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06.16.2008 - Now Booking: Romance Readers Book Of The Week Features! Authors, if you'd like to let our visitors know about your new and/or upcoming releases, try a Book of the Week feature at Romance Readers. Details can be found here: http://www.romancereaders.com/promote.html 

06.16.2008 - BOTW Archive Updated: Added two previous Book of the Week features to the BOTW Archive.


 
 
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THE LEGACY OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
Morgan Leshay

“…25 years after the Headless Horseman’s famous midnight ride..."

Katherine Van Brunt, daughter and only heir to the infamous Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt and Katrina Van Tassel, brings back the dead and loses her heart to the son of her father’s nemesis in her quest to save the legacy of Baltus Van Tassel…”

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BOOK OF THE WEEK: Faery Special Romances - Jacquie Rogers

FAERY SPECIAL ROMANCES
by Jacquie Rogers

Genre: Fantasy Romance Anthology
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN: 0-9746249-9-3

Buy This Book:
Available at Amazon

FROM THE BACK COVER:

ROMANCE THROUGH THE AGES ..... with a magical twist

What do a knight, a smuggler, an English lord, a cowboy, and a Roaring 20s Flapper have in common? Faery magic! These are just a few of the characters who will take you on a magical ride through history in ten delightful new romances by Jacquie Rogers. Each story takes place at a different time in history, and each story features a faery in the guise of a human. With deft skill and her trademark wicked sense of humor, Ms. Rogers whisks you away to a place where anything can happen-especially when faeries are involved. The one constant is that true love always triumphs. All else is up for grabs.

What they're saying about Faery Special Romances: Brilliantly magical! Ms. Rogers' special brand of humor and imagination will have you believing in faeries from page one. Absolutely enchanting! ~Dawn Thompson, author of The Ravencliff Bride and The Waterlord~ on Jacquie Rogers' "Faery Good Advice," No Law Against Love anthology, Highland Press, 2006

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK:

A Fantastic Storyteller!

Jacquie Rogers is a fantastic storyteller. I've had the privilege of a 'sneak preview' of this wonderful work, and I can't wait to get my copy! You will enjoy Jacquie's quirky characterizations, rich imaginative tales and sense of humor. A 'faery good read.'

~Diane Davis White, author of "Sadie, the Shady Angel" in No Law Against Love.


Brilliantly magical!

Ms. Rogers' special brand of humor and imagination will have you believing in faeries from page one. Absolutely enchanting!

~Dawn Thompson, author of The Ravencliff Bride and The Waterlord~ on Jacquie Rogers' "Faery Good Advice," No Law Against Love anthology, Highland Press, 2006

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jacquie Rogers comes from a family of no-holds-barred storytellers and has always loved imagining other wacky and exciting worlds. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, cat, and lots of books. In her past lives, she's been a photographer, a campaign manager, a programmer, and has been known to milk more than her fair share of Holsteins. Her completed novels include four westerns, a futuristic, and a contemporary fantasy.

READ AN EXCERPT:

We begin in Medieval England in 1199, when Keely is a mischievious child in Faery Kindergarten...

FAERY MUCH IN LOVE
Faery woman Shaylah is on the Queen's Quest to find Sir Darian's true love. Can Keely make Shaylah see that the human knight can truly love a faery maiden?

In Shakespeare's England in 1598, Keely is a precocious 12-year old (in Faery years)...

MUCH ADO ABOUT FAERIES
Gracie is posing as a man so she can be a player in Bill Shakespeare's theatre troupe. Can Keely help Caedmon (the Faery world's Chief of Portal Police) convince Gracie to marry him?

In the Caribbean in 1655, Keely is a budding teenager on her first assignment as a Faery Godmother...

FAERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN
London tavern wench Myra finds herself magically transported to the Caribbean, to the bed of Captain Devlin Angel! What's a pirate to do? Can Keely help them overcome their suspicions of each other and fall in love?

Faery teenager Keely is at the Festival of Lughnasadh in 1750...

FAERY THEE WELL
Festival organizer Rhionne, the Goddess of Harvest, must seduce Duncan and bear his child to ensure the next spring's fertility. But Duncan must save his daughter from indentured servitude and has no time for love. Will Rhionne save the world from famine and drought?

Keely enters Faery womanhood in 1814 Regency England...

MY FAERY LADY
On a wager, Gryffyn, a faery man, must live as human for a whole year and contribute to humankind. While doing just that, he falls for Miss Effie Edeson, the daughter of an earl who's betrothed to a duke. Keely is convinced her friend Betrys is the woman for Gryffyn. Can he and Effie overcome Keely's matchmaking and live Happily Ever After?

