LB Shares Photos

Last month I was lucky enough to spent a couple weeks with G in Asia. We traveled like crazy people, two days here, three there, G working and I...working...and even as crabby and exhausted as I was from all the travel and working, we managed to have some fun (when I wasn't crabby and exhausted or working). I haven't had time to share any photos until now, so lucky you, here I am on the island with my photos!

Some Things I Loved About My Trip To Asia

Korean Animal Sculptures

I told G I wanted one of these for the house. He didn't get me one. :)

 Alcohol with lime

(I'm sure you can get this anywhere but I discovered it in Thailand.) Take rum, add lime and brown sugar, and you get LB asleep in a lounge chair for two hours.

 Palace Guards

I spent the day taking in Seoul and the lovely woman I was with took about forty photos of me making a peace sign. I gotta tell you, it never grew old. Peace!

Street Musicians

There was so much I loved about Hong Kong. It's vibrant and urban and international and everywhere there's something new and exciting to see. Places to shop. Weird and wonderful things to eat. Here's a street musician. We were on our way to the Fish Market to pick out our dinner.

Mango and Sweet Sticky Rice

We bought this at a hawker market in Thailand for like fifty cents. Extremely fresh Mango, the rice is sweetened with fresh coconut. We ate this little pan in about fifty seconds flat. Delish.

A Cave Full Of Penises

I am not making it up. That cave is full of penises.

Strange Bar Fun

Beer is served while the fish enjoy feeding on your feet. I guess it's some sort of novelty, but trust me when I tell you I declined sticking my toes into that water.

Buddhist Temple

This is Hong Kong again. Sunset from the Gondola

Coffee

Okay, I enjoy coffee everywhere, but I binged on cappuccinos while I was away.


Fruit

One of the things I loved best about my trip (and G took real pleasure in this, too) was being introduced to all marvelous and new-to-me foods. While there were many things I wouldn't eat (Chicken Feet and Jelly Fish and Hairy Crabs) the fresh fruit and veggies were heavenly.

So there you go--a few things I loved most about my trip to Asia.

AND...enter to win a copy of my new release Simple Gifts!

LB

Adventures in Bicycling

I was going to blog about the rapture, but that's just a damn drag, so I'm going to show you my Mother's Day present from G, which isn't a drag at all.

Super cute.

You'd think they'd put a kickstand on a bike, right?

Anyway the first time I rode--shiny new bike-shoes nailed to the shiny new pedals--I toppled over onto our neighbor's front lawn with the bike still attached to my feet. He was mowing the lawn, so I'm pretty sure he didn't see me.

The other day, as I zipped along, a freaking BEE flew into the front vent of my helmet. I nearly took out a mail box. I am totally not kidding. Imagine having your shoes nailed to your pedals, while a bee buzzes inside your helmet. The first thing I thought of, after I ripped my helmet off, was that passage in The Shining, or maybe it's in Christine (both by Steven King) where the narrator wonders how many people have died in car wrecks because the driver encountered an unexpected stinging insect. Do you remember that? Well, it's REAL, man. Real.

The last time we had a day without rain (Saturday) G took me on what he termed a 'mildly' challenging hill ride. If you discount the whiny moment when I called him a dick, and the fact that I had to dismount and push my bike (just once), it went pretty well! No spills. No bees. Just a lot of sweat, a little rain, and some foul language.

I'm making progress.

And I'm nearly fit enough to bike Tuscany with the family in June. G and I are down a combined 55 pounds, we're strong, we've got the ugly crotch-padded shorts and cute fingerless gloves, and as long as the damn rapture is postponed until July, we're ready for Italy.

Here's hoping you all have a happy, bee-free, Friday.

~LB

Driving In My Car

Hello DIK friends!

It's been a while. I'm writing like the wind right now and because it's May and I'm a parent, I'm also putting major mileage on my stumpy car. I have two kids about to graduate, one from High School, one from Junior High, and, because we spend a lot of time in the car listening to tunes (loudly), I thought I'd share a few LB Gregg's Mom-Mobile Favorites.

Setting: Imagine LB Gregg in her pjs, one hand on a cup of coffee, the other wrapped around the steering wheel. It's early. The sun is rising over the hills. Possibly she hasn't yet brushed her teeth. A mom ponytail sticks out from under a white Four Seasons ball cap, and, naturally, she's free of makeup (and a bra). Music plays and LB, like an American Idol, sings to the imaginary folks in the back row while beside and behind her, two teenagers die a little inside and pray their friends can't see through the privacy glass.

Here we go!

