encircles Agent McQueen and evil suspects come to light, they both realize they need to lean on each other and on God.

This is a wonderful romantic suspense! And though there is intrigue and evil throughout the story, it is also filled with sweet moments between the hero and heroine. While Ms. Giusti keeps you guessing the identity of the murderer, she generously sprinkles the novel with touches of faith that adds richness to the story.

~ Buffie

Confession: I have these amazing super duper silver flip flops that I wore to and from the elevator banks that absolutely saved my feet for the Golden Heart/Rita Ceremony on Friday night.

So now that you all know how I saved my feet, I’d like to share my Conference Confessions for 2011:

1) Juniors Restaurant was much cheaper than the Marriott Marquis so I toddled over there a lot to meet my friends cause I can’t afford $15 glasses of wine. The matzo ball soup was pretty delicious, too.

2) I wasn’t sure I had made the right decision to spend any money going to NYC up until the day before I got on the VAMOOSE bus to drive from DC to NYC (but got to love those initials).

3) As soon as I got on the VAMOOSE bus, I knew I’d made the right decision, and I was super excited!

4) My new virtual friends Wendy Marcus, Vicky Dreiling, Laurie B. London (all debut authors on my Digging Out of Distraction Blog) were as nice in person as they are in virtual life. GIAM, all my other followers on Twitter and Facebook were also super nice, too!

5) My roommate Sharon Wray was amazing and it was super to be her date for the Daphne (hello? She won!) and I felt honored to be her date for the Golden Heart/Rita Ceremony.

6) I loved meeting all the Harlequin Presents/Modern Heat/Medical Romance authors. All of these women are classy, talented and very generous! Hugs to them all for their offers to help me achieve my dreams!! They rocked!

7) Mile high pastrami sandwiches and huge pieces of Cheesecake at Carnegies Deli are fabulous excuses for cheating on a diet.

8) Elevators lead to the most interesting meetings with people.

9) Barbara Vey is the most gracious reader and friend to run into at a conference. Always smiling and always kind.

10) Margie Lawson is as amazing and loving in person as she is in virtual reality.

11) Kieran Kramer is beyond fun to room next to in the Marriott!

12) Sometimes alone time is okay.

13) I loved being Paula Graves and Melanie Dickerson’s pick up girl for the awards they didn’t think they’d get but they did!! Paula is a 2011 published Daphne Winner and Melanie’s DEBUT book is BEST BOOK for 2011 in the Reader’s Choice Award!

14) Times Square is a busy, bustling burst of energy that I long to be in again.

15) All the volunteers and people who made #RWA11 happen deserve medals.

16) GRWA, Southern Magic, and Heart of Dixie rock!!! Wow, what fabulous ladies and companions!

17) I absolutely adore my new bejeweled shoes and can’t wait to wear them again!

18) Sitting at tables with strangers leads to making new friends.

19) Inspiration comes in all sizes and spaces. Thanks to the keynote speakers and to the new writers who believe in their dreams.

20) I’m proud to be an aspiring author who belongs to the romance genre because ROMANCE ROCKS!!

So these are my conference confessions. What are your conference confessions?

Please join us in welcoming today’s Guest Chef, USA Today bestelling author,  Tara Taylor Quinn.  When she is not busy working on her next novel for Harlequin or MIRA, Tara loves to travel with her husband, stopping wherever the spirit takes them. They’ve been spotted in casinos and quaint little small town antique shops all across the country.

Anyone remember Taco Flavored Doritos?  They were the ones before Nacho Flavored Doritos.  I was never a potato chip eater.  I tried to like them.  There was this brand of potato chips called Charlie’s Chips.  Charlie’s Chips came in a big tin can – the size of those popcorn cans you can buy at discount department stores during the holiday season.  You couldn’t buy Charlie’s Chips in the store, though.  They were delivered to your door by truck.  They were delivered to our door every week – along with a can half the chip size filled with chocolate chip cookies.  I wasn’t a ‘store bought’ chocolate chip cookie eater either.  I only liked home made chocolate chip cookies, and only if they were made like my mother made them, with Nestle’s semi-sweet bits, and only if they had no nuts in them.  But I liked Charlie’s cookies and I loved Charlie’s Chips.

