Day 1 - My DIK Books - Wave

Today it's all about the books. As all of you know, I LOVE books and can't get enough of them, so here are my DIK picks.

My first book is ta da - Adrien English Mysteries by Josh Lanyon which includes Fatal Shadows and A Dangerous Thing. I love these books for two reasons - one is the characterizations and the second is they are the first Adrien English mysteries. The first books I read were mysteries including Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner so it's no wonder that I love the AE series. As those of you who have read these books know, the AE books focus on Adrien English, a gay bookseller, writer and amateur sleuth who has a knack for getting himself into dangerous situations from which he has to be rescued, most of the time by his on-again off-again boyfriend Detective Jake Riordan. These books were first published in 2000 by Gay Men's Press but it was only when they were released by Loose-id in 2007 that romance readers found them but I read them because they were mystery/suspense books. My favourite protagonist in this series is bad boy Jake who most people seem to hate.


Next up is the Heaven Sent series by Jet Mykles. There are 5 books in the series - Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, Faith and Genesis. What can I say about the boyz? Johnnie and Tyler, Reese and Luc, Hell and Brent, and Darien and Chris are great and the band is phenomenal! These books are terrific reads and my favourite character is Hell - who can resist him? He is talented, tiny and has mauve hair *g*

My next book is Soul Mates: Secrets, the latest book in this series by Jourdan Lane. I was turned on to these books by reviews and word of mouth, especially from Jen B who wouldn't shut up about Soul Mates :) So I wrote Jourdan Lane to ask whether she would consider being interviewed on my blog and then when she agreed I had to read the books so that I could ask intelligent questions. When I read the first book I was hooked and I am still hooked on this incredible, wonderful series about paranormals and half humans. I have never read a series with so many lovers per person - there is no monogamy in this series, so be warned!



The Assignment by Evangeline Anderson was one of the first M/M books that I read and I was a fan of the genre for life. This book had hot detectives Sean O’Brian and Nicholas Valenti, partners and best friends for six years who are total opposites. Valenti is from a wealthy Italian family and he's tall, dark and repressed while O’Brian is small statured, blond and good looking, very much the product of his outgoing affectionate large Irish family. They supported and depended on each other through Valenti’s divorce and other disasters while on or off duty, and each knows that the other would take a bullet for him in a heartbeat. Their assignment to go undercover at the RamJack, a gay resort, posing as two gay men to catch a drug kingpin who is flooding the gay bars in the city with poison cocaine is the start of their love affair. The Assignment is a favourite of most M/M readers and I have re-read it several times


The Draegan Lords is a paranormal action/adventure series by M.L. Rhodes and I think that it's probably my most loved series to date! Actually the author, M.L. Rhodes is being interviewed on my blog today and we talk about the series and the characters as well as all of her other books. The Draegan Lords is about the long battle between the draegans, a race of dragon shapeshifters and their mortal enemy Byram, High Sorcerer and diabolical ruler of Velensperia who100 years ago launched a deadly attack against the draegans. The race was almost destroyed except for a few of them who lived in hiding but after a century of repression the remaining draegans, under the leadership of Keiran Hareldson began to fight back. Gaige Rizik, Captain of Byram’s High Guard and known as the White Panther, is sent to infiltrate the draegans posing as a human sympathizer to their cause and he falls in love with Keiran. The rest of the story is about their fight to stay alive and defeat Byram.

My last book is The Englor Affair by J.L. Langley. This is the second book in this Sci-Regency series and the two protagonists are Prince Payton Townsend and Marine Colonel Simon Hollister.
The plot is complex, with murder, political intrigue and the possibility of a worldwide nuclear meltdown. I loved this book because Payton was not just a prettyboy prince but really smart and helped save Englor, and in the process helped himself to Simon.
Simon is no ordinary soldier either - he’s heir to Englor and he never expected a dalliance with Payton to blossom into love.

Well that's my list of books. Tomorrow - my heroes. Some of these same guys will be here again but in more detail.

Christmas Reads by Shiloh Walker

Come October, if you walk into a bookstore, chances are you'll be met with reminders that Christmas is coming.

The Christmas story anthologies are out side by side with Halloween books. Me, I love Christmas stories, but I'm not in the mood to read them until it's closer to Christmas. But once December gets here, I'm all for a good Christmas romance.

Here are some I might read/reread this year:

The Magical Christmas Cat-hey, it's got Nalini Singh and Lora Leigh. I'm sold without needing to know anything else.