Vampire Weekend
They make me wanna dance in my seat. Probably not a wise move.




Fiona Apple
This song is not a reflection of how I drive. And what the hell ever happened to FA?




Cindy Lou Who The Pretty Reckless

A cautionary tale. And some damn fine hose.




The Script


Because a downer should be sung four times in a row with REAL emotion. Love cuts, kids.




Justin Timberlake

Have I mentioned my obsession with JT before? No?




So, what's on your playlist?

~LB

Desert Island Vaca

It's dead winter here in Connecticut and it's no secret that I love snow and ice and wind--but when I'm tracking salt and sand into my house for the 30th day in a row? Well it may be time to revisit my holiday photos. That's right--my Desert Island Christmas memories.

Take a peek and tell me where in the freak you think we were, and I'll select one random person to win a $10 gift certificate from Samhain!

(You could use it to buy LB Gregg's Trust Me If You Dare--or Catch Me If You Can in print. Just sayin'.)

Clue # 1

Islands

Clue #2

The pace is slow--and the snorkeling is divine.

Clue #3 

Famous for Pirates (and rum)

Clue #4 

Driving in the middle of on the 'wrong' side of the road.

Clue # 5

Not in the US but English is spoken here.

And bikinis are worn.

No-- that's not me.

Let the guessing begin! I'll select a winner on Sunday by midnight.

And now? Back to shoveling the sidewalk.

Desert Island Giveaway #35

Giveaway: An LB Gregg 2-fer!  1 lucky person will win both books in the Romano and Albright series!

Catch Me If You Can and Trust Me If You Dare

Lowly art gallery assistant Caesar Romano is freely out of the closet. Now he'd just like to get out of his Nana's guest room. Everything -- his reputation and his financial freedom -- is riding on the success of tonight's gallery opening. If only he could shake free of the past so easily.

A mysterious gatecrasher, Dan Green, looks like a promising addition to his pending new life -- until Caesar's ex shows up and suddenly the opening disintegrates into a half-naked dance melee. When the glitter settles, a missing sculpture of Justin Timberlake has Caesar up to his eyebrows in extortion, intrigue and a wild sexual adventure underneath, inside, and on top of a variety of furnishings.

As the cast of suspects piles up, so do the questions. Like who's really blackmailing whom? And what does a stolen paint-by-numbers clown matter when Dan is so outrageously capable of blowing Caesar's resistance to smithereens?

The fear of getting caught is half the fun.

Feisty New Yorker Caesar Romano has a knack for getting into a jam, and this week is no exception. When his pregnancy-hormone-buzzed business partner sweet talks him into working a solo gig for his famous ex, Caesar attracts the worst kind of attention.

It's only the beginning. Hit on by a lusty German, stalked by the paparazzi, victim of an unexpected airbag attack -- and desperate for some part-time help --Ce's running out of time, staff and patience. But what's really got him poised to run? A looming brunch with his sexy lover's esteemed family.

PI Dan Albright is a man of many gifts: investigation, security, sex talk and driving Caesar nuts in and out of the bedroom. Hired to protect an outrageous soap star from a deranged personal assistant, Dan's got his hands full refereeing rival actors, locating one four-foot-eleven woman -- and convincing Ce that he's playing for keeps.

As with all of the giveaways you have until midnight (Pacific) today to enter. 

Good luck!

Leave email in comment section to enter.

Desert Island Giveaway #4

Giveaway: All 4 books in the Men of Smithfield series by LB Gregg will go to one lucky winner! 

Book 1: Gobsmacked

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Mild mannered Mark Meehan’s good judgment flies out the window when he finds his lover banging another man. Things go from bad to worse as Mark’s crazy revenge scheme uncovers shocking secrets—sending him straight into the arms of hunky lawman and old friend, Tony Gervase, a man of limited patience and secrets of his own.

Book 2: Happy Ending

He was everything I never, ever wanted. And I wanted him badly.

All Seth really wanted was a simple massage—was that too much to ask?

When his usual therapist is replaced by a sexy young masseur, Seth finds himself obsessed with the unpredictable - and wholly inappropriate - David Cooke. Pushed to the breaking point by forces both mysterious and not so mysterious, Seth must lose his rigid control to find the happy ending both he and David deserve.

Book 3: Cover Me
Lax.

That was the initial conclusion enigmatic security specialist Max Douglas had drawn of Michael “Finn” Finnegan—Dalton Prep’s beloved English teacher. When Max arrives at Smithfield’s exclusive boarding school to protect a high profile student against a mysterious stalker, he’s hell bent on enforcing his style of leadership on students and teachers alike. Warring tempers turn to passionate lovemaking between the former marine and the easy going drama coach. But danger is closer than either man expects and all too quickly violence rocks the homey campus—putting both men at risk.