Years later, I learned to like a couple of versions of Mike-sell’s Potato Chips, too.  But only the ones that sort of tasted like Charlie’s Chips.  Charlie’s Chips are gone now.  They have been for a lot of years.  The company was family owned and was sold to a conglomerate and they went bankrupt and that door closed.  But recently I discovered a new potato chip.  (I’m going somewhere with this, I promise!  And it’s not to lunch!)  It’s made by Mike-sell’s.  For those of you who don’t visit the Midwest, Mike-sell’s is a company much like Fritos and Lays.  Their products are for sale, in large quantity, in grocery stores all over Ohio.  Mike-sell’s has come out with a chip that is kettle baked – and has forty percent less fat than their original potato chips.  When I was a kid eating Charlie’s Chips I wouldn’t have cared a squat about fat content.  Less fat matters to me know that I’m wiser.  Because of the less fat proclamation, and the name Mike-sell’s on the bag, we bought some.  With that first bite I was shot through space and time and landed back at the house I’d grown up in, with a can of Charlie’s Chips on my lap.  I’m sure it’s not the same exact recipe, but the chips taste exactly as I remember Charlie’s Chips to taste.

So…taco flavored Doritos.  I wasn’t a potato chip eater – or a Frito eater.  I didn’t like pretzels, either.  But I had an addiction to taco flavored Doritos.  That door closed, too.  A long time ago.  After pouting for a while, I moved on over to the Nacho Cheese Doritos window.  It wasn’t as good as the door, but I continued to visit from time to time.  And early this morning, while I was at the store grabbing a couple of necessities, I noticed a new Doritos bag.  They’d changed packaging, I thought.  No, what they’d done was bring back taco flavored Doritos.  I bought a bag.  Of course.  Tim and I enjoyed them at lunch.  They were just as I remembered them.

I didn’t set out to talk about food here.  Or to tempt anyone to eat snacks.  But, as so often happens with me, I learned something today and I want to share it with all of you.  Doors close.  We all know that.  We’re all prepared.  When a door closes, we know to look for the window that opens.  That’s good and healthy and positive.  Windows have saved my life on many occasions.  But I’m here to tell you that just because a door closes, that doesn’t mean it won’t re-open again at some point.

My husband, Tim Barney, and I are on tour for our new book, It Happened On Maple Street.  Maple Street resembles my fifty-six romance and romantic suspense novels in that it tells a love story.  It bears the complex emotional intensity that is signature to all of my work.  It is different in that it isn’t fiction.  While there are parts in the middle of the story that are fictionalized for legal and artistic reasons, the parts about Tim and I, about the tragedies in my life, are all true.  We’re bearing ourselves, telling this story, because I am a domestic violence survivor and we were asked to help other women by sharing my truth.  What makes the story remarkable is Tim.  And the love that we share.  The book is about the healing power of love.

It is also the story of a door that closed – I thought forever – and then it opened again.  Wider than ever before.  It opened so wide I had to walk through it, hand in hand with the love of my life.  The joy and peace and happiness that I thought I’d lost forever, have come back to me better than ever before.

Opportunities may come and go.  Editors, bosses, jobs and friends sometimes come and go.  Chances, choices, blessings and gifts come and go.  But just because something good is gone doesn’t mean that it will never come again.  In the same packaging, or differently.    That’s the beauty in life.  The ‘op’ (opportunity) in Hope.

There are no guarantees, but there is always possibility.  No matter what.