Holiday in Death by JD Robb-This one is one of my faves.

All I Want for Christmas by Lori Foster, Dee Holmes, Eileen Wilks and Kinley MacGregor.

Christmas Getaway by Anne Stuart, Tina Leonard, and Marion Lennox. Haven't read the other two, but I'm sure I will, since I've gotta get this one. I'm an Anne Stuart Junkie.

So what holiday-type books do you plan on reading or rereading this year?

Shi
http://shilohwalker.com

Fave hero & heroines by Shiloh Walker

So how many of you have a complete and total favorite couple (or maybe a couple of couples) from a book or series? Probably most of us, huh?

Here's my list~in no particular order:

1. Cherijo and Duncan Reever from the Stardoc series by SL Viehl. Anybody that's spent much time on my blog or yahoo group probably knows that I'm a complete Viehl junkie, no matter what pen name she's writing under. But my fave of faves is definitely Cherijo and Duncan. This is a science fiction series, but it's got a romance that runs through each book, and man, oh, man do I love those books.
2. Eve Dallas and Roarke from the In Death series by JD Robb/Nora Roberts. By the third chapter of the first book, I was hooked.
3. Elizabeth and Dash from Lora Leigh's Elizabeth's Wolf. I love her breeds, but this is still my favorite.
   
4. Alex Markov and Daisy Devreaux from Susan Elizabeth Phillip's Kiss an Angel. This is my fave SEP book and I've read it to pieces. Repeatedly.
5. Grace St. John and Niall from Linda Howard's Son of Morning.

So who are some of your favorite couples?


Shi
http://shilohwalker.com

About Me featuring Shiloh Walker

Hello~thanks for having me here at the blog. Who could say no to a place where I get free drinks and can talk about books to my heart's contest? (There are free drinks...right?)

Of course, I was also told that I had to answer questions. Fortunately, these seem like the easy kind of questions.

Favorite Reading Position
That's easy...curled up on the couch with the fireplace going. Naturally, it would be ideal if I had peace and quiet....

Best love song
Now that one isn't so easy~maybe EVERYTHING by Lifehouse. But my faves change. Often.

Favorite Heroine
Can I pick two? Cherijo from the Stardoc series by SL Viehl and Eve Dallas from the In Death series by JD Robb


If you could be in one book/series/world which would you pick
The Stardoc series, by SL Viehl

Favorite sex song
LOL...okay, when I'm in the mood, the last thing I'm thinking about is music.

What heroine is most like you
Hmmmm...I guess I can't really say Shiloh from Lora Leigh's Breed series, since that would be kind of cheating-although I only wish I was as kick-butt as she's making the Breed Shiloh out to be.

I guess the one that's most like me would probably be a character from one of my books~Sarel from Hunters: Eli and Sarel. She's kind of bratty, big on holding grudges and has a lot of growing and learning to do.


What heroine would you like to be
Eh, nobody. I'm pretty happy with who I am, who I'm turning out to be. I don't see any need to change it. If I became a heroine from a book, or even just like a heroine from a book, I'd be a different person and then my life would be different, and I love my life.


Favorite book set on a tropical island
Can't think of anything that really stands out, although I know I've read plenty of books set on tropical islands.


What hero would you like to be your significant other
I've already got a hero for a significant other and I wouldn't change a thing about him. :) You'll either go awwwwww.... or roll your eyes, but I married my high school sweetheart when I was 19, we've been together ever since 10th grade and I can't imagine my life any other way, nor do I want to.


If you were stuck on a desert island what 3 things would you bring
Okay, this has to be a temporary stuck. Like maybe a few days. No longer. But I'd bring the DH, some books and some wine. Peace, quiet, no screaming toddler, no arguing kids...I'd miss them after a few days, but man, I could really go for some alone time, just me and the DH.


Favorite drink to bring to the DIK party
Sangria.


Thanks and I look forward to chatting with everybody over the next few days~

Shi
http://shilohwalker.com

Carrie Lofty does heroes

(sula takes full responsibility for groan-inducing post title)

I noticed yesterday that my post contained a great many words and absolutely ZERO man pics. WTF? What kind of DIK guest am I?

So today I'm remedying my fatal flaw. I'll be discussing my five favorite book heroes, whilst liberally interspersing pics of my fave hot actors.