Book 4: In and Out
They were star-crossed lovers from the start.

Former television sensation and renowned world explorer, Holden Worthington, is held prisoner by crippling agoraphobia. When a sexy young laborer arrives to set his property to rights, a ray of light begins to glimmer in Holden's dark and narrow world. A grisly discovery throws the two men together, and Holden finds his world turned inside out-- by his inappropriate longing for his awkward, young employee, Adam Morgan, and by a threat growing around them both. All of Smithfield believes Holden has something to hide, and Adam is determined to bring everything--including Holden Worthington--into the open.

As with all of the giveaways you have until midnight (Pacific) today to enter. 

Good luck!

Leave email in comment section to enter.

DIK Ladies, Yet Authors. It's like bringing home the bacon AND frying it up in the pan!

Yes we have guest authors here on DIK all the time and we LOVE them! We always love to hear about them and their books. But did you know that we have four of our very own DIK ladies that are published authors? No? Well let me tell you a little bit about them (in DIK name alpha order).

First we have Carolyn Crane aka Carolyn Jean aka CJ. Carolyn released her first novel with Bantam/Spectra Publishing, Mind Games, in March 2010, The first book in the Disillusionist trilogy. It’s an UF tale with romance within – yum! Soon we’ll have book 2 in the series, Double Cross, on September 28, 2010. Woohoo! Can’t wait for this one!

Our next author, KT Grant, aka Katiebabs, hails from New Joisey, uh, I mean New Jersey and had her first release, Lovestruck, in May 2010.  This is an f/f contemporary May/December romance with Noble Romance Publishing. She also had a novella release in May, The Gentleman’s Loving Spy in the Once Upon a Threesome anthology from Ravenous Romance (fyi the Ravenous link to the book seems to be broken so I added the Kindle edition link for you). She just had yet another release in July 2010, For The Love of Mollie, from Decadent Publishing which is an m/f contemporary romance.Good job KB!  Oh, I mean, KT!

Next up we have Katie Reus aka uh, Katie Reus. lol Actually she’s also known as author Savannah Stuart. Katie had her first release in 2008 with Running From The Past, published by Ellora’s Cave Publishing. Since that time she’s been a busy little bee. Katie writes suspense and erotic romance. Here are her other releases:

Everything To Lose (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) January 2009

Dangerous Deception (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) May 2009

Finding Hope (Wild Rose Press) August 2009

and a yet untitled romantic suspense from Carina Press in Feb. 2011 

And (yeah, if that’s not enough) she also writes as Savannah Stuart

Adrianna’s Cowboy (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) August 2009

Unleashed Temptation (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) October 2009

Miami Heat (Loose Id) January 2010

Worth the Risk (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) February 2010

Better Late Than Never (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) may 2010 (free read)

Power Unleashed (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) July 2010

Savannah’s next release will be Tempting Alibi (Ellora’s Cave Publishing) on August 19. 

And last, but by no means least, Lisabea aka LB Gregg. LB released her very first m/m book on February 6, 2009 with Aspen Mountain Press – the first in the Men of Smithfield series called Gobsmacked. Since that time she's released 3 other great books in the MoS series:

Happy Ending (AMP) April 2009

Cover Me (AMP) October 2009

In and Out (AMP) May 2010 

Then LB released her first book in the Romano & Albright series called Catch Me If You Can in March of 2010 with Samhain Publishing. Book 2 in that series, Trust Me If You Dare, will be released in December of this year with the same publisher. Her next novella, Dudleytown, comes out on October 29, 2010 with Aspen Mountain Press. This will be a two author anthology with Josh Lanyon called Double Feature. In December LB will also have a Christmas novella release with Carina Press. The working title of the novella is Mistletoe – seems fitting for the season, doesn’t it?

So there you have it - our four resident authors. We’re all very proud of you and your accomplishments ladies! Keep up the good work!

Some (more) Tips On Finishing That Manuscript

LB Gregg again. Day III. Or as it's known in some parts: Shameless self-promotion cubed.

A quick reminder that what follows is not a top ten list, although now that I've spent yet another night slavishly whacking this fucker together, it still looks like a top ten list. That's okay. Go with it.

This post is the second in a two part series I have dubbed~

The Dos and Don'ts of Writing (and finishing) Your First Draft

... in Three Part Harmony...

with a Rainbow of Colors

...and Personalities.

