The Sunday Salon 7-11-2009 (winners announced)

This is my first Sunday Salon post. Mainly because I didn't really know if I would have something to say every week - or, more honestly, that I would have something to say that anyone would care to read! But this week, I had the opportunity to attend two different author visits at my library! It was the first time that I had gone to see an author and I had so much fun!!! Ok, so let me tell you about them.

On Friday, I went to see Eloisa James. She writes historical romances for Harper Collins. I believe she said that she has written 18 books. This is a genre that I have just recently started reading. I must admit, there are some that I like, and some that I do not like. I like the historicals that are written in modern language, if that makes any sense. I have started her Duchess Quartet series - which begins with Duchess in Love and am liking it tremendously. About a week before her visit I also won a book off of her website - how coincidental was that! When I connected the two, I emailed her assistant Kim and told her how excited I was, as I had signed up to see her and that I had never been to see/hear an author before. Well, Kim told me about a luncheon they were having before the visit and so I got to have lunch with her and about 10 other fans as well.

It was very interesting to hear how Ms. James gets her ideas for books. She says that she will find little facts in history and then just start asking how and why these things might affect the people of that time period. Her book When the Duke Returns was actually brought about by toilets (water closets) and the problems that might have happened if they had not been plumbed properly, etc, etc. I bought this book as I had to see how this made for a romance!

When Ms. James is not writing she is an associate professor at Fordham University in New York City. She is currently on "leave" and will be writing an academic book for the university as well as working on her next novel. She has a fantastic webpage that is full of all sorts of goodies like her books and which ones are connected, all the different places you can find Eloisa on line and in person, and Eloisa's Easter Eggs - which will tell you different little facts about the books or pictures relating to the books, etc. So visit Eloisa today at www.eloisajames.com!

I will be hosting a giveaway for her New York Times bestseller - This Duchess of Mine which I had autographed for one of my lucky readers. That will be later this week so be sure to watch for it! She also has a new book coming out later this month - A Duke of Her Own.

Then, on Saturday, I got to meet Brad Thor, also a New York Times bestselling author - this time of thrillers, or I would call them political thrillers. Even though he was up for the Thriller of the Year award last night at Thriller Fest in NYC - he opted to come to our little ole library to continue his tour for his latest book - The Apostle. (The award went to Jeffrey Deaver for The Bodies Left Behind).

He was a great speaker and we got to hear about what pushed/enabled him to write his first novel, The Lions of Lucerne. His wife had asked him one evening (as they were drinking wine in Italy no less) that if he were on his deathbed, would there be any one thing that he would regret. He said he would regret never writing and publishing a novel. She told him then, that when they returned home, he needed to take 2 hours of time - everyday - and get busy, and she would do whatever it took to enable him to do that. (Behind every good man is a good woman you know!) And that is how The Lions of Lucerne was born. Since then he has written seven more novels.

He also entertained us with stories about his research for his last novel, The Apostle. He actually spent time with a Black Ops group in Afghanistan to learn how they would go about "recovering" someone who might be kidnapped. After he left Afghanistan, NYTimes reporter David Rohde was kidnapped by the Taliban, and the Black OPS group that he traveled with were the ones sent in to try to find him. (Mr Rohde has since escaped the Taliban last month after 7 months in captivity and is apparently in good health.) Mr. Thor said that was probably his scariest research he has ever done for a book. He also has a fun website full of pictures and information about his books - www.bradthor.com. I forgot my camera for this one - but the photographer for the library was nice enough to take our picture and will be emailing it later this week - so I will share it at that time.

I picked up a copy of his last book - The Last Patriot - and had it signed to giveaway to one of my readers. That giveaway will also happen later this week! Wasn't it an exciting weekend?

As for my other reading - I am getting behind in writing reviews. I need to write a review for Critical Care by Candace Calvert and A Promise for Breanna by Al Lacy. I am currently reading One Scream Away by Kate Brady which I will be doing a partial review on later today - as it is on a blog tour right now and today is my day to post! (It is a terrific book btw).

Coming up this week I will be reading - Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown - which I will be discussing with a group of bloggers at Bookworm With a View on Tuesday. I will also be dipping into Refuge: A True Story of Faith and Civil War by John and Bessie Gonleh for a First Wild Card Tour and The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock.

In addition to the two giveaways mentioned above, other new ones starting are Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott, Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer and The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock. Three giveaways are ending soon, so if you haven't signed up for Hint of Wicked, How to Score, or One Scream Away - you still have a few days left.

Since I am talking about giveaways - this would probably be a good time to tell you the winners of Knight of Desire which ended on Friday! They are:

1. Jenny,
2. kitten22,
3. nightdweller20, already won - new winner - nfmgirl
   
4. Belinda M
   
5. ibeeeg.

The winners have been notified and have until Wednesday morning to get back in touch with me.
It was nice visiting with you all and hope to see you in the salon again really soon!