Nalini Singh's Blog, page 175

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books! What are you reading and loving at the moment? 

I've just finished reading The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold, part of the fabulous Miles Vorkosigan series.

Of Tea and Love Songs

I've just returned from having a lovely afternoon tea with Shellbell, who won the charity auction a little while ago, and now I'm back at my desk and about to write a scene featuring Jason and Raphael.

Also, isn't this song beautiful?

Winner of Tony Mauro Calendar

The random winner of the Tony Mauro Calendar giveaway is...SHARON YOUNG. Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to naliniDOTassistantATgmailDOTcom and we'll get it in the mail to you.

For those of you who asked where you can buy the calendar, you can order one directly from the artist.

Tony Mauro Calendar

A fellow author spotted these calendars by artist, Tony Mauro, and sent me a couple. I've claimed one for my office, but I thought it'd be fun to do a giveaway for the second copy. 
To enter the random giveaway, just leave your name in the comments by 5pm, Tuesday 10th January 2012, New Zealand time. 
(If you have trouble commenting, send an email with "Tony Mauro Calendar Giveaway" in the subject line to naliniDOTassistantATgmailDOTcom by the same time).
I'll give the winner 48 hours to contact me after their name is posted on the blog. If I don't hear back from the winner within that time, I'll redraw. By entering, you give me permission to post your name on the blog should you win.

The fine print: Contest is open internationally. One entry per household. No purchase necessary to enter. Winner will be chosen randomly using random.org and his or her name posted on this blog on Wednesday, January11th, 2012. Void where prohibited.

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books! What have you been reading and loving this week?

I read The Next Always by Nora Roberts and really enjoyed it. 

p.s. I have a bit of a giveaway planned for tomorrow, so make sure you swing by and check the blog. :-)

Writing

I've started working on Archangel's Storm - Jason is a fascinating hero. Difficult to get to know, but with such an intensity to him that I know when the walls do come down, it'll be explosive.

I'm seeing lots of "best of" lists around the interwebs at the moment. I've posted about most of my favorite reads on the blog through the year, but what about yours? Which books did you most enjoy in 2011?
My favorite "find" of 2011 was the Liaden series by Sharon Lee & Steven Miller.

Happy New Year & Patricia Wrede's "The Thirteenth Child"

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I spent time with family, had a few cocktails, did a lot of reading and made a significant dent in the backlog of e-mails. I'm hoping to clear the rest of it in the next two weeks.

Here are some thoughts on one of the books I inhaled. :-)
I don't tend to read a lot of Young Adult (YA) fiction, but I was given Patricia C. Wrede's The Thirteenth Child as a gift, and really enjoyed it.
It's not a romance but a fantasy that deals with the main character, Eff's, journey from child to woman - and the development of her magic. As the 13th child in her family, she's said to be bad luck and sure to turn evil. Meanwhile, her twin, Lan, is the 7th son of a 7th son, said to be very lucky and with great magic.
The book is set in the wild West, when people are just starting to move out into the frontier - except it's a wild West complete with mammoths, steam dragons, saber-tooth cats and more.
I loved going on the journey with Eff, Lan, their friend, William, and all the other characters, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy. Link to excerpt on Patricia C. Wrede's website.
So, what did you get up to in the break?

Happy holidays & a gift

Wishing each and every one of you a wonderful holiday season!!

Thank you all for your support of my work over the past year. I hope you enjoy the following short story - it'll be up permanently on the short stories page of the website with the next set of updates.

I'm taking a short blogging vacation over the holidays - I'll be back January 2nd, 2012, so see you then!

~
A glimpse into Judd and Brenna's life when they have a night to themselves, no Pack business to handle and no enemies at the door. This story slots in a few months after Caressed By Ice ( not long before Branded By Fire).
Movie NightNalini Singh
"Do you want to go out for dinner?"
Brenna hid a smile at the question she knew Judd had asked only because he was trying to be a good mate. He hated eating in restaurants. Regardless of the fact that he was a master of subtle disguise, he spent the whole time tensed up, on alert for threats.

"No," she said, "let's stay in and watch a movie. I have a couple of frozen pizzas I can throw in the oven, and the salad won't take long."

His smile was slow, quiet, wonderful. "Which movie do you want to watch?"
It made her heart ache that he hid nothing from her, though he was a man who'd been taught never to trust anyone. "You pick."

"You like the dramatic romances that make you cry." The last words were slightly puzzled.