As a slightly naughty young woman in 1850s California, Keely is beginning to get her full Faery wings...

FAERY TRAILS TO YOU
Faery Queen Yana sends Weylin, the object of all faery women's desire, and shy Bryher, who can bare breathe in his presence, to St. Joseph, Missouri, to lead a wagon train of brides to Oregon. Can they resolve Ruth McCormick's fear of her new groom?

As a wild Faery in the wild wild west of 1885 Idaho, Keely is up to more tricks...

DUCHESS & THE DIRTWATER FAERY
The Duchess invades the sleepy town of Dirtwater. With the new Duke wanting her dead and the townspeople wanting her gone, Dirtwater's blacksmith, Kegan, has to use all his Faery power to protect her. When it turns out she owns Dirtwater, he finds she is now his landlady. Can Keely resolve this mess so everyone lives happily ever after?

Faery flapper Keely makes hay in the roaring 20s...

FAERY BLUES SPEAKEASY
What happens when the faery clans clash? Watch the sparks fly when a barnstormer pilot crashes into a faery flapper's speakeasy.

Now a fully developed lady and sassy Faery in contemporary times, Keely runs a dating service...

FAERY HOT DATE
by Jacquie Rogers
with special guest DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Keely is hampered by the continual pestering of Simon the Cait Sidhe (a Faery cat), who wants to find a date for his Lady Purrson. The problem is that Simon does not approve of any of Keely's clients! Can she find Simon's Purrson a mate and be rid of the obnoxious Faery feline?

Today, marriagable Keely runs a specialty travel agency to transport new brides out of the Virgin Protection Zone...

FAERY GOOD ADVICE
When a bride-to-be backs out and strands Keely with the gorgeous groom, how can she break the news to him without losing her own heart? Is all really fair in love and travel, even for Faeries?

An excerpt from Story 10, FAERY GOOD ADVICE:

Washington - Men who deflower virgins, regardless of age or marital status, may face up to five years in jail

Auburn, Washington: This June in the Human World

Not a single soul had come into Virgin Freedom Travel all morning. I had more bills on my desk than fleas on a troll. The rent was due a week ago last Friday. I stared at the ominously silent phone, hoping Auburn Bell hadn't shut it off yet.

My back ached and I'd have given my left faerie wing to lean back on a pillow. Okay, not. I'm very proud of my wings--translucent, they are, and larger than most women's. Size does matter.

The phone rang and I snatched it up. "Good morning! Virgin Freedom Travel, Keely speaking. Where may I zap you?"

"Do you plan only virgin honeymoon packages?" a timid female voice queried.

"No, we also offer other honeymoon travel services that others, say, Purity Agency don't."

"Uh, is there an extra charge if, you know, you zap a bride outside of the Virgin Protection Zone and, uh, she's not . . ."

"A virgin?"

"Uh, yeah."

"No extra charge, but you'd better be thinking about what you're going to tell your fiancé." I prided myself on my sensitive counseling abilities.

Click.

Okay, so I blew that one. I could have kicked myself.

Luckily, the phone rang again. I answered in my most polite and professional voice.

"My fiancée just called, but she forgot to give you my credit card number." His baritone voice oozed over me like syrup on a hot pancake.

Oh, my. I didn't want to tell him that his fiancée hadn't actually booked a trip. And I sure didn't want to tell him why. "Your name, please? We have several associates and I'll find out which one worked with your fiancée."

"Tyler Grant." He sounded impatient, but I still basked in the sexy low timbre of his voice. "Listen, I'm busy, so just take my info and give it to the person who's booking the virgin honeymoon trip."

"But--" End of basking.

I grabbed a pen as he began rattling off his address and credit card number. He didn't give me his phone number, but I could get that off Caller ID if I needed it, which I doubted. "Thank you, Mr. Grant."

"Tyler."

"I'll give this to your fiancée's travel agent."

After he cut the connection, I leaned back and pressed the back of my hand to my brow in an effort to forestall an impending headache. I felt a doozy coming on.

ROMANCE READERS CHATS WITH THE AUTHOR:

One notices your blog is not "yours" but belongs to Keely, sort of the Ann Landers of the Faery set. Tell us all about her.

Keely is one of those characters who that me feel like I've been hit by a freight train when they happen. I wanted to write a short story for NO LAW AGAINST LOVE, which is a charity for breast cancer research. And boom, Keely came to me and demanded she be the star of the story. Just like that. It's really hard to explain exactly how that happens since I have no idea myself, but there she was, a fully developed character. But she was miffed about only starring in a short story (after all we shouldn't under-utilize such great talent), so I finally gave in and set up a blog for her. Then Highland Press asked me to do a solo anthology and I thought it might be interesting to see exactly how she grew to be the sassy faery of today, so now she has the starring role in her own book. There's just no living with her now. I threaten to clip her wings every once in a while but she ignores me.