This post is brought to you as part of the It Happened On Maple Street International Blog Tour. For a complete tour schedule visit www.tarataylorquinn.com. All blog commenters are added to the weekly basket list. One Unique Gift Basket is given each week to one randomly drawn name on the list.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, or if you suspect someone is, please contact www.thehotline.org, or call, toll free, 24/7, 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). The call can be anonymous and is always confidential. There is not one second of life that is worth wasting.

Next tour stop: Thursday, May 19, Fresh Fiction:  http://freshfiction.com/pages.php?id=blog
To get your copy of It Happened On Maple Street, visit your favorite bookseller, or www.maplestreetbook.com.

Don’t miss The Chapman Files! Still available at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Tara+Taylor+Quinn.

It Happened On Maple Street is available on Kindle and Nook, too!

Thank you for being with us today, Tara!    Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment today for Tara.  She has graciously offered to send an autographed copy to one lucky commenter today.

It was a Wednesday morning and I was sitting at my computer when the phone rang.  I grumbled to myself and got up to answer it, quite sure it was another attempt to sell me something.  Caller ID said Harlequin Enterprises.  Not an attempt to sell me something.   I immediately went into shock.  Six days before, my full manuscript had arrived at their office.  And no one at Harlequin has time to call to personally reject you.  Somehow I managed to answer the phone before voicemail beat me to it.

It was Tina James, Senior Editor for the Love Inspired Historical line and she sounded excited.  She said wonderful things about my African missionary romance and offered me a contract.  I did think clearly enough to write down the details of what she was telling me and told her I would get back with her no later than Friday.

I spent the rest of the day in a complete daze.  I know that I was supposed to shout, cry, and dance, but instead I just felt like I needed to go lie down.

I was just that overwhelmed.

I called my husband.  I called my critique partner.  I called family and friends.  I Facebooked it.  And still it just didn’t seem real.  Six days?  Really?

Oh, and it was coming out in November of 2011.  Yes, this year.  That fast.  Can you see why I felt the need to lie down?

After a good night’s sleep I got up with this little grin on my face.  I’d moved from shock to happy, happy land.  I kept the grin for the next four days while I acquired an agent, formalized contract details, took notes on some minor revisions needed, and moved into high gear about getting a website up and running.

Since then I’ve completed revisions, written a bio, a dedication, a Dear Reader letter, and twelve discussion questions.  I’ve almost finished my Art Fact Sheet for the cover, and am about to tackle writing the content for the new website.  There’s still the new Facebook page, the retailer bio, planning promotions, and finishing the rest of the research for book two.

I feel like I grabbed the shirttail of a whirlwind and got sucked up into the ride.

Fun ride.

I hear the next big thrill comes when I get my author copies.  I can’t wait to see them.

The Doctor’s Mission releases November 2011.  Here’s a short blurb:

     William Mayweather is a dedicated missionary determined to reach the remote Kru and Pahn tribal groups in 1918 Liberia, Africa.  William is following in the footsteps of the beloved uncle who raised him, a man who was martyred at the hands of a hostile Pahn tribe.  William never expected his initial efforts would cost the life of his young wife to malaria.  He returns to the mission field after a mandatory compassionate leave, but this time he’s adamant his mission will not involve putting any of the fairer sex in harm’s way.

     Mary O’Hara is an unconventional woman who defies expectations for women in the 1900’s.  She makes a bold choice by responding to the Red Cross efforts recruiting female physicians for the WWI troops in France.  Only it’s a choice that ends in heartache when her brother dies on her operating table at the battle of Argonne, and she’s disowned by her grieving family.  Wanting to atone for her brother’s death, Mary answers a recruiting call from the Liberian Mission Board in post-Armistice France.  She’s prepared to go head-to-head with the handsome, opinionated missionary to achieve her goal.  But is she prepared to have feelings for the handsome pastor, who wants nothing more than for her to leave the dangerous jungle interior?

Have you ever gotten “The Call” or something like it?  Maybe you won a contest, were elected to something you really wanted, or were chosen for some honor?  What was that special moment for you?