(i.e. another Lisabea Top 10 9 List)

As you may recall, I invited my pal Josh Lanyon and his pal (now our pal, too) Harper Fox to discuss everyone's favorite topic--sex. I mean writing.

Why are we not discussing sex?

Ahem. Writing. More specifically, we're talking about finishing the first draft. Yada yada. On with the show.

LB Gregg's RED ink because she's writing this in blood. Muahahahaha.
Josh Lanyon seems a little BLUE.
Harper Fox is our GREEN M&M today. Nom nom. Nom. She should be Red cuz of the hair. I should be green cuz of my eyes.

I should have planned this better.

Here we go!

#5 Do keep your thesaurus beside you at all times;

Don't stop to use it.

You try finding a fun picture for 'thesaurus'.

LB: baking, blazing, blistering, boiling, broiling, burning, muy caliente, febrile, fevered, feverish, feverous, fiery, flaming,heated, humid, igneous, incandescent, like anoven, nom nom, on fire, ovenlike, parching, piping, recalescent, red*, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sizzling, smoking, steaming,

#6 Do shamelessly structure everything around your favourite juicy bits and sex scenes. If the edifice collapses, let it go down with a squelch.

LB: I like that. I'm printing it and putting it on my bulletin board. All love scenes should squelch.

Harper: (fans herself / squelches delicately) I made it to your bulletin board?!

LB: You complete me, Harper.

Josh: I'm thinking maybe I should leave you two alone for a bit. :-D I'll go revise my manuscript some more.

Harper: It's okay, you can come back. I'm weary now and calming down. Hormonal surges only available in business hours at my time of life, I'm afraid. But it was fun, Lisabea...

#6 (b)Don't be afraid to let go of a plot-line that's not panning out. Tcha, six hours of my life I can't get back!

Josh: That's a hard one, but it's painfully true. Which is where keeping an elephant's graveyard file can help. You're not ripping it out, you're...saving it for later.

Harper: I have lots of files like that. Ahhh, d'you remember "Flynn's POV bin"? That's a rich source. Oh, here's another "don't"...

#7 don't use the same dead elephant twice.

Even by accident. Sheesh, that was a close call.

LB: We all have characters named Finn? I move to ban the name Finn from further m/m novels. All in favor?

Josh:Flynn, you wacko. Have you been hitting the spiked lapsang souchong again? But I agree in principle. No more Flynns or Finns. Unless we do sequels of the originals. Is it just me or are there flashfire fads in m/m character names?

LB: Do you have a Finch? I'm worried. Suddenly.

Josh: Seriously, though, those old files are very useful. Stories that I dug out of my "deleted" files...Cards on the Table, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, and I Spy Something Bloody. Keep it all. You never know when something is going to prove useful.

LB: Without the now deceased Mr. Riley file--oh shame and woe-- In and Out wouldn't exist. I delete much of the day to day stuff--they're all just words-- but the good stuff? I squirrel those away.

Harper:Flynn, Finn, Shminn. I can't even remember. All I know is, he had a POV and it needed to go. (Not true. I endlessly adore him.) Yes, flashfires, definitely. The author in the very next review down from minehad a Matt and Aaron, too. We both turned up wearing the same frock. I'm sure nobody noticed.

#8 Do warn your loved ones. It's kind of like R&D PMS.

Don't take a huff because a Loved One says s/he doesn't like a character's name. "Name" is different to "idea", "concept" and "whole thing".

(Recent bitter experience, anyone?)

Josh: There is power in names. Ask any fantasy writer. It's very hurtful when one's dearest and nearest snicker at a protagonist's name. What is so darned funny about Colin Bliss? I ask you!

LB: I guess this isn't a good time to mention Mark Hardewick? NOT snickering.

Harper: I swear down to you, and will go find it if you insist, that I have a Star Trek novel in my - er - collection (that I'm looking after for a friend) where the aliens are called Alt and Macro. Swear down.

LB: G calls Caesar Romano --Salad with Cheese.

Josh: Now that's romance. Actually, that blend of comedy and sexy isromantic.

On that note: #9 Do ignore the input of your SO; Don't ignore the input of your CP.

Josh: But pretend that you value the input of your SO just as much as you value the input of your CP.

Harper: Don't pretend you know what a CP is when you don't. I thought I'd try and wing it but all I can think of is "civilian partner". (gasps) Is that it?! Do you folks have, like, backup SOs for when you're off-duty?!

LB: CP is the person who, traditionally, uses a red pen ( pre-editor ) to poke you right in the manuscript. In this case, we'll pretend that some critique specialists use blue ink.