As a child did you love faerytales or are your current stories a new interest?

Always! I love Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm. Wow. The world would be a dull place without Mother Goose. But as I grew older, my interpretation of those tales grew more mature and, well, a little spicier, too. Then I wanted to make my own stories, where love always conquers all, because you know, I really believe that. At first I wrote other stories, mostly westerns, but finally I caved it to my natural bent, and let the faeries take over. What a ride!

You have been a very active member in your local chapter of the Romance Writers of America as well as online chapters. Has this helped you in your quest to be published?

It has certainly helped my craft. I heartily recommend membership in RWA, especially the local chapters. Most chapters have excellent workshops and seminars to help writers develop their craft. And believe me, in today's publishing market, you'd better be as polished as you can be. But as far as actually helping me get published-no. Because no one can help you. It's the story. If an editor likes your voice and your story (and has a slot open), you're in. If not, you're not. That's pretty much the long and the short of it. So all a writer can control is the quality of her story-which, of course, takes us back to craft.

Currently you are writing short stories for Highland Press. Tell us about them.

Highland Press is a new publisher. Their first release was NO LAW AGAINST LOVE, a charity project for breast cancer research. It was quite an endeavor: 24 stories by 16 writers. Since the January release, Highland Press has been working on many other projects and grooming writers to become polished authors. It's a great company. I'm involved with the Highland Press Future Stars program, where we learn our craft from highly skilled professionals. The publisher is hoping that several authors will snare NYC publishing house contracts. So why are they training authors who might leave them? Because those authors probably won't!

What are your plans? Will you keep writing for Highland Press or are you looking to score with a NYC contract?

Yes and yes. I am definitely pursuing a career in NYC publishing and once I achieve my goal, I'll still be delighted to write a short story or two for Highland Press every year. So why is that? Because Highland Press doesn't put its authors in a box. I've written a futuristic, a fantasy western with Merlin the sorcerer from King Arthur's court, and faery stories set in Medieval, Shakespearean, Cromwellian, Colonial, Regency, Oregon Trail, Old West, Roaring 20s, as well as Contemporary periods. All in 6 months. I can't imagine anyone giving me free rein to do that. Of course, the stories have to be good or they'll come back in a hurry, but that's true of all publishing houses.

You were working on several single titles. What are they about?

I have several western romances completed and am working on another faerytale novel about princesses and dragons and evil sorcerers . . . yum!

Who are the writers who influenced you most?

Louis L'Amour, of course. That's why I like first person point of view so well. He was a master. Mary Renault's work was incredible. I love Kathleen Eagle's style--she never wastes words. And who couldn't love Maggie Osborne. As for personal influences, I have to say Stella Cameron is not only a terrific writer, but she's kind and generous person as well. There are many, many other wonderful writers who have helped me along the way, but those are just a few. I only hope I can help someone they way these people have helped me.

Are you a full time writer?

Yes. This is what I want to do when I grow up. Forever and ever. Even if I won the lottery, I'd still write. Of course, I'd buy a snazzy new computer!

Where do you draw your inspiration?

More the question, how do you pick an idea from the bushels of ideas that come to me? I can overhear two people in a restaurant and get an idea for a western. Or go shopping for groceries and see a zucchini in the red pepper bin and think of a fantasy story. Life and its diversity inspires me, I guess. I've always had fully developed dreams with a beginning, middle and an end. Color, too. One of those dreams inspired my first book (unpublished). Often, if I'm stuck in a story, I go for a walk, or make bread-anything to get away from the computer. Something always comes to me.

This time last year you didn't have your wonderful stories in No Law Against Love. Not only do you have two in that Anthology, you have done several others and now have your own one-woman anthology of Faery Romances. Tells us about how it has changed you life?

First of all, it has made a dream into a reality. Not that I sat around dreaming all day. No, I work hard at my craft and art. But until you see your story in print, in an actual book, and hold that book in your grubby little mitts, it's so hard to feel like it's a real job. Now I'm hustling to get promotion done, while writing my stories, preparing for what's next. There aren't enough hours in the day. Oh, and then there's the family. It's a good thing they're all self-sufficient!

If your career has taken a big upswing for 2006, where you do hope to be in 2007?

I really hope to have a contract with NYC by next year. I'm not pinning all my dreams on it, though, because I'm realistic enough to know that if they have a slot for what I'm writing, they'll buy it, but if not, well, they won't. No matter what, I plan to continue improving my craft and writing short stories for Highland Press as long as they'll have me.

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