The Book or the Movie?

Have your noticed all of the great books being made into movies? 
Just to name a few, this year we've had:
The Hunger Games
Breaking Dawn
One for the Money
The Hobbit  (coming soon)

There are more good books already being planned for movies in the future:
Maximum Ride by James Patterson
The Lorien Legacies  (I Am Number Four) has a new book out, The Rise of Nine

What favorite book would you like to see made into a movie?

Snuggle up with a cozy holiday romance

The winter holidays are just around the corner, and once again authors and publishers are making sure there will be a little bit of something for everyone this season. Romance fiction expert Kristin Ramsdell suggests this list of holiday romance fiction.

Alexander, Victoria. What Happens at Christmas. Kensington. Nov. 2012.  HISTORICAL

Jeffries, Sabrina. ’Twas the Night After Christmas. Gallery: S. & S. Nov. 2012. HISTORICAL

Putney, Mary Jo & others. Mischief and Mistletoe. Kensington. Oct. 2012.  HISTORICAL

Overflowing with all the trappings of a Regency Christmas, this lively octet of “wench-rich” short stories from the Word Wenches (of the popular blog) is sure to put historical fans in a holiday mood.

Adair, Marina. Kissing Under the Mistletoe. Montlake Romance. (St. Helena Vineyard, Bk. 1). Oct. 2012.  CONTEMPORARY

Allen, Louise & others. Snowbound Wedding Wishes. Harlequin Historical. Nov. 2012.  HISTORICAL

DeStefano, Anna. Christmas on Mimosa Lane. Montlake Romance. (Seasons of the Heart, Bk. 1). Nov. 2012.  CONTEMPORARY

Feather, Jane. Twelfth Night Secrets. Pocket: S. & S. Nov. 2012. HISTORICAL

Krinard, Susan & others. Holiday with a Vampire 4. Harlequin Nocturne. Dec. 2012. PARANORMAL

Lane, Katie. Hunk for the Holidays. Forever: Grand Central. Oct. 2012. CONTEMPORARY

Romain, Theresa. Season for Surrender. Zebra: Kensington. Oct. 2012.  HISTORICAL

Thayne, RaeAnne. A Cold Creek Noël. Harlequin Superromance. (Cowboys of Cold Creek, Bk. 11). Nov. 2012. CONTEMPORARY

Long, Julie Anne. A Notorious Countess Confesses. Avon. (Pennyroyal Green, Bk. 7). Nov. 2012.  HISTORICAL

Morgan, Sarah. A Night of No Return. Harlequin Presents. Nov. 2012. CONTEMPORARY

Roberts, Nora. The Perfect Hope. Berkley: Penguin Group (USA). (Inn BoonsBoro, Bk. 3). Nov. 2012. CONTEMPORARY

Scott, Regina. The Rake’s Redemption. Love Inspired: Harlequin. (Everard Legacy, Bk. 3). Nov. 2012.  HISTORICAL

Thomas, Sherry. Tempting the Bride. Berkley Sensation: Penguin Group (USA). (Fitzhugh Trilogy, Bk. 3). Oct. 2012. HISTORICAL

Delinsky, Barbara. Threats and Promises. Severn House. Oct. 2012.  ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

New holiday fiction titles out now!

’Tis the season for Christmas fiction! This year there’s plenty of new titles to choose from.

The Ghost of Christmas Present: A Novella. Abbott, Scott & Amy Maude Swinton.  Howard: S. & S. Oct. 2012.  ISBN 9781451660395. 

Patrick Guthrie’s wife unexpectedly died of an enlarged heart, a condition their son Braden inherited. Now Guthrie spends his evenings at the hospital, waiting for Braden’s heart surgery as his world crashes down around him. He abruptly loses his teaching job and promptly receives a visit from child protective services, who were tipped off by his estranged father-in-law. Desperate for money and inspired by a creative panhandler on the subway, he hits the streets as a Shakespeare-quoting Ghost of Christmas Present.

The Twelve Clues of Christmas: A Royal Spyness Mystery.  Bowen, Rhys. Berkley Prime Crime. Nov. 2012.  ISBN 9780425252789. 

Krampus the Yule Lord. by Brom.  Harper Voyager. Oct. 2012. c.368p. illus. ISBN 9780062095657. $27.99. Horror

The Christmas Star Fahy, Christopher.  Overlook Connection. Nov. 2012.  illus. ISBN 9781623300005. 