1. Rupert Carsington from Loretta Chase's Mr. Impossible

How much do I love Rupert? So very much. I find his intriguing blend of idiocy and smarts completely adorable. He's a moron--on the surface. He plays the fool and the fop and the child, mostly so folks don't expect too much from him. And as the fourth son, no one does! Yet underneath it all, he's extremely capable, strong, brave, selfless, and clever. I loved for Chase reveals his depth as the book progresses, making him the perfect foil for brainy scholar Daphne.

"You've got it backwards," Carsington said. "It wasn't her rising to the occasion. It's the occasion rising to her. Egypt and this business with you and the papyrus have finally given her the chance to show what she truly is. She's--she's a goddess. But human. A real goddess, not make-believe. She's beautiful and brave and wise. And fascinating. And dangerous. As goddesses are, as you know, in all the best stories."

"I'll be hanged," Miles said. "You really are in love with her."

The black eyes regarded him steadily. Then they regarded the cabin ceiling. Then the window. Then they came back to him.

"Do you know," Carsington said mildly, "I've been wondering what that was."

2. Wizard in Eve Kenin's Driven

Oh, Wizard. Much like Carsington, there's a certain innocence about him despite the extreme smarts and physical prowess. In fact, both of these men could be regarded as betas if you tip your head sideways. They're capable and they bow to the varied expertise of their women, but they're not entirely sure of themselves. Wizard doubts his ability to interact with people, seeing as how he was artificially created in a lab and tortured through his youth. He expresses himself awkwardly, yet honestly and without games, which is absolutely endearing.

"It was...unacceptable for you to die." His eyes burned into hers. "The possibility of it was..." He gritted his teeth, balling his fists in the light sheet that was drawn up to her waist. "The possibility of your death was painful."

She nodded slowly. "Painful."

"If I lost you, Raina, I would die of grief." He stated it as fact. No melodrama. Barely a hint of emotion in his tone, but in his eyes--oh, God--in his eyes, she read the truth of it. He would not have survived the loss of her.

3. Johnny Cain from Penelope Williamson's The Outsider

How gorgeous is this book? It breaks all the current "rules" about POV and backstory, and the hero doesn't even show up for the first 50 pages. Yet when he does... Johnny Cain is a hideous wreck of a man, a villain who has no intention of being made into a hero. Tenderness, understanding, and gentleness are fearful things. But his innate sense of fair play and his desire to be regarded well by Rachel, a woman raised in an Amish-like community drive him to slowly, slowly atone for his past. Did I mention how much I love heroes in need of redemption? It's a fave theme of mine!

Rarely does he come out and say all of the intense emotions he feels, and when he does, it kicks me in the gut. Here, Rachel must publicly renounce the sin of having made love to Johnny and vow never to see him again--lest she be banished from her community.

"Will you bring me there, to the preaching this morning, and will you promise not to leave until it's over?"

He made a raw, gasping sound, as if the breath had backed up in his lungs, hot and think. "Jesus, Rachel. What do you think I'm made of?"

4. Harland Everard of Olga Bicos's Santana Rose

Yeah! It's a hero no one's ever heard of. That means on DIK, at least I'd have one that no one else has claimed yet. Harland is actually the secondary male lead in this 19th century New Orleans-set novel about voodoo, white slavery, disguise and betrayal. I love this book. It's one of my all-time faves from an author who then moved on to write romantic suspense. Anyway, Harland's a badboy Cajun like Gambit from X-Men or Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) in The Big Easy. He's smooth, charming, young, clever, a bit inexperienced, and seriously hot. If anyone can get hold of this undiscovered 1990s gem, please do!

5. Dr. Spencer Colton from Janis Reams Hudson's Apache Heartsong

Another 1990s fave! Spence is blond, built, and a super brilliant doctor. He has his hands full with LaRisa, the half-Apache half-Mexican woman he's charged with escorting from Alabama to Arizona. And he has recurring malaria, which means he constantly doubts his ability to care for a wife and family because, at any moment, he could be struck down for days with the disease. Unlike most of the American Indian romances to come out of the 80s and 90s, this one is extremely well-researched and accessible--none of that squeamish-inducing rose-colored noble savage stuff, just honest emotion and a hero who would give anything for the woman he loves.

Honorable mentions: Cain D'Alessandro from Megan Chance's Candle in the Dark, Luke MacKenzie from Elizabeth Lowell's Fire and Rain, and Dylan Kennedy from Susan Wiggs's The Mistress.

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Thanks so much to the lovely DIK ladies for letting me play for a few days, and to Sula for being my hostess! Please visit my website for more info about my new release and upcoming projects.