Josh: Critique Partner. We only hurt the ones we love.

Harper: Ah! Ah-ha-ha-ha. I'm relieved, undeceived, and just that touch disappointed.

~~CONTEST~~

There are 9 Dos and Don'ts (well 8--one is just a Don't)--you'll have to also refer to the conversation from yesterday. All you need to do is guess who came up with which pair (numbered below). Some of these are pretty easy -okay all of them should be easy. We have distinct voices.

Here they are:

1. Do finish & Don't whine.
2. Do save everything. And at the very least email yourself a copy of the day's work.Don't come home late and drunk from a party and start working on your rough draft.
3. Do fall in love with your leads, even the b*stards, as soon as you possibly can. Passion lubricates graft. Don't throw discarded ideas anywhere you wouldn't want to reach into and get them back. The bin is okay before discarded Chinese food. Not after.
4. When you're stuck, DO skip to the part where you know what happens next. Don't fool around on the internet with your friends. Or at least--know when to stop.
5. Do keep your thesaurus beside you at all times; Don't stop to use it.
6. Do shamelessly structure everything around your favourite juicy bits and sex scenes. If the edifice collapses, let it go down with a squelch. Don't be afraid to let go of a plot-line that's not panning out. Tcha, six hours of my life I can't get back!
7. Don't use the same dead elephant twice. Even by accident. Sheesh, that was a close call.
8. Do warn your loved ones. It's kind of like R&D PMS. Don't take a huff because a Loved One says s/he doesn't like a character's name. "Name" is different to "idea", "concept" and "whole thing".
9. Do ignore the input of your SO; Don't ignore the input of your CP.

I'll choose three winners. What's up for grabs? The upcoming Lanyon, A Vintage Affair; the upcoming Fox, Life After Joe; and a signed copy of Smart Ass 2: Pressure Point (aka Happy Ending in PRINT) from yours truly, LB Gregg.

I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, June 23rd.

LB

Some Tips On Finishing That Manuscript

LB Gregg here. I'm back. I know you're pleased. This is not a top ten list, although now that I've spent all night putting it together, it sure as hell looks like one. This post is actually the first in a two part series I like to call~

The Dos and Don'ts of Writing (and finishing) Your First Draft

... in Three Part Harmony...

with a Rainbow of Colors

...and Personalities.

( In other words--Christ what a hot mess, which, incidentally, looks exactly like another LB Top 10 List, Little Miss.)

I've invited my pal Josh Lanyon and his pal (now my pal and soon to be your pal, too) Harper Fox to discuss everyone's favorite topic--writing. More specifically, finishing the dreaded first draft. All those empty pages. All those ideas drying up faster than the ink they're written with. All the distractions, internal and external, that keep us from our end goal--creating a full manuscript.

Tomorrow, after part II, we'll dismount with a guessing game. The lucky winners will each receive one book from one of the three of us. Does that make any kind of sense? Yes.

So:

LB Gregg's RED ink reinforces the unwavering passion she has about this gripping subject matter.
Josh Lanyon commands the scene in BLUE.
Harper is sleek and somehow even more delectably British in GREEN.

#1 Do finish & Don't whine.

LB: This is particularly important if you are behind schedule and your mentor has been, er, encouraging you for five months to finish without whining. Not that I, LB Gregg, have any experience here.

Josh: It's okay to whine to the select few, but you have to keep moving even as you whine.

Harper: If I finish, can I whine afterwards? There's got to be an outlet, a proper time and place, a... the word I'm looking for is whin(e)dow.

#2 Do save everything.
And at the very least email yourself a copy of the day's work.

Don't come home late and drunk from a party

and start working on your rough draft.

LB: RE: Drinking. This is also good advice for blogging, posting, commenting, and speaking with your SO about that recent visit to Nordstrom. Those shoes were on sale.

Josh: Yes, I should add here that friends don't let friends drink and write. Especially blog posts. Thank God the three of us only drink tea.

Harper: Indeed it is a blessing, though lapsang souchong works well with a splash of rum, oddly enough. Very cleansing. Clears the cerebellum in no time.

LB: She's onto something there.

# 3 Do fall in love with your leads, even the b*stards, as soon as you possibly can. Passion lubricates graft.

Yes. I've used it before. Still funny!

LB: **12 year old boy snicker** She said lubricate.**snicker snicker snicker**

Josh: Also, make sure you sufficiently disguise the fictional bastards from the real life bastards they're based on. Assuming you lift from real life. Well, I mean there is that write-what-you-know thing.