 

A Christmas Home. Kincaid, Greg. Crown. Oct. 2012. ISBN 9780307951977. 

Todd McCray, hero of A Dog Named Christmas, is now twenty-four years old and working at a local animal shelter, where he meets and quickly becomes best friends with Laura, a young volunteer. Laura, like Todd, has disabilities of her own, but her struggles are more physical than developmental. Their friendship is sealed when Todd—with the help of his trusted companion, the tenacious Labrador retriever named Christmas—trains a beautiful dog named Gracie to help Laura with the day-to-day life tasks that are difficult for her.

The Christmas Carol Murders: A Dickens Junction Mystery. Lord, Christopher.  Harrison Thurman Bks. 2012.  ISBN 9780985323608. 

Dickens Junction, OR, was founded on the values of Charles Dickens, and the charming Dickens-themed town has always been a safe, welcoming place. Now, a few days before Christmas, the town is shocked when the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come in the Christmas Carol tableau turns out to be a corpse. Simon Alastair, bookstore proprietor and great-grandson of one of the town’s founders, turns amateur sleuth as he tries to protect his hometown. With the support of handsome reporter Zach Benjamin, Simon might just find the murderer—and love—in time for Christmas.

Michaels, Fern & others. A Winter Wonderland. Zebra: Kensington. Nov. 2012. c.384p. ISBN 9781420121445. pap. $7.99. Romance

In the first story of this romantic holiday quartet, by Fern Michaels, Angelica Shepard leaves New York for Christmas in Colorado to relax and unwind - but an out-of-control snowboarder almost has her laid to rest. When she wakes up in the hospital, all she remembers is the handsome angel who saved her.

A Christmas Garland. Perry, Anne.  Ballantine. Oct. 2012.  ISBN 9780345530745. 

Colonial India is the setting for best-selling Perry’s tenth Christmas novella (A Christmas Homecoming).  “An annual treat,” declared The Wall Street Journal of Anne Perry’s Victorian-era holiday mysteries. Now she continues this magnificent tradition with A Christmas Garland.  This time the mistress of mystery tells the story of a terrible crime that sets the stage for another: accusing an innocent man of murder.

Pittman, Joseph. A Christmas Hope: A Linden Corners Novel. Kensington. Oct. 2012. ISBN 9780758276957. 

Favorite characters return along with some new ones in Pittman’s third novel (after A Christmas Wish) about the quaint New York village of Linden Corners with its iconic windmill.

Randisi, Robert J. & others. Six-Guns and Slay Bells: A Creepy Cowboy Christmas. Western Fictioneers. Nov. 2012. ISBN 9781478189169

The Western Fictioneers, the world’s only organization of professional authors devoted solely to Western fiction, presents 15 original Western horror stories just in time for the holidays.

Rosett, Sara. Mistletoe, Merriment, and Murder. Kensington. Oct. 2012 ISBN 9780758269218. 

Professional organizer Ellie Avery is the suspect in the seventh entry of this cozy mystery series (after Mimosas, Mischief, and Murder) when she’s discovered at the scene of the crime.

Webb, Peggy. Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse: A Southern Cousins Mystery. Kensington. Oct. 2012.  ISBN 9780758241436.

Basset hound Elvis, the reincarnated King himself, graces us with his presence in the fifth entry (after Elvis and the Tropical Double Trouble) of this comic Southern mystery series.

Willett, Marcia. Christmas in Cornwall. Thomas Dunne: St. Martin’s. Oct. 2012. ISBN 9781250003706

Following his wife’s death, Clem and his young son, Jakey, move to Cornwall, England, to be closer to Clem’s mother, Dossie. Clem finds work as a groundskeeper at a nearby convent where the elderly nuns become a surrogate family.

Upcoming Cloak & Silence release

My favorite paranormal author has done it again.  Sherrilyn Kenyon has another new book coming out this year. It is the 6th book in The League series, Cloak & Silence, and it will be released December 12th.  It will mark the 5th new release for the bestselling author in 2012. Cloak & Silence follows Born of Silence which was released back in May.

Official YouTube Book trailer for The League Series:

Other releases this year include:
The Curse, book 3 in the Belador series released in September.
Time Untime from The Dark-Hunter series released in August.
Infamous book 3 in the Chronicles of Nick series released in March.

If you haven't read the #1 New York Times bestselling Dark-Hunter series, I highly recommend them.