If you’re an aspiring author, I’d like to give you three reasons why should you consider jumping into NaNoWriMo: Production, Consistency, and Accountability.

PRODUCTION: First and foremost is to push yourself to produce. To have what it takes in this industry, you have to be able to produce books, yes, books plural, every year.  Gone is the writing career where one book a year was more of the norm.  For example, want to write for a Harlequin imprint?  An interview I had with Steeple Hill editor Melissa Endlich at RWA Nationals this year emphasized the need for authors who can produce two or three category books a year.  Writing single title?  When I look at top single title romance genre authors like Dianna Love (www.authordiannalove.com)  and Sherrilyn Kenyon (www.sherrilynkenyon.com).I see at least two releases a year and often more.

My point?  Learning to push your word count is an important skill, even if you don’t make the NaNo word count.  Think of it as exercise, you’ll build the muscles you need for later.  A bit of a writing boot camp for enlistment in the ranks of published authors.

CONSISTENCY: A second strong reason is to build consistent writing habits.  Aspiring authors can get away without writing every day, but it can create bad habits that set us up for failure when we do sell.  The only way to learn to make deadlines is to build that consistency into your writing habits.  You can get away with distractions and self-indulgence when there’s no deadline looming.  But for publication, it won’t work.  Here’s your chance to develop a daily writing habit.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Third is the fun form of accountability that’s inherent in NaNoWriMo.  When you create your free account, a fun little counter comes with it.  You and your writing buddies can follow each other’s progress with daily inputs to see how the total grows.  There are also local and regional NaNo events that you can attend where you spend time with a lot of other participants writing and consuming copious amounts of sugar and caffeine.  For myself, since I don’t live that close to any of those events, I’ve enlisted some personal writing buddies and we’ll keep up with each other on daily emails as well as our NaNo writing counters.  There’s nothing like the energy of other people to help spur you on, particularly in what is usually such a solitary endeavor.

Still not sure you can do it?  I know that some of you glazed over at the 50,000 word count for the month.  True, it’s an intimidating amount taken as a whole, but if you break it down into daily and weekly goals, it’s a little more manageable.  It’s approximately 12,500 words per week divided by the number of days you can realistically write.

Need a little extra push?   Leave me your email address and I’ll include you in my personal NaNo accountability group.  Please include your NaNo name in your email and your daily/weekly goal.  My NaNo name is dlk777.

What are you waiting for?  It’s Tuesday and you need to get those fingers flying.

SUMMER BRIDES

Harlequin

USBN: 12 978-0-7783-2843-8

This is a collection of three novellas.

BORROWED BRIDE  by  Susan Wiggs  Original copyright date 1996

Isabel Wharton is engaged to Anthony Cossa until the day that Dan Black Horse rides up to her garden bridal shower on his Harley to whisk her away.  Only if they’re alone does he stand a chance of convincing her that he still loves her and doesn’t want their divorce to become final.

Isabel doesn’t want to go with him, but the only way to avoid a scene is to play along.  Dan is a part of her history, a part she doesn’t want discussed in front of her fiancé’s family.

After a short ferry ride, he takes her up into the mountains to The Tomunwethla Lodge that Dan refurbished after leaving the band that had made him famous.  He figures he needs a few days alone with her if he’s going to convince her to give their marriage a second chance.

They had shared a pregnancy that was cut short…leaving Isabel bitter and hurt as she faced her loss alone and then watched Dan return to work only days after the death of their son.

When she discovers that Dan is participating in the annual race downhill on motorcycles, a race where years before Isabel had watched her own father go over a cliff and die, her fear for him knows no bounds.  When she watches him go over the side and land in the ravine below, she relives the horrors of years before.

This is a story of star-crossed lovers who must overcome misunderstandings if they’re going to mend their relationship, but will Dan’s paralysis from the race end his chances forever?

I thoroughly enjoyed Borrowed Bride that was rich with Native American culture and engaging characters.