Harper: Hah. I did say "lubricate". I'm not afraid to use naughty words now, even long ones. And yes, Miz Bea, I know what you're up to up there. Wow, Josh - did somebody recognise himself? :-D

Josh: Everyone seems to recognize himself! It's very disconcerting.

LB: I totally don't have this problem. Unless it's regarding Adrien. He was obviously created solely for me to love.

Harper: I did have someone who wanted to recognise himself, and I didn't have the heart to disillusion him! I'm flattered, really. Should have added a "very loosely based on some aspects of the life of" acknowledgement.

#3 (b) Don't throw discarded ideas anywhere you wouldn't want to reach into and get them back. The bin is okay before discarded Chinese food. Not after.

Josh: **Snicker** I hate it when the sweet and sour gets all over my finest work. By the way, it helps if you name files something that you can remember a few months from now. Initials can be troubling. KWIM?

Harper: (snicker) (OMG, you've made me do it now. I'll be writing multi-billion-selling vampire quadrilogies any second now) You said kwim!!!

LB: I'm not in on this joke, but if that kwim is quivering, I'm outie.

#4 When you're stuck, DO skip to the part where you know what happens next.

Don't fool around on the Internet with your friends.

Or at least--know when to stop.

Josh: I like this one a lot -- sometimes I skip to the next project where I know what's going on.

Harper: I would just like to know what's going on. Generally.

LB: I usually don't know what's going on. Who are you people?

Josh: Shh, shh. Have a Life Saver, Sweetbea.

Harper: Yes, everything's fine. We're just the monsters you created.

/pt one

Stay tuned for the stunning conclusion--and keep note! You'll have to decide who came up with which set of rules--Harper, LB or Josh.

~LB

New Island Girl-Harper Fox

So hello, Lisabea/LB Gregg here. It's great to be back on the Island for three days. Thank you, Tracy. I love this place. I'm scarce lately--but I am truly a fan of DIK.

And, you know me--I always swing by the island with some friends.

Last week while I was vacationing in a Central American paradise, my pal Josh Lanyon strong-armed NoseInABook to resurrect (at least temporarily) ManLoveMonday. The nerve. Really. But he used his power for good--he introduced our new friend, Harper Fox.

Obviously I'm green with envy that he gets to have all the fun. So I paid invited Harper--(and Josh)-- to keep me company for the next three days.

There will be gifts. Later you greed hounds. SATURDAY.

Without further blather, let's welcome Harper Fox , author of the delicious new m/m novel Life After Joe, which is hot off the Carina Press on the 28th of this month.

First, Harper gives us a peek at her keeper shelf--that IS what we do--and, oh my, here is the weighty list she donated to our DIK community library.

Harper Fox's DIK

The Arrival, Shaun Tan

A silent graphic novel. This is my favourite book out of 45 years of more-or-less being able to read, and there's not a word in it. Instantly globally comprehensible and yet mystic and totally beautiful, a story of immigration, any stranger arriving anywhere in any strange land. It's a perfect thing.

Vanity Fair, WM Thackeray

A canny few words in this one! All of them contributing deliciously to the jouncing, rollicking glory of it. All human life is here. Unsanitised and clearly seen and completely compassionate. That's what flies it for me – how can you be so crystalline about the depths of human nature, and still have so much love?

Portrait of a Lady, Henry James

Sumptuous evocation of Old Europe, its delights and pitfalls. Riveting what-if storyline – what if you give a young, intelligent woman a huge amount of money and set her free? It's a cathedral of a book. You can go back there forty-odd times and still not see everything.

Middlemarch, George Eliot

Love-hate relationship with this one. I need to go there and kill off Mr Causaubon, the leeching, life-draining blight on Dorothea's soul. But of course he dies anyway, and then you see that Dorothea's tragically lost in life-denial anyway, and – well, I'd set fire to the parsonage.

Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell

If there weren't a million gentle, detailed, observant reasons to love this book anyway, there's also good advice on how to treat old lace when it's been through a cat.

The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova

I lose myself in this one every time. Plot within winding, intricate, labyrinthine plot. The best vampire novel I've ever read, and an unforgettable evocation of a dark old world reaching out hungry tendrils into modern day.

About Me--Harper Fox-- Q&A

Favorite Reading Position

Just to the left of mid-Victoriana where I can see right through their plot. Or belly-down on the lawn in the sun. I think I can remember how that felt. Damn British summer.

Best love song

Love Song for a Vampire, Annie Lennox. I'm not ashamed. Every nape-hair rigid and quivering, every time.

Favorite Heroine

Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair. Little minx! Brilliant, seminal, entirely human portrayal of a survivor.