Pulling out the pizzas and setting them on the counter, she shook her head. "No, I want you to choose something you like." A small, many would say inconsequential thing, but those people didn't understand that her mate had lived his life in the shadows, been forced to submerge his personality under a layer of ice—that ice had melted for her, but that didn't mean it hadn't left scars. Fun was still a new concept for Judd.

Now, not saying a word, he went to the comm panel and pulled up a list of recent releases. He was so serious, she wanted to reach out and kiss him stupid. Which would get her naked very quickly. Because in one arena, Judd definitely had the idea of fun down to an art—though he still refused to divulge his research sources.

"Here." He input a choice on the large comm screen he'd moved so it hung on the wall in front of the couch.

Walking over, she put her hands on her hips. "Really? You want to watch a tearjerker romance set in the time of the Territorial Wars?"

"Yes."

"Liar." He'd just chosen something he thought she would enjoy. "It has to be your choice."

"How do you know I don't like the same movies as you?"

He was digging his heels in. She knew him in this mood. If she pushed him wrong, he would flat-out refuse to change his mind—that was the thing with Judd. He was sexy, strong, loved her until she felt the power of it in every cell of her body, but the man had a core of intractable stubborn. "Sweetheart, come here." Cupping his face in her hands, she met the bitter chocolate of his gaze, the flecks of gold pieces of sunlight. "I want you to enjoy this."

A softening in his expression, his hand coming to settle on her waist. "I enjoy being with you."

"I know." Woman and wolf, both parts of her adored  being cuddled up next to him, too. "I guess I want to see what you like as well." Discover another hidden facet of the beautiful, complex man who was hers.
Judd paused. "I don't know what I like."

"That's okay." Sliding her hands down to his chest, she stole a small kiss before she went to the screen and pulled up a sub-menu. "These are considered boy movies. As you are a boy, choose one you think looks interesting."

A glint in his eye, he went to the screen, went carefully through the choices. "This one."

The promotional image was of a guy in a rainforest, with a machete, and a snake coiled around his arm like some kind of macho armband.

Brenna laughed. "Right, that's the one."

The movie was terrible. Awful. Everything that could go wrong did in terms of the direction, the production, the setting, the acting—though the leads weren't helped by atrocious lines such as, "I've got to suck out the venom from the bite on your breast, doll. It's your only chance of survival, so just lie back and let the expert get to work."

Even the snakes couldn't save it. According to Judd, and she didn't know how he knew this, the reptiles being used as the super scary monsters weren't the least bit poisonous. She had a stitch in her side by the time the movie was over. "At least he had beautiful abs," she said, wiping away her tears as the credits rolled.

A slight raising of eyebrows from the man who sprawled on the sofa next to her—a sofa that had somehow survived his Tk. She knew that look, too. It said: Why are you admiring another man's body? 

"Oh come on," she teased. "Don't tell me you didn't notice the rack on his co-star?" A co-star whose primary job had been to fall out of her indecent bikini—why she was wearing a bikini in the Amazon was another thing—and scream like a banshee. "Especially when he had to 'save' her by heroically sucking on her boobs."

"I noticed her rack never moved," Judd said in a cool tone. "There's no excuse for that with the low-cost cosmetic procedures currently available."

She choked on the wine she'd just sipped. Her mate, eyes laughing, though his lips were only faintly curved, patted her gently on the back until she could breathe again. Pointing at him, she said, "That was a funny, Judd Lauren." And some people thought he had no sense of humor. Hah!

Reaching for the remote, he tugged her to his side so she could snuggle close, and began to go through the menu again. "This one."

"Oh God," Brenna muttered in mock-horror when she saw the same guy they'd just watched fend off "deadly" mutant snakes, this time baring his teeth against—improbably—a saber-tooth tiger, "I've created a monster."

Judd kissed her hot and hard. "You know you want to."

She shamelessly arched her neck for another kiss. "Yes, I do." Snagging the remote, she started the movie and settled in, one hand spread over his heart.  There was no place she'd rather be, and no one else she'd rather be with.

Copyright (c) 2011 by Nalini Singh

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books! What are you reading and loving this week?

I'm continuing to make my way through the fabulous Liaden series by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. I'm currently reading I Dare. 

Also, I want to send a shout-out to those of you in Christchurch. I'm so sorry to hear about the aftershocks - I hope you're all doing okay.
 

Holidays

How are your holiday preparations going everyone? All ready?