Recent news on Sherrilyn Kenyon's official website is that Amber Entertainment has signed a partnership with the paranormal novelist to develop and produce films, television and webisodes based on her books. First project to be developed is “Chronicles of Nick,” based on the young adult series. In the first book, “Infinity,” 14-year-old Nick Gautier discovers that the football team has been turned into zombies, sets out to stop the attacks and learns he has a key role in an unseen world.
Kenyon says she couldn’t be more excited and looks forward to "working with them to make my characters flesh-and-blood people”.
Kenyon has penned more than 60 novels. Her “Dark-Hunter” vampire series has sold more than 22 million copies and been adapted into a manga published by St. Martins, while her Lords of Avalon novels have been adapted by Marvel comics.

Cold Days coming November 27th

Jim Butcher's 14th entry in the Dresden Files series, Cold Days, finds Harry Dresden brought back to the mortal world after being murdered by a mystery assailant and navigating his way through the realm between life and death.  Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad. Because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard. He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness.  Place your holds now for the latest installment in this urban fantasy mystery wizard series.

The Racketeer by John Grisham

#1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for November 11, 2012 is John Grisham's newly released book The Racketeer. The undisputed master of the legal thriller goes straight to the top of the list.
Description from the book:  Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered.
Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.
  Here is the official YouTube book trailer:

A Bitter Veil Award Nomination

A Bitter Veil, by Libby Fischer Hellmann, was nominated as a finalist for the Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association. The winner will be announced around December 1, 2012. Libby is honored to be a nominee.

Libby Fischer Hellmann
photo by Michael Allen Dymmoch

A Bitter Veil is a very well written thriller and nail-biting page turner but it is so much more than that.  It is the story of a young American woman, Anna, who falls in love with an Iranian student, Nouri, in the late 70s in Chicago.

The idea for a Bitter Veil came a few years ago when Libby, an award winning crime fiction author, was chatting with another author about different ideas for themes for her books.  She was drawn to stories about women whose choices have been taken away from them and how they cope.  Libby did meticulous and extensive research for A Bitter Veil and the result is this award winning book.

Visit www.libbyhellmann.com to find out more.  Fans can now also download the Libby Fischer Hellmann app for Android.  App for iPhone, iPad, and iPod coming soon.

New holiday title by bestselling author Debbie Macomber

You can never go wrong with a Debbie Macomber Christmas story.  Each year I eagerly await the arrival of Debbie Macomber's annual holiday book.  This year that title is Angels at the Table, Macomber’s fourth holiday novel to feature beloved characters Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy as they descend down upon Earth to make miracles and mischief.  This time the angels have a new apprentice, Will, with them. Click here for information from Debbie's latest newsletter just out.  Here is a video of Debbie discussing the book in her office.

Be sure to check out the first book in  Debbie's new series based on Cedar Cove, The Inn at Rose Harbor.  If you haven't already heard, Hallmark channel is making the Cedar Cove series into a movie and television series. The movie is scheduled to air in January 2013.

The Bestselling Self-Published Kindle Books of 2012

Seventeen e-books with self-publishing origins are in Amazon’s Kindle top 100 overall for 2012 through November 1.  Ask your librarian how you can get a copy downloaded to your e-reader.

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

2. Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

3. Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

4. Bared to You by Sylvia Day

5. War Brides by Helen Bryan

6. Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

7. On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

8. The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion

9. Snake Skin by CJ Lyons

10. Wool by Hugh Howey

11. The Sweetest Thing by Barbara Freethy

12. The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted by Andrew Kaufman

13. Wife by Wednesday by Catherine Bybee

14. The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden

15. Blood Stained by CJ Lyons

16. Secret Lives by Diane Chamberlain

17. Down to You by M. Leighton

For additional information visit this link to the Publishers Weekly article.

The much awaited adult fiction book by J.K. Rowling released September 27

 J.K. Rowling's first adult fiction book, The Casual Vacancy, was released on September 27. 

Book description from Amazon.com:
When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

For a more critical review check out the Publishers Weekly Review.

Check out a National Book Award Finalist from your library

On October 10th, the National Book Foundation announced its 2012 National Book Award finalist books. For more information on the books and authors click on the names below. 

FINALISTS:

Junot Díaz, This Is How You Lose Her (Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group USA, Inc.)
Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King (McSweeney's Books)
Louise Erdrich, The Round House (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers)
Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers)
Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds (Little, Brown and Company)