Author everyone loves but you don’t

Okay, I have to say it. Stephanie Meyer. Go on – stone me. “Snickered”, three times in the first thirty pages. I just couldn't get past it. Snickered! Why, everybody knows it's “Mars'd”.

If you could be in one book/series/world which would you pick

I'd be in Mary Renault's Fire From Heaven. Not any of the later ones, because that would mean I'd failed in my mission to make Alexander keep Hephaistion at home, and not pack him off on campaign like a damn fool.

How old is your inside voice

Um... Which one? Can you hear them too? Noooo! Cleanse the hive! Cleanse the hive!

Favorite sex song

Has to be Peter Gabriel's The Rhythm of the Heat. Oh that long remorseless drum outtro. Almost anything can be accomplished. LB interrupts **OMG I LOVE THAT SONG**

If you could be a hero who would you be

Roney out of Quatermass and the Pit. Um, 1950s Brit scifi series... Brilliant and unflappably good humoured right up to the point he incinerates himself to save the world. Oh, or Cap'n Jack. Harkness, that is, not Sparrow, though t'other is good too. I'd love to try a little feckless pansexuality.

What heroine is most like you

Tragically, poor flipping Charlotte out of Pride & Prejudice. I would so get born into the wrong stratum of society, panic at the prospect of lifelong poverty and spinsterhood, and end up hitched to Mr Collins.

What heroine would you like to be

Isabel Archer, Portrait of a Lady, Henry James. To change the ending. Catch my Isabel following her principles and sticking with that inbred Roman fop. No, I'm for Caspar Goodwood, with his millions and his steely grip, thank you very much and arrivederci.

Boxers, Briefs, boxer briefs, kilt (I say we add commando)

Oh, kilt. I'd love that. Proper plaidie, like Blossom in Highlander. “Och, Connor! Mah plaidie's awa'!” Yes, love, I just bet it is.

Favorite book set on a tropical island

The Beach by Alex Garland, though it gives me the willies. Just don't ask me to read Lord of the Flies again. Some willies are unacceptable.

What hero is most like your significant other

I've racked my diminishing RAM space for this but nobody even comes close. She a blue-eyed, honey-haired, mould-breaking one-off, the Goddess be forever praised.

What hero would you like to be your significant other
Whaaaaaaaaaaat? My SO is my hero. Also my heroine. Also she is learning what a blog is and I like my risotto served free of sauteed hemlock.

If you were stuck on a desert island what 3 things would you bring
Ideally? Quick wits, charm and heroism. Truthfully? Laptop and lightning-harvesting perpetual charger (currently still in R&D). And a damn good pair of tweezers.

BRILLIANT CHOICE OF TWEEZERS!!

Two brows up.

Favorite drink to bring to the DIK party
You know I'm partial to a Cosmo, but I can't carry that across a bar, let alone to a party, so I'll bring a demijohn of our homebrewed elderflower wine. Oh-arrr, 'twill be a good DIK party, moi friends! Cheers, all.

Thanks Harper Fox! And invisible Josh. So, when shall we three meet again?

**stirs cauldron**

Tomorrow! Stay tuned...

~LB

You Winner.

The winner of the eBook prize

Catch Me If You Can by LB Gregg

release date March 2nd 1st

AND

a print copy of

CAROLYN CRANE'S EXCITING FIRST BOOK

MIND GAMES

release date March 26th

IS

RENEE!

Renee, drop me an email!

Blue Light Special

**ATTENTION DIK SHOPPERS ATTENTION**

Today we have a special in aisle two.

A free sample of CAROLYN CRANE's upcoming release MIND GAMES!

All you need to do is leave your name and email addy and I, LB/LISABEA will place your wee name on a scrap of paper, drop it in my bucket, and I could possibly if you are VERY lucky, select you to win a SIGNED (not really) SEALED AND DELIVERED copy of MIND GAMES**see photo.

Carolyn Crane: Hold ON! You can't give away my book, I was just going to give away YOUR book today!!! Your release is way before mine! Gimme that bucket.



LB: Where the hell did you come from? This is my DIK. Not yours. ::checks security of password:: You can give a book away next week when it's YOUR turn. ::shoves CJ:: Until that time, here's a shivery excerpt of CAROLYN CRANE'S highly recommended first novel MIND GAMES.

Shivery Excerpt of MIND GAMES by CAROLYN CRANE:

FROM WHERE WE SIT I have the perfect view of Shady Ben Foley, dining on the other side of the lavishly decorated Mongolian restaurant. He’s with an innocent-looking young couple— a pretty girl with dark ringlets and a wholesome blond country- boy fellow. Do they not get what he is?