4 Petit fours     3 Hot Tamales

A BRIDGE TO DREAMS    BY Sherryl Woods   Original copyright 1990

Karyn Chambers is living in San Francisco on a shoestring budget and barely keeping her ’68 VW, affectionately called Ruby, alive with repeated repairs.  For the first time in her life, Karyn has saved enough to take a vacation to Hawaii, when Ruby chooses to breathe her last breath.

After being shown a bright red convertible on the car lot, the salesman then shows her the rusted out vintage model that she can afford on her budget.  Disappointed, she’s leaving when she runs in to the dealership owner, Brad Willis.  After a quick negotiation where he agrees to sell her the convertible for a fraction of it’s worth, he knows he wants to get to know her better.

After hearing her story about the dream vacation to Hawaii that she has to give up in order to get the car, he offers to give her a vacation right in San Francisco.  Unsure but willing, she accepts his offer and soon he’s taking her on a whirlwind tour of the city, showing her things she had never seen or experienced before.  Now all she has to do is dodge her six over-protective brothers.

It’s a nice twist on the Cinderella story of the poor girl who meets her handsome prince and is carried off to the palace to live happily ever after.

4 Petit Fours and 2 Hot Tamales

SISTER OF THE BRIDE   BY Susan Mallery     Copyright 2010

Katie was upset when her boyfriend left her for her sister, but she’s over him and a four-day wedding event is taking place in the hills of California at the Gold Rush Ski Lodge and Resort.

Without a date, Katie’s mother and her best friend convince their two kids to team up for the weekend.  Katie and Howard Jackson Kent had known each other when they were younger, but hadn’t seen one another for over ten years.

Katie and Jackson are both shocked when they meet again, instantly bonding into a couple as they deal with the personalities and stress of her sister’s wedding.  Due to an attraction that sizzles, it isn’t long before they’re in bed together, but only time will tell if it’s a weekend fling or a match made in heaven.

Sister Of The Bride is humorous and fun with enough spice to keep you turning the pages.  If you’re like me, you’ll fall in love with Katie and Jackson, the teenage nerd turned handsome hunk and want them to live happily ever after..

2 Petit Fours and 5 Hot Tamales.

This weekend I attended the Georgia Romance Writers’ Moonlight and Magnolias Conference where I sat in great workshops by Allison Brennan, Michael Hauge, and Kelly L. Stone.  If that wasn’t enough excitement, on Saturday night, Kathryn Lye of Harlequin awarded me a first place Maggie Medallion in Series Contemporary and I received a 3rd place award in the Inspirational Category judged by David Long of Bethany House.  Needless to say, it’s been a really great several days that have left me a little dazed.

Today is just as big a day for me.  It’s the release day for Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Mothers: 101 Daily Devotions to Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire Mothers, and I am blessed to have two devotional stories included in this wonderful book!  This is the second devotional volume edited by Susan M. Heim and Karen C. Talcott, this one also featuring Lisa Whelchel, former child star on The Facts of Life

Since release day coincides with Petit Fours’ October Treasure Hunt, I thought instead of a short story I’d use a devotional of mine that was Chicken Soup published in their first devotional book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Women: 101 Daily Devotions to Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire Women.

You can buy this new devotional volume here:

Or, you can follow the instructions at the bottom of the blog and leave a comment to be entered to win a signed copy!

LIKE A CHILD

And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

The start of a new school year always brings a return to routine at my house.  It’s the same routine practiced all across the country: Roust the children out of bed, make sure everyone has eaten, check to see that the five-year-old has her shoes on, see that hair and teeth are brushed, distribute lunches or lunch money, grab the book bags, and race for the door.  Little thought is required for routine.  As a mom, I just get in the zone and get it all done.  The mental clock is usually ticking the whole time.