The last time I saw Foley was maybe fifteen years ago— I was a teen and he was a middle- aged man in drawstring pants, mowing his lawn and ripping off my family. He’s grown paler and thicker, but I recognized his sharp little nose and peering eyes the instant I saw him out on the street.

My boyfriend, Cubby, pulls a hunk of meat off his skewer. He’s been a good sport, letting me drag him here to basically stalk a man--

Carolyn Crane: *interrupting excerpt* HEY, that's enough! stop it! It's my DIK now, because Catch Me if You Can is coming out NEXT WEEK, on March 2nd! And it's a a fun, sexy caper where getting caught is half the fun. And I'm giving it away NOW! So go sit down!

LB Gregg: No!

*Carolyn Crane grabs LB Gregg by the hair and hurls LB across the room into the wall.

Carolyn Crane: AHEM, DIK SHOPPERS! Today we have a special in aisle two--a free sample of LB Gregg's upcoming release. Leave your name and email addy and I, Carolyn Crane, will place your wee name on a scrap of paper, drop it in my bucket, and I could possibly if you are VERY lucky, select you to win a SIGNED (not really) SEALED AND DELIVERED copy of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN**see photo.

LB arranges flatty hair-do over bump-it: I understand that within CAROLYN CRANE's exciting first novel due for release on March 23rd but you can pre-order from Amazon here--the heroine Justine knows she's going to die. At any second. DO YOU SEE A SIMILARITY MISS CJ?

::LB makes puny fist::

Carolyn: *Throws head back and laughs* Try it.

LB: Uh. Okay. *Lisabea punches Carolyn in the face and, arms akimbo, CJ flies into a sand dune on the island shore.*

Carolyn: *Fighting her way out of sand and picks up a palm frond* Keep your DISTANCE! Because I understand that within CATCH ME IF YOU CAN there is a mysterious art gallery gatecrasher. And a mysteriously missing Justin Timberlake statue. People are going to want to know WTF is up with that. And I AM going to send them the book so that they find out.

*Carolyn whips palm frond in the air at LB*

Carolyn: Here is the blurb of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN:

The fear of getting caught is half the fun.

Lowly art gallery assistant Caesar Romano is freely out of the closet. Now he'd just like to get out of his Nana's guest room. Everything -- his reputation and his financial freedom -- is riding on the success of tonight's gallery opening. If only he could shake free of the past so easily.

A mysterious gatecrasher, Dan Green, looks like a promising addition to his pending new life -- until Caesar's ex shows up and suddenly the opening disintegrates into a half-naked dance melee. When the glitter settles, a missing sculpture of Justin--

LB: *interrupting blurb* What are you doing? NO! We at DIK want to know more about the psychological hit squad and who exactly it is they're hitting on--because that's naughty! It's pure genius and we're quivering with anticipation over CAROLYN CRANE's new book MIND GAMES because we luff her and we know she's going to kick all kinds of ass.

*Carolyn pokes LB in the eye.* NO! We want to know about the insane capers, and the clown kleptomania.

LB: Get that fricken twig out of my eye, CJ. OW!

Carolyn and LB fight some more. Punches are thrown. Hair is pulled. Heros begin to gather, eyes gleaming. Bets are placed.



Carolyn: Wait, we don't have to fight. We can each give away each other's book!

LB: You. Don't. Say.

Carolyn: I'll give away yours on March 2, and you can give away mine on March 23rd! One random commenter can win both books.

LB: You're such a smarty, CAROLYN CRANE. It's one of the things I love about you! Plus your fashion sense and the fact that you're a lightweight. ::dusts hands::

**LB glares at heroes as money changes hands** Alright Alright. Nothing to see here people. Keep moving.

Leave a comment here between now and next Monday March 1 and you'll be entered into the BUCKET for our

CJ & Lisabea have book releases WOOT contest

Tell them the parameters, CAROLYN CRANE.

Carolyn: Okay, um... *wipes blood from fat lip, glaring at LB* Okay.

RULES: to enter, leave a comment naming a favorite showdown from literature. It can be vampire on vampire, hero on vampire, heroine on werewolf, or even verbal sparring from a historical! ONE lucky winner will be chosen randomly. That lucky winner will win TWO books! First, One copy of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN by LB GREGG will arrive. Later in March, one copy of MIND GAMES by CAROLYN CRANE will arrive. Contest closes Sunday February 28th 11:59 pm ET.

Thank you.

(LB to CJ: So, hey, are we going for coffee or what?)