     One recent morning proved an exception.  “The trees are dancing!” exclaimed the five-year-old as we pulled out of the driveway.  Her conversation about dancing trees and their choreography went on for about two minutes before I finally came out of my “accomplish the routine” mindset and noticed the amount of wind that day.  Oh!  The trees were dancing.  I was so busy with my routine that I failed to notice the world around me.  Once I started paying attention to the movement of the leaves and the beauty of the trees “dancing,” it changed my whole mindset.

Experiencing life through the eyes of a five-year-old brought beauty and appreciation back to my morning.  I find it is easy to lose the sense of wonder for God’s creation that I had as a child.  The same is true of my relationship with God.  The longer I’ve been in “the routine,” the more likely I am to lose some of the wonder, the awe, and the freshness.  It took a young child to remind me that I need to stop and enjoy the wonder of my relationship with God and His creation.

PRAYER: Dear Father, renew that sense of wonder and child-like faith that I had when our relationship first began.  Remind me to stop and watch the trees dancing or the beauty of a sunset in your creation.  But, especially help me to keep the sense of wonder in my relationship with you, my Creator.

Well, readers, is there a time that you regained that sense of wonder and child-like faith in your life?  Or perhaps had one of those special moments that your child opened your eyes to things you were too busy to pay attention to anymore?  Leave me a comment with your story and I’ll pick one winner after midnight to receive a copy of  this newest devotional book. 

 Joining us today is Executive Editor for Carina Press, Angela James.  I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Angela when she did an informative presentation for the Southern Magic Chapter of RWA in Birmingham, Alabama.  Angela managed to graciously dispel all of my misconceptions about a digital first press and ultimately left me wondering which of my stories might be a fit for Carina Press.

Angela, what’s the biggest life change for you since joining Carina Press?

Oh, this is a hard question. It would probably have to be increased travel, and especially increased travel out of country, since my team and my desk are at the Harlequin offices in Toronto. The other thing is that I spend a LOT more time on the phone, working for Harlequin. But I consider any changes that have come about as a result of joining Carina to be positive ones. I don’t have a single complaint!

Angela, you blog regularly at two different sites right now: Your personal blog, www.nicemommy-evileditor.com and Carina Press blog, www.carinapress.com/blog  Until recently, it was three with the wonderful craft blog Whipped Out.  Obviously you’ve had to draw the line somewhere on the issue of only having so many hours in a day.  How do you still manage to produce content on two sites while overseeing Carina and having a family?  Any organizational hints you can give us?                                                                                                                      

Well, I don’t always do everything well, if we’re being honest. As you said, I oversee my blog and Carina’s blog, but not only that, I oversee both my own social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, blog, website) but also Carina’s social media (Twitter, blog, Facebook) and there are days when I simply don’t have the creative energy for all of those. In the past months, I’ve kept up with my personal Twitter, but otherwise my focus has been on Carina. It’s only recently that I’ve really started to try and re-energize my personal blog.  (See the bottom of this post for all links to social media)

As for organizational hints, you’re right, there are so many hours in the day, but if I’m being honest, I don’t work just an 8-hour work day. My husband would be the first to point this out. And I don’t turn off my brain very well on weekends, either. But I still have to be organized—and motivated—during the main hours of my work day and stay focused. I work from home, so this is even more challenging, but over the years I’ve learned to make lists, understand my deadlines, triage my priorities and be completely aware of what needs to be done—and then work to get it done. Daily, and weekly, I have tasks that I set for myself that need to be accomplished before I can be “done”. And there is always something waiting behind. The trick is to know that this is what I’m being paid to do, this is my business, and it’s got to be a priority!

I saw an author recently very positively reference having had the “Angela James Treatment” on one of my loops.  Care to explain just what that might be?

Ha! I have no idea, you’ll have to ask the author. Fortunately, my ego isn’t quite large enough for me to coin that sort of phrase for myself I hope you’ll tell me if you find out!

What is the biggest misconception you have to battle about a digital first press?

That digital-first books are all poor quality, that all digital-first presses take anything that’s submitted and that they’re only being published by a digital-first press because a traditional press rejected them. I can’t even tell you the number of people who tell me how surprised they are by the quality of the stories they’ve discovered they can get from some digital-presses.

Let me say that I like the straightforward guidelines on Carina’s submission page.  (http://carinapress.com/blog/submission-guidelines/ )When I read it, I have no confusion about exactly what you want.  That’s refreshing because some sites fail to consolidate the details and leave you feeling like you’re on a website treasure hunt.  Once you get the submission, what’s the process at Carina and what seems to be the average timeline on submitted materials?

I’m going to put what can be a bit of a lengthy process into abbreviated steps.

1. Submission comes in
2. I check that submission is complete and forward to a freelance editor
3. Editor reads it and gives an initial report (on anything from one page to 3 chapters)
4. If editor wants to continue reading past initial report, editor then reads full.
5. Editor recommends either acquisition/rejection/revise & resubmit
6. If rejection is recommended, I send rejection letter to author. If revisions are requested, editor sends letter to author
7. If acquisition is recommended, I present editor’s report to acquisitions team at our weekly meeting.
8. At least one team member will read it and report back their recommendation within one to two weeks. If team member has questions about it, a second team member reads it.
9. Manuscript is either recommended for acquisition, rejection or revise & resubmit.

As you can see, our process has checks & balances, for quality control, so it does take usually take us a minimum of 4-6 weeks in the process, once the submission has been assigned. Since I assign them to editors in order they come into the inbox, for the most part, that can tack on another 4-6 weeks, so response time is around 12-16 weeks.

Is there any one most common mistake you see with submissions?

Submitting a manuscript that’s not ready to be submitted because the author doesn’t take the time to polish it—including time to let it “sit” and come back to it with fresh eyes.

Okay, just for fun:

Who/What’s on your eBook shelf to be read?

I just got done reading a lot of really good books, so I’ve been re-reading some old favorites the past few days. But once I jump back in to reading new books again, I have Cold Magic by Kate Elliot, Lying Eyes by Amy Atwell (a Carina Press book), Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs and Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews.

If you were a character in a book, what genre would Angela James most likely find herself in and why?

 Hopefully I’d be in a fabulous western space opera, with someone like the amazing  Captain Tightpants (err…I mean my husband—just in case he’s reading this and thinks I mean Nathan Fillion..I would NEVER…) and we’d be traveling among the stars, dragging each galaxy to the digital dark side, one reader at a time.

Will you share one of your wonderful recipes with us?

I would love to. Since the holidays are coming up, and nothing goes with romance better than chocolate, I’m going to share my Cracker “Candy” recipe. You can find the entire recipe on my blog, complete with pictures, my chatter about the recipe and comments from people who have made this, but trust me when I say you’ll be amazed at how easy it is, and how surprisingly good. http://nicemommy-evileditor.com/blog/2009/12/09/easy-christmas-cookie-cracker-candy/

Cracker Candy

35-40 Saltines

2 sticks of salted butter -do NOT use margarine

1/4 cup sugar

1 bag of milk (or semi or dark) chocolate morsels

Sliced almonds or any other nuts (optional)

Line cookie sheet with foil (sides too). Lay saltines side by side in one layer, sides touching. Melt butter, add sugar and boil 3 minutes. Drizzle over crackers, (keep crackers together). Bake 5 minutes @ 400°. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate over baked crackers. They will start to melt – spread over crackers. Sprinkle top with nuts. Refrigerate until cold, even overnight. Break into pieces.

If you’d like to see a list of recipes on my blog, you can find them all here: http://nicemommy-evileditor.com/recipes/

Angela, thanks for being with us today.  I’m posting links below for those who want to follow both you and Carina Press more closely.

For Angela:

www.nicemommy-evileditor.com  http://twitter.com/angelajames  http://facebook.com/angelajames 

For Carina Press: 

www.carinapress.com/blog   http://twitter.com/carinapress

http://facebook.com/carinapress